Loquats are a new discovery for me. I had heard of them before I started working at Natoora, but I only tried one for the first time last week. So when I was asked to do a cooking demonstration in the shop this Friday I thought I should experiment a bit with this lovely fruit.
Loquats have a texture and flavour akin to apricots, but with a sweet and sour element that lends itself well to Asian cooking. In its initial stages, without the Indian spices, this chutney tasted like a fruity Chinese sauce for duck or pork. Had that been my desired outcome, I would have stopped there, but it tasted a little odd as a chutney.
I added cumin, coriander seeds and cardamom and it was transformed. The result: a sweet and sour and sour Indian chutney with warming spices and a little kick.
You could serve this chutney as an appetiser with poppadums, along with some other dips, or as an accompaniment to curries and tandoori meat dishes.
Makes approximately 800ml.
Ingredients
1kg loquats
400g brown onions and/or eschalion shallots
1 mild red chilli, or to taste
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
10 green cardamom pods
8 cloves
500g sugar
300ml apple cider vinegar
50g ginger, peeled and julienned or grated thick
20g fresh turmeric, peeled and grated fine (optional)
2 tbsp mustard seeds
Salt, to taste
Method
Cut the loquats in half and remove the seeds and any thick skin or membrane. They do not need to be peeled, as this adds a nice texture. Chop into chunks (approx. 2 x 2cm).
Cut the onions and/or shallots (I used a bit of both) in half and slice into thin half moon slivers.
Slice the chilli in half, remove the seeds and white pith and chop very fine.
In a hot, dry frying pan, toast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds and cardamon until just brown and fragrant. Place in a mortar with the cloves and pound with a pestle until ground.
Place all the ingredients, except the salt, in a large heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat. If you are worried about the heat from the chilli, then withhold some and add more later if necessary.
Once it starts to boil, reduce the temperature to the lowest setting and simmer for approximately 2 hours or until the remaining liquid has a syrupy consistency. Stir occasionally to avoid burning it. Season with salt, to taste.
Spoon the warm chutney into the warm sterilised jars, wipe off any excess chutney around the rim of the jar and seal with the lid.
