Recipe: Mango Rice

Mango Rice
Mangai Sadam

Preparation time: 20 min.
Cooking time: 30 min.
Serves 4

Mango Rice 1 cup (5 oz) long-grained rice
4 tablespoons raw peanuts
Salt to taste
A few curry leaves

Masala
1-1/2 teaspoons brown mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon asafoetida powder
6 red chillies (chili peppers)
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
4 tablespoons grated fresh coconut
or 5-1/2 tablespoons flaked coconut
1-1/2 cups grated green mango

For Tempering
3 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 tablespoon Bengal gram dal
(yellow split peas, chana dal),
picked over and rinsed
1 red chilli (chili pepper), halved
A few curry leaves

Method

Cook the rice and spread on a platter to cool. Set aside.

Masala: Place mustard seeds, asafoetida powder, 6 red chillies, ground turmeric, and grated coconut in an electric blender or food processor. Add half the grated mango. Blend into a fine paste. Set aside.

Tempering: Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan or skillet. Add mustard seeds, Bengal gram dal, red chilli, and a few curry leaves.

When the mustard seeds splutter, add the peanuts. Once the dal is golden, add the remaining mango. Sauté for a few minutes over a medium heat, until the mango is cooked. Now add the masala. Cook until the raw smell disappears. Remove from heat and set aside.

When the rice is cool, add salt to taste and extra curry leaves. Stir in the masala little by little, until well blended.

Serve hot with fried poppadoms or potato wafers.

Buy the Book!

Dakshin:
Vegetarian Cuisine from South India
By Chandra Padmanabhan
Periplus Editions/Tuttle Publishing, November 1999
Trade paperback, $18.95
176 pages, 97 full-color photographs
ISBN: 962-593-527-4
Recipe reprinted by permission.