Marrow preserved in curried vinegar

A wonderful recipe to use up the glut of marrows that are cropping up at this time of the year. An ideal way to store marrows and, dare I say it, put into decorative jars for perfect homemade Christmas presents!

2 kg marrow
2 to 3 onions (chopped)
600ml wine vinegar
600ml water
500g sugar
3 to 5 teaspoons curry powder (madras or masala)
1.5 teaspoons pepper
200g wholegrain mustard (or 50g mustard seeds)
salt

1st day:
Peel, de-seed and chop the marrow into smallish pieces.
Salt and leave in a sieve overnight.

2nd day:
Put all ingredients except the marrow into a saucepan, heat well, pour over the marrow and leave for 24 hours.

3rd day:
Separate the liquid from the marrow, heat the liquid again and pour back over the marrow. Leave for a further 24 hours.

4th day:
The glass jars for the preserved marrow must be sterilised and kept warm so the glass won't break when boiling liquid is poured into them. One option is to put the cleaned jars and lids in the oven for at least 20 minutes at about 80°C and get them out one by one when the marrow has reached boiling point. Another is to sterilise the jars and lids previously and put them in a bain-marie ready for when they are to be filled.

Then put the marrow and liquid in a pan, bring to the boil and fill the jars immediately whilst the liquid is still boiling.

Store in a cool dry place away from light.

Words by Anne-Christine

Picture (c) Ted Marynicz 2004