A Celebration of Mangoes - Green mangoes

Photo by Shraddha Kulkarni on Unsplash

According to Narayana Health, raw mangoes are rich in antioxidants, including lutein and zeaxanthin, which improve vision and eye health. Polyphenols (a group of powerful antioxidants) present in raw mangoes reduce inflammation and decrease cancer risk. Green/raw mangoes are rich in nutrients that promote collagen synthesis and improve skin health. To read more benefits of raw mangoes, click here. I'm gonna eat more green mangoes from now on. 

Have you eaten raw mango before? It has a tangy and bitter taste. My mom loves cooking with green mangoes. She buys them from the Indian grocer close to festival time. At times, if the green mango is already starting to ripen, she chops it up and serves it with chaat masala. The slightly sweet mango goes well with the tangy and spicy masala powder. If you do not have chaat masala, you can also mix salt and chili powder together and try it. Let us know what you think. 

Below are some recipes for you to try:

1) Spinach and Mango Dal - in South India, pappu/dal/cooked lentils are very important in our diet. We usually cook dal/pappu with vegetables like dosakaya (yellow cucumber), spinach, Gongura, and green mango. It is healthy and great with rice.  

2) Green Mango Chutney - we love our fresh relishes or chutneys. We enjoy eating it with warm white rice. 

Tangy Green Mango Chutney

3) Mango Pulihora - this rice dish is typically made for festivals. It's a family favorite. 

Green mangoes are also sought after when it is summertime in South India.  Families buy 'sour' mangoes, get together, and make mango pickles at home. I remember this fondly because we used to go to my ammamma's place and help her peel and chop mangoes, and prepare the spices to be added to the mangoes to make the pickles. After all of the mango pieces are mixed with the spices and oil, the ladies would bottle them up or seal the pickles in plastic packets and every family got some.  

We enjoy eating Mango pickles with warm white rice or rotis. If you haven't tried mango pickles before, buy one. They are available in all Indian grocery stores. 

How do use mangoes in cooking? Share with us in the comments.