It all started with Mango Chutney...

My boyfriend is a massive fan of curry and all the condiments with which it comes... but if he had to choose, mango chutney would be 'the one'.

As a pre-valentines day treat I thought I would go all out and cook a full on Indian feast and make as many things from scratch as possible. This had to start with the chutney so the night before I chopped and sliced four huge mango's and covered in salt and left overnight.

I was really surprised by how easy it all was and as this was my first attempt at any kind of chutney I was really impressed with the results. I packaged it up in Kilner jars and added a homemade label and presented it at the beginning of the feast.

The recipe below is from the BBC food website, it says it makes 500ml but mine made twice that amount (to the delight of the boyfriend).

Mango chutney

Makes 2 x 250ml/9oz jars (but I ended up with double)

Ingredients:

• 4 large mangoes, peeled, stoned and sliced

• salt

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

• 450g/1lb caster sugar

• 2 baking apples, peeled, cored and chopped

• 1 tbsp English Mustard powder

• 1 tbsp grated fresh root ginger

• 600ml/1 pint white wine vinegar

• 1 tbsp cayenne pepper

Method:

Put the mango slices in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. Leave overnight. In the morning, drain off the juice and rinse the fruit.

Put the garlic, sugar, apples, mustard, ginger, vinegar and cayenne pepper in a pan and, over a low heat, dissolve the sugar.

Bring to the boil and add the mangoes. Simmer for 30 minutes until the chutney is thick and syrupy (I left mine for nearly an hour as it was still a bit watery after only 30 minutes). Spoon into sterilised jars and seal.