Receta Recipes | Two Indian Curries with Mango – Colours of my childhood
I did my first few years of primary schooling in a small town called Zawar Mines, in Rajasthan.
Dad was a doctor, we lived in an independent spacious bungalow surrounded by huge garden on all the three sides of our house.
Mom converted the front portion into a cozy sit out. Small cement benches placed in the centre of soft and neatly manicured lawn decked with some rare and exotic varieties of flowering plants she collected from our LTC trips every year.
Rest of the garden was completely dedicated to vegetables and fruits. We had two live-in house helps who helped mom in managing the garden. Okra (ladies-finger), brinjal, Ivy gourd (tindori), Bottle gourd (lauki), Ridge gourd (taroi), corn, tomatoes, herbs and what not.. I don’t remember mom going to market to get vegetables for her kitchen, except onion and potatoes.
We didn’t have television and so the pace of life was very different then. Most of our time in a day was spent playing outdoor games, catching butterflies or plucking wild berries from neighbors garden.
Even though summers were very hot, we never stayed indoors. If mornings and afternoons were spent playing cards and hop-scotch in our verandahs then evenings were reserved for hide & seek and satoliya (seven stones) games in the common ground outside our houses.
Come summer and mangoes would be everywhere. The mango tree which grew inside our courtyard holds a special place. It was our savior during peek summer afternoons when mom would lock the doors to keep us indoors. The tree had lots of branches and we would easily climb it to reach to the terrace our friends house.
The tree bore sweet-sour juicy country mangoes which were small in size and very fibrous dominating everyday summer-time meal at home.
Mango milk shakes in morning followed by a mango Daal or kadhi or just plain Aam ras with duppad (variety of Indian flat bread) and a mango kulfi as dessert in night.
1. Mango Lentil curry aka Aam Daal
Mom would add whole mangoes to make Daal (lentil) and Kadhi (yogurt curry). These are the most easiest and popular summer-time recipes using country mangoes which are sweet and sour in taste. My granny used to make these recipes quite often, she avoided adding onion or garlic in it. The simple addition of mangoes in the lentil and yogurt based curries take it to another level.
Ingredients:
(serve 3)
1 cup pigeon peas
1 ripe mango
2 dried red chilies
1 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. chopped ginger
Salt as required
Water
Spices:
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
9-10 fenugreek seeds
A pinch of asafoetida powder
Method: Wash and soak split pigeon peas or Toor daal for 15 minutes.
Add soaked daal with turmeric and 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker and cook for two whistles.
Cool the pressure cooker, take out the cooked daal and mash it slightly with the back of a ladle. You can cook the daal in an open vessel also for 25-30 minutes.
Peel the mango and squeeze the pulp from it and pour it in a small vessel along with the seed.
Heat oil in a wok or kadai and splutter cumin seeds in it. Add fenugreek seeds, broken dried red chillies, asafoetida powder, chopped ginger, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt and sauté for a few seconds.
Pour cooked and mashed daal, mango pulp with seeds and a cup of water in the wok and let it simmer for 4-5 minutes.
Turn off the heat and cover the wok with a tight lid.
The recipe is without onion and garlic, but you can serve the lentil curry with sliced onion and a dash of lemon juice for better taste.
Garnish with fresh coriander and serve with plain rice or Indian flat breads.
2. Mango yogurt curry aka Aam Kadhi
I normally use half-ripened mangoes to make this Kadhi. The addition of mango in this Kadhi gives a rich fruity aroma unlike the normal yogurt curries or Kadhi.
Ingredients:
(serve 3)
- 1 large Mango
- 1 cup sour yogurt/curd
- 1 tbsp. chickpea flour
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp. grated ginger
- A few curry leaves
- Salt to taste
- Water as required
- Spices:
- 3 dried red chilies
- 2 cloves
- 1/2 tsp. fenugreek seeds
- 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
A pinch of asafoetida powder
Method: Wash and peel the mango, squeeze to take out the pulp and reserve the seed.
Pour the yogurt in a large vessel, add turmeric, salt, chickpea flour into it and whisk it well with a spoon or whisker.
Add about 2 cups of water and mango pulp with the seed in the yogurt mixture and combine well.
Heat oil in a kadai or wok and splutter mustard seeds in it.
Add broken dried red chilies, cloves, fenugreek seeds, asafoetida powder, grated ginger, curry leaves and sauté for a few seconds.
Pour yogurt mixture into the wok and let it simmer at medium heat for 6-7 minutes.
Serve the Mango Kadhi with rice or any Indian flat bread.
Notes:
The colour and flavors of the mango Kadhi and mango Daal depends on the quality of mangoes used in the recipe.
Use semi-sweet mangoes or mangoes which are not too sweet to make these recipes.
Strain the mango pulp before adding to the Kadhi, if it contains too many fibers.
Wash and soak the pigeon peas for 20-25 minutes to reduce the cooking time.
Search for the English & Hindi names of various foods and ingredients used in the recipes here in Glossary.