Mamidikaya Pulihora – Mango Rice

 

Just like ‘New Year’s Day’ is celebrated all across the world as per the Gregorian Calendar, ‘Ugadi‘ is celebrated as the ‘Telugu New Year’ in my native state of Andhra-Pradesh in India. This significant festival is celebrated in several regions across the country with different names and traditions. It generally falls in the month of March/April i.e., the month of Chaitra every year. Hindu festivals do not have a fixed date as such, because the hindu calendar depends on the sun and moon positions.

In India, with the on-set of summer begins the mango season. I love un-ripe mangoes just as much as I love the ripe yellow ones. I am quite fond of cutting raw mangoes into long slices sprinkling a pinch of salt and chilli powder and gulping them down. The spice kick from the chilli powder and the sourness from the mango gives a nice zing to the taste buds. Unripe/Raw Mangoes are an important part of the traditional food prepared for the auspicious festival of Ugadi such as Ugadi Pachadi, Mango Dal and Mango Rice. Today, I’d like to share with all you folks this simple, sour yet tasty variety of rice – Mamidikaya (Mango Puli-hora (Sour-Rice).

Different varieties of rice made are quite common in south-indian households. The savory kinds made with lemon, tamarind, tomatoes, coconut and the sweeter kinds made with sugar, jaggery, sweetened coconut all make their appearance quite often into our traditional meals. The tempering for this rice is combination of everyday spices and herbs. The vibrant turmeric bestows its radiant yellow color and the grated mango adds a nice texture while giving a unique sour taste. If you have left over rice, transform it into this tasty dish for a quick fix. It is an easy one-pot meal that is satisfying for lunch or dinner when served with dal and yogurt.

Prep time: 5 mins + time to cook rice + time for rice to cool down ~ 1n1/2 hours
Cook time: 15 mins
Serves: 2

Recipe

– Unripe Mango – peeled and grated – 1n1/4th cup
– Rice (preferrably Sona-Masoori)- 1n1/2 cups cooked and cooled down
– Oil (any tasteless, odorless oil – I use canola) – 4 tsps
– Mustard seeds – 3/4th tsp
– Cumin seeds – 3/4th tsp
– Dry red chillies – about 5 or 6 – split in half
– Curry Leaves – a handful – about 10 to 12 count
– Urad Dal – 2 tsps
– Fenugreek/Methi seeds – 1/2 tsp
– Peanuts – 1/4th cup
– Ginger-Garlic paste – 1/2 tsp
– Hing/Asofatedia – 1/2 tsp
– Turmeric – 3/4th tsp
– Red Chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
– Salt – 1n1/4th tsp or to taste
– Coriander/Cilantro – roughly chopped – for garnish

1. Cook rice well before an hour you want to serve the dish. Add only 2n1/2 cups of water to cook the rice (which is slightly less than double the amount generally used). because we want the rice for this dish to be lightly dry. After the rice is cooked, spread it out in a wide bowl or plate to cool it down to room temperature.
2. In a skillet, heat 4 tsps of oil. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dry red chillies and curry leaves. Saute for a minute or two.
3. Now, add urad dal, fenugreek seeds, peanuts and ginger-garlic paste. Saute for a couple of minutes and then add the spices – hing, turmeric, red chilli powder and salt. Mix well for two more minutes.
4. In the meanwhile, peel the mango, grate it into a 1n1/4thcups of 1-inch length shreds. Add this to the skillet and mix well for a minute or two. Turn off the stove.
5. Add the cooled rice to the skillet now. Add it in batches, mixing the rice with the mango tempering every-time.

Garnish with coriander and serve at room temperature with dal, pickle and/or yogurt.

Notes:

– It is important to use nice un-ripe, greenest of the green mangoes to prepare this rice as that will give an authentic sour flavor and taste.
– Rice should be at room temperature when you add it to the mango tempering, else the dish will turn out to be soggy.
– Always use sona masoori (short-grained rice) rice for this dish. Basmati rice tends to add it’s own flavor and aroma to the rice and will hence dominate over the mango flavor and taste.