Khatta MeetHa TeekHa Raisins (Dry Grapes) Chutney.

“Khatta MeetHa TeekHa Raisins (Dry Grapes) Chutney” … When you have loads of raisins waiting to be prepared into something, you just go ahead and prepare a fruity chutney out of it that can be served as a spread on bread slices, on crème’ crackers or you can serve them with roti / poori / dosa or snacks like samosa / dhokla …. Actually preparing this one after decades …Yummy ... 

** IMPORTANT NOTE : “Khatta MeetHa TeekHa Raisins (Dry Grapes) Chutney” does not contain any preservatives, so it cannot be stored at room temperature and has to be stored in the fridge. Best consumed within 3 weeks or maximum 4 weeks. Also always make a practice of using sterlized glass bottles and never use plastic bottle for storing of chutneys, jams etc. Also always remember to use clean dry spoon when removing the chutney from the bottle for usage. 

** Somehow I ended up having over 2 kgs of raisins / dry grapes in fridge and I had to finish them off soon, despite adding them to most of the dishes, they never seemed to get emptied. Finally, I decided to prepare the chutney which I had prepared a few decades back and not liked it much. So in order to give it a lift I searched through many recipes in net, but they had something or the other in addition with it which I did not want to again buy and add on. I wanted to prepare the one with just the raisins, at the same time I wanted it spicy and tangy as otherwise hubby would not touch it. The last time I prepared I had to finish it off myself as it was sweet and though he reluctantly had it a few times to help me finish the bottle, I noticed that he did not enjoy it, so I ended up eating most of it. 

** So this time I decided to prepare it Khatta MeetHa TeekHa (Tangy Sweet Spicy), thank God we Indian’s have lots of choices when it comes to kitchen ingredients, wherein you can add in mix and match of them and come up with delicious dishes. Grapes are full of Iron and are very good for health. They also are good source of calcium and have lots of fiber in them which is good or digestion. But how much could I eat them as it is, as I have been asked to eat them, a point comes when just looking at makes you want to look the other way. Yes, it’s true, our mind too sometimes behaves like those of kids, it simply refuses to touch a food that is forced to be eaten on daily basis. So chutney it is, till I come up with some more combos to relish after all my heart is there where food is and innovating some new concoction has become my favorite pass time. 

** Here is my simple Recipe of preparing “Khatta MeetHa TeekHa Raisins (Dry Grapes) Chutney” … My Style ……

** Ingredients :

Raisins / Dry Grapes / Sukkale Draksha : 500 gms.

Tamarind / Chinchama / Imly : One large lemon sized ball.

Jaggery / Goda / Gud : ¼ - ½ cup 

Kala Namak / Black Salt : Approximately 1 tsp.

Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder : 2 tblsp

Black Pepper Powder / Kali Miri Pitti : 1 tsp

Dry Ginger Powder / Shunti Pitti : 1 tsp

Cinnamon Powder / Tike Saal Pitti : ½ tsp

Lemon : 1 large sized.

** Pick and clean the raisins. Remove the dried stems if any. Rinse a little bit and then put it in a bowl and add enough hot (not boiling) water to evenly cover all the raisins. Cover and keep this aside for 2 hours. The raisins will get soaked in due time and will be ready to prepare the chutney. Strain off the water properly by putting it in a colander and keeping it for about 10-15 minutes.

** Note : We don’t need it the water in which it is soaked, but you need not throw it away as it does contain some nutrients from the raisins since it was soaked in it. If desired you can use it in preparing any fruit juices or even binding of roti / poori etc. I never throw it away and used it in making sweet lassi. 

** Meanwhile soak the tamarind in ½ a cup of hot water for about 10-15 minutes. Then mash it very well so that it gets mixed well with the water. Strain it through a fine sieve and discard the residue. Retain the stained pulp in a bowl aside ready. 

** Add in the strained raisins in a food processor and using pulse mode grind it till it is coarsely ground. Remove half of the coarsely ground pulp and grind the remaining raisins to a finer pulp. Remove and add both of them together into a thick bottomed kadai. Add in the strained tamarind juice, jaggery and mix well. Cook on medium heat till you get bubbles on top.

** Now lower the heat and add in the chilly powder, pepper powder, ginger powder, cinnamon powder and mix well. Continue cooking stirring till it thickens, say about 5-8 minutes. Now add in kala namak and freshly squeezed juice of one lemon and mix well. Keep stirring till it is thick like jam consistency and there is no water leaving from sides. Remove it from fire and add it hot in a sterilized glass bottle and add on the lid once it cools down little bit. 

** “Khatta MeetHa TeekHa Raisins (Dry Grapes) Chutney” is done and ready to be served. This chutney though has to be kept in the fridge and remains good for about 3 weeks. Best consumed within the said time frame as there is no added on preservative for this chutney. And actually I have no knowledge if it remains for more time as in my home it never has. You can relish this by applying it to bread slices or bland biscuits. You can also serve it as a side accompaniment with dosa, chapati, poori, samosas, chats, dhokla etc. 

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