Sweet mango and apricot chutney recipe
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Chutney and Pickles | 16 comments
A mango for chutney
Making homemade mango chutney can be expensive unless you live in a country where mangoes grow, . We sell a lot of it on the gate side stand and it sells for 50% more than most of the other jars. I found some mangos in the market before Christmas – they were rock hard but gradually ripened on a sunny windowsill.
By adding apricots I padded out the mangoes and the result is a great fruity chutney with just a bit of kick. This version of the recipe needs much more vinegar so that the dried apricots can swell. It’s a tasty and much more economical version of my original mango chutney recipe.
This year I’m going to experiment more with the way we use our chutney. Rather than using it as a side dish I want to try and incorporate it into sauces and casseroles. All our chutney is largely fruit based so would be perfect with chops and sausages. And a little stirred into a sauce or soup could make them sing.
Has anyone out there any ideas for cooking with chutney that they’d like to share?
Photo by Agata Urbaniak
| Sweet mango and apricot chutney recipe |
- 500g (1 pound) of mango flesh chopped into 1 cm cubes (aprox 800g / 2 pounds of whole mangoes)
- 259g of dried apricots chopped into 1 cm cubes
- 1 litre of white wine vinegar
- 2 small unwaxed lemons, chopped lengthways, de-seeded and sliced thinly into quarter moons
- 3 small red bird’s eye chillies, chopped fine –seeds removed
- 15g of garlic, peeled and cut into short lengths
- 350g of Demerara sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- The seeds from eight cardamom pods
- Half a teaspoon of Fenugreek
- 1/2 teaspoon of Allspice seeds
- 1 large Star Anise
- <strong>To add just at the end:</strong>
- 1 teaspoon white mustard seed
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seed
- 1/2 teaspoon saffron soaked in a little warm water
- In a non reactive saucepan add the prepared mangoes, apricots, peppers, garlic, lemon slices and white wine vinegar.
- Simmer until soft (lid off). This will take about 30 minutes.
- When the fruit is soft, grind the spices (not the mustard seeds or saffron) in a pestle and mortar or bash them, enclosed in a clean kitchen towel with a wooden hammer or rolling pin.
- Add these spices (keep the mustard seed and saffron to add at the end), salt and sugar to the pot and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
- Simmer gently for about an hour to let the chutney thicken. Stir from time to time.
- Add the mustard seeds and saffron, stir well and ladle carefully into hot sterilised pots and seal with plastic lined lids.
- Leave for a month or two to mature.
Tips and Tricks
How do I get rid of tainted smells in pots?
If your cooking pot or container is tainted with the smell of the last resident (curry, tomato sauce etc). Sprinkle with a good tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda into it and add a good splosh of boiling water. Rub the solution over all surfaces and leave for two minutes. Rinse well in cold water.
How do I sterilise jars and lids?
The sterilising method that we use is simple. When the chutney is cooked, I quickly wash and rinse the jars and place them upside down in a cold oven. Set the temperature to 160c (140c fan assisted). When the oven has reached the right temperature I turn off the heat. The jars will stay warm for quite a while. I only use plastic lined metal lids for preserves as the all-metal lids can go rusty. I boil these for five minutes in water to sterilise them. If I use Le Parfait jars, I do the same with the rubber rings.
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Here’s a tip. I bought frozen mango chunks from Iceland when they were on offer. Made fabulous chutney. Went and bought some more to put in freezer. No wastage or faffing about.
I had a go at making this and to my delight my husband loves it but better than that we had a cheeky take away and he said dont order their mango chutney to go with the popadoms I prefer yours!!! music to my ears, Thank you again Fiona xx
I put two tablespoons of spicy tomato chutney into a packet of tomato based rice (Uncle Ben do a nice one) and mix in with it sweetcorn, cooked onion, mushrooms, peas, sausage, chicken or any meat you fancy, a good dash of worcester sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Stick under grill for a minute till cheese melts and hey presto a tasty, filling, h
healthy meal that my daughter and I just love!
Inexpensive too!!
Thanks for another great-sounding recipe. A local lady used to make mango-apricot-ginger chutney and I loved it. I’ve used the last jar and I’m willing to have a go at making it myself. I’m looking for a recipe; would it be possible to add ginger to this one? How do I prepare the ginger, and how much should I use? (sorry, I can follow a recipe, but I’m not good at making them up!) Thanks again
I like the sound of combining apricots and mangoes – I expect they go really well together. I made mango and chilli chutney for the first time this year and it was really good. Wouldn’t have though apricots were much less expensive than mangoes though.
When making cheese on toast, put a layer of chutney on before the cheese, then grill. Works really well with red onion marmalade too.