We took a short road trip to the Hobsonville Point Farmers Market a few months ago after hearing about it from friends. So worth the drive – great selection of organically grown fruit & veg, lovely home made cheeses, relishes and breads.  You can try all the products before you buy…and trust me, you will definitely find something yummy to buy!

One of the ‘must have’ purchases was a jar of Eggplant Kasundi. Now I don’t know about  you but I have never really done much with eggplants. I have looked at them in the supermarket & often thought they seem over priced, and then that has put me off even trying to do something with them 🙂

But this Eggplant Kasundi was absolutely delicious! And at $9.00 for a 250ml jar had to replicated in my kitchen for the most obvious of all reasons $$$$

I searched the internet for recipes and in the end decided to make a mash up of a couple of different ideas and taste as I went. Kasundi is an Indian Spiced Tomato Chutney but not really a ‘hot’ spice so delicious on a cheese platter or with a BBQ’d sausage!

Here’s what I ended up with:

1 eggplant, cut into 1.5cm thick pieces – Heat a pan over a high heat with about 2 tablespoons of oil. (the eggplant absorbs the oil so make the pan hot and keep the stuff moving in the pan) – cook half the eggplant, stirring for 5 minutes or until golden. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a bowl. Repeat with remaining eggplant, reheating the pan between batches.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan, and cook 1 medium diced onion for a few minutes until soft. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cumin, 1  teaspoon ground coriander, 1/2 – 1 teaspoon ground chilly or chilli flakes. Continue cooking for a further 2 minutes. Add 1 x 400g can crushed tomatoes, 2 teaspoons sugar and 2 teaspoons of vinegar. Add the eggplant 🙂 Simmer for 10-15 minutes until reduced to a thick chutney consistency. Season to  taste with salt and pepper.

I got 6 x 250g jars of Eggplant Kasundi from this mix so it actually went quite far.

ps…sterlise your jars by washing and rinsing them in hot water, and then popping in a  heated oven until ready to use them. Screw the lid down nice & tight, and you will know you are sorted when the centre of the lid is depressed (not sad, but just dented inwards!)

Give this a go..I always thought making relish and chutney’s was tricky but it is really easy. Oh, and I bought the cute little jars from the Warehouse for $1 each.

Happy ‘preserving ‘ xx