Courgette Chutney
Continuing in my attempt to process the glut of overgrown courgettes that developed whilst we were away for a week I have already done pickle so next is chutney.Just as I had in mind lime pickle for the one recipe, in this recipe I am looking for a replacement for mango chutney. I have to say that the result is delicious but it won't replace a good home-made mango chutney. I used courgettes that had overgrown.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the result in this recipe particularly as the courgettes retained a certain crunchiness. Perhaps this was the result of the salting for twenty-four hours. I am expecting this to keep for a year, although I only made three jars and that will not last more than a couple of months of curries.
Ingredients
- 1kg diced courgettes
- 2 medium onions diced(300g)
- 50ml olive oil
- 300ml any light coloured vinegar
- 400g granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp ground coriander
- 2 tbsp nigella seed
- 1 tsp five spice powder
- 1tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
- 30g chopped peeled ginger root
- 1tsp blade mace coarsely ground
- 1tsp salt
- salt for salting the courgettes
Method
Top and tail the courgettes and then dice.Place in a large colander in a bowl and salt (3-4 tbsps) and leave covered for 24 hours.
Once the courgettes have rested for 24 hours drain off any liquid, rinse them and drain again. The drier they are, the better the chutney texture.
Fry the onions in the olive oil until they are soft and transluscent, adding the chopped ginger (if using fresh) after about two minutes.
Add the mustard seeds and when they start to pop add the remaining spices all together. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking and burning
Tip in the diced courgettes and stir well to mix everything up.
Add the vinegar and the sugar, mix well and bring to the boil
When the mix hads started to boil, leave on a low heat for about an hour and a half or so, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking
Spoon into heated sterilised jars and seal. This pickle is ready for eating straight away.
Observations
Vary the spice mixture to suit your own taste.
You should wash clean and sterilise the jars before filling and heat them to prevent cracking. I heat mine in the warming oven of the aga as that heats and sterilises perfectly.
I expect the chutney to keep for up to a year. I made up three jars with the ingredients and quantitiesd. It didn't quite turn out as I wanted it to although I am pleased with the result. The darker colouration is as a result of adding some brown sugar in the mix instead of caster and probably the five spice as it tends to brown things a bit.
Source: The Book of Dwarf here.
