Mango Thokku

It's Mango Season!!!


I got these two awesome green manga's at my indian store yesterday. Wanted to put them to good use - what better than Manga Thokku!

Seasonings required:

Tumeric - 1tsp

Salt - about 5-6 tsps

Red Chilli Powder - 5-7 tsps (You can make it fresh at home by roasting and grinding red chilli)

Hing - Peringayam - about 1/4 tsp

Fenugreek Seeds - 1tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Sesame seed oil - about 1- 11/2 cups - for best results, use only sesame seed oil.

Peel and grate green non ripe mangoes. Now, you can use a food processor - but food processors tend to grate more finely and I somehow like the hand grated version - kind of holds up better.

The mangoes I used were actually a little yellow in the inside but it was still pretty firm.

Dry roast about a tsp of fenugreek seeds. Remove from pan. Do not fry them too much and don't make them too dark - that would just make the whole thing bitter. Roast them till nicely done.

Remove the fenugreek seeds from the pan and then dry roast the hing a little but. Again, don't burn them.

When these are done and cooled down a little bit, grind them to a find powder. We will add this at the end to the thokku.

To a pan, add about 1/2 cup of oil. When the oil is hot, add about 1tsp of mustard seeds. When they splutter, add about 1tsp of tumeric powder to the oil. Heat up for about 30 seconds.

Add the grated mango to the pan and mix it up with the oil. Now, add about 5tsp of salt and about 6-7tsp of red chilli powder. That's right - kick up the salt and spicyness!

Turn off the flame to a low-medium and just let this cook for a while. Mine went on for a little more than an hour.

You can see how the texture of the thokku changes as it gets cooked.

As the thokku cooks, you can see less of the grated pieces, they kind of come together now.

Keep stirring every now and then.

When you feel that it has reduced to a good consistency, add the fenugreek and hing powder and stir it well for about a minute. Don't cook it for long after you add the powder. Switch off the stove.

Here you have it - homemade manga thokku!

Store this in a totally dry glass or plastic container. Store it in your fridge - this should last you for a few months technically. But, in my house this will be over before maybe next week!