Kacha Aamer Tok is a Bengali summer dish, served at the end of the meal. To break down the word, Kacha Aam means raw green mangoes and Tok is a sour and sweet, refreshing curry. The dish is very light on the tummy and helps in digestion during peak summer months.
Some states in India can get extremely brutal hot during summer, and Kolkata is one such state. During those months, you would want to focus on light meals that will soothe your tummy and help you stay hydrated.
I always lean towards light dishes, like Lau Diye Munger Dal, Shoshar Shukto, Tetor Daal and any dish that calls for raw mangoes.
Kacha Aamer Tok is also referred to as Aamer Ambol
Ingredients for Kacha Aamer Tok
Raw mangoes - Instead of using the usual big size raw mangoes, look for the very small varieties. These super tiny mangoes are refreshing, and very tender, so it cooks fast too.
Spices - Black mustard seeds, dry red chili and turmeric powder is used in the dish.
Mustard Oil - This simple side dish is always cooked in mustard oil to add that subtle pungent flavor.
Salt and Sugar - The dish is more on the sour side, but to balance the flavor and taste, you have to add sugar. You want it to have a good balance of sour and sweet.
As you can see, the list of ingredients is very small and there is neither any other complimentary vegetables nor a long list of spices.
Steps to prepare
- Peel the raw mangoes and slice into thick wedges. The mangoes typically used for this dish are small raw green mangoes, where the seeds are tender and slice off easily.
- Once sliced, remove the pit.
3. Place the sliced mango in a mixing bowl filled with water. These small mangoes are tart and will taste too pungent if not soaked in water for about 30 minutes.
4. When ready to cook, place a heavy bottom pan or wok at medium heat and pour the mustard oil. Once the oil heats up, add black mustard seeds and dry red chili. Let it sizzle for a few seconds.
5. Drain the water from the soaked mango and then add it to the pan. Season with salt and add turmeric for color. Let the mango cook for a few minutes.
6. Pour enough water to submerge the mangoes and bring it to boil. Then let it simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Sprinkle white sugar to sweeten the aamer tok. The amount of sugar you need to add will depend a lot on how tart the mangoes are. The over all taste will be a good a balance of sour and sweet. So, taste and add more if needed.
8. Let the mango simmer for 2 minutes and it's ready.
Kacha Aamer Tok tastes good at room temperature with some papad on the side or even plain white rice.
Storing the dish
You can prepare this mango dish in bulk to enjoy a little every day at the end of your meal. You need to store it in a clean dry air tight container and store in the fridge. It will stay good for 2 weeks.
FAQs
Yes you can. The regular large size green mangoes are sweeter than the tiny size mangoes. So you might need to adjust the amount of sugar you add for sweetener.
I like to add sugar, so the color stays vibrant yellow. But you can add jaggery too. Keep in mind that will change the color of the dish.
It is a very light dish and goes very well with steamed white rice. You can also enjoy it just as is at the end of the meal or with some crispy papadum.
More Mango Recipes to try
Kacha Aamer Tok
Ingredients
- 6 Tiny green mangoes
- 2 tablespoon mustard oil
- 1 teaspoon Black mustard seeds
- 2 Dry Red Chilies
- Salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- ½ cup White sugar
Instructions
- Peel the mangoes and then slice in half. Remove the seeds and then slice the mango into thick wedges.
- In a big bowl of cold water, submerge the mango wedges and leave aside for 30 minutes.
- When you are ready to prepare the dish, place a heavy bottom pan in medium heat and pour the mustard oil. And let the oil heat up.
- Scatter the mustard seeds and dry red chili. Let it sizzle for a few seconds and then add the drained mango wedges.
- Add salt and turmeric and cook the mangoes for 3 minutes.
- Pour the water and bring it to boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle the sugar and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Taste and add more sugar if needed to balance the sweet and sour taste.
- You can store the kacha aamer tok in a clean air tight jar for 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
