Mambazha Morkuzhambu

I love pairing sweet curries with rice and some spicy vegetable on the side.Usually when I make sweet Pulisheri with Mango,Banana or Pineapple I make a spicy Potato roast on the side and it makes for a finger licking meal.So when I saw a similar recipe for Morkozhambu using ripe mangoes,I tried it soon after.It tastes a bit different than Pulisheri but I loved it.The tang from the curd and the sweetness from the mango along with the heat from the red chillies made it an explosion of tastes in the mouth.

This year,we've tried a variety of mangoes and loved them all.Usually we stick to Banganpally,Alphonso and Kalaphadi mangoes but this year there are so many varieties available and we tried most of them.I made this curry with Banganpally but you can use any pulpy,sweet mango.

Mambazha Morkuzhambu
Recipe courtesy - Malpat's Kitchen

Ingredients

Banganpally mango - 1,peeled and chopped
Fresh curd - 2 cups
Salt to taste
Sugar - 2-3 tsp(optional)
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig

For roasting and grinding

Coconut oil - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 1/2 tsp
Methi - 3/4 tsp
Red chillies - 2
Hing - 1/4 tsp
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp


Method

Cook the mangoes till soft.You can steam/Microwave it,I added a few tbsp water into a pressure cooker along with the mangoes and pressure cooked for one whistle.Cool it down and grind to a smooth paste.
Whisk the curd well so that there are no lumps.
Mix in the mango puree.Add salt to taste.
In a pan add oil and roast the ingredients till the coconut slightly changes colour.Remove from pan and let it cool down.Grind to a smooth paste.
Add this to the curd-mango mix.Cook the curry on a low flame for about 5-10 minutes or till it starts frothing from the sides.Take care not to boil the curry as it may split.
Make tadka with coconut oil and splutter mustard seeds and curry leaves.Add this tadka to the morkozhambu.

Step by step Pictorial

Cook the mangoes till soft.You can steam/Microwave it,I added a few tbsp water into a pressure cooker along with the mangoes and pressure cooked for one whistle.Cool it down and grind to a smooth paste.

In a pan add oil and roast the ingredients till the coconut slightly changes colour.

Remove from pan and let it cool down.Grind to a smooth paste.

Whisk the curd well so that there are no lumps.

Mix in the mango puree.

Add the ground coconut paste to the  curd-mango mix.

Add salt to taste - I added a few tsp sugar as well.

Cook the curry on a low flame for about 5-10 minutes or till it starts frothing from the sides.Take care not to boil the curry as it may split.

Make tadka with coconut oil and splutter mustard seeds and curry leaves.Add this tadka to the morkozhambu.

How to preserve Mangoes to make Pulisheri/Sweet Mango curry

I love Mangoes,now who doesn't isn't it?Really the King of fruits who makes an appearance once a year(most other fruits are available throughout the year,but not this one!)If you ask me to pick a favorite,I really don't have one.I love them all.Having them as is or making smoothies or even better making savory/sweet curries..so many choices.

Mango Pulisheri/Sweet Mango curry is a unique Kerala dish.Usually served for weddings and occasions during summer season this one is a star in all its avatars.Even though Pulisheri can be made with Pazham/Nendran Banana or Pineapple,this one is a class apart.

I still remember having this Pulisheri at my friends place wondering how she made it with mangoes as it wasn't the season.That's when she told me she made it using preserved mangoes.Her mom preserves a large batch and packs it in individual containers and it stays good frozen up to a year!!I was too engrossed in the curry to even bother asking for the recipe :)

Last year I saw this wonderful method of preserving the mangoes at Veena's Curry world.It looked so easy and doable.I couldn't make it last year but this year while I was in Ernakulam,my aunt got some wonderful "chandrakkaran"(a variety of mango perfect for making pulisheri) mangoes from her friend's home.Fresh,organic and delicious mangoes..we had some fresh and the rest got preserved.

It is a simple procedure actually.The mangoes are cooked with some spices and then cooled down and frozen.It stays good for up to a year and can be used for making Pulisheri or any similar curry using sweet,ripe mangoes.

So here's how we made it.

Choose ripe but firm mangoes.Small size mangoes work best for this method.Wash and scrub the mangoes well and wipe with a clean towel.Peel the skin and keep aside.We used around 40 small mangoes.

Pour some warm water over the peels and let it rest for a while.Squeeze as much pulp as you can from the peels.Add more water if required.

Make a paste with about 8-10 green chillies and keep aside.

Into a kadai add the mangoes,1 tbsp red chilly powder,1/2 tbsp haldi powder,green chilly paste and a few sprigs curry leaves.

Add about a liter of water(we added the pulp from the peels)and switch on the flame.

Let it come to a rolling boil.

Then simmer and cook till the water is absorbed by the mangoes-almost 15-20 minutes.

Do not dry it off completely as the mangoes absorb more water as it cools down.

Switch off the flame and let it cool down completely.

Once it is cool,transfer the mangoes to ziplock pouches/containers and freeze.I added about 7 mangoes in each as it is easier to store that way.

We couldn't wait and made a Pulisheri immediately as the mangoes were perfect and smelled amazing:)