Kerala ripe mango curry (Pazha manga karri)

I've developed a fondness for ripe mango curries. They are a lovely combination of sweet and spicy flavours that play beautifully on your palate. This is a beautiful version from the state of Kerala.

There is a variety of mangoes called Sugar Baby, also known as Chakkara Kutti, Shakkargutli, and Sakkar Putani. They are grown mainly in the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, where they are prized for their juice and use in curries. These mangoes are tiny and very sweet, and usually, you see folks mush them gently to extract the juice and suck on them. They are delicious. The other variety of sucking mangoes in India are Chausa and Kesari.

This is a lovely curry that combines sweetness with a hint of spice. The flavours are bold and distinct. The mangoes are peeled and added whole. The mangoes tend to slowly dissolve into the curry, imparting a beautiful flavour as they cook. This is a light summer curry with lovely notes.

This cookbook specialises in the cuisine of Syrian Christians in Kerala. This community traces its ancestry back to the supposed arrival of St. Thomas the Apostle to Kerala in the 1st century. The cuisine has a distinct Anglo-Indian influence from the Portuguese influence and cooking techniques. It is very meat-heavy, with duck, beef and mutton taking centre stage. The cuisine is rich and bursting with flavours, loaded with heavy spices. This book is packed with traditional recipes that define this cuisine. This cookbook is for those who want to experience this fabulous cuisine at home.

For more recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

4 baby ripe mangoes, peeled

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup water

8 shallots, sliced

4 green chillies, slit

1/2 teaspoon ginger paste

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Salt, to taste

For the temper:

1 teaspoon oil

6 curry leaves

2 dried red chillies

Add the mangoes to a pot with the coconut milk, water, shallots, green chillies, ginger, cumin, and salt and bring to a boil. Simmer gently for 20 minutes. Taste for salt and spice and adjust as needed.

Heat a small pot with the oil. Add the curry leaves and fry for 20 seconds. Add the red chillies and swirl well. Pour the temper over the curry.

Serve with rice or dosas.