Another chutney for you to try – the difference with this one is that the sugar is used to coat and almost caramalise the squash to keep it “nice and crunchable My Precious” . Here we go:

INGERDIENTS

1kg butternut squash peeled and cut into dice size pieces
3 Bramley apples (500g ish) peeled and cut into dice size pieces
4 TBSP cooking oil
2 large onions finely chopped
100g piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1 hot chilli of your liking
15 cardamom pods, crushed open
2 cinnamon sticks, snapped in half
1 TBSP mustard seeds
2 tsp cumin seed
4 garlic cloves, grated
1 tsp ground turmeric
500g light soft brown sugar
300ml cider vinegar

METHOD

Heat the oil in a large pan, then gently fry the onions, ginger, chilli, cardamom, cinnamon, mustard and cumin seeds together for 5 mins, until the spices are aromatic and your house smells like an Indian Takeaway – mine did!

Stir the garlic, squash and apples into the onion mix, then cook for 10-15 mins, until the onions and apples are soft and the squash gives a little (ie the squash is not rock hard!)

Stir in the turmeric and sugar and let it melt around the vegetables. Simmer for 5 mins – this process almost candies the chunks of squash, so that it doesn’t entirely break down during the next step.

Pour in the vinegar, season with 2 tsp salt, then bring the chutney back to a simmer. Cook, stirring regularly, for about 30 mins or until the apple has cooked down to make a squishy base for the chutney, with chunks of tender squash here and there, and a little syrupiness at the bottom of the pan – you don’t want the chutney to be too dry as it will thicken as it cools

Spoon the hot chutney into sterilised jars and seal.

The chutney can be eaten straight away, or left to mellow. You can store it for 6-12 months.