Green Apple Chunda/Pickle

This year Christmas was just the 3 of us. We could not have a party at home nor could we attend any parties because I was just recovering. The hubby decided to make Christmas an event for us. So, it was roast chicken, mashed potatoes, roasted veggies, stuffing, gravy and ofcorse cake.
I had asked him to get green apples for the stuffing. Sadly, I did not say - get just one. And he got about 5 of them. Only one was used for the stuffing recipe. The other four green apples had been in my refrigerator since then. Well, I am not a fan of green apples just like that - they are sour and tart. Hubby and kiddo refused to eat it just like that too.
Two days ago, I was looking at the drawers in my fridge to take stock before grocery shopping and I saw these apples looking at me. I knew I would not like to throw them, and I also knew that we would not eat them just like that. So, I started to think of ways to use all of them in one go. Mind was racing and I came up with many ideas - cakes, muffins, bread, pie ......... but, the one that took my attention was pickle/chutney. I remembered the shredded green mango pickle called 'chunda' and how we all liked it with parathas. So, instead of green mangoes it was going to be green apples. 

Well, traditionally this chunda is kept in sunlight for a couple of weeks to get that authentic taste. But, here in this weather - even if there is sunlight, its so so cold - I could not do the traditional stuff. So, the instant chunda came in handy. Its the same process followed by almost all - expect with a few tweaks here and there.

Ingredients

2 cups packed grated green apple (I used 4 of them - peeled and grated)
2 cloves
1 inch cinnamon stick
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 cup sugar (you can add upto 1 cup)
2 teaspoons red chilli powder
1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
1 teaspoon fennel seeds (saunf)
1/8 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi dana)
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida (hing)

Method

In a saucepan add the grated green apple, salt and turmeric. Mix it well and let it sit for about 1 hour. The apple does not turn brown here and this process releases the natural water from the apples. After and hour, add the sugar and mix well till all the sugar melts. This should take about 15 to 20 minutes. In that time, roast the cumin seeds, fennel seeds and fenugreek seeds til you get a nice aroma and then grid it to a fine powder. Once all the sugar has dissolved, put the saucepan on medium low heat along with the cloves and the cinnamon stick. Keep stirring occasionally. You need to get the sugar syrup to get thick and all the water to get evaporated - the sugar syrup should be a half string consistency (when tested between the thumb and forefinger it forms a thread but breaks off immediately). To this add the chilli powder and the roasted seeds powder and mix well.
Once it cools down, you can store it in a dry and airtight bottle in the refrigerator. Like a chunda this should stay for a year too - but, the bottle in my house is already half empty. 

(update - we made it again and this time we had it in our fridge afor over a year - all good and still tasty.)
Savor it with parathas, rotis, dosas or even as a sandwich with bread. We like it with dal and rice or khichdi too.