Summer time : Mango time – sweet and savoury mango pickle

The only reason why I like summers is the arrival of the king of fruits            *drum roll* The Mango. Clearly, I don’t love the hot sunny days, just the mangoes 🙂

Mango is a tropical fruit, with a unique flavour and fragrance. Exceptionally  tasty, mangoes are a rich source of antioxidants, vitamins and potassium.

I love to have it in any form, mango juice, or a chilled mango shake, or just simply sliced as a fruit itself 😀

While there can be a variety of experimentation with mangoes, I serve you today, a very quick and easy, sweet and savoury pickle made of raw mangoes. Enjoy……..

Sweet and Savoury mango pickle :

Ingredients–

2 raw mangoes (small or medium sized), peeled and diced.

1 tbsp cooking oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp salt (or according to your taste)

a pinch of asafoetida

2 whole red chillies

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp shredded jaggery

Method –

1. Heat the oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds. When the seeds begin to crackle, add the whole chillies, a pinch of asafoetida, and quickly add the diced mangoes. Add the salt and turmeric, mix all, cover and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes.

temper the diced raw mangoes and simmer for 3-4 min

2. Raw mangoes cook easily. When you uncover the vessel you find that the mangoes have tendered, as shown in the 2nd pic.

the raw mangoes have tendered

3. Now add the sugar and the jaggery and mix well. Again cover and let it simmer for 2 more minutes.

The reason that we add both is that all the sourness of the mango cannot be balanced by the sweet in the jaggery, hence  some amount of sugar is needed to counter the sour taste. Only sugar, and the pickle would become more watery, hence both….

add sugar and jaggery

4. After 2 min, the sugar and jaggery melt and give the pickle a watery consistency. Just whisk a bit with a spoon and let it cool off completely.

There isn’t a need to evaporate the liquid, because once it cools off, it would be absorbed and turn into a thick dip.

all the sugar and jaggery has melted

5. When the pickle has completely cooled down, add the red chilli powder.

Do  not add the chilli powder when the pickle is still hot, as it may burn and give the pickle an odd brownish colour.

when it cools, add red chilli powder

6. Voila its ready !! Pack it and you can be preserve it, refrigerated for 5-6 days.

You can store it in the fridge for 5 days

This instant tangy mango pickle is used as a dip at our lunch and dinner times. I make it fresh almost every other day during summers 🙂

Its super easy and hardly takes 15 min to make. Give it a try and do let me know how it went………….