Apple Chutney

Apple Chutney - Sweet and spicy chutney with fresh Granny Smith apples, sweet leeks, ginger, chilies and spices.  Great on breakfast toast, or with a festive dinner.. This sweet and spicy condiment is must try once in lifetime. It is also Gluten free and vegan. 

Whenever apples are in season, a batch of spicy apple chutney is always in my refrigerator. It needs only 5 minutes of prep to put together a batch. And it last more than 2 weeks in refrigerator. What else would I ask of a homemade, fall-favorite, sweet-spicy condiment?! 

You know I'm a savory person and love fresh fruits even in desserts. Honestly, seasonal fruits, such as Apples in fall, make great sweet addition to savoury dishes. Like this apple chutney tastes delicious with holiday rs, sandwiches, or just simply spread on a breakfast butter toast with cup of tea on a lazy Saturday morning. (one of my favorite indeed).

Like I said, Apply Chutney, or for that matter most warm chutnies, come together very fast. Since recipe is very simple.. a good chutney is all about the quality of ingredients used.  This apple chutney has all clean, organic, and easy-to-find ingredients. For a flavorful and best tasting apple chutney, I highly recommend using fresh and firm tart granny smith apples, and yellow portion of leeks, fresh orange juice, and fresh ginger.

This recipe yields a spicy apple chutney. Not spicy as "hot" but with distinct flavor of various spices and peppers. These ingredients give Apple Chutney flavor that you won't find in store bought jars. My peppery flavor boosters are: 

1) Minced Jalapeno: I use only a 1/4 of whole pepper but the flavor it gives to this chutney is darn delicious.
2) Black Peppercorns: I also add whole black peppers in the chutney from another layer of spicy kick. Whole peppercorns don't make chutney spicy as-is until you bite into a peppercorn which has sharp pepper flavor plus tang absorbed from chutney. Almost like marinated peppercorns. 
3) Mustard Seeds: I use black and yellow seed mix for color contrast and give sharp mustard bite to this chutney. 
4) Ginger: Ginger also gives some heat and warmth to this chutney. 
5) Chili Flakes: These are purely for some heat. You can add as per your preference.

To make apple chutney, once I have all the fresh ingredients, I grab some pantry staples - apple cider vinegar, mustard seeds, black pepper, and brown sugar. As I simmer of all these in heavy bottom non-reactive pan.. my kitchen is filled with aroma of fall and holiday flavors. 20-25 minutes of simmering and a mouthwatering sweet, tangy apple chutney with soft apples, spices, heat of chilies is ready. That's it! 

Cooking a chutney can't get simpler than this!

I prefer to add raisins and cranberries into the cooking apple chutney..  While chutney cooks, raisins soak up flavor from cooking liquid, re-hydrate, and become plum juicy loaded with sweet and tart flavors. Yumm! Always cook everything together! That's what makes a best tasting chutney.. marriage of all flavors in one pot.

Worth a mention, chutney is also great way to use leftover fresh fruits and herbs.

You know?! Those half apples, 2 kiwis, or few slices of mangoes, or bunch of herbs hanging in corner of refrigerator?! Chutney can bring all these together to a delicious condiment. However, I recommed using leftover's chutney quickly. For longer shelf life always use freshest possible ingredients.

In our home, we have a chutney to use all of these. Here are few earlier chutney recipes from my repertoire: Mango Chutney, Kiwi Chutney, Chimichuri are all such delicious savory-meets-fruit condiment recipes.

On a side note, this week I'm planning to give you two recipes which goes great with side of this spicy apple chutney. Check back soon or subscribe to our newsletter and never miss an update!

-Savita x