Mango for main course

Pushpesh Pant

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In normal times, mangoes would have hit the market and we would have been enjoying the luscious and juicy king of fruits to our heart’s content. From the fragrant and delicately sweet alphonso and dasehri to langda and chausa, members in our family would have had their own eagerly awaited favourite. The mango season lasts from April to September and one hopes against hope that the lockdown will be lifted by the time the late fruiting varieties appear and one may yet be able to have a taste of the sweet and juicy aam!

Mango — unripe and ripe — is used in myriad ways to enhance our dining pleasure. It is used for chutney, pickles, murabbas, cold drinks like panna, and desserts like amras, aam ki kulfi, kheer and phirni and even main course dishes. In Bengal, one encounters aam diya maacher jhal and chingari (prawns) aam. In Awadh, bawarchis claiming lineage from Nawabi kitchens boast of the vegetarian novelty ambar kaliya that mimics meat. In Tamil Nadu, it adds a refreshingly distinct sour tang to the sambar, and in Kerala, chemmeen manga curry and meen mappas cooked with ripe local mangoes are much liked. In Gujarat, they prepare aam nee guthali nu shaak, a unique dish that makes use of both the fruit and seeds.

Our all-time favourite is an improvisation of Andhra mutton prepared with unripe mangoes. Called maamkiya mammsam, it can be prepared with minimal ingredients and requires no special skills in the kitchen or patience. It seems particularly well-suited for the difficult home-bound days we are living through. Some of our friends have even experimented with substituting meat with other vegetables. For us a little meat is indispensable but, as they say, to each his own!

Mango mutton curry

Ingredients

• Mutton 500 g
• Unripe mangoes 3
• Onions (medium) 2
• Grated coconut 1 cup
• Tamarind pulp 1 tbsp
• Jaggery (crumbled) 1/4 cup
• Red chillies 6-8
• Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
• Cumin powder 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder 1 tsp
• Ginger paste 1 tsp
• Garlic paste 1 tsp
• Coconut milk (optional) 1 cup
• Salt to taste
• Oil 1/3 cup
• For tempering
• Curry leaves 8-10
• Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp

Method

Wash and pat dry the mutton. Slice the onions not too fine. Grind whole red chillies with grated or desiccated coconut to a smooth paste. Heat oil in a thick bottom pan. Add the meat and stir fry briskly on high flame for a minute, then add the onions and ginger pastes. Stir well and add the powdered spices. Add the spice paste. Mix well and add a cup of water. Pressure cook on medium flame till three whistles, remove from stove and let the pressure come down itself. In the meanwhile, peel and cut unripe mangoes into thick bite-sized chunks. Open the pressure cooker and add the mango pieces along with tamarind pulp and crumbled jaggery. Bring to a boil, reduce the flame immediately and simmer till the mangoes are done but not mushy. Prepare the tempering and pour all over the curry. Enjoy with phulka or rice.