Pear Chutney

Call me chutney happy if you want to (believe me, I've been called worse). I realize I just posted another chutney recipe last week, but I saw this one the very next day and had to try it with my leftover aloo potato dumplings. This chutney is fantastic. In fact, it was so good my husband made himself a P.C.B. for dinner the next night (that would be a pear chutney burger). I wasn't really feelin' it, so I looked at him kind of sideways and passed. But he ate the whole thing, which tells you just how good this is. Or maybe it just shows you what lengths my husband will go to not to admit he had a bad idea. It could go either way.

SUVIR’S PEAR CHUTNEY

Makes about 2 cups

3 tablespoons canola oil

3 to 6 dried red chiles

1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/4 cup dried fenugreek leaves (optional)

1/2 teaspoon paprika

pinch asafetida

3 1/2 pounds Bartlett or d’Anjou pears (about 6), peeled, halved, cored, quartered and thinly sliced crosswise

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1.       Heat the oil with the chiles, fennel seeds and cumin seeds in a large saucepan or skillet over medium-high heat until the cumin is browned, about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Stir in the fenugreek leaves (if using), paprika and asafetida and cook for 15 seconds.

2.       Add the pears and salt and cook until the pears get juicy, about 3 to 4 minutes.

3.       Stir in the sugar and vinegar, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 3 minutes.

4.       Cook until the pears are soft, sticky, deeply golden and caramelized, stirring often, for about 35 to 45 minutes.

5.       Taste for seasoning, transfer to a plastic container and refrigerate for up to one week or ladle into dry and sterilized jars and can according to the manufacturer’s instructions. 

from American Masala by Suvir Saran

pears

slicing pears

chiles, fennel seeds and cumin seeds

paprika and asafetida added

pears added

mixing in the sugar and vinegar

3 minutes later

about 45 minutes later (it's chutney)

pear chutney

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