Paw Paw Chutney

I'm one of those people who work best under pressure. If there's no deadline looming, you can be guaranteed I haven't started it yet. It seems that this is not only an area of talent in my professional life, but the skill also transfers into the kitchen as well! Some of my best recipes have been thrown together at the last minute, and this is no exception... It was created in 10 minutes on Monday afternoon at about 4:30, when I needed to have it ready to go by 6:30 the same day. I'd also been in Toowoomba all day. No pressure.. Luckily, we have a fabulous green grocer around the corner and I picked up a couple of 1/2 ripe papayas and a bottle of malt vinegar in a flying rush when I picked up N from Kindy. A quick practice run and I was in business. I flew out the door at 6:29 with my Thermomix bowl still warm from the practice batch. This is great to make when mangos are out of season, it has a similar taste & texture and is still just as delicious. It seemed to be a hit with my fellow Thermomix posse and I've had lots of them gently reminding me to hurry up and post the recipe all week!!! So... here goes. Just like the green mango chutney, this keeps well in the fridge or preserved in jars in the pantry. It's delicious with cold meats, dolloped on the side of a bbq plate, perfect with some sharp cheese on a cracker. It's excellent on sandwiches, it can be blended and mixed with a little oil to be used as a glaze for meats or roasted vegetables and is great with curries .

TM Instructions

Ingredients

450gms Green or 1/2 ripe Paw Paw or Papaya (approx 1/2 medium paw paw)
1 medium green apple - peeled and cored and cut into 4
1/2 medium red onion
10 gms peeled ginger
4-5 cloves garlic
1 birds eye chilli - if you want it spicy you can add more. If you're not keen on chilli remove the seeds
100gms pitted dates
100gms sultanas
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp salt
300gms malt vinegar
100gms water
300gms brown sugar

Method

1. Cut the skin off the paw paw and remove the seeds, cut into 3-4cm cubes 

2.) Add Paw Paw, Green apple, red onion and garlic to TM bowl and chop 2 secs | speed 5, set aside. 

3.) Add ginger and red chilli to bowl and chop 5 secs | Speed 6| scrape down side

4.) Add paw paw and apple/onion/garlic mix to TM bowl, add 100gms dates and 100gms sultanas, 1 tsp curry powder, 1/2 tsp allspice, 1 tsp salt, 300gms malt vinegar, 100gms water and cook 10 mins | varoma |sp 1 | reverse with MC cap on

5.) Add 300gms brown sugar and cook 50 mins | 100 deg | Sp soft | reverse with the varoma bottom on top - this lets the steam out but catches the spitting.

6.) Cook for a further 20 mins | varoma | Sp 2 | reverse with varoma bottom on top You should be able to tell if the chutney is ready, as it will be thick and sticky, and it will 'gel' when tested on a cold plate. 

Bottle in hot sterile jars.

This recipe makes approximately 1 litre of chutney.

Stovetop Method 

Ingredients:

3-4 medium to large paw paws

5 green apples

1 cup water

1.5 litres brown vinegar

1.5 kgs brown sugar

2 handful dates

2 handful sultanas or raisins

1 large knob of green ginger (peeled)

1 large knob of garlic  (all cloves peeled)

6 birds eye chillies (if you don't like spice you can leave these out or reduce down the amount)

1 teaspoon allspice

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 tablespoon salt

2 large red onions

1. Prepare paw paw as per TM method (peel, remove seeds)

2. Either use a food processor top chop paw paw/apple/onion/garlic/ginger OR dice up paw paw, apples, onion and garlic with a knife and grate ginger. Chop chillies finely. 

3. Add paw paw and apple to a large pot with 1 cup of water and bring to the boil stirring regularly

4. Add all ingredients EXCEPT sugar to a large pot, bring to the boil and then gently simmer for 1/2 an hour, stirring regularly

5. Add sugar and simmer on a low heat for 2.5 to 3.5 hours stirring regularly. 

This recipe makes about 3.5 kgs of chutney. If you don't have a pot large enough to put everything in, you can split it between 2 pots. Just halve the recipe if you don't want to make as much, the cooking time is similar though. 
Bottle in hot sterile jars.