Pacha Manga Chammanthi, Raw Mango Chutney

Pacha Manga Chammanthi; is Kerala's own traditional Raw Mango Chutney, made with raw mango, coconut, shallots, and green chilies. Its vegan and low calorie and so easy to make! When I got some organic mangoes from my friend's backyard; I was so happy.....the first thing I did was preserve some of the mangoes (will post soon) and then made mango pickle, mango rice, mango curry and this chammathi or chutney. Nothing beats the taste of fresh organic backyard mango!

Manga Chammanthi and hot kanji (rice gruel) is a combination favored by Malayali....the so called comfort food! Chammanthi can be roughly translated to chutney; though it is not watery as most chutneys are.

Pacha literally means green, in Malayalam cookery the word green is usually associated with raw food. This raw mango chutney, does not need any cooking at all. Traditionally, you put the freshly grated coconut into a stone grinder along with cubed raw mangoes, shallots, green chilies, and salt....just grind it coarsely without adding water. The juice from the raw mango will help the coconut to bind together.

It is very important to take note; that the chammanthi or chutney is not grinded very finely....but a bit coarse...not too fine, as you can see in the picture. Here, I used my chutney grinder/blender to grind it coarsely.

Author: Nisa Homey.
Serves: 2 to 3.
Preparation Time: 10 minutes.
Cooking: Nil.

Ingredients:
Raw Mango: 1 small or half of a large one; peeled and sliced or chopped.
Grated Coconut: 3/4 to 1 cup.
Kanthari Mulaku (piri piri chilly) or Green chilies: 3 or 4, depending on your tolerance level.
Shallots/ Cheriya Ulli: 3 or 4.
Curry leaves: 2 or 3  (optional)

Salt to taste.

Method:
I used one small mango; if its a large one use half (mostly depends on how sour the mango is). Peel, cut or chop them. Discard the seed.

Put the chopped mango into the grinder. I usually pulse them first, and then top them with the rest of the ingredients, and grind them not too fine or not too coarse. Remember, that the juice from the mangoes will make the chammanthi slightly wet and you can roll into a ball with your hands.

So, easy and quick!! Try it today....I am sure your family will love it.
Serve with rice or dosa!

Notes:
I used green chilies; though it is best to use kandari mulaku or piri piri chilies.
For a change I also use whole red chilies; though it is best to lightly roast them in a wee bit of coconut oil before grinding.
Try not to add onions for this as shallots (cheriya ulli) enhances its flavor.
Some like to use ginger though I prefer it plain; there is also a ginger known as "manga ginger' which is used specially for making chammanthi.