Mango ginger or Manga Inji is a seasonal root vegetable,which is generally used to make pickle. Mango ginger | Maa inji thokku is a delicious, spicy and slightly tangy thokku aka pickle that is paired with plain ghee rice or paired with the Curd rice. It also is a good side for Rote, Dosa , poha and upma etc…
This is a variety of ginger family is quite versatile. The botanical name of this is Curcuma Amada and this spice that looks like a hybrid between ginger and turmeric but tastes like mango with the sharpness of ginger, so many layers of flavor…. It’s soo true that looks can be deceiving sometimes….
Curcuma plant belongs to the ginger family Zingiberaceae and it is a part of the turmeric family. It is known to have antibacterial and antibiotic properties. It is also anti-inflammatory, anti-allergenic and an antioxidant along with being a good appetizer, a calming agent. I found a lot of interesting information on this website.
There are primary way this root vegetable is cooked is being picked obviously as this is seasonal. It can be pickled like thokku or just salted and marinated in lemon and green chills an instant pickle or ground into paste and then prepared into thokku etc…All these taste extremely delicious.
Pickle making is always a big affair in our house and these quick to make pickle were frequently on the menu. My granddad would eat his hot Rasam with spicy pickle with the ceiling fan at its max speed cools his perspiration… you would think that does not sound like a pleasent scene but the thought of the very memory makes me crave for rasam and pickle combo… hummm…
Once the freshly cooked pickle is stored away in an air-tight container the pan/ balani it was cooked in gets a washdown, not with water but with steaming hot rice….The hot rice would sweep up the goodness of the pickle sticking to the pan to make the bright red color goodness that is soo inviting I am drooling over my keyboard… wipe wipe…
Ok now, This is a not only good to make pickle but also wonderful candidate to make mixed rice similar to coconut rice or lemon rice. Mango ginger rice is a delicious option as well.
Maa Inji Thokku | Mango Ginger Pickle
Ingredients
- 3 cups grated mango ginger root
- 1/2 cup Sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp Roasted Fenugreek powder
- 3-4 tbs Red chilli powder to taste
- 1 tsp Tamarind paste
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp asafoetida
- Salt to taste
- 1 cup Water
Instructions
- Peel the skin off of the Ginger and wash it thoughly.
- Grate the ginger and set it aside.
- In a pan add the seseme oil and let it heat. Once hot add the mustard seeds and let it splutter.
- Once the mustard seeds splutter, add in the turmuric and asafoetida powder and saute for a sec.
- Now add the grated mango ginger and saute well for around 5-10 minutes in medium flame. the ginger will start releasing water.
- Add more water if need to help the mixture cook. make sure the mixture is cooked well before the next step.
- Let the mixture cook in its own juices and start changing color. The mix is cooked when mango ginger changes color to a orangish color from yellow.
- Add the red chilli powder, tamarind paste and salt and let the mixture cook together for 5-8 minutes more in medium flame to avoid burning
- At this point any excess water should be evaporated and the pickle should start releasing the oil form the sides.
- Let the mixture to boil till the water gets drained and the thokku becomes thick.
- At this point add roasted fenugreek powder and mix well. remove form heat and let it cool down
- Notice more oil will separate from the thokku. This oil will help the pickle last longer. once its completely cool down, store it in the air tight container.
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