A good mango for chutney sits within a narrow window of ripeness: soft enough that your thumb leaves a faint impression, but still firm enough that it does not fall apart when you peel it. Before this point the chutney tastes of unripe fruit and needs twice as much sugar. After it, the flesh breaks down completely during cooking and we lose the chunky texture that sets a chutney apart from a jam.
We have been making mango chutney for years, always when mangoes in the supermarket are going for 79 cents each and are just about to turn. That is the honest reason: a sweet, tangy, spiced jar of preserve that keeps for six months and goes with curry, cheese, grilled meat, and even breakfast toast with cream cheese. A single mango makes one 200 ml jar. If you double the quantity, the cooking time stays the same because the Thermomix® runs at 100°C regardless.
Mango Chutney with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 10 ✓
- 1 piece ginger (2 x 2 cm)
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/4 - 1 chilli to taste
- 1 mango
- 20 g white wine vinegar
- 20 g lemon juice
- 50 g soft brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
Instructions 0 / 4
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1
Vegetables.
Peel the ginger and slice it. Peel the garlic, add to the mixing bowl with the chilli and ginger, chop for 5 seconds / speed 8 and push down with the spatula.
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2
Mango.
Peel the mango and dice it. Add the mango with the vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, salt, turmeric and pepper and cook for 10 minutes / 100°C / speed 1. Meanwhile, rinse the preserving jar with boiling water.
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3
Blending.
If the chutney is not smooth enough, chop for a few more seconds at speed 5.
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4
Filling.
Fill the chutney into the preserving jar, screw the lid on tightly and leave upside down for 5 minutes. Leave to cool.
Tip: Warning: using a whole chilli will make the chutney properly hot! To make a larger batch, you can double all the ingredients without changing the cooking method. We slice the ginger in step 1, as leaving it whole causes it to become stringy when chopped.
Video
Nutrition per serving
The ripeness window of the mango is everything
Three mangoes, three results. We have tried it: a hard mango that still squeaks when you peel it produces a tough chutney that 50 g of brown sugar cannot rescue from being sour. An overripe mango with brown bruises dissolves completely after eight minutes of cooking and we end up with a puree, no visible pieces left. The right mango feels like a ripe avocado: slightly giving, but not soft. Your index finger presses a dent that slowly springs back.
Supermarket mangoes are usually too hard. We buy them three to four days before we plan to cook and leave them to ripen next to an apple on the kitchen worktop. The apple releases ethylene and speeds up ripening. In the fridge, mangoes do not ripen any further. Once the skin smells fruity at the stem end and your thumb presses in gently, the moment has arrived.
Why the Thermomix® makes a difference for chutney
Chutney relies on two things: evenly small flavour carriers (ginger, garlic, chilli) and a fruit that softens during cooking without falling apart completely. On the hob, one of two problems tends to occur. Either the ginger stays stringy because its fibres tear rather than cut when chopped by hand. Or the mango sticks to the bottom of the pan and turns bitter because the sugar caramelises before the fruit can absorb it.
The mixing bowl solves both. Ginger sliced into 2 cm pieces, then chopped with garlic and chilli for 5 seconds at speed 8, comes out microscopically fine. It only goes stringy if we drop a whole piece of ginger in. Hence the slices. During cooking at speed 1 and 100°C, the Thermomix® stirs constantly and gently. Nothing burns, nothing clumps. In the meantime we can sterilise the preserving jar with boiling water and there is no need to stand over the hob.
Getting the heat level right
A whole chilli makes the chutney hot, a quarter makes it mild. There are three levels in between that we choose depending on how we plan to use it. For Indian curry, a whole chilli works well because the chutney is eaten alongside yoghurt raita as a counterpoint. With cheese or as a spread we use a third, otherwise the heat overpowers the mango. If you are not used to chilli, start with half a pod, taste the chutney, then sharpen it with a pinch of cayenne pepper at the end. Heat can be added but not removed.
One important point about chilli: the seeds decide the level of heat. The seeds carry the capsaicin that delivers the kick. If you halve the pod lengthways and scrape out the seeds with the back of a knife, you get the flavour with very little heat. With the seeds in, it gets noticeably hotter. We usually leave them in because we like heat and reduce the quantity instead.
Controlling the texture: chunky or smooth
After 10 minutes at 100°C the chutney is usually already chunky and creamy. We like it that way: soft pieces of mango floating in a lightly syrupy liquid. For a smoother result, add a few seconds at speed 5 at the end. No more than that. Speed 7 or 8 turns the chutney into a smooth sauce and that is a different product altogether, no longer a chutney.
If the chutney is too liquid after 10 minutes, extend the cooking time by 3 to 5 minutes at 100°C without the measuring cup so that moisture can escape. This tends to happen with very juicy mangoes. The other way round: if the chutney is too dry, add a tablespoon of water or mango juice in the final minutes.
Sterilising the jar properly and shelf life
The 200 ml preserving jar and its lid go into boiling water for 5 minutes. If you prefer not to do this, pour boiling water from a kettle over the inside surfaces. The important point is that the chutney goes into the jar while both are hot. Screw the lid on immediately and turn the jar upside down for 5 minutes. This creates a vacuum: as the contents cool, they contract, the lid bows slightly inward and opens with a click.
Stored this way, mango chutney keeps for six months in a dark cupboard. We note the filling date in pencil on the lid. After opening, the jar goes in the fridge and should be used within four weeks. If mould appears on the surface, either the jar was not clean enough or it was left open too long. In that case the entire contents go in the bin, do not scoop off the top.
What we serve the chutney with
Classic with Indian food like Butter Chicken, with a good Garam Masala and rice. We use it just as often on a cheeseboard, especially with mature cheddar or goat’s cheese, where the sweetness of the mango and the heat of the chilli balance the cheese beautifully. On grilled chicken or with lamb cutlets it replaces any shop-bought sauce. And in the morning on wholemeal toast with cream cheese it is our quiet favourite. If you enjoy Indian accompaniments, the Tomato and Date Chutney made in the Thermomix® is worth trying too: similarly versatile, but deeper and less sweet. As a dip variation, Date Dip works very well on the same occasions.
Variations we have tested
With mustard seeds: Add 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds in step 2. They pop gently during cooking and bring a second layer of heat alongside the chilli. This is closer to the North Indian original.
With cardamom and cinnamon: Cook with 2 green cardamom pods and a 1 cm cinnamon stick, then fish them out before filling. This makes the chutney more warming and festive, and it pairs well with game.
With lime instead of lemon: Use 20 g lime juice instead of lemon juice. More aromatic, with a faintly floral character. Works well when the chutney is served with fish.
With apple cider vinegar: If you do not have white wine vinegar, use 20 g of mild apple cider vinegar. The flavour is slightly rounder and less sharp. Balsamic vinegar does not work here as it becomes too sweet when cooked down and overpowers the mango.
Goes well with: Naan.
For more mango recipes made with the Thermomix®: a Mango Smoothie, Strawberry Mango Prosecco, and Mango Kiwi Cocktail are our most-made. For a complete Indian menu we like to round out the chutney with Ghee and pancakes with a chicken and chutney filling.
