265) AMBYA AMBAT

AMBYA AMBAT

A DELICIOUS, RIPE, WILD MANGO

CURRY DESSERT

Ingredients:

     1)    Fully ripe wild mangoes – 1 kg. (10 to 11 Nos.)

     2)    Spilt chickpea lentils (chana dal) – 100 gm.

     3)    Cashew nuts – 25 gm.

     4)    Dry hot red chilies – 4 Nos.

     5)    Fresh coconut – 1 no.

     6)    Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

     7)    Coconut oil – 2 teaspoons

     8)    Mustard seeds – ½ teaspoon

     9)    Cumin seeds – ¾ teaspoon

     10)     Curry leaves – 3 sprigs

     11)     Jaggery (unrefined cane sugar) – 500 gm.

     12)     Salt – 1¼ teaspoons

To Cook:

          Wash and drain the chickpea lentils. Put the chickpea lentils together with the cashew nuts into a pressure cooker. Pour in 2 glasses of water, put on the lid and set on high heat.as soon as you hear the first whistle, turn down the heat to minimum. Cook for 5 minutes and switch off the heat.

          Meanwhile, wash and peel the mangoes. Do not discard the peel, but keep it in a bowl and pour in half a glass of water. Squeeze nicely with your fingers and collect the flavorsome peel juice.

          By now, the steam in the pressure cooker should have subsided enough to open the lid. Pour in the mango peel juice and tip in the peeled mangoes. Close the lid again and set on high heat. As soon as you hear the first whistle, switch off the heat and allow the cooker to cool naturally.

          In the meantime, put the jaggery in a pan together with half a glass of water. Set on low heat. Stir occasionally till the jaggery is fully melted. Sieve and set aside.

          Grate the coconut. Put the grated coconut and the red chilies into a food processor. Pour in a glass of water and grind to superfine paste. Remember, the smoother the paste, the tastier will be the curry. Pluck the curry leaves off their sprigs and set aside.

          Transfer the contents of the pressure cooker into a wide curry vessel. Pour in the melted jaggery and tip in the salt. Set on high heat. As it starts to boil nicely, put in the coconut paste and the turmeric powder. Stir well.

As it boils again, switch off the heat and cover with a lid. Set a small pan on low heat. Pour in the coconut oil and throw in the mustard seeds. As soon as they are about to finish spluttering, tip in the cumin seeds. Stir twice and throw in the curry leaves. Stir once and tip over the contents of the pan into the curry.

          Your super delicious ambya ambat is ready to serve. Serve either hot or cold as dessert.

Enjoy!!!

Notes:

     1)    The tanginess and the flavor of the wild mangoes may vary from tree to tree and from place to place. So it would be prudent to taste the curry and to add more salt or red chili powder or sugar if found necessary.

     2)    If wild mangoes are not available, you can use any other mangoes.

     3)    The Konkani people love to bite and suck the flesh off the delicious wild mangoes from the fibres surrounding the stones. The stone is then dipped into the thick curry and sucked again with relish. This is repeated several times till the last bit of flesh is off the stone. The combination of the flavors and taste of the curry with those of the wild mangoes is what makes it a gourmet’s delight. Try for sure!