The sweet and savoury raw mango recipes of Lucknow
khatayi, a souring agent for curries and dals. Khatayi differs from amchur, a powdered dehydrated mango with a more intense flavour used heavily in Punjabi dishes. Sometimes, the raw mango is salted and dried.
It is believed that the salt helps with a longer shelf life, and the khatayi can be used year-round. Fresh raw mango replaces khatayi in savoury dishes until they are available in the market. The tartness of fresh fruit enhances staple summer recipes like dal and vegetable stir fry.
In Hindu homes of Lucknow, yellow arhar dal becomes aam ki dal when cooked with grated raw mango and tempered with cumin and dry red chilli. Similarly, summer gourds, which are infamous for being bland, like the parwal, are cooked with a stuffing of grated raw mango and whole spices like nigella seeds, cumin, fennel seeds and coriander powder. However, raw mango’s role isn’t limited to being a flavouring agent—aam ki subzi becomes a seasonal addition to the vegetable repertoire and forms a formidable holy trinity with dal-chawal for a light lunch.
Nayan Jain, a capital market lawyer in Delhi, grew up enjoying kairi ki subzi made by her mother in a Thakur-Jain household in Lucknow. She now replicates the dish in the memory of summers at home. “Slices of kairi (baby mango) are sauteed in smoked mustard oil with spices like asafoetida, nigella seeds, cumin, turmeric and red chilli powder and a sprinkle of sugar to balance the zing." Achraj, a popular dish made with raw mangoes and minced mutton, regularly features on the Lucknowi Muslim dastarkhwan.
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