By David Tingley, editor

Just like every month, in April’s magazine we featured a recipe by our Hurst resident culinary expert Belle Amatt - who reminds us that mangoes are rich in vitamins A and C, two nutrients which are known to have a positive effect on our immune system - glad news at these times of Coronavirus.

Since ‘lockdown’, all of us in our house have taken it in turns to cook the dinner - a very positive change, which I am hoping might catch on AFTER lockdown restrictions have come to an end! - and I have been meaning to try Belle’s Mango Curry recipe since I saw the content come in to us.

Belle’s recipe actually says HALF a RED onion. Seems a shame not to use the whole thing, and I only had a white onion in on the day!

In yet another ‘adaption’ to her recipe, I also used the whole tin of Coconut Milk - to save wasting it. I guess it made it wetter than she had intended. But still great!

According to Belle the key to this recipe is UNRIPE mangoes: full disclosure, I bought these 3 mangoes about a week before I got chance to use them. It still tasted yummy though!

Here’s the final dinner served up! It was a really good, alternative (and vegan-friendly) to other perhaps more popular curries.

Sri Lankan Mango Curry Recipe

See the full recipe here

Belle is a Hurst resident and nutrition consultant, author and lecturer in Naturopathic Nutrition. She holds 1-1 health consultations at The Sussex Osteopath Clinic in Hurstpierpoint and workshops on a variety of healthy eating topics.

In these uncertain times one thing that we can be sure of is that cooking from scratch with healthy ingredients bursting with flavour can support our health and fill the hours of self-isolation. This dish will fill the house with the aromatic smells of spices from far-reaching areas of the world, so take a moment to close your eyes and teleport yourself to a warm and wonderful beach somewhere.

The central feature of this dish is unripe mangoes, which can be bought from Gibson’s or ordered online. Mangoes are rich in vitamins A and C which are two nutrients known to have positive effects on our immune health. Also, it is incredibly soothing on the taste buds. The combination of sweet coconut with the sharpness of the unripe mango is unique and the tenderness of those mango chunks, cooked in their skins, shouldn’t be missed. Give it a go. This dish is deceptively easy.

It is vegan and gluten-free so works well as a main course for some or as a side dish alongside a meat or fish curry.

4-5 servings dependent on whether the dish is a main or a side dish

Ingredients:
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• One half of a medium red onion sliced
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds
• 1 ½ tsp curry powder
• 1 teaspoon of sugar or honey
• 1 ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• ¼ heaped tsp sea salt plus more to taste
• ½ cup water
• 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
• ¼ cup coconut milk
• 2 small chilli pepper slices cut lengthways or across, and de-seeded if you prefer your curry less spicy
• 3 UNRIPE mangoes
• ¼ tsp white vinegar

Instructions:

1. Wash and cut the mangoes. DO NOT PEEL. The peel helps to maintain the shape of the fruit as it cooks. To cut the mangoes - slice off the top stem, and then slice off the cheeks of the mangoes. Cut the sides off the mango stone. Then cut each mango cheek into 3 strips, so that all the mango pieces are roughly equal in size. You will end up with 8 mango pieces.

2. Heat 3 tbsp of coconut oil in a large non-stick saucepan. Add the sliced onion, garlic and mustard seeds. Saute for a few minutes until the onions have softened.

3. Add the curry powder, sugar/honey, cayenne pepper and salt. Mix for a few seconds to heat the curry powder until you can smell the spices.

4. Add water, desiccated coconut and coconut milk, and mix through and heat to simmer. Add the mangoes, peppers and white vinegar and gently mix to coat the mangoes with the spices. Cover and let the mango curry simmer for 15 - 20 minutes, stirring gently every 5 minutes, until the mango flesh has softened, but still retains its shape. Halfway through the cooking process, taste the curry and season to taste. Stir to combine, and cook for the remaining time.

Serve hot with basmati or wild rice. Enjoy!

My turn cooking dinner: Belle's Immunity Friendly Mango Curry

Immunity Friendly Sri Lankan Mango Curry recipe