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Blatjang
Dried apricot chutney
Blatjang: Cape Malay dried-apricot chutney with vinegar, chilli and ginger
Bo-Kaap households keep a jar of blatjang beside the salt, because a spoonful goes next to almost everything: bobotie, a bowl of curry and rice, cheese on toast, a braaied mielie. Dried apricots are simmered down in vinegar with onion, ginger, garlic and red chilli until the fruit collapses into a thick, glossy, burnt-orange paste that is sweet first, then sour, then warm at the back of the throat. Some aunties keep it chunky, others push it through a sieve until it is as smooth as a sauce; both are right. The usual mistake is to take it off the heat while it still looks loose in the pot, which leaves a runny chutney that weeps in the jar. Chef's tip: soak the apricots overnight in the vinegar and they break down in half the time, with a cleaner, brighter fruit flavour.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 16
Ingredients
- 9 oz dried apricotsroughly chopped
- 1 ½ cups white wine vinegaror apple cider vinegar; avoid malt vinegar if you need it gluten free
- 1 cup water
- 1 onionmedium, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garliccrushed
- ⅞ oz fresh gingerpeeled and finely grated
- 1 tsp dried red chilli flakesuse up to 2 tsp for a hot blatjang
- 1 tsp coriander seedslightly crushed
- 5 ½ oz brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ¾ oz seedless raisins (optional)for a darker, fruitier blatjang
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Put 9 oz dried apricots and 1 ¾ oz seedless raisins in a bowl, pour over 1 ½ cups white wine vinegar, cover and leave for at least 2 hours, or overnight at room temperature, until the fruit is plump.
Step 2: Wash two 350 ml jars and their lids in hot soapy water, rinse, then stand them upright in a 250°F oven for 15 minutes to sterilise. Leave them there until the chutney is ready.
15 minStep 3: Tip the soaked fruit and its vinegar into a heavy, non-reactive saucepan. Add 1 cup water, 1 onion, 3 cloves garlic, ⅞ oz fresh ginger, 1 tsp dried red chilli flakes and 1 tsp coriander seeds.
Step 4: Bring to the boil over a medium-high heat, then lower to a gentle simmer and cook, uncovered, stirring now and then, until the apricots are soft enough to squash with a spoon against the side of the pan.
20 minStep 5: Stir in 5 ½ oz brown sugar and 1 tsp salt until the sugar dissolves.
Step 6: Simmer over a low heat, stirring more often as it thickens so the bottom does not catch, until a spoon dragged across the base leaves a clear trail for a second or two before the chutney closes over it.
20 minStep 7: For a smooth blatjang, blend it with a stick blender or mash it hard with a potato masher; leave it as it is if you like it chunky. Taste and add a pinch more salt or chilli if it needs it.
Step 8: Spoon the hot chutney into the hot jars, filling to 1 cm below the rim, and screw the lids on straight away. Once cool, keep in the fridge and use within 2 months; once opened, use within 3 weeks with a clean spoon.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 70 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 17 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does blatjang take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 16 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of white wine vinegar?
- Cider vinegar or rice vinegar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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