Tell me! How does your light shine in the Jars of Sambal-a?

It's not a typographical error. I know that's not exactly how the song by Three Dog Night goes. However, that's how I've been singing it and I cannot get it out of my head.

It all started with the mangoes that were on sale. Only 66 cents. I put 12 in a bag with visions of mango chutney dancing in canning jars through my head. While I was at it, I looked up the recipe on my phone and made sure I had all the ingredients on hand. One interesting recipe contained pineapple, so in the cart one went!

It took a week for the mangoes to ripen. During that week, the recipe plans changed, as they are wont to do when you have a creative, distracted nature. This is what I did with my fruit:
6 mangoes got made into a basic chutney.
6 mangoes and 1/2 of a pineapple went into a Sambal, half of which then had curry added to it.
The remaining 1/2 of the pineapple was made into its own Sambal.

Classically speaking, sambal is a condiment popular in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Southern Phillipines, Singapore and other places of high flavor, made of dried chili flecks ground with salt and oil. With the addition of other ingredients, the sambal takes on a last name. For example, sambal asam is made with the sour tamarind.

Pineapple used in sambal is typically under ripe. I am guessing that the relish takes on a whole other dimension when it is not as sweet as my sambal turned out. Since my intention was to preserve the relish, it actually turned into more of a chutney. Unfortunately, by the time I realized that, I had been singing "Sambal-a" (or Shambala, as the song is really known as) all morning long.
Hey, at least the song has a melodious tune and is about a spiritual paradise. I have to admit, that the taste of the sambals will keep me singing. They are really delicious. I imagine them used on crackers with goat cheese or topping my favorite Chicken Korma served with homemade naan. I will not hesitate to mix them with softened cream cheese, form the mix into a log and roll it in nuts to impress my friends and neighbors at happy hour, because that's just how my light shines, with the jars of sambal-a!

Just a note: I used my hand blender to further crush the cooked mix down so the chunks would be easier to dip into as a finished product. The finished texture is up to the maker.

Pineapple Sambal

1/2 ripe pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2" chunks
1/2 large yellow onion, small dice
1 red bell pepper, small dice
1/2 serrano chili, minced (use gloves)
1 Tablespoon ground mustard
1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups cider vinegar
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon pickling salt
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper flakes

Put all the ingredients into a pot. Simmer over medium to low heat for about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours, until thickened. Blend chunks into smaller pieces, if desired, with a hand blender. Ladle into prepared jars (I used mainly 4-ounce jars), wipe, lid and ring and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Yield: 9 4-ounce jars.


Pineapple Mango Sambal

1/2 ripe pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2" chunks
6 mangoes, peeled, pitted and cut into 1" chunks (about 6 pounds, total)
1 large yellow onion, small dice
1 1/2 red bell peppers, small dice
1 1/2 serrano chilies, minced (use gloves)
2 Tablespoon ground mustard
2 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger
6 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups cider vinegar
4 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon pickling salt
1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes

Curry used (optional) for half of this recipe was 2 Tablespoons.

Put all the ingredients into a pot. Simmer over medium to low heat for about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours, until thickened. Blend chunks into smaller pieces, if desired, with a hand blender. Ladle 1/2  into prepared jars (I used mainly 4-ounce jars), wipe, lid and ring and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.  To the other half, add desired amount of curry powder. Yield: 15 jars with curry and 15 jars without, for a total of 30 4-ounce jars. Don't hesitate to make several different sized jars based on your intended usage of the finished product.

Mango Chutney

6 ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted, cut into 1" chunks (about 6 pounds, total)
1 cup golden raisins
4 cups cider vinegar
4 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon pickling salt
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons hot pepper flakes
Curry can also be added to this recipe, but I did not. I would use up to 2 Tablespoons for this amount of fruit.


Put all the ingredients into a pot. Simmer over medium to low heat for about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours, until thickened. Blend chunks into smaller pieces, if desired, with a hand blender. Ladle 1/2 into prepared jars (I used mainly 4-ounce jars), wipe, lid and ring and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.   Yield: 9 4-ounce jars.