When I was buying my 4 pounds of white peaches, I also bought 2 cases of mangoes. Yes, 2 cases! That’s about 20 mangoes. The big Kent ones. Not the small yellow Altaulfu or Alphonso mangoes. These guys come from a bit further south and have some body weight. I went to a different fruit stall in Jean-Talon this time (cheating on Leopoldo again since I’d gotten poor service from a rookie working there the week before). This stall on the north side of the market with the prepped plastic containers of fruit chunks (amazing fresh papaya and mango and so-so pineapple this time of year) also lets you sample all the different varieties of mango first, and I was pretty happy with the flavours and the prices. There are the fibre-free ones that have a slipperiness and smoothness that sticks around even if you freeze them in chunks as I do regularly. It’s such a unique ice-cream mouth-feel that I’ve become an addict. The other mangoes are good, and actually have more flavour instead of an intense sweetness, but the texture is just so unique that I got one box of the fibre-free ones and one box of the regular kents so I could have the best of both worlds. At least I think those were the names of the types. Go and try for yourself as my memory is sometimes like a sieve. My tastebuds are not, however. So go, sample, purchase. Maybe not 2 boxes, unless you’re me.
So with these mangoes I cut them all into cubes and used about 10 (1 entire box, but actually a mix of 5 from each box for the perfect combo of sweet and tang and fibre-free creaminess) to make an enormous batch of mango chutney. I ate what of that recipe didn’t get canned straight from the food processor with a spoon, which is bad because there’s so much sugar involved but good because…well, it’s absolutely delicious. I canned most of the chutney and froze the rest (reserving a little for the fridge, of course). Then I kept cutting the rest of the mangoes into cubes, froze half (about five) and put the rest in the fridge (about 5). They lasted approximately 2 days in my fridge before my spoon got hungry.
I went with this recipe for mango chutney because it was more Indian than a simple quasi-pickled mango recipe. It’s for the heat-lovers, the spice-lovers, and not the wimpy North Americans who won’t grind their own spices. Actually it is for them, since it calls for garam masala, an Indian spice blend, and doesn’t tell you how to make your own. So it kind of encourages buying it pre-ground. Fortunately, I make my own, and so can you by following this recipe. I also think a chaat masala would work well. It also calls for tamarind, but you can also just use lemon juice. I just so happened to have a bunch of frozen tamarind purée in my freezer for just such an occasion, however. So soak the pulp in water if you have tamarind pulp lying around (or buy some if you have neither tamarind nor lemon juice) and then sieve it, and then use what you need and then freeze the rest to be used as needed.
Be careful with the chili powder! Not all powders are created equal and my Indian chili powder packed one heck of a punch even for spice-loving me. I even lowered the amount of chili powder called-for, trying to err on the side of caution, but even so, if you want to purchase this chutney from me you’ve got to love heat. It is, however, amazing and eat-with-a-spoon-worthy. But so were the fresh chunks I cut and put briefly in my fridge…
Mango Chutney
Work Time: 1 hour (+hot water bath processing). Makes about three 250mL jars, so double or triple or quadruple the recipe for more. Also makes about six gift-sized 125mL jars.
Ingredients:
2 standard oval mangoes or 1 huge Malian mango
2 cm fresh ginger
120 g dates (it’s best to go by weight here, so get out a kitchen scale)
200 g brown, cane sugar, or demerera sugar, or white sugar mixed with a scant tbsp of molasses
4/5 cup (it’s a translation from the British measurement of 200mL. Your call) apple cider vinegar (4,5%) or white wine vinegar (or regular vinegar if you have to, but apple cider is best flavour-wise)
40 ml (just under 3 tbsp) tamarind juice/pulp or juice from 1/2 lemon
4 garlic cloves (optional, but adds depth…and bad breath)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
2 teaspoons garam masala
3 teaspoons chili in powder (start with 2 and taste before adding the 3rd tsp!!!)
Instructions:
Peel the ginger, the mangoes, and roughly chop into chunks (suck the remaining flesh from all mangoes after you’ve finished cutting them all, so less mango runs down your arms and makes a mess…) Combine with all remaining ingredients in a food processor or blender. If you make a double batch you’re going to need to do this in batches. Isn’t that a great instruction, though? Add everything in food processor or blender? Chuck it all in! You don’t even need to chop things well!
Pour contents of blender into a large saucepan and cook over medium heat for 30-40 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent burning. Taste and adjust as needed (more chili for heat, more salt, more tamarind and vinegar for punch, more sugar for sweet).
If you have to make adjustments cook for another 10 minutes. Have your jars ready (sterilized and hot, and have the water bath canner just below a boil) and soften the jar lids. Pour chutney into hot jars until about 1/4″ from the rim, remove and air bubbles with a chopstick or non-metal, long, thin object, wipe the rims with a clean, damp paper towel, top with softened lids, screw on ring bands to finger-tip tight. Process for 20 minutes in water-bath canner.
Or just let cool, and transfer to metal jar (not plastic) to stick some in the fridge, and transfer to freezer-safe containers to freeze. The original recipe says to fill the jars and then let them cool, and THEN process them, but that seems like a very bad idea. A good way to explode a jar, though, and wreck your whole batch of chutney…
Actually, what it says is this:
“Place the cool jars into a big pan, 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.”
So you’re supposed to re-heat the jar contents and I guess cook it less. I’m not sure if it’s safe this way, though. Generally you don’t let food cool before processing it…What do you think? Suggestions? Comments? The website then says that this process is different than USDA canning method suggestions:
“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.”
So it acknowledges the difference, but still says it’s okay…?? I’m not sure, but I’ll stick to processing when hot so that no extra bacteria can grow.
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