Cranberry Chutney ~ Cranberry Pachadi

When I decided I was going to cook with cranberries for this week of marathon, I noted down various recipes I could try. Since cranberries taste a lot like gooseberries, I called up my mother to ask if we can make chutney with gooseberries. My mother use to make gooseberry pickle a lot as my father was very fond of it. But chutney, I don’t remember tasting it. Buy my mother said she grates gooseberries or coarsely grinds fresh gooseberries to make the chutney. I followed that recipe she gave me with few changes and it turned out good.

I sautéed cranberries along with some onions and garlic until mushy, and then ground it to a coarse paste to make this chutney. Cranberries are tart in taste so added some onion for sweetness and to mellow down the tartness of the cranberries, I also added some sesame seed powder.

Cooking Time: 8 - 10 minutes
Yields: ½ cup Chutney

Ingredients:

• 2 – 3 tsp. Oil
• ¼ tsp. Mustard Seeds
• ¼ tsp. Cumin
• 1 tsp. Urad Dal
• 2 – 3 Dry Red Chilies (adjust to taste. I used 3 and it was spicy. Can also use green chilies)
• 3 – 4 Curry Leaves
• ¼ cup chopped Onion
• 2 Garlic Cloves or approx. 1 tbsp. Sliced Garlic Cloves
• ⅛ tsp. Turmeric
• 1 cup Fresh Cranberries
• 1 tsp. Salt (adjust to taste)
• 2 Tbsp. Dry Roasted Sesame Seeds Powder

Preparation:

• Heat oil in a pan and add mustard, cumin and urad dal.
• Once the seeds pop, add curry leaves, onion, chilies and sauté until onions are translucent.
• Add turmeric, salt, cranberries and sauté until cranberries are soft and mushy. Cranberries crack and cook very fast. This should take approximately 5 – 7 minutes.
• Remove from the stove and let the mixture cool.
• Grind the mixture along with sesame seeds to a coarse paste or a fine paste depending on one’s preference. Add some water if required. I added about ¼ cup. Depending on the blender, one might need to add little less or more water.
• Taste the chutney and adjust salt if required. If the chutney is little tart, add some sesame seed powder to reduce the tartness.
• Serve the chutney with rice.

Note:

• I used red chilies but green chilies can also be used. I did not find much difference in taste. If one prefers, they can use ½ green and ½ dry red chilies.
• Cranberries are acidic and I could not eat too much of the chutney. Normally when I make chutney, I like to lick some after finishing my meal. But with this chutney, I could not do that as I do with the other chutneys.

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