Bought a botle of pomegranate molasses today, tastes good very strong, made in lebanon.

Annie Anthrax wrote on Nov 22^nd, 2011 at 1:50pm:


Does the home made keep as well? Used some in my salad to accompany smoked trout along with hoseradish, garlic, Greek yoghurt. Worked very well.

For today's "CNCWACB" recipe we step into the realm of condiments.
This is a dark science mastered by our fore-mothers so as to extend the lifespan of home grown vegies into the off season.
We will use the humble Chocko as suggested by Mr Grey late last week.

Nothing beats a cold lamb sandwich made from last nights roast smothered in a good chutney.


Serves: 32

   * 4 medium chokos (about 1.2 kg), peeled, cored and diced
   * 2 green apples, peeled, cored and diced
   * 2 medium onions, peeled and diced
   * 1/2 cup treacle
   * 2 teaspoons salt
   * 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
   * 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
   * 3 cups white vinegar
   * 3/4 cup raisins


Prep: 35 minutes | Cook: 1 hour 15 minutes

1.Put all the ingredients, except the raisins, in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Boil on low heat for 1 hour, or until any excess liquid has evaporated and the chutney is thick. Stir in the raisins and allow the chutney to stand for 15 minutes.

2.Ladle the hot chutney into clean, warm, dry jars and cover with vinegarproof lids. When the chutney is cold, label the jars and store in a cool, dark cupboard for two to three months before using. This allows the flavours of the chutney to develop and mature before you eat it.


Choko and Ginger Chutney: Replace the raisins with 1/2 cup chopped glacé ginger and make in the same way as choko chutney.

I've never eaten chutney.

Annie Anthrax wrote on Nov 23^rd, 2011 at 6:38pm:


You have to taste some of my green pickled indian style mango chutney. It's the stuff of legends.

The only problem with chutney is the acetic acid odour when cooking it.

OK, I usually make this in large quantities, but I'll reduce the recipe just for you:

2 cups of green mango ( preferably not too green - they must be fully developed and just about to ripen)

1 heaped teaspoon of salt.

1/2 teaspoon of Hing (Asafoetida) - you can buy it in just about any Asian shop. It smells really stinky, but it's sold as a diluted white powder. (The neat ingredient is brown and smells positively evil.)  Two good things about hing - it adds a nice undertone, and it prevents flatulence. It's made from a herb. (They call it the devil's dung because of its smell  )

- about 1/2 teaspoons of fenugreek powder, or better about 12 fenugreek seeds .

1 tablespoon of coarsely ground mustard seeds. You can use a mixture of yellow and black mustard or add some halves if you like.

1/2 a teaspoon of dried turmeric powder or about 1 centimetre of root turmeric finely chopped

2 tablespoons of red chilli powder.

4 tablespoon of oil - use mustard oil if you can get it. (it sometimes says on the bottle - for external use only, but I use it internally in the kitchen as well as for barbecues.   )

Directions:

Wash the mangoes and cut them into small cubes. You might have to wear gloves if you are sensitive to green mango.  Mix in the chilli powder, hing and salt well and leave it to stand (overnight is cool)

Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a small wok or tadkah pan (Spelling?).

Fry the fenugreek seeds until the fragrance is obvious (don't burn) then crush in a mortar and pestle.

put then aside.

Fry the mustard seeds and turmeric and put it aside.

After an hour transfer all your spices and hing together into the  mango mixture.

Be careful with the fenugreek. You might like to add half first and taste it. Too much can make it bitter.  The salt can also be added to taste. Some like it salty.

This pickle or chutney is excellent as a side condiment with curry. It's also nice to add raita as another condiment.

Annie Anthrax wrote on Nov 25^th, 2011 at 10:24pm:


Best to leave it for a few days at least before you try it.