Ambakalyo is not a preserve it is a recipe for a Parsi Ripe Mango sauce quick and easy sauce recipe.   Ambakalyo is a delightful, light and happy dish to be served in the heat of summer , the height of the Mango season in India. Ambakalyo is delicious; eaten with red/white rice or any bread — whether baked in an oven or cooked on a griddle including tortillas, chapattis, corn bread and pita . The bright orange colour of the finished dish of the Mango Ambakalyo only adds to its appeal. Ambakalyo, by itself, makes for a popular meal in a Parsi household and saves the mother from long hours in the grueling heat of the kitchen.

Ambakalyo also makes a scrumptious sauce for all roast meats and fowl — especially Roast Chicken and Pork; if you are so inclined to use it.  The sweet and slightly tart-chili tang of the sauce goes a long way in enhancing the flavours of your dish. Visually too, the translucent orange colour , reminder of scenic sunsets, and the thick consistency of the sauce is tremendously appealing.

Mango is the traditionally accepted fruit to make an Ambakalyo and the name itself “Amba” meaning ‘Mango’ in Gujarati and ‘Kalyo’ meaning ‘Grated, Shredded, made into a Paste’ suggests that the dish is essentially made from Mangoes cooked to the consistency of  a thick paste. The ingredients and the Gujarati name suggests that  the Parsi-Zoroastrians of India learnt to make the Ambakalyo after migrating to India. However, the word  ‘Kalyo’ is no longer found either in Persian or Gujarati; but in Filipino the word “Kalyo” still exists  the meaning has declined and is used to denote ‘a Shredder’.

If you are inclined to innovate, like I am, you may add oranges or other citrus fruit, or pineapple or green apple or passion fruit (yellow or purple) any tart fruit of your choice to the recipe at the stage where you introduce the sliced Mangoes into the melted Jaggery/sugar mixture.

Replacing Mangoes, altogether, with another tart and fleshy fruit or a combination of fruits would give you a Orangekalyo, Citrouskalyo, Pineapplekalyo, or green-applekalyo or passion-fruitkalyo or Kalyo of your choice. The entire Recipe will remain the same except that the Mango will be added onto or replaced by another fruit. This would make an equally delicious sauce and a seasonal sauce, at that!

INGREDIENTS:

6 Ripe Mangoes (Alfonso or Pairi preferred; but you may use your favourite);

250 Gms (½ lb) pearl onions (can replace with small red onions or diced regular onions. The taste with each will differ but all taste good);

250 Gms Jaggery as per original recipe;  (or Sugar, if you prefer. In which case take 200 Gms of sugar);

3 cloves;

1 inch piece of cinnamon;

Juice of 1 lemon;

1 tsp chili powder;

A pinch of Turmeric powder;

1 clove Garlic;

¾ inch piece of Ginger.

METHOD:

Peel and slice the Mangoes (you may also use the seed),

Slice the Ginger and Garlic,

If using large onions, quarter them,

Fry the onions lightly and place aside,

If using small onions fry them whole,

Now, boil the jaggery/sugar in 2 spoons of water,

Add chili powder, Turmeric Powder, Ginger, Garlic, Cloves and Cinnamon.

Boil till all the jaggery/sugar has melted,

Then, add the mangoes and onions and cook boil for 5 minutes,

Simmer for another 20 minutes or until mango and seed orange and translucent.

Your Ambakalyo is ready to eat.

SERVE: Hot or cold with chapattis, preferably made of rice flour.

BAFAENU—RIPE MANGO PICKLE (Quick and Easy Recipe)

Here is a Quick and easy recipe for Bafaenu, in the event some friends find the earlier recipe too cumbersome and elaborate. However, this Bafaenu may not stay well for as long as the Bafaenu from the first recipe. It would last at the very least for four to six months; though I have known it to stay well for much longer. You may also refrigerate the pickle after the first four, if you so desire.

INGREDIENTS:

25 ripe but firm mangoes about the size of your palm,

2 kg approx (2 Ser) jaggery;

900 gms (1/2 seer) mustard powder, preferably ground at home;

260 gms kilo (1/4 seer) garlic coarse paste;

750ml (1 seer) vinegar, preferably Sugar cane vinegar;

250 ml (1 pav) a *cooking oil of your choice;

60 Gms (5 Tola) salt;

Coarsely ground:

60 Gms (1 chatak) Red Chili powder;

60 Gms (1 chatak) turmeric powder;

METHOD:

Wash the mangoes, towel dry, and boil;

When fully cooked and soft, remove the mangoes from the vessel;

Spread them out to dry;

Mix the mustard in half the quantity of vinegar and whip;

Let the mustard mature in the vinegar;

Once the mustard is mature add the rest of the vinegar and the turmeric powder, and chili powder;

The mangoes should by now be dry, check for any remaining moisture (the slightest moisture will cause fungus to form and ruin the pickle);

Place the mangoes in a jar Of China clay or in a glass jar;

Sprinkle all the jaggery in small bits over the mangoes as you place them in the jar

Pour the vinegar mixture over the mangoes, sprinkle the salt and pour the oil over it;

DO NOT MIX OR STIR IN ANY FORM WHATSOEVER. It is likely to break the mangoes and destroy the pickle;

Close the bottle with an air-tight lid;

Tie a piece of cheese clothes or Muslin cloth on the lid;

For a few days, open the jar Every 2 days and bring the bottom-most mangoes to the top;

Thus evenly marinating and pickling the mangoes;

Then let it rest for a further 15 days to complete the pickling process.

The pickle is now ready to eat.

Please DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HASTEN THE PROCESS by using a stove to cook the mangoes in the vinegar marinade.

This will destroy the vinegar marinade and may even turn bitter.

* Then they used home drawn unrefined peanut oil.

Bafaenu , a Ripe Mango Pickle that will keep for over a year. Ripe Mangoes a great favourite in India are preserved by the Parsi Zoroastrian Community and eaten for  large part of the year , beyond the mango season in India.  This ripe mango preserve, ‘Bafaenu’ as in the recipe below, I have found has a shelf life that extends to the next mango season. If carefully made, handled and stored in a cool dry place, it can last for beyond a year, provided you can control your taste buds. The Bafaenu makes a nice addition to the menus in Boman Mahino, a thirty day period dedicated to Boman Yazad, the energies that produce a good mind and so, protect the environment  and thus, the animal kingdom. the Parsi Zoroastrians of India abstain from all non-vegetarian foods during this period; it coincides with the mango season at present, falling around the month of June each year.

INGREDIENTS:

25 ripe but firm mangoes about the size of your palm,

Preferably Bulsar Alfonsos mangoes;

2 kg approx (2 Ser) jaggery;

900 gms (1/2 seer) mustard powder, preferably ground at home;

260 gms kilo (1/4 seer) garlic coarse paste;

750ml (1 seer) vinegar, preferably Sugar cane vinegar;

250 ml (1 pav) a *cooking oil of your choice;

60 Gms (5 Tola) salt;

Coarsely ground:

60 Gms (1 chatak) Red Chili powder;

60 Gms (1 chatak) turmeric powder;

60 Gms (1 chatak) black pepper;

60 Gms (1 chatak) cumin;

METHOD:

Wash the mangoes;

Towel dry

**Steam the mangoes the mangoes still soft

When fully cooked and soft, remove the mangoes from the steamer;

Spread them out to dry;

In the meantime, mix the mustard in half the quantity of vinegar;

Let the mustard mature in the vinegar;

Once the mustard is mature add the rest of the vinegar and the coarsely ground garlic, black pepper and cumin, turmeric powder, chili powder, and salt;

The mangoes should by now be dry, check for any remaining moisture (the slightest moisture will cause fungus to form and ruin the pickle);

Place the mangoes in a jar Of China clay or in a glass jar;

Break up the Jaggery into small bits and sprinkle all of it as you lay each layer of mangoes in the jar;

Pour the vinegar mixture over the mangoes;

DO NOT MIX OR STIR IN ANY FORM WHATSOEVER that is likely to break the mangoes and destroy the pickle;

Close the bottle with an air- tight lid;

Tie a piece of cheese clothes or Muslin cloth on the lid;

Every 5 days open the jar and bring the bottom-most mangoes to the top;

Thus evenly marinating and pickling the mangoes;

Do this thrice: i.e. 3 times in the next 15 days;

Then let it rest for a further 15 days to complete the pickling process.

At the end of 30ndays, the pickle is now ready to eat.

Please DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HASTEN THE PROCESS by using a stove to cook the mangoes in the vinegar marinade.

This will destroy the vinegar marinade and may even turn bitter.

* Then they used home drawn unrefined peanut oil.

**In the days this recipe was noted down, long before kitchen gadgets were easily available, my granny had once spoken of how my  great-great-Grandma used a laborious process of boiling water in a huge vessel, fitting a sieve of exact size on the boiling vessel, ensuring that the rim of the sieve hooked completely onto the rim of the vessel, then as the  water started to steam and enough steam built up, placed the mangoes in the sieve, while ensuring that one’s hands do not suffer steam-burns while not damaging  the mangoes, also , ensure the boiling water does not rise high enough to wet the sieve (no water must touch the mangoes) then sealing the entire apparatus with a large enough lid.