Monday 13 September 2010

Go Mango

Mango chutney is one of the most well known Indian style chutneys. The flavour is sweet, spicy & sour & can be chunky or a smooth puree (I like it chunky myself), and can be made with green (unripe) or ripe mangoes. It is usually served with poppadoms or puri (a delicious puffy fried pillow of unleavened bread).

Mango Chutney

750g Mango, devoid of skin & stone, and chopped into chunks
250ml white wine vinegar
400g sugar
50g raisins
1 chilli, finely chopped
Juice & rind of a lemon
30g ginger (a piece about the size of your thumb) grated
1 tsp each of salt, cumin seed, cardamom seed (or you can bruise the cardamom pods & drop them into the mix. Just don’t eat them when it comes to eating the chutney!), black peppercorns & nigella seed*
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Tip all the ingredients into a pan & slowly bring to the boil. Simmer for an hour (maybe longer if you’re mangoes are really juicy), or until the spicy fruit goop has thickened enough to draw a spoon along the base of the pan, giving you a Moses parting the Dead Sea moment. But with raisins.

Spoon into sterilised glass jars & seal (this recipe with fill 3-4 regular sized jars. Obviously it will fill more if you’re using tiny jars, and less if using large jars). Spend far more time than is healthy coming up with a suitable label for your jar. After patiently waiting 3 months (or weeks), open & enjoy. And plan how you’ll tweak the recipe for the next batch!

Keri-no-Chhundo (Gujurati green mango preserve)

6 small green mangoes
2 tsp chilli flakes
5 cinnamon sticks
3 cardamom pods
5 cloves
7tbs oil
6tbs sugar
1 tsp salt

Peel & grate the mangoes (this will be messy!). Mix with the salt & put to one side
Heat the oil in a pan & add the cinnamon, cardamom & cloves. When they start to sizzle, and the kitchen smells like Christmas, add the mango. Cook on a low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture has thickened (this will take about half an hour). Stir in the sugar & chillis & remove from the heat. When the mixture has cooled, spoon into clean screw-top jars & keep in the fridge, where it should last 2 to 3 weeks.

*Or a spice mix of your own devising. Cumin, allspice & turmeric also work well together.

3 comments:

Shaheen said...

My you have been busy canning and jarring.

Your home-made mango chutney sounds wonderful, not at all claggy sounding like those shop bought varieties. I'm a little annoyed iwht myself, the sweet Alphonso mango season came and went, and I did not get to enjoy a single fresh mango straight from the skin :(

Anywaym, the kitchen will soon be smelling of Christmas, for real.

littleblackfox said...

Heh, I try to keep busy!

I've always found shop bought mango chutney dissapointing, it just tastes like jam, no spice or texture. Bluh!
Aww, I managed to grab one Alphonso. I had all these good intentions of making lassi, but ended up just scarfing it down! Messy by delicious!

Shaheen said...

Oh dear, I need to read over my comments before submitting them. Look at the spelling mistakes - shame - shame.

Lucky you to have grabbed an alphonso mango and enjoying it au naturale. Yes, mango lassi - certainly a delicious drink.