Mambazha Pulissery is a Kerala-style curry made with ripe mangoes, coconut, yogurt, and mild spices. Serve this spicy, sweet, sour curry with steamed rice for a delicious meal (vegetarian, gluten-free).
Here are some more Kerala-style recipes: Kerala Prawn Curry, Moru Curry, Ulli Theeyal, Kerala Style Mango Pickle, Kerala Egg Curry, Kerala Style Fish Moilee, and Kerala Style Chicken Stew.
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About Mambazha Pulissery
Mambazha Pulissery (Kerala Style Ripe Mango Curry) is a popular Kerala dish made with ripe mangoes, yogurt, and coconut. It is a sweet, sour, and spicy dish often served as a side dish with rice or roti.
The dish is very popular in Kerala and is often made during the mango season for everyday meals. It is also an integral part of Onam sadya and Vishu sadya.
Mangoes give this dish a unique sweetness and flavor.
Yogurt and fresh coconut are used to make the pulissery gravy base, which gives it a creamy texture. The pulissery is usually spiced with green chilies, ginger, garlic, cumin seeds, black pepper, and turmeric powder.
Mambazha pulissery is best served with steamed rice or roti. It can also be served as a side dish with other Kerala dishes such as fish curry, chicken curry, or beef fry.
This mambazha pulissery recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free and you can easily double or triple the recipe.
Ingredients
To Make The Paste
To prepare Mango Pulissery, a spicy coconut paste is made that adds a beautiful flavor. This paste is made using fresh coconut, green chillies, fresh ginger, cumin seeds, shallots, and water.
You can adjust the green chilies depending on your heat preference. The spicy taste of this paste complements the sweetness of the mangoes well.
To Make The Curry
Mangoes – Traditionally, this curry is prepared using wild mangoes (nattu mambazham) that are small but very juicy. These mangoes are easily available in South Indian states; you can check out your local Indian stores to get them, but if you cannot find them, you can use any ripe mangoes.
Select mangoes that are free of soft patches and black marks. To see if they are ripe, gently press them! They are ripe if they are gentle to touch, give back a little, and not too firm. They should also smell sweet and fruity.
Jaggery – Jaggery is added to give a little hint of sweetness to the dish, which compliments the mango and spicy coconut paste so well.
Yogurt makes the dish creamier, and its cooling properties make this curry even more apt for hot days.
Spices – This curry will need minimal everyday spices, such as turmeric powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder, and salt.
To Temper The Pulissery
This creamy South Indian mango curry is tempered with coconut oil with ingredients such as dry red chillies, curry leaves, brown mustard seeds, and fenugreek seeds.
How To Make Mambazha Pulissery
Make The Paste
Add
- 1 cup grated fresh coconut
- 8-10 shallots (peeled and roughly chopped)
- 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
- 2 teaspoon green chilies (chopped)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ¼ cup water
to a blender and blend to make a smooth paste. Set aside.
Note – Some people also add ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds to this paste. You can try it too.
Make The Curry
Wash 750 g (4-5) small mangoes and pat them dry using a kitchen towel. Peel the mangoes using a sharp knife.
Note – Some people make pullissery using chopped mangoes. If you want to try that version, chop the flesh of the mangoes into big chunks and discard the pit. Use chopped mangoes in place of whole mangoes.
Whisk 1 cup plain yogurt with 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour and set it aside. Adding some all-purpose flour to the yogurt prevents it from splitting while cooking. It is not traditional, but this tip works like a charm.
Add peeled mangoes to a medium-size pot along with 4 tablespoon grated jaggery, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, 2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder, and ½ teaspoon salt.
Now add ½ cup of water to the pot and cover it with a tight-fitting lid.
Cook for 10-12 minutes on low heat until the mangoes are softened.
Remove the lid, add the ground coconut paste to the pot, and cook for another 2-3 minutes on medium heat.
Add the whisked yogurt and cook on low heat for another 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously. This curry should not boil and bubble too much; else, it may curdle and lose its taste.
If the curry is too thick, add water and cook until it boils.
The consistency of the pulissery should be semi-thick, not too thick or too watery.
Adjust salt and remove the pan from heat. Set aside.
Temper The Pulissery
Heat 3 tablespoon coconut oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat.
Once the oil is hot, add ½ teaspoon mustard seeds, ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds, 2-3 whole dry red chilies, and 10-12 curry leaves, and let them crackle for 4-5 seconds.
Pour the tempering over the Mambazha pulissery curry and stir gently. Serve hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can follow the same recipe and prepare the publisher using cucumber, pineapple, apple, elephant yam, green plantain, colocasia, etc.
If your mangoes are very big, chop them into pieces and add them to the curry. But if they are smaller, I prefer to add them as a whole.
Serving Suggestions
Mambazha Puliserry tastes the best, with steamed hot rice topped with a dollop of ghee and some South Indian papad on the side. You can also serve it with healthy alternatives such as brown rice or quinoa.
You can also make it for Vishu sadya or onam sadya and pair it with Matta rice and other delicacies.
This mango curry tastes great with phulka, tawa paratha, or even Kerala parotta. Do give it a try. You can even eat it with a plain ghee roast dosa.
Storage Suggestions
I recommend making this sour mango curry fresh, but if you have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container for about a day or two in the refrigerator.
Mambazha Pulissery will not last more than 2 days, as it has fresh coconut, so make sure you make it in smaller quantities.
Reheat it in a pan over the stovetop or microwave until nicely warm, and serve. Add some more water if the curry has thickened after refrigeration.
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Recipe Card
Mambazha Pulissery Recipe (Kerala Style Ripe Mango Curry)
Ingredients
To Make The Paste
- 1 cup grated fresh coconut (packed)
- 8-10 shallots (chopped)
- 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
- 2 teaspoons chopped green chilies
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
To Make The Curry
- 750 grams ripe small mangoes (4-5, I used sugar baby variety)
- 1 cup yogurt (dahi, curd)
- 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour (maida)
- 4 tablespoons grated jaggery
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
To Make The Tempering
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- ½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
- ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi dana)
- 2-3 whole dry red chilies
- 10-12 curry leaves
Instructions
Make The Paste
- Add coconut, shallots, ginger, green chilies, cumin seeds, and ¼ cup water to a blender and blend to make a smooth paste. Set aside.
- Note – Some people also add ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds to this paste. You can try it too.
Make The Curry
- Wash mangoes and pat them dry using a kitchen towel. Peel the mangoes using a sharp knife.
- Note – Some people make pullissery using chopped mangoes. If you want to try that version, just chop the flesh of the mangoes into big chunks and discard the pit. Use the chopped mangoes in place of whole mangoes.
- Whisk yogurt with all-purpose flour and set it aside. Adding some all-purpose flour to the yogurt prevents it from splitting while cooking. It is not traditional but this tip works like charm.
- Add peeled mangoes to a medium-size pot along with jaggery, turmeric powder, Kashmiri red chili powder, and salt.
- Now add ½ cup of water to the pot and cover it with a tight-fitting lid.
- Cook for 10-12 minutes on low heat until the mangoes are softened.
- Remove the lid and add the coconut paste to the pot and cook for another 2-3 minutes on medium heat.
- Add the whisked yogurt and cook on low heat for another 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously. This curry should not boil and bubble too much else it may curdle and lose its taste.
- If the curry is too thick, add some water and cook until it comes to a boil.
- The consistency of the curry should be semi-thick, not too thick, or too watery.
- Adjust salt and remove the pan from heat. Set aside.
Temper The Pulissery
- Heat coconut oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, dry red chilies, and curry leaves, and let them crackle for 4-5 seconds.
- Pour the tempering over the Mambazha pulissery curry and stir gently. Serve hot.
Kanika
Hi Neha
The recipe sounds yum. But If we blend what we cooked, according to step 5, we won’t have chunks of mango in the curry? Please advise.
msnehamathur
You don’t have to grind the pan ingredients. There is a list of ingredients to be ground in to a paste in the ingredients section. You have to grind those and add in the pan.
Lisa U
This sounds delicious! Just wondering if you’d be so kind as to explain what you mean by curd? Thank you.
Neha Mathur
It’s plain yogurt Lisa 🙂
Sb
Hey Neha! What can I substitute the jaggary with? Honey / Sugar?
Neha Mathur
You can use either, however jaggery gives the most authentic taste.