The season of sweet juicy mangoes is here. Make the famed chandrakaaran maambazham curry, a seasonal favourite, with these small, juice laden mangoes. Here's an easy recipe.
Ingredients
Chandrakaaran / any small, ripe, sweet mango – 15, with skin
Thick, not-so-sour yoghurt – One and a half cups
Jaggery syrup – 1 cup
Grated coconut – 3 cups
Cumin – 1 tsp
Green chillies – 3
Salt – Three quarter tsp, or to taste
Turmeric powder – Half tsp
Kashmiri red chilli powder – One and a half tbsp.
Lukewarm water – 3-4 cups
Refined oil – 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds – Half tbsp.
Red chillies – 3, broken into segments
Curry leaves – 3 stalks
Fenugreek seeds – Half tbsp
Method
Remove the outer skins of the chandrakaaran mangoes. (You can also use any small, flavourful, ripe variety available) Immerse the skins in 3-4 cups of lukewarm water and squeeze out the juice. Discard the peel.
Place the mangoes, a cup of water, the juice extract in a vessel. Sprinkle turmeric, red chilli powder and salt, to taste. Cook for approximately 20-25 minutes until the mangoes are well-cooked.
Meanwhile, grind the coconut, cumin, green chillies to a semi-coarse paste. Mix this with the yoghurt. Stir well. Now, lower the flame.
Pour in this coconut-cumin-yoghurt and stir well. Let this simmer for 10 minutes over very low flame. (It should not boil forth or it will curdle.)
In a wok, heat coconut oil. Over a low flame, pop mustard and fenugreek, sauté the red chillies, fry the curry leaf stalks.
When the curry froths up, pour in the mustard tempering.
Remove from flame. Serve hot with rice and pappads.
