Summer marks the mango season, and Indians nationwide don't wait a moment to create a melange of regional delicacies. As one travels south and reaches Kerala, one will encounter an authentic dish, Mambazha Pulissery. It is a traditional Kerala-style ripe mango curry with coconut and curd. The locals like to devour it with a bowl of steamed Matta rice, papad fry, pacha manga chammanthi and so on. Highlights of Mambazha Pulissery are a thick gravy that is mildly spiced, a sweet and sour taste and the ease of preparation. All these inclusions of flavours and ingredients make it an ideal dish to relish during the summers!
Though the name might sound a little complicated, the dish follows a simple recipe. Keeping the ingredients ready, one can make this summer special Mambazha Pulissery within half an hour. Pulissery is made with seasonal sweet fruits. It is both sweet and sour gravy. Thus, Mambazha Pulissery is made for Vishu Sadya and served as a side dish. For Onam Sadya, Pineapple Pulissery is made.
This pulissery follows a coconut and curd base, like many other Kerala gravy-based dishes. The locals prefer green chillies to add flavour and spiciness instead of red variants. The original recipe calls for using coconut oil, especially for tempering!
Selecting the right mango is essential in bringing the authentic taste of Mambazha Pulissery. Choose a mango that's just sweet enough with a hint of sourness. Avoid Alphonso mangoes. Mangoes of a smaller size are traditionally used for the curry, and after being peeled, the whole fruit, including the seed, is cooked. The petite, round Chandrakaran Mango is highly recommended as the dish's best mango variety in Kerala.
Freshly plucked mangoes, Image Source: Pexels
Some people also use Totapoori, Kilimooku or ripe Rajapuri mangoes to make Mambazha Pulissery. Mangoes of the Dasheri, Badami and Kesar varieties can be chosen as a substitute for the traditional Kerala type. Use the mango type readily available in your area if you cannot obtain the one specified above. Include sour curd in the gravy if the mango's sweetness is too much for your liking.
Mambazha Pulissery Recipe
Ingredeints
- 300 gms or 2 ripe mangoes peeled, seeded, and chopped roughly into big chunks
- 1 green chilli slitted
- 1 cup curd or yoghurt
- 1.25 cup water
- To Grind:
- ½ cup grated coconut
- 1tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- For tempering
- 2 dried red chillies
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 5 curry leaves sprigs
- 2 tsp coconut oil
Delicious ripe mango curry of kerala, Image Source: ticklingpalates.com
Method
- Take a big saucepan, pour 1 cup water and add chopped mangoes and slit green chillies. Put the saucepan on flame and let it cook on a medium flame for 5-8 minutes until the mangoes get tender.
- Meanwhile. to prepare the spice blend, grind all the ingredients listed under For Grinding. Add 3 tbsp water to the paste and churn till the mixture is evenly pounded.
- As the mangoes turn tender, blend in the ground paste and season it with salt to taste.
- Give all the ingredients a thorough stir and simmer them on low flame for a couple of minutes
- As the gravy starts to boil, switch off the heat
- In a bowl, pour the yoghurt and whisk it till there are no lumps. Pour it to the pulissery. Give it an instant and thorough mix, ensuring the curd doesn't curdle.
- Heat coconut oil in a small tadka pan; add the fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, red chillies, and curry leaves. Let them splutter and pour the tadka over the mambazha pulissery.
Delicious Mambazha Pulissery is ready. Serve it hot with Kerala Matta rice.
