Not so aam

Ripe mangoes go with sweets, kairi with savoury eats. Here’s turning the equation on its head to bring you the tastiest ripe mango main course dishes from across communities

Summers are synonymous with mangoes. Immensely versatile, the juicy, golden-hued fruit can be eaten raw, fried, sautéed or roasted. But, the experience of adding ripe, luscious mangoes to your main course is something else; it can lend an unexpected flavour to the meal. Which is why we decided to cast a wide net and reach out to homes across cultures to discover sweet-tangy food combinations.

Goa
Ghotache sasav
A sweet and tangy mango curry 
By Lydia Mendes

Lydia Mendes, a Goan home chef, shares a traditional Goan recipe called the ghotache sasav, where the hero ingredient is the ripe mango. “This particular delicacy was prepared by the Brahmins of Goa.

Grind the ingredients to  make a paste

The recipe I use is simple and similar to the well-known Goan fish curry,” says Mendes. The mangoes used in this recipe are ghotam mangoes. If you don’t have access to this variety, use ripe alphonso, or payri. You begin by making the paste for the gravy. Grind grated coconut, Kashmiri chillies, methi seeds, haldi powder and extracted mango juice in a mixer jar.

Peel the mangoes to be used in the dish

Then, you not only have to squeeze out the pulp from the mangoes for the paste, but also add a cup of water to the peels, and squeeze the remainder pulp from them. The juice should be added as required, since the paste has to be thick. Jaggery is added to it, too, to balance the sourness.

Cook the mixture along with  mangoes for 10 minutes

If it needs more tang, add some tamarind pulp to it. Marinate the mangoes with the paste and cook it on a medium flame for eight to ten minutes and your Ghotache sasav is ready.

4 Whole mangoes and the juice from the skin of the mangoes are both used

“If you want to eat it the traditional way, serve it with ukdem tandul or Goan brown rice. Ghotache sasav, like any other Goan dish, tastes better the next day,” she says.

Kerala
Mambazham mor kozhambhu
Mango and buttermilk gravy
By Rema Ramachandran

Rema Ramachandran

This tongue twister of a name refers to a summertime treat made with ripe mango, yoghurt, and chosen spices. Rema Ramachandran, a homemaker from Thane, learned a version of this recipe called mambazham pulissery from a family belonging to Kerala’s Palakkad region.

Ingredients for mambazham mor kozhambhu

Mor kuzhambu or moru curry is one of the staples of the state and the most important dish in the Onam sadhya.

Chilli and fenugreek tempering

“I adapted the recipe to my family’s taste, drawing inspiration from the traditional mor kozhambhu recipes that are a part of Tamil-Brahmin cuisine, and added a few ingredients that complement the flavour profile of alphonso mangoes, such as fenugreek, red chilli, ginger and yoghurt,” she says.

Mango pulp on gentle simmer

This dish can be made with a variety of vegetables, including ripe banana, ash gourd, capsicum, drumstick, okra and carrot. This gravy goes well with rice, dosai, appam, idli or idiyappam.

Mambazham mor jozhambhu is ready for serve

Ingredients
2 medium size, deskinned alphonso mangoes 
10 to 12 dry red chillies
1/2 a tsp fenugreek seeds 
1/2 medium size grated coconut  
2 inch piece ginger 
1 tbsp raw rice soaked for 15 mins 
400 gm yoghurt, slightly sour 
2 tsp turmeric powder
20 to 25 curry leaves 
15 gm mustard seeds 
4 tbsp coconut oil 
1 tbsp salt 
3/4 tbs jaggery powder 
300 ml water

Method
Deskin the mango, dice half a mango and crush the remaining pulp and retain the seed. Bring the crushed pulp and seeds to a simmer along with 200 ml of water. Heat a tablespoon of coconut oil and temper the chillies and fenugreek seeds. In a food processor, add the grated coconut, tempered chillies and fenugreek, peeled ginger and the soaked rice. Add a few spoons of yoghurt and the remaining water and blend till it is a fine paste. Add the paste to the simmering mango pulp and continue to cook. Add turmeric powder and the remaining yoghurt after whisking it well. Add salt and the diced mangoes. Continue to simmer on a low flame for another 15/ 20 minutes. Add jaggery and adjust seasoning as per preference. Heat the remaining coconut oil and once hot, add the mustard seeds. Once spluttered, add the curry leaves. Tip the tempering into the mor kozhambhu. Serve hot.

Gujarat
Pakki keri nu gosht
Mutton in ripe mango
By Kainaaz Writer Bokdawalla

Among  the uncommon Parsi recipes, pakki keri nu gosht is king,” says Kainaaz Writer Bokdawalla, a food blogger from Pune, adding that she had been itching to lay her hands on the recipe. “Finally, I got my sister-in-law to send it to me. This happens to be an old Parsi recipe and harks back to the time when our grandmas ruled the kitchen.” The first time she heard of this recipe, Bokdawalla remembers being skeptical. “My worry was whether the flavours would marry.” But, mango and mutton make a delicious combination. This recipe uses alphonso, peeled and kept whole. “You select the best mangoes from the lot. If at all you are unsure of the quality, peel them and then cut the large cheeks of the mango from either side,” she recommends. The mutton is cooked with few spices making it perfect for a summer meal. This also allows the flavour of the mango to shine through, giving the dish a light sweet-sour touch. “If there is too much water, simmer till the gravy is semi-thick and sufficient to mop up with bread.”

Pakki keri nu gosht

Ingredients
1/2 kilo mutton, cleaned and cut into chunks
4-5 large onions, finely sliced
5 ripe alphonso mangoes, peeled
4 cardamoms
1 inch cinnamon 
4-6 black peppercorn
2 cloves
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2-2 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon Parsi sambar masala
Salt to taste
1 tbsp sugar
4-5 tbsp oil
 
Method
Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add cumin seeds, cardamoms, cinnamon, black peppercorns, cloves and allow to splutter. Add the onions and fry till golden. Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté till it gets aromatic. Add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, Parsi sambar masala and sauté. Add the mutton pieces and sauté till well roasted and mixed with the masala. Add salt and sugar and sauté till well blended. Add the whole, peeled mangoes and gently sauté them for a while. Ensure they don’t break. Add 3/4 to 1 cup of water and pressure cook the meat and mangoes. If you own a cooker that whistles, then cook for two whistles and then lower the heat and cook for 7-9 minutes more. Allow the cooker to cool down and release the pressure on its own. Open the cooker when all the pressure is released. If there is too much water, simmer till the gravy is semi-thick and sufficient enough to have it with bread. No fancy garnish is required for this hardcore Bawa dish.

Swati Chopra, Media professional and cricket follower, reviews Copter7 by 7Ink Brews, founded by Mumbai residents Mohit Bhagchandani, Adil Mistry and Kunal Patel

I’ve recently become a fan of craft beer—there’s something more experimental about beer that’s made in a small, independent brewery with love. That said, I’m open to the idea of glugging commercial ale and lager when the occasion demands. Mumbai and its sweltering heat makes this brew a preferred choice. When I found out that 7Ink Brews is launching Copter7, inspired by MS Dhoni, it got me curious. I admire Dhoni, on-field and off. He is Captain Cool. He has the same composure and grace off the pitch as he does on it. 

Swati Chopra, a media professional, tries the premium strong and smooth lager varieties. Pic/Sameer Markande

Right now, two variants are available online in Mumbai, Pune and Goa: premium strong and smooth lager (both priced at Rs 130 for 330 ml, Rs 150 for 500ml and Rs 190 for 650 ml). The first thing that struck me was the vibrant packaging and labelling. The design seems inspired by the cricketer’s various  jerseys and their colours. The drinks come in cans as well as bottles.  The strong beer, despite its name, did not feel heavy or too bitter. It is full bodied, and after downing one can, I had a decent buzz.  It’s the lager that hit the spot for me.

It’s smooth and mellow and delightfully light. There was a hint of fruitiness that appeared in subsequent sips. It’s a beer that you can have at any time of the day. Dhoni is one of the smoothest players around and just like him, these beers are smooth too. And I found them budget-friendly. I hear that for their first line of artisanal chocolates, they have teamed up with well-known chocolatier and chef, David Belo of Mysuru-based craft chocolate brand Naviluna. They are reportedly using sustainably-grown cacao sourced from Southern India. I tried the mosambi zest, and it had bright citrusy notes and a refreshing tang. - As told to Anju Maskeri

Gujarat 
Fajeto
Mango kadhi
By Sunila Pandya

Fajeto prepared by Sunila Pandya and Saroj Jain, who have been running Sunila’s Kitchen from Breach Candy for 10 years. Pics/Bipin Kokate

The Gujarati community’s love for culinary experiments is well documented. “It’s our crazy food palate that made us invent the fajeto, which is essentially a mango kadhi,” says Sunila Pandya, who runs a home kitchen along with her sister, Saroj Jain. According to Pandya, the origin of the dish lies in the idea of minimising food wastage. “We soak the mango in water before massaging and pressing it into pulp, which is then passed through a muslin cloth.

You begin by whisking together curd and mango pulp until smooth

Following that, the mango skin, seeds, and fibre are washed in water, and  the water-pulp mixture is used to make the fajeto. This results in minimal fruit waste.” Mango, she adds, can leave all of the other ingredients behind in terms of flavour. Though fajeto is a well-known Gujarati dish, it is loved by those outside the community as well. “It is convenient to make with leftover amras and can be whipped up within 15 minutes. It can be enjoyed with steam rice or puri.” Pandya says you can opt for pairi or alphonso mangoes. 

Fajeto served with rice and mango slices. It can also be eaten with puri

“Today, mixer grinders have supplanted traditional grinding tools so it’s a lot easier to make.” Explaining the process, Pandya says you begin by whisking together the curd and mango pulp until smooth, then add the salt, jaggery, turmeric, ginger chilli paste, and water. “Then, add a tadka of ghee, mustard seeds, cumin, clove, cinnamon, and dry red chillies to the mixture and cook for five to 10 minutes. Finally, top it with coriander.”
TO ORDER: 9821006636
PRICE: Rs 500 for 1 kg

Maharashtra, and Karnataka
Aambe sasam
Spiced mango in coconut curry
By Anushree Kaikini

Chef Anushree Kaikini

No wedding celebration in the Chitrapur Saraswat community is complete without the aambe sasam, a sweet and spicy dish where mango is tossed in coconut masala.

1 Ingredients used for making sasam

“You could say it’s as popular as the tendli bibbe upkari [stir fried dish with ivy gourd and tender cashew nuts], and lagna mandpatule lonche [a special pickle prepared during weddings],” says home chef Anushree Kaikini, who belongs to a small Konkani-speaking community of Hindu Brahmins found largely along the Western coast of Maharashtra and north Karnataka.

The paste used to make the dish

“We, Saraswats, enjoy cooking and eating, and food is central to all our festivals. For this dish, we use large mangoes like badami or hapus, which are then cut into pieces. You can add other fruits as well, such as pineapple and grapes.” The cheeks of the mangoes are cut into large, long pieces and seasoned with salt and grated jaggery.

The Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin speciality aambe sasam is ready to serve

To make the chutney, coconut, mustard seeds, red chillies, and coconut water are ground together. “Finally, you apply this chutney to the mangoes. To finish, add a tadka of asafoetida. This recipe yields a tangy-sweet flavour that is absolutely delicious.”
ORDER: 9167019733
PRICE: Rs 150 per plate

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