What's chutney?

I tried a new recipe for lunch today...and it turned out to be a winner. I get a bit nervous when the dish's name sends me straight to the dictionary, but it was worth the gamble this time.

chut-ney: noun; a sauce or relish of East Indian origin, often compounded of both sweet and sour ingredients, as fruits and herbs, with spices and other seasoning.

Also, chutnee.


Did you know I used to despise cooking? I find this funny because my Mom was a home-economics teacher for years and can make basically anything...very domestic!! As I was growing up, she was forever trying to get me interested in such things and I wouldn't have anything to do with it! The more she pushed, the harder I resisted. This makes me a little sad now because I think she could have taught me much more and we could have had a lot of fun "creating" together, but I had other ideas. Now that I am interested, I'm calling her all the time for "how to's", "what's that", and "can I substitute this". She's as helpful as she can be, but there's only so much you can say over the telephone. So I experiment and my family gets to be the guinea pigs:)

What I find most fun about new recipes is shopping for ingredients I've never used and sometimes never heard of. This recipe called for ground coriander and cider vinegar, which were my "new" ingredients. I even grilled the chicken myself...Matt usually does the grilling. Not bad I might add, as I slowly watched them turn golden on the lowest heat the grill could put out. I finally served the chicken with a little lettuce salad and fresh strawberries on the side. Matt wanted to take a picture, but we just ate it up. Hope you all love this one too!

***NOTE: This is Matt...I did get a picture of the meal when Ab wasn't looking. Hehe**


GRILLED CHICKEN BREAST WITH TOMATO CHUTNEY

2lb ripe tomatoes (peeled, seeded, & cubed)
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup paced dark-brown sugar
1 small onion (finely chopped)
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 T. oil (calls for vegetable but I used EVOO-Rachel Ray term-& it was fine)
1 tsp ground coriander
4 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 lb total)

1. In a medium-sized saucepan, stir together tomatoes, vinegar, brown sugar, onion, 1 tsp of the salt, 1 tsp of the ground ginger, & 1/2 tsp of cumin. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for 18-22 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the liquid has cooked off; set aside and keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, place oil, remaining 3 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp cumin, the coriander, & cayenne in a shallow glass dish; stir to combine. Place chicken in the the mixture and turn to coat.
3. Heat grill to medium-high. Sprinkle chicken with remaining 1/2 tsp salt and grill for about 7 minutes per side or until internal temperature registers 160. Serve chicken with a heaping 1/4 C. chutney.