I have to grow my own tomatillos in order to get really fresh ones for this
chutney recipe. It's my own recipe, based on an Indian tomato chutney. It
is rather a lot of work, but I make a big batch 2 or 3 times at the end of
each summer. Friends are always happy to swap a pint of chutney for 2 or 3
pints of their homemade jams.
You can use a higher percentage of plain ripe or under-ripe tomatoes, but
the tomatillos give the chutney a different character. Please feel free to
contact me if you have any questions.
TOMATO-TOMATILLO CHUTNEY
(Freezes well.)
2 lb. ripe tomatoes
2 lb. tomatillos
1/2 tsp. whole fennel seeds
1/2 tsp. whole fenugreek seeds
4 c. white vinegar
4 c. sugar
10 tsp. chopped garlic
1 tsp. powdered ginger
4 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. ground mace (I buy whole mace blades and grind them)
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
about 2 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. dried currants
Wash, dry and coarsely chop the tomatoes and tomatillos. In spice grinder
or mortar, grind fennel and fenugreek seeks. (I use a grinder for this, and
do the mace in there, too.)
Heat vinegar and sugar in large non-stick pot. After sugar has dissolved,
add tomatoes and tomatillos, ground fennel and fenugreek, garlic, ginger,
bay leaves mace, garam masala, cayenne and salt. Mix and bring to a boil.
Maintain boil for about an hour, stirring occasionally.
Add currants and stir. Continue cooking, stirring more often, until chutney
has thickened and is no longer watery. It's hard to say how much longer,
but chutney will thicken only a bit more when it is refrigerated, so cook
almost to desired thickness.
Cool completely. Spoon into clean jars, preferably with non-metallic lids
(old-fashioned glass-lidded canning jars are perfect). If frozen in plastic
containers, chutney will remain slightly mushy due to low freezing
temperature of vinegar. I know it will keep in fridge for months. Freezing
is probably even better.
Serve with chicken or other dishes. Fans have been known to eat it on
crackers.
NOTE: You can save a lot of time by processing the tomatoes and tomatillos
the day before C-Day (Chutney-Day), and boiling them down to get rid of a
lot of the water. They won't burn or stick until you start adding the other
ingredients, so you can relax about supervising a long cooking process.