Adapted from Neelam Batra’s 1000 Indian Recipes, this fruity, sweet-tart chutney is a guaranteed hit on any holiday table. You’ll have enough from this recipe to send home with appreciative friends and family after the feast. The chutney keeps well in the fridge for at least a couple of months and frozen for 6 months or more. After the holidays try serving this tangy condiment with Indian samosas, crackers and goat cheese, potato pancakes or even spread on thinly sliced bread with cream cheese for a distinctive tea sandwich.

You can find all the spices at any Indian grocery store. Bengali 5-spices is a blend of cumin, fennel, black mustard, kalonji and fenugreek seeds, commonly used for flavoring fruit chutneys and as a pickling mix. If you can’t find it, substitute as many of the whole seeds as you can find – the first three should be fairly available. The blend is worth a trip to the specialty store though, and you’ll be glad when you see the prices (much, much lower than the big grocery chains). I use a minimally processed sugar such as Turbinado, but you can use plain granulated sugar.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp Bengali 5-spices (Panch-Phoran), coarsely ground
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 (1-inch) stick cinnamon
• 8 cardamom pods, crushed lightly
• 8 whole cloves
• 2 1/2 Tbsp peeled and minced fresh ginger
• 2 (12-ounce) packages fresh cranberries, washed
• 3 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 cups water
• 1 Tbsp ground ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 2 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice and 2 1/2 Tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp lemon zest

Method:

1. Prepare the 5-spices (use a spice grinder or mortal and pestle to coarsely grind). Then, heat the oil in a large non-reactive wok or saucepan over medium-high heat and cook the cinnamon, cardamom pods, and cloves, stirring, about 30 seconds.
2. Add the fresh ginger and panch-phoran and cook, stirring, about 1 minute. Add the cranberries, sugar, water, ground ginger and salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 7 minutes. The cranberries will pop and break down as they cook.
3. Reduce the heat to medium, uncover the pan, add the lemon juice, vinegar and lemon zest, and cook until the chutney thickens, about 10 minutes. Transfer to containers, let cool, and serve at room temperature, or refrigerate and serve chilled. Will keep in the fridge for several months.