Thursday 31 May 2012

Mango Chutney......

The best thing about summers is mangoes and I can never have enough of it.

Raw mango in dal, sharbat, salad, chutney….
Ripe mango in shakes, soufflé, ice-cream or just like that!

Let me share a very simple mango chutney recipe with you.

The mangoes I used were from my mother’s ancestral village. They were large and very fragrant. I could only think of this chutney for them.

This recipe is built to express the flavour of raw mangoes. The spices used are mild and only enhance the mango flavour.
It is best had with puri or parantha.

You must try it!


RAW MANGO CHUTNEY

Ingredients
Raw mango – 6 large
Mustard oil – 2 tblsp
Mustard seeds – ¾ tsp
Panch phoron – 1 tsp dry roasted
Dry red chilli – 1 
Haldi/turmeric pdr – ¼ tsp
Sugar – to taste
Salt – to taste

Method
  1. Soak the raw mangoes in warm water for 30 mins. Wash the mangoes well and wipe dry.
  2. Peel and cut the mangoes into ½ inch size pieces.
  3. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. Once the spluttering subsides, put in the mango pieces. Stir fry till lightly cooked.
  4. Lower the heat and add turmeric pdr followed by sugar. Add in a pinch of salt, cover and let it cook.
  5. Keep checking from time to time. You must stir it occasionally.
  6. Once you see a jelly like consistency, taste it to adjust the sugar and salt.  At this stage you may squash some mango pieces to release the pulp and add to the jelly.
  7. Cook it till it becomes a thick jelly.
  8. Crush the panch phoron and sprinkle on top of the chutney. (You may add the dry red chilli as well. Roast it and crush it.) Mix well.
  9. Cool and store in a sterilized jar. Should stay for a few months in the fridge.
Panch Phoron - a combination of five spices and essentially a Bengali spice mix.


Ingredients
1 tbsp nigella seeds
1 tbsp black mustard seeds
1 tbsp fenugreek seeds
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds


Method
Combine all spices and store in a jar away from heat and light.

© Rinki’s Kitchen 2012

1 comment:

  1. Hi Rinki, you can try out this too...another Mango dish. I have named it "MANGO SALSA". The whole process is mentioned as under:

    Mango Salsa

    So gather us your ingredients before cooking, it’s always good to be organized in the kitchen: Tamarind, dried chilies, one ripe yellow mango, asafetida/hing, some curry leaves, jaggery, sesame seeds and mustard seeds.

    “This curry is sweet, spicy and tangy all at once. Sweetness from the mango, tangy sourness from the tamarind and spice from the chilies.”

    So first, slice and dice your mangoes, and then pluck out the soft pulpy insides into a bowl.

    Add your mangoes cubes to a pan of water with a dash of salt, and slowly bring it to a boil.

    “Here, you see, is that marked difference between using raw and cooked mango – cooked mango is juicier, has a different texture to its fibre, and the flavor transforms from sweet to something much fuller and rounded.”

    Meanwhile you can begin to roast your spices on an open pan. Spread your seasame seeds and dried chili onto the pan and roast till it turns to a golden brown. Roasting the spices is definitive to the flavor of the dish. Keep an eye on the colour as it turns, to make sure you don’t burn it – or the whole dish could be ruined!

    Once the spices are nice and golden, put it into a blender and grind into a paste. “This is where all that delicious flavor comes from!”

    Remember the tamarind? This next step is where we use it. Remove the tamarind pulp and smush it around in a glass of warm water to release the flavour. Once the water turns into a light brown colour, you can squeeze out the tamarind and discard it; we will only need its liquid flavor. Add that to your spice mix.

    “Your mango should be getting soft, and slowly disintegrating over the fire. To that lovely yellow pulp, we add some grated jaggery. Jaggery has a fuller sweetness than sugar, and it’s more local, which is a philosophy we try to follow – using good, clean, fresh and local products in every dish.”

    Now, pour in that creamy spice paste into the mango pulp.Some red chili powder and salt to taste.

    And finally, a little tadka to bring all the flavours of the dish together: 2 teaspoons of hot oil in a pan, hot enough for the mustard seeds to burst on contact, and some of the hing we kept aside in the beginning. Throw in a few curry leaves to bring out that mouth-watering aroma.
    And your mango curry is ready to be plated!

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