There is more to mango than a fruit!

The much awaited season of Mangos is here and we are tantalizing our taste buds with delicious Aam Raas, Mango cake and much more. We at The Westin Mumbai Garden City strive to give our guests mouth-watering cuisines from across the world by blending the seasonal fruit into everyday cooking.

Our chefs have not just created mango desserts but incorporated mango into Indian and Continental dishes as well. Our Chef De Cuisine – Kangan, Ajay Chaudhary shares his secret to recipes with an Indian touch.

CHEMEEN MANGO CURRY

Ingredients

200gm                        Prawns

50gm                          Raw Mango

50gm (chopped)         Onions

10gm (chopped)         Ginger

10gm (chopped)         Garlic

10gm (chopped)         Green Chilli 

10gm                          Curry leaves 

5gm                            Turmeric Powder 

10gm                          Chilly Powder 

5gm                            Coriander powder 

20ml                           Coconut Oil 

100ml                         Coconut milk 

10gm                          Salt

Method of preparation

1. Make fine paste of onion, ginger, garlic, green chillies and curry leaves.
2. In a clean pan, combine cleaned prawns, coconut milk, above paste, turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder, raw mango and salt. Cook on medium heat.
3. Let it boil for 6 - 8 minutes or until prawns are soft and cooked completely.
4. In a tadka pan, heat coconut oil and add remaining onions, curry leaves and chop raw mango. Saute well till it becomes golden in color.
5. Add this to hot prawns curry and combine well. Cook it for another 5 minutes.
6. Serve hot Chemmeen mango curry with Kerala rice.

MANGO RICE

Ingredients

150ml                         Mango (ripened) puree
200gm                        Cooked basmati rice
10gm                          Turmeric
5gm                            Red Chilly Powder
50gm                         Coconut grated
10gm                          Mustard
25ml                          Coconut oil

Method of preparation

1. Grind the grated coconut and chilly powder with salt to a fine paste.
2. Mix the rice and mango paste.
3. Heat coconut oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, when they crackle, add above paste, turmeric powder and red chilli powder and sauté it well for 5 minutes.
4. Add Basmati rice and toss it well.
5. Check for seasoning and serve hot with any curry.

After a delectable Indian cuisine, it’s time for some continental food. Our Chef De Cuisine – Seasonal Tastes, Amit Suri shows us how to make continental dishes with a mango twist.

MANGO, AVOCADO, CHICKEN SALAD

For Salad

2                                  Medium, firm but ripe mangoes

2                                  Avocados (riped)

300-350g                    Smoked chicken breasts

200g                            Mixed salad leaves

2 tbsp                          Pine nuts, toasted (optional)

Squeeze of lemon juice

For Dressing

2 tbsp                                     Orange juice

2 tbsp                                     Lemon juice

1 tbsp                                     Wholegrain mustard

2 tbsp                                     Extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp                                     Avocado oil (or olive oil)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method of preparation

1. Peel the mangoes and cut the flesh away from the stone into thin slices. Arrange on four serving plates.
2. Halve the avocados and remove the stone. Peel off the skin and slice the flesh into strips. Squeeze over a little lemon juice to stop the avocado flesh discoloring, then arrange over the mango slices.
3. Cut the chicken into thin slices and divide between the plates. Neatly pile the salad leaves in the middle of each plate.

For the dressing

1. Whisk the ingredients together in a bowl, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Spoon the dressing over the salad and serve, topped with a handful of toasted pine nuts.

THAI CHICKEN WITH MANGO

Ingredients

2-3                            Chicken breasts cut into 2 inch-long pieces

1                                Red bell pepper

1/4 cup                      Oil for pan-frying

1 cup                         All-purpose flour mixed with 1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup                      Fresh coriander

1                                Mango, cut into chunks (to finish the dish)

3-4 Tbsp                    Coconut milk or water

Mango sauce

2                                  Fresh ripe mangos, fruit scooped out

1                                  Red chili, de-seeded and diced

1 tbsp                           Rice vinegar 

1and 1/2 tbsp               Soy sauce

2 tbsp                          Fish sauce

1/2                               Lime juice

1 tbsp                          Brown sugar

1                                 Small piece galangal, sliced

3 cloves                       Garlic

1/4 tsp                         Turmeric

Zest of 1 lime

Method of Preparation

1. Place all 'Mango Sauce' ingredients in a food processor or blender. Process well, until more or less smooth.
2. Taste-test the sauce. The goal is to reach a balance of sweet, sour, spicy, and salty. Add more sugar if you find the sauce too sour (this will depend on the sweetness of your mangoes). If not spicy enough, add more chili. If not salty/flavorful enough, add more fish sauce. If too salty or too sweet, add more lime juice. Set aside.
3. Stir the flour and salt together and place in a mixing-type bowl. Add the chicken pieces and turn or gently stir them to coat.
4. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil, and then begin frying the chicken pieces. Fry 3-5 minutes per side or until light golden brown and cooked through. Remove chicken from pan and set on paper towel, or a clean surface.
5. Wash out the frying pan. Set over medium-high heat and add the mango sauce plus red pepper. Bring to a gentle boil, and then reduce to a simmer. If sauce becomes too thick, add 3-4 Tbsp. water or coconut milk. Simmer 3-4 minutes, or until pepper has softened slightly but still retains some crispness.
6. Add the fried chicken pieces, gently stirring them in to cover with sauce. If desired, add chunks of mango too. Simmer briefly, just until everything is hot.
7. Do a final taste-test for salt (tasting the sauce together with the chicken). Add a little more fish sauce or chili if desired.
8. Transfer to a serving dish. Sprinkle with fresh coriander and serve with plenty of Thai jasmine-scented rice.