Mango chutney recipe: what chutney is, the main types and how to make it

Chutney (chatni in Hindi) is an Indian side relish: a thick sauce, paste or preserve made from fruit, herbs, vegetables or nuts, seasoned with spices. It can be sweet, sour, hot or all three. You serve it with samosas, pakoras, papadums, curry and rice; the best known in Europe is sweet mango chutney. In Polish it is simply "chutney", and the home-made sweet mango version is "chutney z mango".

What chutney is

In India the word chutney covers two different groups.

• Fresh chutneys. Made for one meal and eaten the same day. The best known are mint and coriander chutney (green and hot), coconut chutney (with dosa and idli in South India) and tomato chutney.
• Cooked chutneys. Fruit is cooked with sugar, vinegar and spices until thick. These keep longer. The sweet mango chutney known in Britain and the rest of Europe belongs here, as do tamarind and date chutneys.

Chutney is not the same as pickle (achar). Achar is fruit or vegetables preserved in oil, salt and spices, usually hotter and saltier. We cover it in Indian pickle (achar).

Common types of chutney

Tamarind chutney, for example from Suhana, is the standard sauce for chaat street snacks and for pani puri. We write about tamarind itself in tamarind sauce and paste.

Mango chutney recipe

This is a simple cooked chutney for one jar. Firm, slightly underripe mangoes work best, because they do not fall apart into a purée.

Ingredients (about 1 jar):

• 2 firm mangoes (about 700 g)
• 120 g sugar (white or cane)
• 100 ml cider or wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon nigella seeds (kalonji; Polish: czarnuszka)
• ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds (optional; Polish: kozieradka)
• 2 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon chilli powder or chilli flakes
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon oil

Method:

1. Peel the mangoes and cut the flesh into cubes of about 1 cm. Discard the stone.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan. Add the nigella, fenugreek and cardamom. Fry for 10 to 20 seconds, until the spices smell fragrant.
3. Add the ginger and garlic and fry for half a minute.
4. Add the mango, sugar, vinegar, chilli and salt. Stir and bring to the boil.
5. Simmer uncovered on a low heat for 30 to 40 minutes. Stir every few minutes, and more often towards the end, so nothing catches.
6. The chutney is ready when it is thick and glossy and a spoon drawn across the bottom of the pan leaves a trail.
7. Take out the cardamom pods. Spoon the hot chutney into a clean jar and close it.

Once cool, keep the jar in the fridge and eat the chutney within about a week. It tastes best after one or two days, when the spices have settled.

Tip: if the chutney is too sweet, add a tablespoon of vinegar or lime juice. For more heat, add a chopped fresh green chilli at step 4.

Where to buy chutney in Poland

Ready-made mango chutney and other chutneys are in the chutney category of the Little India shop, for example Patak's Sweet Mango Chutney and Suhana date and tamarind chutney. Little India has shops in Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław and Gdańsk and ships orders across Poland.