My best easy recipe for delicious Mango Chutney
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Chutney and Pickles, Jam Jelly and Preserves | 21 comments
Photo: Homemade mango chutney
Growing up there were a handful of meals that I really liked my mum to cook. One of these was curry. Back in those days curry powder was the norm, with the remains of the Sunday roast diced into the mix. I loved the exotic colour of the sauce but it was the way that she served each plate that intrigued me.
Curry on a bed of rice in the middle of the plate and around the edge of loads of little piles of things too cool the curry down. Thinly sliced banana jostled with desiccated coconut, dried fruit, sliced cucumbers, diced onion and glorious mini mountains of Mango chutney. It was always Sharwoods Mango Chutney. And out of habit I’ve always bought the same along with some spicier bottles from their range – the lime pickle is particularly good.
We’ve also discovered Pataks Brinjal Pickle (aubergine, to die for). A few months ago I was tempted by Geeta’s Mango chutney – superb. But wouldn’t it be fun to try and make my own? All I had to do was immerse myself in mango recipes and wait to find mangos on offer (they are expensive in the UK).
I found some mangoes on offer last weekend and with Danny away for the week I had plenty of time to play with my chutney. I studied the ingredients on Geeta’s jar, removing the ingredients that I didn’t like or have to hand. Then I turned to Oded Schwartz who had a recipe for hot mango chutney. I wanted sweet and fragrant with a small kick rather than hot. I used his recipe for the ratio of sugar/vinegar/mango. Although in the end I added a bit more sugar as I had put in more sliced lemons .
But he did have one ingredient that was added right at the end before potting up – saffron. Before the addition of this the chutney was good. After I stirred in the half teaspoon of delicate saffron strands the chutney was sublime. Although I guzzled some immediately I reckon that this mango chutney needs to be kept for a month for the flavours to soften and mature.
This recipe made four 320g jars and one 220g jar for my mum.
| My best easy recipe for delicious Mango Chutney |
- 1.6 kilos of mangoes (1 kilo when peeled and stones removed)
- 500ml of white wine vinegar
- 2 small unwaxed lemons, chopped lengthways, deseeded and sliced into quarter moons
- 3 small red bird’s eye chillies, chopped fine –seeds removed.
- 15g of garlic, peeled and cut into short lengths.
- 350g of Demerara sugar.
- 1 tsp of salt.
- The seeds from eight cardamom pods.
- Half a teaspoon of Fenugreek.
- Half a teaspoon of Allspice seeds.
- 1 large Star Anise.
- To add just at the end:
- 1 tsp of white mustard seed
- 1 tsp of black mustardseed
- half a tsp of saffron soaked in a little warm water
- Peel, stone and chop the mangoes into 1 cm cubes.
- Prepare the garlic, lemons and peppers.
- In a non reactive saucepan add the mangoes, peppers, garlic, lemon slices and white wine vinegar.
- Simmer until soft (lid off). This will take about 30 minutes.
- When the fruit is soft, grind the spices (not the mustard seeds or saffron) in a pestle and mortar or bash them, enclosed in a clean kitchen towel with a wooden hammer or rolling pin.
- Add these spices (keep the mustardseed and saffron to add at the end), salt and sugar to the pot and stir until the sugar has dissolved, then simmer for about an hour to let the chutney thicken.
- Add the mustard seeds and saffron, stir well and ladle carefully into hot sterilised pots and seal with plastic lined lids.
- Leave for a month or two to mature.
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I made mango chutney years and years ago but not since so I look forward to this.
Thank you Sara for the tip about Aldi – I went in today and they were reduced from 49p to 39p so now’s the time to get them. I love mango when they are really ripe and juicy just to eat or in a smoothie.
Tomorrow I have a day off work and in spite of a huge list of jobs I shall be preserving, chutney making etc. I haven’t been able to get round to much so far (only the green tomato chutney) and am getting quite frustrated. While we were away in Scotland last week we picked a bucketful of what I presume are crab apples – I’ve never found them in the wild here where I live, so was delighted. Rosehip and crab apple jelly for starters.
Hi Catalina
Mango and peach marmalade sounds superb!
Hi Recipe Cooker
I don’t remember anyone in my family making chutney.
Hello Helen
They’re expensive even when they are selling them half price in the UK. But I love them and you can’t beat a good mango chutney.
Hi Sara
Yes you could make these with ripe fruit but not nearly bad fruit. I’d go for the Aldi ones – they sound great value.
do the mangos have to be ripe? i only eat them when they have almost gone over… i spotted them for 49p in aldi this wk so i would like to give this a go.
Thankyou for sharing this recipe, I look forward to trying in out. We are just at the very beginning of mango season so they are still a little expensive but later I will buy a tray or two of them – some to freeze to enjoy through winter, some for now and some for chutney.
It remind me the amchur my grandmother prepared.
Yummy!
I buy frozen mango chunks when I make my peach/mango marmalade.
I hate peeling mangos!
Hi Michelle
We get through gallons of the stuff so I thought that I just had to try and make my own 🙂
Hi Rachel
Yes do give this a go. It’s so easy.
Hello Veronica
Thanks for the tip. Am going to update the ingredients now. Had a real problem formatting the post this morning. Perhaps the laptop thought that these should be secret ingredients!
I *love* Geeta’s mango chutney — it’s one of the few things I get people to bring me from the UK. If yours is anything like as good, I have to try it! The saffron and mustard seeds aren’t in the list of ingredients though??
I lvoe the geeta’s amngo chutney with my saturday night curry so will have to give this a go. I just hope the local indian shop has boxes of mangoes on offer….
Oh Fiona – a “drool about” recipe, many thank yous. I don’t like fresh mango but turn it into a chutney and I’m happy.
Bashing your spices with the wooden hammer must be a wonderful stress release. My favourite recipe for a boned out leg of lamb begins with the instruction “whack the lamb all over with a rolling pin” Great stuff!
Sending care and love for you, Michelle and a sleeping, only mildly snoring Zebbycat.
I’m just taking up the challenge with doing this Mango Chutney – I must admit there are some bits in the instructions that are a bit confusing. It refers to peppers but there arent any in the ingredients? Also, do you need to peel the lemons before you add them??
I’m going ahead with the recipe anyway – wish me luck!