Sweet and tangy with a kick of heat in the background, Major Grey’s Mango Chutney is a delicious accompaniment to curries, meats, and cheeses.
One of the aspects of blogging that I enjoy most is having the opportunity to interact with other people, near and far, who share my passion for cooking. I always enjoy reading about what my fellow home cooks are stirring up in their kitchens.
On Tuesday, I received a comment on my Curried Cauliflower Soup from a reader who made the recipe, but was unable to find Major Grey’s Chutney in her local grocery store. What did she do? She made her own!
Finding her enthusiasm inspiring, I scribbled “Homemade Chutney” onto my “To-Do” list for when prime mango season rolled around. As luck would have it, my trip to the grocery store on Wednesday greeted me with a huge display of Champagne Mangoes where the Sumo oranges (now out of season) had once stood.
That’s probably the fastest I’ve ever put a recipe on my list and had it come to fruition. Homemade Mango Chutney was meant to be this week!
What is Major Grey’s Chutney?
Major Grey’s Chutney is a style of chutney (not a brand, as I erroneously thought long ago) popular here in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The chutney’s backstory goes something along the lines of a British officer (or his cook) having made it while stationed in India in the 19th century and brought the recipe home with him. (It’s thought that “Major Grey” may have been apocryphal, but it’s a fun story, nonetheless.)
The ingredients in Major Grey’s chutney vary both across commercial brands and recipes, but a few elements seem to remain constant: mangoes, raisins, citrus, onions, a sugar of some sort, and warm (not overly hot) spices.
The chutney should be sweet and tangy with a nice “kick” of heat at the end that’s just enough to compliment the different layers of flavor without consuming them. You’ll often see it served with curried dishes, or as a condiment to meats and cheeses.
Sweet and Spicy Mango Chutney
While I’ve made various relishes and preserves in the past, mango chutney is always something I’ve purchased prepared. I’m not really sure why that’s the case, because it turned out to be incredibly easy to make and the flavor payoff is huge.
If you’ve been reading Striped Spatula for a while, you know that my tastebuds tend toward full flavors with mild heat levels. By the same token, I’m not the biggest fan of foods that are cloyingly sweet, which I find can be an issue in some commercially-prepared chutneys.
The great part about making chutney at home is that you can tailor the “sweet” and “heat” balance to your preferences.
What we loved most about this batch of Major Grey’s was both its chunky texture (I like seeing the bits of fruit, rather than having a homogenous, jam-like consistency), and its bold, fresh flavor.
It was good enough to taste with a spoon, though, I can imagine that it would be a really delicious accompaniment to thick, juicy pork chops. Just thinking out loud here.
Storing your Chutney
The recipe makes a goodly amount of chutney, but recipes such as these keep well in the refrigerator for a few weeks and can also be frozen.
As for shelf-stable preservation methods: I’m a total slacker in the home-canning department. It’s not something I’ve done often (I was a casual observer in the kitchen of those who are proficient in the art a few times), though it’s something I’d love to explore in the future.
How lovely would a jar of homemade chutney be for a hostess gift? Another item for the “To Do” list, I think!
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Mango Chutney (Major Grey's Style)
Ingredients
- 3 pounds Champagne mangoes , peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice (4 cups of diced fruit)
- 1 cup granulated sugar *
- 1 cup light brown sugar , packed
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 1/3 cup peeled grated ginger (use a microplane), or mince very finely with a knife
- 1/2 lime (preferably, thin-skinned), seeded and cut into a small dice**
- 1 small red chili pepper , seeded, de-veined and cut into a small dice***
- 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 large yellow onion (about 2 cups), finely chopped
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1-1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
Instructions
- Stir all ingredients together in a large, heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a steady bubble and cook, stirring often, until chutney is thick, about 35 minutes.
- Cool, remove cinnamon stick and serve chutney chilled or at room temperature. Flavors will deepen with time.
- Store cooled chutney in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 1 year (be sure to leave about 1/2-inch at the top of your containers for expansion if freezing).
- The chutney can also be jarred and sealed according to standard canning guidelines for preserves.
Notes
To dice a mango:
Mangoes have long, relatively flat, oblong-shaped pits. You'll need to slice into either side of the pit to remove the edible fruit (known as "cheeks"). To do this, hold the mango with the stem end pointing away from you. Using a sharp knife, carefully slice the mango lengthwise about 3/4-inch from the center to remove the first cheek. Rotate the mango and repeat on the opposite side to remove the second cheek. Using the tip of your knife, score each cheek in about 1/2 inch increments lengthwise and crosswise, being careful not to slice through the skin. To separate the mango cubes from the skin, slide a spoon between the flesh and skin to scoop out the cubes (much like you would an avocado). Or, invert the cheek by pushing up on the bottom so the cubes stand up and use a knife to carefully trim them away from the skin. You can try gently carving around the edges of the pit slice to see if any additional fruit can be extracted, but depending on the mango, the amount might be negligible.Nutrition Estimate
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
About our recipes
Please note that our recipes have been developed using the US Customary measurement system and have not been tested for high altitude/elevation cooking and baking.
Made it today. Mangoes were on sale and prepared chutney is getting difficult to find. Easy and delicious. Thank you
This is wonderful! I’ve made coronation chicken salad so often with Crossey & Blackwell brand but was unable to find it. After making your version, I’m ruined for store-bought forever! It is so delicious and much easier than I thought it would be. Hope you don’t mind, but I’ve included a link to your recipe in my blog post on Coronation Chicken Salad. Thank you for an amazing recipe.
I made this chutney yesterday, and it is delicious!
I tweaked it a bit and used white wine vinegar instead and added 1/2 teaspoon each of sumac, turmeric, ground cardamom, cumin and coriander. Dark raisins work well if you don’t have golden ones.
Thank you for a “keeper” recipe! I substituted the fresh mangoes for 4 cups of frozen and the pepper with cayenne as suggested by someone else. The result was a sweet, slightly delayed spicy condiment. I think next time I will only use 1/4 of a tsp. of cayenne, just a little less heat. I also canned and processed the jars for 10 mins. Thanks again 😋
This recipe is excellent. I made it for the second time this weekend. The only thing I had to change this time was that I didn’t have the fresh pepper since we’re isolating. I used dried instead. I think the champagne mangoes really make a difference in this recipe from others I’ve tried. Excellent flavor. I don’t plan on buying jarred again!
Because this chutney has a high sugar content and also is quite acid (that’s the vinegar), It would be a pretty simple matter to can it. The high acid/sugar means that there is no danger of botulism or other bad organisms. The only thing that might contaminate your chutney would be the same kind of mold that you sometimes find on an open jar of jam—unpleasant, but not poisonous. Basically, you would can this the same way you would jar and seal a batch of jelly or jam. Sterilize the jars and caps (the dishwasher works fine for this), bring the chutney to a boil, fill the jars (use a wide-mouth canning funnel), wipe off any slops that might interfere with the jar’s seal, screw down the lids and, voilà! you’re done. One note, as with jam, jelly, marmalade, etc., it is a good idea to turn the jars upside down for the first few minutes of the cooling process. The heat from the jar’s contents will kill any stray mold spores that may have contaminated the jar lid while it was waiting to be screwed down.
Warning, do not use this method for tomatoes, canned fruit, or any kind of canned vegetables. They don’t have such high sugar and acid levels and so need more care. You have to heat the jars after they are filled in a water bath or even a pressure cooker. If you want to do that sort of thing, get a good book on canning. The Ball canning jar company puts out a very good guide with all the safety tips.
Making my 2nd batch right now. Like many dabblers, I suffer from add-itis; I found fresh galangal and turmeric and so split the ginger family into thirds. Also added 1/3 cup currants. Have also shared this recipe (yours) thru my daughter to another interested, slightly-matured gentleman of very good taste. Thank you.
Thank you so much for a wonderful recipe. We have a small family so I ended up vacuum sealing 3/4 of the recipe in food saver bags (about a cup in each bag). I just opened the last bag (over a year later) and it’s still just as good as the day I made. Time to make another batch!
This was quite good. I modified it to use reconstituted dried mango (and added 4 recon dried Turkish apricots) along with Splenda instead of the sugars. I didn’t have any hot peppers in the house so I added 1/2 Tsp of cayenne. The flavor was really very close to the chutney I’ve bought in the past.
This sounds SO AWESOME! Major grey chicken was the first Indian dish I ever tried, and I fell in love immediately. Gotta give this one a try!
Thanks, Trish! We enjoyed it. The flavors were definitely brighter than the jarred chutney I’ve bought in the past. I always love when something so easy to make has such a great taste!