Ripe mangoes in a coconut and mustard sauce (Maampaza pachadi)

This is a wonderful dish from Kerala in South India. The dish uses fresh and sweet mangoes at the peak of the season, celebrating this fruit.

For this dish, use a brightly coloured mango to contrast beautifully with the yoghurt sauce. The chillies and coconut accentuate the sweetness of the mangoes; the flavours mingle beautifully on your palate. The magic of this dish is the perfect balance of the sweetness from the mangoes, the chillies, and the coconut, with neither of them overpowering the others. This dish is used as a side and brings a wonderful touch of sweetness to any meal.

This is a wonderful cookbook by one of the masters of Keralite cooking. It is an unpretentious book without any photographs but is packed full of delicious and authentic recipes like this one. Ammini Ramachandran is a Texas-based food writer and cookbook author who publishes on the history of South Indian cuisine. She is widely regarded as one of the doyens in the field. This cookbook clearly demonstrates her knowledge and skill in the kitchen and with the history of the region.

For more recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

2 large ripe mangoes, peeled and cubed into small bite-sized pieces

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 cup water

3 cups grated coconut, frozen ok

3-4 green chilies

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 1/2 cups yogurt

Salt, to taste

2 tablespoons coconut oil

15 curry leaves

Add the mangoes and turmeric to the non-stick pot with the water and simmer for 5 minutes. Over time, the mangoes will slowly break down. However, you want the curry to be slightly chunky.

Meanwhile, grind the coconut, green chillies, and mustard seeds into a smooth, thick paste with a few tablespoons of water. It will take a few minutes for the coconut to smooth out. Stir the paste into the mangoes and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. If the curry is too thick, add a few tablespoons of water to thin it down.

If you are cooking this curry beforehand, prepare to this step. To finish the dish when serving, heat the curry to a simmer and proceed.

Whisk the yoghurt until smooth. Remove the curry from the heat. Add the yogurt to the top of the mango curry and mix in well. The curry will warm up slightly in the residual heat. Do not simmer the curry; it will split.

Heat the oil in a small pot and add the curry leaves. Fry for 10 seconds and pour over the curry. Mix in before serving.