This magnificent Carrot, Tomato and Cardamom Chutney is sweet, mildly spiced and delicious. You get sweetness from the carrots, a kick of heat from red chilli and aroma from the cardamom. A beautiful combination of flavours in a jar!
Perfect spread in sandwiches or as part of a cheese board with crackers.
What is Carrot Chutney?
In English cuisine, carrot chutney refers to a sweet and tangy condiment made from carrots, sugar, vinegar, and various spices.
It is often used as a spread in sandwiches or served alongside cheese and crackers. English carrot chutney typically has a chunky texture and may include ingredients like onions.
The chutney is made by cooking peeled and grated carrots in a mixture of vinegar and sugar until it reaches a sticky, thick, jam-like consistency. Spices such as mustard seeds, ginger, and cloves are commonly used to add flavour.
It’s a popular homemade condiment in many English households, and commercial varieties are also available in stores.
My version has the addition of tomatoes to add additional flavour and a welcome tartness to the chutney. Adding whole cardamom gives a delicious floral taste but of course, it can be omitted from the recipe.
I also like to use a little red chilli. The result isn’t “spicy” despite the addition of chillies, but rather provides a warmth. You can of course, omit the chilli flakes.
It is naturally vegan and gluten-free.
Tomato Carrot Chutney Ingredients
Carrots – peeled and grated
Tomatoes – roughly chopped
Red onion – finely chopped chopped
Ginger and garlic puree
Whole green cardamom
Red chilli flakes – can be left out
Brown Sugar – alternatively use regular white sugar
Cider vinegar
Olive oil
Salt to taste
If you struggle to find cardamom, you can of course, leave it out.
How to prepare the ingredients
Start by washing and peeling the carrots. For ease, you can use a food processor to quickly grate the carrots. You can of course grate by hand using a box grater or similar.
Roughly chop the tomatoes by hand or pulse in a food processor until chopped. You can do the same with the red onion.
To make the ginger and garlic puree, firstly peel both. Now place into a food processor and blitz until you achieve a paste consistency.
The chutney takes approximately takes 1 hour to cook including prep time.
Storage
A few years back, my Mum made a very large batch of this carrot chutney and it lasted for 1 year.
I recommend storing the chutney in the fridge. An unopened jar should keep for a year however, consume an opened jar within 4 weeks.
You can make this carrot chutney ahead of time and allow the flavours to keep melding together.
Serving Suggestion
There are so many tasty ways of serving carrot chutney.
Traditionally, chutneys go well with:
- a cheese board
- spread in sandwiches
- spread on these Rosemary an Black Pepper Oatcakes
Carrot chutney is also great for gifting.
You can also roast root vegetables and toss in this chutney for incredible flavour.
Other chutney recipes
Red Pepper and Chili Chutney for Cheese
Apricot Pepper and Thyme Chutney
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Carrot Chutney with Tomato and Cardamom
Ingredients
- 500 gram carrots peeled and grated
- 300 gram tomatoes chopped
- 1 red onion finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon ginger and garlic puree
- 5 whole green cardamom
- 1 tablespoon red chilli flakes
- 400 gram brown sugar or use white sugar
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 10 tablespoon cider vinegar
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Keep a few small sterile jars ready.
- Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onion and cook on a very low heat for about 15-20 minutes or until the onions become sticky.
- Add the carrots and tomatoes, ginger-garlic puree, sugar and vinegar.
- Add in crushed cardamom along with the red chilli flakes.
- Mix well and keep stirring.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer and let it cook for 40-45 minutes or until reduced.
- When the liquid reduces, you will get a very thick and sticky chutney.
- Switch off the heat. Spoon it into sterile jars.
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Carrot Chutney with Tomato and Cardamom
Ingredients
- 500 gram carrots peeled and grated
- 300 gram tomatoes chopped
- 1 red onion finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon ginger and garlic puree
- 5 whole green cardamom
- 1 tablespoon red chilli flakes
- 400 gram brown sugar or use white sugar
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 10 tablespoon cider vinegar
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Keep a few small sterile jars ready.
- Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onion and cook on a very low heat for about 15-20 minutes or until the onions become sticky.
- Add the carrots and tomatoes, ginger-garlic puree, sugar and vinegar.
- Add in crushed cardamom along with the red chilli flakes.
- Mix well and keep stirring.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer and let it cook for 40-45 minutes or until reduced.
- When the liquid reduces, you will get a very thick and sticky chutney.
- Switch off the heat. Spoon it into sterile jars.
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
British Bread Sauce is the perfect accompaniment to your Christmas dinner. As the name suggests, it is a traditional sauce made with bread, milk and warm winter spices!
The basic bread sauce recipe is to infuse the milk with flavour, add breadcrumbs and cook until the sauce thickens. It is then finished off with butter and cream.
This delicious bread sauce is infused with all the wonderful flavours of Christmas – nutmeg, bay leaf and clove. Thanks to the butter and cream, it is deliciously rich and creamy.
I love it at Christmas with a vegetarian roast and oven roasted potatoes !
Ingredients
White bread – one-day old white bread slices with crusts removed to make white breadcrumbs
Full fat milk
Cream – I’ve used single cream but you can use double cream too
Butter – I have used unsalted.
Onion – peeled, left whole
Cloves
Whole black peppercorns
Bay leaf
Freshly grated nutmeg – you can use nutmeg powder as an alternative
Salt to taste
Make it vegan
It is an easy switch to make vegan bread sauce. Use vegan butter instead of the regular butter.
For the milk, go for oat milk which is creamy and doesn’t impart too much of its own flavour. Soy milk is another alternative. Plant based creams can be used too.
If serving to guests, check for allergies or intolerances to plant based milks.
How to make Bread Sauce
1.Firstly stud the onion with the cloves.
2.In a saucepan, pour milk and add the clove-studded onion, whole black pepper, and bay leaf.
3.On medium heat, bring the mixture to the boil, stir occasionally to prevent the milk sticking at the bottom.
4.Turn off the heat and cover the pan with the lid and let the milk infuse for an hour.
5.Meanwhile, make bread crumbs in a mixer or food processor. You can also tear the bread up into small pieces.
6.After an hour, remove the onion, peppercorns and bay leaf.
7.Add breadcrumbs to the infused milk and add little butter.
8.Return the saucepan to heat and keep stirring to prevent burning at the bottom
9.Once the sauce gets thicker turn off the heat, add cream and remaining butter.
10.Serve the sauce in a serving bowl or jug and sprinkle the sauce with the freshly grated nutmeg.
Different ways to infuse the milk
You can infuse the milk on the hob or warm it in a microwave. Use a microwave safe bowl, heat the milk in bursts to prevent it bubbling over. Heat until it is warm through.
Add the studded onion, clove, bay leaf and nutmeg and allow to sit for 1 hour.
Personally, I think it is easier to use the stove – why give yourself extra washing up to do!
Pro Tips
Do not use fresh bread which can become mushy when added to bread sauce. Use day old bread for best results.
Instead of bread slices, you can use store-bought or homemade bread crumbs.
Use whole milk or full fat milk where possible as semi skimmed milk takes longer to thicken and will likely need more bread.
Use fresh ingredients where possible – for example, freshly grated nutmeg is miles better than the powdered version! Apart from the bread of course – which should be stale
If preparing in advance, ensure the milk and cream has plenty of use-by date left on it
Add the bread little by little as the sauce thickens fast – you may not need all of the bread
You may need to add more milk if serving later – the bread sauce thickens up pretty quickly
If the sauce is not thickening, add more breadcrumbs.
Ensure to stir the sauce to prevent burning.
Serving Suggestion
There are so many vegan (external link) and vegetarian centrepieces. My favourite is this paneer and cranberry nut roast .
For sides, go for veggies such as Air Fryer Parsnips , roasted carrots and brussels sprouts
I love to dip in these Parmentier Potatoes .
Alongside bread sauce, I always serve this Instant Pot cranberry sauce .
For a creamy side that uses cream or cheese, try these Cardamom Dauphinoise Potatoes or Christmas Corn.
Storage
Store leftover bread sauce in the fridge where it will keep fresh for around 2-3 days.
You can also prepare bread sauce ahead of time and freeze for convenience. Allow the bread sauce to cool completely and place in a freezer safe container or freezer bags. Freeze for up to 1 month. To defrost, thaw overnight in the fridge or defrost in the microwave. Reheat gently on the stove.
Other Sauce Recipes
Poppadom Dips
Yogurt Sauce
Basil Sauce
As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
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Bread Sauce
Equipment
- 1 Saucepan
Ingredients
- 2 slices white bread stale, crusts removed
- 300 millilitres whole milk
- 25 millilitres cream
- 20 gram butter
- 1 onion whole white onion, peeled
- 6-8 cloves
- 8-10 black peppercorn
- 1 bay leaf
- pinch ground nutmeg freshly grated is best
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Firstly, stud the onion with the cloves.
- In a saucepan, pour milk and add the studded onion, whole black pepper and bay leaf.
- On medium heat, bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
- Turn off the heat and cover the pan with the lid and let the milk infuse for an hour or simmer on low heat for another 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make bread crumbs in a mixer or food processor.
- Once infused, remove the onion, peppercorns and bay leaf.
- Add breadcrumbs to the infused milk and add half the butter.
- Return the saucepan to heat and keep stirring
- Once the sauce thickens, turn off the heat, add salt, cream and the remaining butter.
- Serve the sauce in a serving bowl or jug and sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Note – This recipe has been updated from our recipe archives with new images and content, but the recipe remains the same. First time published in December 2017.
Recipe inspiration – Delia Online
