Varsha Venkatramani is a woman with many jobs, based on one platform: her communications skills.
Varsha is an MBA graduate from the Indian School of Business, has a Master’s degree from the University of Warwick, UK, and worked in the corporate world with MNCs for 5 years. During that time, she would take out evenings and weekends to help friends apply to universities. Before long, she transitioned into a full-time Education Consultant and Corporate Content Writer. She now assists aspiring candidates prepare a winning application to universities in the US, UK, Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia and NZ. She also uses her background in Business to work with corporates to design content for various internal and external communications including websites, reports and newsletters.
Varsha is a fabulous cook, recreating dishes she has been taught by her mother and mother-in-law, and can make a mean rasam when she’s in the mood!
Read more about this pretty lady below:
10 Questions with Varsha
Day Job: Education Consultant & Content Writer
Lives in: Ahmedabad
In the kitchen, I couldn’t live without: Asafoetida (hing) – it really is magic!
Current food obsession: Fusion sandwich with cucumber, traditional mint chutney and Thousand Island dressing
If I could cook for anyone: It’d be for my dad because he says nice things by default
A traditional family dinner is: Sambhar rice with veggies and pickle and chutney
Go-to comfort food: Tomato rasam with a dash of pepper
Would love to travel to: Iceland & Norway
Currently reading: Short Stories by Guy de Maupassant
My motto: “Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.” Oscar Wilde
Varsha’s Recipe for Orange Chutney
A splash of cool citrus with oodles of health benefits, this orange chutney wears multiple hats. It can go with a traditional Indian meal of rice/roti and can also add a tang to your sandwich or omelette. It is super easy to make. The entire process, including the preparation, takes just 25 minutes.
Serves: 2 | Prep Time: 15 mins | Cook Time: 10 mins | Total Time: 25 mins
Ingredients
1 whole orange
3 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
4 tsp urad dal
½ tsp asafoetida (hing)
2-3 whole dried red chillis
2 tbsp tamarind paste
1 tbsp grated coconut
Salt to taste
Method
Peel the orange, remove the white skin and seeds and set aside. Indian oranges are easier to handle than imported Malta oranges for this purpose.
Mixture 1:
Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and allow to sizzle before adding the urad dal. Sauté the urad dal until it turns golden brown. Add hing and red chillis. Remove the mixture from the pan and allow to cool.
Mixture 2:
In the same pan, add the peeled orange pieces and sauté lightly. Very little oil is required for this so I use whatever oil is left over from the previous sauté. You may also add grated coconut to the oranges here. Be careful not to heat the coconut too much or you will be left with a strong flavour of coconut oil. Turn off the heat and allow this to cool.
Grind Mixture 1 in the mixer. Once powdered, add Mixture 2 and grind again. Add tamarind paste and salt before a final round in the mixer.
Garnish with chilled grated coconut for a brownie point in the summer. Your Orange chutney is now ready. Enjoy this multipurpose blend of fruit and wholesome goodness with pretty much any dish you have in mind!
Tip: Tamarind paste is readily available in the market. Alternatively, it takes 12 minutes to make it from scratch. Soak tamarind in hot water for 10 minutes and squeeze out the liquid to get tamarind paste.
Get in touch with Varsha here:
LinkedIn: Varsha Venkatramani | Instagram: @varshvenkat | Office: (+91) 02717679557 | Cell: 09978616588
