We couldn't avoid having one or two pumpkin recipes in this October edition of Three Monkeys Online! I chose this spicy chutney to celebrate the very Irish feast of Halloween. When I prepare this during the summer I replace the jam with fresh sweet apricots.It's delicious served with strong hard cheeses, to accompany simple chicken dishes, or as a dip with Indian popadoms.

What you need :

1 kg of pumpkin flesh
500 gr. onions
0.8 dL white winegar
2.5 cm chunk of fresh ginger
cayenne pepper
5 cloves
mustard seeds
250 gr. sugar
250 gr. apricot jam
a bunch of fresh coriander leaves
juice of one lemon
red chillies to your taste of 'hotness' (I personally use 4-5 small dry chillies oer 2-3 fresh medium ones)

How you do it:

Toast and crush the spices, and lightly fry in a small oil with finely chopped chillies and ginger. Add onions and pumpkin cut in small chunks, the vinegar, the lemon juice, the jam and the sugar, and let simmer on a low heat for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding hot water if it dries too much.
The coriander leaves, well chopped, can be stirred in towards the end.
Let cool and put in glass jars which should be sterilised if you want to preserve the chutney for longer than two weeks.