This chutney is a Gujarati favorite, made when the first mangoes of the season arrive. I asked my 83-year-old grandmother to show me how to make it. “I don’t remember how to,” she said, but amazingly, her hands rhythmically chopped the mango and stirred in the spices—she did it automatically and didn’t have to stop to think once. It made her nostalgic. She said her mum and she used to pickle together, and said I must pickle with my daughters and that I must hurry up and have daughters, then broke into a sly wink.
Makes a large jar (around 24 ounces)
2 pounds unripe green mangoes
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
4 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
¾ teaspoon ground red chile
generous ¾ cup jaggery (or to taste)
Wash the mangoes but don’t worry about peeling them. Cut off the fatter “cheeks,” slicing as close to the central pit as possible, followed by the chunks of flesh on the other sides of the pit. Then salvage whatever other flesh you can.
Chop it all into ¼-inch cubes and transfer to a bowl, along with ½ teaspoon of salt and the turmeric. Mix together and set aside for 10 minutes.
Then put the oil into a lidded frying pan over medium heat and, when hot, add the mustard seeds. When the seeds pop or wriggle in the oil, add the mango and cover with a lid. Cook for around 8 minutes, until the skins turn a darker color and the mango is tender, then add the remaining salt and the ground red chile. Stir, then add the jaggery a little at a time—you might not need all of it.
Cook for around 5 minutes, until the jaggery has melted and thickened, then take off the heat. Check the chutney for salt and chile, then transfer to a clean jar and leave to cool before refrigerating. This chutney will keep for a week or two in the fridge.
