Mango Chili Chutney

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30+ celsius weather calls for MANGOES here in Queensland.  The sign of the 100 cases of mangoes in your local grocery store is the beginning of summer for me.  Truthfully (even though it’s hot as) summer hasn’t quite hit yet but when you see these big plump and juicy mangoes everywhere it just SCREAMS summertime.  Over the next few months we are going to be seeing them in salsa, chutneys, in salads, grilled you name it and it will be done.  I guess (but not as ott) like pumpkin time is around Thanksgiving in USA.  So read on to get my mango chili chutney recipe.

I was planning on making a curry burger for a while and I did one up with a mango salsa the other day.  It was good but both myself and the “boss” agreed it was missing something.  Lightbulb moment and mango chili chutney was what was missing.  You know that sweet, spicy, chunky but smooth kind you get in the jars from your local grocery store or when you go to an Indian.  So back to the shops to get a few fresh mangoes and this delish mango chili chutney was born!

The beauty of this chutney (aside from it’s taste) is it (if humanly possible) will last up to 2 months in your fridge.  You could even sterilize some jars and gift it to neighbors, friends or the kids school teachers!  It goes great on sandwiches, drizzled over grilled chicken skewers, part of a cheeseboard or simply dip some poppadoms into it!

Mango Varieties

There are tons of varieties out there and most would work well for making a mango chili chutney but these following few are the most popular here in Australia and ones you find easiest at local grocery stores, markets and fruit/veg shops

Kensington Pride

This is the most popular mango grown in Australia. It makes up 52% of mangoes grown.  Sometimes it is known as the Bowen but typically Kensington is what you will see in the stores.  It has a sweet and tangy flavour with rich juicy flesh.  They are classed as a medium sized mango and can be slightly soft to touch so be gentle unless you wanna bruise this sucker!  The flesh is described as vibrant yellow and the skin is yellow-orange.

Calypso

The 2nd most popular mango here in Australia making up 22% of the population!  The skin on these fellas tend to be more one dimensional – described as yellow-orange but unlike the Kensington it’s a singular tone.  A medium sized mango with a small seed and firmer flesh.  Which would help it stand up to cooking better.  It has a sweet juicy flavour and is also soft to touch

R2E2

Coming in 3rd we have the R2E2 mango.  Sounds like an extra from StarWars!  These guys are big suckers.  Plenty of fruit but also plenty of annoying pith.  Can’t win them all.  A little firmer to touch than it’s friends and is a milder sweet flavour.  Orange skin with a red blush.  Sounds like a lot of girls I see when they are heading out at the weekends!

Honey Gold

Making up 7% of the population we have the honey gold mango.  Colour is – you guessed it brilliant golden skin.  Described as apricot in colour but we might be getting confused here if we mix 2 fruits together!  It has firm fibreless flesh, soft to touch and has a rich sweet flavour.  Sounds like he might land in my fruit salad this weekend!

Others include – brooks, parvin, kent, keitt and palmer which make up the remaining percentages here in Australia.

What is Chutney?

Often thought of as a relish or jam chutney is in fact something all of it’s own.  Yep, it has it’s own identity.  Traditionally chutney was from south east Asia and India where it was a gluten free condiment.  There are thousands probably millions of chutney variations out there so I won’t start to list them all.  AND luckily for us there is no right or wrong way to make it.  You can find them to be sweet, spicy or in this case a mixture of the two.  Sweetness from the mango, spice from the range of spices added and heat from the chili.

Chutney is made from fruit or vegetables, sometimes with the addition of herbs and also vinegar, sugar and spices.  The vinegar and sugar much like making jam or marmalade is what gives the chutney it’s longer life span.

In a nutshell, jam is preserved using just sugar where as chutney is preserved using sugar and vinegar.  Now, onto chutney v relish!  Relishes to me are made using vegetables and pickling them in the process – say,  like hamburger relish.  Relishes are often tend to be sweeter and are barely cooked BUT the truth of it all is like I said before there is no hard and fast rule so it’s a bit of a debate really.  I think if you go with the mindset that relishes are typically made from pickled fruit where chutney is typically made from pickled fruit you wont be too wrong.  Just watch out for the chutney/relish police 😉

Other Chutney Recipes

Here are some other chutney recipes that may inspire you in other ways in the kitchen.  Some from yours truly but mainly from fellow blogger friends doing wonderful things so check em out……

Tomato & Red Pepper Chutney by yours truly

Old Fashioned Green Tomato Chutney by Andrea Geddes of ‘The Cooking Collective’

Strawberry Cilantro Chutney by Amber Engle of ‘Twists and Zests’

Balsamic Cherry Chutney by Lorie Yarro of ‘Lemons and Zests’

Carrot Chutney by Michelle Minnaar of ‘Greedy Gourmet’

Eggplant Chutney (Vankaya Pachadi) by Geetha Priyanka of ‘Flavours Treat’

Fresh Peach Chutney by Alexandra Cook of ‘It’s Not Complicated’

 

I hope you find this recipe inspirational and it gets you into the kitchen.  Happy Cooking and Happy Eating Friends!!