Monday, April 24, 2006

Curry Prep - The Chutney

This upcoming Friday night I am having a sort of curry feast, courtesy of Cupboard Love. The preparations, however, started today, because the chutney needed to be stored for 'a couple of weeks.' So what's a day, or nine! I'm sure if I got the chutney done today it will be ready and lovely for Friday!

32. Mango Chutney - *Indian*

Ever since getting CL, I have loved the Indian chapter and dreamed of all the lovely curry events I would have. I could pretend I was back in England, feeding chutney and biryani to my guests, as we would laugh gingerly sipping mango lassis.

The Mango Chutney was a lot easier to make than I expected. First, I chopped up a semi-ripe mango. Tom writes that Indians wouldn't bother making chutney with fully ripe mangoes, as they'd be happier to eat it right there. My mango was definitely verging on ripeness, and after nibbling on some I really had the inclination to forget the whole chutney business and eat the entire thing. But a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do.

So after the mango was chopped, I cut up some onion as well.


mango and onion

I heated up some sugar and red wine vinegar in a deep pan, and once the sugar dissolved I added the onion and mango. The heat was raised to get a rolling boil for a couple of minutes, and then reduced again to get a simmer.

everything in the pot

The mixture was supposed to reduce on a low heat for an hour, but I found it reduced in half that time - probably due to the fact that I halved the recipe, as it would be only four of us eating the curry.

The texture turned out lovely, and I stole a taste.. yummy and sweet, but not sickly.

the finished chutney


Rafa, however, did not appreciate the vinegar smell throughout our small apartment. I had to open up the windows, as the smell was quite strong... Actually, Rafa didn't shut up about it for a couple of hours, proclaiming the chutney a 'shit-ney'... Well, let's see what he says when he dips some lovely poppadums into the chutney on Friday night. We'll see then who gets the last laugh. ;)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ilana,

The chutney looks beautiful. I am so impressed with your cooking skills and your willingness to try new foods. I was a very picky eater and I didn't cook many new things at all when I was your age. Fortunately for my family my cooking has improved and I am less picky. Keep up the good work. I love reading about what you are preparing.

Jackie