May 16, 2007

KOTTIMEERA- MAMIDI PACHCHADI & MENTHI MUKKALU



I have been very busy lately,but not so busy not to notice the advent of summer.Mango is the fruit of Indian summers.I remember the countless days we spent as vacations with my Ammamma and Tatayyagaru(we call them Amma and nannagaru anyway(that is telugu for mother and father) .My grandfather would buy us loads of ripe mangoes to eat in the hot afternoons while my grandmother got loads of raw and sour mangoes which were used to make numerous pickles every summer.How I miss all those pickles that my Ammamma made lovingly for all of us!

Mangoes here in UK aren't anywhere near to the Indian varieties like banginipalli,kobbari mamidi,etc.Neither are the raw ones any better.The skin is a nice green.But the moment you cut it open,there lies the yellowing flesh smiling at you ,smelling sweet,while it dawns upon you that you cannot make a truly savoury dish like mamidikaya pappu(mango dal) or Pachchadi(chutney) with it.Well,not so this time.I found nice fresh,raw and sour mangoes this time.It had been a long time since I had prepared any fresh chutneys of note,so I decided to make chutney with the mangoes.

here goes my Coriander-Mango chutney :

Ingredients:1 cup mildly sour mango pieces(skin peeled)

4 cups loosely packed fresh coriander leaves,washed

5-6 green chillies

3-4 tsp salt or as per your taste

Method: Wash the coriander leaves.I used only the leaves as the stems were too fibrous.

Peel the mango and chop into small pieces.

Put it all together along with the salt in a blender or a food processor.I had to put in some water as well,to make my blender motor crush the leaves and the mangoes.An indian style mixie or a food processor will definitely do a good job.Grind to a fine paste.

At this stage,you can add tadka/popu/seasoning to it if you like.Just heat a tablespoon of oil,add half a teaspoon of mustard seeds and 2 pinches of asafoetida.when the mustard splutters,pour it onto the chutney .

Serve this with idli,dosa,uthappam,or mix it into hot rice or upma.You can even use this as a spread for sandwiches.Use it on chats,bhelpuri,hot samosas,kachoris,whatever you fancy!Enjoy!


I served it with Dosa and idlis.I made those small idlis in the microwave using my mini muffin mould.


The other dish that I made using these mangoes is called Menthi Mukkalu,literally meaning Mukkalu(pieces,referring to mango) in a fenugreek(menthi)spiced base.This is a very famous and simple dish that most households in Andhra make.This is a kind of instant pachchadi.

The basic thing for this is the spice powder needed for the dish.I usually make a small amount during the summers.

Ingredients:

For the spice powder:2 tsp mustard seeds

2 tsp fenufreek seeds

Roast them separately till the mustard starts popping(do this without oil), and the fenugreek/methi also splutters and takes on a nice brown colour, and has lost its raw smell.Grind it together in a coffee grinder or processor and keep in an airtight container.

The rest of the ingredients:

2 medium sized raw mangoes,peeled and chopped into small pieces(about 1.5 cups of chopped mango)

1.5 tbsp salt

1 tsp turmeric

4 tbsp grated jaggery/gud/bellam

4 tsp chilli powder

2 tsp of the mustard-methi powder

Method: Take a clean bowl, and mix the mango pieces with all the ingredients mentioned.Put this into a clean and dry glass jar and keep it aside for atleast 12 hours.

Soon after mixing everything together,the salt will start to drain the water from the mangoes and that will inturn melt the jaggery,creating a very fragrant sweet and wour sauce in which the mango pieces pretty much float around.

After soaking for atleast 6 hours,the mango pieces become very nicely flavoured with the fenugreek and jaggery.This really tastes very good with Utthi pappu or Mudda pappu (Plain old cooked toor dal,seasoned with nothing but salt and turmeric).It is good to eat on its own too.


It has been a really long time since I participated in any of the blog events.So this time,I am sending this to Deepa for the AFAM-mango event.

17 comments:

FH said...

Vini,what a brilliant color.Beautiful pics and I love all the goodies here.Thanks for posting traditional recipes:))

Padmaja said...

Nice recipes Vini and what u said about is so true, mangoes we get in uk are no here near our delicious, juicy mangoes we get in andhra!!!

Sia said...

ah!!! u did manage to get sour mangoes:) i too found few sour mangoes and have put them in brine:) that Menthi Mukkalu looks so good and my mouth is watering looking at them:) sweet and tangy pickle...yum....did u find alphanso mangoes too? guess what i am eating here? yup, alphanso mangoes;) found them in gujarati store and its heavenly:)

Anonymous said...

That is a brilliant shade of green, Vini...glad you found some good mangoes in the UK....

thanks for that recipe, I've always wanted to try such chutneys. :)

hugs,trupti

Bong Mom said...

Thats a very vibrant green Vini.
How did you make thos eidlis in the microwave, would love to know

Vini K said...

Thanks Asha!:)

Paddu,I actually wanted to go to India this summer to enjoy mangoes but no luck until the next two months,boo hoo:(

Sups,hey where did you find alphoso mangoes?I found these sour mangoes at a tamil store in East Ham..tell me ,oh tell me where is this gujrati store that you got your mangoes from?slurp..slurp...:)

Trupti,I am sure you will like this too.Tyr it dear.:)

Sandeepa,thanks dear.Actually nothing special is needed to make those idlis in microwave.I used to have a microwave idli maker but my idlis never cooked evenly in that.So oneday I suddenly got the idea to use my silicone mini muffin mould for making small idlis which are also good for eating with sambar..I just grease my silicone mould a little and then put 3 teaspoons of idli batter in each of the holes.Then cook it in microwave for 2 minutes.these muffin moulds really work well.If you have ramekins or ceramic cups,you could use that too.

swapna susarla said...

Hi vinik
I am also missing the tastes of mamidi pallu.:-(
menthi mukkalu bhale vunnayi...yum yum yummy..i am not getting perfect raw mango here.mettaga vuntunnayi..this time i am going to try hard for them..
pachadi is also looking very tasty..

Roopa said...

wow i love that menthi mukkalu....i am drooling at it... sour mangoes..yumm..thks for sharing Vini :)

Coffee said...

The green colour look awesome!!! and those idli's look so cute!!!! Lovely traditional dishes!

Viji said...

Vini, chutney with number of combinations are always tempting. Nice post. Viji

Mythreyee said...

Thats a treat for all mango lovers like me. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

So many things to try using mangoes! I love the shape of your idlis. If you think you dont get good mangoes in the uK, you have to come and see how it is in the US. Oh how I long for the beautiful ripe mangoes waiting to be plucked from our backyard at home! Thanks for sharing these recipes Vini

Sharmi said...

ouchi! my cheeks hurts and mouth watering. lovely recipe for AFAM. I can feel the smell of those menthi mukkalu. awesome.

marriedtoadesi.com said...

Can't wait to try out the mango coriander chutney! Sounds fabulous.

Anonymous said...

fantastic recipe...really lovely...wish i could try it right now...hmmmm...thanks for sharing

Dr. Soumya Bhat said...

Lovely recipe Vini.Looks so good.the green color hmm...Chat pata recipe .Love it

sunita said...

Glad you found some at last...but oh!!for the mangoes back home...simply divine aren't they...