I never actually checked the grocery store for Indian spices before setting out on this adventure (I did check this afternoon and am happy to report that they do not have the spices I was looking for). Patrick and I have a love of Asian markets, and used the Indian spices as an excuse to frequent two of them (we didn't find it at the first). In fact, we used the spices as an excuse to go to the one we love most on the opposite side of town from us. Granted, the opposite side of town in Portland is only about 15 miles away, so its not like we had to travel far.
I did, however, have a realization while we were slowly making our way onto the east side of the Markham Bridge, from which this picture was taken:
I hadn't really spent any time exposed to the out of doors in 5 days.
My drive to work is only 20 minutes and I leave work after dark, so that hardly counts as daylight exposure. All truth be told, we didn't really spend much time explicitly outside on our adventure, but exposure to daylight even from my car windows for several hours was better than 20 to 30 minutes a day for a week. This sudden realization explained to some degree my deplorable mood that had persisted for the previous few days.
"Oh! Right. Its the time of year when I should be taking Vitamin D..."
And yet, I had not been.
But let's not dwell on negativity, let's instead dwell on Chana Masala.
This is the Indian spice mix that we chose at the Asian market. I was really looking for a spice mix called Kitchen King Masala, but I was unable to find it at the two locations we visited. Chana Masala is a good substitute.
Why, you might ask, was I searching so far and wide for a spice mix? Because I needed to use a pear, of course!
I had decided that the best use for any fruit that we were not as keen on eating plain (and pears appear to be such a fruit) should be made into chutney. Or, at least, what I call chutney. I've looked at recipes for chutney, and they never seem to be what I think chutney aught to be. They are vinegary and salty rather than smokey, spicy, and sweet. Once upon a time I had a necessity of using some nectarines and made such a chutney without consulting any recipes at all. I did the same last night, but this time I have written down the recipe.
I've gotten much better about writing down recipes thanks to my significant other's pleadings. Patrick does not experiment in the kitchen like I do, but wants to be able to replicate my experiments if they are worth while, and work on improving them if they are not.
The chutney, in my opinion, was not quite sweet enough and was a bit too spicy. I am recording my approximate recipe below, but you may wish to take my thoughts on it into consideration before trying it yourself. Feel free to take creative license!
Know that sometimes I don't measure spices, and so some are a guess of how much went in.
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Pear and Apple Chutney-ish Type Condiment
· 1 large ripe Comice or similar pear, peeled, cored and chopped into approximately ¼ inch dice (maybe a little larger)
· 1 small Jonagold or similar apple, peeled, cored, and chopped into approximately ¼ inch dice (a peel/core/slicer would have made this quite quick)
· ½ large yellow onion, ¼ inch dice (could probably use a little less)
· 2 large cloves garlic, diced
· Between 1 teaspoon and ½ tablespoon fresh ginger peeled and diced (estimate)
· 1 tablespoon Chana Masala spice (typically used for Indian chickpea recipes, but I like using it for chutneys)
· ½ teaspoon chili powder (estimate)
· ½ teaspoon salt (estimate)
· ½ teaspoon (or less, or none) spicy sauce. I use a habanero sauce called Secret Aardvark (this probably wasn't a necessary addition, I think it would be fine without so much spice, since the chili powder and Chana Masala do add their own)
· ½ cup white wine, grape juice, or apple juice (I used some old Fish Eye Pinot Grigio that we had in our fridge from a Chicken (Not) Marsala recipe I made awhile ago) – use half wine and half water if you want, but you need something with a bit of acidity and the sugar helps thicken the chutney into a sauce. I think I will make it with juice next time as this particular wine wasn't really sweet enough.
· 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon oil depending on type of pan being used (I used canola oil in a cast iron skillet) (estimate)
Heat oil in pan over medium heat.
When oil is hot, add onion and garlic and allow to soften. If for some reason you over color (aka, lightly burn, but only to toasty brown color, not to black) your onion and garlic a little like I did, add some water to release from pan and keep flavors.
Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine in pan.
Bring to a simmer and stir occasionally until mixture becomes the consistency of jarred salsa, bordering on jelly.
Remove from heat, and enjoy on any number of things.
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Potatoes and pork chops seem to be excellent with chutney-like substances, and I would recommend both. We, in fact, enjoyed it with purple potatoes, or PP's for short. Purple potatoes are a little strange to cook with, but only because they make everything purple. And its no wonder that they do:
Purple. Very Purple.
We mashed a mixture of potatoes the other night and they came out a sort of periwinkle...
For our chutney, though, I attempted to make Latkes, which just ended up being hashbrowns in the end. Patrick was a big fan of the hashbrowns and chutney for breakfast. I made pumpkin pancakes for lunch and wish I could say that I plan to continue the P-food for the day. Alas, I am making the delicata squash soup I spoke of in an earlier entry and attempting it with my recommended changes (well, and adding in some leftover periwinkle mashed potatoes and left over butternut squash soup just to get those things out of my fridge... I'm upcycling my food)
By the way, purple potatoes are a floury potato and taste the same as other floury potatoes as far as I'm concerned. Just another way of "eating your colors" without getting too healthy about it.
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