Before moving to US, we lived for about 2 years in Hyderabad, India. The capital city of my home state, Andhra Pradesh, lately known as Hi-Tech city, Hyderabad, has its own unique cuisine. A mishmash, a culinary amalgam influenced by people who migrated to this city from small villages, towns all over Andhra and from out of states on jobs, business and to work in political bureaucracy. Foodwise, you can get everything and anything there, almost:). Strong personalities and strong flavors are needed to survive in that city.
One such bold flavored recipe that I learned from a Hyderabad native, is this mango~sesame curry. Unripe mangoes are cooked in jaggery flavored sesame sauce. 3 strong flavors, unbeatable taste, perfect side dish for subtly bland naans/chapatis and puris.
Jaggery, Roasted Sesame Seeds, Unripe Mango ~ Three Strong Flavors
Recipe:
2 green, unripe mangoes – peeled, seed removed and cubed into bite sized pieces
1 cup sesame seeds – lightly roasted and powdered
¼ cup of jaggery – powdered
1 teaspoon of each – red chilli powder, salt and turmeric
For popu or tadka:
1 teaspoon of peanut oil
½ teaspoon of each mustard seeds, cumin and few curry leaves.
1 Heat peanut oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add and toast cumin, mustard seeds, curry leaves.
2 Add mango cubes to the pan, stir in sesame powder, jaggery, chilli powder, salt and turmeric. Add about 2 cups of water and mix thoroughly.
3 Cover with lid and cook on medium heat for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the mango pieces soften and the sesame sauce comes together into medium-thick mass. Have a taste and adjust the salt, sweet, spicy levels to your taste. Cook for another couple of minutes and turn off the heat.
Serve warm with chapatis/naans or with puris and enjoy this unique curry of zinging taste.
Mango-Sesame Curry with Puris
Hi Indira,
I’m from Hyderabad and I’ve never heard of this recipe before.Looks great,will definetly try this one.
Thanks
Comment by radhika — May 22, 2006 @ 6:57 pm
My aunt has told me about this. Never tried it though. Looks good at least in the pictures. One question though : Is this dish like one of those – where the taste gradually grows on you ?
Indira replies:
This curry is definitely an acquired taste, Mythili.
Comment by Mythili — May 22, 2006 @ 8:03 pm
Hi Indira,
POORI AND MAMIDI NUVVULA KOORA .Wow,poooris are tempting me
Iam going to try it.Thank you.
Vineela
Indira replies:
They do look good together, don’t they?:)
You are welcome, Vineela.
Comment by vineela krishna — May 22, 2006 @ 9:33 pm
Never heard of this recipe, but sure looks yummy! I always love upripe mango + jaggery combination, an added taste is sesame seeds.. goes to my “must do’s”.Thanks for sharing this one!
Indira replies:
Then you must try this one, Karthi. Tastes really good even with rice.
Comment by Karthi Kannan — May 22, 2006 @ 10:11 pm
Indira,
Another sesame dish to tempt me on the day I remembered the brinjals! 🙂
Those pooris look fantastic too…
Best wishes!
Indira replies:
Thanks Linda.
Comment by Linda — May 22, 2006 @ 10:27 pm
Wow! A recipe that uses 1 cup sesame seeds! I have lots of sesame seeds in my pantry(bought another pack without knowing that I already had a big one!). I was thinking about making some sesame laddu/candy(don’t have a recipe yet), but this sounds more interesting.
Indira replies:
To counter the sourness of 2 green mangoes, 1 cup of sesame is needed. RP.
Yep, this is one good recipe to finish off lot of sesame.:)
Comment by RP — May 22, 2006 @ 11:02 pm
Hi Indira,
There is a similar dish called Mango menaskai popular in the Udipi region. In my experience die hard Andrites find it a bit too sweet. But I love it.
My mom is from Rayalaseema area and so many of your recipes are what I grew up eating. It is nice to find such an exhuastive and authentic source of andra recipes. Your passion for food is incredible! Wonderful job and amazing photos. It is so unfortunate that you are a vegeterian.
Recently found the world of food blogging and your wonderful blog. I started with the idea of collecting all my recipes in one place to make sharing recipes with mostly non Indian friends easy. I think I am in denial but already addicted to blogging even before sharing.
Indira replies:
Nice to meet a fellow Rayalaseema native, thanks for your nice words about my blog, Sudha. appreciate it.
Comment by Sudha — May 23, 2006 @ 12:21 am
Boy am I glad I’ve found your blog. You sound like a professional. Would love to try out your recipes, thanks for sharing. And thru your blogroll, i’ve hit jackpot! 🙂
Indira replies:
Hi Rums, thanks and welcome to the food blogging world.:)
Comment by Rums — May 23, 2006 @ 1:25 am
The last picture looks fabulous! Did you make those puris yourself Indira? I am always tempted to cook anything interesting that you post right away…but I can’t do that now. No cooking for a few days(exams going on)…:(
Indira replies:
Thanks Nabeela. What do you think?
Eat well, study hard and do good.:)
Good luck with the exams! Best wishes – Indira.
Comment by Nabeela — May 23, 2006 @ 2:46 am
I can’t wait to try this recipe.
I loved the last post too. I think I’ll try to grow methi here in San Francisco, it is one of my favorites.
thanks.
Indira replies:
You are welcome, Roger.
If you try, let me know the results. Thanks.
Comment by Roger — May 23, 2006 @ 4:45 am
Puris with curry look so good. I can feel them melting in my mouth. Yum !
Indira replies:
Yum, indeed.:), thanks Krithika.
Comment by Krithika Ramachandran — May 23, 2006 @ 7:57 am
I’ve not heard of this recipe ever! Man, I cant wait for my next trip to Birmingham so that I can get some green mangoes. Darn it Indira, do you have a mango tree growing at home or what? 🙂
Indira replies:
Missed you! I hope you had a lovely visit and fun time with your family.
I wish! 🙂
Comment by shammi — May 23, 2006 @ 8:44 am
That looks very tempting…I have always been an Andhra food fan…My romance with Andhra food began a few years back when I had to work in Andhra…and we have never parted ways!! Nice to see many of my favourites here…I should definitely add this link to mine…
Indira replies:
Glad to meet a fellow Andhra food fan. Thanks!.
Comment by Shynee Nair — May 24, 2006 @ 7:49 am
Hi Indira… Firstly, I must congratulate you on a superb blog that you have! I was amazed to see your blog the very first time I stumbled upon it by chance a few months ago! Since then I have been a regular visitor at your blog as well the other food bloggers listed in your blog! I have now tried many recipes listed on your blog and today decided to leave a comment on this recipe of yours. I just made the mango-sesame curry and am amazed with the taste… you are so right about how 3 distict flavors blend so beautifully to give such a delicious taste to this curry. Thank you for this wonderful recipe as well as the n no. of other recipes that i have tried so far and haven’t thanked you for!
Indira replies:
I am glad, Sonia. Thanks for taking time to let me know and thanks for you nice words about my blog. I greatly appreciate it!
Comment by Sonia — May 24, 2006 @ 5:33 pm
Another must try recipe. I have been reading your blog since the very beginning. It is great! You are doing a fabulous job. I have cooked a number of your dishes, and have received compliments. I have a question. What is the best jaggery to buy? The one I am using now have tiny particles in them. So I have to dissolve in water then sieve to get rid of them. How do you remove the particles without water?
Thanks
Indira replies:
Hi Sher, thanks.
In India, there is plenty of choice to choose from different clarity of jaggery. But here in US, there is only one variety of jaggery is avialable though in different shapes and sizes. Usually I’d buy a very big block. Using a knife and hammer, break into small pieces. I’d keep a small portion of these tiny pieces in a box in a kitchen cabinet for regular use. and store the remaining small pieces in a ziplock bag in fridge.
I don’t do any of that stuff to remove particles. We are accostomed to the taste, particles etc, and everything goes for us. While breaking the jaggery into small pieces, if there are any big particles, I’d remove that portion (big particle and jaggery attached to it) from the bunch. Small tiny ones, I usually let it go and keep them.
Chemical coating on veggies etc, I have a big problem but small tiny dirt particles in jaggery, I don’t have a problem. Afterall it is dirt, easily digestable and goes down easily without leaving its traces in the body unlike chemical wax coatings, preservatives etc., That is my logic behind this carefree use of jaggery.:)
Hope this helps.
Comment by sher — May 24, 2006 @ 10:22 pm
Indira: Been meaning to ask you this for a while..See, as I understand it, Puri making is something of a delicate art plus an accurate science. So many things to get right- the perfect shape, the correct oil temperature and quantity, rolling out without dusting with flour since the dust will burn when deep frying but the most important of all the ‘Puff’! I find when I make Puris its a bit hit and miss with the puffing part and when it does puff up the puff doesn’t remain very long. I once had dinner at this Oriya household were the lady’s mother made the most divine baby puris that stayed puffed-crispy-yet soft when bitten into for the whole evening! I see the gorgeous ‘puff’ in your puris too and wondering if you had any ideas to share? Thanks Indira
Indira replies:
I think, puri making is one of those recipes, where a recipe could sense our fear and behave as if it has a mind of its own.:)
The tips that I follow are – make the dough little bit tighter than chapati dough. Keep it rested for atleast 30 minutes and roll. Most of the times, it works and puris puff up perfectly. But they do collapse, after a while.:)
The freshly milled wheat flour that’s avialable and most of the home cooks use, in India, has different texture and properties, when compared to our storebought, (God knows, when it was milled) flour. I think that’d also makes a difference in the outcome and taste.
Comment by Janani — May 26, 2006 @ 11:25 am
Hai Ms indira,
ur recipes are all good. i what to clarify with you is 1 cup of sesame seeds means how many grams. thanks
regards
suba
Comment by SUBA — September 25, 2006 @ 2:06 am
Hi Indira,
I tried this recipe with mango, and it was wonderful. It is so easy to prepare. Thanks a lot for sharing. I have a suggestion about your blog- it would be great if you have a quick and easy/comfort food section.
Comment by Regha Kakkad — June 19, 2007 @ 9:20 am
Indira, I can’t thank you enough for this lovely, tart, YUMMY AS HELL recipe! I have been in an astoundingly good mood since last night (and people are complimenting me for it, aghast as they are at not finding me my usual crabby self) because I made this curry last night and packed leftovers for lunch tiffin today. I love raw mango and what better way of kickstarting the mangai season with this recipe. Thanku thanku thanku.
Comment by punky pjs — April 16, 2008 @ 3:56 am