Vadu Manga - Catch them young

VADU MANGAI OR BABY MANGO PICKLE

Come summer I look forward to making pickles and sundried items that will last me through the year. There are a few staples that I make every year and then I add something new each year for variety.

This year started, as always with my favourite Baby mango pickle. In southern India and especially the communities like mine who adore yoghurt rice and can eat it anytime of the day, this pickle is an absolute must to have in the larder all year round!

There are two schools of thought about the best recipe for these baby mangoes, one is that it should only be brined and the second and my favoured recipe is to store the brined mangoes in a red chilli and mustard flavoured base. Depending on which part of Tamil Nadu your origins are from....decides which one you may favour! If you are from Tanjore (my ancestors were from this region), then your family makes the brined version and if you are from around the border of Kerala, you will probably have the red chilli and mustard kind.

Ingredients

500 gms raw baby mangoes, about 3-4 cups
4-6 tbsp Salt
4-6 tbsp Kashmiri Red chilly powder
2-4 tbsp spicy red chilli powder
2 tbsp Turmeric powder
2 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp ground Mustard seeds
1 cup Boiled and cooled water

Method
Wash and wipe the baby mangoes ( 1-2 inch long), removing any damaged ones. Allow them to dry under the fan for an hour. In a bowl, place the dry mangoes and pour the oil and mix throughly to coat each and every mango. Take a glass jar and place a handful of mangoes and add a tsp of salt, continue layering the mangoes and salt until all the mangoes are done. 

Cover and let it rest, shaking the mangoes every now and then. In 3-5 days the mangoes would have shrivelled up and they will be floating in brine.

Remove the mangoes from the brine and let it sun dry for half a day. Save a cup of the brine.

Mix the red chilli powders, turmeric and mustard powder in the brine water and add a cup of the boiled water as well as the dry mangoes. Let the mangoes marinate for a couple of days and then it will be ready.

Glorious Garlic Lasooni Dal

Garlic cannot bestow immortality but it can make you lead a longer life. Garlic is making news in all fields for having antibiotic, anti cancer and many other properties. Although it has a strong flavor it is a good spice to have on hand as it vastly improves the flavor of many dishes. Take for example the humble dal, we make it almost three times a week and I like to have variations to the recipe and this one makes a soul satisfying dish! Lasooni, means garlicky and this Lasooni Dal is a hit with even the kids.

Lasooni Dal

Ingredients

1/2 cup each Moong and Masoor dal, cooked until soft

2-4 tbsp chopped garlic

2 dry red chillies

2 tbsp ghee

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp red chili powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste

Coriander leaves for garnish

Method

Heat ghee in a pan and add the dry chillies, cumin seeds, garlic and cook for a minute or two, then add the red chili powder and turmeric. Pour this, on the salted and cooked dal. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rice or rotis.

Instant green chilli pickle: Get you chilli fix

Sometimes a new product or idea can spread like fire, which is exactly what happened when the chilli pepper was introduced to the Indian continent by the Portuguese who in turn brought it from either the Caribbean islands or Chile/Brazil.

Indian cooking and Ayurveda are not exactly accepting of "foreign" foods but the green chilli was quickly incorporated into our cuisine and particularly Ayurvedic medicines. The chilli pepper soon pushed aside the black pepper in many Ayurvedic formulations to cure diseases from Cholera to medicated ointments/balms to relieve joint aches. Today one cannot dream of indian cooking without the chilli in its many forms, fresh, dry, powder, marinated...

Last week I visited the produce market several times and each time I picked a batch of green chillies....I cannot understand why I did that considering we don't really consume too many chillies as the boys don't like to eat even faintly spicy foods! It's okay though, as I really needed to make a batch of Instant chilli pickle. Ever since I started eating unpolished brown rice, Jowar berries and ragi rotis...I CRAVE some chilli heat, so I always have a small jar of this pickle in the fridge. It goes well with dal roti/rice or mixed into a salad.

Ingredients

100-150 gms fresh green chillies, washed, dried and cut into small pieces
1/3 cup split mustard seeds
1tbsp Nigella seeds
1/2 cup white vinegar
3tbsp mustard oil or any oil you may have at home
1tsp turmeric powder
2-3 tbsp salt

Method

Mix all the ingredients and stir well. Store in a glass jar, preferably in the refrigerator to keep the chillies crisp. The pickle is ready to consume in a few days after the chilli heat has had a chance to mellow in the salty sour brine.