Cranberry Relish

December is my favourite month of the year- in december both my hubby and I celebrate our birthdays as well as our weddnig anniversary – not to mention Christmas and New year...and of course, lots of pre christmas dinner parties... which means loads of good food and fun. For this one month, amongst all the partying, I normally forget all about calorie intake and simply indulge and enjoy.

So I thought, at least, I could indulge with something a little healthy (which has kind of become a synonym of my name, according to my best friend!), to compensate all the rich good food and keep a balance.

This week, when my hubby bought this box of cranberries, the moment I saw the box, it was very clear in my mind what I was gonna do with them. This recipe is very easy to make and tastes really awesome.

I had it with some rosemary and cheese crisps, while my hubby enjoyed it with papad / poppadams and it tastes good with Roti or bread.

The sourness of the cranberries, the flavours of all the spices and a slight sweet hint makes this relish an instant hit. We enjoyed this so much that my hubby already got another box of cranberries :-)

Ingredients

100 grams - cranberries, cut into half

1/8 tsp - fennel seeds (saunf)

a generous pinch of nigella seeds (kalonji)

3 tbsp - sunflower oil

1 - red whole chilli

1 tbsp - raisins

1/4 tsp - turmeric powder (haldi)

1/2 tsp - red chilli powder, more or less

1 tsp - coriander powder (dhaniya powder)

1/8 tsp - garam masala powder

1/4 tsp - mustard seed powder (peesi rai)

salt to taste

2 tbsp - water

a generous pinch of asafoetida (hing)
2 - bayleaves

1 1/2 tsp - sugar, more or less

Method

1. In a bowl mix together the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, salt, garam masala powder, mustard seed powder with 2 tbsp of water and keep aside. 
2. Heat oil in a non stick pan, add the fennel seeds, nigella seeds, hing and red whole chilli.
3. Add the spice paste to the oil and saute for a minute on medium heat. 
4. Add the cranberries, raisins and mix. Cover the lid and cook on medium heat until the cranberries are soft. 
5. Add the sugar and cook again for half a minute.
6. Remove from the heat and serve. The relish tastes good hot as well as cold. 

Enjoy!