Aam Kashundi

Aam Kashundi

Something spicy and tangy, something sweet and sour.

This reminds me of a trip I made to my native village many many years ago. I was about 11 years old and my grandfather took us for a visit to the ancestral land. Those were the times when there was no electricity or running water in the village. There were no paved roads. Water had to be drawn from the wells. Coming from a city these were novel experiences.

Of all the fun things I did then what comes to my mind right now is making a sweet and tangy roasted tamarind chutney. I plucked tamarinds from the tree, roasted them in an outdoor wood oven and made a salty, sour, sweet and tangy chutney.

In this day and age of urbanisation there are no trees left to pluck tamarinds or mangoes from. The local grocer has packets of fruits stamped with “export quality” stickers and coated with wax. Most of the fruits are artificially ripened and they don’t have the natural sweetness of tree ripened fruits. It has become a very sad world.

Coming to the dish this is a Bengali preparation. Kashundi is made with mustard seeds. I keep a jar of this aam kashundi by my bedside so that I can eat a spoonful whenever I want to.

Ingredients

½ kg raw mango

¼ cup mustard seeds

2 green chillies

¼ tsp salt

4 tbsp coriander seeds

3 tbsp cumin seeds

5 dry red chillies

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 cup sugar

2 tbsp salt

Dry roast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds and dry red chillies. Grind them to a powder. 

Soak the mustard seeds in warm water for half an hour. Grind to a paste along with green chillies and salt. 

Peel the raw mangoes and cut into slices. 

Make a puree in the blender. 

Heat some oil add the ground powder and saute for a few seconds. 

Add the mustard paste and cook for some time. Now add the pureed raw mango, salt, sugar and turmeric powder. Cook for 10 minutes. 

Check the seasoning. Adjust the salt or sugar accordingly.