Green Mango Pickle — Manga Achar

After the luxurious quietness, moments of repose, stressing and soul-searching, I couldn’t wait to be back to say hello. Albeit virtually.

I always look forward to this time in the season with much anticipated pleasure.

Back home, it is the time preceding the monsoon rain when the mango trees are abundant with new life and beauty—enchanting, golden flesh fruits basking in the rays of the scintillating sun. Mangoes, ah.

Mangoes herald the start of summer. It always feels like a celebration when the trees have blossomed and the delectable fruits are ripe for plucking.

I cannot help smile whenever I picture those long lost summers in my mind. Summers of laid-back mischief in the country with my dear cousins for company. Wonderfully languorous afternoons under the shade of tropical trees, sun kissed hair, laughter and secret messages, heady fragrance of mangoes, and the pleasure of sucking a lusciously fleshly fruit with childish devotion, careless of the messy juices dribbling down the hands.

Back home the markets are flooded with mangoes during the brief season of March-April. Home gardens are heavy with bounty, local markets bursting with abundance, and the sight of freshly harvested mango cultivars stacked in neat diagonal rows at the street vendors, ready to be squeezed by the buyers, is a gastronomical delight—nothing like the rows of jet-lagged mangoes we get to see in the stores abroad.

So when my husband returned from a short trip to Kerala recently, he brought a box of deliciously popular domestic mango varieties—both ripe and raw—among other tropical fruits like guava, jackfruit, and a local banana called nenthrapazhyam. This is one of the perks of living in the Middle East—you are allowed to bring food in luggage ha. But he somehow missed the pickled mango my mom had parceled. Needless to say, I didn’t have to crack my brain to figure out what to do with the raw mangoes in his luggage. See, the imported green mangoes available at the stores here in Qatar are never as good as the ones fleshly plucked from the home garden—usually their flesh has softened or sweetened a bit in transit—and that’s one reason why I was so happy to take the opportunity to pickle lots of mangoes now.

Pickles are my guilty pleasure. Don’t be mistaken—I’m talking about the intensely flavored Indian pickles known as achar. Nothing beats the tangy, spicy, salty, oily—crazy as it sounds—comfort of achar.

Traditionally served at Indian meals as a condiment, they are served, following the Ayurvedic philosophy, to create a fine balance of flavors. Moreover, they stimulate appetite, and aid digestion too. I grew up eating pickled mangoes, especially tender mango pickles, known as kannimanga achar, a staple in Kerala. As kids we used to snack on slices of raw mango dipped in chili powder, salt and a drizzle of coconut oil. Raw mangoes have a sharp sour taste, and is generally green in color. Did you know that mango—both raw and ripe—is a good tenderizing agent?

There are countless ways to pickle mangoes; in fact achar from each region of India has a distinct taste. While sesame oil is preferred in the south, mustard oil is used in the north. Similar to olive oil, sesame oil (gingili oil) is considered good for lowering the LDL (harmful) cholesterol level. It is also used as a healing oil in Ayurveda.

This is a quick and easy recipe, flavored by south Indian ingredients like curry leaves, mustard seeds, asafetida and sesame oil. No vinegar is used, just oil, spices and aromatics. The high concentration of oil and spices act as preservative, whereas water decreases the shelf life. So this is not intended for long-term storage, but rather for enjoying over the course of a few weeks.

Now that local markets are bursting with mangoes, why not take the opportunity to create this simple recipe in the comfort of your home?

 

Green Mango Pickle — Manga Achar

Ingredients

Prep: 15 min, plus marinating and maturing time

2 cups mango (about 3-4 small mangoes), lightly pared and diced small

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon gingili oil, or sesame oil (nallenna)

½ teaspoon black mustard seeds

2 small sprigs curry leaves

¼ teaspoon fenugreek powder

½ teaspoon asafetida

1 tablespoon Kashmiri chili powder

1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder

4 tablespoon water

Directions

Choose unripe mangoes with firm skin and greenish white flesh. Using a peeler, slightly pare the dark green skin without peeling the skin completely (refer picture)—a bit of skin adds a really nice texture to the pickle. Slice the flesh, cutting around the pit, and then dice into small pieces.

Toss the diced mangoes with 1 teaspoon salt and set aside for 8 hours, preferably overnight. This dehydrates them slightly so that the mango pieces retain their crispness when pickled. Drain the liquid and set aside.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add mustard seeds and cook until they crackle, about 30 seconds. Stir in curry leaves, and spice mixtures—fenugreek, asafetida, chili, turmeric—and cook, stirring, for 15 seconds. Pour in water and bring to boil over low heat.

Remove from heat, add diced mango and mix well. Taste and add salt, if needed (I didn’t use any extra salt). Ladle into a clean, dry, sterilized glass jar; seal with lid. Shake jar to evenly disperse ingredients and store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days to infuse flavors.

The pickle tastes best after aging for 2-3 days. Refrigerate after opening. It will keep several weeks in the refrigerator, if not eaten immediately.

Serve mango pickles with any rice dishes. In fact, pickles perfectly complement any Indian meal, and are mixed and eaten with the other food served, just like chutney.

Personally, I think nothing beats the comfort of achar mixed with steamed rice and plain yoghurt, aha. It is even great as a snack right out of the jar, enjoy!

 

Now that summer is finally here, I’ve been trying to add more fruits and vegetables in our meals. And here’s something my kids always look forward to eating: cool slabs of crisp cucumber with a squeeze of lime, hint of chili and a liberal sprinkling of amazingly zestful chaat masala—one of our favorite ways to enjoy cucumber.

A simple recipe loaded with flavors. Why not give it a try? Get the recipe here.


Submitting this delish achar to the ever popular Kerala Kitchen hosted this month by the my sweet friend, Jehanne, at The Cooking Doctor.