Maangai thuvayal / Raw mango chutney

A very simple, no-cook dish. I love it from my childhood. When my mom makes it I will be waiting nearby her to get that first tasting experience. Remembered it after a long time and asked my mom for the recipe and here it is for you all. The fresh smell of raw mango, pearl onions, green chillies and ginger makes this dish divine !!!

Ingredients :

Raw mango- 1 small, sour one

Pearl onions / shallots - 2-5 nos, depending on its size

Green chillies- 4 nos

Coconut piece- 2 big ones

Ginger- a small piece

Salt to taste

Method :

Cut everything into pieces and grind them together using a food processor. Maangai thuvayal will be ready. It tastes excellent with rice congee, pazhaya saadham ( previous day rice soaked in water), curd rice and also makes an excellent companion for idlies.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : Never do tempering. Use only fresh coconut. You can also use red chillies in the place of green ones. Do not forget ginger.  Happy cooking !!!

Maamidikaya pappu/ raw-mango dhal/maanga(i) paruppu

This is a dish which I knew only after my marriage. But the first time I tasted it I fell in love with it. Now it is mango season and in Srilankan stores they had some fresh, raw mangoes. I picked up a few to make this pappu. My mom-in-law make this dhal as a side-dish for pooris...hmm heavenly combination. It tastes the best with pooris rather than with hot rice. I just followed my mom-in-laws protocol for this dish and the preparation is as follows :

Ingredients :

Raw mango (sour variety)- deskinned and cut into small pieces- 1 cup

Toor dhal- 1 cup

Dried red chilies- 5 nos (adjust according to your taste)

Red chilly powder- 1 tspn

Garlic- 5 pods (crushed or cut into thin slices)

Jeera and mustard seeds- 1 tspn

Oil- 3 tbspn

Salt to taste

Method :

Cook toor dhal and mango pieces in a pressure cooker with enough water. The dhal should not turn into  paste. It should retain its shape and at the same time it should be soft enough (see the picture). Add enough water to the dhal mixture and adjust it according to your desired consistency. It should not be too thin or too thick. Now heat oil in a pan. Do the tempering using jeera and mustard seeds. Add these seeds only when the oil is hot enough. When they splutter add garlic pieces and fry for a minute. Then add the red chillies. Fry for a few seconds, when they emit a nice aroma transfer the cooked dhal, mango mixture to the pan. Add salt to taste and remove from fire. You can add red chilli powder when you cook the dhal and mango pieces or you can add it when doing the tempering. I add the chilli powder directly to the hot oil. But be very careful when doing so. It can get burned very easily. Simmer the stove before adding the chilli powder to the hot oil. This step should be imediately followed by the addition of mango, dhal mixture.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : The raw mango should be very sour. More sour the mango is, the tastier will be this dish. Add enough salt and chilli powder to balance the sourness of the mango dhal. Tempering brings out the real taste of this recipe. Take care that the oil is hot enough before you add the tempering ingredients. Frying the garlic in oil to golden brwon colour imparts a nice aroma and taste to the dish. Whole red chillies added to this dsih has a wonderful taste. I just love it. Use peanut oil if possible. Avoid gingelly oil in this preparation. Happy cooking!!!

Manga(i) sambhar/ maamidikaya sambhar/sambhar with raw mango

The most flavourful sambhar you can prepare is this. During mango season every home in my native village will have raw mangoes in their sambhar. I know it is a famous dish in Madurai, not sure about other places. My dad loved it. If you haven't tried sambhar with raw mango, this is the time to try it. The mango need not have to be too sour. Select mango with a very slight sweet tinge, but not very sweet. The most wonderful thing about this dish is the flavour that the raw mango imparts to this dish and the taste of the mango pieces in sambhar...simply yummilicious!!!

Ingredients :

Toor dhal- 1 cup
Raw mango- 1 no (big)
Drumstick- 2 nos (optional)
Onion- 1 no
Small tomato- 1 no
Green chillies- 3 nos
Garlic- 1 pod (crushed)
Curry leaves- few leaflets
Coriander powder-  2 tbson
Chilli powder- 2 tspn
OR instead of the above coriander and chilli powder add 2 tbspn of MTR sambhar powder (no other brand please)
Coconut scrappins- 2 tbspns (dried coconut scrapping is also fine, but not coconut powder)
Fenugreek, mustard and jeera seeds- 1 tspn each
Turmeric powder- a pinch
Asafoetida- a pinch
Tamarind-  a small piece (adjust according to the sourness of raw mango)
Oil- 2 tbspns
Salt to taste

Method :

Cook dhal with enough water in a pressure cooker. Do not overcook the dhal and end up with a dhal paste. It spoils the taste of sambhar. Dhal should retain its shape but should be cooked and soft enough. Cut onion, tomato, drumstick and raw mango. Onions and tomato should be cut into bite sized pieces. Drumstick into an inch piece and cut raw mango into big pieces. Do not throw away the mango seed. Just retain some flesh on the seed and add this to sambhar too. Extract juice from the soaked tamarind. Now add oil in a pan. When it gets heated add fenugreek seeds. When they turn brown enough and emit a nice aroma, add mustard and jeera seeds. After they splutter add the cut onions , curry leaves, crushed garlic, green chllies and a pinch of turmeric powder. Saute well for a few seconds. Then add the cut tomatoes. Saute well until the tomato becomes soft. Now add drumstick, coriander and chilli powder or MTR sambhar powder. Saute for a minute and  add tamarind juice and enough water. Now let the drumstick cook in this mixture. Once the drumstick becomes soft add the raw mango pieces. Continue cooking until they become soft. Now add a pinch of asafoetida and the cooked toor dhal. Add water and adjust the sambhar consistency to your desired level. Sambhar should be little on the watery side. Allow the mixture to boil. Add salt to taste. Simmer for 3 more minutes. Before removing from fire add coconut scrapings. Tasty and most flavourful sambhar will be ready to be served.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : The main point to note is the sourness. Since your are adding sour mango in the dish, take care to adjust the sourness from tamarind. If the mango is very sour decrease the amount of tamarind used. As I mentioned already, selecting  mango with a sweet tinge is preferable. Refer this link for tips to make a perfect sambhar. Happy cooking !!!

This recipe goes to Suma's 'Delicios Dals' From India  event.