Sweet tomato chutney

Blend an entire head of garlic (peeled and coarsely chopped), a fresh piece of ginger (2 inches long, 1 inch by inch wide, peeled and coarsely chopped) and 1/2 cup of red wine vinegar in a blender until smooth. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, bring to a boil the entire contents of a 12-ounce can of tomatoes, 1 cup of red wine vinegar, 1 1/2 cups white sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon hot chili powder . Add the puree from the blender. Lower heat and simmer gently for 1 1/2 – 2 hours or until the chutney becomes thick. Stir occasionally during this time. Finally, add two tablespoons golden raisins and two tablespoons blanched, slivered almonds. Simmer, stirring, for 5 more minutes. Allow to cool, decant into glass jars, and refrigerate. Once chilled, the chutney should have the consistency of honey. It will keep for months.

Date-Tamarind Chutney

  see Prashad version below

Ingredients:

• 200 gms tamarind (remove seeds)
• 100 gms dates (pitted)
• 150 gms jaggery
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp fennel
• 1 tsp cumin seeds (roast and grind coarsely)
• 1 tsp salt
• Red chilli powder as per taste

Preparation:

• Put the tamarind, dates, jaggery and water in a saucepan and cook on a medium flame till the dates and tamarind are soft.
• Turn off flame and allow the mixture to cool.
• Use a food processor or hand blender to blend mixture together into a smooth sauce.
• Put sauce back into the saucepan and onto a medium flame and add remaining spice ingredients.
• Bring the sauce to a boil and turn off.
• Allow to cool, then chill and serve.

 Prashad Imli chutney

MAKES ABOUT 400ML

100g dried tamarind (from a block), broken into 4cm square pieces
75g stoned dates, broken into large chunks (roughly 2cm long)
50g jaggery, cut into thin flakes (or dernerara/sofl brown sugar)
50g granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
l teaspoon medium red chilli powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin


Preheat the oven to 100°C/80°C fan/gas mark ‘/4 while you wash a
couple of glass jars, then pop them into the oven for l0 minutes to
dry and sterilize them. Stand them upside down on a clean tea towel
until you need them.


Put the tamarind, dates, jaggery and sugar into a large pan. Pour in
1.5 litres of boiling water and cook over a high heat for 25 minutes.
Stir frequently and scrape down the sides to make sure nothing
scorches or burns. Once the mixture has reduced down to a thick
flavoursome sauce, remove from the heat and set aside to cool,
stirring occasionally. This can take up to 2 hours, but you can halve
this by setting the pan in a sinkfirl of cold water and stirring
frequently to aid the cooling process.
Sieve the cooled chutney into a large bowl. Add the salt, chilli
powder and ground cumin and blitz with a blender (or whisk). Then
stir cold water through until you reach your preferred texture and
thickness — 60ml will make it very slightly runny, which is how I
like my imli chutney, but you may prefer to use more or less than
this.
Pour into the sterilized glass jars, making sure the lids are finnly
closed to ensure that they are airtight. Store in the fridge to serve
with cheat (see here), dai vada (see here), kaba bllajia (see here) or
bhel (see here).

Cilantro Mint Chutney

Ingredients

Yields: 1 pint

 
2 green bell peppers
2 jalapeño green chili peppers
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
2 cups fresh mint leaves, chopped
5 cups cilantro, chopped
juice of half a lime, freshly squeezed
Chat Masala – 1/2 tsp (optional)
Roasted Cumin Powder – 1 tsp
1 tablespoon jaggery or sugar, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons tamarind concentrate
3/4 teaspoon salt
¼ cup water

Directions

Using a paring knife, cut the chiles and bell peppers in half. Remove some of the seeds to make the sauce slightly less spicy. Finely chop the peppers and set aside. Note: remember not to rub your eyes after touching chile pepper seeds.

In a small saucepan, dissolve the jaggery with lime juice and 2 tablespoons of water. Allow to cool completely.

In a blender (or in a large mortar and pestle), combine the green bell peppers, 2 jalapeño peppers (or more to taste), the ginger garlic paste, tamarind concentrate, chopped mint leaves and cilantro. Add ¼ cup of water (or more) for a smooth flow. Add the jaggery. Season with 3/4 teaspoon of salt.

It's great as a snack with Indian-style savory fritters, fish or meat dishes.

Tamarind Chutney (concentrate+block)

Ingredients:

Tamarind Concentrate – 2 tbsp

Water – 2 cups

Jaggery – 1/2 cup, powdered and packed

Salt – 1tsp or to taste

Red Chili Powder – 1 tsp or to taste

Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp

Fennel Seeds ( Sauf) – 1 tsp, optional

  

Method:

1. Heat 1 cup of water in the microwave, add in the Tamarind paste and mix well so that there are no lumps.
2. In a saucepan on medium to high heat, pour in the diluted Tamarind mixture and the balance of the water. Allow it to come to a boil.
3. Add in the powered Jaggery and reduce flame to Medium.
4. Let the Jaggery melt and the mixture reduce to half. Keep stirring occasionally.
5. While the above mixture is boiling, dry roast the Cumin and Fennel seeds and allow them to cool before you grind them to a powder.
6. Mix in Salt, Fennel and Cumin Powders and Red Chili Powder. Stir and then remove from Flame.
7. To get the correct consistency of the hot chutney, lift the stirring spoon out of the pan and make sure it lightly coats the spoon. Once the chutney cools, it will automatically thicken.
8. Allow it to cool and store in a clean dry container.
9. Makes about ½ cup of Chutney.

 Tips: 

1. Tamarind Chutney has a long shelf life and should be kept refrigerated. It also freezes very well.
2. You can also substitute Jaggery with about ½ cup of Brown Sugar or Regular Sugar.
3. If you do not have Fennel Seeds, use only Roasted Cumin Powder.

You can use 3 lime size balls of regular tamarind if you do not have the concentrate. Soak it in the 1 cup hot water and remove all the fiber and seeds from it.

RECIPE FROM FRESH TAMARIND
 

Garlic-Peanut Chutney

Ingredients:

Dry Shredded Coconut – 1 cup
Sesame Seeds – 1/4 cup
Dry Red Chilies – 4 or to taste, dry roasted
Roasted Salted Peanuts – 1 Tbsp
Garlic – 1 bulb (approx 15 cloves)
Tamarind Paste – 1 tsp or to taste
Salt – to taste

Method:

1. Roast Coconut on medium heat until it begins to turn golden. Remove from pan and keep aside to cool.
2. In the same pan, roast Sesame Seeds in the same manner. Remove from pan and keep aside to cool.
3. In a food processor, add Roasted Dry Red Chilies and Roasted Peanuts and lightly pulse.
4. Add in remaining ingredients: Garlic, Coconut, Sesame Seeds, Salt, Tamarind Paste. Grind until you get a uniform texture.
5. Adjust salt or tamarind and pulse the food processor until mixed.
6. Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator. Keeps fresh for up to 2 weeks.

Mango Chutney

Yields about 340 g

Ingredients

1 ripe but firm green mango (450 -500 g)
1 sticks cinnamon (about 2 inch)
2 whole cloves
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 cardamom pods, cracked
1 tsp ginger, grated
2-3 whole dry red chilies
1 clove garlic, crushed
3/4 cup demerara sugar (if you have access to Indian jaggery use 3/4 cup- 1 cup powdered jaggery depending on the sweetness)
1/2 cup vinegar
3/4 cup water
1 tsp salt

Method:

Cut the mango into 1 inch cubes and for chunky chutney, keep some pieces about 2 inch. If you are looking for smooth, cut them all in same size.

Using a piece of thin muslin cloth, tie up the spices into a bundle. Cook the mango, spices (in the muslin cloth), water, ginger and garlic until the mango is tender. Some pieces will disintegrate into the water. Takes about 10 minutes.

Add the vinegar, sugar, salt and dry chilies. I like to break 1 red chilly into flakes and keep 1 whole. If you want and are feeling adventurous you can go up on the chilies. The sugar requirement may also vary depending on the sweetness of your mango and personal preference. Feel free to reduce or add as per your liking.

Cook for about 30 -35 minutes until the chutney is thickened. Squeeze every bit you can from the cloth and discard it. Transfer to sterilized jars while still hot. Don’t put the lid, until the chutney cools. It keeps well for 4 weeks in the refrigerator.

Fresh Mango Chutney

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Chat masala
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (approx.) mango, cubed

Instructions:

1. Place all ingredients, except the mango, into a food processor and blend until the consistency of a paste
2. Add mango; process until coarsely chopped
3. Chill well before serving

Note: this will keep three to five days in an air-tight container in the fridge