mango relish | Spinning a Yarn Of Life

Kachche aam ki launji is a relish that is popular all over North India and thee are many ways to make it. It is a perfect summer side dish to have with parathas, poories, cheelas etc. I sometimes just take a small bowl of it and eat it without any accompaniment. The sweet and tangy taste of kachi ambiya and jaggery spiced up by red chili and simple spices makes it a perfect summer special. While we drool over the many varieties of ripe mangoes and relish them all through the summer we also savor the raw and slightly ripe raw mangoes to makes chunda, achar, takku, murabbaand various chutnies.

Have you ever eaten slightly sweet raw mango slices dusted with cayenne pepper ? If not then you are missing out on something utterly delicious. Do try it as soon as you get hold of the mangoes.

Here I am sharing two versions of this launji. One is what my mom makes. I remember eating this every summer since my childhood. We called it Meethi Khatai . We don’t peel the mangoes in this one like the Rajasthani launji. I also leave the guthali or the mango pit to suck the sweet tangy juices from it.

Both the recipes are for small quantity. You can adjust the ingredients for a larger amount. These will serve four people.

Here is a simple recipe to make this version of Meethi Khatai or raw mango launji:

Ingredients –

Raw Mangoes – 2 ( about 250 gm cubed)
Grated or Broken Jaggery – 200 gm
Fenugreek seeds – 1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon
Black peppercorns – 1 teaspoon
Turmeric Powder – 1/2 teaspoon
Whole dry red chili – 1-2
Asafoetida – 2 pinch
Salt – to taste
Water – 2 cups
Vegetable Oil – 1 tablespoon

Steps :

Wash, peel and cut the mangoes in 1 inch cubes with a part of the hard shell (guthali) intact. Remove the paper thin layer from the guthali pieces by scraping it with the knife or peeling it from one end to the other. ( you can see it in the first picture)
Take a heavy bottom pot and put it on low flame. Add oil and when it gets warm put mustard seeds in it.
Once the seeds start to crackle, add fenugreek seeds and hing. Adding them at this time brings out a nice flavour. Also add the whole red chilli.
Take the pot off the stove so that the spices don’t burn. They should just get slightly roasted and give a nice aroma.
Add the raw mango pieces, salt and turmeric powder. Stir well.
Now add water to the mix. Add 1 1/2 cup first. The pieces should be immersed in the water.
Stir well and let it cook covered on low heat.
After five minutes check for the tenderness of mango pieces. They should not become mushy but the skin should become slightly soft. Al dente to be precise.
Now add the jaggery to it and mix well. Keep the heat to medium low.
Cook it covered for another ten minutes & check for consistency. It shouldn’t be thick. Add one cup of warm water and stir well. There should be enough liquid in the dish. Once the dish cools it will thicken so keep a good liquid margin.
Bring it to boil and turn off the heat. Let it sit for ten minutes on the counter.
Take a little Meethi khatai in a tasting bowl and check for salt and sweetness. You can add more jaggery, salt or red chilli at this time.
The dish should have a slightly sour sweet taste perfectly balanced. Too much sourness or sweetness will kill the flavours.
Your Meethi Khatai is ready to serve.
Serve this delightful dish with hot chapati, paratha, poori or just spoon it in a bowl to relish it just by itself. The tangy sweetness will tickle your taste buds like nothing else.

The other version is slightly thicker and uses some other spices too which are mostly the mango pickle spices.

Pickle spice mix

Fennel seeds/ saunf – 2 tablespoon

Nigella seeds / Kalonji – 1/4 teaspoon

Mustard Seeds / Methi Dana – 1 teaspoon

This one tastes completely different from the one above but both these launjis stay for at least a month without refrigeration.

The steps to make this launji are same as above. Just add the whole spices when the oil warms up. When the spices begin to crackle add, red chili,turmeric, salt , mango pieces and a little water. Follow the instructions given above to make a delicious tangy sweet launji. Unlike the first version I do not keep too much liquid in this one. This is more like a pickle.

Do try both these recipes and enjoy the goodness of the mangoes till it is in the season.

My Tip: Always choose unblemished raw mangoes. Taste for sourness and adjust the sweetness accordingly. Traditionally it is made a little thin but you can keep the consistency according to your taste.

Do not use mangoes meant for Pickles as their skin is hard and they are too sour.

Eat the meethi khatai a little warm or at room temperature. The other version with pickle spices should be eaten at room temperature.

You can use sugar but the taste won’t be the same. Do adjust the ingredients as per your taste and the amount you make.

You can peel the mangoes id desired. I like t suck and chew on the flavorful skin so keep it. You can dice them in long thin slices too.

Do try making this delicious tangy sweet relish. If cooked properly this stays for about 6 months in the refrigerator and for about 2 months at room temperature. I make this in small quantity throughout the season and then make two batches for the coming months at the end of the mango season.

I have some more recipes with raw mango. do look for them through the search option.

If you make any of these recipes do let me know your experience.

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Each Maharashriyan family has their version of takku.Sweet and sour, this relish is not cooked like South Indian thakkus / thokkus and the use of finely chopped onions gives it a unique sweetness which is different from the sweetness that jaggery gives to the dish.

Summer is the best time to make pickles, chunda, launji etc apart from fresh chutneys. One can see carts full of raw and ripe mangoes all over the city and this year has brought in a very good crop of mangoes of all kinds.

We don’t use the ramkela variety of achar ka aam for these chutneys and relishes but the smaller variety whose skin is softer then the pickling mango of north.

You can eat this relish with almost anything from rotis to curd rice or even mathari etc. I sometimes spread it inside wraps to give them a tangy flavor.

I make it fresh in small quantities because that’s how it tastes best.

To make this lip smacking takku you will need very few simple ingredients.

Ingredients:

Medium Size Raw mango – 2 grated

Onion – 2 medium size

Salt- to taste

Red chili powder – 1 teaspoon

Mustard seeds brown (rai) – 1 teaspoon

Mustard seeds black (sarso) – 1 teaspoon

Fenugreek Seeds – 2 teaspoon

Oil – 2 tablespoon

Asafoetida – 1/4 teaspoon

Jaggery – as per taste and sourness of mangoes.

Steps –

Wash, peel and grate raw mangoes. Keep aside.

I like those which are beginning to ripe a little from inside along with completely raw ones. Gives takku a lovely flavor.

Chop the onion very fine. I don’t like grated version. Chopping fine gives takku a nice crunch.

Warm a seasoning pan and dry roast the brown mustard seeds and one teaspoon of fenugreek seeds separately till fragrant. Don’t let them burn.

Remove and grind them into a fine ( but not very smooth) powder. I powder them on silbatta (grinding stone).

Now add this powder mix along with red chili powder, salt, onion and jaggery in grated raw mangoes and gently mix well with your fingers by tossing the mixture slowly. .

Let it sit for half and hour then taste and adjust sweetness, salt and spices. By now jaggery will melt and get well incorporated with the juices released from mango and onions.

Heat oil in the same seasoning pan and remove from heat once warm enough. Add asafoetida, black mustard seeds (sarso) to it. When they crackle, add the remaining fenugreek seeds and let them brown a little.

When the oil cools down, pour it over the takku and mix.

Your delicious takku is ready to eat.