Mrs HS Balls Chutney?

[Little Cupcake]

I impulsively bought a bottle of Mrs HS Balls chutney. Now what should I do with it?

[slacker1]

My wife made a baked chicken dish this week that used this chutney. She first painted some thighs with the chutney and then rolled them in chopped roasted cashews. The chutney allowed the nuts to adhere and the flavour was excellent.

[drew53921]

Mrs. Balls is great stuff. Typically used as a condiment. We have it with roast chicken breast or turkey - put a bit at the side of your plate and then dip the meat into the chutney. Adds to taste and makes the meat less dry. Also good as a condiment w/ stew, but if you have access to South African chicken or beef curry pies, Mrs. Balls is the ultimate.

[Little Cupcake]

Yeah I am not a big chutney user. The only time I've had it was back in my babysitting days. The family I worked for had some other brand of mango chutney that I would eat with samosas. Yum!

I tried the Mrs Balls chutney with some brie on crackers. It made a nice afternoon snack. Looking forward to experiment more with this.

[Harters]

Well, first thing to do is taste it. That should give a clue as to what it will work with.

I tend to make chutnies rather than buy. I have some that work well with cold meats or on a sandwich to perk them up (I do a tomato/lime/chili that's a killer on a ham sandwich) . I have others that work well with curries - usually fruitier ones like mango.

I've never used chutney as a cooking ingredient but maybe this SA product might be suited. A taste will tell.

[wayne keyser]

I'm assuming from the way you worded your post that you're not a regular chutney user.

A quick Google shows that "Mrs HS Balls Chutney" is a very popular South African brand. The 'official' description says "Use this chutney in your cooking when you want to add that extra body to a stew or marinade. Use it as a sauce with your food!"

I have no idea what good it would be in a stew, and I prefer other flavors in a marinade. But as a condiment, almost any chutney can really 'amp up' anything that needs a dip. And if you think for a moment about all the various Indian styles, even though they're wildly different (sweet, savory, chili-hot, cilentro-green) they each have something interesting to offer to the food-in-need-of-a-condiment.

Example: Let's think for a moment (please bear with me) about the Chicken McNugget (or the egg roll). Nothing much by itself, but suited to a variety of sweet sauces that are part of the ''original manufacturer equipment. But if you go farther afield they're also really good with Chinese hot mustard (those little packets are greatb to keep in your car for such a job) or Tabasco-style hot sauce, and they also go well with any chutney I've ever tried.

So serve a dab of your new chutney alongside french fries, plain-steamed shrimp, deboned chicken, wings, even along with a snack plate of cheese and cold cuts and crackers or breads. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.