Mango-Apple Chutney

A traditional Bengali meal, including anywhere between 6-12 courses, is a tour de force of the taste palate. A few courses in the meal appeal to a specific part of the taste palate, with most straddling the umami region between the sweet and salty. A multi-course Bengali meal begins with something bitter (bitter gourd, crushed neem leaves, bitter greens), then ventures into the sweet-salty region (with daals, vegetable stir fries, fish or meat stews), stopping briefly to sample the sour (chutneys), before ending with the sweet. The sequence of courses from bitter to sweet as well as the variety of options and cooking techniques used within each course is what makes Bengali cuisine unique from other regional Indian offerings. The bitter flavors in the beginning of the meal and the light, sweet-sour chutneys, usually had on their own or with a papad, also distinguishes Bengali cuisine from most international cuisines. Once I had asked a German friend if they had any bitter foods in a traditional German meal, and he replied with his characteristic German pragmatism, "No. Only beer." 😀

Now, such a lavish spread is only reserved for very, very special occasions like a wedding feast or a full course meal at a restaurant specializing in Bengali food. An everyday lunch cooked in a Bengali kitchen is likely to include daal, vegetables, and fish, but the bitter, sour, and sweet are often skipped in the interest of time. Growing up, we would definitely have the bitters during the summer as bitter gourd and neem leaves were supposed to regulate internal body temperature and help with digestion. The chutneys were a rarity in my mother's kitchen because I assume she was either short on time or being frugal with resources like sugar. At my grandparents' house though, bitters and chutneys were served on a daily basis. My grandmother had a neem tree in her terrace garden and the leaves from this tree would be fried to serve as a dauntingly bitter first course that we would gulp down hurriedly. Chutneys were made daily with whatever seasonal produce was available in the market that day -- green mangoes, green olives, young tamarind, chalta (elephant apples), aamra (hog plums) in the summer and tomatoes, dates, and jujubes in the winter. These fresh chutneys would be spooned into tea saucers and slurped up directly from the plate, would provide a sweet and tangy end to the meal.

I do not regularly make chutneys because we rarely have time for a leisurely meal that includes this course. I appease my sour taste buds with store-bought aachars (pickles). While we are blessed with many fruit varieties in California that would lend themselves well to the traditional Bengali chutneys, I have not gotten around to these experimentations yet. The recipe in this post was inspired by the picture of a chutney my mom posted on our family WhatsApp group chat (the full-proof source for all things Bengali 😆). She captioned the picture with the ingredients she had used identifying their places of origin: apple chips from California, green mangoes that she had bought from the Kolkata market that day, and stevia from New Jersey. The apples for this chutney came from the apple trees in our backyard. I dehydrate apple slices in early Fall when we cannot keep up with the harvest. The chips have a long shelf life, transport well, and are probably the most coveted gifts among friends and family back home. Now, stevia, you can get anywhere, but I guess this packagee my mom had was originally bought in New Jersey, where my sister lives.

I usually have a stash of apple chips that we use to top our oatmeal or salads, or as a quick, healthy snack. Never having used them in a chutney, I asked my mother for the recipe -- which came back via WhatsApp in a garble of auto-corrected Bengali sans any measurements. I roughly followed the process she outlined, adjusting the ingredients by instinct. The result was this subtly spiced, sweet and sour syrup with mango slices and apple chips suspended in it. The chutney got better as it chilled in the fridge over several days. We just finished the last bit yesterday.

What You Need (For approximately 3 cups of chutney)
1 whole green mango
2 cups apple chips (My homemade chips are paper thin and cook quickly. If you are using store-bought chips which often tend to be thicker, you should add them to the chutney earlier in the cooking process as they will take longer to cook.)
1/2 cup sugar (The amount of sugar used depends on the natural sweetness of the mango and the apple chips. Start with 1/2 cup and add more if needed. Also remember that the sweetness of the chutney is intensified as it cools.)
2 dried red chilies
1 tsp paanch phoran (Bengali 5 spice blend, can substitute with mustard seeds)
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp neutral oil
1/2 tsp roasted cumin-coriander powder (Dry roast 1/4 tsp each of whole cumin and coriander seeds in a small frying pan and grind in spice grinder. You can make a bigger batch of this and store in an airtight container. This spice blend adds a touch of smokiness to any dish when added in the last stages of the cooking process.)

Directions
Wash mango, cut in half to remove pith, then slice each half into thick slices. In this chutney, the skin is left on the mango. You can also remove the skin. In that case, the cooking time is reduced as the mango slices cook more quickly.

Place mango slices in a bowl. Add 1/4 tsp salt and cover with water. Set aside for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, drain the water and place mango slices in a medium pot. Add 3 cups of water and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat.

Cook the mangoes till they are fork tender, but still retaining their shapes. Add the apple chips and sugar at this point and continue cooking chutney over medium low heat till the apple chips are softened. Add turmeric and lemon juice.  Give the chutney a gentle stir, taking care not to break the fruits. Reduce heat to low.

Heat oil in a small frying pan, add dried red chilies and 1 tsp paanch phoran or mustard seeds. Once spices sizzle, add the spice-infused oil into the chutney. Stir the chutney to fold the oil into the syrup and simmer gently for another 2-3 minutes.

Remove from heat and sprinkle with the roasted cumin-coriander powder.

Chill before serving.