Indian Style Zucchini Chutney

I worked with Melanie some time ago, she passed this recipe onto me and gave me permission to share it. After filling my kitchen with the warm, intense smell of this chutney and then the taste – Wow! – I am thrilled that she did.

Melanie calls the recipe Kasouni. As I write this the spicy, warm, rich smell of the Kasouni is still wafting past me from the cooking this morning. I have been so enamoured with the smell that has pervaded my kitchen I collected some fresh tomatoes from my garden and used it for our lunch. Instead of Curried Tomatoes on toast I made Kasouni Tomatoes on Toast.

I tried to look up Kasouni to get some information about it’s origin but the closest thing I found was Kasundi. An Indian style chutney that uses similar ingredients so I think it may be of Indian origin, but I am not sure.

Preparation: 20 minutes
Cook time: approximately 1 hour
Makes: approximately 750 grams

I used zucchini (courgettes) and eggplant as I have a continuous supply of those in my garden at the moment. Melanie tells me that you can also use tomato, I will try adding that in the next batch I make.

Ingredients:

125 grams of fresh ginger peeled and chopped
65 grams of fresh garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
60 grams of green chillis (adjust according to your tastes but it is supposed to be spicy)
25 ml of malt vinegar
125ml of sunflower or grapeseed oil
45 grams of black mustard seeds (I used brown mustard seeds)
15 grams of tumeric powder
45 grams of cumin seed powder
30 grams of dried chilli flakes
225 mls extra of Malt Vinegar
125 grams of brown sugar
35 grams of salt
700 grams of zucchini (courgettes) peeled and grated
300 grams of eggplant peeled and grated

Steps:

Mince the ginger, garlic and chillis with 25 ml of the malt vinegar in a blender
Heat the oil until it is very hot and then add the mustard, tumeric, cumin, and chilli flakes and stir for a few minutes. Be careful not to let it stick or burn
Add the minced garlic, ginger and chilli and cook for another few minutes, again ensuring that it doesn’t stick or burn
Add the remaining ingredients, stir and let it simmer gently for 1 hour
It is ready when the oil rises to the top of the pot and the ingredients have thickened
Pot into steralised jars and store in a cool dry spot. Refrigerate when opened

For detailed information on sterilizing jars for storage of Preserves review the USD Complete Guide to Home Canning (Guide 01).

**It is important that you ensure you use safe food preparation and storage techniques when preserving. You can find detailed information via the link to the USD Complete Guide to Home Canning.

Recipe Ideas:

Use this mouth-watering chutney with:

Garden fresh tomatoes, the zing and burst of flavor from the fresh tomatoes marries well with the sharpness of the chilli and the warmth of the other spices.
Cold roast meat
Cheese
As the base of a curry

Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipe Melanie.

I think this one is going to be like the Chilli Jam – it will not last long. After tasting this recipe I am smitten, I can not think of a better way to use up the excess zucchini and eggplants from my garden.

Johanna says:

March 5, 2012 at 1:13 pm

Hi Kyrstie, this looks like a delicous relish! My mother and grandmother used to make relish all the time from their gardens so I am therefore a big fan of all things relish. They are so good on indian curries and on cold meat sandwiches as you say! I will be sure to make this one! Thank you and happy blogging.

Joan says:

September 30, 2012 at 8:50 am

how do you convert grams of spices to tbs

Kyrstie says:
September 30, 2012 at 1:25 pm

Hi Joan, I use scales when making this recipe but the (dry) spices are approximately 1 tablespoon equals 10-12 grams (depending on the spice). The fresh ingredients I will have to make a note to measure next time I make it, which won’t be until my eggplants, tomatoes and zucchinis are producing in summer sometime. I will update the recipe with both lots of measurement then. Regards, Kyrstie

Grace says:

February 5, 2015 at 9:55 am

What are the red pieces in the jars? I can’t see in the recipe anything red.

Kyrstie Barcak says:
February 5, 2015 at 9:57 am

Hi Grace, it is red from the chilli flakes and a few of my fresh chillis were red that I used also (eg: not all were green).

john barfoot says:

August 28, 2016 at 12:10 am

Seems an awful of chilli flakes, mustard, cumin etc. How hot does it turn out as. Regards

Kyrstie Barcak says:
August 28, 2016 at 5:34 pm

It is alot John and yes it is hot. You only use a little at a time.
- Jen says:
  March 27, 2018 at 8:43 am
  
  Hi Kyrstie,
  Thank you for this recipe. This will be my first time making chutney. Could I replace the eggplant with capsicum?
  
  Thanks.
  - Kyrstie Barcak says:
    March 27, 2018 at 8:08 pm
    
    Hi Jen, yes you can. I regularly switch ingredients based on what I have on hand. Just make use slightly more capsicum as it is not as bulky as eggplant and cut it as finely as you can. You may like to check my other similar recipe also. https://afreshlegacy.net/kasundi-recipe/ Enjoy
    - Jen says:
      March 29, 2018 at 3:01 pm
      
      Hi Krystie,
      Great! Thank you very much. I’ll try capsicum.

Kasouni Recipe-Indian Style Zucchini Chutney

Kasouni Recipe-Indian Style Zucchini Chutney