Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Cafe Organico Tropical Chutney

This is one my favorite dishes in our dinner menu. It goes great with Indian curries, rice and of course over freshly baked bread. You can do so much with chutneys, its incredible..try different fruits, don't be shy and experiment with your taste buds and buddies:))

The key ingredients are your spices. Make sure you have fresh spices. This dish is not spicy!

Makes about 2 cups

Masala
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon freshly grated turmeric or 1 tsp. dry turmeric
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Heat the olive oil well and add the spices. Fry the spices for about 2 minutes. Listo!


1 onion, diced fine
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red pepper, diced fine
1 cup papaya, cut into small chunks
1 cup pineapple, cut into small chunks
1/2 cup cilantro
1 teaspoon white vinegar, apple cider vinegar works great
2 teaspoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of salt
1 lime or lemon

Once the spices are done, add onions garlic and red pepper and saute until the onions are browned under medium heat. Add the pineapple, papaya, vinegar and sugar. Cook about 20 minutes or until the fruits are cooked and the chutney is not watery. Add salt about 2 teaspoons but you may need to add a little more as you like. And finally add the cilantro. If you don't have cilantro, Italian flat leaf, would also work.

Squeeze one lime or lemon before serving...

Enjoy!

Months go by...happy

It has been so busy in the last couple of months, I am shocked to see I haven't posted much...Well, I got a dog. Prema! She is amazing, fun, loving and very very time consuming and difficult. I have discovered that I am a very self-centered human being..oh well, that is me...me and baking..and now Prema...My friend Jorge named her, after his first dog. Prema means love in Sanskrit. More love to the world..

News from the cafe...We are officially closed, but open to friends and any random strangers who happen to be in Montezuma in the crazy month of September. It is rainy season here and there is absolutely nobody in town. In absence of crazy work hours, I am spending my time thinking...about the new season, new menu items, new menu lay-out, employees, where to spend my two week vacation with my dog, ayurveda and ayurvedic cooking, chocolate, my family and how much I miss them...

And in the last two days, I have been thinking about everything but apples because I am doing an apple fast. It's incredible how food plays such an important role in my life and taking a break from it helps me shake it off a little bit, clean up my home, check in with my emails, write my blog, call my parents..also I spend time thinking what I want to eat right off the fast (Godiva chocolate that is sitting in the refri for two days!)

May all the cacao trees be happy and tranquilla.

I will post more often... Some recent photos..