Geeta’s Premium Mango Chutney

To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Geeta’s Premium Mango Chutney, I was invited to join the Chutney Challenge. The idea was to create a chutney inspired recipe; in order to attempt this I had to go into the kitchen myself!

Now I know mango chutney as something you always get in Indian Restaurants, but I also know it is great with cheese.  There are several different types of chutney, so just as with a wine, it is important to match the chutney to the food to really bring out the taste of both.

Geeta’s Premium Mango Chutney if a fruity, sweet, and delicately spiced variety and therefore I wanted to pair it with something that would appreciate this delicate nature.  I decided on small appetizer parcels; easy to make, ideal to nibble on, and so perfect to be dressed with chutney. They are also easy to make and almost impossible to get wrong.

So lets grab some ingredients.  To make the parcels you will need to decide what fillings you want – I went for a spicy tomato and a green cheese to really add some colours to what need to be apetizing apetisers in looks as well as taste.

Using ready made filo pastry speeds up the whole process and is a worthwhile shortcut to take.  Use a good red wine, in this case a Silenus Kappa Sigma 2010, in case you get thirsty whilst cooking.

Using a blender and a small bowl, mix up the tomato puree, fresh tamato, paprika, and some red leicester (if you want cheese).  This creates the ‘red’ mix.  In a new bowl, do the same with the cress, mushrooms, broccoli, and mild cheddar cheese.  The blender should make this into a paste, but is it is a bit dry still just add some chutney to make it bind.

Cut the pastry into 10cm squares.  In the middle of each add a blob of your mix.  Then fold up each of the corners to make a parcel as per the pictures.  Do not worry about some of the mix oozing out.  If you are worrying, drink some more wine.

Put the parcels onto a thin baking tray, and put into a pre-heated oven (that’s important) at 220C.  Now the heat will start to cook the pastry faster than the mix, so the parcels form their shape and do not let the mix run out.  Marvelous.  Keep them in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the pastry looks golden.  Whilst waiting for them to cook, do not open the oven door as this makes the pastry wilt.  If you are worried, drink some more wine.

When they are ready, place them on a plate, ideally piping hot from the oven.  Add a dash of Geeta’s Premium Mango Chutney to the top of each, and then serve.  If you have done them well then they will be a success;  clearly mine were as some were eaten before I even had time to photograph them – hence the crumbs on the plate!

If you leave the cheese from the mix then these could be vegan bites, but the ease at which you can make the parcels really can let you play with flavours and colours.

If you have done well then celebrate with a glass of wine.