Travel Issue Vol. 3

Sometimes you can't jump a plane to globe-trot, so Mantry brings a little vacation in a box. We adventure through India, France, a stopover in South Africa and more all while featuring some of the best small-batch food makers in the USA.

Cashew Butter Masala Shrimp With Harissa and Wild Mushrooms

Cashew Butter Masala Simmer Sauce // Brooklyn Delhi // Brooklyn, NY

The often overlooked Serrano, complex, fruity flavor with smooth heat. The Jalapeño gets most the praise but Yellowbird does a good job shining the spotlight on team Serrano. We tossed caramelized butternut squash in this for tacos and add a pop into a Bloody Mary for kickoff.

Cashew Butter Masala Meatball Naanwich With Biltong & Spicy Mango Chutney

Spicy Mango Chutney // Brooklyn Delhi // Brooklyn, NY

From The Maker:

A one-of-a-kind Spicy Mango Chutney featuring ripe mangoes, fresh ginger and heirloom Kashmiri chili peppers grown on a family farm in Pampore, Kashmir and sourced by our friends at Burlap & Barrel.

Cashew Butter Masala Meatball Naanwich With Biltong & Spicy Mango Chutney

Harissa Chilli Paste // HLTHPunk // Los Angeles, CA

An ancient, North African paste, harissa is like a souk in a spoonful: heaps of sun-dried peppers, mountains of fragrant spice, pulverized into paste. It’s as common as ketchup in Tunisia, but a rare sight here in the land of, well, ketchup (which is actually Chinese — but we’ll get to that another time). Thankfully, there’s HLTHPunk. The eponymous packaging isn’t the only modern touch: HLTHPunk’s special mix adds fresh spice. Clear out your cupboard — ketchup, mustard, hot sauce — harissa can replace it all. Drizzle on meatballs, or mix right into them: blend with ground lamb, minced onion, breadcrumbs, and egg, ball up, sear quickly, then simmer in tomatoes (and more harissa) for twenty minutes until cooked.

Cashew Butter Masala Meatball Naanwich With Biltong & Spicy Mango Chutney

Biltong // Ayoba // Springfield, VA

Introducing Ayoba Biltong, the perfect hand held protein rich flavor hit. Here's the step by step breakdown in the maker's own words:

100% Grass Fed Beef

Our Biltong crafting process starts with selecting premium cuts of grass fed beef and marinating it to perfection with vinegar, only a few natural spices and no sugar!

Air Dried For 14 Days!

We then air dry our perfectly seasoned cuts of beef for up to 14 days in a temperature controlled room (instead of being cooked at a low temperature like jerky).

Sliced to Perfection

We then carefully slice our beef into thin, tender bite-size pieces. Biltong is convenient enough as an on-the-go protein snack, and premium enough for the fanciest of cheese boards!

"Fattoush" Style Salad With Crispy Harissa Naan, Biltong, Jerky & Mango Chutney Dressing

Buffalo BBQ Beef Jerky // People's Choice // Los Angeles,CA

From a four-generation Angeleno butcher dynasty comes this Jerky straight out of their innovative test kitchen. Whole cuts, marinated, slow-cooked (and we mean sloooow — 5 hours at least), gets transformed into a cure-all, perfect for snacking on or stirring into any dish for a stampede of flavor. The chicken is swapped out for 100% American beef but the buffalo burn and smoky finish remain. From Bills Mafia to the City of Angels, the people agree, this is some choice jerky.

From The Maker:

Thick cuts of 100% American Beef are seasoned with a rich buttery bite of spicy buffalo hot sauce, tangy vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce—then slow cooked for a minimum of five hours. The cowboy-style cuts of jerky enhance the rich meaty flavor for a thick jerky with a great chew. The more you bite, the more the spice builds leaving you wanting more.

Chocolate Creme // Le Caramel // El Cajon, CA

One fortuitous meeting, one bite, one generations-old recipe — then, a year-long tour around France, a business plan, a cross-Atlantic move, and Le Caramel was born. It’s a long road from that first taste of a traditional French treat to this SoCal sweet, but the best chocolate flavor lingers long after that final taste, and so this story is as epic as the taste is lasting. Try it over ice cream, over crepes, over fruits, over anything you desire.