Hot and Sweet Raw Mango Pickle (आंबट गोड कैरीचे लोणचे)

Ingredients:
2 cups of raw mango pieces, small pieces
2 cups of jaggery
1 1/2 tsp of chilly powder
14 tsp of salt

In a kadhai, stir raw mango pieces till they turn soft. Add jaggery, chilly powder and salt. Mix it well. Jaggery will start melting and after some time, it will start to thicken up. Simmer for about 20-30 minutes stirring occasionally. Once all the juice is evaporated and a thick sticky gravy is formed, turn off the stove.

Transfer this to an airtight container. This can be kept outside fridge for about a month.

Mango Dal Chutney (कैरीची डाळ)

This chutney is made at the beginning of summer, which coincides with Chaitra, first month of Hindu Calendar. I have fond memories from my childhood of Chaitra Haldi Kumkum at my native place. All the ladies from the village used to come to our place. My aaji and kakis would make this chutney and Panhe (raw mango juice). Along with this chutney, they would serve seasonal fruits from the garden like jackfruit, mangoes, guava, jamuns (jambhala), water apple (jaam).

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chana dal, soaked for 4 hours
3/4 cup grated coconut
1/2 cup raw mango pieces, skin peeled off
1/2 tsp salt or as per taste
1/2 tsp sugar or as per taste
3-4 green chillies
finely cut coriander leaves, for garnish

For seasoning:
2 tsp oil
3/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp asafoetida
8-10 curry leaves
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2-3 red chillies

Servings:
5-6 people

Drain water out of the soaked chana dal.  Grind together all the ingredients, except coriander leaves which are used for garnish. Grind the mixture coarse. In a small kadhai, do the regular seasoning and pour the seasoning over chutney. 

Shrikhand (श्रीखंड)

For a long time, I thought making Shrikhand at home was a long procedure. A very dear friend of mine, Ambi, told me a simplified version of making Shrikhand. This is a traditional Maharashtrian dish, prepared on the auspicious Gudi Padwa - Marathi New Year.

I made two flavors of Shrikhand - Kesar Pista and Mango flavor (Amrakhand).

Ingredients:
800 gms of readymade yogurt (I used Danon)
Approx 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

For Kesar Pista flavor
8-10 strands of saffron, soaked in 1 tbsp of milk
1 tsp of pista powder

For mango flavor
3/4 cup mango pulp

For Garnishing

1/2 tbsp of cardamom powder

chopped cashew nuts and almonds for garnish

Servings:
5 people

Transfer the store bought yogurt into a clean muslin cloth and tie a firm knot. Hang it overnight from the tap or nail to leave thick chakka.  You can collect the juice dripping from the yogurt. This is called Piyush. It is considered to be a healthy drink.

Next morning, untie the muslin cloth and scoop out the thick chakka into  a vessel. Divide this chakka into two - one for kesar-pista flavor and another for mango flavor. (I divided it unequally into 1:2, as mango flavored Shrikhand is favorite in our house).

For Kesar Pista Flavor:
Take equal quantity of chakka and powdered sugar (or reduce the sugar content slightly, as per your taste). Grind these into a mixer along with milk soaked saffron, pista powder.

For Mango or Amrakhanda Flavor:
I used approximately 3/4 cup of pulp for 1 cup of chakka.  Add about 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Mix together chakka, sugar with mango pulp. Grind in a mixer.

Garnish both flavors with cardamom powder and chopped nuts. Serve with hot puris or chapati.

Note:
You can use home-made curd instead of store bought pack. I thought this was simpler to do in terms of quick execution. 

Mango Raita (आंब्याचे रायते)

This is a traditional Goan dish, prepared with Ghota (sweet-sour local variety of mangoes). These mangoes are called as Raiwal in Maharashtra.

This is a quick and super easy dish.

Ingredients:
4-5 local mangoes or ghota
Jaggery, about 3:4 proportion, may vary based on sourness of the mangoes
1/2 tbsp mustard powder
1 cup freshly grated coconut
2-3 green chillies
salt to taste

Servings:
3-4 people

Extract pulp from the mangoes. Leave the mango seeds aside. In a mixer, add the remaining ingredients and grind well. Mix this paste with mango pulp. Stir well. Now add the mango seeds to this. Your dish is ready to serve.

Adjust the jaggery proportion depending on the taste of mangoes. If the mangoes are very sour, you may need to add more jaggery.

Optionally you can season it with 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds, a pinch of asafoetida, curry leaves and turmeric powder.

Do not boil the mixture. This is consumed fresh and raw.