Pacha Manga Chammanthi( Raw Mango with Coconut)

There are some foods which you assume it to be tasteless just by the sound of it and just then just forget about it. I do it always! This chammanthi was one among that list. I have come across this recipe here and there and in one of my cook books as well. But I never even bothered about it even though I am a core fan of Raw mangoes. Again after a long time, I saw this chammanthi on Collaborative curry and her description really sparked that longing taste of raw mangoes in me. Went ahead, made it, and had it. It was so finger licking delicious! These kind of chammanthi’ s are normally had along with rice and other curries or our humble gruel which is simply boiled rice that is slightly over cooked and served in its own cooked water. Gruel is quite a bland food to eat, but that blandness has some soothing effect and for me it is one of my comfort foods. The amount of coconut can be increased or cut down depending on the sourness of the mango. You can also use frozen mango slices for this. My friend Prathibha lso recommends grinding this chammanthi on a stone grinder (Ammikkallu) and adding Kaanthari Mulaku (Bird's eye chilli) instead of regular chillies to enhance the taste.

You know when I was quite young, I used to stay at my paternal aunts place whenever we pay a visit. I was so adamant that I would force my mom to permit me to stay over at my aunt’s place. I loved raw mangoes and they had it in abundance which they even used to sell it away and sometimes dry them for later use. We either get the mangoes plucked by our male cousins or some workers, or if the trees were short, we plucked them ourselves using a hook attached to a long pole. We ate the mangoes sliced and smeared in salt and chilli powder. Yum! I used to have them so much, that I always ended up having tummy upset by the end of the day. Even then these chammanthi’s were unheard by me or probably I was quite unaware of it. There also used to be chicks, ducklings which I very much loved and even had fun chasing them. I still remember chasing them barefooted as far as I could and coming home with fish thorns pricked on foot.

Here goes the recipe, inspired from Collaborative curry.

Ingredients:
¼ cup Finley chopped raw mango pieces (Skinless)
½ cup freshly grated coconut
½ tsp salt or as required
1 ½ Tbsp chopped shallots
½ - 1 green chilli, preferably kaanthari mulaku (a kind of bird’s eye chilli)

Preparation:

1.Grind together coconut, mango shallot and chilli to a coarse paste.

2. Add salt and mix well.

Serve along with plain rice and  other curries, thoran etc.