Squat, tasty and not parsimonious.

Despite the beautiful orange color, I had a mental block towards persimmons for a silly reason: The name always sounded snooty and upper crusty because it bears a resemblance to the word “parsimonious” meaning stingy. You might say “But Rood that’s a ridiculous reason to not tuck into a juicy, candy like fruit such as this. Given the right to name itself the cherubic fruit would probably choose something more commonplace like Raj or Harold or John.” Once again dearest reader, you are correct.

Due to mistaken identity the pictured Fuyu persimmons were allowed to ripen for a few weeks. It’s actually the hachiya variety that need to be squishy to be fit for consumption. Fuyu are more squat and have a deep orange color. They can be bitten into like an apple with peel and all.

Ingredients:
2 persimmons, peeled and chopped small
1 T onions, chopped
2 T vinegar
1 bay leaf
1 T ginger
1 T garlic
1.5 T panch poron* (equal parts cumin, fennel, fenugreek, mustard, nigella (black cumin))
1 cinnamon stick
2 cardammon pods
raisins to taste
chili powder to taste
salt to taste
¼ cup sugar or to taste (agave or even maple syrup can be substituted)
salt to taste

*Note: Panch poron is Bengali (Indo-Bangadeshi) spice mix available at many Asian markets. It’s used in all manner of Bengali cooking like dal, torkaris and fish. Here is a nice write up on the spice mix.

Method:
Throw all ingredients into a pot. Bring to a boil then allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes until persimmon is tender. If necessary add a little water. Enjoy as a relish to add to dal or any type of torkari/curry, or roti/lucchis. Due to the pickling it will last several weeks in the fridge. Recipe is vegan, gluten free, vegetarian.

Persimmon Chutney (Chatni)