We are at the fag end of mango season, here in Bangalore, and I have been happily gobbling up the fruit. I have been cooking with both ripe and unripe mangoes but, as I recently realised, not shared many of these dishes here on the blog. Well, I’m here to remedy that, with this recipe for Raw Mango Kadhi that I tried out recently and loved to bits.
About Raw Mango Kadhi
This Raw Mango Kadhi is a variation of the sweet Gujarati Kadhi. It is one super delicious and satisfying thing, this kadhi, which goes perfectly with hot rotis as well as rice. With the sourness of raw mangoes and curd, the heat of green chillies and ginger, and the hint of sweetness from jaggery, it is a blissful blend of flavours indeed! When made right, the texture turns out wonderfully silky-smooth and enticing. You should make this before raw mangoes disappear from the markets completely, I say!
The inspiration for this Raw Mango Kadhi comes from Mrs. Uma Sasidharen, a lovely lady I discovered on Instagram. She had posted about making this kadhi recently and, when I told her I had never had it before, she was kind enough to share the recipe in detail. I soon tried it out with some variations of my own, and it was so much loved by the family that I requested for Mrs. Uma’s permission to share it on the blog too, so that more people could make this beauty. Of course, she obliged. A big huge ‘thank you’ for this, Mrs. Uma!
Other kadhi varieties on the blog
We love kadhi in our family, and I make several variations. I have shared most of these recipes on the blog – you might want to take a look!
Here are the kadhi varieties on my blog, so far.
- the sweet Gujarati Kadhi
- the not sweet Gujarati Saragva Ni Kadhi made with drumsticks
- the Himachali Rehru or Kheru
- the delectable Hara Chana (Choliya) Kadhi
- the classic Punjabi Pakodewali Kadhi
- Tamilnadu’s Vendakkai Morekozhambu with okra
- Fajeto or Gujarati-style Ripe Mango Kadhi
- Pachai Morekozhambu or no-cook version of kadhi
- the beautiful Moru Curry, Pineapple Pulissery and Mambazha Pulissery from Kerala.
Ingredients used in Raw Mango Kadhi
Raw mango is the star ingredient in this kadhi. It is best to use one that is not extremely sour, like a green Totapuri mango. Some of the raw mango is chopped into cubes and added to the kadhi, while the remaining is ground to a coarse paste along with a few other ingredients.
The next crucial element is curd. While I prefer using slightly sour curd in most of the kadhi varieties I make, this one calls for fresh curd that is not sour. To balance the sourness of the unripe mango, it is important that the curd you use is not sour at all.
Green chillies and ginger are used to add a beautiful flavour punch to this kadhi, along with some jaggery. Gram flour aka besan is used as a thickening agent.
This Raw Mango Kadhi is given a simple tempering of mustard, asafoetida, dry red chillies and fenugreek seeds in some oil or ghee.
How to make Raw Mango Kadhi
Here is how to go about making Raw Mango Kadhi or Kacchi Keri Ni Kadhi, as it would be called in Gujarati.
Ingredients (serves 4 -6):
1. 1 small-sized raw mango
2. A 1-inch piece of ginger
3. 2 green chillies
4. About 2-1/2 cups thick curd
5. Salt to taste
6. 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
7. A sprig of curry leaves
8. 2-3 tablespoons of jaggery powder or as needed
9. 2 heaped tablespoons of gram flour (besan)
10. 3/4 tablespoon oil
11. 3/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
12. 2 dry red chillies
13. 2 pinches of asafoetida
14. A pinch of fenugreek (methi) seeds
15. 1 tablespoon finely chopped coriander
Method:
1. Peel the raw mango. Cut half of it into cubes. Keep aside.
2. Cut the other half of the raw mango into cubes too and transfer to a mixer jar. Peel the ginger. Chop up the ginger and green chillies roughly and transfer to the mixer jar too. Grind everything coarsely without adding any water. Keep ready.
3. Take the curd in a large mixing bowl. Add 3/4 to 1 cup of water or as needed. Add to this the curry leaves, salt to taste, jaggery powder, turmeric powder and gram flour. Whisk everything together to form a lump-free mixture. Keep it ready.
4. Take the cubed raw mango in a heavy-bottomed pan, along with a little salt. Add in about 1/2 cup water. Place on high flame. When the pan gets heated up, reduce flame to medium. Stirring intermittently, cook till the mango cubes are done. They should get cooked but not overly mushy, which should take 3-4 minutes.
5. At this stage, add in the raw mango mixture we had ground earlier. Mix well. Cook on medium flame for 2-3 minutes.
6. Add in the curd mixture, while stirring constantly.
7. Cook on medium flame till the mixture comes to a boil, then reduce to low-medium. Allow the mixture to simmer for 3-4 minutes.
8. In the meantime, prepare tempering for the kadhi. Heat oil in a tempering pan. Add in the mustard seeds, and allow them to sputter. Then, add in the dry red chillies, asafoetida and fenugreek seeds. Allow them to stay in for a few seconds, without burning. Add this tempering to the kadhi simmering in the other pan. Switch off gas when it has simmered for 3-4 minutes.
9. Mix in the finely chopped coriander. Your Raw Mango Kadhi is done – serve it warm with rice or rotis.
Tips & Tricks
1. Use a raw mango that’s not extremely sour. Totapuri mangoes work beautifully. You could even use a semi-ripe one. The raw mango should be firm and not squishy.
2. Use fresh curd that’s not very sour, for best results. Sour curd will make the kadhi overly sour. I have used a 500 ml pack of Akshayakalpa curd. Adjust the quantity of curd you use depending upon the size of the raw mango used.
3. Adjust the quantity of green chillies and jaggery you use depending upon personal taste preferences.
4. Adjust the quantity of water depending upon how thick you want the kadhi to be. If the curd you are using is not too thick, add less water. The gram flour will also make it thick. The ideal kadhi, at least for me, should be silky-smooth in texture and runny, neither too watery nor too thick. You can keep the kadhi consistency the way you prefer it in your family.
5. You can also make this Kacchi Keri Ni Kadhi using half of a medium-sized raw mango. You can make it with just raw mango cubes, and skip grinding the other half. In that case, you would need to add ginger-green chilli paste to the curd.
6. Cook the Kacchi Keri Ni Kadhi on medium flame only. Do not let it cook for too long after it comes to a boil.
7. This Kacchi Keri Ni Kadhi thickens up with time, so account for the water accordingly.
8. Pakode (fritters) made with gram flour and onion or fenugreek greens (methi) are a great addition to this kadhi. A little kasoori methi, rubbed between your palms, makes for a lovely addition to this Raw Mango Kadhi too.
9. This Raw Mango Kadhi is best made fresh, and used up soon after making. It tends to become quite sour if prepared in advance.
10. Ghee can be used in the tempering instead of the oil I have used here. A few cloves of garlic can be added to the tempering too.
11. This Raw Mango Kadhi is not vegan (plant -based) because of the use of dairy curd. You could try to make it with plant-based curd, but I have never tried that out. Do not use ghee in the tempering if you want to make the kadhi vegan.
12. To make this Raw Mango Kadhi gluten-free, skip the asafoetida used in the tempering. Most Indian brands of asafoetida contain wheat flour, due to which it is best to avoid them when one is following a gluten-free diet. However, if you can find 100% gluten-free asafoetida, you should definitely go ahead and use it.
Did you like this recipe? Do tell me in your comments!
The World Through My Eyes 
Super yummm
LikeLike
@Richa Bhargava Mitra
Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person