Mango Chutney

Don’t laugh at me, but the first time I heard about mango chutney was about 4 years back. I have never heard about them, seen them or had them before that. I totally forgot about them till I made them for the Bengali Thali. That’s when I got hooked.

I love the sweet, sour taste with a hint of chilies hidden inside.

And so, two weeks back, I started making them again. With some minor changes this time. This too was tasty.

Ingredients:

• Raw Mango             :    1 medium, chopped fine
• Sugar                         :     1/3 cup, or as per taste
• Chili powder          :     1 -2 tsp, per taste
• Water                       :      1 cup

Method:

1. Wash, peel and chop the mango into small pieces. I got around 1 cup of chopped mangoes.
2. In a saucepan, add these mangoes with water and cook until done. Keep an eye on it, so that it doesn’t burn and add a little more water if it dries up.
3. Once it is cooked, add the sugar and chili powder. Cook , stirring and mashing with a ladle in between, until you get a thick consistency. I prefer it to be a bit chunky, so mine was like a chunky jam consistency.
4. Check the taste and add more sugar or chili powder per your taste. Store in a clean jar. Refrigerate.
5. Serve with anything, everything or eat it as such.

Linked to :

• Blogging Marathon 16, under Pick One Cook All theme : Mangoes
• Mango Mania
• Let’s Cook : With Fruits
• Bon Vivant : Fruit Recipes

Aamras

The Blogging Marathon has brought in so many new aspects into my life. Not to mention exposure to a different cuisines, it has also brought in wonderful things like great friends, super women, food photography techniques, ‘gyan’ (knowledge) sharing and of course, great recipes.

Why, because of BM, I even learnt that water retention in our body is more in the morning than in the evening! Kudos to the BM girls, you really rock!

I would never  have known about Aamras, if not for blogging. Here in South, Mangoes cost a bomb and we usually have it as such and never bother to ‘make something’ out of it. We make pickles with raw mangoes. Ripe mangoes are used in an occasional pachadi or morkuzhambu – else we just cut them into cubes and have it as such.

Times are changing and the cost factor is not deterring many from buying fruits now. Anyway during this time, mangoes are (comparatively) cheaper.

So for this BM, I made Aamras and I totally LOVED it. Who can resist mango in a cup, that too chilled? Check it out for yourself.

Ingredients:

• Ripe Mango                                    :         2 big
• Sugar                                                 :         1/3 cup,  vary this depending on the sweetness of mangoes.
• Milk                                                   :         1/2 cup (optional)
• Cardamom Powder                     :         1/4 tsp (optional)

Method:

1. Wash and keep the mangoes immersed in water for 2 hours.
2. Peel and dice the flesh. Blend it with sugar, milk and cardamom (if using).
3. The mangoes were slightly tart for me, so I had to add some more sugar.  I didn’t add milk & cardamom.
4. Chill it for two hours at least and serve with puri/chapati or eat it as such.
5. The traditional method involves squeezing the flesh out with your hands, but the mango seed just burst out for me, so I made this in the mixie.

Linked to :

• Blogging Marathon 16, under Pick One Cook All theme : Mangoes
• Mango Mania
• Let’s Cook : With Fruits
• Bon Vivant : Fruit Recipes