Today's Special- Mango Chutney

I love condiments! Ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, bbq sauce, pesto, salsa, etc. Every culture has a range of condiments. One of my favorites comes from India, chutney. I especially love Mango Chutney. I love the beautiful yellow color, the sweetness for the mango and the savory taste of the spices.  I love how you can add it to anything. Chicken, beef, pork, fish, sauces, sandwiches and ice cream. Chutney is such a versatile condiment. I just love it!!










I've been wanting to try my hand in making chutney for a really long time, but just never got around to it. So here we go!  While viewing one of my favorite foodie movies, Today's Special. A great move about a French trained chef's, Samir,  journey to rediscovery of food and family via his family's Indian restaurant. I've seen it about 7 times! If you have Netflix, look it up, it's on streaming! Yay!

My version may not be the most authentic but it has the spices that are seen readily in Indian cuisine. One of my favorite characters in Today's Special is Akbar. He is the one that guides Samir into the wonderful world of his heritage and teaches him to cook not just from the head but from the heart and stomach. It's not about following recipes but about allowing the senses to guide you.  The spices I use are based on the movie with my addition of cardamon. My favorite scene is when Akbar takes Samir shopping for the foundation of masala.  Akbar describes the spices with such creativity and wit.

“Cumin is a saucy wench, gives you great pleasure, but she herself is never satisfied…Coriander seed, like a young girl walking through a lemon grove by the ocean wondering what the future holds…Cloves and cinnamon, like your crazy aunt and uncle, very noisy, very funny, very opinionated, but a little goes a long way…Turmeric, the golden spices, makes everything glow…”

I hope you go look for Today's Special and watch while you eat this yummy mango chutney!

Buen Provecho! 


Mango Chutney - yields 1 pint

Ingredients:

2-3 Mangoes, diced
1/2 Red Onion, thinly spice
1-2 Garlic cloves, minced finely
3/4 cup Brown sugar
1/2 inch Ginger, minced
1/2 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
1-2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
Salt to taste
 up to 2/3 Water (optional if mixture is too thick)

Spices: I used ground spices 
1/8 tsp Cinnamon
1/8 tsp Cloves
1/4 tsp Coriander
1/4 tsp Cardamon
1/4 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Tumeric



Instructions:

1. Heat pan on medium heat. Add vegetable oil. Once hot add red onion, ginger, garlic, spices and salt. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

2. Once onions are caramelize add mango, brown sugar, rice     wine vinegar and water if using. Season mango with salt.

3. Stir and cover. Cook for 10-15 minutes until mango breaks   down and mixture thickens. If it's too thick feel free to add more water.

4. Taste for seasoning, adjust if necessary.

5. Remove from heat and let it cool completely.

6. Enjoy!

vmeats.blogspot.com

Plum Lime Jam

At my childhood home the backyard was filled with trees. A cran-apple, lemon, pear and plum tree. Now only 2 remain, the lemon and the plum tree. Every summer the plum tree blooms giving us an abundance of delicious juicy plums. The tree reaps so much fruit that sadly some of the plums spoil. Last summer in order to save these delectable purple jewels I made jam. It was certainly an experience! Jamming and canning take time. You need to mark out time before you start. Make it an event!

This summer, my dad brought me a huge box filled to the brim with plums. I now had 10 pounds of plums! What to do? Jam, of course! I divided the work into 2 days. I pitted the plums (I left the skin on, I didn't want to lose any nutrition plus it makes things so much easier) and washed the jars on day 1. Day 2 I made the jam, sterilized the jars and completed the canning. The recipe is really straight forward. It only has 4 ingredients: fresh plums, sugar, lime and cardamon. All the ingredients amount can be changed according to your preference. If the fruit is a little on the sour side add more sugar, its no problem. If you want more of the cardamon taste add more, but be careful cardamon is powerful stuff so be gentle. This is what I love about cooking. You can be creative and just let the ingredients speak to you. Don't be afraid to try new things, experiment or tweak a recipe. Make it yours and have fun!

I don't have a gigantic stock pot so I made my jam in batches. The recipe reflects this. Enjoy!

Buen Provecho!



Plum Lime Jam - yields 5 pints or 10-12 half pints

Ingredients:

5lbs Plums, pitted & quarted
3-4 cups Sugar
1/2 Lime
1 tsp Lime zest
1 1/2 tsp cardamon
1/2 cup Water (only if fruit is not juicy enough)

Instructions:

1. Add plum & sugar into a stock pot. If the plums don't have a lot of juice you can add up to 1/2 cup of water.

2. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil until mixture has reduced and thicken (jelly state), stirring often to make sure it doesn't burn and stick to the bottom of the pot. Also skim any foam that rises.

3. While mixture is reducing, sterilize the pint or half-pint jars, lids, and bands, according to manufacturer's directions.


4. Once mixture has reduced add lime juice, lime zest and cardamon. Continue to cook for 10 minutes, continue to stir. Remove form heat.

5. Divide jam among sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch space at top of jar. Wipe rims of jars to remove any jam and seal with lids and bands.

6. Process jars in boiling water for 10-15 minutes. Remove jars and let them complete cool, about 24 hours.

7.  Label, share and store in cool, dry place. Should last up to 8 months.

Enjoy!

vmeats.blogspot.com recipe