MANGO CHUTNEY

Although summer is awfully hot in Oman, I still love it because grocers are full of mangoes!! It’s the season of the king of fruits, and I wanted to celebrate by making this delicious and nostalgic Mango Chutney, which is my mum’s recipe. The recipe is really simple, but what makes it a delight is that playful balance of flavours like the heat from the red chilli, subtle flavours of the spices, like cloves, cinnamon and cardamom, and the sweet tanginess of the mango. Addition of nigella seeds brings that oomph and makes it uber delicious.

Made it yesterday and served it with a traditional Sindhi roti called Koki Roti, which I tried for the first time and it was such a perfect combination!! The sweet and spicy chutney really uplifted the crispy indulgence of the roti, and it’s definitely a pair you should try for your next breakfast or brunch feast!

Chutney is so versatile I like layering it in my meat burgers…my wraps and even in a chicken curry.

I urge you to give this tangy-sweet delicious goodness a try and I'm sure you will be in love with it.

PREP TIME: 20 minutes

COOK TIME: 30 minutes

MAKES: 1 kilo jar

INGREDIENTS

• 4 large mangoes, ripe but firm (mine weighed about 325g each)

• 2 fat garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 2 tsp ginger, finely chopped

• 1-2 fresh red chilli, finely chopped (can remove seeds to reduce heat)

• 1/4 tsp clove powder

• 2 tsp coriander powder

• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder

• 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder

• 1/4 tsp green cardamom powder

• 1/2 tsp cumin powder

• 2 tsp nigella seeds

• 1/2 tsp rock salt

• 1/2 tsp regular white iodized salt

• 1 cup white vinegar

• 2 cups white sugar

• 1 tbsp sunflower oil

METHOD

1. Peel and dice the mangoes roughly into 1 inch x 1.5 cm pieces.

2. In a large heavy bottom skillet, warm oil. Add garlic, ginger, red chillies and sauté

for few seconds.

1. Keeping the heat on low add turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, and clove powder, stir for few seconds. Add the diced mangoes, stir for a minute

2. Add the sugar and vinegar to the mangoes and let it come to a rapid boil. Add salt, cinnamon, cardamom powder and nigella seeds, stir to mix. Reduce the flame to medium high and let it simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the vinegar and sugar is reduced to a thicker consistency and mangoes look translucent and pulpy, turn the heat off. If desired, mash few pieces with back of the spoon to make it bit gooey in consistency.

3. Store in a sterilized sealed jar for upto 2 months in refrigerator.

COOK'S NOTES

• Use the mangoes which are ripe but are still firm for this recipe. I used the Indian mango variety called Tota Pari for this particular recipe, which are sweet and tangy in taste. If you are using mangoes which doesn't have much sweetness, you might have to adjust the quantity of the sugar. Vice-versa, if the mango you are using are much sweeter, then reduce the sugar content accordingly.

• I like my chutney slightly hot, hence I used about 1 1/2 chilli but again, if you like less heat, remove the seeds and membrane of the chillies before chopping.

• For the long term storage, canning can also be done for this mango chutney. Pour the hot chutney directly into sterilized jars, seal and place them in hot bath and keep them undisturbed for upto 24 hours. Sealed chutney jars can be stored on pantry shelf for upto a year.

• Sweet tangy flavours of the chutney goes really well with lamb mince patty burgers.