Mahanandi

“Oh Indira!”

“Yes, Cranberry?”

“Have you read the comments on my new dosth Dal?”

“Hmm… you want to try the chutney with sesame?”

“Yep, yep….” Cranberry hopped.

OK. Here was the lineup. Cranberry, sesame, onion, garlic and red chilli. Skillet Roasted. Jaggery and salt were added, and together made into chutney.

“Sounds good enough.”

“So, how was it?”

Tart, pungent, hot and sweet. Little bit on the bitter end, but nevertheless yum when eaten with a stack of freshly made chapatis.

Skillet Roasted ~ Ingredients for Cranberry Chutney

Cranberry Chutney ~ India Inspired:
(Makes about two cups)

Cranberries – 1 cup
Sesame seeds – ¼ cup
Red onion, cut pieces – about a cup
Dried red chilli – about ¼ cup pieces
Garlic, plump – about two, chopped
Jaggery, crushed – about three tablespoons
Salt – ¾ teaspoon or to taste

Heat a cast-iron skillet. Add and toast sesame seeds to fragrance. Take them in a mixer.

In the same skillet, add a tablespoon of oil. Add and roast to pale brown. First start with garlic, next dried red chilli pieces, then onion and at the end cranberries. Continue roasting and when cranberries start to collapse, turn off the heat. Let the contents of the skillet cool.

Grind the sesame to fine paste. To it, add the skillet contents. Also jaggery, salt and about quarter cup of water. Grind to fine consistency.

Remove to a cup. Enjoy the chutney with rice, chapati or bread.

Cranberry Chutney with Sesame

“Jam, jelly, or marmalade?”

“No sugar, please.”

“How about pairing with dal?”

“Hmm… I need change. Ok. Let’s try that” said the cranberry.

Cranberries, toor dal, green chillies and onion – pressure-cooked together, and flavored with tadka seasoning.

“So, how was the experience?”

“I was skeptical about this idea. But change is good. Toor dal is my new dosth. Alvida to the clingy sugar” beamed the cranberry.

Just because cranberries are tart, we tend to suffocate them and us by adding bucket loads of sugar for any cranberry preparation. But cranberries are versatile. I found out by trying out this dal recipe. It’s definitely a different taste but a decent one. Give it a try.

Cranberries and Toor Dal

Cranberry Dal:
(For two or four, for two to one meal)

Toor dal – 3/4 cup
Fresh cranberries – 1/2 cup, about 20 to 25 berries
Red onion, cut pieces – 1/2 cup
Green chillies – 10 (small, Indian variety), cut to small pieces

Take them all in a pressure cooker. Add a quarter teaspoon of turmeric and three cups of water. Mix. Close the lid and cook until the dal cooks to soft, mushy stage.

Remove the lid. Add about half teaspoon of salt to the cooked dal. With a whisk or masher, mash the dal to smooth consistency.

Heat a teaspoon of oil or ghee in a small pan. Do the tadka and add it to the dal.

Enjoy the cranberry dal with rice, chapati or bread.

Cranberry Dal with Bread ~ for Lunch Today

Plump pomegranates and tart cranberries are in season right now here in Seattle. I purchased few pounds last weekend with the idea of preparing jam/cooked relish. I thought it would be fun to try something new with these two tart and fruity ingredients.

I’ve combined the cranberries with pomegranate juice and water. The sweetener was the jaggery. I let them simmer on medium heat to jam like thick consistency. It was an easy process.

I made pecan pancakes for lunch. The carbos and the bright tasting jam, I really liked the whole combination. People who go for unique flavors and anti-oxidant fanatics alike will enjoy this jam/relish, I think.

Pomegranate Seeds and Cranberries

Recipe:

2 cups pomegranate seeds
2 cups cranberries, rinsed
2 cups jaggery, crushed
1 cup water

Coarsely crush pomegranate seeds (blender, citrus juicer, food mill or with your hands). Pour through a coffee filter to remove the seeds and extract the juice. (I carried this process somewhat carelessly, thinking few escaped seeds won’t hurt, but I will be taking extra precautions next time to remove seeds completely.)

Take pomegranate juice, cranberries and jaggery in a wide pot. Add water. Bring to a boil. Then simmer, uncovered for about 15 to 20 minutes, till the cranberries pop and the whole thing thickens to jam like consistency. Let cool and store in a clean jar.

Enjoy with pancakes, or as bread/ chapati spread.

Cranberry~Pomegranate Jam/Relish

Cranberries, Orange (mandarin, battayi), Cloves, Palm Jaggery (Taati Bellam)

Before going in to weeklong JFI jaggery journey, I would like to know and I hope you all had nice time with your family and friends during Thanksgiving holiday weekend. For us, it was a working as well as relaxing weekend. I prepared some decent meals, read a funny book called ‘Food Moods’ and Vijay was working on his assignments and required readings. We mostly stayed home because of the weather here. It was raining and snowing. Yes, snow in Seattle. I didn’t expect that, but it also snows in Seattle. What a nice surprise.

Cranberries, chestnuts, pecan pie and plum (fruit) cake – these are the things I look forward to during holiday season in US, every year. Their rich color, beauty and taste brighten up otherwise dreary cold days here. Cranberries in particular. Their bitter-tart taste is perfect antidote for too much fancy food that is common during this season.

Last weekend among other things, I also prepared marmalade with cranberries. In addition to oranges and jaggery, I have added cloves on a whim and cloves fresh, refreshing aroma brightened up not only our breath but also our otherwise mundane morning jam-bread breakfast routine.

Cooking the marmalade

Recipe:

Cranberries – 2 to 2½ cups (12 ounces)
Oranges – 2 cups of cut fruit (6 seedless fruits, I used mandarins (battayi) for this recipe)
Palm Jaggery – 1 cup powdered
Cloves – 6
Water – 1 cup

Wash and remove bad cranberries. Peel orange and separate into segments over a bowl (to catch the juices). Powder the jaggery and measure. Make a fine powder of cloves.

In a heavy pot, bring one cup of water to a boil. Add jaggery and wait until jaggery melts. Add cranberries and orange pieces. Cook, until the fruit breaks down, turn to mush and come together to a firm quivering mass. Takes about 15 to 20 minutes. Just before turning off the heat, sprinkle powdered cloves. Cook few more minutes and turn off the heat. Let marmalade cool completely. Store in a tight lidded, clean jar and refrigerate.

Cranberry~Clove Marmalade & Toasted Bread
for JFI-Jaggery hosted by Kay of ‘Towards A Better Tomorrow’

Kitchen Notes:
Fills about 14 oz (400grams) jar.
I’ve prepared mildly sweet marmalade. Adjust jaggery quantity to suit your taste.
Recipe Source: My own creation.

When I first made cranberry jam, I was pleasantly surprised at how good it turned out. One wintry day, on a whim, I cooked up cranberries with orange juice and added some jaggery – viola, a spectacularly delicious tartly, tangy and sweet jam in a beautiful shade of Burmese ruby.

Tart cranberries and tangy oranges, in brilliant red and orange colors, dazzled me with promises of healthy glow and much needed Vitamin C. Who would think that, these two beautiful looking tarts taste that good when combined. Adding another tartly, sweet ingredient – jaggery, completed and complemented those two – making the end result, a tasty jam/preserve to enjoy.

Native Indian and Indian ingredients for a western style breakfast of bread and jam – cost is low, recipe is easy, preparation time minimal. Give it a try, if you haven’t already.

I usually make this jam, in small quantity for a week’s worth, but never in big batches like the seasoned jam makers do. So I’m not familiar with the sealing techniques for long-term storage etc., can’t offer any tips about that. My jam never lasted more than a week.

Recipe:

1 bag (12 ounces) of fresh cranberries
2 cups of freshly squeezed orange juice (4 to 6 oranges)
¾ cup of powdered jaggery (½ cup to 1 cup, how sweet your choice, I used ¾ cup)

Rinse the cranberries thoroughly. Pick out the bad ones, that are soft, shriveled or discolored. In a large pot, take orange juice and jaggery. Cook them until jaggery melts completely. When the juice starts to thicken, stir in the cranberries. Cook for about 15 to 20 minutes on medium heat, stirring in between. Cranberries first pop, then break down completely and turn into thick mush. Turn off the heat when it reaches jam like consistency, it further thickens on cooling. Store in a clean, dry jar.

Cranberry jam on a toasted slice of whole wheat bread ~ our breakfast this week

I love the taste of cranberries. Tangy and tart! Their flavor, like their color, is intense. Full of Vitamin C and antioxidants, they are perfect antidote to the blues of coming winter. This American fruit of holiday season does not cost that much, when purchased during the harvest time (Sep, Oct). A dollar or two for a bag of 12 ounces. A good thing for budget conscious people like me.

Today, I tried this recipe from W.H MD, changed it little bit to my taste and made an upside-down cranberry cornbread. The result was as the recipe says,- moist, tender cornbread with the sweet and tangy cranberry sauce on the top. Tasted really good!

Recipe:

Cranberry Topping
1 bag (12 ounces) fresh cranberries
1 glass of orange juice, freshly squeezed
Half cup of powdered jaggery

Cornbread
1½ cup yellow cornmeal
½ cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons peanut oil
1 large egg

The sauce: In a saucepan, combine orange juice, jaggery and cranberries. Bring to a boil and let it simmer, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes or until berries have popped and sauce is thick.

The Cornbread: Preheat the oven to 400° F. Combine dry ingredients – cornmeal, whole-wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another vessel, beat the egg; combine with peanut oil and buttermilk. Add this to the flour mix and mix them thoroughly. I also added some cut cranberries to this mix. If you want, you can also add some sugar to this mix.

Grease a baking dish or bread pan with peanut oil. Pour the cranberry sauce first, then the flour mixture on top of it. Bake it at 400°F for about 30 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let it cool in the pan, then invert onto a plate, carefully. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Last Slice of Cranberry Cornbread – Just for you Shammy:)