Apricot Pepper Jelly Recipe

I've made several sweet and spicy preserves in the past and this is one of the many variations we made last summer. As I might have told you before, Lulu's favorite hobby after work is gardening. He takes such great pride harvesting the hottest chiles. He started them from seeds and grew them in those cool Jiffy greenhouses. We should be starting planting the seeds again in the following weeks.

Last August, we harvested jalapeño and Habanero chiles. I paired the spicy peppers with delicious apricot juice and made my own pepper jelly. The problem with canning and making so many experiments during the summer is that we have to store all the jars in the garage. The preserves taste much better if you let them sit for a few weeks so the flavors are at their fullest. By that time, we usually forget about them until we do a huge clean up! It just took us 6 months to find these 3 jars. I’m glad we did; this apricot pepper jelly tastes delicious!

Hari Chutney (Spicy Indian Cilantro Mint Chutney)

Hari chutney (green) is a spicy preparation served as a condiment to pakora (Indian-style savory fritters) and vadai (fried urad dal). The preparation is very basic: a blend of green chiles, cilantro, mint, garlic and some sweetener to balance the flavors.

The result is a very intense, refreshing dipping sauce that contrasts extremely well with the heaviness of fried food. If you have extra spicy green chutney leftover, it makes a great companion to steamed fish. Once you try it, I'm sure you'll come up with your own uses for this truly versatile chutney.