Mango Prawn Curry

I knew but I did it anyway. It was one almost-ripe Manila mango which had been sitting in the fruit basket for over a day. I lifted it up - large, smooth, cool on the skin. "How perfect! ", I thought to myself.

A little sniff told me it wasn't really ready but the more I looked at it, the more I was drawn to eat it. And that's how I ended up slicing a mango which had not reached its full potential, flavour-wise. That is also how this recipe came about.

I had already planned on cooking prawn curry for dinner. Adding blitzed mango into the mix seemed like a yummy thing to do. Ground hazelnut was thrown in for a little variety. It was also a case of 'why not?'. Soon, I started gathering more herbs, spices and so forth. The simple curry dish I had planned on making had become something a little more elaborate.

This is the result - a flavoursome curry with hints of prawn and mango sweetness.

Mango Prawn Curry

Ingredients:
- 600g prawns (devein, remove shell but leave the tail on if you wish)
- 1 tbsp ground hazelnut
- 1 tsp brown sugar (or to taste)
- Pinch of salt
- 1 red chili (sliced thinly and fried crisp) for garnishing
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- About 1/2 cup water

To Blend
- 1 mango (2/3 ripe, cubed)
- 1 medium onion (roughly chopped)
- 1 clove garlic (roughly chopped)
- 2 dried chili (rehydrated in hot water, chopped)

Curry Paste
Combine the following with just enough water to make it into a thick wet paste.
- 1 tbsp blended fresh red chili
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder

Spices and Herbs
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 3 dried chili (rehydrated in hot water)
- 2 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1) Some ingredients - mango, chili, onion, garlic
2) Blend mango, chili (dried), onion and garlic
3) Blended mango
4) Spices, herbs, curry powder and ground hazelnut

How-to:
1) Blend mango, onion, garlic and 2 pcs of dried chili together, with 1 to 2 tbsp water into a smooth paste.

2) Heat oil in pan. Add spices and herbs, curry paste and ground hazelnut. Fry until fragrant.

3) Pour in mango mixture from note 1) above. Add 1/2 cup water. Cook for about three minutes.

4) Season with brown sugar (to taste) and a pinch of salt. Add the prawns. Turn gently until all are coated in gravy. Let it sit until cooked, which should take less than a minute on medium-high heat. Stir before dishing out.

5) Garnish with slices of fried chili.

Note : If using mangoes with a strong flavour, seasoning may not be required.

1) Fry spices, herbs and curry paste
2) Fry until fragrant
3) Pour in mango puree
4) Finally, stir in the prawns

Best eaten with rice. If you're cooking this without the tails of the prawn attached, flatbread is a great alternative.

Rice with Mango Prawn Curry

Mango Prawn Curry fresh out of the wok!

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Vegetarian Minced Meat with Mango

Vegetarian Minced Meat with Mango

I had with me an unripe mango...well, not as ripe as I want it to be anyway.

So, I scoured the internet for a recipe and found one for Pork Mango Picadillo from Simply Recipes. It looked fabulous.
 
I didn't have a number of the ingredients on hand so I used whatever I could find in my kitchen. That's how I landed myself with a vegetarian dish. This is how I did it, but do check out the original recipe!

Ingredients:
- 1 slightly unripe mango (cubed)
- 1 large onion (sliced)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 6 baby cut carrots (sliced into threes)
- 4 cherry tomatoes (halved)
- 1 can meatless spaghetti minced sauce
- 4 tbsp tomato puree (from can)
- 1 tbsp blended fresh chilli
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground sweet cinnamon
- A pinch of salt and black pepper
- A pinch of dried rosemary
- Fresh coriander (chopped)
- 2 tbsp cooking oil

How-to:
1) Heat oil in electrical multi cooker. Add onions and garlic. Give it a quick stir-fry and let it brown a little.

2) Then, add carrots, tomatoes and tomato puree, chili, ground coriander and cinnamon. Stir well and simmer with some water until carrots are cooked.

3) Add meatless sauce. Season with black pepper and salt. Stir and once it begins to boil, add in the mango.

4) Leave it to cook for awhile. You're done when the mango is slightly tender.

5) Serve with rice and garnish with coriander.

What I got was a saltish, sour, spicy dish. That hint of sourness hits the tongue only when you bite into a piece of mango. I don't know about you but to me, this is a definite appetite booster!

Cooking carrots in a tomato based sauce

The "pretend" minced meat

In goes the mango

A perfect blend of sour, salty and spicy!

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Mango Chicken

This is probably the yummiest dish I've ever made and I say this only because it is hard for me to resist the charm of the mango. Don't you just love 'em? I can understand people avoiding the Durian or Tarap but I'm pretty sure the mango is welcome in most homes!

When cooking with mangoes, I opt for simplicity. The mango provides a natural flavour that is so delicious that I try not to mess it up with too much seasoning. A pinch of salt and pepper is as far as I go.

Here's how I did this.

Ingredients:
- 2 chicken leg quarters
- 1 large sweet mango (diced, seeded)
- 3 cloves garlic (chopped)
- ½ tsp meat curry powder
- 1 bunch asparagus (about 20-30 spears)
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- Salt and pepper

How-to:
1) Marinate chicken with curry powder, salt and pepper. Bake at 180c for 45 minutes in the oven. Do not throw the chicken juice away.

2) Stir-fry asparagus in cooking oil with a bit of garlic and a pinch of salt. Leave aside.

3) To make the mango sauce - Pour chicken juice into pan. Stir-fry that with the remainder of the garlic. Add the mango. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until the mango is slightly tender and starts to look like gravy.

4) Finally, assemble cooked asparagus on a plate. Lay the chicken on top and pour the gravy over. Voila!

Baked curried chicken

Assemble on plate - first asparagus, then the chicken, finally the sauce

Diced mango

Chicken juice, garlic and mango - the gravy

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