Mango Curry

Mango Curry is a classic side dish made in many cuisines across South Asia. My jazzed up version is made by simmering ripe mangoes with minimal spices, curry leaves & coconut milk. It’s finished with a tempering made of whole spices and caramelized onions. It’s creamy, delicious and brings tropical flavors to your dinner table in less than 30 mins. This recipe is vegetarian but can be made vegan.

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About Mango Curry

Mango Curry is a summer special and is made traditionally in numerous ways across India. There are versions that use unripe green mangoes, semi-ripe and fully ripe. While the unripe mangoes are used to impart tang, ripe ones infuse fruity flavors and sweetness to the curry.

My recipe is made in South Indian style and is roughly adapted from Kerala mambazha pulissery. The authentic version uses whole tiny ripe mangoes which are simmered with spices and ground grated coconut meat. I’ve modified the recipe to use coconut milk and large mangoes, for convinience but shared the details of the authentic version as well.

It’s not one of those spicy and hot curries with strong curry or masala flavors. Mango Curry is a mild dish with a subtle flavor of coconut milk. Neutral fruity notes and nutty aroma of tempering spices & curry leaves makes it a unique food.

Mango Curry can be eaten on its own and but is best served with brown rice or white rice. In India it’s uncommon to serve this with flatbreads like roti, chapati or naan but you may do so if you want.

Ingredients you need

• Ripe Mangoes – Use sweet mangoes that are fully ripe yet firm because we want them to retain their shape after cooking. You may use whole (uncut) small mangoes but make sure they are good from inside. Unripe and sour mangoes won’t go well in this curry. I used Thai honey mangoes here but any fully ripe, sweet and flavorsome varieties are best.
• Fresh curry leaves bring in a great aroma to the curry.
• Fresh ginger and garlic impart earthy and pungent notes to the dish. Do not use ground dry versions of the same.
• Ground spices – A traditional recipe uses only 3 ground spices – red chili powder, turmeric and cumin. But if you want you may use coriander powder. Spice blends like curry powder or garam masala are not used because this is a mild curry.
• Coconut – Either use full fat canned coconut milk or grated raw coconut (fresh or frozen).
• Yogurt – A small amount of plain yogurt not only makes the curry rich and creamy but also infuses a great flavor. But you may omit it if you want to make this plant based.
• Tempering ingredients – mustard, red chilies and methi seeds (fenugreek) adds another layer of flavor to the dish. A small amount of shallots or small red onions are optionally used to infuse extra caramelized flavors. Omit them to save time.

Photo Guide

How to make Mango Curry (Step by step photos)

To make the traditional version, please read the expert tips section, after the step by step photos.

Preparation

1. I used 2 medium sized mangoes weighing 600 grams. Rinse, peel and dice to 3 inch portions and reserve aside. Scrape off the sides and the rest of the pulp to make it ½ cup (about 70 grams) and add it to a blender jar. Pour 9 oz/ 270 ml canned coconut milk. (or use ¾ cup grated raw coconut, ¾ cup water & ½ cup mangoes )

2. Blend to a smooth puree.

Make the curry

3. Heat 1½ tablespoons coconut oil and add

• 2 to 3 slit green chilies/ serrano peppers/ Thai/ Indian chilies
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger (1 inch peeled)
• ½ tablespoon garlic pressed or crushed (about 2 to 3 cloves)

4. Saute for a minute until the ingredients turn aromatic. Stir in

• 1/8 to ¼ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• ½ to ¾ teaspoon turmeric
• 1½ teaspoon coriander powder (optional)

5. Pour ½ cup water and add the diced mangoes (I used about 300 grams).

6. Mix well and adjust turmeric to color preference. I started with half tsp but had to add another 1/4 tsp. Cook covered on a medium high heat for 2 to 3 mins. If you overcook your mangoes may disintegrate.

7. Pour the mango coconut milk & bring to a gentle simmer.

8. Cook for 2 to 3 mins and add ½ to 1 tablespoon jaggery or coconut sugar and 1 teaspoon sea salt. Mix and turn off the heat.

Temper yogurt

You can totally omit yogurt if you don’t prefer. If you plan to serve this curry later, you may refrigerate, add the yogurt at the time of serving and make a fresh tempering.

9. Move the pot from the stove to the kitchen counter and let cool down for a few mins. Add half cup Greek yogurt (or thick curd) to a bowl and whisk well until really smooth. Stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons of the mango curry and mix well. Add the tempered yogurt back to the pot & mix well. (this prevents your yogurt from splitting)

10. Taste test to adjust salt and sweetness. Mango curry should ideally be slightly sweet, tangy and spicy.

Tempering

11. Heat 1½ tablespoon coconut oil in a small pan and add half teaspoon mustard seeds, 2 to 3 dried red chilies, 1 sprig curry leaves and 3 to 4 tbsps sliced shallots or small red onions.

12. Saute until aromatic and the shallots are golden to light brown. Add 1/8 teaspoon methi seed powder/ fenugreek powder (optional). Do not burn.

Turn off and pour over the mango curry. Keep the curry covered for 5 mins to infuse and retain the flavors. Serve with brown rice or white rice.

Expert Tips

• Traditionally this curry does not involve sauteeing ginger garlic & chilies in oil and also the ground spices are simply thrown into the pot to simmer with mangoes. However I found while using diced mangoes, the flavor of raw spices remained and did not cook well due to shorter cook time. But if you use whole mangoes, you may omit the steps of adding them to oil. Simply add all the ingredients and simmer in water.
• Usually mangoes are not blended with coconut instead one of them is squeezed with fingers to bring out some of the pulp and juice which helps in thickening. However I find blending a small portion of mango breaks down the fibres and improves the texture of the curry.
• While using whole mangoes, increase the cook time as required.
• If using raw grated coconut adjust the quantity of water as needed.

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