Saturday, August 29, 2009

Chutney

Dropping her handbag on the seat next to her, she let her gaze glide out of the train window…shadows infiltrated with spots of lights and the colors of Berlin blended before her eyes into a blurry mix of bright and dark…her reflection on the smooth surface showed her messy hair , her lips all naked now the lipstick had gone, her glowing eyes. Nervously she looked at her watch. She would be late and she knew she would have to answer questions about where she had been.

Where have I been?

Her thoughts went back to the beginning of the night. She wore her best dress and new stockings when she entered the elevator. She wore her favorite pair of high heels, the shiny black ones with the red soles, but she didn’t wear her glasses and so she had to narrow her eyes until they were almost closed to see her reflection in the shiny steel wall. Good. She exhaled. She was looking good…at least ok. He will like what he sees. And of course this wasn’t a date…we are just friends, she thought, he just had invited her to spend some time talking and drinking and...and what? What did she really want it to be? Could she tell him the truth...could she tell him about her fantasies? No, never…how could she tell anyone about her dreams?

The hallway smelled like pears and thyme when she left the elevator and walked towards his open door. Inside, dark wooden floors, white walls and modern art was the backdrop for white sofas and a lot of chrome all over the apartment. “I’m here…” he yelled from the back of the apartment—where the kitchen would be? Elena walked through the shadows of the corridor until she could see the lights underneath the not fully closed kitchen door.



you already know why i cook chutney but did i also say that i really love that sticky spicy-sweet stuff??? yes i do..it taste perfect when its served cold together with grilled meat or fish..you can even use it to prepare salad souces or can eat it just with baguette or fresh country bread or along camembert or other kinds of cheese..you can use it with wok vegetables and..actually i could eat it with almost anything...like i said..i really love it..but for now i dont wanna make you wait any longer..my favorite chutneys..

plum-chutney
you need...

2 kilo plums cut into small pieces
2 onions cut into rough cubes
2 apples cut into rugh cubes
200 grams chopped tomatos
2-3 gramms of freshly grounded ginger
cinnamon as much as you like
2 garlic cloves
1-2 eating spoons of salt
500 ml of vinegar ( for example balsamico bianco)
400-500 grams of sugar (depending on how sweet you want your chutney to be)
3 cl whiskey
black pepper..as much as you want

cook it all together, blend and whisk it very well until it has the texture of really thick marmelade
now fill it into (sterilised)twist-off glasses
turn the glasses upside down (when they are closed of course) for about 5 minutes


apricot-tomato-chutney

you need..

250 grams fresh apricots cut into fine cubes
250 grams tomatos cut into fine cubes
200 grams carrots cut into thin stripes
200 cl wine vinegar
75 cl apricot juice ( you also can use peach juice which gives a different tasty taste)
2 small spoons of curry powder
some chili
250 grams of canning sugar
salt & pepper

just cut it all into small cubes and thin stripes and blend it in a pot together with the other ingredients...cook it for 10 minutes ..stirr the mixture properly the whole time and then fill it into glasses..turn the glasses upside down for about 5 minutes

peach-chutney

you need...

16 peaches / peeled and cut into small pieces
1000 grams of red onions cut into small cubes
500 ml aceto balsamico
833 grams brown sugar
salt & pepper
chilipowder

okay..this one is really easy too..just cut the peaches into quartes..then peel them (which isnt easy but ugly) and go on with cutting them into small pieces..do so as well with the red onions...
now blend peaches, onions, sugar, balsamico and the spices in a pot and cook it up...maybe somekind of foam will apear...if that is the case you got to ..er*..words are leaving me..just put the fucking foam off your chutney..:-)...keep on cooking the chutney on low heat for 1 1/2 hours...now put it in the freshly sterilised glasses..turn it upside down and..yeah..you are done!!!

fig-date-chutney

you need...

500 grams soft figs cut into small pieces (use dried ones because they have a wonderful arome in this case)
125 grams dates (dried, without core) cut into small pieces
350 grams of red onions cut into small cubes
250 ml aceto balsamico
1/2 spoon salt
2 eating spoons oil
1 eating spoon of paprika powder
1 small sppon of dijon mustard
1 small spoon of fresh ginger
200 ml of redwine vinegar
300 ml water
250 grams of canning sugar
1/2 spoon of cutet tarragon
1 1/2 spoons honey (or more if you like it to be more sweet)

now..start with the balsamico..cook it until it starts to reduce and get thicker..be aware..the steam bites..lol
heat the oil in a pot and braise the onions lightly..add the figs and the dates..braise them lightly too...add the balsamico..the salt, paprika, mustard and ginger..stirr it properly for a minute or two..then add the water and the redwine
add the canning sugar..keep on stirring it and cook the mixture up for 3 minutes...add the terragon and the honey...now if you like it chunkey you can keep it like that..if not just pull your stir-stick through the mixture..then fill it into glasses..put them upside down..and pour yourself another glas of wine..:-)

and now my favorite chutney ... pear-thyme-chutney

you need..

550 grams of pears
100 grams brown rock sugar
150 ml apple vinegar
100 grams of white onion
1 eating sppon of corn core oil
2 cl vermouth/ martini..if possible noilly prat
5 branches of thyme
a small spoon of salt

peel the pears, cut out the ..er*..inner part / seeds...cut them into small pieces
blend them with the sugar and the vinegar in a bowl and let the mixture rest for 30 minutes
now cut the onion into small pieces and braise them lightly in the corn core oil..deglaze the oinon with the vermouth and then pour the pears-rock sugar-vinegar mixture over it...now add the thyme..and make the blend cook on small fire for about 30 minutes..stirr it from time to time so it wouldnt burn...
now take the thyme branches out of the pot...add the salt..and fill it in sterilised glasses..turn them upside down..and give me a call to invite me to try your version of my favorite chutney...



and here are some pics of the chutneys:




17 comments:

Emerald said...

I was first exposed to chutney probably more than a decade ago at a friend's family Thanksgiving dinner. Before that I had never heard of it, and I have actually had very little exposure to it since then. As I read your recipes and descriptions, however, I felt far more interested in chutney than I ever have before! These look amazing. They all look so uniquely delightful — I really may give some of these a whirl this fall!

In addition, I can really tell by the way you present this how important these are to you and how enthusiastic you feel about them. I find that delightful. :) Thank you so much.

Danielle said...

@ em

i knew you would coment down here too..i knew it..you are such a kind beeing..:-)

if you wanna try the recipes then start with pears or fig chutney..both are very very delicious and easy to make as well..:-)

Craig Sorensen said...

I have very little exposure to Chutney, so this is a learning experience for me!

I am a huge fan of figs and dates, and that recipe, in particular caught my attention. With the additional touches of ginger and dijon mustard, it looks delicious.

Of course, I can see why you favor pear / thyme; a recipe with just a few exceptional ingredients.

Oh, and a very nice excerpt.

Lovely anticipation!

Vielen dank!

Danielle said...

@ craig

i love figs and dates too! i even plantet two fig trees in my garden:-) when i was living on ibiza for a while the house was surrounded by old fig trees and i got fresh figs for breakfast every day..all sweet and suculent..:-)

the fig-date-chutney is very tasty with short grilled meat..as well with liver...or cheese..just give it a try..:-)

Sommer Marsden said...

oh the peach sounds fabulous. and this is the time to do it around here. when all the peaches are ripe to the verge of spoiling. so here i sit furiously trying to do conversions in my head. and cursing my lax math skills. if i can find my vegetarian cookbook, i'll be good to go. it's all in grams and whatnot.

They all look great, but i have to say, peaches are my weakness...

xoxo
s

Danielle said...

@ sommer

i love peaches too..so give it a try and tell me how you licked, pardon, liked it!

i wish i had covert the whole stuff into pounds and ounces but i couldnt remember the meassures right..:-/

Danielle said...

convert i meant..hm..now that i wrote it i m nots ure anymore if its a word..

Danielle said...

here you go..a converter:
http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WeightConverter.html

Erobintica said...

converting the measurements should be easy with the internet!

these all sound so tasty. I've made a chutney or two years ago (when I did a lot of preserving) - and always liked them and rarely liked the bought kind.

oh, and I love your snippets of stories!

Danielle said...

@ robin

me too..i love home made chutneys but cant stand the ones from the supermarket..they are too sweet and taste often artificial..:-/

i m glad you like the snippets..there is a contest about them down..well..down there..points on the contest*

Marina said...

Ooh - I'm going to try the fig date chutney! They all look wonderful, though. But, fig date chutney sounds like a wonderful project for next weekened. My son likes to cook, so he can help!

I love this snippet! I can identify with Elena quite a bit!

Danielle said...

@ marina

cant wait to hear how your fig-date chutney turns out...but be careful when you cook the balsamico..the steam really bites!

but the chutney is tasty..after like two weeks it starts to develope so delicious but is tasty already from the start...:-)

i m glad you like elena...i do too..:-)

Donna said...

Ah, I'm drooling here, my appetites aroused! But fortunately the mystery of what was behind that kitchen door was deliciously revealed in the recipes and photographs. Food porn at its best!

I love the challenge of chutney--it demands things of your taste buds--and was first introduced in England with the ploughman's lunch. And then there's Major Grey's, available in the US, but I've never done homemade and of course now I'm inspired. I want them all and so wish I could hop on a plane for an in the flesh tasting....

I'm leaning toward the pear/thyme since pears are just coming in to season here. How long do the chutneys last then? Up through the next summer?

Danielle said...

@ donna..you know i d love to have you here for a chutney tasting!!!

i m glad you like the way i kept the secret behind the door..i was about to write some more but i m glad that i didnt..more for the readers mind-movies..

yes yes yes..give the pears a try!!
they dont last long because you will eat them all!! just kidding..the pearse chutney lasts for about 5-6 month (longer if you take canning sugar instead of rock sugar) but the others last up to a year...the longest they last when you keep them in a dark cool space like in a basement or something similar..

Jeremy Edwards said...

Chutney chutney bang bang!

And great touch adding the elegant family portraits of the proud fruits with their chutney offspring.

Danielle said...

@ jeremy

hehe...family portraits!!! i didnt saw it that way..thats awsome...

first i made pcitures of the chutneys only in the glasses..but then i thought " gosh..i really cant serve them wonderfull people the glasses only..and so i chosed to show the chutney with the fruits..:-)))

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