Thursday, April 1, 2010

My Mom's Mango Chutney Recipe


Summer is here and with it brings my favorite fruit – raw mangoes! I’m not sure if they count as fruit when raw, but what the hell! Growing up in a huge sprawling bungalow with 6 mango trees had many advantages. Firstly, clambering up trees during hide and seek games had its own thrill, and secondly, the joy of plucking big, green, raw mangoes and biting into the sour flesh…nothing can match that joy! Our house in Bhubaneshwar had a huge garden and an equally large backyard. And we had 6 mango trees all of different varieties. There was himampasand – the mild, sweet ones; sundari (suvarnarekha) – the pinkish-red mangoes with a tinge of green which are sour as hell when raw and super sweet when ripe; Collector – the best variety to eat raw; Cheruku rasalu (literally meaning sugarcane) – sweet, but a bit bland for my taste; and banganpalli – the best of all ripe mango varieties!
Some were great for pickling, some for jus eating raw with some salt and red chilli powder, and others ideal for mamidikayi pappu (mango dal). And during the summer months, we would without fail have at least 3-4 different varieties of mango chutneys and pickles on the table for every meal.

So when I saw the first raw mangoes of this season at a grocery store near my house, I had to buy one. I’m unashamed to say that I ate half of it raw with jus some salt and chilli powder… the joy of munching on pieces of mango and closing your eyes with the sourness of it while reading a nice book just takes me back to my childhood… Anyway, the other half went into the making of this mango chutney which is my mom’s signature dish christened as ‘Swati’s mango chutney’ at home :) I was trying this for the first time and I must say, it came quite close to the taste my mom’s mango chutney has!

Mamidikaya Patchadi (Telugu for - Mango Chutney)

Ingredients:

Raw mango – 1 medium, grated
Salt – 1tsp
Jaggery – 1 tbsp
Turmeric – ½ tsp
Red Chilli Powder
Mustard seeds
Asafoetida (hing) – 1 pinch
Methi powder – 1 pinch (Roasted and ground fenugreek seeds)
Sunflower/Vegetable Oil – 1 tbsp

Grate the mango finely and add the salt, jaggery, turmeric and red chilli powder. In a small tempering ladle, pour in 1 tbsp sunflower oil. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, hing and methi powder. Let is splutter for a few seconds and then pour it into the grated mango. Mix well, add more jiggery if you like your chutney sweet. Leave aside for half an hour before consuming to let all the jiggery melt and the spices to mix well. You can store this in the refrigerator for 7-10 days.

Serve with parathas, or mix with ghee and hot rice.

5 comments:

Smruti said...

Sounds lovely!! My mom also makes a mango chutney.. don't remember if i've made you try it. Peel and chop raw mangoes, add salt, sugar and green chillies and grind. Its great with pakoras and hot parathas, especially if you like spicy stuff.

The raw mangoes in the veggie market look extremely tempting.. I am making aachaars and also aam panna :-))

Cynthia said...

Hi Swati, I came over from Arundati's blog to give you a warm big hello and welcome to the world of food blogging! The mango trees in the Caribbean are in full blossom with some of them already fruiting! Will definitely give your mom's recipe a try.

Swati Sapna said...

@smruti - i want achar! and im going to try your chutney recipe too...
@cynthia - thanks so much for dropping by :) have added ur blog to my blog roll and will definitely be following it. And let me know how the mango chutney turned out.

vani said...

nice to c my swatamma growing like me with my interests n trying out some of her own recipes n repeating some of mine recipes with a difference.I wish i can taste ur haathka mango chatney as I never really enjoyed the chatney that I make.

Tahemeem said...

This is beautiful and i want to make it. but in my part of the world, i still am not getting raw mangoes.. will make these as soon as i lay my hands on them :D