If you were a kid of school-going age and you grew up in Goa, chances are you’ve thrown stones at a mango tree and jumped over a wall to claim the fallen fruit called tora (pronounced as tor) in Konkani. It’s just raw mango but when paired with rock salt and chilli powder and Maths class was never the same again. While kids in other countries secretly pass notes to each other during class, we used to pass tamarind, boram, kaantam, jaamblam and of course this tora wrapped tight in newspaper. If we couldn’t find any of these fruit on the trees or bushes around the school, someone would always be kind enough to bring their stash of fruit from home. Thus winning the student of the year award.
I’ve never been as enthusiastic about ripe mangoes as the blog world outside of the Asian sub-continent seems to be (PS: Goa’s mankurad is the world’s best. That’s a fact). I’m more of a pineapple, guava or chickoo girl but throw me in a tub of raw mango – pickled and straight up – and I’m the happiest person in the world. I can eat it all day until I can’t feel my teeth. Around these parts, we have sour cravings that go well beyond citrus fruit. It’s strange how different tastes evolve all over the world. This is a perfect case in point. I don’t know any other kids who happily eat spicy sour things without throwing a fit. Over here in Goa, I know many. Hi friends!!
Right now, I’m in Goa and it is peak raw mango season. It’s the best. I put together this quick raw mango “salad” just because. It’s not much of a recipe but it’s summer time and the less you do over a hot stove, the better.
Notes:
- Kachumbar is ususally a mixture of raw chopped vegetables like onion, tomatoes, chillies, cucumber and cilantro accompanied by salt and chilli powder. Some people use oil, vinegar or lime to dress the mixture as well. I wanted to keep it less watery and less spicy. Hence, I left out the tomato and green chillies.
- This would be a great side to serve with papad (papadum…same thing). If you want to make it easier to scoop, finely dice the raw mango, cucumber and onion instead of cutting them into matchsticks. This would also be a great time to Google masala papad if you haven’t already. Or just click this #1 search result online thingy.
- Raw mango is also AMAZING for all of your body’s insides. I’m no expert but drinking the juice cools your body down many times over when it’s sunstroke weather outside. It’s also great for digestive health. In India, raw mango powder is sold and used in a lot of our food especially in North India. It’s called amchur and you’ll be richer for knowing of its existence.
Ingredients
- 1 raw mango, sliced into matchsticks
- 1/2 cucumber, sliced into matchsticks
- 1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
- Seeds of 1/2 pomegranate
- 10 mint leaves, sliced into thin strips
- A pinch of rock salt or sea salt
- A pinch of chilli powder
Toss the first 5 ingredients together in a bowl and let it chill in the fridge. Add the salt and chilli powder before serving and toss well to coat.