Hot apple chutney

Hot as in spicy, not temperature!

I bought a jar of this last year at the Tenterden Country Market (Women's Institute sale) during a cycling trip around the Kent coast. Its flavour has haunted me ever since - in a good way, I hasten to add! It wasn't like any chutney I'd had before - although it was mostly apple it did not really taste of apple, it brought a myriad of mysterious spices to the mouth, exploding with flavour and heat in a truly addictive way!

Luckily the label listed the ingredients, I've been saving it on the jar ever since. Although I couldn't find an exact recipe anywhere, I managed to find one that was close enough for me to use as a starting point.

It still needs a little work - the original recipe doesn't mention rinsing the salt off the apple slices before you put them in the chutney, but on reflection I think I should have done this. I rescued about half of them and rinsed them, but I still think the resulting chutney will be a bit salty. Also I misread the amount of turmeric, and put twice as much in as was needed, so my wooden spoons and plastic jug are rather yellow at the moment!

I added fenugreek to the recipe I found on bigoven.com, and left out the raisins. I also left the sugar until the very last, rather than putting it in with the apples - this helps them break down better.

2lb (900g) cooking apples, peeled, cored & sliced
2tbsp salt
half a cup (4floz) vegetable oil
1 head garlic, peeled
1" (25mm) ginger root, peeled
2tsp mustard seeds
15 peppercorns, crushed
2tsp cumin powder
1 tsp turmeric
2tsp fenugreek
3 dried chillies, crushed
half a cup (4floz) cider vinegar
4oz (100g) sugar

Sprinkle the salt over the apple slices and set aside.



Crush half the garlic and grate half the ginger, thinly slice the rest. Heat the oil (yes I know it's a lot of oil) in a large pan and fry the garlic and ginger gently for a few minutes.

Add the rest of the spices and fry gently for a further three or four minutes.



Rinse the apple slices and add to the pan along with the vinegar. Cover the pan and cook until the apple has broken down. Add the sugar and cook for a further five minutes.

Spoon into sterilised jars, fill as full as you can.(Sterilise them by rinsing with boiling water - both the jar and lid - or putting them in a low oven for about five minutes). Let it mature for 4-6 weeks before eating. Mmmmm!