Slow Cooker Plum, Rhubarb and Date Chutney

Having our own little curry garden, is that you realize our visions of seasonal do not necessarily coincide with nature’s vibe. Most people would lead us to believe that Rhubarb is a spring to summer vegetable but actually it hangs out well into fall. It is a slow growing vegetable and works very well to add tartness to chutneys as dals. Sure, you can douse it with sugar and kill the natural tartness or find a recipe that makes this colorful and tart vegetable smile. Here I have paired this vivid stalky creature with seasonal plums, and wait it gets better, yes, I cooked it in a slow cooker to come up with a sweet and sour, delectably spicy creation.

The next few weeks are packed with all kinds of events and I hope all remains calm at the work front. The kids are settling in with their fall activities leaving very little room for unexpected things. I have to confess, I have also been returning home to a somewhat erratic schedule this week, with a little less enthusiasm for my husband rhapsodizing over the bright color of his rhubarb plant, which by the way is planted in a obscure spot behind the asparagus, so the only person who can approach this plant is my husband.

Now, once I had these stalks of perfectly good rhubarb, I was left with wanting to make chutney, except, I was barely keeping up with the struggle of keeping the essentials down pat. Then inspiration hit! I wanted to try the slow cooker! I figured how bad could it get. I wanted to slow cook the fruit anyway. Most of the sweetness in this chutney actually is from the dates which need to cook down low and slow to get to a soft and mushy state.

Three good hours later, I was thrilled with the results. I have used the red plums here, which combined with the red hued rhubarb is responsible for the deep and rich color of this chutney. The husband and the mother-in-law ate quite a bit of it, and given their North Indian disdain for all things sweet this was certainly a success.

I have used star anise here to give the flavors of fennel, as I did not want to pop the seeds. Worked out quite well and ginger and rhubarb in my opinion is a match made in masala heaven.

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Slow Cooker Plum, Rhubarb and Date Chutney

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours

Total Time: 3 hours, 15 minutes

A colorful and super-easy Rhubarb, Plum and Date chutney that gets all done up in a slow cooker. Perfect with your favorite Indian meal or cheese and crackers.

Ingredients

1 pound of rhubarb, trimmed and cut into small pieces
4 pounds of purple plums, stoned and coarsely chopped
4 tablespoons minced ginger
3 to 4 star anise
1 large stick cinnamon
11/2 teaspoons red cayenne pepper
1 cup of chopped and seeded dates
1/2 cup chopped almonds (optional)
1/4 cup maple syrup

Instructions

Place the rhubarb, plums, ginger, star anise, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, dates, almonds (if using) and the maple syrup in the slow cooker and set for 3 hours.
If you have a change stir the mixture occasionally, it helps with the consistency.
After three hours you should have a fragrant, sticky and colorful medley.
Remove the whole spices and save the chutney in a clear jar and use as needed to perk up your meal. Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin2.6http://www.spicechronicles.com/slow-cooker-plum-rhubarb-date-chutney/

 

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