Mango Recipes: Chutneys, Drinks, Desserts and Summer Treats
25 Jun
We are truly blessed in India to have access to a wide variety of mangoes* – from the tangy Totapuri to the syrupy-sweet Chausa, from the small Sindhura to the massive Banganapalli – each abundant in our neighborhood stores.
Regional variations exist of course: try as we might, we cannot get Bihar’s Malda mangoes in Bangalore (no, please don’t tell me they are on Blinkit; you need to eat the real deal) – but these variations only add to the richness of India’s mangoscape.
* This realization struck me with full force when I ordered mango sticky rice at a Thai restaurant in London and was served semi-green sour stuff in the name of dessert. Produce markets in London had lots of lovely fruit on display; sadly, mangoes were scarce. Hop over to my London food snapshots for a look at my gastronomic adventures in the city.
From the spectrum of sweetness, firmness, fibrosity, and color that mangoes offer, it follows that we can build upon the fruit a super-strong armory of recipes.
So here’s my “armory”. Follow the Quick Jump section below to go directly to the recipe listings, or read on for a special mango serving idea with vanilla ice-cream and toasted nuts.
Quick Jump: Mango Recipe Collection
The Barebones Mango “Recipe”
Truth be told, you don’t need a recipe to enjoy a ripe mango.
Just wash the mango well, cut off its top, and if you have a Chausa-ish (i.e. squishy and syrupy) specimen on hand, squeeze out its goodness directly into your mouth. If you have a firmer variety such as the Langra, slice the mango roughly without skinning it (only remove the top), and use your teeth to scrape out and eat all the juicy flesh from the skin. (Note: don’t discard the pit without extracting all the fruit off it too)
This is how we always ate mangoes in Bihar – none of the “checkerboard method” or “glass method” for us. [Aside: If the process of eating a mango intrigues you, the always-entertaining reddit has an interesting thread on the topic: how to eat a mango.]
To bring in more sophistication to your serving of the mango, let me offer another way to make mango cubes and suggest accompaniments for a party-pleasing dessert course.
Mango Cubes with Vanilla Ice-Cream
3-step process: cut the mango, toast the toppings, assemble.
1. Cut the mango
Pick a ripe, firm, non-fibrous mango.
Peel the mango’s skin off: I use a peeler for this as opposed to a knife – the peeler is a lot smoother to work with on the mango. Take care to peel well – don’t let the inside of the skin remain, that can be bitter.
Cut off the mango’s sides around the pit, and cut it up criss-cross into 1/2 inch cubes.
2. Toast the toppings
Chop up coarsely some pistachios and almonds (say, 5-6 each). Heat a pan or tava. Put the chopped pistachios and almonds on the tava, and slow-toast on low heat.
When the nuts take on a golden hue and give off a warm aroma, take them off the heat.
Let the chopped nuts cool down, then mix with some dried rose petals (optional, if you have it handy – lends a beautiful fragrant touch).
3. Assemble
Place a scoop each of vanilla ice-cream into dessert bowls. Garnish with toasted nuts and rose petals. Add mango cubes on the side. Dig in.
For anything more elaborate than the basics in this section, mango recipe details follow – categorized by the fruit’s degree of ripeness and the nature of recipe (breakfast, drink, chutney, etc).
Dive into our mango recipe collection.
🥭 Recipes by Mango Ripeness
Ripe Mango Recipes
Desserts, wholesome breakfast, thick milkshakes and the like, made with ripe mangoes.
- Mango Phirni (Rice Pudding)
- Aamras
- Fresh Fruit Rabri
- Mango Milkshake
- Chia Mango Pudding
- Mango Raita: Yogurt Dip with Mangoes
- Mango Oats
- Sabudana Pudding with Mangoes
- Dahi Chura with Aam
Semi-Ripe Mango Recipes
Early summer brings with it semi-ripe mangoes that are on the way to pulpy sweetness but not quite there yet. Make the most of their gentle tang in these side dishes.
Raw Mango Recipes
Salsa, an offbeat dal, a variety of chutneys – all made with the unripe mango.
- Aam Panna: Green Mango Drink
- Raw Mango Mint Chutney
- Kairi Khatti-Meethi Chutney
- Raw Mango Garlic Chutney
- Raw Mango Diced & Spiced
- Toor Dal with Raw Mango
🍽️ Recipes By Category
🍨 Mango Desserts
Sweet treats that place sweet mangoes as the star ingredient.
🥣 Mango Breakfast Recipes
Start your day with these cool fruity favorites.
🌶️ Mango Chutneys
Mango condiments made with raw or semi-ripe mangoes in a variety of recipes, fresh or cooked, to different effects.
- Mango Raita: Yogurt Dip with Mangoes
- Raw Mango Mint Chutney
- Ginger Jaggery Chutney with Mango Chunks
- Kairi Khatti-Meethi Chutney
- Raw Mango Garlic Chutney
- Sweet Mango Chutney (made with Semi-Ripe Mangoes)
🥤 Mango Drinks
Beverages ranging from richly sweet using ripe mangoes to savory-spicy using the unripe ones.
Related Recipe Collections:
Want to explore other such recipe lists by ingredient / diet category? Check these out:
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