Pazhamanga Muringakka charu Curry

Pazhamanga curry is usually made with the small variety of mangoes called nattu manga .These are tiny even when mature and very fibrous, due to which it is not a very popular table mango (meaning one you would peel cut and serve). Nattu Manga is generally used for pickles, making uppumanga(mangoes preserved in brine) and manga Thera(a fruit leather made by drying layers of mango juice on a mat in the sun).It is one of my favorite varieties .I have never come across them at any shops back in Kerala, probably because it grows wild and in everybody's backyard. They have a very strong mangoey aroma and are super sweet and sour at the same time.The ripe ones are orange fleshed and juicy.

On our last trip to the Korean store we spotted a basket full of baby mangoes - they had labeled it green baby mangoes , one sniff and I was transported back to my childhood days , it even had the sap/manga chuna that gives these mangoes the typical flavor.I picked 2 lbs around 7 or 8 mangoes hoping to make a curry out of them. Once we got home the taste testing  started - one , then two and three finally there were only 3 left to cook with.So in went some drumsticks and instead of a pazhamanga curry it became pazhamanga muringakka curry.

This is a recipe I had picked up from my maternal grandfathers brothers wife in Kuttanad. Padinarele Chittamma - as we kids called her.

















Nattu Manga are perfect for this recipe since they are really sour and sweet at the same time. If you cannot get that variety of mango and are using regular ripe mangoes which are not sour you might need to add some vinegar or sour curd or few peices of raw mango to get the sour taste.The ones I found were light yellow fleshed so I added some chilly powder to give it some color.


Ingredients:

1. Semi Ripe mangoes - 6 to 7 small OR 2 ripe mangoes skinned and cut into big cubes
2. Drumsticks - 10 pieces (optional)
3. Grated coconut - 1 cup
4. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
5. Green chillies - 8 slit
6. Shallots - 8 sliced (reserve 1 for tadka)
7. Dry red chillies - 2
8. Curry leaves - 2 springs
9. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
10. Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp(optional)
11. salt - to taste
12. Oil - 1 tbsp

Method:
Grind the coconut, cumin and half of the turmeric powder with 1/2 cup of water to a fine paste and keep aside.
If you get the baby mangoes you would peel them like you do bananas by pinching the top off and peeling them down.
Add the mangoes , shallots, 4 green chillies ,chilly powder, half of the turmeric powder,1 cup water and salt to taste to a pan and cook until the mangoes are cooked . Add the drumsticks with this if you are using it and cook together.
Lower the flame and add in the ground coconut paste and mix well. If the gravy is too thick add some water to thin it out to the consistency you like.
Add in the remaining slit chillies and warm well.
Turn the flame off.
Heat oil in a frying pan and splutter the mustard seeds.
Add in the shallot and curry leaves and dry red chillies and fry until light brown.
Pour this over the mango curry and mix well.
Keep covered for 30 minutes for flavors to blend.
Serve with rice.