Spiced Indian plum chutney

This Indian plum chutney is a delicious sweet and spicy chutney that goes well with a lot of dishes. In this chutney, the sweetness of ripe plums gets deliciously complimented by the warm flavorful Indian spices. It's a vegan and gluten-free recipe that gets ready in just 30 minutes.

There is nothing better than homemade chutney to spice up your simple meals.

Chutney is a great way to use seasonal fruits and vegetables when they are available in excess. And, there are many different ways in which you can use chutney in your meals.

I have already shared a lot of different chutney recipes on my blog and today I am sharing another fruit chutney recipe from India which is spiced plum chutney. In India. it's also called aloo bukhara chutney. Aloo bukhara is the Hindi word for plum.

In this easy plum chutney recipe, the sweetness of plums is balanced with warm Indian spices which makes it irresistible.

It's a vegan and gluten-free recipe that gets ready in just 30 minutes.

Ingredients needed

For this spiced plum chutney, you will need the ingredients shown below:

Ingredient notes and substitute suggestions

• Fresh plums: I have used fresh ripe plums but plum chutney can be made with half-ripe or unripe plums also. If you want sweet plum chutney, use fully ripe plums but if you want to make it sweet and sour, use half-ripe or unripe plums. Almost every variety of plum works in this recipe so pick whichever variety is available to you.
• Brown sugar: You can also use powdered jaggery, palm sugar, or regular white sugar to sweeten the chutney.
• Powdered ginger: Powdered ginger is the ground form of dried ginger. It's called saunth in Hindi. You can also use grated fresh ginger instead of powdered ginger.
• Red chili powder: Kashmiri red chili powder is the best choice as it adds a nice bright red color to the dish and is not very spicy. For heat, we are adding red chili flakes.
• Garam masala: It's a very flavorful blend of Indian spices that you will easily find in Indian or Middle Eastern grocery stores. Use it in moderation otherwise, you won't be able to taste anything else in the chutney.
• Cinnamon: I have used powdered cinnamon but you can also add a cinnamon stick. Remove the stick once the chutney is ready.
• Vegetable oil: Canola oil or any other neutral flavored oil can be used too.
• Vinegar: I have used white vinegar, you can also use apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar.

Other ingredient details and nutritional information is given in the recipe card.

How to make Indian plum chutney (step-by-step process)?

To make this easy plum chutney recipe, just follow the step-by-step instructions given below:

Step 1: Wash the plums. Cut them in half and remove the seeds.

Step 2: Heat oil in a large pot or pan. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter.

Step 3: Add red chili powder, red pepper flakes, ground black pepper, ginger powder, cinnamon powder, garam masala, and salt. Saute for a few seconds on low heat.

Step 4: Add chopped plums, sugar, and vinegar. Mix.

Step 5: Cook covered on slow-medium heat for around 15 minutes or until the plums turn mushy.

Step 6: Remove the lid and mash the plums with a spatula. You can use a masher too.

Step 7: Cook covered for another 10 minutes.

Step 8: Allow to reach room temperature before serving.

Your delicious Indian spiced plum chutney is ready to be enjoyed!

Serving tips

This plum chutney can be enjoyed in a lot of different ways with a lot of different things.

It can be used as a spread on toast, sandwiches, wraps, crackers, or parathas.

This chutney can be added to a cheese board or charcuterie board too. It tastes really good with sharp cheeses.

Mix a few tablespoons of Indian plum chutney with Greek yogurt, cream cheese, sour cream, or labneh, and make a delicious dip to enjoy with your favorite snack.

Or, just add some chutney to your salad dressing and make your salad taste even better.

How to store?

To store, allow the chutney to reach room temperature then transfer to airtight jars and refrigerate. It will be fine for around 15 days.

Recipe tips, tricks, and variation suggestions

• To fasten the process of cooking the plums, chop them into smaller pieces. I prefer chunky plum chutney so I have cut them into larger pieces.
• You may also blend this chutney if you want to make a smooth chutney.
• Instead of brown sugar, you may also use jaggery, palm sugar, or regular white sugar.
• The amount of sugar and vinegar required will vary depending on how sweet or sour your plums are and how sweet or sour you want your chutney to be.
• Saute the powdered spices for around 5 seconds only and that too on low heat, powdered spices get burned very fast.
• Other spices like star anise or bay leaf can also be used to flavor this plum chutney. Indian five-spice blend (panchphoran) can be added too.
• You can also add chopped apples along with plums to make Indian-style apple plum chutney.
• If your chutney starts sticking to the bottom of the pan, add a few tablespoons of water or fruit juice like orange juice, apple juice, or pomegranate juice. Make sure that the lid of the pan is tight and you are not cooking on high heat.
• If you prefer sweet and sour chutney, use unripe or half-ripe plums. But, if you like sweet chutneys, use fully ripe plums.
• You can also add golden or black raisins to this plum chutney.

More easy chutney recipes

If you enjoyed this plum chutney and want to try more easy Indian chutney recipes then don't miss to check out the following links:

• Apple chutney
• Sweet mango chutney
• Tomato cilantro chutney
• Green mango chutney
• Bengali tomato chutney
• Peanut chutney
• Coconut chutney
• Momos chutney
• Apricot chutney