Our love for mangoes is eternal and unmatched and so are the many lives this king of fruits lives on our plates. From beverages, pickles, and curries to kadhi, desserts, digestives, and flavourings, we’ve truly learned to savour and extract every bit from it.
In Indian culinary traditions, the reverence for mangoes runs so deep that wasting even the tiniest part was once considered almost sinful. Over generations, ingenious recipes have emerged that make use of every part, the pulp, peel, and even the pit, ensuring that we honour the mango in full.
Ripe mango curry, mango kadhi, and fajeto, a clever dish made by rinsing peels and pits after extracting aamras, are shining examples of resourceful and respectful cooking. These dishes reflect a culture where food is treated with deep respect.
In the agrarian household I grew up in, ripe mangoes were simply meant to be squeezed and slurped, my mother often encouraged us to suck the last drop of pulp from the peels and pits. We never cooked with them, no shaak, no fajeto. Naturally, I didn’t grow up with a taste for these dishes, and fajeto never really appealed to me.
However, that changed after I began exploring the culinary traditions of Gujarat through my work. I grew curious to recreate and bring these distinctive flavours on my plate, like this Gotla nu Shaak (mango stone curry) I cooked recently. It’s a time-honoured recipe that transforms the fibrous pulp clinging to the mango pits into a luscious sweet-sour curry. While varieties like Kesar and Hapus are perfect for aamras, their intense sweetness can overpower and rob the fun from such dishes. Using the pits of fragrant, mildly sour desi mangoes struck just the right balance, reviving a dish I never knew I could love. And when mopped up with fluffy puris, it called for a long, contented siesta.
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Ingredients
Method
- Collect the mango stones after you've squeezed out the aamras (pulp) or after chopping and dicing the mangoes. These are the stones that would otherwise be discarded.
- In a bowl, whisk chickpea flour (besan) with about a cup of water to make a smooth, lump-free mixture.
- Heat oil in a kadhai (wok or deep pan).
- Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When they begin to splutter, quickly add a pinch of asafoetida (hing) followed by turmeric powder.
- Pour in the chickpea flour mixture and cook it on a gentle flame, stirring continuously to avoid lumps or sticking at the bottom.
- Once the mixture thickens slightly, add the mango stones and continue to cook on low heat.
- Midway through, stir in red chilli powder, coriander powder, and cumin powder.
- As the curry simmers, the pulp clinging to the mango stones will begin to separate, adding body and flavour to the dish.
- Season with salt. If the curry feels too thick, add a little hot water. If it tastes more sour than you prefer, adjust with a touch of sugar or jaggery.
- Let it cook for a few more minutes, then turn off the flame.
- Garnish with grated fresh coconut and chopped coriander.
- Serve warm with flatbreads of your choice — rotis, bhakhri or puris.