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Thursday

Eggplant and Cherry chutney

DH happenned to pick up a few extra eggplants than usual.. I thought, I'll make a chutney with the extra ones.. Traditionally, I use tamarind juice for a little bit of tangy flavor.. but this time after the success of the Cranberry as a replacement, I decided to try Cherries (the tart ones that are red and sour). They are very high in anti-oxidants and this is definitely an easy way to incorporate them into the diet.. I thought.. The outcome is a delicious chutney. My husband couldnt tell the difference from a traditional one with tamarind and this one.. !! I think I will always use cherries or cranberries from now on.. Just because they are so so healthy.. and its hard to eat them raw by selves.. :)


Ingredients:

3 Eggplants (Brinjals - I used the thin long ones from Indian grocery. If you use the large ones from a regular american grocery store, 1 should be good)
1/2 - 1 Cup Cherries (red tart cherries,de-seeded - fresh/frozen) - adjust as per amount of sourness you like in your chutney
1/2 Cup Bottlegourd peel(from 1 bottle gourd, washed, chopped) (THIS IS OPTIONAL but I like to not throw away my vegetable peels but instead use them in chutneys)
1 medium onion (chopped)
1 Tbsp Peanuts(dry roasted)
2-3 Garlic cloves (de-skinned)
2 tsp Sesame Seeds(dry roasted)
2 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Coriander seeds
2 tsp oil
2-3 green chillies (adjust as per needs)
salt as per taste

For Tempering -
1 tsp oil
7-8 Curry leaves (I was out of these,so you wont see them in the pics)
1 tsp Urad dal
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
4-5 Red chillies(dried, whole)

Process:
To a heated pan, add 2 tsp oil, add the coriander seeds, green chillies, cumin seeds, garlic cloves and saute for a few seconds. Add the onions and the bottle gourd peel if using. Saute for a minute or two. Add the sliced eggplant and saute everything well for about 5 minutes and turn off the heat.

Transfer the mixture into a food processor/grinder. Add the roasted peanuts and the roasted sesame seeds. Wash the cherries and add them too. Grind everything into a paste. Add salt and grid again.

When done, prepare the tempering with the ingredients listed above and add to the chutney. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Enjoy with Idli/Dosa or even with Rice.

12 comments:

FH said...

Unique combo, great fusion dish. Looks great, enjoy! :))

sathya said...

Looks delicious pallavi ! quite a diff one !

Vani said...

Sounds wonderful and looks yum!

Usha said...

Very unique and creative combination Pallavi, sounds yum !

lubnakarim06 said...

Wow what a combo......Looks gr8.

Finla said...

Wow i have never had chutnay like this, looks yumm.

Uma said...

adding cherries and cranberries in a chutney is a nice idea. Chutney looks so good.

Priya Suresh said...

Very creative pallavi...great combo!!

Indian Khana said...

That's a new one for me...looks gud..thanks for sharing

Vaishali said...

Eggplant and cherries are a wonderful and unusual combination, Pallavi. Bet that tasted great!
To answer your question, the book I adapted this from uses semolina to mean coarsely ground wheat flour, like durum wheat flour, which is what I used. I would advise using that rather than sooji.
The Vitamin C helps make a really wonderful crust. You can try skipping it-- I'd guess it wouldn't hurt too much.
Hope that helps :)

Madhavi said...

WOW great combo, must try recipe. Chutney looks delicious!!!

Srikitchen said...

wow1 its a unique combo and hope it turned out good!

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