Apple Rhubarb Chutney with Halloumi

Today's adaptation for the Food Matters Project came to me after I was pondering what to use instead of the fish for quite some time, before I decided to go the Indian route. And then paneer was the first thing that came to my mind. I had to make do with halloumi, a cheese similar to paneer but quite a bit saltier. If you can get your hands on paneer or have time to make your own, please use it here.
The chutney I made to accompany the slices of pan-fried halloumi surprised me with quite a few layers of flavour and texture. The raw rhubarb stays crunchy and constrast nicely with the soft, cooked apple. The little sugar I added just cut down the sourness of the rhubarb without making the chutney to sweet. While I looked for inspiration for a chutney recipe I found this quote in Vegetarian Planet by Didi Emmons: To me, the beauty of chutney is that something delicious is created from something old and unwanted.
And in this spirit I decided to use apple in my adaptation, because making something delicious from something old is a great feeling.



Apple Rhubarb Chutney with Slices of Halloumi
Note: As you can see in my picture, the halloumi has a tendency to break apart in the middle. Be careful when turning or try slicing it differently, please check out the original recipe on foodandfrederick.com and the other takes over here)

250g halloumi, cut into 8 slices
~8 stalks rhubarb
3 shallots
4 apples
4 tbsp sugar
8 + 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 tsp curry powder plus more to season the halloumi
2 tsp garam masala
salt (according to taste, keep in mind that the halloumi is quite salty)

Rub the halloumi with a sprinkle of curry powder on both sides. Set aside.
Chop the onion, add it, together with 1-2 tbsp canola oil in a sauce pan over medium-high heat. Cut the apples into 1/2 inch pieces. Add them to the sauce pan after the onion has started to get translucent. Add 8 tbsp vinegar and the curry powder. Stir, turn down the heat a bit and cover with a lid. You might need to add some water to prevent the apples from burning.
Let it cook down. In the meantime, chop the rhubarb into pieces the same size as the apples. Put them in a mixing bowl, add the sugar, the garam masala and the two remaining tbsp vinegar.
Once the apples are soft, remove the sauce pan from the burner and put a skillet on. Mix the apple with the rhubarb in the mixing bowl.
Add a bit of oil to the skillet and pan-fry the slices of halloumi until golden brown.
Season the chutney to taste and serve with the slices of halloumi on top.

Serves 4.