Super mango chutney

A hot, summer afternoon meal can be a trifle boring and dreary. And it was so yesterday!! So to goad my son and myself to consume the lunch,I had to do some quick thinking.....And voilà! One look into the refrigerator,and I discovered some absolutely fresh, green mangoes. I hurriedly peeled a few, sliced them and gave them a chhaunka!! Now, WHAT is chhaunka?! Its simply the North Indian word for 'tempering' a dish! Words like baghaar, chhaunka, chounk,tadka basically mean the same.

To try out this fabulous chutney all you need is, as follows-

Ingredients:
  Raw mangoes (not pulpy)- 3( peeled and sliced into 1 cm broad strips)
  Red chillies-3
  Rock salt or common salt- 1/4 teaspoon
*Panch-phoran- 1/2 teaspoon
  Cooking oil- 1 teaspoon
  Sugar- 2 teaspoons

*Panch-phoran is a mixture of equal amounts of fennel seeds, nigella seeds,mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and carom seeds.
If you don't have Panch-phoran, then you can alternatively use only mustard and / or fenugreek seeds.


Method:
Heat the oil in a saucepan/ wok, add the whole red chillies to it and then the panch-phoran. As soon as the seeds start spluttering add the sliced mangoes and stir it all for a few minutes. Now, reduce the flame to medium intensity and sprinkle the salt on it. Allow it to be cooked on this flame for 3-4 minutes,then cover with a lid and further reduce the flame. In between stir the mango slices, so that they do not get burnt. In a few minutes, the slices will change colour and become soft in texture, now you must sprinkle the sugar on it and allow it to be cooked further, until a slight brown tinge appears. Remove the vessel from the flame and either serve it hot or allow it to cool. for storing in the refrigerator. My mango chutney gets consumed in a day!

Happy chutney-session!

Ripe Mango Aamras

Continuing with my obsession with mangoes, I cannot resist mentioning a very simple drink called Aamras! It is churned out with ripe pulpy mangoes, with a sprinkle of cardamom powder. Childhood summer holidays,were never complete without sumptuous paranthas for breakfast, accompanied by large glasses- filled to the brim with delicious Aamras!

Tip: You can use almost over-ripe mangoes as well as ripe mangoes for this recipe.

Ingredients: 

Ripe mangoes: 3 medium sized (washed, peeled and cut into small pieces)

Cold Milk: 500ml

Cold Water: 250 ml

Sugar: 1 cup (powdered)

Large Cardamom- 1 (powdered)

Method:

 In a blender jar, add all the mango pieces, powdered sugar, powdered cardamom and milk. Now, blend this till you have a lovely mango purée. To this, add cold water and blend some more.

Serve chilled !

Tip: You can refrigerate this for a day. If you want to keep it longer, then do not add the milk in the first instance. Prepare it only with water and add chilled milk before serving.

Raw mango drink ya kairie ka pana- Beat the heat!!

With mercury soaring in various parts of India, what better than to cool your system with a glass full of chilled aam ka pana! Kairie or  aam or mango is useful in this season, in its raw form too. I know some of you would any day prefer, the ripe fruit to the unripe one, but believe me, a cool glass of this drink does wonders for you, especially if it is delicately spiked with rock salt and fresh green mint leaves!
so how does one prepare this heavenly concoction? Here we go!

Ingredients:


Raw mangoes, medium sized- 3
Rock salt- a pinch
Green mint leaves chopped- 1 tablespoon
Sugar- 1/2 cup (or more if you like)
Cumin ( jeera) seeds roasted and powdered- 1 teaspoon

Method:
You can either roast or steam/ boil the mangoes , without peeling them. If pressure cooked, they are done with 3-4 whistles of the cooker. Let them cool and then gently remove the peels. Scrape the kairi/ mango pulp out with a knife and then make a purée of it by adding sugar and mint leaves.
Now add about a litre of chilled water to this mixture , add  the rock salt and sprinkle the cumin powder on top.
There! Your fantastic summer drink is ready!