Plump

I’d bought some mangoes last week, they were looking particularly plump, and I thought it would be nice to make some spicy, homemade mango chutney, to enjoy with poppadoms on these cold winter evenings.

It really is quite easy to make, you just need:

1kg or so of mangoes (this will make about 2 jars of chutney), peeled, and then chopped into 1cm cubes
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons of ginger, grated
1 cup of vinegar, 1 cup of water
1 ½ cups of sugar, more if you like it sweeter
4 dried chillis
1 teaspoon of salt

I then made up a muslin spice bag containing:

2 cinnamon sticks
2 teaspoons of cumin
2 cloves
4 cardamoms (cracked) and
2 teaspoons of coriander seeds

Add the mango, garlic and water, and cook for about 10 minutes. If you like to have a puréed chutney, then mash the mango now. I didn’t do this though, as I prefer it chunky.

Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for about 20–30 minutes, it really depends how juicy your mango’s are. You are looking for a sticky chutney consistency.

Sterilise some jars – I dip mine in boiling water – then place in an oven at 120°c for about 15 minutes.

Then pour or spoon the chutney into the jars, and leave to cool before storing in the fridge. It will keep around 6–8 weeks in the fridge, unless you’ve eaten it before then!