Plum Chutney

Plum chutney


Growing up, my only exposure to plum was through the plum cake that was available in local bakery. It is not one of the fruits that I had while growing up. Although not entirely true it may explain partly why I am not very fond of them here. I buy my fruits at the supermarket mainly because they are affordable but there is always a catch. The fruits are not always the most juicy and best. Plums especially could be very boring as they inherently lack huge flavours. However, my husband quite likes plums so I do buy them every now and then. Almost every time I buy them we waste about 2-3 of them cos one or two days after purchase, their appeal fades. I have always wanted to use them in recipes instead of trashing them so thought of making chutney and rasam (soup). I had not bought any recently but someone known to me was trying to give away some grown in his parent’s garden. That was my chance to give the chutney a go and it came out quite well. Depending on how tart they are, you may want to add a dash of tamarind paste. I had this with dosa and later noticed that it tasted great with rice too. You could have it as a dip or even mix some yogurt to make a flavourful plum raita.

4-5 plums
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
2-3 heaped tablespoon roasted chickpea (pottu kadalai)
½ teaspoon sambar powder
3 dry red chillies
Few curry leaves
2-3 teaspoons dessicated/grated coconut (optional)
Turmeric powder
Asafoetida

Heat some oil and add mustard seeds. Once it splutters add the plums and dry red chillies and cook until plums turn mushy

Add sambar powder, salt, asafoetida, turmeric powder and cook for couple of minutes and turn the flame off

Add roasted chickpea, curry leaves and coconut if using and allow the mixture to cool

Grind to desired consistency and serve with dosa, idli or even with rice.