Newsletter # 40 – Mango chutney

At this time of the year there is an abundance of mangoes, and later in the season when they generally drop in price, it may be time to think about mango chutney, the perfect accompaniment for those winter curries later in the year.

Chutneys entered British cuisine during the days of the British Raj from the mid 1800’s. There is a theory that a form of chutney could be traced back to when humans were hunter- gatherers. In the Indian sub- continent authentic chutneys are many and varied but basically can be divided into two types – the fresh ones which should be eaten immediately and the ones that we are more familiar with, the cooked ones which are preserved for future use. Both are used as side dishes for soups, curries, fried foods, rice – basically most foods.

Fresh chutneys include ‘Green’, ‘Tomato’, ‘Coconut’ and ‘Garlic’.

Preserved chutneys include ‘Branston pickle’, ‘peanut’, ‘tomato’, ‘mango ’and ‘green mango’. Green mango chutney is prepared with unripened mangoes and hence ends up with a different flavour profile. Mango chutney, on the other hand is made with sweeter fruit so care should be taken with how much sugar you add.

Indeed, many fruits, vegetables and nuts can be turned into chutney with leading chefs prepared to experiment under the banner of ‘fusion cuisine’.  For the rest of us, familiar names of companies that produce quality chutney include Crosse and Blackwell, Patak’s and  Sharwood’s.

Today’s recipe is flexible enough to take advantage of ingredients you may already have on hand and can be achieved using only one thick bottomed saucepan.

Mango Chutney

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Course: Sauces

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 400 ml apple cider vinegar
• 100 ml red wine vinegar
• 1 onion peeled and finely chopped
• 150 g white sugar 3/4 cup
• 1 kg mangoes flesh only and coarsely chopped
• 3-4 cm piece of ginger peeled and finely chopped
• ½ tsp crushed chilli
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 tsp coriander seed
• 1 tsp ground cumin seed
• 1/2 tsp crushed garlic
• 1/4 tsp salt

Method

 

1. Assemble ingredients
   
2. In your saucepan heat your vinegars and sugar to boiling point
3. Add all the spices, mango and salt
   
4. Return the saucepan to boiling before turning the heat down for a slow simmer
   
5. Check flavour profile
6. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking
7. When you are happy with the thickness remove the cloves
8. Seal in your refrigerator for the short term or bottle for long term storage (see separate method)
   

Preparing bottles for chutney and finishing

1. This recipe required two 450 -500g jam jars. The jars need to be in good condition, clean, label free and have a screw cap. Jars that have been previously used for jam or pickles are fine. While you can use your oven to sterilise the bottles and caps, an alternate way is the boiling water/hot seal method, which I used.
2. In a suitably sized saucepan, immerse the empty jars and lids in cold water and bring the water to the boil.
3. Simmer for 15 -20 minutes
4. Leave in the water on low heat until you are ready to use the bottles
5. When the chutney is ready to bottle carefully drain and remove the first jar from the hot water. It should dry quickly
6. Using a ladle fill the jar to about 2-3ml from the top, carefully clean the rim
7. Take the lid from the hot water (again it will dry quickly) and cap the bottle

Notes

If you prefer a darker chutney use brown sugar instead of white

Change vinegars to suit your tastes

I used ground spices, which is what I had

I used less sugar than the 150g because I had made a ginger syrup and strained out the ginger

Another option that will use up mangoes is mango sorbet. It’s easy to prepare. Message me if you would like a simple recipe for Mango sorbet.