Seekarane: A Konkani mango delicacy to relish this summer

This sweet, spicy and sour curry made with simple ingredients is a staple in North Karnataka meals

One of the best ways to savour regional mangoes is with wholesome regional recipes. An interesting Konkani mango dish is the "mango seekarane," a sweet, spicy and sour mango curry made with locally sourced ripe mangoes.

Mango/Maavin seekarane (Kannada) or ambe upkari (Konkani) is a popular seasonal dish in the Brahmin kitchens of coastal Karnataka and the Konkani community.

Ripe, fibrous small mangoes (Gonte Ambo) are hand-picked, peeled and cooked with the juicy pulp in a vessel for a few minutes. Jaggery is added, and as it thickens, it is tempered with mustard seeds, curry leaves, dry red chillies, green chillies, ginger and fenugreek seeds.

Kamat Bugle Rock at Basavanagudi, Bengaluru, and other Kamat Yatrinivas outlets, serve this seasonal delicacy throughout the mango season every year. The flavourful medley of this Konkani dish and their iconic North Karnataka meals are offered on a bale yele (banana leaf).

"We follow a Konkani Gaud Saraswat Brahmin recipe and choose local mangoes like Raspuri, Sendhoor or any other regional variety that're small, juicy, tangy, and slightly sweeter, a bit more fibrous than the other varieties," said Narayan Kamat, the Managing Director of Kamat Yatrinivas Group of Hotels to DH.

"Influenced by the local soil and climate, these small mangoes are rich in fibre, thus good for digestion, and they are also more disease resistant than the commercial varieties."

"A whole ripe mango and a ladle full of thick pulpy mango curry is usually what we serve along with our north Karnataka meals," said Kamat. "From the soft jowar rotis paired with yennegai (a Karnataka style brinjal preparation) to the ghee laden holige (sweet puran poli), soppu saaru (mixed greens), kaalu palya (curry made with red cowpeas) to rice, sambar, rasam and other sides like jhunka vadi, kosambari and more, the mango seekarane combo is intense and instantly elevates the entire experience".

"Each ingredient has a delicious role in the mango seekarane," said Kamat. "While the jaggery adds to the dish's sweetness, it is also rich in iron, boosts digestion and clears the body of toxins. Mustard seeds, ginger slivers, methi seeds, curry leaves, and dry red chillies help break that sweetness. The tartness you get from the locally sourced ripe mangoes makes it a perfect combination with our North Karnataka meals. One can eat this dish just like that or as a dessert or side dish with the jolada (jowar) roti and rice. The best way to relish this curry is to use your fingers and slurp on this yellow goodness."

Mango seekarane is far more than just a seasonal delicacy; it is a celebration of the summer and makes your north Karnataka meal experience soothing and complete.

(Deepa Shri Rajan is a food, travel and lifestyle blogger and Instagrammer based out of Bengaluru)