SPICY CRANBERRY THOKKU/RELISH

CRANBERRY THOKKU/RELISH – a spicy, tangy, and mildly sweet Indian chutney made with fresh cranberries and simple Indian spices; a lip smacking condiment with any meal!

I cannot believe a year has passed since I last made this dish and now that Thanksgiving (in the USA) is almost here, grocery stores are lined up with packets of fresh seasonal cranberries and I could not be happier.

This lip smacking relish is one of our favorite condiments to have with dosas and idlis! One bite of this spicy, tangy and slightly sweet relish is enough to satiate any craving for Indian style pickles.

"Thokku" is basically a south Indian relish or chutney or pickle as we call it. We love to indulge in tomato thokku and apple thokku (yes, apples; this is gone in no time in our house) which are always in my fridge and there is the traditional mango thokku, ginger thokku etc. available in all Indian stores.

Cranberries are not a familiar ingredient in India and we in US are the lucky ones who get to hog on these although we do find packets of these in some stores nowadays in major cities in India.

WHAT IS CRANBERRY THOKKU:

Thokku is basically veggies or fruits pounded to make a savory chutney or relish with a bunch of aromatic and exotic but simple spices and this varies with different vegetables. It is a south Indian chutney or relish normally enjoyed like a condiment which we call "pickle".

Cranberries are simmered, mashed and cooked in a simple aromatic spice mixture of fenugreek seeds, hing/asafetida powder (a south Indian spice powder) and sambar powder (south Indian mixed spices masala powder normally used in homemade lentil stew called “sambar” which is used to dunk idlis, dosas, vadai or even mixed with rice) in a mustard and curry leaves tempering.

If you cannot find sambar powder or even hing powder, you could always substitute with any curry powder you like or even garam masala powder!

As cranberries are on the sour side, I love to add a tad bit of jaggery (unrefined cane sugar) to balance the flavors. If you cannot find jaggery, use brown sugar or even plain sugar.

Once simmered and cooked in a wee bit more oil than regular Indian curries (after all it is a relish that needs to stay good for a few days at least) until thick and creamy, it is cooled and bottled to enjoy any time as a condiment or spread.

Stays good in the refrigerator for at least a month or two.

WHAT DO I SERVE CRANBERRY THOKKU WITH:

Hey!! This is so lip smackingly delicious, you can spoon it away just by itself but jokes apart, we love to dunk our chapattis, rotis, parathas (all Indian flat breads), idlis (steamed, savory Indian lentil cakes) and dosas (savory Indian crepes) in this thick, spicy and delicious chutney.

I have even spooned it over rice, mixed and enjoyed it as well. It goes as a wonderful spread in sandwiches too!

So, rush to the stores and pick a few packets of fresh cranberries this season before they disappear and make this mouthwatering and delish Indian style cranberry relish or cranberry thokku, and spice up your Thanksgiving meal!

Enjoy my Foodie friends and Happy Cooking/Eating!

A very Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends and family who are celebrating Thanksgiving this month.

Here are some more relishes or chutneys/thokku you can try:

Let's see how to make this, shall we?

Yum

SPICY CRANBERRY THOKKU/RELISH

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

A spicy, tangy, and mildly sweet Indian chutney made with fresh cranberries and simple Indian spices; a lip smacking condiment with any meal!

Ingredients

9 cups fresh cranberries
½ cup oil (sesame or any cooking oil)
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1/8 teaspoon methi seeds/dry fenugreek seeds
Few chopped curry leaves
½ teaspoon hing/asafetida powder
½ tsp haldi/turmeric powder
1 ½ tablespoons sambar powder (south Indian curry powder)
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 to 3 tablespoons jaggery (unrefined cane sugar)

Instructions

Wash and drain fresh cranberries. Set aside to drain completely.
Heat oil in a large and deep saucepan and once hot, add mustard seeds.
As soon as the seeds splutter and crackle, add chopped curry leaves, methi seeds and hing powder. Sauté for a few seconds.
Tip in the drained cranberries along with sambar powder and salt to taste; mix well.
Cook on high heat and when the mixture starts to boil, reduce heat to medium or medium low and simmer and cook for at least 20 to 25 minutes until you see oil separating from the mixture on the sides.
Keep mashing and stirring in between to crush the berries.
Once the mixture is well cooked and you see oil on the sides, add jaggery to taste (a balance of savory and sweet taste which balances the tartness of the cranberries!).
Remove from heat, let cool completely and serve with rotis, chapattis or any Indian flat bread. They taste amazing as a sandwich spread or even with idlis (savory steamed Indian rice and lentil cakes) and dosas (savory Indian crepes).
I have even mixed this lip smacking chutney or relish with plain rice too for a simple and mouthwatering treat!
Enjoy Foodies and Happy Cooking/Eating!
Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends.

Notes

Adjust the amount of spices according to personal taste.

If you cannot find sambar powder, you can use any curry masala powder you like or even just plain cayenne pepper powder/chili powder.

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STEP-WISE INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE CRANBERRY THOKKU:

Wash and drain fresh cranberries. Set aside to drain completely.

Heat oil in a large and deep saucepan and once hot, add mustard seeds.

As soon as the seeds splutter and crackle, add chopped curry leaves, methi seeds and hing powder. Saute for a few seconds.

Tip in the drained cranberries along with sambar powder and salt to taste; mix well.

Cook on high heat and when the mixture starts to boil, reduce heat to medium or medium low and simmer and cook for at least 20 to 25 minutes until you see oil separating from the mixture on the sides.

Keep mashing and stirring in between to crush the berries.

Once the mixture is well cooked and you see oil on the sides, add jaggery to taste (a balance of savory and sweet taste which balances the tartness of the cranberries!).

Remove from heat, let cool completely and serve with rotis, chapattis or any Indian flat bread. They taste amazing as a sandwich spread or even with idlis (savory steamed Indian rice and lentil cakes) and dosas (savory Indian crepes).