Strips in Date and Pumpkin Chutney

This Top Chow winning recipe is deliciously unique. Our Stir-Fry Strips, served in a sweet-tangy and warmly spiced date and pumpkin chutney. The combination of sweet, savoury and tangy makes it a standout. Serve it in a carved out pineapple for some extra zing!

Serves: 4–6

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Stir-Fry Strips

  • 1 bag Fry’s Stir-Fry Strips
  • ¼ cup plant butter
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • Fresh orange juice, for tossing

Date Chutney

  • 125g seedless dates
  • ½ cup vinegar
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • Salt, to taste
  • A few dried chillies

Pumpkin Chutney

  • 1 cup dried pumpkin
  • 1 cup oil
  • ½ cup plant butter
  • 2 Tbsp cumin seeds
  • 1 Tbsp mustard seeds
  • A few garlic cloves, sliced
  • Young curry leaves
  • 3–4 dried chillies
  • Salt, to taste
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup thick tamarind juice
  • 1 Tbsp chilli powder
  • 1 Tbsp turmeric powder

Method

  1. To make the date chutney, blend the seedless dates, vinegar, tomato sauce, garlic, salt and dried chillies until smooth. Set aside.
  2. Heat the plant butter in a frying pan and sauté the crushed garlic until fragrant.
  3. Add the Fry’s Stir-Fry Strips and cook until heated through and lightly golden. Toss with a splash of fresh orange juice and set aside.
  4. For the pumpkin chutney, heat the oil and plant butter in a large pan.
  5. Add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds and allow them to splutter.
  6. Stir in the sliced garlic, curry leaves and dried chillies, cooking until fragrant.
  7. Add the dried pumpkin, season with salt, then stir in the chilli powder and turmeric.
  8. Pour in the tamarind juice and cook over low heat until the pumpkin is soft enough to mash.
  9. Add the sugar and mix well until dissolved.
  10. Stir in the blended date chutney followed by the Fry’s Stir-Fry Strips. Simmer gently until everything is well combined and heated through.
  11. Serve hot, optionally drizzled with coconut cream and garnished with fresh coriander.

Serving suggestion: For an eye-catching presentation, serve the chutney in a carved-out pineapple.

How do I make pumpkin chutney?

Fry whole spices in oil, add diced dried pumpkin with chilli and turmeric, then simmer with tamarind juice and sugar until soft and sticky. This Top Chow recipe provides full step-by-step instructions for a fragrant, South Indian-inspired pumpkin chutney.

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