The Diva That Made Bhangin’ Chutney: Spicy Pineapple Chutney

I got fruit glut. Being in the chocolate events business I often find myself with leftover fruits from my chocolate fountain rentals.

I secretly hoped I would have a lot of leftover pineapple so I could make pineapple chutney from it.

The other day I got LUCKY! I did a last minute launch event for a new start up No More Rack—another deal website and wound up with a pineapple windfall.

I had this idea about curry and pineapple and it turns out that pineapple chutney is a popular dish that’s made as a fresh chutney in India, a Bengali Dish. I made a recipe that I canned.

It kinda does a dance on your tongue so I call it Bhangin’ Chutney after the Bhangra dancing that became so popular world-wide.

Bhangin’ Chutney
Spicy Pineapple Chutney Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2.5 whole pineapples, small cubes (approx. four pounds)
• 1 lb. yellow onions, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped fine
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
• 1 Thai chiIi, not seeded, chopped
• 8 oz. water
• 16 oz. apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp. panch phoron (Indian spice mix with coriander seeds, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, nigella seeds, cumin seeds)
• 1 c dried cranberries
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/2 c of currants
• 4 oz. ginger (I used candied ginger 1/4 c)
• 8 oz. jaggery or brown sugar
• 4 oz. white sugar

Mix ingredients in a large pot and cook down for about an hour. Stir occasionally. You want the liquid to get syrupy. Can in sterilized jars.

To make the flavor pop when you serve it.

Toast in a dry heavy frying pan:
1 tsp. fennel
1 tsp. cumin
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. coriander seeds

Grind in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. Add a little to the chutney before serving to freshen the flavor.

Yield: 5.5 pints of pineapple chutney.