In the month of April, the people of Bengal celebrate their New Year. As we all know, food in Bengal is synonymous with all events and festivals. Specially for occasions like the new year, Bengalis can go all out to prepare their favorite dishes. With my family and friends, we celebrated this festival last weekend and after a while, it was a great excuse for us to make an elaborate full course Bengali meal.
A common traditional Bengali lunch would start with some rice and fried stuffs, followed by Dal (lentils) and vegetables and non-vegetarian dishes. Most of the times it serves sweet and sour “Chutney” at the end along with dessert.
“Chutney” is a side in the Indian cuisines that is most commonly prepared with tomato, mango or ground peanut. In most parts of India, ‘Pudina Ki chutney” is the most common one, made out of Pudina or Mint and eaten with Tandoori Chicken or Sheekh kebabs. But in Bengal, among all the different types, the chutney with raw mango (“Kancha aamer chutney”) is the most popular one in Bengali community, especially during the scorching hot summer season the Bengal is currently going through.
Today I will share the recipe of this chutney that I made on Bengali new year last week. The chutney with raw mango is also known as " Kancha Aamer Tok " in Bengali Kitchen. The dish is sweet, sticky, tangy with a little touch of spice. Raw Mangoes are peeled and cooked with water, sugar and some spices until the mango becomes soft. It’s very appetizing and can add flavor even to the bland meals. As Mango is a summer fruit , Kancha Aam er Chutney / Tok is very seasonal. From the beginning of summer, it’s served every single day in most of the Bengali families till the time raw mango is available in the local market.
Kancha Aamer Chutney / Raw Mango Chutney : Serves 6 to 8 people
Ingredients :
Raw Mango / Unripe Green Mango : 1
Oil : 1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds : 1/2 teaspoon
Dry Red Chili : 1 , halved
Turmeric : a pinch
Salt : 1/4 teaspoon
Water : 2 cups
Sugar : 1 cup or to taste
Method :
1. Wash and cut the mango into pieces. Discard the seed.
2. Heat the oil, add the dry red chili and mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter and the color of red chili turns blackish add the mango pieces. Stir it.
3. Add turmeric and salt and mix it. When the mango pieces become soft, add water. Once it starts to boil add sugar. Simmer for about 10 minutes till the mango pieces are tender.
4. Check the sweetness and add more sugar, if it is needed. Chill completely before serving.
Oh! Heavenly. Just bought a mango and tomorrow, this is the dish for our lunch.
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