Vegetarian Recipe: Mango Curry

Every week on the Good Food Blog we celebrate Meatless Monday by sharing a vegetarian recipe from our archives.

Madhur Jaffrey, one of today’s most highly regarded writers on Indian food, gives us an enchanting memoir of her childhood in Delhi in an age and a society that has since disappeared. Madhur Jaffrey’s book book is called Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of Childhood in India. She first shared this recipe for Mango Curry on September 8, 2007.

Keep reading for the full recipe…

Mango Curry

(From Madhur Jaffrey’s Flavours of India)

A delicious warming fruity curry – ideal for supper time.

Preparation time less than 30 mins

Cooking time 30 mins to 1 hour

3 medium ripe mangoes, peeled pit removed and flesh cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1-1 1/2 tsp salt

2 oz jaggery or brown sugar, if needed

11 oz coconut, freshly grated

3-4 fresh hot green chillies, coarsely chopped

1/2 tbsp cumin seeds

1/2 pint natural yoghurt, lightly beaten

2 Tbsp coconut oil or any other vegetable oil

1/2 tsp brown mustard seeds

3-4 dried hot red chillies, broken into halves

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

10-12 fresh curry leaves, if available

1. Put the mangoes in a medium-sized pan. Add 9fl oz water. Cover and stew for 8-10 minutes over a medium-low heat. Stir occasionally. Add the turmeric, cayenne pepper and salt. Stir well. (If the mangoes are not sweet enough, add the jaggery or brown sugar to make the dish sweeter.)

2. Meanwhile, put the coconut, green chillies and cumin seeds in to a blender. Add 250ml/9fl oz water and blend to a fine paste.

3. When the mangoes are cooked, mash them to a pulp. Add the coconut paste. Mix. Cover and simmer over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture becomes thick. This should take about 10-15 minutes. Add the yoghurt and heat, stirring, until just warmed through. Do not let the mixture come to the boil. Remove from the heat and put to one side. Check for seasoning.

4. Heat the oil in a small pan over a medium-high heat. When hot, add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds begin to pop (a matter of a few seconds) add the chillies, fenugreek seeds and the curry leaves. Stir and fry for a few seconds until the chillies darken. Quickly add the contents of the small pan to the mangoes. Stir to mix.