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Mango Anchar (or you may say Mango Achar), is one of those spicy condiments enjoyed with curry dishes (or on it’s own as a snack), typically made when mango are in season in the Caribbean. Green (not fully matured) mangoes are cut into slices and dried in the tropical sun, before being flavored with with spices, garlic and Scotch Bonnet peppers.

You’ll Need..

5-8 green mangoes
1 1/2 tablespoon sea salt
1 heaping tablespoon brown sugar
4 scotch bonnet peppers
10 cloves garlic
2 heaping tablespoon ground roasted cumin (geera)
3 tablespoon anchar masala
2 cups Vegetable oil (see my note below)

Important! Due to camera difficulties (I film with one camera and do still-shots for the website with another. That camera is giving major issues) I could not take stills for the recipe post. Hopefully I can remedy this situation soon.

Please refer to the video below for more info where additional explanation may be needed.

Remove the stems from the mango (discard), then using a SHARP clever or large chefs knife, cut the mangoes into 1 cm size pieces. Remove the inner core (discard) and wash well with cool water 9 (drain).

Place the drained mango pieces into a bowl and toss with the salt. Now place in a drainer and let it sit for a couple hours. This step helps to remove some of the tart taste from the mangoes as well as some moisture.

Since I don’t have access o the tropical sun as it’s traditionally done (mango pieces are placed in the sun for 3-4 days to dry), I use my oven.

Place the mango pieces evenly on a baking sheet and onto the middle rack of the oven. Set it anywhere between 140 and 180 F. Should your oven not go so low, go as low as you can and leave the door slightly open.

It will take between 11 and 15 hrs to dry off, so I usually do this overnight. Should you have a food dehydrator, feel free to use it.

The next step in to place the garlic and scotch bonnet peppers into a blender and pulse to get tiny bits and not too much of a liquid. I added 2-3 tablespoons of veg oil to help it. Or you can simply chop both things by hand.

When I shared the Apple Kuchela and other kuchela recipes I got a lot of “talk” about it’s not traditional since I didn’t use mustard oil.

I suggest you do your research on the process of making Mustard Oil and why it’s should be avoided. See the image below, especially where it says, For External Use Only.

It’s time to finish up. Place the dried mango pieces in a bowl and cover with hot water for 10 minutes (explained in the video below). As this happens, place the oil in a pan, toss in the blended garlic and peppers and heat on a very LOW flame for 5 minutes. Very low as want to infuse the garlic and peppers into the oil.

Drain the mango pieces well. Place them into a large bowl and toss with the Anchar Masala and ground roasted Cumin (geera). I like adding a bit of sugar here as well, to help with the tartness of the mango.

Please note that if you want a deeper garlic flavor or have it more spicy you can adjust the amounts to your liking. No need to add salt as we dry brined it at the start.

Now pour the heated garlic pepper infused oil all over it and stir well. NO need to have the oil screaming hot, just a gentle warming is all you need.

Into a sterilized glass container and it will last months. For a longer shelf life you can store it in the fridge. I used a lot of oil in my recipe as while most people go for the mango pieces, I like to drizzle the oil onto my plate.

Yes, a little different than the traditional method of making Mango Anchar, but just as spicy and delicious on it’s own or as a side to your fav curry and vegetarian dishes. FYI in the little village in Trinidad and Tobago where I grew up, we called this Anchar, but most people refer to this an Achar.

Drop me your comments below, tag me on Instagram and don’t forget you can now get my cookbook – The Vibrant Caribbean Pot, 100 Traditional And Fusion Recipes @ CaribbeanPot.com/CookBook/

Growing up Caribbean, meant attending birthday parties for a friends and encountering this sandwich… guaranteed! Or maybe it’s just mommy packing your school lunch, visiting grandma and having these sandwiches while the “big Meal” simmered on the stove.. or maybe it was a church trip and yea, this was the snack of choice. As I wrote when I first shared Cheese Paste (recipe), this is as classic as it gets when it comes to the culinary culture of the Caribbean.

You’ll Need…

2 cups old cheddar (grated)
2 cups fine aged cheddar (grated)
1 cup cream cheese (room temp / soft)
2 tablespoon butter (soft)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 pimento peppers
1 teaspoon mustard powder
3/4 cup evaporated milk (adjust)
1 shallot (rough chopped or grated)
1 large clove garlic (smashed or grated)
1 teaspoon pepper sauce (any hot sauce will work)

• As the title state, this is Next Level stuff and will not look like your mommy’s.. I’m not trying to replicate hers!

This is one of those recipes where there is no cooking involved, but to help things go faster (easier work for the food processor or blender you use), I’d recommend prepping the ingredients in advance.

Basically this means, grating the cheese, making sure the butter and cream cheese is at room temperature or softer (depends where in the world you are), grate the garlic and give the shallot and pimento peppers (aka seasoning peppers) a rough chop.

I used a food processor, so all in with the full list of ingredients – I like it a tiny bit spicy so I included peppersauce (hot sauce), but that’s up to you and your children.

The personalization! Use any cheese you enjoy, but may I recommend using an aged cheddar as the base. Taste and adjust the salt (the cheeses I used had enough salt to my liking) and the overall consistency is in your control as well. For me I needed it to be a smooth, thick paste.

Slap this on on your fav bread and BAM! You’ve got cheese paste sandwiches. Or grab some sliced vegetables or plain old crackers and dip or scoop to your heart’s delight. Be sure to store the remainder in the fridge and it will last a solid week in there.

Another version of the classic Caribbean Cheese Paste. Enjoy! Drop me your comments below, tag me on Instagram and don’t forget you can now get my cookbook – The Vibrant Caribbean Pot, 100 Traditional And Fusion Recipes @ CaribbeanPot.com/CookBook/

After sharing my way of dehydrating Scotch Bonnet Peppers in a Food Dehydrator and then making Scotch Bonnet Pepper Flakes, there were a lot of messages asking if you could dehydrate peppers in an everyday oven. This brings us to this recipe/technique using freshly harvested Carolina Reapers from my garden (last summer).

Wash and airdry the peppers you intend on dehydrating. In my case I used Carolina Reapers, but you may use Scotch Bonnet, Habanero, Trinidad Moruga Scorpions, Fatali, Naga.. basically any pepper you want.

I kept the peppers whole, but you can cut them in half for quicker dehydration. Since these peppers are insanely hot I didn’t want to handle them too much. Yes I left the stems on as I used them to hold onto the peppers. WEAR GLOVES please!

I opted to use a combination of ripe (red) and green (not fully mature) peppers as I find that the flavor profile of each is immensely different. The green ones tend to have a more fruity undertone, while the red or mature one is just raw insane heat.

As a test I dehydrated one batch directly on a cookie sheet and the other on a wire rack on a cookie sheet. The idea behind using the wire rack, is to allow for air circulation around the peppers.

Into a 180 F oven for 10 hours. Will be the same for any pepper – habanero, scotch bonnet etc. Do note that should you opt to cut the peppers, they will be done in about 40-50% less time. * No I didn’t have to rotate or flip them. * No there were no distinct difference in using the wire rack as compared to directly onto the sheet pan. * YES, vent your kitchen as they dehydrate. * Yes you can remove the seeds before dehydrating if you want.

Once done, you can pulse in a food processor and make flakes or powder (continuous). Do wear a mask and gloves with either option. I basically stored then in 2 bathes (both labeled – name and date), one in an airtight glass container and the other in a vacuum sealed bag.

This is a great method of preserving peppers when in season or on sale when you can grab a batch. The slow way of dehydrating them really do help maintain the heat and flavor of the peppers. As long as you store them in an airtight container they will last in excess of a year.

Drop me your comments below, tag me on Instagram and don’t forget you can now get my cookbook – The Vibrant Caribbean Pot, 100 Traditional And Fusion Recipes @ CaribbeanPot.com/CookBook/