Thai green mango or raw mango salad recipe to wrap up a crazy weekend

We had a nice brunch of multigrain uttapam yesterday along with some fiery chutneys and curry patta flavoured buttermilk. A nice relaxed late breakfast that powered us for a massive clean up of the cupboards, sorting things to give away and to rearrange, in a bid to get a bit organised. We often neglect housekeeping issues and they keep piling up, this was the weekend we decided to take it head on. And we did. The big breakfast helped a lot.

This thick onion laden uttapam is quite filling and I had made a quick pressure cooker pumpkin mash with coconut cream, the garlic flax seeds chutney adds up taste and fills you up fast too. Quite an energising breakfast/brunch it was.

We decided we will eat some fruits in the evening as usual and then prepare dinner or order something for dinner if we get too exhausted by the end of this exercise. But once we started sorting things to rearrange and bundling up things to discard or give away it just kept stretching endlessly. We had iced tea in between that I had kept ready in the fridge but we really got hungry by late evening. The maid was on leave and I had to start dinner from scratch if I do. Not possible I said and suggested we order something new for dinner. Normally we just call the corner dhaba and get assorted tikkas and roomali roti with loads of onion rings in such times but I wanted something light healthy and yet tasty. Was it such a tall order?

Made some nice strong cold coffee and we sat down to search for online ordering. I was not prepared for the kind of deluge of food options flashing on the screen. We had been hearing about Foodpanda a lot and tried it for the first time. Once I selected my area of residence and cuisine I was amazed to see the number of small and big establishments from near and far offering almost whatever I wanted for myself. Ranging from student breakfasts which is basically cheap, light but tasty breakfast options to sushi and miso soups I could order anything. Amazing.

We ordered a miso soup, a cucumber and seaweed salad and chicken teriyaki with sticky rice, all this with a 20% discount that was offered for the day. Not sure if the discount was for the day or forever as I was ordering food this way for the first time. I am embarrassed a bit about not knowing the options but not sorry about not depending much on take-aways and home deliveries.

Anyway, we enjoyed our meal, too tired to empty it into plates and bowls, we dug into the bowls it came into, and did not regret one bit.

And today the next episode of the operation housekeeping was followed. Same multigrain batter was steamed into idli and had with ghee and garlic flax seeds chutney to be followed by tackling plumbers and electricians. But today I had planned better and kept some green raw mangoes and red onions ready to toss up a nice salad in the evening. And by the end of the day I am feeling accomplished to be able to post the recipe with you as well.

ingredients..
( 2 large servings)

raw green mangoes 2 large or about 300 gm
red onion 1 medium or 100 gm
chopped fresh mint 1/4 cup
chopped fresh green coriander 1/2 cup

the dressing..
minced fresh red chilly or red chilly flakes to taste (keep a bit higher as chilly heat gets denatured by the tartness of raw mangoes)
brown sugar or grated jaggery 1.5 tbsp
salt 3/4 tsp or to taste ( I used a mix of regular salt and black rock salt)
light soy sauce 2-3 tsp
cashew nuts shallow fried in ghee or oil 1/3 cup or about 80 gm

procedure...

Peel the raw mangoes and slice thinly from the sides of the fruit. Arrange the slices and chop them into very thin matchsticks. Chop about 1/4th of the raw mango in really small bits to add texture.

Peel, halve and slice the red onion thinly. Dice a few slices in small bits too to add texture. This salad is a very good mix of taste and texture.

Chop the herbs and chilly. Mix all these together and keep aside, reserving the chopped chili for dressing..

Chop the cashew nuts roughly. Some of the nuts can be whole as it adds to the salad in a very good way. You might feel it is too much cashew but the salad is packed with fiber and balances the overall glycemic index and calorie count both.

Mix the dressing ingredients and whisk lightly with a fork. Pour into the chopped ingredients and give it a good mix. Let it stand for 10 minutes before adding the cashew nuts and digging into the flavours right away.

This salad will cast magic on whoever digs into it. Such a wonderful mix of flavours you would crave for more. This was a huge bowl of salad and we kept digging our forks into the bowl silently till we polished off the last shred. That good.

There is a raw mango and sprouts salad with peanuts that I make and that can also be dressed to taste. Raw mangoes, onions and fresh chillies eaten together are supposed to keep the body cool and energized, thanks to the mineral and vitamins that they pack.

Make this Thai raw mango salad this season. You can pack it to your lunch box, all mixed up and it will get better in a couple of hours stays in the box. This salad makes a nice snack for a bunch of friends too for a weekend drink. Think about it, you might like it rolled up in a crisp paratha too.

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hot and tangy chutneys to cheer up everyday meals | a Burmese tomato chutney and a raw mung sprouts chutney recipe

Everyday meals are so much more fun when there is some fresh fiery chutney in the fridge. I mean the fresh chutneys stay fresh for a couple of days and make life easier, and tastier. Our everyday meals are mostly Indian and chutneys are my favourite way to include loads of vegetables and fiber in my food. And most chutney ingredients are high in antioxidants, Vitamins and minerals too. If I add nuts, seeds and sprouts the chutneys bring a boost to calcium intake as well. So much more worth to chutneys I say. Make your chutneys value added, include them with every meal, take second helpings and eat well. These fiery chutneys will take care of everything else.

This sesame-peanut-coconut chutney is a good supplement of daily Iron and calcium, it is a tried and tested recipe and has helped many people get back to strong bones. All the ingredients of this chutney balance the nutrient profile helping optimal absorption of nutrients as well. We can try and make all chutneys to supplement everyday meals with essential nutrients.

It was last month when my friend Promilaa Bhatia shared a Burmese tomato and peanut chutney on a food group and I wanted to make the chutney then and there. And I did, the chutney was so simple and I had all the ingredients. Also, I was alone at home that day and wanted something to wrap a multi grain roti around. This thick fiery chutney felt right and it did taste great too.

The Burmese tomato chutney was so quick to make that it barely took a 30 minute break from my desk to finish my frugal meal of a multi grain roti smeared liberally with this thick chutney and had like a quesadilla. I made the roti and blended the chutney in this time and ate it too.

Here is the recipe of this Burmese tomato chutney. The recipe makes enough chutney to last 2 meals for one. Just fry some garlic cloves in mustard oil, add to a large bowl of chopped ripe tomatoes, throw in some fiery hot chillies, some chopped coriander greens and some roasted peanuts with skin. Blend to make a coarse paste.

This chutney will make you eat it out of the blender jar. And keep eating it :-)

I had this chutney with a buckwheat crepe the next day. And I whipped up another chutney too as I was feeling chutney inspired and had some mung sprouts in the fridge. This one was blended smooth and made a refreshing accompaniment to my brunch plate.

Here is the recipe of the mung sprouts chutney.

Fry a few springs of curry leaves along with a pinch of hing and a few garlic cloves in a tbsp of sesame oil (or any oil you like). Add some sesame seeds if use any other oil. Add this tempering to loads of mung sprouts, some fresh grated coconut and chillies to taste. Blend till smooth and enjoy.

 I love these chutneys for being so power packed. Better than smoothies as I love savoury breakfasts and fruit based smoothies don't always fit into my scheme of things.

Add loads of curry patta and coconut to this mung sprout chutney and have second and third helpings. I love such chutneys with my buckwheat or amaranth dosa (savoury crepe) or even with a beans and rice meal like rajma chawal or chhole chawal.

Have you tried making chutneys with mung sprouts before? Now is the time if you haven't. Let me know if you try these two fiery yummy chutneys. Keep the chilly heat suitable to your taste and eat loads of these chutneys. You can thank me later.

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