“I am come into
my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have
eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O
friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.” – The Old Testament (Song of Solomon)
Chutney refers
to a wide-ranging family of condiments from South Asian cuisine that usually
contain some mixture of spices and vegetables and/or fruits. There are many
varieties of chutney. Chutneys may be either wet or dry, and they can have a coarse
to a fine texture. The Anglo-Indian loan word refers to fresh and pickled
preparations indiscriminately, with preserves often sweetened. Several Northern
Indian languages use the word for fresh preparations only. A different word
achār applies to preserves that often contain oil and are rarely sweet. Vinegar
or citrus juice may be added as natural preservatives, or fermentation in the
presence of salt may be used to create acid.
Here is a
favourite chutney recipe that adds spice to many a bland dish or can be a
wonderful condiment for all sorts of charcuterie or meat dishes. It marries the best of the Indian and English traditions.
APPLE CHUTNEY
Ingredients
1 kg cooking
apples
1 tablespoon
salt
2 tablespoons
vegetable oil
1 tablespoon
brown mustard seeds
2 large cloves
garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon
grated fresh ginger
1½ teaspoons
ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground
turmeric
½ teaspoon ground
black pepper
1½ cups white
wine vinegar
1 cup brown
sugar
Grated rind and
juice of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon
cayenne pepper
Method
Peel, core and
slice or chop apples into small pieces.
Place in a bowl
with salt, stir and leave to stand for an hour. Drain away any liquid.
Heat oil in
saucepan and add mustard seeds, garlic and fresh ginger and fry gently for a
couple of minutes, stirring.
Add cumin,
turmeric and pepper and cook for a few more seconds or until aromatic, then add
apples with the vinegar, sugar, lemon rind and juice and cayenne pepper.
Simmer over a
slow heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
The mixture
should be fairly thick.
Leave to cool.