Quick and Easy Mango Chunda Recipe for Beginners

Mango chunda recipe: cook 500 g grated raw mango with 450 g sugar, red chilli, cumin and salt for 25 minutes until the syrup is one-string, then cool and jar it. It is a sweet, sour and spicy Gujarati relish for theplas and parathas.

You can compare boxes and sizes in our Alphonso mango pulp and mango products.

What mango chunda is

We are Powle Home Foods in Mumbai, and we run AlphonsoMango.in. Mango chunda, written chhundo or keri no chundo in Gujarati and aam ka chunda in Hindi, is a sweet, sour and spicy preserve of grated raw mango. It sits somewhere between a pickle and a jam: tart from the fruit, sweet from sugar or jaggery, with chilli and cumin in the background. In Gujarati homes it goes with theplas, parathas, mathri and khakhra.

The traditional method is slow. Grated mango and sugar are put in a glass jar, covered with a cloth and left in the sun for several days, stirred daily, until the syrup thickens. The recipe below is the quick stove-top version. It is ready in about half an hour, and it is the way most people cook it at home when there is no strong sun or no patience for a week of waiting.

Raw mango is the fruit before it sweetens: hard, green and acidic. That tartness is what balances the sugar. A ripe mango would turn to mush and taste flat here.

Ingredients for mango chunda recipe (makes about two small jars)

• 500 g firm raw green mango (about 2 large), peeled and grated
• 450 g sugar (or 400 g grated jaggery)
• 2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder, or to taste
• 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder (optional, for colour)

Choose raw mangoes that feel rock hard, with a sharp smell and no soft patches. Tart kachchi keri sold in April and May in western India suits this recipe, as does raw Totapuri. Sweet ripe fruit does not. If your raw mangoes are less sour than usual, add a tablespoon of lemon juice at the end.

Step-by-step method

Use a wide, heavy-bottomed pan or kadhai so the syrup does not catch. Stand over it for the first ten minutes, since sugar scorches fast once the juice has reduced.

1. Peel the raw mangoes, wash and dry them, then grate the flesh with a box grater, stopping at the stone.
2. Put the grated mango, sugar, chilli powder, cumin powder, salt and turmeric in a heavy-bottomed pan. Stir and rest for 10 minutes so the sugar draws out the juice.
3. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring often, until the sugar dissolves completely and the mixture bubbles, about 10 minutes.
4. Keep simmering for another 10 to 15 minutes until the syrup reaches a light one-string consistency: a drop pressed between two fingers forms a single thread.
5. Switch off while the chunda still looks slightly loose. It thickens a lot as it cools.
6. Cool completely, then spoon into a clean, dry glass jar. Refrigerate for longer keeping.

Total time is about 40 minutes: 10 minutes of preparation and 25 to 30 minutes of cooking. The most common mistake is to boil it until it looks thick in the pan; it then sets hard in the jar. Stop early.

Jaggery, spice and sun-dried variations

These changes keep the same method and the same weight of raw mango.

• Jaggery chunda: replace the sugar with 400 g grated jaggery. The colour is deeper and the taste more rustic. Cook slightly less, as jaggery darkens and bitters if overheated.
• Less sweet: use 350 g sugar. The chunda will be tangier and a little looser, and best eaten within a few weeks.
• Sun-cooked chhundo: mix the grated mango, sugar and salt in a clean glass jar, cover with muslin and set in strong sun for 5 to 7 days, stirring daily. Add the spices at the end.
• Extra spice: add a pinch of garam masala or a few crushed fennel seeds in the last five minutes.

The sun-cooked version has a deeper, almost caramel flavour but needs dry weather and attention. The quick version is more reliable.

How to serve and store chunda

Serve chunda in small spoonfuls. It is strong, and it pairs with plain, mildly spiced food: thepla, paratha, khichdi, dhokla and plain rotis. Some households spread it on bread or fold it into a sandwich.

• Jar: wash it, dry it completely and let it cool before you fill it. Any moisture spoils preserves.
• Spoon: use a clean, dry spoon each time.
• Where: keep the jar in a cool, dark cupboard and refrigerate it once opened or in warm weather. Sugar helps keeping, but it is a home preserve, so watch for mould or an off smell and discard if you see either.
• Gifting: pack in a clean jar with the date written on the lid.

If the chunda turns out thin, simmer it for five more minutes. If it sets too hard, warm it with a spoonful of water.

When you want ripe mango instead

Chunda is a raw-mango recipe, and we sell ripe fruit, not raw mangoes. Buy raw mangoes from a local market in April and May. For ripe mango, we source Alphonso (Hapus) across 48 villages of the Ratnagiri and Devgad belt on the Konkan coast. Alphonso from this belt is GI-tagged in India under GI No. 139, and we hold GI Authorised User certificate AU/5974/GI/139/260 (GI No. 139). We do not use carbide. Our Alphonso mangoes are ripened naturally on hay beds. The 2027 season opens on 1 February 2027.

See Ratnagiri Alphonso Mango from Rs 1,849 per dozen, Kesar mango boxes from Rs 999 for a half-dozen, and the mango pulp tin (850 g and 3.1 kg, from Rs 590), which is available all year. Check the product page for the current price. For ripe-mango sweets, try our aamras recipe, mango sheera or the mango lassi recipe.

People also ask

What is a mango chunda recipe?

It is a method for a sweet, sour and spicy relish made from grated raw mango, sugar, chilli and cumin. The mango is cooked in sugar syrup until it thickens. In Gujarati it is called chhundo, and it is eaten with theplas, parathas and khichdi as a condiment rather than a pickle.

How do I store homemade mango chunda?

Cool it fully, then fill a clean, completely dry glass jar and use a dry spoon each time. Keep it in a cool, dark cupboard, and refrigerate it once opened or in warm weather for longer keeping. Discard it if you see mould or smell anything off.

Can I make mango chunda with jaggery instead of sugar?

Yes. Replace the 450 g of sugar with about 400 g of grated jaggery. The chunda will be darker, with a caramel flavour. Cook it slightly less because jaggery can turn bitter when overheated, and take it off the heat while it still looks loose, since it thickens on cooling.

Can I use ripe mango for chunda?

No. Chunda needs hard, sour raw mango to balance the sugar. Ripe mango is already sweet and soft, so it breaks down into a flat-tasting jam. Use ripe Alphonso or Kesar for aamras, sheera or a milkshake instead, and raw green mango for chunda.

Related searches

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• Aamras recipe
• Mango sheera recipe
• Mango lassi recipe
• Buy Kesar mango online
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Written by Prashant Powle, founder of AlphonsoMango.in. Last reviewed October 2026.