MAKES: About 2 cups
TIME: 30 minutes
This jammy, sweet-and-spicy chutney has its roots in both traditional Indian chutneys and spicy fruit preserves from Renaissance Europe. The secret is mixing fresh fruit with dried. It’s perfect as a sweet-hot foil to bland foods try it with Coconut Rice or Deep-Fried Tofu but, like good old jam, it’s pretty good on buttered toast too.
2 cups minced pineapple (canned is okay; drain excess juices)
1/2 cup chopped dates or dried apricots
11/2 tablespoons peeled and minced fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard or mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon minced fresh chile (like jalapeo or Thai), or to taste, or hot red pepper flakes or cayenne to taste
Salt
Put all the ingredients in a saucepan, mix well, and cover. Bring to a boil over high heat and uncover.
Turn the heat to medium or medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove the chutney from the heat and cool to room temperature; taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. This keeps well, covered and refrigerated, for at least a week; bring back to room temperature before serving.
Variations
Cranberry Chutney. A joy in the winter: Substitute cranberries for the pineapple, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves for the cumin, and orange juice for the lime juice. Use only 1 fresh red chile or none at all. If you like, cool the chutney slightly, then partially pure with an immersion blender or in a food processor.
Tamarind-Date Chutney. As exotic as it gets: Replace the pineapple with 1/2 cup tamarind pulp dissolved in 11/2 cups hot water (or 3/4 cup tamarind paste, dissolved in 2 cups hot water and strained); increase the dates to 3/4 cup. Omit the mustard and lime juice. Add more brown sugar if you like.
6 Fruit Combinations for Chutney
- Peaches or apricots with dried apricots
- Sour cherries (fresh or frozen, pitted) with dried cherries or cranberries
- Plums or seedless red grapes with dried figs or prunes
- Seedless red grapes with dried pineapple or pears
- Rhubarb with raisins
- Blueberries or blackberries with dried cherries or blueberries
