Not so Aam India

Check out the unusual mango recipes that Indians have been lapping up, this season

Ever try a Mango Pizza Dhokla with an idli-like base, with ketchup smeared and topped with capsicum and cheese? As we near the end of yet another mango season, we recount every Indian’s love affair with the fruit. A far cry from the simple mango sliced dishes on a hot summer day, these chefs have reinvented the mango to introduce some quirky recipes. Strangely enough, the unusual combinations work well with Indians, who are lapping it up.

Mango Pizza Dhokla at Khandani Rajdhani.

“On an average we serve around 450 thalis on a daily basis per store. The menu is rotational with seven to eight dishes from the thali based on mangoes,” says Maharaj Jodharam Choudhary, corporate chef at Khandani Rajdhani. The maker of the Mango Pizza Dhokla, has paired the dish with an array of others as a part of their Aamlicious menu that is a mix of regular dishes and mango dishes.

Similarly, Vidya Shirodkar, a Thane-resident, who runs her own small-time catering business, recently presented her Mango Paneer Chilli at the ‘Jo Chaahe Mango’ festival in Mahakali Caves, Andheri, Mumbai. “I use ripe mangoes to get the sweetness right in this savoury recipe that can also be made with chicken,” says Vidya, who successfully served 3kg of the Mango Paneer Chilli at the fest.

Mango guacamole recipe (Serves 3)

Mango guacamole

Ingredients

Avocado- 500

White onion -30gms

Red onion - chopped

Tomato - 40 gms

Bottle jalapeno- 30 gms

1 Lemon

Extra virgin olive oil -30ml

Corriander- 10 gms

Salt / pepper to taste

Alphonso mango - 10

Method

Chop white onion and red onions, tomatoes, jalapenos, coriander. Remove the seeds and crush the avocados. The next step is to peel off the skin of the Alphonso mangoes and cut it into cubes. Add in all the ingredients and mix well. After few minutes, add olive oil, lemon juice, and seasoning (salt / pepper) and then, mix it as well.

Mango Pizza Dhokla (Serves 2)

Mango Pizza Dhokla

Ingredients for Dhokla :

Rice Flour – 200

Urad Dal – 30gms ( Soaked)

Yoghurt – 100ml

Oil - 2 tsp

Citric Acid – 4 gms

Sugar to taste

Tempering ingredients:

Oil – 4 Tsp

Mustard Seeds – ½ Tsp

Asafoetida ( Hing) – 1 Pinch

Lemon Juice – 1 Tsp

Water as per requirement

Salt to taste

Sugar to taste

Pizza Topping:

Aamras – 200gms

Pomegranate – 50gms

Amul grated Cheese – 100gms

Fresh Ripe Mango Cubes – 50gms

Coloured Red and Green pepper Dices – 50gms

Chaat Masala – 2gms

Method

Blend the rice flour, soaked urad dal, yogurt, sugar and 1 tsp oil into a smooth paste together. Add enough water to make batter into a dropping consistency. Add asafoetida and leave to ferment overnight. Add the Citric Add to the fermented batter. Keep a steamer over the stove for water to boil. Line the moulds with oil and pour the batter, cover and steam for 20 minutes. Remove and cool. Cut the Dhokla into circles with three inch diameter using a round cutter. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and red pepper and let them crackle. Once they crackle add some water in the tempering. Bring this water to boil and pour over the dhokla. Spread generous amount of aamras over the cut dhoklas and lastly, add the rest of the toppings.

Mango Paneer Chilli (Serves 5)

Vidya Shirodkar’s Mango Paneer Chilli dish

Ingredients

25g Paneer

2 onions

1 bell pepper

8-10 green chillies

2 Alphanso mango pulp

Few pods of garlic

Hint of ginger

Method

Heat oil in the pan and sauté the slices of ginger and garlic. Add green chillies, slices of bell pepper and sauté again. Now add the mango pulp and cubes of paneer. Stir and add salt to taste. This unique dish is perfect for snacking.