Banana Chutney

When faced with one quickly ripening banana you can throw it in smoothie; 3-4 can be transformed into a delicious cake; but a whole bunch?

Really, I don’t know how that happened. I’ve been so good to consciously not buy more than our household can consume – but life happens, and so did my stash of bananas.

As I already have a generous freezer bag filled with frozen banana pieces (peeled, they freeze really well in an airtight container and perfect for smoothies) I thought I’d look for something a little different.

I reached for my trusty old Digby Law’s Pickle & Chutney Recipe book. He was such a pioneer, a foodie hero in my eyes! Virtually any fruit or vegetable you can name he had a chutney or relish recipe for it….and sure enough a Banana Chutney.

Now I must say that I do adapt recipes to my own liking, this being no exception. I personally don’t like raisins. It was a lingering childhood memory of raisins sticking in my teeth only to taste them hours later I think did it.  And all these years on I will go to extremes to detect and remove them from any morsel (yes, I’ve been known to pick them out of Christmas Cake).  So, out go the raisins (which includes sultanas, currants or glace cherries as they fall under the same category for me) and in goes dates. Dates I can handle, along with other dried stone fruit.

I digress.

What do you eat Banana Chutney with? It’s a great condiment for a curry or starter platter, dolloped on cheese and crackers or simply on hot buttered toast!

Banana Chutney

Makes: approx 1.5 litres

Ingredients

• 5 medium onions
• 8 ripe bananas
• 1 1/2 cup chopped dates, de-stoned
• 1 1/2 cups white vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups water

Method

1. Finely chop the onions, mash the bananas and place in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan with the dates and vinegar.
2. Simmer for around 20 minutes, stirring regularly.
3. Add remaining ingredients and continue to simmer gently, stirring often so it doesn’t stick on the bottom, for around an hour until the chutney is thick.
4. Spoon into sterilised jars and seal.

What more can I say? It smells great, it tastes great and I will be enjoying it for months to come.

To check out my other banana recipes and usage ideas check the #banana tag below or some great recipes across at  Love Food Hate Waste such as the Banana Peel Cake.

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