There’s so much more to mango chutney than a relish for curry or a dip for pappadoms. Use up that jar in an upgraded chicken schnitzel or Balinese crispy pork rolls
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cleverly curated pantry is a home cook’s best friend, and holds within it the power to take your daily meals in countless different directions at the mere twist of a lid. The simple truth is that all you really need to create flavourful food at home is a capsule of flavourful pantry ingredients. This, for me, includes everyday staples such as toasted sesame oil, dark maple syrup and peanut butter, and bold taste-boosters such as tamarind, pecorino romano and gochujang. Another ingredient I turn to repeatedly is mango chutney, a beloved staple at the Punjabi table of my childhood upbringing in Leicester. Today, I use it in infinite different ways to enliven whatever I happen to be cooking, leaning into its characteristics as a sticky and vinegary, bustlingly tropical, flamboyantly spiced, sweet and mellow flavour hero. These recipes show you just a few ways that mango chutney, or indeed any ingredient in a thoughtfully stocked pantry, can be used when you liberate yourself to play with ingredients with creative joy.
Schnitzel and mushy peas both have a nostalgic 1970s Fanny Cradock-meets-Wimpy-diner charm that I’m always drawn to – they’re also crying out for the addition of pineapple rings, piped green mashed potato and silver jugs of parsley sauce on the side. My flavour-elevated take on these culinary relics uses mango chutney to add tropical pizzaz to the chicken, and lime leaves to bring south-east Asian fragrance to the peas.
