Mango chutney for any occasion

Mangoes are slowly starting to dominate the fruit section at the grocers, a sign that mango season is around the corner.

While they are best relished fresh, mangoes are versatile and can be used in cooking especially if there are extra fruits lying around the house.

The good thing about mangoes is they can be eaten young or ripe.

Unripe mangoes have a sharp, tart and sour taste due to the presence of citric, oxalic and other acids that are not found in ripe mangoes.

Unripe ones are often used in the local delicacy of rojak buah which is a fruit salad comprising jicama, cucumber, young papaya, pineapple and mango tossed with heko (thick shrimp paste).

Locals who are accustomed to eating kerabu will notice that unripe mango is the main ingredient in kerabu mangga.

Some recipes also call for kerabu mangga with ripe fruit which presents a sweet flavour profile from the salad made with young mangoes.

Mango chutney is versatile and can be eaten with rice, chapati, thosai or even puri.

Interestingly, young mangoes can be added into fish curry as they act as a souring agent.

Mangoes are often used in many dessert recipes too.

Mango cheesecake, mango pudding and mango ice cream to name a few.

Thai mango sticky rice is a dessert that does not disappoint and to get it right, ripe mangoes are a must for this treat.

Ripe mangoes are sweet, refreshing, juicy and even somewhat creamy taste-wise, hence they do well in desserts but they can also perk up a savoury dish.

I prefer making chutney with ripe mangoes as this condiment keeps for a long time and goes well with either rice, chapati, thosai or even puri.

There are various mango chutney recipes, some that call for the use of unripe mangoes, but many cooks prefer ripe fruits for this dish.

Local cooks may resort to using local mangoes for this dish but if they are unavailable, then any sweet mango from the supermarket will do.

Most recipes will suggest using vinegar, which lends tartness to the chutney.

I prefer using tamarind juice as the souring agent as it is gentler compared to white vinegar, which tends to be a little too acidic and unsettling for the stomach.

Mango chutney with raisins

Ingredients

1 kg sweet mango flesh

30g tamarind pulp

1 cup cold water

2 tbsp chilli powder

1 tbsp Kashmiri powder (optional)

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp salt (according to taste)

1 or 2 tbsp sugar (according to taste)

1 tsp fennel powder

1 tsp cumin powder

2 pods red chilli

For tempering

3 tbsp red palm oil

3 tbsp ghee

1 sprig curry leaf

3 pods dried chilli

1 pod green chilli

2 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp onion seeds (optional)

1 cinnamon stick

3 pods star anise

5 pods cardamom

8 cloves fresh garlic

30g fresh ginger

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

Final touch

3 tbsp ghee

50g raisins

Method

Some amount of prep work is necessary before cooking the mango chutney.

First, slice the green chilli length-wise into six pieces, and the red chillies into rings. Set these aside.

Soak the tamarind pulp in ½ cup of water and after 15 minutes, strain out the juice.

Use the remaining ½ cup of water to squeeze out more juice from the pulp.

Add the chilli, Kashmiri and turmeric powders to the tamarind juice to create a slurry. If Kashmiri powder is not available, use 3 tbsp chilli powder or an amount that fits your heat tolerance.

Use a mortar and pestle to break up the cumin and fennel seeds.

Then slice the garlic and ginger and coarsely pound them.

Once all of the prep work is done, heat up a pot and add 3 tbsp red palm oil and 3 tbsp ghee.

Throw in the dried chillies, curry leaves and green chilli and let them aromatise the oil.

Following closely behind in this order are the mustard seeds and onion seeds. It is alright to omit onion seeds if you do not have any on the spice rack.

Let the mustard seeds splutter and pop before adding the cinnamon stick, star anise and cardamom.

Stir the ingredients before adding the garlic and onion paste.

Once the aromas fill the air, introduce the crushed fennel and cumin seeds to the oil.

Quickly add in the slurry and let it boil until the oil separates. Add 2 tsp salt.

Next add the cubed mangoes to the bubbling red curry and cover the pot with a lid.

Let it simmer for five minutes.

Remove the lid and allow the chutney to cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes or a little longer for it to thicken.

Add 1 to 2 tbsp sugar according to taste.

The fennel and cumin powder go in before the sliced chillies.

Heat up 3 tbsp ghee in a separate pan, add the raisins. Once the raisins plump up, pour the ghee and raisins into the chutney. Turn off heat.

Fill glass jars while the chutney is still hot.

The mango chutney is versatile and can be eaten with rice, chapati, thosai or puri.