2 chutneys'

Once you've had a meal accompanied by chutney or a pickle, any meal without either seems lacking. It somehow enlivens all the tastes of the meal, and as long as you take it like a condiment; I sometimes berate poor Theresa for eating the chutney's like a side-dish in themselves, although strongly spiced, they never seem to overpower.

Mango Chutney

Although these two chutneys use Indian spicing, you can extend their usage to non-Indian meals quite happily. Any kind of cheese and bread kind of meal is uplifted, as are any relatively plain rice and bean kind of dishes. 

The best thing about chutney's too is how easy they are to make for the amount of flavour you can wow your guests with. They really are a 'throw everything in the pan and boil' kind of affair. This is also safe territory for experimentation. You can't really go far wrong to be honest. Pretty much whatever I've put in it's always seemed to work; though having said that, some chutneys' work better than others and these are two of our favourities at Yogi Kitchen. 

Chutneys' will keep in the fridge for at least a couple of weeks due to their sugar and vinegar content which act as natural preservatives. I have also reduced drastically sugar quantities in our versions of these recipes keeping with our own preference of less sweet tastes. We use apple to act as a natural sweetener instead. If you do like sweeter, please be my guest to up the sugar a notch or two.

Prune Chutney

Mango Chutney Inspired by a Madhur Jaffrey Recipe (makes 3 cups)

3 apples (peeled, cored and cut into small pieces)

2 Mango

  1/4 cup Jaggery

1 stick Celery

1/2 cup Raisins

1/2 cup Vinegar

2 tbs Ginger root

2 tsp toasted cumin seeds

1/2 tsp asafoetida

2 tbs Lemon Juice

1/2 tsp Cinnamon and nutmeg

Salt

1. Combine the first 7 ingredients in a stainless steel or enamel pan (teflon or other pan's can react with the vinegar content) and bring to the boil. Turn to a medium heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes semi-covered until the fruit is soft and semi-broken down and the chutney thickened.
2. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and simmer for another 5 minutes. Chill.

Prune Chutney Adapted from Kurma Dasa Recipes (Makes 2 cups)

1 tsp canola oil

2 red chillies (minced)

1 tbs ginger root (minced)

1 tsp asafoetida

1 1/2 cups prunes

2 apples (peeled, cored and diced)

1 cup water

1 tbs jaggery (or brown sugar)

 1 tbs tamarind concentrate (or substitute  2 tbs lemon juice)

1 tsp mustard powder

salt and pepper

1. In a heavy bottomed saucepan heat the oil over a medium-low heat. Add the chillies and ginger and saute for a minute or so. Add the asafoetida and stir once.
2. Immediately add the rest of the ingredients and simmer partially covered over a medium heat, stirring intermittently, for about 20 minutes; or until the chutney has thickened to your desired consistency (remember as it cools it will thicken a little further). Chill.