Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Mango curry - Amba maluwa

 

Amba maluwa is a delicious, sweet, sour and spicy Sri Lankan mango curry. I had this curry for the first time at a restaurant and I couldn't figure out what "vegetable" it was but the taste was out of this world. It was part of a traditonal Sri Lankan meal that consisted of perfectly cooked red rice, some other vegetable and bean curries and pappadom/appalam. Unlike the other vegetable and bean curries that were completely dependent on the seasonings, the mango was bursting with flavours and with each bite it tasted differently. It has ever since been one of my favourite curries.

A Sinhalese lady once showed me how to make this curry a couple of years back. Traditionally this mango curry is prepared by cutting unpeeled mangoes right across into two halves (with the pit) and then into four. It was because of the pit that I was not able to figure out what it was the first time I had this. The mango pieces are suppose to be cooked until soft but still holding their shapes and you need firm, green (or slightly ripe but firm) mangoes to make this curry. I usually cut the mango into cubes and I rough peel them as well because I think it tastes better and feels safer.  


In Sinhalese cuisine, red chili powder and unroasted curry powder are traditionally used. The rule is that when you use either of these, you should add the chili powder and/or the unroasted curry powder initially (in the oil) and roast it until brown (not burnt) to get the raw flavour out of the powders. Since we always use roasted curry powder to make curries, I always add it later when I remember to. ;) If you use unroasted curry powder, add it initially with the turmeric and the chili powder.

It's also very common to use whole cinnamon quills in many Sinhalese curries, such as this, but I have also seen people skip it since whole cinnamon quills and cardamom pods are rather expensive, that too to be using daily in your curries, which is why I have stated it as an optional ingredient. What it does is to enhance the flavour and the aroma of the curry but it is still a scrumptious curry without it.
  

Method:
Cut the onion finely. Chop and make a smooth paste out of the garlic and ginger. Peel the mangoes and cut them into pieces. Heat some oil in a large pan and fry the chili powder and turmeric until brown but don't let it get burnt. Then add onion, curry leaves, garlic and ginger and saute until until the onion is translucent. Add the mango pieces and mix well until well coated with all the spices. Add the curry powder, water, salt, cinnamon, black pepper and sugar and mix well. Cover and let it cook for about 30-40 minutes at below medium heat till it is as soft as you'd like it to be. The mango pieces are suppose to be cooked until soft but still holding their shapes. Add the coconut milk last and let it cook for about 5 more minutes. Serve hot with rice!

24 comments:

Only Fish Recipes said...

delicious mango curry...looks so delicious dear !!!n beautiful presentation as always !!!

Amy's piece of cake said...

Detta låter underbart gott, mums! Så fina bilder du tagit. Det var längesedan, allt bra med dig? Har saknat dig, kram!

easyfoodsmith said...

Mango curry sounds very interesting and delicious. I have never had mango in curry form. thanks for sharing

Padhu Sankar said...

Delicious and interesting curry!

Deeps @ Naughty Curry said...

raw mango is a fav at my house, now that the season is in full swing cant wait to try out this de;ecious looking curry

Mahi said...

Its a new recipe to me Rathai..I seldom use raw mango in cooking.For some reasons, I don't like the Mango rice also!
We add them in sambar,that's all the maximum use I have done! ;)

The curry looks eye catching with its colour! Wish I had a chance to taste it! :P

Enjoyed reading the entire post(even though the recipe is about a few lines! ;)) and your clicks. That ingredients list picture is a nice idea. Yellow flowers are so cute!

MyFudo™ said...

Really exotic! I don't know where can I find real good mangoes near our area...Bookmarking this recipe. Thanks!

Nami | Just One Cookbook said...

I did not know that there is curry that include mango! I'm in shock! I love mango and curry - this is going to be my favorite curry after all. WOW!

Rathai's recipe said...

Thank you everyone for your comments.

Mahi, I wish I could give some to you to taste. I'm sure you'd like it. :)

The curry is not that sour (it's definitely not like eating raw mangoes). The flavours (sweet, sour and spiciness) should strike a balance and you could add some more sugar and adjust the red chili powder/green chilies as well to suit your tastebuds.

www.mahaslovelyhome.com said...

healthy n delicious

Amy's piece of cake said...

Ja, det kan vara lite svårt med macarons... jag har haft tur med mina två gånger hittills!

Vi gör all vår shopping antingen i Indien, England eller på Indian Food House i Göteborg. Oftast blir det i Göteborg eftersom det är närmast. Dom har verkligen allting. Det borde finnas någon butik i Stockholm kan man tycka som säljer indiska livsmedel. Har du kollat om man kan beställa via internet i Sverige?

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Your photos are awesome...as is your mango curry :)

Kanan said...

I never heard of making curry this way. really looks so delicious. really nice pictures

Torviewtoronto said...

deliciously done a favourite :) mango curry

mjskit said...

What a very interesting curry! I love mango, and I can see that curry spices would complement its sweetness. I would definitely peel! :) This sound delicious and your photos are gorgeous!

Raks said...

This sounds yummy!Wish I get some to taste this :)

Priya dharshini said...

Yummy mango curry..Luv the click.

Mahi said...

Banggggggggg!
Its been 10days.. you haven't updated the blog! ;)
:) :)

Julia @The Roasted Root said...

Gorgeous post! I'm definitely not a curry expert though I absolutely love curry in all forms. Your post has inspired me to bump up my curry making skills...sweet, sour and spicy sounds perfect!

Anisha said...

Delicious... I'm going to make this now... I have all the ingredients for it.

Anisha said...

Rathai thank you so much for posting this recipe... I totally love the flavours... I left the skin of the mango on and used cinnamon quill. Didn't have coconut cream so used coconut milk instead. The mangoes I used were too sour so I rubbed some salt n left it for half an hour. This reduced the cooking time a lot as the mangoes were already softer as the cell.

In Kerala, we have a mango curry in coconut milk it's more sour tasting. I love these flavours more sweet sour n spicy... I really love the cinnamon in it. Thanks again :)

Rathai's recipe said...

Anisha, I'm really glad you tried and liked the curry. Thanks a bunch for your valuable feedback. :)

I too would cook the mangoes unpeeled if I had access to fresh mangoes. I noticed that the mangoes that you get here have a slightly bitter after-taste when cooked with the peel that the unpeeled mango curries in Sri Lanka did not have. If you have access to fresh/organic mangoes I agree that it is better to cook with the peel, since the peel also contains many nutritients (as do most fruits and vegetables).

Thanks a lot for writing your feedback - it made me really happy. :)

And thank you everyone for visiting and leaving your comments. I really, really appreciate it. :)

Andreas said...

Måste testa! Senast jag åt mango curry var i Kalicut/Kerala så gott var det :-)

Andreas said...

Taj Mahal finns i Stockholm,de har en hel del ingredienser!