As the mercury peaks across the country, it’s also time to welcome the king of fruits. Perennially blended into juices and milkshakes, most also find making traditional pickles as a tested way of sampling the season's juiciest produce. But culinary innovators today are pushing the envelope to dish out fascinating avatars. Mangoes are versatile and have been included in various regional dishes to introduce a distinctly quirky twist or create an entirely new one. “My mom and my grandmother used to make a curry with the combination of raw mango, jaggery and coconut. They used to pressure cook the whole ripe mango without peeling it and then adding it to the curry,” remembers chef Nikhil Abhyankar, Executive Chef, Miss T who explains that raw mango is a beautiful ingredient to work with as it has different stages of ripening. “As it ripens, the flavour becomes sweet. Raw mango provides the umami that you look for in a curry and is also addictive. Since raw mango is sour and tangy, we balance the flavour by adding jaggery and a ripe mango,” he adds. But if you are using raw mangoes, you should always have something salty and sweet to balance the tartness as ripe mangoes need something tangy or sour to balance the flavour. “Since they are sweet, they will always have a dominating flavour. They don’t have a long finish, so ideally any spice will blend well. But if not stewed properly, the fibre on the seeds can give an unpleasant experience,” explains Hitesh Shanbhag, Sous Chef at The Good Wife.
Tofu Steak with Sesame Mango Stew
This vegan dish is also gluten-free. To incorporate the sweetness of the fruit, stewing with other spices is the best way to go.
Ingredients:
100gms tofu,cubed
10ml sesame oil
5gms salt
2gms black pepper
5gms thyme
10 gms garlic, finely minced
10ml lemon juice
1 Alphonso mango
30ml sesame oil
5gms sesame seeds
5gms ginger, minced
5gms Thai bird chilly, chopped
5gms salt
Black sesame seeds for garnish
Method:
Combine sesame oil, black pepper, thyme, garlic and lemon juice and apply the marinade to the tofu and refrigerate for about half hour.
To make the stew, take a hot pan, add sesame oil, garlic, ginger, sesame seeds and Thai chilly.
Peel and cut the mango and add it to the stew, along with the seed. Reduce the flame and add a cup of water. Let the stew simmer till the mango breaks down completely. Season as required.
Throw the tofu steaks on a grill. Once they get grill marks, you can cook them further in the oven till the stew is ready.
Pour the stew over the steaks. Garnish with the black sesame seeds.
— By Chef Hitesh Shanbhag, The Good Wife
Mango Red Curry
Thai Red Curry is spicier than the other curries as the red colour is derived from dry red chilli. Using ripe mangoes in the curry lends sweetness and balances the levels of spice. The dish has a soup like consistency and goes well with steamed jasmine rice.
Ingredients
20 gms fresh mango pulp
10 gms raw mango
200 ml coconut milk
15 gms Thai red curry paste
5 gms palm sugar
2 gms salt
60 gms tofu
5 gms thai eggplant
5 gms sweet basil
2 gms galangal
2 gms lemongrass
2 gms red chilli
5 gms broccoli
10 ml oil
Method:
Heat oil and sauté the Thai curry paste. Once cooked, pour in the coconut milk and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add the vegetables into the pot along with Thai red chilli. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the raw and ripe mango pulp to the gravy.
Let it simmer for two minutes and once the curry picks its flavours, add sweet basil to the pot and serve.
— By Chef Prem Pradhan, Nara
Mango Avocado, Salmon on Toast
Juicy, tart mangoes are surprisingly excellent at cutting through the richness of avocadoes. If you’re working with an especially ripe mango, make sure to compensate with additional lemon juice to keep the sweetness in check.
Ingredients:
100 gms sourdough
10 gms butter
10 gms sour cream
75 gms smoked salmon, sliced
80 gms avocado
30 gms Alphonso mango, diced
10 gms chopped tomato
5 gms onion, chopped
8 gms jalapeno
1 gm coriander
Lemon juice, salt to taste
Method:
Spread butter on the sourdough bread and grill. Prepare the mango and avocado guacamole with diced avocado, chopped tomatoes, chopped onion, chopped jalapeno, coriander and season it with lemon juice and salt.
Spread the sour cream on the toast and put the guacamole over it, finish it with rolled smoked salmon, garnish with coriander and some chives.
—By Chef Hansel Baptista, Crafters Tap House
Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls
The fresh Vietnamese rolls consist of fresh vegetables like carrot, beetroot, mushrooms wrapped in rice paper and served with a dipping sauce. Hence a certain element of tanginess and sweetness is needed to balance the taste. Adding raw and ripe mangoes results in adding freshness, balance and flavour to the dish.
Ingredient:
2 Thai cucumbers, peeled and julienne
1 carrot, peeled
1 large beet, peeled
1 raw mango, peeled
1 ripe mango, peeled
100 gms enokii mushrooms
100 gms shimeji mushrooms
200gms silken tofu, fried
Beans sprouts as required
Coriander and Thai basil as needed
Mint as required
Basil as required
8 rice paper wrappers
Warm water as needed
For Peanut Sauce
200 gms peanut butter
100 gms chopped onion
20 gms chopped garlic
10 gms chopped coriander
20 gms red curry paste
10 gms tamarind paste
10gms jaggery
10 gms chopped green chilies
Salt as required
Sunflower oil as required
water/veg stock
Method:
For peanut sauce, saute chopped onions and garlic in oil until translucent. Add the red curry paste, peanut butter, tamarind and jaggery.
Add water to loosen up the sauce. Adjust the seasoning with salt if required and finish by adding chopped chilli and coriander.
For rice paper rolls, prepare all ingredients as mentioned and keep them separate.
Working with one at a time, soak the rice paper wrapper in warm water for about 30 seconds. Fill and wrap the summer rolls and set aside until all rolls are complete.
Carefully cut the summer rolls into pieces and serve with peanut sauce on the side.
—By Chef Nikhil Abhyankar
