This spicy cucumber chutney recipe is a great way to preserve cucumbers from your garden and have a delicious chutney throughout the year. Full of flavor, cucumber chutney is often served with roasted meats, cheese flatbread, or is also perfect as a stand-alone side dish.
While I love to use fresh cucumbers dipped in hummus when their season starts, I search for other alternatives on how to use up the bounty of cucumbers from my garden.
In this post, however, I decided to cover two methods of making cucumber chutney.
The first method using slow-cooked cucumbers with herbs and spices is useful when you wonder what to do with too many cucumbers.
This method requires some cooking and a sauce pot or pressure cooker.
The second method is made of raw cucumbers and uses just a food processor or blender to make delicious raw cucumber chutney.
What is Chutney?
Originating from India, chutney is a gluten-free, vegan condiment made of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices. While South Africans often use apricots in their chutneys (see this dried apricot chutney) , English prefer apples. Chutney is often preserved with sugar or vinegar and served with various dishes.
What is cucumber chutney?
Cucumber chutney combines shredded cucumber with garlic, ginger, and aromatic herbs such as mint and cilantro. Adjusted with lime juice and salt, this cucumber chutney recipe is spicy chutney that complements curries, pork, or cheese.
Cucumbers
As the main ingredient in this recipe, cucumbers are one of the low-calorie fruit with a good amount of water and soluble fiber. They are also high in vitamins C and A and antioxidants and are considered an ideal ingredient for weight loss. Many people think that cucumber is a vegetable but it, is actually a fruit.
While cucumber doesn’t have that much of a distinct taste, this chutney, however, is packed with flavor.
There is a large number of cucumber varieties with different textures, flavors, or sizes.
The best seedless varieties for this particular recipe are English Cucumbers. You can also use other cucumber types; just cut them in half and scrape out the bulk of the seeds before shredding.
If you happen to have a leftover of cucumbers, make this delicious cucumber and beet salad that will exceed your expectations.
How to Make Cucumber Chutney with cooked cucumber
This method requires a saucepot, pressure cooker or dutch oven
Making your own chutney is an easy process that any beginner can manage.
First step
Cut the cucumber into small pieces or shred them, add salt and let them sit for a while to get rid of moisture.
Second step
In the meantime Heat olive oil in a saucepot and fry two red chilies till crisp. Make sure you don’t burn them
Third step
Add onion cut into cubes and 2 cloves of chopped garlic and grated ginger. Fry them for 4 minutes or until light brown.
Fourth step
Remove the moisture from cucumbers using a strainer or cheesecloth and squeeze most of the moisture. Once most of the water had come out, discard the water and add the cucumber to the saucepan. Cover with the lid and cook till they have a mushy texture.
Fifth step
add brown sugar, wine vinegar and herbs – cilantro and mint
Sixth step
Add lemon juice and cook on high for 5 minutes or until the mixture thickens in consistency.
Adjust seasoning as needed.
Cucumber chutney recipe with raw cucumber
This method requires a food processor or blender
First step
Cut the cucumber into small pieces or shred them, add salt and let them sit for a while to get rid of moisture.
Second step
Remove the moisture from cucumbers with the use of a strainer or cheesecloth and squeeze it out. Once most of the water had come out, discard the water and use just a cucumber.
Third step
Blend the cucumber with other ingredients in a food processor or blender until a smooth consistency. Taste and adjust the taste with the seasoning, brown sugar, lemon and red wine vinegar to your liking
Fourth step
Fill it into sterilized jars and firmly screw the lids.
Keep it in the fridge for a week or refrigerate for later use.
Tip: Be careful with double-dipping. Your saliva-contaminated spoon may spoil your chutney!
How to eat Cucumber Chutney
It makes a delicious accompaniment to Indian food such as basmati rice, bread-like naan, or curry dishes.
The flavorful chutney will complement any meat dishes such as wild game but also works well with beef, pork, and chicken.
Chutney perks up with creamy cheeses like brie or goat cheese.
Mix this chutney cucumber jam with sour cream or yogurt to make a tasty spread on toast or crackers.
Some people use it to make an overnight marinate with olive oil for chicken or beef.
This cucumber chutney makes a fresh addition to fried foods like vegan shawarma, samosa or pakora.
It adds a refreshing element to delicious doubles, a typical Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) street food.
How to Store this spicy cucumber jam
The first cooked method of cucumber chutney has a longer shelf life. In a sterilized glass jar, this cucumber chutney will last up to one month in the refrigerator. The second method with raw cucumber, however can last up to 5 days only if refrigerated.
If you want to extend its shelf life, you can simply can it. Place firmly screwed jars into the pot of boiling water so that the jars are covered by at least 5 cm (2 inches) and boil them for 10 minutes at low heat. You can store them at room temperature for over two years.
If this cucumber chutney is too runny, bring the mixture back to the boil and simmer to reduce the liquid. Cucumber is very juicy, so you need to:
1) use just a pulp, not the seeds inside,
2) you should let the cucumber sit with salts to get rid of the most moisture before mixing it with other ingredients.
Cucumber chutney (with raw and cooked cucumber)
Ingredients
- 2 cucumbers
- 2 cups cilantro loosely packed, with stems
- 1 cup mint leaves
- ½ cup red onion chopped
- 1-2 stemmed green chilies Thai bird chili works great or 1 tsp chili pepper flakes
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp ginger grated
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pinch cinnamon powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cucumber chutney with cooked cucumber
- Cut the cucumber into small pieces or shred them, add salt and let them sit for a while to get rid of moisture.
- In the meantime Heat olive oil in a saucepot and fry 2 red chilies till crisp. Make sure you don’t burn them
- Add onion cut into cubes and 2 cloves of chopped garlic and grated ginger. Fry them for 4 minutes or until light brown.
- Remove the moisture from cucumbers with the use of a strainer or cheesecloth and squeeze most of the moisture. Once most of the water had come out, discard the water and add the cucumber to the saucepan. Cover with the lid and cook till they have a mushy texture.
- add brown sugar and red wine vinegar
- Add herbs – cilantro and mint
- Add lemon juice and cook on high for 5 minutes or until the mixture thickens in consistency.
- Adjust seasoning as needed.
- Cucumber chutney with raw cucumber
- Cut the cucumber into small pieces or shred them,
- add salt and let them sit for a while to get rid of moisture.
- Remove the moisture from cucumbers with the use of a strainer or cheesecloth and squeeze it out.
- Once most of the water had come out, discard the water and use just a cucumber
- Blend the cucumber with other ingredients in a food processor or blender until a smooth consistency
- Fill it into sterilized jars and firmly screw the lids
- Taste and adjust the salt and lemon to your liking
- Keep it in the fridge for a week or refrigerate for later use
spreading it on sandwiches, using it as a dip for chips, or even dolloping it over roasted vegetables. The possibilities are endless!