Caramelised Onion Chutney

By McDonald, T.  |  Date 3rd of September 2021

You are new to cooking and you want to make something different to go in your sandwiches, on your crackers with your vegan cheese or something to add to the side of your plate at dinner time.  Onion chutney, a sweet onion gooey delight, is great for any of those and if you make enough of it, it will last for ages in the fridge.  However, it is best if you leave it for a few weeks before you start consuming it.  Can last for about six months in the fridge.

Literature search 

The Guardian (2010) 'Caramelised Onion Chutney Recipe'  Guardian News & Media Limited.  Available at https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/03/caramelised-red-onion-chutney-recipe (Accessed on 16/08/21).

Palmer, N.  (2021) 'Onion Chutney Recipe' Good To Know. Available at https://www.goodto.com/recipes/onion-chutney (Accessed on 16/08/21)

Tesco (n.d.) 'Caramelised Onion Chutney Recipe' Available at https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/caramelised-onion-chutney.html (Accessed on 16/08/21)

Klmeyer77 (n.d.) 'Caramelised Red Onion Chutney' BBC Good Food, Immediate Media Company Limited.  Available at https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/user/429194/recipe/caramelised-red-onion-chutney (Accessed on 16/08/21)

After examining the ingredients from the literature search,  I decided on the common ingredients and picked out some extras.  Obviously, onions where going to play a big part, but I really do not think it matters if they are red or not.  Next i noticed the use of vegetable oil so i went with olive oil.  All of the recipes used both balsamic and wine vinegar; however, I will use cider vinegar simply because I have it in the cupboard and it will not make much difference.  All of the recipes use a dark sugar, so i will stick with that.  I liked the paprika idea from the Tesco recipe, so I used that in my recipe too.  Although I noticed bay leaves used in some recipe, I left that out because it will not make much difference and i will have to fish it out at the end.  Now I feel confident about the independents I will use, I can list them. 

Servings 1 large jar

Time about 1 hr

Ingredients 

• 4 Onions (Either red or white or both!)
  
• 100g dark muscovado sugar (Brown sugar works OK too)
  
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 75ml balsamic vinegar
• 75ml cider vinegar (or any wine vinegar)
  
• 2 Garlic cloves finely chopped 
  
• 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 0.5 tsp salt
  
• 0.5 tsp paprika
• 0.5 tsp ground cayenne chilli pepper 

Apparatus 

• Large frying pan
• Spatula
  
•  Jar (I used a large jar that orientally housed pickled beat root)
  

Method

Step 1

1. Cut the onions into short, thin slices and put them into a pan with the oil.  
2. Cook gently on a low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring regularly.  The onions should be soft and not browned.

Cut into thin short slices

Onions soft and not browned

Step 2

1. Add the sugar and the vinegars and increase the heat, and cook for 7-10 mins. 
2. Lower the heat again and add the remaining ingredients.  
3. Simmer for 30 minutes or so, until the chutney is thick and dark.  
4. You know when the chutney is ready because it oozes in the pan rather than runs.  The viscosity is very thick and gloopy. 
   

Chutney is looking darker

The Chutney oozes back when the spatula runs across the pan

Step 3

1. Spoon the chutney into a sterilised jar, cover the jar with a clean cloth or tea towel and let it cool.
2. In order to maximise the flavour leave the chutney in the fridge for 3 - 4 weeks.

Chutney in jar

Results

The chutney was sweet and tasty!  I was very pleased with the results.  It had a good thick sauce and the onion was just right: soft and of good size pieces. 

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