Mango Rice
Mango Rice is a fragrant, nutritious, South Indian mixed rice variety. It has all the six basic tastes, which makes this dish an all-rounder in taste and nutrition.
The recipe is quick and easy, especially if you have some leftover rice. If you plan to take this for your lunch box, cook rice the night before and refrigerate to save more time. I’ve added peanuts for crunchy texture but feel free to experiment with any other nut variety!
Ingredients
Rice (any) – 1 cup
Water – as needed to cook the rice
Salt – 1 1/4 tsp (or to taste)
Cooking Sesame Oil – 3 1/2 tbsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Chana dhal – 1 tbsp
Urad dhal – 1 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds – 1/4 tsp
Green chillies (split) – 5
Curry leaves – a few leaves
Unripe green mango (de skinned and grated) – 1 medium sized
Peanuts – 1/2 cup
Asafoetida – 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Jaggery powder/brown sugar – 1 tsp (optional, add if your mango is sour)
Yield
Serves 3 – 4
Prep time
30 mins
Cook time
25 mins
Method
1) Wash and soak rice for 15 mins. Then cook the rice until soft and fluffy, but not mushy. Transfer the cooked rice to a wide bowl or a plate to cool down a bit. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp salt, a few curry leaves (hand torn) and 1 tbsp sesame oil on the rice and set aside.
2) While the rice is cooking, heat 1/2 tsp of oil in a wide pan and roast the peanuts on low flame until crunchy and set aside.
3) In the same pan, heat the remaining oil, add mustard seeds and let it start spluttering. Add chana dhal and urad dhal and roast until golden. Now add the fenugreek seeds and fry until golden as well.
4) Now add green chillies and curry leaves. Fry for 30 seconds. Add turmeric powder and asafoetida at this stage and fry for another 10 seconds. Then add grated mango, 3/4 tsp salt, and jaggery powder (if you are using).
5) Cover the pan and cook the mango until soft. Once the mango is soft, simmer the heat completely at this stage, add the cooked rice, fried peanuts and some curry leaves and gently mix (without breaking the rice) once. Cover the pan again, for just 2 to 3 mins. The rice will absorb all the seasoning and the flavours during this time.
6) After about 3 mins, open the pan and mix everything very gently. Your Mango Rice is ready now. Switch off the heat and transfer the Mango Rice to a serving dish. Garnish with grated carrots and chopped coriander leaves. Enjoy with any raitha of your choice, potato chips or pappad.
Notes
- Make sure to cook your rice just enough, because Mango Rice will not taste good if the rice is mushy. Adding a small amount of oil on top of the cooked rice, while it is cooling helps to keep the grains separate.
- You can use cashews or walnuts, instead of peanuts, if you prefer. Adding any one of these nuts gives a nice crunch to the Mango Rice and also adds protein value to your meal.
- Choose a mango which is not too sour. Go for a mango variety that is both sweet and sour for a more balanced taste.
- Whenever I cook unripe mango, be it in Mango Rice or Maangaai Paruppu (check out my recipe for a sweet, sour and spicy dish), or Mango Sambar or Mango Pickle, I use wood pressed sesame oil. Generally, mango increases the body heat and sesame oil cools down the body. To balance out both these aspects, I use sesame oil in most of my mango dishes.
