Georgina’s Mango Curry

Georgina lives in Silvepura, a village near the Baale Mane Girl's Home. She is originally from Kerala, and this mango curry recipe originates from this background. Georgina is a great friend to Baale Mane and inspires us with her wisdom and insight. This curry balances sweet and spicy perfectly, and would make a unique dish to build a dinner menu around.

Serves 3 as a main course, or 5 with side dishes.

Ingredients

750 gms mangoes (any sweet variety but not overly ripe)
1 medium red onion, sliced
Salt (to taste)
1 cup (80g) fresh coconut, roughly chopped (if you cannot use fresh coconut, replace with ½ a can of coconut milk & adjust water content)
2 bird's eye green chillies
3 cloves garlic
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp turmeric powder
6 shallots, sliced and divided into 6
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 dried red chillies
A few curry leaves

Georgina makes this curry in her lovely terracotta pot called a ‘chettai’. If you have a clay pot, then that is the recommended cookware for this recipe, otherwise just use a heavy-bottomed pan.

Preparation

Peel the mango, and then slice lengthwise, keeping your knife close to the stone. You are aiming for 8-10 long strips of the mango. Put the mango in a deep, heavy bottomed pot, add the onion, salt and just about cover with water. Put on the lid and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, blend the coconut, fresh chillies, garlic, cumin, turmeric and 4 of the shallots into a paste.

Method

Add the blended mixture to the pot, mix gently and continue cooking till the mangoes feel soft but not mushy. You will have to taste to know when they are done.

In a very small frying pan, or ‘tadka’, heat the coconut oil on high heat and add the mustard seeds. They should pop and crackle immediately. Now add the curry leaves, dried chillies, remaining 2 shallots and cook on low heat till the shallots become golden brown in colour. Pour this over the mango curry and cover.

Let it rest for 10 minutes, stir through and serve hot with rice or appams.