Grape and Green Tomato Chutney (Sauce)

Its amazing how most of the times, it is the sidekick which brings more flavor to the main course, right? The dips, sauces, pickles and salads make all the difference between good food and great food on a table, so it's important to give due respect to these side dishes and accompaniments which add more value to what you cook. One such experiment I tried last week was with green tomatoes and grapes. The markets are flooded with ripe tomatoes, yet there are so many green ones too that I was tempted to try making a dip using these. Grapes are found in abundance in CA, and when I came across this grape chutney recipe over at Food Network, I couldn't resist the temptation to combine tomatoes with grapes and add some green apple to it to form a nice savoury sauce. With the seasoning and green chillies, it turned out to be a wonderfully successful experiment!

Ingredients
5-6 large green tomatoes - sliced
1 semi-ripe green apple
3 cups green seedless grapes
1 tbsp salt
1/3 cup chopped onions
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup raisins
3-4 green chillies - chopped
1 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp fresh ginger -chopped finely

Method
Put the tomato slices in a medium saucepan. Peel and dice the apples and add them to the tomatoes. Add the onions, sugar, vinegar, raisins and salt. Mix well. Add a little water if necessary. Cover partially and cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes.

Now add the green chillies, mustard seeds, ginger and grapes to the hot mixture. Cook for about 30 minutes longer, or until mixture is thick and all fruits are almost mashed. Remove from flame and alow to cool completely.

Now blend the entire mixture in a blender to form a coarse sauce. Do not add water. Adjust salt and sugar to your taste, then pack the chutney into hot sterilized jars. You can seal the jars for a longer use.

Enjoy this tangy and savoury sauce as a dip with chips and finger food. It can also be used to add more flavor to rice and other curries. We had it with pakodas and the combination just clicked! Check out the Rice Pakoda (Fritters) recipe here.