Our neighbors stopped by with buckets (yes, buckets) of excess plums. Not that you'll necessarily be so lucky, but if you should happen to find a nice supply of plums, here's something awesome you can make with them: Indian style plum chutney. Perfect for topping your samosas or naan, and at least as easy as marmalade.
There are probably thousands of other chutneys, and this is only one particular style: it works well as a sweet, tangy and slightly spice dipping sauce. Inspiration for some of the spices we use comes from a tamarind chutney recipe from a great introductory Indian cookbook, Indian Home Cooking. You can read more about our approach to spices here.
Ingredients:
- 8 cups cut up pieces of plums, pits removed, skins left on
- 3 lemons, cut into small pieces, seeds removed
- juice from 3 more lemons
- 1-2 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated (a microplane works great)
- 1 Tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 stick of cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1 cup water
- 4 cups brown sugar
(Yes, more ingredients than marmalade, but the prep work is less time consuming!)
Throw everything except the sugar in a sauce pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fruit starts to soften.
Add sugar and cook until it thickens to a consistency you like. Soft enough to dip a papadum piece in it is a good goal. Remove cinnamon stick after cooking.
Serve warm or cold; with papadums, samosas, naan, or on a cream cheese and turkey sandwich. Mmmm....
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