I've been continuing to try to work my way through the ridiculous quantity of feijoas that we've suddenly come into. So far I've made two apple-feijoa crumbles, a batch of chocolate-feijoa friands, and a feijoa custard tart. I have a bunch of other feijao recipes queued up as well. But, for today, I decided to give this chutney a try.

It was certainly... interesting.

Recipe as written called for a truly terrifying amount of both vinegar and sugar. I tried it with half the amount of vinegar and no sugar at first. But it tasted a little flat, so I decided to add some of the sugar called for in the recipe and adjust from there.

I actually started with only 1/3 the quantity of sugar called for. I felt like that was being quite conservative. But, having tasted it, I think it probably could have done with even less. I'd probably cut the sugar back to just 50g (1/6 the amount called for in the original recipe) next time.

I also added a few more seasonings after tasting it several times. I think the seasonings helped. A lot. But, I have to admit, this is still not an amazing recipe. It's fine. It's not bad. It's just not great either. All-in-all, I think I'd rather do other things with my feijoas.

Feijoa Chutney

Adapted from RNZ

Ingredients

• 1kg feijoa pulp
• 500g onions
• 300g dates
• 200g raisins
• 400-500mL malt vinegar¹
• 1/4 c. tomato paste
• 50g brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. curry powder
• 1 Tbsp. ground ginger
• 1 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 2 tsp. Maggi liquid seasoning
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cayenne

Directions

1. Purée the feijoas with the onions, dates, raisins, and vinegar (or blitz in a food processor).
2. Stir in the tomato paste, sugar, curry powder, ginger, garlic, Maggi seasoning, soy sauce, salt, and cayenne and bring to a boil over medium heat.
3. Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer, stirring often, until mixutre is heated through and desired conistency is achieved.
4. Adjust seasoning to taste.

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¹ The original recipe called for a whopping 1L of vinegar. I cut this back to 500mL in my rendition. That said, I think it probably could have stood to have been cut back even further. I might try it with just 400mL next time. This would make the vinegar a little less overpowering and hopefully make the chutney a little thicker as well. ^Back

This is written as an InstantPot recipe with fresh tomatoes. I didn't have any fresh tomatoes on hand, but I did have some canned diced tomatoes. I figured that the canning process would have the same effect as the pressure cooking, so I just skipped over the first cooking stage and continued on from there.

Tomato & Date Chutney

Slightly adapted from Vegetarian Indian Cooking with Your Instant Pot by Manali Singh

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 3/4 tsp. mustard seeds
• 400mL diced tomatoes (canned)
• 8-9 medjool dates, chopped
• 1/4 c. jaggery
• 1/4 c. chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. Bin Bhuna Hua Garam Masala
• 3/4 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1/8 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. sultanas

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add mustard seeds, cover, and cook until seeds have stopped popping (30-60 seconds).
3. Add tomatoes, dates, jaggery, chili powder, garam masala, cumin seeds, ginger (if using), and salt.
4. Cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add sultanas and cook for another 5 minutes.

Tamarind-Date Sauce

I have to admit, I've only actually made this once before. And, if I'm being totally and completely honest, I think I like the store-bought versions just as well, if not better.

Tamarind-Date Sauce
From 660 Curries
1 tsp. tamarind concentrate
1/4 c. chopped jaggery (or firmly packed brown sugar)
10 pitted dates, chopped

1. Dissolve tamarind into 1 1/2 c. water.
2. Add the jaggery and dates and bring to a boil over medium heat.
3. Boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until liquid has reduced by half.
4. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
5. Transfer to a blender jar and puree until smooth.
6. Store in fridge or freezer until ready to use. (Will keep in fridge for 5-7 days.)

Mint-Yogurt Sauce with Chiles

This is a wonderful chutney. I really love the cilantro-mint combo. That said, I can't generally be bothered to make it from scratch these days. There is an Indian grocery store right around the corner from us that sells jars of "cilantro-mint chutney" that, while not as good as homemade, are still perfectly acceptable condiments.

If you do decide that you want to make your own chutney (or if you can't easily buy ready-made sauces), here's the recipe I use.

Mint-Yogurt Sauce
Slightly adapted from 660 Curries
1/2 c. firmly packed fresh cilantro
1/2 c. firmly packed fresh mint
1 Tbsp. plain yogurt
1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
6 fresh green Thai chiles
1 Tbsp. ginger paste

1. Combine all ingredients in blender jar along with 1/4 c. water. Puree until smooth.
2. Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer until ready to use. Will keep 5-7 days in the fridge.