Mambazha Pulisseri

'Mambazha'(Mango) Pulisseri is one of the curries for rice in a traditional Kerala sadya(feast) and one of my favourites. This is a thick and creamy dish which is slightly sour but sweet at the same time. The ripe mangoes are cooked with spices in a ground coconut mixture, then later mixed with well beaten curd and seasoned with mustard seeds along with curry leaves and red chillies. The combination of ripe mangoes, curd and other spices gives a wonderful aroma to this dish. I'm not a rice lover though hailing from Kerala where people love to have rice. My mom on seeing me having rice would say that even a one year old kid would have more rice than me! But the combination of this dish with rice make me have it and that too double the usual quantity! I was thinking about the various items to prepare sadya for Vishu when I came across the recipe from Vanitha magazine- a popular women's magazine in Kerala, that I had written down in my small recipe book(full story here).

Ingredients:

1 ripe medium sized mango

Chilly powder- 1/4 tsp

Turmeric Powder- 1/2 tsp

Sugar- 2 tsp(or more depending on the sourness of mango)

Salt to taste

A pinch of fenugreek powder('uluva')

1 cup well beaten curd/ yoghurt

Grated coconut- 1/3 cup

Green chillies-2

Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp

Garlic clove-1

Small piece of ginger chopped

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 sprig curry leaves

2 broken dry red chillies

Coconut oil for cooking

Method:

• Peel off mango skin and cut the mango into small pieces.
• In a small pan add mango pieces, chilli powder, turmeric powder, sugar, salt along with water just enough to cook mangoes. Cook till the mango pieces turn soft.
• Meanwhile grind coconut with ginger, green chillies, cumin seeds and garlic adding water till it becomes a smooth paste.
• Add this to the cooked mangoes and continue cooking at low-medium heat. Add fenugreek powder, mix well and cook.
• Add beaten curd/yoghurt, mix well and remove from heat. Do not cook after adding curs as it would curdle.Adjust salt and check sourness. If there is still sour taste add more sugar.
• In a pan heat 1 tsp coconut oil and splutter mustard seeds, add curry leaves, red chillies and saute for few seconds. Remove from heat and add it to the dish.
• Serve after few hours.

Pooja.

Other Sadya Recipes: