Mango chutney substitutes

The best five-minute answer, and close enough that most people would not question it. Stone fruit jam already has the right body and sweetness, and the vinegar and ginger supply the two things that make chutney chutney rather than jam.

Best for

curry and roti, cheeseboards, samosas, poppadoms, glazing chicken or pork, sandwiches

Without the vinegar this tastes like sweet jam next to a curry, which is exactly wrong, so do not skip it. The result is smoother and less chunky than a jar of Major Grey, and it is missing the plump raisins and the whole spice notes of clove and nizam. Chop a tablespoon of raisins in and let it sit ten minutes if you want that too. Apricot lands closer to mango than peach does.

If you have a mango, this is not a substitute at all, it is the real thing in ten minutes, and it tastes brighter and less cloying than most supermarket jars.

Best for

curry and roti, cheese and crackers, grilled fish, rice bowls, chicken

It is looser and fresher than a jar and will not keep more than a week in the fridge, because it has none of the sugar and acid concentration that makes commercial chutney shelf-stable. Do not treat this as a preserving recipe and do not can it: it is a fridge condiment to eat within days. A slightly underripe mango gives you more of the tartness that jarred chutney gets from vinegar.

Works on the same principle as the stone fruit version and is worth knowing because most kitchens have one jar or the other. Apple jelly in particular is a blank sweet-tart canvas that takes spice well.

Best for

cheeseboards, ham and pork, curries, baked brie, sandwiches

Fig jam brings a raisiny, almost molasses depth that is actually rather close to a dark Major Grey chutney, though it is earthier and less fruity-bright. Apple jelly is thinner and glassier, so it slides off a poppadom where real chutney clings, and it tastes cleaner and simpler. Bloom the curry powder in a splash of hot water first so it does not taste raw and dusty.

Sour rather than sweet-forward, dark brown rather than golden, but it does the same job of cutting richness and it is what many Indian and Indo-Caribbean dishes actually want alongside them.

Best for

samosas, doubles, chaat, pholourie, fritters, curries

This is a real flavour change, not a near-match. Tamarind chutney is tangy, molasses-dark and slightly medicinal in a good way, so a curry plate served with it tastes noticeably sharper and less sweet, and it looks completely different on the plate. To move it toward mango chutney, stir in a tablespoon of apricot jam per quarter cup. If you only have tamarind paste, mix 1 tablespoon paste with 2 tablespoons brown sugar and a splash of hot water.

Sweet, sticky, mildly hot and always in the fridge door. Fine as a glaze or a dip, weak as a chutney.

Best for

glazing chicken, pork or salmon, dipping samosas and spring rolls, sandwiches

It has the sweetness and a little of the heat, but it is thin, translucent and one-dimensional, with none of the fruit body or the ginger and warm spice that give chutney its depth, so a cheeseboard with sweet chilli sauce on it just tastes of sugar and chilli. On a glaze, where it caramelises and picks up flavour from the meat, the gap closes a lot. Add half a teaspoon of grated ginger to improve it instantly.

Worth flagging because people search for these together. Trinidadian kuchela is grated green mango cured with mustard oil, amchar masala and hot pepper, and chow is fresh green mango tossed with salt, garlic, culantro and pepper. Both are sour, salty and fierce.

Best for

doubles, roti, fried fish, as a hot pickle alongside curry

If you put kuchela where a recipe wanted sweet mango chutney, the dish goes from sweet-and-mellow to salty, sour and very hot, and on a cheeseboard it would be inedible. Going the other way, sweet mango chutney where a Trini recipe calls for kuchela leaves the plate tasting flat and sugary. These are different foods that happen to share a fruit, so buy the one your recipe means.