Peach Chutney

A few months back, we'd gone peach picking at one of the local orchards and I came back with a whole lot of peaches. I used a couple of peaches to make this chutney. I'd bookmarked a recipe for methamba, a sweet and savory mango relish that I'd seen on Vaishali's Happy Burp, a long time back but never thought of making the relish when mangoes were still in season. I substituted the mango in the recipe with peaches and made a few other changes. In the end, I was not too disappointed with the way the recipe turned out.

Ingredients:

2 large ripe peaches, peeled and chopped

1/2 tsp grated ginger

2 green chillies, finely chopped

Red pepper flakes

2 tsp sugar or jaggery (adjust according to taste)

Salt

1 tsp vinegar or lemon juice

For seasoning:

1- 2 Tbsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

A pinch of asafoetida

A tiny pinch of fenugreek powder(too much of this will make the chutney bitter)

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and add temper it with mustard seeds, asafoetida and fenugreek powder.

Add ginger, green chillies and a pinch of red pepper flakes.

Stir in the peaches followed by the sugar/jaggery and salt and cook on medium heat till the peach pieces disintegrate and release their juices.

Add some vinegar or lemon juice for tartness at the end.

This chutney would go well with parathas and is great on toast too.

Peaches and Cream

I had a few ingredients left over from making truffles the other day. This is what I did to whip up a quick and easy dessert after dinner.
This doesn't even require a recipe but here it is anyway.

Ingredients:
Chilled heavy cream
Sliced peaches
Vanilla extract
Powdered sugar for sweetening

Method:
In a large bowl whip the heavy cream till thick. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and continue to whip again until it forms soft, stiff peaks. Be careful not to over-whip or else you will end up with butter!

Serve the sliced peaches with whipped cream and a sprinkle of toasted coconut flakes and toasted almonds over the top. Dig in!

Peach and Mascarpone Phyllo Cups

I had some leftover phyllo sheets in my freezer from this recipe that I tried last month, so I thought I’d build a recipe around phyllo dough. Then, AFAM-Peach was announced by Mansi and so I thought of doing something with peaches. Then I saw one of Giada’s recipes on the Food Network and suddenly everything came together. I finally had a recipe with peaches, phyllo cups and a couple of other ingredients thrown in to make this lip-smacking dessert that can be whipped up in no time. To make it even simpler, you could buy pre-made phyllo shells from the freezer section of your grocery store.

The original recipe can be found here. This is my version after a couple of modifications and substitutions.

I had made these last week and really, this does not even require a recipe. It’s just mixing things in the proportions you would like them in. Since this was going to be sent for AFAM-Peach, I decided I liked peaches and made sure I added more of them!. ;-)

Ingredients:
3 sheets phyllo dough

Mascarpone cheese

Sliced peaches (I used canned, drained peaches)

Raspberry yogurt

Toasted walnuts (toasted in the oven for a couple of minutes at 350 degree F)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Layer the phyllo sheets one on top of the other. Cut out 12 rounds (I used a knife and a katori) and press them into the mini muffin pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 5-7 minutes until crisp. Remove from the oven and let it cool.

Meanwhile, mix some mascarpone cheese and some raspberry yogurt in a bowl. Add the sliced peaches and mix gently.

Spoon the mixture into the phyllo cups and top with toasted walnuts and serve immediately.

While the phyllo cups are a nice addition and add a nice “crunch” to the dessert, I have also eaten it without the cups, and it’s just as delicious if not more.

Notes:
*Make sure you fill your phyllo cup with the dessert only when you are ready to eat it because the cups do tend to get soggy pretty quickly once filled.
*Once prepared, the leftover cups can be stored in an airtight container for almost a week.
*Though there is no real substitute for Mascarpone cheese, you could probably use a mixture of cream cheese and sour cream.