Mango Chutney with Garam Masala

Long before I started to make my own savoury preserves, mango had always been my favourite in Indian hot chutneys and fiery mango sauce served in Indian restaurants. After my three years’ experience of Hot Mango Sauce and Mango Chutney preserving, this is still my favourite fruit to pair with spices and chillies. Mango is versatile, makes thick sauces and doesn’t have any acidity, so the preserves don’t require lots of sugar. There is also something I love about mangoes: they are available most of the year, since they are imported from different parts of the world.

According to most bloggers who have origins or family in the mango-growing countries neither the smell nor the taste of the mangoes available in Europe can be compared to the real, fresh mangoes’ flavour and aroma. I was always wondering what they meant. Finally, I had a chance to experience the difference and realise what the real mango meant the day when my husband was offered a box of these African beauties, coming straight from mango trees in Mali:

And here is a mango with a standard-sized lime to show you how big they were:

Not only were they huge, chubby, with a funny shape, but most of all, their aroma and taste were extraordinary. The first thing I noticed was they didn’t have the nauseous, overwhelming smell usually ripe mangoes have. Cut into pieces and eaten raw, the Malian mango was refreshing, firm and its smell was delicate. I would say it was a sophisticated version of the fruit I have been buying here for years. Since the mangoes had to be eaten quickly, we partly had them raw and the rest was preserved in a Mango Chutney with Garam Masala. Now, every opened will bring back the memories of this unusual discovery and make us think about Zeïnabou, a kind and generous lady without whom I would never know what a “good mango” meant. Thank you, Zeïnabou, for the discovery we would have never dreamt of and for the exquisite mango feast we shall never forget!

Mango Chutney with Garam Masala is a smooth, sauce-like type of chutney, different from this, chunky, British-style Mango Chutney and even though the recipe is not genuinely Indian, garam masala gives it a warm, rich Indian touch. The tamarind pulp or sauce can be replaced with lemon juice, but the taste is really better with tamarind.

I found this chutney a long time ago on the Discuss Cooking forum and am particularly grateful to Clive from Venezuela (cliveb) for sharing this excellent recipe, which I have only slightly modified.

I don’t need to add that this particular batch, made with Malian mangoes, was exceptionally luscious!

Preparation: 1 hour (+hot water bath processing)

Ingredients:

2 standard oval mangoes or 1 huge Malian mango

2 cm fresh ginger

120 g raisins

200 g brown, cane sugar

200 ml cider vinegar (4,5%) or white wine vinegar

40 ml tamarind juice/pulp or juice from 1/2 lemon

4 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds

2 teaspoons garam masala

3 teaspoons chili in powder

Peel the ginger, the mangoes, add the rest and mix in a food processor or a blender.

Cook everything on a medium heat, stirring, for 30-40 minutes.

Adjust the taste if needed (more chili if it’s not hot enough, more vinegar if it’s too sweet and more sugar if it’s too acid). If you have made any modifications, let the chutney boil for 10 more minutes.

/At this point you can (after the chutney has cooled down) either freeze it or keep it in the fridge for a couple of weeks, or process it in the jars, as described below, and store it in your pantry for at least a year!/

Pour the chutney, still hot, into sterilised jars. Cover with lids. Leave the jars to cool.

Place the cool jars into a big pan, bottom lined with an old kitchen towel folded in two (this will prevent the jars from breaking),, cover up with hot – but not boiling- water to the level just below the lid. Bring to boil and keep on a very low heat, in simmering water, for around 20 minutes.
Stick on self-adhesive labels, write the name of the chutney and don’t forget to mark the date.

NOTE: For the readers who live in the USA, the USDA-approved canning method is different. You can find it described here: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/uga/using_bw_canners.html.

Mango Chutney with Garam Masala on Punk Domestics

47 Replies to “Mango Chutney with Garam Masala”

  1. I lived in a mango growing country and the mangos are quite different to what is available in supermarkets here. And there are so many different kinds, each having a very distinct texture, taste and smell. Last week I picked up a jar of hot mango chutney from the supermarket and I don’t know why I put it back, now I regret it since some chutney on toast would be awesome. It goes well with cheese and just about anything else:)

    1. I don’t understand why all the mangoes (whatever the country of origin) are so similar here! I still would love so much to try making my own chutney with green mangoes (the ones I find in a certain famous British brand of Indian chutneys… I could eat this particular mango chutney alone, maybe only with a piece of bread). I have heard they are imported to Europe, but have never seen them here.

      1. When I lived in a ‘mango country’ before we had 4 mango trees in our compound, and they were all different varieties. Our neighbours had different varieties but when we went to the supermarket I think there was usually just 1 of 2 types of apples. So its the same thing! The mangoes imported to Europe are probably varieties that can travel well (they are not tree ripened) and are commercially feasible to mass produce

        1. It’s funny! I was always thinking apples grow everywhere and what’s more they travel very well… I think you are completely right, but now I’m wondering if the “demand” factor is not important here too. I have noticed for example the shops where I buy limes have different quality of those every time I go there (and sometimes different countries of origins), but never at the same time. I think they supermarket chain buyers or even importers don’t even realise some limes can be sweeter/juicier/tastier than the others… It’s exactly the same with avocados! I am wondering if it’s not the same with mangoes. People buying mangoes (maybe apart from those who import small amounts for example for expensive hotels or restaurants or simply “ethnic food shops”) probably never eat mangoes and if they do they have no idea what a good or a bad mango means, so they buy the cheapest among those which travel easily.

  2. I can almost smell it. I love the sweet mango with the more complex garam masala. And I certainly didn’t grow up near mango trees, so I liked the lesson.

    1. Thank you, Greg! Frankly, judging by what I read on your your blog (the abundance of figs, your own okra…) I wouldn’t be surprised if you said mangoes grow in your garden 😉

  3. Those mangos are HUGE! My little girl and I just LOVE LOVE LOVE mangos, I’ve been eating them almost on a daily basis, but not as chutney. From my husband’s native country (Vietnam), they eat green mango with spicy salt, it’s such a wonderfully tart experience, just thinking about it makes my mouth water. Mango=Rock!

    1. Thank you, Jeno! I would love to taste green mangoes with spicy salt! They are my favourite mangoes in a chutney, so I’m sure I would love the Vietnamese specialty. I will ask you for the spicy salt details when I finally find some green mangoes here.

  4. My family and I loooooove mango and you got me start craving once again. I think we get pretty good mangoes from Mexico and we get to enjoy delicious sugar block (sooo sweet!). Hmmm your mango chutney with Indian spice sounds really great and yummy! I bet your fridge has lots of jars. =D You can do a preserve party. 🙂

    1. Thank you so much, Nami! It’s not my fridge, it’s my pantry 😉 I process my jars and keep them for at least a year! (I still have some 5 year old jams and they are delicious!) Pity you live so far… I always ask for empty jars and especially lids (they get used very quickly) and distribute filled jars among my friends and family, but they are very difficult to ship… (even to a close European country, not to mention the US!).

      1. Thanks for the thoughts! You are sweet! Do you open one jar at a time and use it all before you open another kind of jars? So I thought you can do taste samples…. wish you are my neighbor in many ways – I’d love to have you over for Japanese food too! We can also do 1 jar for one hour Japanese lesson. LOL!

        1. Nami, I open several jars at the same time (or the same week) and keep them in the fridge… (It’s funny to notice one doesn’t need any chemical agents to keep an open jar for several weeks in the fridge, after opening! My sauces, chutneys keep very well and jams even for more than a month!). We also have such basics like open mayonnaise, mustard etc. in the fridge all the time. There are also several boxes of miso, a box of gochujang… In short all the things I couldn’t live without. That is why I often think half of my fridge is just jars, bottles and boxes 😉 and I constantly miss space for such basic things as meat or fish or vegetables when it’s really hot in the kitchen.
          The Japanese lesson/food and jars exchange is a great idea 😉 I’m in!

  5. I’ve never heard or seen a Malian Mango although I grew up in a country with an abundance of mangoes. Great way to make good use of a ‘gourmet’ mango. I can almost smell the chutney—it looks so good!!Great work

    1. Thank you so much, Malli! If you ever see Malian mangoes anywhere, grab them and don’t even ask for the price! They had a delicate taste, were succulent, very ripe, but not mushy and so beautiful! Unfortunately I couldn’t wait a long time and enjoy them just as they were, raw, eaten from a big bowl… That is why I preserved them. If I could I would have them raw every day 🙂

  6. I LOVE mangoes but (and I can’t believe this), I just recently found out that I have an allergy to them. Every time I ate one, I’d end up feeling really disoriented and dehydrated at night, and it took me years to make the connection (confirmed by a doc). Crazy, huh? Apparently, their sap is chemically similar to poison ivy/poison oak.

    I MISS MANGOES.

    Do you make your own Garam Masala or do you buy it? I once heard a report on the radio about how vastly different the spice recipe varies by region (I’ve only ever bought one brand, myself). This chutney looks delicious, thanks for sharing!

    1. Thank you, Laura. It’s such a pity you suffer when eating mangoes! I doesn’t surprise me that their sap might be dangerous. Sometimes, when I peeled four mangoes in a raw it was a bit itchy on my hands. On the other hand I must say I have a similar reaction on my skin with pineapple (fresh one).
      I have some food intolerance (not a very serious thing like going to the hospital etc.), but sometimes I simply cannot stop myself from having something I love, even though I know I will suffer a bit 😉
      I buy garam masala ready made and totally agree every brand is different. If I used it more often, I would probably make my own…

    2. Thank you, Laura. It’s such a pity you suffer when eating mangoes! I doesn’t surprise me that their sap might be dangerous. Sometimes, when I peeled four mangoes in a raw it was a bit itchy on my hands. On the other hand I must say I have a similar reaction on my skin with pineapple (fresh one).
      I have some food intolerance (not a very serious thing like going to the hospital etc.), but sometimes I simply cannot stop myself from having something I love, even though I know I will suffer a bit 😉
      I buy garam masala ready made and totally agree every brand is different. If I used it more often, I would probably make my own…

  7. I would agree with the taste of mango statement. When I travel to places where mango is grown, it is significantly better in taste then what is imported to the midwest–sadly the best tasting ones are the prefrozen kind over “fresh”. I’m such a huge fan of them though, and this is a great recipe to work use, I really want to try it out.

    1. I have never seen or tried frozen mangoes (I am not even sure they exist here frozen. If I ever see them I’ll buy to see if there is a difference! Thanks for the tip!

  8. Wow, I didn’t even recognize those as mangoes. We seem to get two types (both from Mexico) around here and they are a lot bigger than a lime (yours look relatively small). Amazing there is such variety! Someday I’ll start making Indian food!

    1. Hi Sara, you get even bigger mangoes??? These weighed at least 1 kg each! (Maybe my photo was bad in terms of size comparison).

      1. Maybe your limes are just bigger! The limes I have are quite tiny. I can’t imagine ours are heavier than a kilo…

  9. Mmm…I’d love to be able to smell that Malian mango! How lucky to receive a box of those beauties! Love your flavoring in this chutney, sounds delicious!

  10. Oh! One of my most favourite foods….I love what you have created with mangoes…we have a sweet mango chutney in India and we call it the ‘mor-ab-baa’. It is quite similar but without the vinegar and the raisins a great combination with Indian flatbreads…As always, I love your version and I will have a go at making this.Infact, Sissi, I am going home this friday for 3 weeks and I will perhaps make it there…..am sure it’ll be loved and of course will let you know….remember, the book….

    1. Thank you so much, Shilpa! (Actually the vinegar is there only to preserve the chutney… Otherwise I would have to put much much more sugar and it would be inedible.) I am so flattered you don’t disapprove of my use of Indian spices! I am thrilled to think you would like to try it! You are so sweet, but I still think you overestimate me 🙂 Have a wonderful time on holidays!

  11. I love mango chutney and this post is seriously tempting me to make my own; I have to say that some fruits that I have tasted in Lebanon are exceptionally delicious and fresh, such as the mango (from Egypt), the cherimoya (local), the loquat (local).

    1. Thank you for your comment and welcome to my blog! I have never tasted loquat nor cherimoya. I am sure the locally grown ones taste 100 x better.

  12. Love the flavours in that chutney!
    Wow you’re popular you were tagged twice 🙂 Anyways I am excited to see your post about that challenge.

    1. Thank you, Raymund and thank you once more for tagging me. Yes, I have noticed I was tagged twice! I am working on this challenging post 🙂

  13. I should really get some garam masala – It’s something I’d unfortunately lacking in my, otherwise now, quite well stocked cupboards. I like the odd chunks of mango so I think I’d probably blend half and finely chop the other half. Mango chutney is a great way of using “bad” mangoes as well. Not bad as in rotten, but I once bought 3 mangoes which were the most revolting things I’d ever tasted. Watery, fibrous, slushy, tasteless, hard, and yet still with dark bruises running through the flesh. Boil them up for a bit and you get a passable mango chutney so at least the fruit wasn’t wasted!

    1. If you forget to buy garam masala in Britain, I can send you some. I have an Indian food shop 2 minutes from my flat. Thanks for the mango tip! I do the same with apples or pears or many not-so-perfect fruits, as long as they are not overripe. I find sometimes unripe fruits much better for jams and other preserves. Gooseberry is the perfect example, unripe it makes a perfect jam, ripe it’s not worth the effort. Actually when I was in Hungary they were selling green unripe gooseberry at the farmers’ market, I thought “how intelligent!” and brought 2 kilos home to Switzerland; yes I know I’m crazy.

      1. Thanks Sissi, that’s really kind of you! Let me check a couple of nearby supermarkets to see and I’ll let you know. It’s annoying – there’s a big Indian community in the UK so you can find almost anything Indian related, but in France it seems they have every other ethnicity and community except Indian – not that I’ve seen at least, so the demand isn’t really there!

        1. Charles…I will tell you how to make your own garam masala…or go internet shopping or simpler still – give me your address…will post some from here…

          1. Haha, thanks Shilpa! Suddenly everyone wants to send me garam masala! 😀 I just had a search online – it seems there’s at least one place in Paris which sells it – I found it here – looks like they won’t be winning any web design awards anytime soon, but good to know such a place exists! I’ll check it out first I think before I go inconveniencing anyone, but thanks for the offer! 🙂

            1. Let me know if you need any…very happy to post (now that I have some competition from Sissi…) too… good luck with the shop… not the best site…but then…we should never judge a book by its cover 🙂

          2. I see we are in competition 😉 Just joking! On the other hand I would love you garam masala recipe, Shilpa 🙂 I have access here (I think) to every single Indian spice I have ever seen in books or blogs, so it should be enough for garam masala (actually I think I have all the Indian spices I know at home… I have been buying them, slowly, for several years now…).

        2. Charles, it’s really nothing, so don’t hesitate. I have I think food from the whole world in my city! And I know all the ethnic shops. I know, in France ethnic food (apart from the African and North-African) may be difficult to get. You are lucky to live in Paris, where Chinese food is available too, but there are some big cities in France, where soy sauce is all you can get.

          1. Sissi….:-) 🙂 Now, you have given me a wonderful idea…When I away for 3 weeks, I will give this baking a break and just blog about the wonderful spices and food of North India…will most certainly wont be baked (we Indians don’t use the oven very often at all) but then it will be fun…What do you think? Jenny could continue the baking while I will bring a little of India to my readers….btw, I love competitions…as for the recipe…I’ll have to ask my mum (though, I must admit the supermarket ones are pretty good too…)

            1. Shilpa, it’s a wonderful idea! I thought I would love to read more about Indian cuisine since you said the region your family comes from doesn’t have heavy and greasy cuisine. I love Indian cuisine and my husband too (we are still looking for a perfect curry or another dish with hot sauce to serve with meat… but if you write about a vegeterian dish I might transform for carnivores, I would be delighted). Indian spices and herbs are for me a whole, very mysterious world. Today for example I used kasuri methi for the first time in my life and I’ve had it for two years in my cupboard. In short, it’s a lovely idea and I’m sure I’m not the only one who would love it!

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