East End Paradise by Jojo Tulloh

Author:Jojo Tulloh
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781446444108
Publisher: Random House

Apricot and cardamom chutney

Makes approx. 5 × medium/350ml jars

A perfectly juicy apricot, its skin smudged with red freckles, is sadly harder to find than you might think. Any apricots not quite worthy of being eaten fresh should be made into chutney; they cook down to make a sticky chutney that’s close to mango in texture and is a good relish for Indian and Middle Eastern meals. Apricots and cardamom complement each other well. To get the best result possible I threw out my jar of last year’s cardamom and bought a fresh packet of tight green pods from The Saver Plus supermarket on Bethnal Green Road. Outside the shop, boxes of Alphonse mangoes were stacked up; the kidney-shaped yellow fruit nestling in shredded paper, sent out a powerfully perfumed scent. Inside there was cardamom tea (a delicately spiced version of chai), coconut oil, ugly limes, giant frozen fish and racks of unknown vegetables. It’s a good idea to buy small packets of whole spices and be ruthless about any that have been lingering too long in the cupboard. Using fresh spices that you grind yourself will make a big difference to your cooking.

pickling spices

½ tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp mustard seeds

½ tsp coriander seeds

1 stick of cinnamon

4 cloves

a few flakes of dried chilli

6 cardamom pods

for the chutney

450g onions, finely chopped (weight after chopping)

400ml distilled clear vinegar

1kg apricots, halved and stoned

1 walnut-sized piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated

150g raisins

2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and sliced thinly

350g soft light brown sugar

sea salt and pepper

Place the spices in a pickling bag (see Basics, here).

Peel and slice the onions. Put them in the bottom of a large stainless steel saucepan with half the vinegar. Simmer gently for 10 minutes. Keeping the heat low, add the apricots to the pan along with the rest of the vinegar, the pickling bag of spices, the ginger, raisins, chilli, sugar and a little salt and pepper. Keep stirring the mixture until the sugar is fully dissolved. Cook the mixture at a gentle simmer for between 30 and 45 minutes, stirring from time to time. You are aiming for a thick jam-like texture. Taste the chutney and adjust the seasoning if you feel it necessary. Remove from the heat and spoon the chutney into hot sterilised jars (see Basics, here). Use a chopstick to slide two or three cardamom pods down into each jam jar next to the glass for appearance and to add a little flavour whilst storing.

Seal and store in a dark cupboard for at least a month. This gives the flavours a chance to develop and the vinegar time to mellow before eating.

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