When it is ripe mango season in Kerala, mampazha koottaan( ripe mango curry) is something we used to look forward to. It is one of the stars of our Vishu sadya too, which is the food served for the Vishu festival which falls in April.
Yesterday my mom was talking about making mampazha koottaan at home because she got fresh mangoes. I suddenly craved it and decided to make it here at home too. Mampazha koottaan is also called mampazha pulissery or manga kaalan in some parts of Kerala.
Mango
In Kerala, the local mango or the Chandrakaran mango is the ideal one for making this mampazha koottaan. It is a small variety of mango with fibrous flesh and an easy peel-off skin that was once plentiful in the backyards. My mom puts the peeled skin in hot water for a few minutes and then squeezes out the remaining flesh from it into the water. She uses this water for cooking the mango as it adds body and flavor to the curry.
Since I get only the large varieties of mango where I live, I make do with those. There is a vast difference in the flavors of the large and small mangoes but the curry still tastes great with all types of mangoes.
In the recipe section, I am giving the proportion to make the curry with one large mango. It will be enough for 4 people.
If you are able to get the small mangoes, then here is the proportion to make the curry. Using small mangoes: 6 small mangoes, 2 handfuls of yellow cucumber-vellarikka/winter melon- kumbalanga, about 2 cups of grated coconut, around 1½- 2 cups of sour yogurt and 2 small blocks of jaggery also called achu in Malayalam. You can follow the method outlined in the recipe below.
Vellarikka or yellow cucumber
Traditionally only mangoes are used in the curry. My mom also adds vellarikka or yellow cucumber to give the curry some texture. If you make the curry with only mangoes, you will have to add more ground coconut, otherwise the curry might end up too watery. Since winter melon/ kumbalanga is more readily available for me in US, I use that instead of yellow cucumber.
Cook the mango and vegetable pieces in a cooker with a little water, till done.
Grind coconut, cumin seeds and green chilies into a fine paste. Add to the cooked vegetables and let it boil well.
After adding jaggery, let it boil well. Sour yogurt is also an essential ingredient. Pour the tempered yogurt ( See Notes) and let it warm up. Tear up some curry leaves and switch. Add the final tempering of mustard seeds, fenugreek and red chilies and it is done.
Serving suggestion
The mampazha koottaan is a sweet and sour curry that pairs very well with rice, especially the Kerala kuthari.
Mampazha Koottaan / Ripe Mango Curry
Ingredients
- 1 large Ripe mango Cut the mango into bite size pieces. Add the mango pit also to the curry. (See Notes for more info)
- ¾ cup Yellow cucumber or Winter melon, cut into medium squares
- ½ tsp Turmeric powder
- ½ tsp Red chili powder
- ¾-1 cup Coconut, grated
- ¼-½ tsp cumin seeds
- 3-4 Green chilies, reduce the number of chilies if it too spicy
- 1 cup yogurt, should be sour, add less if the yogurt is too sour
- 1 small block Jaggery, add more if mangoes are not sweet
- ½ tsp Mustard seeds
- 1 pinch fenugreek powder
- ¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
- 2-3 Dry red chillies
- 1-2 sprigs Curry leaves
- 2 tsp Coconut oil
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- In a pressure cooker, add the cut mango slices and its pit, the winter melon/yellow cucumber pieces, turmeric powder, chili powder and salt. Add enough water to immerse the pieces in it. Do not add too much water.
- Cook for 1-2 whistles till the vegetables are cooked.
- Grind cumin seeds and half of the coconut into a fine paste. You can add a little water if needed. Grinding the cumin first to make sure it is ground very well. A little goes a long way for cumin seeds.
- Add the rest of the coconut and the green chilies to the blender jar, along with a little water and grind to a fine paste. Keep aside.
- When the steam is released from the cooker, open the cooker and add the ground coconut paste and let it boil for a few minutes.
- While the coconut paste is boiling, add the jaggery also.
- Beat the yogurt well and keep aside.
- If you add the yogurt directly to the boiling curry, it might split the yogurt. I usually temper the yogurt to avoid it. So to temper the yogurt , pour a few ladle full of the hot, boiling curry into the cold yogurt. Mix it well and it will warm the yogurt up.
- Reduce the flame and add the warmed yogurt mixture to the curry and quickly start stirring.
- Don't let the yogurt boil. Switch off when it starts foaming at the edges.
- Tear up a few curry leaves into the curry. Make sure the curry is sweet enough, if not add a little more jaggery.
- Sprinkle a little fenugreek powder on top, mix well.
- For the final tempering, heat a small pan.
- Add coconut oil and let it heat up.
- Add the mustard seeds and when it splutters, add the fenugreek seeds, dry red chilies and a few curry leaves.
- After a few seconds, pour over the curry .
- Mix it into the curry and let it rest covered for a few minutes.
- Serve with rice and enjoy.
Notes
- If using large mangoes, cut the flesh into bite size pieces and add the pit along with
- If using small mangoes, peel off the skin and use the whole mango, without cutting out the flesh.
- So to temper the yogurt , pour a few ladle full of the hot, boiling curry into the cold yogurt. Mix it well and it will warm the yogurt up. Then pour the warmed yogurt into the curry. Make sure you have lowered the flame. Stir continuously.