Mampazha Pulisseri

         Some things never seize to charm you even if you have gone a long way from it. Even while living in very different situations or in an entirely different world they tempt you and churns you in a pool of utter longing. When talking about traditions, homeland, cultures and cuisines to which you were born into, the condition is no different. Being a Keralite I often get such pangs in my heart and longings to get near to my motherland, while living far away from it.

         Those longings to feel the breeze around your ancestral home, to smell the fragrance of those jasmines which grew in your mother's courtyard, to walk in utmost tranquility listening to the chirping of the local birds, to feel the coolness of monsoon as it hits your eyebrows and drips down your face, to inhale the smell of the soil as monsoon hits it for the first time... and of course biting into those exquisite tastes of home, as if there is no tomorrow...

         I know I am not alone in this guttural craving for mother land. I have seen lot of Keralites in the air port with baggages as big as a warehouse stock on their pursuit to 'take their home land' to where they live. I have often seen officers smiling at seeing the most unusual things in baggages like large earthen pots to huge jack fruits and yes, coconuts too. It some times end up in making the poor man or woman, untie and display the strange belongings of those baggages in front of everybody concerned, due to suspicion of bombs. It has often reminded me of the ants with a block of sugar (more than double their size) on their back struggling to reach their far away nests.

             So, it is mango season again. The time of the year when every mango tree in Kerala is abloom with a thousand mangoes and every urchin is busy climbing mango trees and eating as many mangoes their little tummies can have. If only I could go back to my carefree childhood of climbing mango trees and jump from them screaming when the 'puliyurumbu'(wild ants) start to crawl over you... Sigh!  This is the season when the homes smell of all the varieties  of mango dishes under the sun. But we seldom made Mampazha pilissery (made with ripe mangoes) at home. I was introduced to this lip smacking dish by one of my friends' mom. Later I used to have it from our hostel on every Wednesdays. It was the only day of tthe week, I ate rice with great relish and hunger.

         We get Kerala mangoes here from a local Indian supermarket. Last week we got  some ripe 'moovandan manga' (local Kerala mango) and I made mampazha pulisseri with it. My family enjoyed it so much that I thought I would share the recipe of this incredibly yummy, sweet and tangy curry.

Mampazha Pulisseri / Ripe mangoes cooked in coconut and yogurt gravy

Things you need:

3 ripe mangoes ( preferably local Kerala mangoes), skin removed
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1and 1/2 cups thick yogurt
For grinding:
3/4 cup grated coconut
2 to 3 shallots
1/4 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
1/4 cup water
For tempering:
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds/ uluva
1 or 2 dry red chillies
a sprig of curry leaves

Method:
 
1) Cook the mangoes in adequate  water with salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder until soft.


2) Grind the coconut, cumin and shallots with water and add this to the cooked mangoes and mix gently.Allow to cook for a couple of minutes in low flame.

3) Blend yogurt with 1/4 cup of water and add this to the curry in low heat. Add adequate salt and remove from heat.

4) Heat oil in a pan. Splutter mustard seeds. Saute the fenugreek seeds, dry red chillies and curry leaves in it. Pour this seasoning over the curry and mix gently.

5) Serve hot with plain rice.