Mango-Health benefits-Mango Rice Recipe

Mangoes are often called the king of asian fruits and they are fleshy stony fruits. Mango trees grow in frost free tropical countries and in warm sub tropical areas too. Green (raw) mangoes are used in various recipes in Asia and some varieties are eaten raw with salt and red chilli powder. Green (raw) mangoes are used in curries, cooked with fish or lentils, can be pickled and used in various other recipes too.

Green mango has various health benefits too:

• Eating green mango with salt helps retain water in the body thereby preventing dehydration.
• It is believed that dry mango powder is a cure for scurvy
• Eating raw mango with salt and honey helps cure gastro-intestinal disorders, piles, morning sickness, indigestion, constipation etc.
• Raw mangoes are rich in Vitamin C and help with resistance against diseases like tuberculosis, cholera, anaemia and dysentery.
• Raw mangoes also help with treating liver disorders and cleaning the intestinal tract preventing bacterial infection

As they say too much of anything is good for nothing, green mangoes too have to be eaten in limits. Consuming loads of green mangoes can lead to health issues.

I am sharing this recipe with you which I one day prepared just with the spices I had at home, as we had loads of green mangoes that season. It turned out so delicious, and I frequently prepared this, whenever there was green mango at home. People who love raw mango will with no doubt love this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked basmati rice or long grain rice

1 medium sized raw mango peeled and grated

1 ½ tsp red chilli powder

Few curry leaves

2 green chillies

1 pinch turmeric

1 pinch mustard seeds

A pinch of fenugreek seeds

1 tsp split and skinned black gram

4 to 5 tablespoons sesame oil

Salt to taste.

Preparation time: Approximately 7 to 10 minutes Serves: 3

HOW TO PREPARE:

This recipe is something that I tried years ago and came out absolutely tasty. While I was writing hubs I thought I will share this with everyone in this hub.

Finely chop the green chillies. Take a frying pan and add the sesame oil (Sesame oil gives a different and unique flavour to this rice). Heat it up well and then add the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. Let the mustard seeds crackle and fenugreek seeds fry in oil. (The fenugreek seeds give an excellent flavour to the rice; they are also crunchy and tasty when the rice is eaten as soon as you put down from the fire.) Then add the curry leaves and let them splutter. Sauté briefly and add the green chillies and black gram. Sauté at regular intervals till the ingredients turn golden brown. Now add the red chilli powder, this fries a bit in oil and gives an excellent colour to the rice. Then add turmeric powder. Now add the grated mangoes and required amount of salt. Mix it well and cook for five minutes. Add the cooked rice when the pan is still on fire. Mix well till the mango mix coats all the rice in the pan and serve hot. Be careful not to break the rice. Can serve with any mild chutneys.

This rice is an easy recipe for lunchbox