Mango Curry or Ambe Upkari - south Indian style spicy, tangy, sweet and a tad bit savory curry made with ripe mangoes, jaggery (unrefined cane sugar) and a tempering of exotic south Indian spices like mustard, urad dal and dry red chilies.
This deliciousness although could be devoured as a dessert, is normally served as a side dish along with rice and dal or any Indian meal!
We look forward to fresh mangoes every season mainly because we get to enjoy this to-die-for mango curry all season!
Although this curry is traditionally made with a special mango called Baby Sugar mangoes which are small and a bit sour, you can make it with any type of mango.
AMBE UPKARI
Summers are an exciting time for mango lovers, especially in India.
Markets are overwhelmed with varieties of mangoes (popularly called the “king of fruits”); some small, some big, some sweet, some sour etc.
Although eating fresh ripe mangoes is the ultimate nirvana for all mango connoisseurs, with a myriad of different flavors and textures available, Indians love to use them in main dishes, side dishes and desserts and the most popular, in spicy, tangy pickles, albeit in the raw form!
Mountains of golden yellow and some of them tinged with red mangoes beckon us.
Nothing can beat taking a bite out of the golden yellow flesh of ripe exotic mangoes; but south Indians (specifically from Mangalore in the southern part), have managed to make a curry out of it!
Ambe (mango in Konkani language) upkari or curry is a spicy, tangy, a tad bit salty and sweet curry made exclusively with mangoes.
The sweeter the mangoes, the better, but if you do get a slightly sour variety or even an almost ripe one, cooking it with some jaggery (unrefined cane sugar) will offset the tang.
That is how I guess this ambe upkari was created!
Every summer, we would be scouting the market for a particular type of mango which is small, round, with a green skin which is used specifically for making this amazing curry.
It is called "Sugar Baby Mangoes". It is round, small and used specifically for making this curry! Not too sweet but has a very thin skin that can easily be peeled off and perfect to use in ambe upkari!
This is not a mango I would eat raw so it is perfect to make this curry!
If you happen to live in Mangalore, well, you are the lucky ones.
For folks like us who do not have that privilege, we like to make do with other varieties to quench our thirst for that flavor.
(But nowadays, with online shopping being the rage, we are able to scout for some in many of the online shopping sites! That's awesome don't you think)?
The perfect ones are the smaller varieties of mangoes; the smaller and sweeter the better.
(Why I have used the local Walmart mangoes in the US too to make this curry called "Ataulfo"! They are sometimes called "Honey Mangoes" or "Champagne Mangoes" too. The smaller the seed the better).
All you need is a bit of jaggery (unrefined cane sugar), a tempering of mustard, dry red chilies, urad dal (split black lentils) and a bit of hing (asafetida); add these to the cooked mangoes and ambe upkari is ready to dig into!
HOW TO MAKE MANGO CURRY/AMBE UPKARI:
Wash mangoes well. Peel the skin with your hands. Some mango pulp will be adhering to the skin; that is ok; it will not go waste.
Place the peeled mango in a saucepan and the peels in another bowl.
Add water, about ¼ cup to the bowl with the mango peels. Keep squeezing the peels well in the bowl with your hands to remove the pulp still sticking to it as much as possible.
Transfer this water to the saucepan containing the peeled ripe mangoes. Keep repeating (adding more water) until the water is almost clear.
Add slit green chillies to the mangoes in the saucepan. Heat on medium heat and bring to a boil.
Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 to 12 minutes until the mangoes are cooked well and become soft.
Add jaggery to taste along with a dash of salt; adjust to suit your taste; mix well.
Simmer for about 5 minutes or more until you get a good consistency.
We love our mango curry a bit diluted; but if you want a thicker gravy, you can add a slurry of rice flour in water (about 2 to 3 teaspoons of rice flour or plain flour in ¼ cup of water) to the boiling curry and boil until thick.
Now, it is time to season or temper the curry.
In a small saucepan, heat ghee (or oil if vegan). Once the ghee is hot, add mustard seeds and when they start to splutter and crackle, add the dry red chilies and hing along with curry leaves.
Immediately add to the simmering mango curry.
Stir well and enjoy!
The best way you can enjoy this exotic curry is with your hands; no way can you use a spoon or fork; maybe a spoon to slurp the mango gravy, but the cooked mango needs Mother Nature’s cutlery; your hands. They will get messy but who cares?
This is one dish every Mangalorean waits to devour during the summers.
It is normally served as a side dish with lunch or dinner along with rice, dal and a vegetable stir fry.
Now that you know how to make authentic Konkani style ambe upkari or mango curry, what are you waiting for?
Make it today before all the mangoes are gone from the market.
While you are here, check out more recipes from my blog using mangoes:
- mango flavored fruit popsicles
- creamy mango sorbet
- mango phirni
- mango, corn and mung bean sprouts salad
- mango sheera to name a few.
PRINT/SAVE for later:
South Indian style mango curry; sweet, sour, tangy and slightly salty!
Ingredients
- 6 small ripe mangoes
- ½ cup powdered jaggery
- 2 green chilies/1 jalapeno
- 1 teaspoon ghee or coconut oil (or any cooking oil)
- 2 dry red chilies
- ½ teaspoon urad dal
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- Pinch of hing/asafetida
- Few curry leaves
Instructions
- Wash mangoes well. Peel the skin with your hands. Some mango pulp will be adhering to the skin; that is ok; it will not go waste.
- Place the peeled mango in a saucepan and the peels in another bowl.
- Add water, about ¼ cup to the bowl with the mango peels. Keep squeezing the peels well in the bowl with your hands to remove the pulp still sticking to it as much as possible.
- Transfer this water to the saucepan containing the peeled ripe mangoes. Keep repeating (adding more water) until the water is almost clear.
- Add slit green chilies to the mangoes in the saucepan.
- Heat on medium heat and bring to a boil.
- Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 to 12 minutes or until the mangoes are cooked well and become soft.
- Add jaggery to taste along with a dash of salt; adjust to suit your taste; mix well.
- Simmer for about 5 minutes or more until you get a good consistency.
- We love our mango curry a bit diluted; but if you want a thicker gravy, you can add a slurry of rice flour in water (about 2 to 3 teaspoons of rice flour in ¼ cup of water) to the boiling curry and boil until thick.
- Now, it is time to season or temper the curry.
- In a small saucepan, heat ghee or oil. Once the ghee is hot, add mustard seeds and when they start to splutter and crackle, add the dry red chillies and hing with some curry leaves.
- Immediately add to the curry and give it a good stir.
- Sweet, tangy and exotic Konkani style mango curry is ready. Serve it with rice, dal and a fresh vegetable stir fry for a complete meal.
Notes
If you find the curry is very thin, you can squeeze pulp out of some of the mangoes into the water before cooking it.
Make sure the mangoes, especially the seeds are not too big.
Adjust the amount of jaggery and other spices according to personal taste.
Enjoy and Happy Cooking/Eating!
Enjoy!!!
I am sharing this with #RecipeoftheWeek
such a delicious curry... I love it. I make it the Gujarati way which is so similar. I love it with parathas.
This looks incredible! I've been in a huge mango mood lately, so this is perfect for me. 🙂
Thanks Courtney! Do try this simple Indian version of sweet and tangy mango curry. I am sure you will love it 🙂