I adore dips, chutneys and relishes that come with food, so when I first tried the spiced carrot chutney at the superb Benares restaurant years ago, I knew I had to try to make it at home.
This perky little chutney is sweet, sharp, slightly spicy and utterly delicious. The recipe is from my file of hastily scribbled ideas arising from delicious treats I have eaten in restaurants.
One of the first things I do when I get home after a great meal out is to jot-down my memories of the dishes in the hope of eventually recreating them at home.
The joys of adapting
I sometimes add other ingredients to the pan at the start, depending on the mood I am in at the time. Favourites include:
- a tablespoon or two of black mustard seeds, heated in a little vegetable oil in a pan for a few minutes until they pop
- 2-3 teaspoons of cumin seeds, toasted for a few minutes and left whole
- a few roughly torn fresh or frozen curry leaves
- 2-3 tablespoons of toasted desiccated coconut
- the grated zest and juice of 2 limes
- 3-4 tablespoons tamarind juice
- 3 whole black cardamom pods added at the start for a slight smoky flavour (remember to remove them at the end!)
Serve and enjoy!
Served straight from the fridge, this chutney is perfect with cheese, scooped onto poppadoms or on flatbreads. It’s also great stirred into a curry at the last minute.
I also love using this chutney for mini canapés: one of my favourites is spooned onto mini flatbreads with a little lime yoghurt and topped with spiced prawns:
My chutney recipe might not be truly authentic in terms of the chutney we ate in the restaurant, but we keep eating it whenever we open a new jar!
Recipe: Indian carrot chutney – makes 2-3 medium jars
- 500g carrots, trimmed, peeled and coarsely grated*
- 4 fat cloves of garlic, peeled
- 3” piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 medium onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1 red chilli, deseeded if preferred – or 1 teaspoon red chilli powder/flakes of choice
- 1 rounded tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 rounded tablespoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 250ml white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
- 200g sugar (caster, granulated, brown….or a mixture)
*alternatively, pop chunks of carrot into the food processor and pulse with the other ingredients, trying to retain texture in the carrots. You then cook all of this in the pan in one go for about 50-60 minutes in total.
(1) Put the garlic, ginger, onion and chilli into a food processor along with a splash of the vinegar: blitz to give a coarse paste.
(2) Empty the contents of the blender into a large pan, along with the remaining ingredients, apart from the garam masala.
(3) Bring the mixture to a simmer over a medium heat, stirring from time to time to help dissolve the sugar.
(4) Pop on a lid and let it simmer over a low heat for about 30 minutes before removing the lid, adding the garam masala and simmering for about 20-30 more minutes or until there is barely any liquid left and the liquid you can see is slightly syrupy: the carrots will still retain texture and will not have gone mushy.
(5) Place into sterilised jars and pat down gently to get more in and to reduce air bubbles in there. This chutney can be eaten immediately or it can be stored in a cool place for several months. Chill once opened: it is particularly fabulous served straight from the fridge!
Other recipes that go with this chutney:
Phil's Home Kitchen 