Aam Ras with a Twist

Aam ras means the juice of mango, but here it refers to a mango puree. This is a thick puree which is a side dish in Gujrati cuisine. I first ate it at my friend's place and liked the combination of savoury, sweet and piquant flavours of the food. Back home I added my own touch sometimes with a bit of ginger and things like that. But the addition of orange was something we liked a lot. A tango of mango and sweet orange, chilled to the right temperature is so good at lunch with chappatis or puris, on a hot summer day!

I miss the Indian mangoes. Haven't found any mangoes good enough to make a nice aam ras here!


Ingredients:

Mangoes..............as required. I prefer the 'safeda' variety
Oranges...............I use the imported ones that look a lot like 'maltas' but can be peeled like an orange. I have not used the Indian oranges, but you can try it. I find they have a slightly bitter after taste.
Sugar..................acc to sweetness of the fruit or acc to taste
Mint (dry)............A bit acc to taste and quantity of mango puree. I use Keya but any good brand will do just as well.
Red chilli pwdr....a pinch
Salt......................a stingy pinch
Water..................a little bit.

Peel the mangoes, deseed and puree with all the dry ingredients. Add a bit of water so that it isn't too thick. Make sure the puree is fine and sugar is dissolved.

Extract the juice of the oranges, and add to the mango puree. Do not extract the orange juice early as it tends to turn bitter when kept. Mix well and check for all flavours. Refrigerate and serve chilled with puris or chappati as a side dish.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------