Indian Spiced Beetroot Chutney

It’s been rather a long time since my last post and you might think I´ve stopped cooking. But no, on the contrary, like most people this past year, I have been cooking more than ever. My disappearance has no doubt, something to do with the ups and downs of these weird times but that’s only part of it.

My other excuse – a much happier one – and that is that after 10 years of living in Spain we have finally bought a house! We haven’t moved far from where we were but we have moved into a totally different world – into the country, off grid, with a beautiful big mature garden and enough bird life to make us think we are living in a bird sanctuary.

After so many years of living without a garden, I couldn’t wait to start growing my own vegetables. There’s nothing like picking your own fresh produce and turning it into something delicious. Fortunately, the timing of our move was perfect – the beginning of spring – so we slapped together a couple of raised beds which are now overflowing with vibrant green leaves.

Although this Indian Spiced Beetroot Chutney wasn´t made from my own beets, the next batch will be! My beets are developing nicely! This chutney is surprisingly easy to make and is great to have on hand to liven up a sandwich, add colour and interest to a platter of cheeses, smoked salmon or cold meats. The Indian spices give it an interesting touch and it looks lovely too!

Note: The recipe will give you about 8 small jars. I like to make half the amount at a time.

Indian Spiced Beetroot Chutney

Ingredients

• 1kg beetroot
• 2 onions
• 4 green apples
• 500ml white wine or cider vinegar
• 500g sugar
• 2 tsp each : garlic, grated ginger, ground cinnamon, mustard seeds
• 1 tsp each: cumin and ground cloves
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1tsp chilli flakes (optional but recommended!)

Method

Cook the beetroot till tender. You can steam or boil it. Allow to cool then peel and dice. Dice the onions and apples and put all in a saucepan with the sugar, vinegar, spices and lemon juice.

Bring the mixture to the boil then simmer uncovered for at least half an hour or until it starts to thicken. Keep going if you think it needs it.

Bottle in sterilised jars. Once opened store in the fridge. It gets better with time!