Ambe Haldi(Konkani) or Mango Ginger(English) is very rarely available at our place. These roots look almost like turmeric(Haladi) root and have a strong aroma of mangoes, hence the name Ambe haladi/haldi. The most popular preparation from these roots is pickle. When I saw these roots in Indian store here, I remembered this very old recipe – sasam. I have prepared this only a few times in the past, could not find these roots anywhere after that.
Sasam is a popular Konkani dish with coconut and mustard seeds. One very popular sasam is ambe sasam – this can also be made with pineapple(ananas). When mangoes are not available, it can be made with mango ginger. Unlike mangoes, these roots do not have any sourness. So some kind of souring agent needs to be used when these are used in any dish.
Ingredients:
1 cup fresh/frozen coconut
4 pieces mango ginger
4-5 red chillies
1/2 tea spn tamarind extract or 1 piece tamarind
1/4 tea spn mustard seeds
1/2 tea spn jaggery (optional)
Salt
Method:
Peel the mango ginger. Grind with all other ingredients.
Add water to bring to a thick gravy. This gravy is not cooked.
Serve with rice.
Serves : 2-3
Preparation time : 10mins
Pictorial:
You get this here in US, great. My mom makes pickle with it, i just love the flavor and aroma of it. Will save this recipe to try next time I get Mango-ginger. Looks very easy and mouthwatering.
Hmm.. looks good. Love Ambya Sasam! Is the pickle next maybe?
I just got back from an amazing trip to India and saw mango ginger in the fruit stands there and wanted to bring it back with me to the states so badly!
this look so good i love a good grave. the combination of tastes is realy interesting with the ginger and mango
Aunty you are such a treasure trove or recipes. I am going to keep an eye out for these. Thanks you
ambe sasam..wow..i love it. i just made the pineapple sasam…and loved every bit of it. i will try this one too..
Oh!! I love this curry – am on the lookout for ambe haldi @ local desi stores but have been unsuccessful so far!!
Good appetizer …nice recipe
I haven’t seen these in a long time. They make a good raw chutney with coconut and chilis.
Variation – Use amla instead of mango ginger
I have only eaten ambe haldi in pickle never cooked in this way.Its very creative.
Nice dish. When I prepare sasam, I heat the sasam in a drop of ghee(phullache) & grind. This gives a nice aroma to the curry.
Very similar to our Manga-Inji Chutney served with rice, with the exception of mustard. With the addition of mustard it would be more like a Pacchadi; the souring agent would be yogurt/buttermilk with the omission of tamarind.
Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Didn’t know we get this one in U.S. I will look for mango ginger in Indian store. The curry looks delicious. I am making the cauliflower pickle over the weekend
Hi Shilpa,
Thanks for the awesome recipies…I have been following your blog for sometime now and dont remember a single recipe which I have tried and has not turned out YUMMY!!!Thanks to your pictures and detailed steps!Just admire your zest for cumin out with something innovative everytime which tastes equally great!
And now since ur mOm is here…we might get some more additions to the list of mouth watering Konkani dishes ..Thanks Aunty!!!
This Sasam dish is not new to me as my nani(She is from GOA) makes a similar dish but with Mangoes and slight variation in the masala.But wil definately try this one when i get the ginger in Indian stores!!
Amazing! Even though I have travelled in Karnataka and Kerala, and loved the food, I had never even heard of mango-ginger!
http://www.kissankerala.net/kissan/kissancontents/mangoginger.htm
Your website is a treasure-house of new learning, thank you very much
We call it aamaada in Bengali and added to daal lends a good aroma to it. In Thailand also this root is used and known as galangal I think.
Wow This looks like an awesome delicious recipe