Most Sundays during the winter, I wake to darkness and cold here in Halifax and all I can think of is what shall we eat today? Not a Sunday goes by in my house where one of my three favorite sauces does not come out to  play.

First, there is the Tamarind chutney; sour and sweet with just a hint of heat. My love affair with tamarind started a few years back when I lived in the British Virgin Islands, and I would shake the tamarind tree in hopes of  delicious pods falling to the ground. The only problem is that I am the type of person who always over does things, and inevitably I would end up eating way too many pods and spending way too much time on the “throne”. Of course this didn’t damper my love affair with tamarind, as the next day I would set out to shake that tree some more and deal with the nasty consequences yet again! These days, my tamarind chutney gets put into a number of Lavallée favorites; curry, stews and  sauces. I also enjoy it as a simple dipping sauce for samosas or bhaji.

Next on my list is the fiery Green Chili Chutney. This little bottle packs a huge punch, so use with caution! This chutney is nothing but pureed green chilies with vinegar, some spices and salt. For all the lovers of heat, this one is for you. I have been known to spoon some into my finished soups when in need of a serious ass whooping, or wanting the baby living in my belly for nine months to finally make it’s way out. I thank the Green Chili Chutney for my fast and speedy delivery with Zoe.

Last, but of course not least, is the mother of the chutney group, Coriander Chutney. The freshness that is found in this bottle is out of this world. Put a dollop on some scrambled eggs or on a bowl of chili, and you will be a happy camper. You can even mix it with the tamarind or green chili to make a nice dipping sauce for poppadoms or just about anything else.

When I am feeling feisty, all three of these sauces make their way into my dinner, and boy does it ever make a difference. Try experimenting with one or all three of these sauces and make up a few recipes to call your own. Here in Halifax, you can find the Shah’s chutneys at “220 Volts” (that is what we call the Indian grocer on Robie Street), but in any large city you can find them at any Indian store.

Related Posts

1. Saturday Food Round-Up

Round-up goods. Click to enlarge.

Everyone has one day out of the week that is their favorite; for me it is Saturday. Saturday is sacred in our household. It is the day that Doug, Zoe & I do our big “round-up” of food for the coming week.  This week it started off with our trek down to the Halifax Farmers’ Market, which we try to visit as early as humanly possible in order to beat the crowds. We picked up our ‘usuals’ including; bread from La Vendéene, vegetables from several different kiosks, meat from Roselane Farm (spicy pepperettes & coarse liverwurst), eggs and lamb from Bill Wood of  Wood’n'Heart Farm, feta from Ran Cher Acres, and yogurt and quark (for the munchkin) from Fox Hill Cheese House. After leaving the market we hit Steve-o-Reno’s drive through hut on our way home for our weekly cappuccino fix.  With pastries and coffee in our bellies, we were fueled up for our next few stops.

We started with Gourmet Cash and Carry on Kempt Road for quinoa, millet, paneer, and a plethora of spices (sumac, black cumin, etc).  We then dropped into the “220 volts”, as my husband likes to call it, which is the Indian grocery store at Robie and North.  This is where I grab my staple chutneys (tamarind, coriander, mint & green chili), as as well as poppadoms, asafoetida and candied fennel seeds.  We walked around the corner and stopped into Local Source Market, owned and operated by Doug’s old roommate, Sean Gallagher.  After a quick browse we decided on a jar of pickled Daikon made by “Holly Molly Ferments”, some incredibly fresh salad greens and stewing beef from VanOostrum Farm.  The buzz of coffee and pastries started to wear off, so our last stop on our sacred Saturday was the Mid-East Food Centre, where we picked-up some take-out of stewed eggplant, hummus, tabouli and chicken biryani. With a car full of goodies, food for our bellies and plans for our dinner, we headed back to the “Darkside” to do some cooking.
View Saturday Morning Roundup in a larger map

Related Posts

1. My Indian Chutney Choices