Deliciously raw

Hema Anand shows you how to whip up raw mango recipes in an instant.

The season of juicy sweet reddish mangoes might be over, but the raw mangoes are still available around. Go grab them while you can.

The raw mangoes, also known as ‘kairee’ or ‘kaccha aa’ or ‘maavinkai’, have a sharp, sour and tangy taste and almost all of us would have had plenty of them in our school days.

They are rich in vitamins and are beneficial in the treatment of summer diarrhoea, dysentery, morning sickness, indigestion, constipation, scurvy, liver disorders and heat stroke.

Here are a few simple recipes which can be made from raw mangoes:

Instant Mango Pickle

Ingredients: 2 medium-sized raw mangoes, 1-2 tsp red chilly powder, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp nigella seeds/onion seeds, 1 and 1/2 tbsp sugar, 3-4 garlic flakes, 1 tbsp mustard oil, a pinch of asafoetida/hing, salt to taste.

Method: Wash, peel, and grate the mangoes and transfer into a bowl. Add red chilly powder, turmeric powder, garlic flakes, onion seeds, sugar and salt and mix well. Heat the mustard oil, add asafoetida, and leave it to cool. Add the cooled oil to the mango mixture and mix well. Transfer into a clean glass container and consume the pickle within 1-2 days.

Mango Jaljeera

Ingredients: 2 medium-sized raw mangoes, 1 cup mint leaves, 1 cup coriander leaves, 2 tbsp dry-roasted cumin seeds, 1 and 1/2  tbsp black salt, 1 green chilly, 2  tbsp jaggery (soaked in water), salt to taste.

Method: Wash and pressure cook the raw mangoes for upto 5-6 whistles or till soft. Drain the water, take out the peel and remove the pulp of the mangoes with the help of a strainer and keep aside.

Grind together cumin seeds, mint leaves, coriander leaves, green chilly, black salt and jaggery to a fine paste. Add the mango pulp and grind once again. Strain the mixture into a large container. Add some water and salt as required. Garnish with finely cut mint leaves, and serve chilled.

Tangy Mango Pakoda

Ingredients: 1 raw mango, 1 cup gram flour, 1 tbsp rice flour, 1 tsp red chilly powder, 1/2  tsp sugar, salt to taste, a pinch of cooking soda, and oil for deep frying.

Method: Wash and peel the mango. Slice the flesh into very thin slices. Sprinkle the red chilly powder, sugar, and salt on the slices, mix well, and keep them aside for half an hour. Put the gram flour, rice flour, cooking soda, 1 tbsp of hot oil and salt in a bowl and make a batter of dripping consistency using some water. Heat some oil in a kadai.

Dip the mango slices in the gramflour batter and deep fry on a medium flame till golden in colour. Remove on absorbent paper and serve hot with coriander and mint chutney.