Mango chutney with whole seeds (unfortunately)

So why the unfortunately in the title? Although the recipe produced a delicious chutney which was tangy, sweet and fruity, the seeds were an absolute nuisance. It all resulted in Neil painstakingly fishing out as many seeds as possible through sheer embarrassment of serving it to our friends, who would undoubtedly have spent the rest of the evening discreetly picking whole cardamom and cloves from their teeth. I really don't understand why anyone would want to eat a chutney, (or curry or rice dish for that matter...) with the interference of such hard and potentially deadly seeds still present. My opinion: after roasting the seeds, grind them to a fine powder. 

In all honesty, I often make curries with cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon present, but just enough to be easily removed before serving, this, however, was completely rife with the seeds cemented into the gloopy gel.

Recipe : Mango chutney

Adapted from Canning for a New Generation by Liana Krissoff

When all is said and done, however, mango chutney is still a glorious thing. This recipe was a little time consuming but worth the effort if you enjoy homemade versions of staples. The mango pieces were a nice change to what is essentially a pureed sauce, which seemed to gel very well without any added pectin or green apple...I assume mango has lots of natural pectin qualities...

3 mangoes, peeled and cut into chunks

1 tbsp fennel seeds

1/2 tbsp green cardamoms

1/2 tbsp whole black peppercorns

2 tsp fenugreek seeds

1 tsp whole cloves

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2.25 cups sugar

2 tsp salt

1 small green chili pepper, seeded and chopped finely

1/2 cup white vinegar

Sterilize your jars (I needed 1 pint jar and 1 1/2 pint jar) by boiling in a large pot of boiling water for 10 minutes, (ensure the water covers the pots), or put them through a hot dishwasher cycle. Keep them hot. Place the flat lid and screw lid in a bowl.

In a large pan, dry roast the fennel, cardamoms, peppercorns, fenugreek and cloves for 1 minute until fragrant. Now, remove from the pan and grind to a powder before returning to the pan. (Optional - the original recipe states to leave them whole, which is what caused so much bother for me - it's up to you).

Add 1/4 cup of water to the pan, along with the cinnamon, sugar, salt, chilies and mangoes and stir well. Bring to the boil, stirring, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes until the mangoes are becoming soft.

Add the vinegar, boil again and cook for 25 minutes until the mixture has thickened and the mangoes have become very soft.

Ladle hot water into the bowl with the lids and remove the jars from the dishwasher or boiling water. Spoon the hot chutney into the jars, leaving 1/4 inch space at the top. Wipe the rims with a wet paper cloth and secure the flat lids and screw lids, which should be removed from the bowl with the hot water. 

Return the jars to the hot water bath and process by boiling for 10 minutes. Remove using jar lifters or tongs, (be careful) and set on a folded tea towel. Do not disturb for 12 hours. Check the seals after 1 hour, they should be tight and not able to pop. If they do, refrigerate immediately. Enjoy with poppadoms, as a dip for the pakoras or even stir a spoonful into a curry or rice dish