Raw Mango Rice / Mangai Ogaray - Southern Flavours by Chandra Padmanabhan

I had got 'Southern Flavours', a book by Chandra Padmanabhan as part of the book review program by blogadda in the last week of January.
I would have loved to cook from the book and then write the review, but since the review had to come up in a week's time, and I was going to have a lot of my relatives coming over in two days time, I decided to write the review just based on what I read



I was honestly not very happy with writing a review of a cookbook, without cooking anything from it, so I got down to making quite a few things from the book - Pandigai Mor Kolambu, Kancheepuram idli, Thenga thuvyal and Masala vade, which turned out really good. As it usually happens, either the pictures didn't come out alright in the evening light, or the family was too hungry to make them wait before I took pictures, so it didn't make its way here

I made this mangai ogaray or raw mango rice, which according to the author, is from the Hebbar Iyengar community of Karnataka, a recipe she learnt from her sister-in-law.
The mustard seeds ground with the coconut and raw mango gave it a sharp, tangy flavour, which worked really well, a different taste from I've had so far\

I will post more of what I make from the book, but in the meanwhile, do give this a try...



Mangai Ogaray
Recipe Source - Southern Flavours by Chandra Padmanabhan

What you need -

1 cup long grained rice (I used basmati)
1.5 cups grated raw mango - I used 2 medium sized ones and grated with the skin on
4 tbsp raw peanuts
salt to taste
1 sprig curry leaves

Spice paste -
1.5 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder / hing
4-6 red chillies
1/2 tsp turmeric
4 tbsp grated fresh coconut

Tempering -
3 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp split Bengal gram / chana dal
1 red chilli, halved

What you do with it -

Cook the rice and spread on a platter to cool (I added 1/2 tsp salt while cooking the rice)
Combine all the ingredients for the spice paste. Add half the grated mango and grind to a fine paste. Set aside
Heat oil for tempering in a pan. Add the ingredients for tempering in the order given
Fry over moderate heat. Add peanuts and fry for 2-3 mins
Add the remaining grated raw mango and cook till its tender
Stir in the spice paste and cook for 3-4 mins, till its fragrant
Remove from heat
Add salt and curry leaves to the rice and stir in the spiced mango masala, gently, till it blends well
Serve at room temperature
I served it with a raita and masala vadas