Kenzy's Kitchen Korner... : Methamba - Raw Mango Jaggery Relish

Monday 29 June 2020

Methamba - Raw Mango Jaggery Relish

Remember I mentioned in the Andhra Raw Mango Dal recipe that I’d used the second raw mango for another dish. Well, secret’s out! I made Methamba from Saee Koranne Khandekar’s book, Pangat, a Feast: Food and Lore from Marathi Kitchens. I bought this book on Kindle. This is the first recipe tried by me from the book and I have highlighted so many that I want to try. A major clarification: The recipe belongs to Saee and I have no copy right over it. I merely recreated this fabulous recipe in my kitchen.

As mentioned by Saee in the book, Methamba definitely falls under the relish category rather than the pickle category. I had it with two things, namely, dal rice (Indrayani rice) and Prawn Khichdee. As Saee recommends in the book, I also gave it a try with some plain hot rice and ghee (clarified butter). That was heaven, sheer heaven! If raw mangoes are still available in your vicinity, give this recipe a try immediately.

Ingredients:

2 cups raw mango, peeled and roughly chopped
¾ cup jaggery, grated

3 tablespoons oil

3 dried red Byadgi chilies, broken into small pieces

1 teaspoon black or brown mustard seeds (I used black mustard seeds)

1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

¼ teaspoon asafoetida powder

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

½ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder

1¼ teaspoon salt

Method:

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Add the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, broken red chilies, asafoetida and turmeric powder. Sauté until fragrant.

2. Add the chopped mango and toss well to mix with the spice-mix.

3. Add the salt and red chili powder and mix well.

4. COVER the saucepan and cook for 5 to 6 minutes or until the mango pieces turn translucent.

5. Add the jaggery and cook UNCOVERED (ON LOW HEAT) until the jaggery melts and the relish comes together in a nice even sticky form.

6. Remove from fire and allow the relish to cool and then transfer into sterilized glass or ceramic jars.

7. Can be stored in the fridge for 4-6 weeks.

Chef Notes & The Tiny Changes I Made:

1. Instead of roughly chopping the mangoes, I preferred to dice then evenly – blame it on my frikkin’ OCD. *sheepish look*

2. I used nearly 1 cup jaggery as the mango was extremely sour. Please taste as you cook and adjust the jaggery as suits your palate.

3. While broke one chili into small pieces, I chose to break the remaining two into halves as mum cannot handle very spicy food and breaking the chilies into small pieces would mean she would encounter chilies in each bite. Also, I deseeded the dry red chilies to lessen their spice quotient. Please feel free to do that if you need to. Rest assured; the recipe works just as beautifully when you do so.

4. The relish lasts for 4 to 6 weeks in the fridge, says the recipe. You can forget about it lasting that long coz if you are anything like me, you will polish this off within a week, max! *greedy-evil grin*

5. As Saee rightly recommends, please, please do, give the Methamba a try with soft steamed rice and a dollop of clarified butter (ghee). In her exact words, I quote, “But once you try mixing it into some hot rice with a spoonful of ghee, we’ll talk.” As I said earlier... sheer heaven!

6. As most food groups at Facebook have a ‘no link’ policy, I haven’t posted a link to Saee book, Pangat, at the FB groups. If you wish to access the link, please do so directly from my blog, Kenzy’s Kitchen Korner. It’s a book you will not regret picking up.

7. As mentioned at the onset, the original recipe belongs solely to Saee Koranne Khandekar and her book, Pangat, a Feast: Food and Lore from Marathi Kitchens. This version of the recipe and the photographs, though, belong to my blog, Kenzy’s Kitchen Korner. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes, and/or my photographs, on any blogsite or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.