Uppu-manga palu curry

A simple and tasty curry using salted mango or 'uppu-manga'!

The typical preparation of uppu-manga is pretty tedious. But you can also do it in a simple way - get some fresh raw mangoes during the mango season, cut it into 2cm square pieces and place it in a glass bottle, adding salt in between. You can add salt according to your taste. If you add more salt, the mango will remain hard; on the other hand, if the salt is less mango pieces will be soft and you need to place it in the fridge to use when required.

After one week, the mango will be ready for preparing the curry.

Ingrdients:-
 
Uppu-manga - 3 or 4 tbsp

Small Onion - 4 or 5 nos

Green chillies - 4 or 5 (adjust according to your preference)

Oil - 1 or 2 tsp

Coconut milk - 1 cup of thick milk and 2 cups of thin milk (2nd and 3rd extraction)

Curry leaves

Method:-

Slice small onions and green chillies. Take oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds, green chillies, onion and curry leaves. When it becomes slight brown, add the mango pieces and the thin milk. Allow to boil and then simmer till the gravy thickens. Then add the thick milk and just when it boils, switch off and remove from stove.

A great accompaniment with hot kerala red rice!
 

Minced Meat Pulao

This is a delicious and easy alternative for a meat biriyani. A friend of mine shared this recipe with me and since then has been one of my family's favourite dish! The pulao consists of alternating layers of rice, minced meat gravy and coriander chutney.

For the Rice layer:-

Basmati Rice/Jeera Rice – 2 cups

Water – more than 4 cups

Cinnamon – 2 inch piece (optional)

Clove – 3 or 4 (optional)

Cook the rice with cinnamon and cloves with a little more water than required. Keep checking, when the rice is as soft as you prefer, remove from fire and drain the excess water.

For the Minced Meat layer:-

Minced Chicken or Beef – ½ kilo

Oil – 2 tbsp

Big onion – 3 chopped

Chilli powder – 2 tbsp

Coriander powder – 1 ½ tbsp.

Garlic – ½ a pod

Ginger – 1inch piece sliced

Green chillies – 5 nos

Tomatoes – 4 sliced or chopped into small pieces

Garam masala – 1 tsp

Put oil in a pan, sauté big onions with some salt and till it lightens and becomes brown. Add chopped green chillies, garlic and ginger. Then add chilli powder and coriander powder. When the fresh taste of chilli and coriander vanishes, add tomatoes, minced meat, garam masala and the stock (if available from previous cooking of meat). Cook well to a gravy form.

For the Chutney layer:-

Coconut – ½ grated

Ginger – 1inch piece

Green chillies- 6nos

Coriander leaves – a large bunch

Lime juice – from 1 lime/lemon

Sugar – 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Grind all the ingredients except lime juice. Then add just enough lime juice to get a tangy flavour.

Final Layering:-

Take a baking dish or glass bowl. Grease it with butter.  Spread half the minced meat and above that half the cooked rice. Now spread all of the chutney over the rice. Over the chutney layer, add the remaining rice, and on the top, the remaining minced meat. Garnish with slices of boiled egg, coriander leaves and lemon slices. Bake for few minutes or heat in microwave just before serving. Sprinkle few drops of lime juice on top.

Serve hot with raita and pappad.