30-Minute Stovetop Mango Chutney

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A glossy, sweet-tart mango chutney you can simmer in half an hour with frozen or firm supermarket mango. Cider vinegar, ginger, garlic and a bloom of whole warm spices give it the depth of a long-cooked preserve, and it keeps in the fridge for weeks — ready for curry night, samosas, cheese boards or a roast chicken sandwich.

Ingredients

• 2 lb frozen mango chunks, thawed, or firm-ripe mango, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red Fresno or jalapeño chile, seeded and minced (optional)
• 1/4 cup golden raisins

• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp nigella seeds (kalonji), optional
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder or sweet paprika
• 1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice

Instructions

1. Prep the fruit. If using frozen mango, thaw it in a colander set over a bowl and save any juices — you'll add them to the pot. Chop the thawed chunks into roughly 1/2-inch pieces. If using fresh mango, choose fruit that is firm-ripe (fragrant but with no give at the stem) and cut into 1/2-inch dice; you want about 5 cups total.
2. Set a wide, heavy 4-quart saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat and add the 2 tablespoons oil. When it shimmers, add the mustard seeds and cook 20–30 seconds until they start to pop, then add the cumin seeds, nigella seeds, cinnamon stick and crushed cardamom pods. Toast 30 seconds more, until fragrant — don't let the seeds darken past golden brown.
3. Add the onion and a pinch of the salt. Cook, stirring, for 4–5 minutes over medium heat until softened and translucent but not browned. Stir in the ginger, garlic and fresh chile and cook 1 minute until you can smell the garlic.
4. Add the turmeric, ground cloves and Kashmiri chili powder and stir for 15 seconds in the hot oil to bloom the ground spices, then immediately pour in the cider vinegar to stop them from scorching. Scrape the bottom of the pan clean.
5. Add the mango and its reserved juices, the brown sugar, granulated sugar, golden raisins and remaining salt. Stir until the sugar dissolves and bring to a lively simmer over medium-high heat, 3–4 minutes.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 22–28 minutes, stirring every 4–5 minutes and more often near the end as it thickens. Scrape the bottom and sides so nothing catches. The chutney is done when the syrup is thick and glossy, the mango is translucent and partly broken down, and a spoon dragged across the bottom leaves a clear trail that fills in slowly. A candy thermometer, if you have one, will read about 215°F.
7. For a smoother, more spreadable chutney, mash about a third of the fruit against the side of the pan with the back of a spoon. Leave it chunky if you like visible pieces of mango.
8. Turn off the heat and stir in the lime juice. Taste and adjust: another teaspoon of vinegar if it reads too sweet, a pinch of salt if it tastes flat, a splash more sugar if your mango was very tart. Fish out the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods if you prefer not to find them later.
9. Ladle the hot chutney into two clean pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Cool uncovered for 45 minutes, then seal and refrigerate. It thickens further as it chills and the flavor rounds out after 24 hours. Keeps 4 weeks in the fridge; makes about 3 cups.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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