This is a typical Mangalorean recipe. The Saraswat Goan recipe uses rice or rice flour instead of sesame seeds to thicken the gravy. This dish is relished during the warm mango summer season and most families make it at least a couple of times during this time. This dish tastes more delicious if made with the ‘gavran’ or desi or local variety of mangoes as the fibre in them is delicious to suck on in the end. The taste is also different because of the natural sweetness in them that is typical in the desi variety. Wild mangoes are also called ‘gotha’ in Konkani and are available from the beginning of the mango season.
Recipe credit: Darshana Muzumdar
Serves 4 as part of a traditional Indian meal.
Ingredients:
- 4 medium to large size ripe Kesar or Alphonso mangoes or 8-10 wild ripe mangoes
- a large lime sized tamarind ball
- 2 tbsp jaggery
- Salt to taste
For the Masala
- 1 tsp urad dal (black lentil dal)
- 1 tsp methi (fenugreek seeds)
- 1 tbsp white til (sesame seeds)
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 4-6 dried byadgi red chillies (adjust as per taste)
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup fresh coconut
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
For the Tempering:
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp urad dal (black lentil dal)
- 2 byadgi dried red chillies
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 1/4 tsp hing (asafoetida)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
Method
- Soak the tamarind in 1/2 cup water for 15 min.
- Wash and peel the mangoes and put them in a thick bottomed steel pot.
- Put a cup of water in the peels and squeeze out any pulp left in them. Add this to the mangoes in the pot.
- Mash the tamarind with your fingers and squeeze it out of the liquid to get tamarind paste. Add another half cup water to the tamarind and mash and squeeze it again.
- Add this tamarind water, the jaggery and half a teaspoon salt to the mangoes and cook it all on medium heat till the liquid comes to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer it for 5 minutes.
- While the mangoes are cooking, prepare the masala. Heat the oil in an iron kadhai and add the urad dal and methi and roast it on a low flame till the urad dal becomes a light golden brown.
- Add the sesame seeds and coriander seeds and continue roasting it all on a low flame for another 30 seconds.
- Add the red chillies and curry leaves of one sprig and roast it all for another 15 to 20 seconds.
- Let it all cool a little and then grind it along with the coconut by adding water gradually to get a thick and fine paste. Note: Byadgi chillies give it a bright colour without making the dish too spicy.
- Add this masala to the mangoes in the pot. Mix gently till all the masala is combined uniformly with the liquid in the pot. Cook this on medium heat for another 3 to 5 minutes.
- Now make the tempering by heating the coconut oil in a tempering ladle till it is very hot. Add the mustard seeds and stir them on medium heat till they all start popping.
- Add the urad dal and red chillies and continue sautéing it all till the urad dal is very lightly brown and the chillies are crisp.
- Add the curry leaves and hing (asafoetida), give it all a good mix and turn off the heat.
- Add this tempering to the mango and udad-methi masala gravy.
- Give it all a good stir and serve hot with steamed rice. You may also try it with roti though this dish is traditionally served with a sticky, starch-rich rice like Indrayani rice which is easily available these days.
For the Whole-Food Plant-Based (WFPB) version:
- Use date paste instead of jaggery.
- Dry roast all the masala and tempering ingredients one at a time. Allow the masala ingredients to cool to room temperature before grinding them.
