Date Chutney Recipes

DATE CHUTNEY

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Add shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown at edges, 3 minutes. Add mustard seeds and cook, stirring, until beginning to pop, 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients and 1/2 cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 6 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before serving.

APPLE-DATE CHUTNEY

Steps:

• Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add onion, ginger, cardamom and salt, and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in apples, dates, sugar and vinegar. Bring to a boil, reduce to a vigorous simmer, and cook, partially covered, until apples are tender, about 10 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature.

TAMARIND - DATE CHUTNEY

Steps:

• Place the sugar, dates and water in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Bring to a boil and simmer for about 7-8 minutes, until the dates are very soft.
• Stir in the tamarind.
• Very carefully, pour the ingredients into a blender, clamp the lid down tight and blend until smooth (or blend in the pot with an immersion/stick blender).
• Return the mixture to the pot and boil until thick enough to thinly coat the back of a spoon (the chutney will thicken more as it cools).
• Stir in the spices and salt.
• Taste for seasoning: the chutney should be equal parts sweet, salty and sour.
• Add more tamarind, sugar or salt if any of these needs a boost.
• Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.

TAMARIND - DATE CHUTNEY ( SWEET INDIAN CHUTNEY)

Steps:

• Place the jaggery, dates and water in a deep boiling pan for about 2 hours.
• After the dates become smooth, blend in a mixer till smooth.
• Strain and transfer to the pan again.
• Add the tamarind paste and seasoning.
• Boil till thick enough to coat the back of a spoon thinly.
• Cool again. Store in clean airtight bottles and refrigerate.
• Shelf life of about a month in the refrigerator.
• * Here, I have used tamarind paste. But in case you do not have tamarind, soak the tamarind in water and extract its paste.
• What I usually do is use dry tamarind powder which I get from Indian grocery stores.

CILANTRO-DATE CHUTNEY

Steps:

• Place cumin in a small skillet and set over medium-high heat. Toast for 2 to 3 minutes, or until seeds just begin to change color and emit a faint aroma. Immediately dump seeds into a spice grinder or mortar, and grind to a powder.
• Place dates, lime juice, jalapeños, ginger, garlic, salt and cumin into the bowl of a food processor and pulse, stopping periodically to scrape the sides with a rubber spatula as needed. Try to get this mixture as uniformly puréed as possible, though a little texture is fine.
• Add the cilantro and continue to pulse to break it down. Then, add as little water as possible - about a tablespoon - to get the blades moving and turn the mixture into the sauce. Continue scraping the sides and pulsing until no large bits of stem or leaf remain and the sauce is a lovely, almost-but-not-quite-smooth texture. Taste, and add lime juice and salt as needed. Cover and refrigerate until serving. This sauce will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge.

RHUBARB & DATE CHUTNEY

Steps:

• Put the onions in a large pan with the ginger and vinegar. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 mins. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the rhubarb, plus 2 tsp salt to the pan and bring to the boil, stirring. Simmer, uncovered, for about 10 mins until the apples are tender.
• Stir in the rhubarb and cook, uncovered, until the chutney is thick and jammy, about 15-20 mins. Leave the chutney to sit for about 10-15 mins, then spoon into warm, clean jars, and seal. Label the jars when cool. Keep for at least a month before eating.