Apple Chutney – Easy, Chunky, No-Peel!

This easy apple chutney recipe involves no peeling, no oil and only a handful of accessible ingredients. Cook on the stovetop and have delicious apple chutney ready almost effortlessly.

This recipe works best with firm, slightly tart apples. I have used the small greenish-red apples available in India during the pre-winter season.

You Need:

[for 3-4 servings]

• Apples – 3 small/2 medium
• Raisins – 1 tablespoon
• Cloves – 2
• Cinnamon – 1-inch stick
• Apple cider vinegar* – 1 tablespoon
• Water – 1/2 cup
• Jaggery** – 2 teaspoons
• Salt – 1/4 teaspoon
• Paprika powder*** – 1/4 teaspoon

*If you do not have apple cider vinegar, substitute with a tablespoon of lime juice.

**In place of jaggery, you could use 1.5 teaspoons of brown sugar or white sugar (though I’d recommend getting hold of jaggery not least for its health benefits).

***No paprika powder? Go for a pinch of red chili powder or red chili flakes instead.

How To Make Apple Chutney:

Quarter each apple along the core. Remove the core and dice.

As you dice, dip the apple cubes in a bowl of water to prevent browning. For the curious, here’s an interesting experiment on the discoloration of cut apples under different test conditions.

Crush the cloves.

In a thick-bottomed pan, heat half a cup of water with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Add to it crushed cloves, cinnamon stick, diced apple and raisins.

Bring the contents of the pan to a boil.

Lower heat and simmer covered. Check every five minutes, turning the apple cubes around and pressing them gently with the back of a spatula.

Add a few more tablespoons of water if the cooking apples look too dry.

When the apples give way on being pressed (this takes about twenty minutes), add salt, jaggery powder and paprika powder.

Mix well.

Continue to cook covered till the apples are very soft. The total cooking time when using firm apples with skin on could be close to forty minutes.

Taste and adjust seasoning.

Cook uncovered till the chutney is dry.

Apple chutney is ready.

Serve along with chapatis or parathas.

When the chutney cools to room temperature, transfer to a non-reactive lidded container and refrigerate. Apple chutney stays good for upto a week.

Meal below: chapatis, homemade dahi, apple chutney, karela masala fry.

Notes:

Have a thing for fruity chutneys? You must then try sweet mango chutney, green grape chutney.