Ingredients
2 medium-sized raw mangoes - deseeded, skin peeled and sliced into thin pieces (typically
Totapuri mangoes are used)
1 green chilli
150 gms sugarcane jaggery
Pinch of turmeric
1/4 tsp salt
For the tadka or tempering:
2 tsp of gingelly or sesame oil
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
2 dry red chillies
A spoonful of neem blossoms, plucked fresh
Method
Cook the sliced mangoes until soft adding salt, green chilli and a cup of water.
Melt the jaggery over a low flame.
Pour the liquid jaggery over the mango pulp and continue cooking for a few more minutes until it reaches the consistency of a jam.
Keep stirring so as to prevent burning at the bottom of the pan.
For the tempering, heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and a few sprigs of neem blossoms. Once they start spluttering, take the pan off the flame. Pour the tempering over the Manga Pachadi and stir it in evenly.
Serve cold with rice and its variations like curd rice, sambar rice and others.
In a traditional Manga Pachadi, fresh neem blossoms are used, which are found on the subcontinent during the months of January until May. Neem trees blossom profusely in the UAE, too, during these months. While dried neem blossoms are available online and could be used as a substitute for fresh flowers, the taste will differ.
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