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1/2 c Dried tamarind pulp; packed
-or- 1/2 c Fresh lime juice; strained
+ 1/2 cup water 2 1/2 c ;Water
3 lb Mangoes*
1 c Onions; in 1/4″ dice
1 c Golden raisins
1 c Dried currants
4 tb Fresh ginger; minced
– or more to taste 3 lg Garlic cloves; minced fine
1 Lemon; grated zest of
2 c Light brown sugar; packed
3/4 c Sugar
2 tb Mustard seed
1 tb Salt
2 ts Dried red pepper; crushed*
2 ts Ground cinnamon
1/2 ts Turmeric
1/4 ts Ground cloves
1/4 ts Cayenne pepper
– or more to taste 1 1/2 c Distilled white vinegar
*Mangoes can be unripe, half-ripe or part unripe and part ripe.
Using part or all almost-ripe fruit will yield a chutney with a
softer texture. If you like jammy chutney, cut the fruit into small
bits; for a chunky product, use 1/2″ or larger cubes and stop
cooking the mixture as soon as the fruit pieces are translucent.
**In place of the crushed dried red pepper, can substitute 2 dried
hot peppers (each 2 1/2 to 3″ long) which have been seeded and
crumbled, or 1 tb. finely minced red or green fresh hot peppers.
Increase any of these if you are sure you want a hotter chutney.
Crumble tamarind into a small bowl and stir in 1 1/2 cups of the
water; let tamarind soak for at least an hour, meanwhile preparing
the remaining ingredients. Or substitute the fresh lime juice plus
1/2 cup of water at this point.
Peel and dice the mangoes, cutting them into small pieces for a
jamlike chutney, into 1/2″ or larger dice for a chunky mixture.
Place the pieces in a preserving pan. Add the onions, raisins,
currants, ginger, garlic, lemon zest, brown and granulated sugars,
mustard seed, salt, crushed hot red pepper, cinnamon, turmeric,
cloves, ground red pepper, white vinegar and the remaining 1 cup
water; stir the mixture and let it rest until the tamarind “juice”
is ready, or for up to several hours, if that is convenient. When
the tamarind pulp is very soft, strain the liquid through a sieve,
pressing it to remove all possible liquid and any pulp that will
pass through. Discard the pulp remaining in the sieve. Add the
liquid to the chutney mixture. Set the pan over medium heat and
bring the ingredients to a boil. Lower the heat so the mixture
simmers and cook it, uncovered, stirring often, until the mango and
onion pieces are translucent and the chutney has thickened to the
consistency of preserves, 1 to 2 hours depending on the firmness of
the fruit. (The chutney will thicken further in the jar, so don’t
reduce it too much.) If the chutney threatens to stick before the
mango pieces are translucent, add a little water. Remove chutney
from the heat, cool a sample, and taste it for tartness, sweetness,
and degree of hotness. (The overall flavor is elusive at this
point, but these factors can be judged.) If you wish, add a little
more vinegar, sugar or ground hot red pepper. Reheat the chutney to
boiling and ladle it into hot, clean pint or half-pint canning
jars, leaving 1/4″ of headspace. Seal the jars; process for 15
minutes (for either size jar) in a boiling-water bath. Cool, label,
and store the jars for a least a month so that its many flavors can
blend and balance. This will keep for at least a year in a cool
pantry. Yield: 6 to 7 cups. From _Fancy Pantry_ by Helen Witty. New
York: Workman Publishing Company, Inc., 1986. Pp. 56-58. ISBN
0-89480-037-X. Typed for you by Cathy Harned.
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