Plum & date chutney

Chutney, an Indian version of  marmalade/jam/jelly, is very common across the world and although many may not know what it exactly is or how it is made, they will nod knowingly about having heard the name. This recipe came to my mind when talking to my friend about the power of homemade garam masala. My mom would often make chutney and sprinkle some homemade garam masala on the top to elevate this recipe one step higher. So, when the occasion of my daughter’s second birthday arrived, the Bengali mom in me decided to cook a Bengali lunch (being fully aware that my efforts had a high chance of being wasted and that the toddler would not eat anything). This chutney was one of the dishes. 

Garam masala, essentially means  dry-roasted spices, whole or ground. For this chutney, I used the following:

Cumin seeds – 1tsp

Fennel seeds – 1tsp

Mustard seeds – 0.5tsp

Onion seeds – 0.5tsp

Fenugreek seeds – 0.25tsp

These seeds are commonly found in Indian households. In Indian stores, they are readily available as ‘Panchpuran’ or ‘5-spices’. Each  type of seed in this mixture has its own volatile oil, which escape when dry-roasted, and contribute to the flavor. I dry-roasted them and ground them in a coffee grinder. I would not use all of it for this dish, so saved the rest in an air-tight container for future use. If you are considering whether to buy all these and are wondering if you could try some before buying, go ahead and borrow from your Indian friend!

For the chutney, I used the following:

Plums – cut into quarters or cubes (3)

Dates (pitted) – 6-8

Water

Sugar to desired sweetness

Mustard seeds

Oil (Mustard/canola)

Dried red chili – 2

Lime juice

The plums, date, water and sugar were boiled together in a saucepan to the desired consistency (some people like it more fluid whereas other prefer a more viscous chutney).  It took about 45 minutes. To a tsp of heated oil, I added the mustard seeds & the red chili and let the seeds splatter. Added the chutney to this and boiled for another 10 minutes. Turned off the heat added the juice of one quarter of a lime and mixed in the garam masala.

The birthday princess seemed to enjoy the special presentation that day and in her excitement mixed everything that was on her plate. There was my 90 minutes of cooking efforts – all mish mashed! But I would still say it was worth it. The family had lunch together that day and my daughter imitated me eating the chutney and made a clicking sound with her tongue in satisfaction. :-)