Ingredients

• 3 kg green tomatoes
• 8 oz (250g) dried dates
• 8 oz (250g) raisins
• Just under 1 pint white wine or cider vinegar (400-500ml)
• 16 bay leaves
• 4 tsp red pepper (chilli powder)
• 4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp ground cloves
• 2 tsp ground nutmeg or mace
• 1 tsp crushed peppercorns
• 1 tsp crushed brown cardamom seed
• 4 tsp whole black cumin seed (kala zeera)
• 2 tbs salt
• 4 tbs fresh lime or lemon juice
• 2 lb (1kg) sugar

Optional:

• 4 oz (125g) shelled pistachio nuts
• 8 oz (250g) toasted almonds

Method

Cook the green tomatoes briefly: in a pressure cooker, bring to H and let pressure drop naturally. Or boil and let cool.

Sieve the pulp or put it through a passata machine. Gently simmer to reduce the pulp to 2 litres (reduce volume by approx. 1/3) in a stainless steel pan. (I do this the day before, and the rest the following day)

Simmer dates and raisins in vinegar until soft. Add them to the reduced green tomato pulp in the pan.

Simmer slowly for about an hour until all ingredients are soft, stirring now and then to prevent sticking. Take off the heat and blend for a smooth chutney (hand blender is easiest).

Add salt, sugar, bay leaves, and spices. Simmer for another hour or two until it becomes a thick puree.

Add the lime or lemon juice (and nuts, if you wish). Simmer gently for another hour or so until desired thickness is reached. Remove from heat and pour into sterilised jars.

Yields approx 8lb/4 kg or 4 litres of ‘mango’ chutney

Notes:

This lovely recipe was originally put on the forums by Supersprout, who unfortunately died earlier this year. A lovely lady who was thought a lot of by so many people on so many forums.

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Making Your Own Chutney?

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