Mango rice recipe – A simple South Indian style mango rice made with raw sour mango. This recipe is almost similar to the lemon rice or the coconut rice which most of us make at home. The flavoring and the actual taste in this mango rice comes from cooking the mango in oil thoroughly.

Most days I do not go for a elaborate meal. My menu is usually very simple, When i made this we just had it with papad and veg salad.
You can also make the spiced and seasoned mango mixture in bulk and refrigerate. It stays good for several weeks if prepared properly.
When you are short of time, just cook the rice and add this to the warm rice along with little oil and mix up. Mango rice will be ready in minutes.
There are so many ways a mango rice is made, I am sharing the simplest one. To make karnataka style mavinakayi chitranna, add 1 cup grated coconut and handful of finely chopped coriander leaves towards the end of sautéing the mango.

Preparation
1. This recipe makes about 4 servings, you can scale down as needed. But the amount of mango to use depends on the variety or sourness of the mango. Wash, soak and cook 2 cups rice the way you would cook your rice regularly. The cooked rice must be grainy and not mushy. Cool it down.
2. Wash, peel and grate a mango. If you have a food processer you can also just add the mango pieces and grate them. Update: Lately I have started to make this with cooked mango. I just peel, cut and add them to a bowl. Cover and place it in the cooker over the rice bowl (PIP). Once cooked I mash it and use below.
How to make mango rice recipe
3. Heat about 1.5 tbsp oil in a pan. Fry peanuts until half done.

4. Add chana dal and urad dal. When they turn lightly golden, add mustard seeds. Allow them to splutter.

5. Add thinly sliced ginger (optional), broken red chilies, green chilies and curry leaves. For more heat, you can add the chopped green chilies along with peanuts at step 3.

6. Saute everything until the curry leaves turn crisp. Add hing. Transfer this to a plate. You can also continue to cook with the seasoning in pan. I prefer to set aside since the peanut skin begins to separate from the nut.

7. To the same pan, add another tablespoon oil. Add the mango.

8. Add salt and turmeric. Mix well.

9. Lower the flame completely and cook covered. Stir in between. Mango must be cooked completely and must turn soft. It must also begin to leave the sides of the pan. If your mango is very dry with no moisture to cook, you may sprinkle a tbsp of water. Stir and cook covered.

10. Add back all the seasoning and Mix up. Keep covered for 2 mins. At this step you can also add a generous pinch of mustard powder. It is optional. If you like to save it for later use, Once cooled completely you can store it in a glass jar and refrigerate.

11. Add this little by little to the cooled rice. You may need to add more oil and salt. Do not use less oil, the rice will turn out very dry. I used up the entire mix. You may be left with more mango mixture , you can bottle that and refrigerate. Use within few weeks.

12. Mix it up gently.

Serve mango rice with papad or veg salad.

You may also like these raw mango recipes
Easy mango pickle
Avakaya pickle
Mango dal
Raw mango chutney
Mango rice recipe

Mango rice
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
- 2 cups rice
- 1 raw mango medium sized, sour
- 1 to 2 sprigs curry leaves
- 2 to 3 green chilies slit or chopped
- 1 to 2 red chilies broken
- salt as needed
- ¼ tsp turmeric (prefer organic)
- 3 tbsps peanuts or cashewnuts
- 1 tbsp chana dal or bengal gram
- 1 tbsp urad dal or skinned split black gram
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 inch ginger piece , chopped or sliced (optional)
- 3 tbsps oil
Instructions
Preparation
- Add rice to a bowl & wash it a few times. Pour 4 cups water & place it in a pressure cooker. Cover the bowl & pressure cook for 3 whistles. When the pressure goes off, remove the rice & spread it on a wide plate to cool completely.
- Wash, peel and grate or chop the mango. You can also grate in a processor. Update: Lately I have started to make this with cooked mango. I just peel, cut and add them to a bowl. Cover and place it in the cooker over the rice bowl (PIP). Once cooked I mash it and use as mentioned below.
How to make mango rice
- Heat a pan with half the oil. Fry peanuts until half roasted. Then dals until lightly golden. Next add mustard. When they begin to crackle, add ginger, green chilies, red chilies & curry leaves.
- Fry till the curry leaves become crisp, then add hing. Transfer this aside to a bowl.
- Add the rest of the oil and add grated mango, salt and turmeric. Saute for a minute. Cook covered until the mango turns mushy and completely soft.
- Then add the seasoning back that we set aside and mix. Keep covered for 2 to 3 mins. Add this to the cooked rice. If needed add in little more oil and salt. Gently mix the mango rice.
- To make karnataka style mavinakayi chitranna, add 1 cup grated coconut and handful of finely chopped coriander leaves. Mix well.
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
Video
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes

Madhavi says
Simple & perfect ,!!!!! Thank u!”
swasthi says
Welcome Madhavi
Sudarshan says
Hello Swati. Thanks for posting the recipe. I will definitely try this recipe tomorrow for lunch box..
swasthi says
Welcome and thanks. Yes do give it a try
Nicole says
Hi Swasthi! Thank you for your wonderful recipes. I just have a few questions –
What is “hing” ?
And, when you say “sour raw mango”, is this a certain type of mango, or just any unripe mango?
Here (the Caribbean) we have a few different varieties of mango, some are more fibrous than others, does it matter which one I use?
Thank you! I love your instructions and photos!
swasthi says
Hi Nicole,
You are welcome. Hing is known as asafoetida in english. It is a common tempering ingredient with medicinal values. It aids in digestion and prevents stomach gas. You can skip it if you do not have, it also adds a mild flavor which is close to garlic. Raw sour mango is just any unripe mango that is sour. Some varieties are mildly sweet or have the sweet flavors even though they are unripe, we usually avoid them as they make the rice sweet. This rice is made hot and is a savory version so we avoid sweet mangoes. Also choose the one that does’t have much fiber. Thanks for the compliments. Hope you will enjoy the rice
Dr.Reshma says
Love to try all your recipes ,so simple,so yummyyy.thanku
swasthi says
Welcome Dr. Reshma
Thank you
Puja Darshan says
Great recipe for Summer. I’m definitely trying them in the weekend 🙂
swasthi says
Thanks Puja
Yes do try
Meena says
super taste of ur recipes swathi
swasthi says
Thanks Meena.
Happy to know you like the recipes