Mambazha Pulissery (Kerala Sweet and Sour Mango Curry)
Traditional Kerala mango pulissery with ripe mango, coconut paste, and yogurt, finished with a coconut oil tempering. Sweet, sour, and ready in about 30 minutes.
Ingredients
For the curry
- 2 ripe mangoes about 300 g after peeling and chopping; peeled, seeded, and cut into large chunks
- 1 green chili adjust for heat; slit lengthwise
- 1 cup plain yogurt full-fat or low-fat; see notes
- 1¼ cups water divided
- Salt to taste
To grind
- ½ cup fresh grated coconut fresh or frozen, thawed
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder or regular red chili powder for more heat
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 to 3 tablespoons water for grinding
To temper
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 2 dried red chilies broken into pieces
- 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 5 to 6 fresh curry leaves
Instructions
Cook the mango
- Add 1 cup water, mango chunks, and slit green chili to a saucepan or kadai. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
- Cook 5 to 7 minutes, stirring once or twice, until mango is soft and tender but still holds shape. Do not mash.
Make the coconut paste
- While mango cooks, grind coconut, cumin, red chili powder, and turmeric with 2 to 3 tablespoons water to a smooth paste.
Simmer the base
- Stir coconut paste and salt into the cooked mango. Mix well.
- Simmer over medium-low heat 2 to 3 minutes until the gravy looks cohesive and small bubbles appear at the edges. Turn off the heat. Do not let it roll at a hard boil.
Add yogurt
- Whisk or blend yogurt until smooth. Pour into the hot curry off the heat and stir immediately until evenly combined.
Temper and serve
- Heat coconut oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add mustard seeds. When they pop, add fenugreek seeds, broken dried red chilies, and curry leaves. Sizzle 10 to 15 seconds until fragrant.
- Pour the tempering over the pulissery. Stir gently. Serve hot with plain rice, jeera rice, or red rice.
Notes
Mango variety: traditional recipes use small ripe Kerala mangoes (naatu manga). Ataulfo or any fragrant ripe mango works in US kitchens.
Extra flavor: add 1 to 2 shallots to the coconut paste if your household eats onion.
Vegan: use thick coconut yogurt or whisked full-fat canned coconut milk with a squeeze of lemon for tang. Skip dairy yogurt entirely.
Sweetness check: taste after adding yogurt. Super-sweet mangoes may need tangier yogurt or an extra minute of green chili simmer.
Make-ahead: refrigerate up to 2 days. Reheat gently on low; stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons water if thick. Add fresh tempering when serving if you like.
Storage: cool completely, store airtight in the refrigerator up to 2 days. Not ideal for freezing; yogurt texture changes.
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