I make chutney every autumn to give out as Christmas gifts and to scoff myself in the festive season with cheese and crackers. I am not a great cook and I most definitely cannot bake, if I can make chutney anyone can make chutney. Here is my recipe and step by step photos of the process.
Ingredients
- 1kg plums
- 3 large onions
- 100g dried figs
- 75g dried sultanas
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp dried cumin
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 bay leaf
- Cracked black pepper
- Pinch of salt
- 450ml red wine vinegar
- 500g light muscovado sugar
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160c and wash the jars in warm soapy water. Do not dry the jars, instead put them onto a baking tray and heat in the oven for 15 minutes to sterilise.
- Stone and finely chop the plums, finely chop the onions and dried figs, crush the garlic and add all of the ingredients accept the sugar to the large pan.
- Gently bring the ingredients to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.
- Simmer the chutney gently for around 2 hours, stirring regularly to avoid the chutney sticking to the pan.
- The chutney is ready when you can move a spoon through it and it takes a couple of seconds for the chutney to join back together behind the spoon.
- Fill the jars and seal. Store them in a cool dark place, allowing at least two weeks before eating. The chutney will last around six months although I have eaten my chutney well beyond this.
