When I was a kid, I considered my mother making a mango curry to be a real tragedy. Mangoes, especially green mangoes, were best served peeled; with generous amounts of chilli and salt. Cooking them was akin to blasphemy! Many a time my mother would throw her hands up in exasperation , as the bowl of green mangoes, cut to to create a special curry was efficiently depleted by her daughters. We never apologised either.

As an adult, and especially one that has access to the amazing and abundant Asian grocers local to Sydney, I don’t consider mango curry to be such a travesty. In fact, I make it a point to buy enough mangoes to eat raw and cooked. After all, isn’t that the beauty of being an adult?

Ingredients

• 3 green mangoes, sliced through the seed with the skin intact
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tsp. mustard seeds
• handful of curry leaves
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 1 pandan leaf chopped
• 1/2 onion sliced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp. chilli powder
• 1 tsp. curry powder
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. maldive fish (leave this out for a vegan dish)
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• sugar to taste
• salt to taste

Method

In a medium sized pot, add the coconut oil. When the oil is sufficiently hot add the mustard seeds and wait for the seeds to pop.  At this point add the curry leaves, pandan leaves and cinnamon. Give the aromatics a stir and then add the onions and garlic to the pan. The onions and garlic will need to be soft before you add the spices. Add all the spices at once.

Cook the spices for a few minutes until they are fragrant. Finally add the green mango and give the mix a good stir. Ensure that green mango is well coated with all the spices and aromatics. Add the coconut milk,  and water to cover the mango.

Cook the mango until it is soft and falling apart. The flesh will pick up the colour of the curry, and become translucent. A lot of it will disintegrate and thicken the gravy, this is what you want.

Taste at this point and add the sugar. The curry needs sweetness, to balance the sour mango. My mangoes were super green so I used a couple of generous table spoons to balance mine out. If you’re mangoes are a little less green, or riper, feel free to leave the sugar out entirely.