I have a confession to make. The relish I’m posting today wasn’t such a hit with my family. So why am I posting it? Because I liked it and am sure there will be some people out there who also do.
I’m not sure why my family didn’t like it because it is a mango relish, and who doesn’t like mangoes? I’m yet to meet an Indian (the Asian kind) who doesn’t like mangoes!
I made this relish about 2 months back when I had a load of mangoes, at different stages of ripeness, on hand and needed to use them up before they went bad. Even though the best way to eat mangoes is as they are, we Indians love cooking with them too. We use them raw, half-ripe and fully ripe in a variety of dishes.
I decided to use the half-ripe mangoes in a non-Indian style relish/ chutney but couldn’t resist adding an Indian twist to it in terms of the spices I used. I also had this bag of beautiful raisins from Nashik (India’s wine grape growing region) sent to me by friend and fellow blogger, **Madhuli.
I have been trying to figure out why they didn’t like it. Even though my mother told me she liked and had it a few times, she hasn’t asked for it since then so I have about 1 1/2 small jam jars of the chutney still the fridge.
The only thing I can come up with is that it is either the vinegar in the relish or that it isn’t very sweet to taste, but a bit tangy and spicy. I personally do not like the taste of vinegar, especially when it used in preserves of any kind including pickles. In South Indian community we do not traditionally use vinegar at all, not even in pickles so vinegar is a bit of a foreign taste to us and one we haven’t really acquired.
Again, relishes and chutneys (as they’re known in the Western world) are something we have not been brought up with and is something that doesn’t really sit well with South Indian food. Bread and crackers are not usual fare in Indian homes. Bread is usually eaten with butter and jam and even with Indian curries sometimes while Indian flatbread is always accompanied by pickles, sometimes spicy and sometimes sweet and sour.
This relish is really more of tang than sweet, though you could always increase the “sweet” quotient to suit your tastes. You can serve it with crackers, pita chips, on toast or with Indian flatbreads like naans or parathas.
Mango, Red Bell Pepper & Raisin Chutney/ Relish
(Adapted from Epicurious)
Mango, Red Bell Pepper & Raisin Chutney/ Relish
Ingredients
- 3 cups mango grated or chopped ripe (about 3 large es) half
- 1/3 cup golden raisins
- 1/3 cup jaggery (or brown sugar)
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsps mustard seeds
- 2 onions medium , finely chopped
- 2 tbsps chopped ginger finely
- 1 1/2 tsps coriander powder
- 1 1/2 tsps cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp red chilli flakes
- 1 tsp garam masala powder
- 1 red bell pepper big (capsicum), finely chopped
- 1/2 cup orange juice unsweetened
- 2 to 3 green chillies , chopped
Instructions
- I grated my mangoes so I had a less u201clumpyu201d relish/ chutney in the end.
- Put the grated mango in a bowl with vinegar, jaggery/ brown sugar, raisins and salt. Mix it all together very well.
- In a heavy bottomed pan, heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the onions and sautxe9 till they turn transparent. Add the ginger, coriander, cumin and turmeric powders, the chilli flakes and the garam masala. Stir fry for about a minute and add the chopped bell pepper. Stir fry for another minute and then add the Grated mango mixture. Mix well and add the green chillies and the orange juice.
- Bring everything to a boil and then turn down the heat and allow it to simmer. Cover and cook for about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring the relish/ chutney frequently. Once the mango is cooked and the relish/ chutney has thickened, turn the heat off and let it cool.
- Transfer to clean and sterile glass jars and refrigerate.
Leave a Reply