Gooseberry and Ginger Chutney

Kitchen Play List:  U2 ~ 18 Singles Album

Mystery Ingredient Challenge Item ~ Gooseberries straight from My Love's garden!

I just had to show you folks, a photo of how lovely these gooseberries looked...before I made them into a brown 'goo'! lol. I was thrilled when My Love gave me this bowl of gooseberries from our fruit garden. We have a few trays of raspberries in the freezer so far,  so this was a lovely surprise. Now, they are way too early to be eaten as a sweet treat...hopefully the next batch that comes through will be made into Gooseberry Ice Cream. So with this being the case My Love suggested a chutney...good idea indeed. In theory! 

I found this recipe as part of a random gooseberry chutney web search. I cannot tell you anything else except...the creator of this recipe is called Jenny. She describes this chutney as a dark and spicy chutney and that is food heaven to My Love so the recipe got printed off and sat in my in-tray until this morning. 

Now, I have made a few chutneys over the years but I have never had one that has made me cry! lol. I have to say as the vinegar is cooking off in this chutney, it is advisable to leave the room. But as I was cooking something else at the same time...I couldn't. Darn it! So be warned if you try this chutney recipe...it's a little smelly. My Love brought home dark brown sugar instead of light soft brown sugar so mine has turned out a little darker than maybe Jenny's did. Oh well. It's very easy to make...and I got 5 small jars of chutney out of my pound of gooseberries. Jenny advises you to leave it for at least a month before opening so that is exactly what I will do and when we've tried it I will update this posting. She also says that it keeps well for months.

Gooseberry and Ginger Goo...ahem..Chutney! lol

Gooseberry and Ginger Chutney  Makes 6 small jars
(Recipe by Jenny)

1lb gooseberries, topped and tailed
8 oz onions, chopped
1 pint wine vinegar
1 lb soft brown sugar
1 1/2 oz salt
1 tbsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Gently cook the gooseberries in a little water until they have softened. 

Add the chopped onions and vinegar, cooking for 10 minutes.

Then add all the other ingredients, boiling gently until some of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture has a slightly thick consistency. 

Cool slightly and pot into clean jars with screw top lids. 

A dark, spicy chutney that is perfect with cheese - can be used in a month but keeps for months. 

This recipe can be scaled up to any quantity for fit your preserving pan. You will want to make lots, it's so good. Jenny. 

See you in a month folks with the results! 
~R~ 

UPDATE: 17.8.11 My Love tested the chutney last night and the results were mixed. 
Aroma: Had the same acrid savoury smell that took over the house when I was making it but had mellowed a little. 
Texture: Very runny but that was what I expected given how runny the consistency had been when making it. The gooseberry had been very ripe and juicy. 
Taste: Sweet but with a good acidic bite. 
Overall: Ginger flavour came through and the fruitiness but the gooseberry was a little lost as it had merged with the other flavours. My Love still gave it a 8.5/10 despite the runny texture and is looking forward to trying it in many ways. 

Would I make this chutney again? Probably not...as I'll try and make a Gooseberry Chutney recipe of my own. But I know My Love will enjoy the jars we have until they are finished. lol 
~R~  

Mint & Onion Chutney, Cucumber & Coriander/Cilantro Raita and Vegetable Raita

Kitchen Play List: Sara Sant'Ambrogio ~ Pavane
                                    Newton Faulkner ~ To The Light
                                    The Byrds ~ Mr.Tambourine Man
                                    Melissa Etheridge ~ Enough of Me
                                    Shania Twain ~ When You Kiss Me
                                    The Kinks ~ Dedicated Follower of Fashion
                                    Martina Mcbride ~ I Don't Want to See You Again

This is the follow up to the Vegetable Loaf starter blog. On the side of the loaf and salad I served two little pots of raita and a chutney. They were really good and we are having the leftovers today with our lunch. 


The Mint & Onion Chutney recipe was from The Low-Fat Indian Vegetarian Cookbook 

The Cucumber & Coriander/Cilantro Raita and the Vegetable Raita were both from A Vegan Taste of India 

Top Left: Vegetable Raita. Top Right: Mint & Onion Chutney. Bottom: Cucumber & Coriander Raita

Vegetable Raita
(Recipe from A Vegan Taste of India)

 6fl oz/175ml plain soya yoghurt
2oz/50g green pepper, finely chopped
2oz/50g red pepper, finely chopped
1 small red onion, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tomato, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tsp ground coriander
black pepper
chopped fresh coriander leaves

Heat the oil and gently fry the green and red pepper, onion and garlic until softened. Add the ground coriander and stir for 30 seconds. Refrigerate until cold, then add the tomato and season with black pepper. Mix in the yoghurt until well combined. Transfer to a serving dish and store in the fridge until ready to serve. Before serving give it one final stir.

Mint & Onion Chutney
(Recipe from The Low-Fat Indian Cookbook)

2 tbsp sunflower oil
225g/8oz/2 cups of chopped onions
15g/ 1/2 oz fresh chopped mint
1 green chilli pepper, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar

Heat the oil over a medium heat and fry the onions until soft but not brown (5 minutes) Allow to cool.

Puree the onion with the remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor. Transfer to a serving dish or store in an airtight container in the frisge until ready to serve. 

Cucumber and Coriander Raita
(Recipe from A Vegan Taste of India)

6 fl oz/175ml plain soya yoghurt
4oz/100g cucumber, finely chopped
2 rounded tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
black pepper

Mix the cucumber and coriander with the yoghurt, season with black pepper and transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with a few red chilli rings (optional) 

These were delish the next day served with poppadoms for lunch too!

Enjoy!

5-Spices Plum Chutney

Kitchen Play List: Classic Rock ~ Rock Eruption CD

I picked up a large bag of plums at my supermarket last week for the bargain price of 45p. I know I could have stewed them and frozen them but to be honest I'm not the biggest fan of stewed fruit...I would rather just eat the fruit in its fresh glory. But these plums weren't ripe enough to eat like this and I wouldn't be able to get through them all when they finally reached that stage. My Love is very loyal to the British plums so never eats imported ones. So I was sat with this rather hefty bag of bargain plums and wondering what I was going to do with them, for two days! lol. 

A few months ago I found a wonderful and inspirational site called Vegelicious.org It has the most amazing recipes and photographs and I often make meals from their extensive library. I was clicking through the pages and up popped this chutney recipe. They had served it with Tempeh and veggies which isn't to my taste but the chutney looked so tasty and as I had the plums sat waiting to be used I thought I would try it out.

The results were a very tangy, savoury, spicy and rich chutney. It was easy to make and a very good recipe. From the first taste I had many ideas for different ways to use it up. So thank you Vegelicious...once again!

5-Spices Plum Chutney
(Recipe from Vegelicious.org)

1 tbsp mustard seeds
2 lb plums, pitted and roughly chopped
1 tbsp oil
1 med onion, chopped
2-3 tsp 5-Spice
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup white vinegar
3-4 tbsp brown sugar
dash of cayenne
dash of cinnamon

In a medium heat the mustard seeds until they change colour and start to pop. Add the oil and the onion, saute until soft. Add the chopped plums and stir well. Add the seasonings, vinegar and sugar. Cook on a low heat until the plums have softened and the mixture is thick and syrupy. Leave to cool. 

Enjoy!