The very mention of the word “uppumaanga” makes me nostalgic and my mouth water. Am sure that's the case with you too. “Uppumaanga” is a malayalam word for raw mangoes preserved in brine (salted water). As they are preserved in brine, they last for a very long time. I guess the most common recipe with uppumaanga is uppumaanga chammanthy (a sort of pickle/chutney). However at home we used to have this uppumaanga chaaru (gravy) for lunch.
A little background info about these mangoes…this time when we came back from India we had some weight issues (for the luggage & for us as well ;) ). We did all sorts of packing/unpacking to meet the weight requirements of the airline. After numerous efforts my father in law suggested that we should keep aside the uppumaanga. That time my mother in law said we should take it even if we dont take anything else. She had her reasons…. these mangoes came from a particular maavu (mango tree), which was planted by Jose's grandfather. He passed away quite a while ago, so I haven't had the opportunity of meeting him. That moment seeing mummy's attachment towards those mangoes, I decided to bring them.
Many a times it is said that the fruits of your labor may not be enjoyed by you but by the generations to come, how true! Though I wasn't fortunate to meet Jose's grandfather, I was lucky to enjoy the fruits of his labor. May be this can be an inspiration for all of us.
Now coming to the recipe, this is a typical Kerala dish, with coconut based gravy and its a great side dish for rice. We always need a “chaaru” (gravy) for rice and kachimoru is the standard one. For a change, you can try this and trust me its really hard to resist anything with uppumaanga. You need to have it at least once to know what I am saying :)
Hey Maria,
So i am writing this soon after having an awesome lunch with your Uppumaanga curry. So easy to make, i wasnt impressed tasting it soon after making yday. But just as you mentioned in the notes, the flavor settled in so well wen i took them out for lunch today. And instead of adding salt , i simply added the brine water while cooking the mangoes in the first place. Thank You Once Again :)
Hi Hazanath,
Thank you so much for sharing your feedback here :) Happy to know that you had an awesome lunch with this dish.
yeah, it takes for a while for the flavour to settle in. Adding the brine is a good idea, it will intensify the flavour of the dish.
Cheers
Maria
hi Maria ,
i am a bachelor, staying with friends here …made this curry for dinner yesterday and had it for lunch 2 ….it was superb …felt like I was back in kerala for a while ….. :D thank you for this wonderful recipe !!!
Thanks Reginn for the comment :) Nice to know that the curry came out well for you..
Hey maria..
I saw many of them asking if they can make this with Green mangoes ( not the Salted ones)..You can but .. you can never feel the taste of uppumanga..
But you can make uppumanga at home if you get green mangoes
Steps as below.
warm about 3/4th bottle of water ( boil it and cool to warm not hot)
Cut the green mangoes to big pieces with the skin ( may be one mango to 5 pieces not smaller) in a bowl
slit a few thai Chillies( kanthari mulaku) to the bowl
Add a lot of salt ( Rock salt/Kalluppu is better..)to the bowl and mix.
fill the mango, thai chilli ,salt mixture loosely in a bottle ( glass bottle or plastic bottle)
Add the warm water and keep it closed atleast for a week
shake the bottles once a day..
voila .. you have made uppumanga..
now you can make chammanthi/ gravy/ or eat it as such..
you can put Nellika(gooseberries) also this way..
Thanks a lot Neenu, for taking time to share this info. I’m sure others will be happy to see this :)
Cheers
Maria
Thanks a lot Neenu, for taking time to share this info. I’m sure others will be happy to see this :)
Cheers
Maria
Hey maria thx for ur butter chicken recipes my hubby just loved it. Going tobtry the prawn fry today
You are welcome Hasna! Thanks for posting your comment here :)
Cheers
Maria
Hi Maria,
what if i dont have salted mango? just plain green mangoes? will it taste fine?
Thanks
Neelima
Hi Neelima,
I havent tried this curry with plain green mangoes, so I’m not sure how it tastes like :(
Cheers
Maria
Hi Maria,
I am a regular visitor of your site.it seems really appetizing. Thank you very much for rendering this nadan dish. I really like uppumanga. it s giving nostalgic feelings,thank you very much
Hi Lekshmi,
Really happy to know that you visit this place often, thanks a lot :)
It’s same with me too, uppumanga always makes me nostalgic. Hope you will try this curry sometime and like it too.
Cheers
Maria
Hi Maria,
I was new to ur site until one of my friends told me abt u 2 days before..But nw,its like i hav read almost half of the receipe within 1 day!!And i tried this uppumanga curry of urs..and cant wait to say that it was damn good!!( evn thought the receipe is similar to that of moru curry,it tasted very good with uppumanga).
I really wanna try out ur other receipes too..
You are doing a very good job..
i hav a suggestion too..
some typical kerala dishes missing?
Kappa?
Hi Pattoos,
Thank you for your lovely comment :). Also thanks to your friend for suggesting this space.
I’ve posted 2 kappa recipes here. Pls check out the below links:
https://mariasmenu.wpcomstaging.com/beef/kappa-biriyani-tapioca-biriyani
https://mariasmenu.wpcomstaging.com/vegetarian/paal-kappa-tapioca
Hope you find it interesting.
Cheers
Maria
MARIA,
VERY GOOD, EXPECTING MORE
Smitha – thanks a lot dear :) the thought of uppumnaga itself makes my mouth water ;)
Asha – dear, your pictures are amazing, you are really talented :)
Divs – hope you’ll like this recipe.
Exellent click dear….kandittu kothiyavunnu ithum kooti chorunnan thonunnu. Ingane kothipikkale.
Looks tangy and yummy:):).I bought a few packets of Uppumanga chethiyathu this time from Society bakery.Just loved it,have to try out your recipe when I lay my hands on uppumanga next time:):)
Hey, that’s exactly what I did with some of my uppumaanga too – . Oh, I can have just this with rice any day!
Hey Maria.. u made me droolinggg yaar…;) I can really feel the taste of Uppumanga (naattu mangayude uppum puliyum..hi..hi..) in my mouth and the aroma of that final tempering!!
And the pictures… u’ve become an expert… Great Work Maria!!!
hey maria..the pic itself is tempting..hey i was jst wodering whether we can use the raw mangoes..orelse how do u make it salt mangoes..do u jst put it in salt water or do u hve to add vinegar also..?
Thanks Sindu . I havent tried this curry with raw mangoes, so am not very sure about it.
Please check out this link on how to make uppumanga:
http://www.monsoonspice.com/2007/03/uppu-mavina-kaimangoes-in-brine.html
Hope it helps…