Make Simple and Tasty Ambe-Dal with Green Mango

Make Simple and Tasty Ambe-Dal with green, unripe mango and Chana Dal. Tart and spicy, Ambe-Dal (Aam-bay-Daal) is a very popular springtime side-dish in Maharashtra, served with a meal or even as an afternoon tea-time snack. Its main ingredient is soaked and ground Chana Dal (Chun-naa, ‘Chun’ rhymes with ‘bun’), which is split, skinless Bengal Gram (Kala Chana, Desi Chana). The widely popular, brown-skinned Bengal Gram, which is native to the Indian sub-continent, resembles the much lighter-skinned Chickpeas (Garbanzo beans) in its appearance, taste and nutrient profile.

When you mix the ground Chana Dal with Kairi (Kaie-ree; tender green unripe mangoes), you create magic! You get this super-yummy, palate-pleasing concoction that is loaded with lots of health-supporting macro- and micro-nutrients. The tangy and spicy Ambe-Dal, with its hearty Chana Dal and the tart-sweet Kairi, is a great accompaniment to any Indian-themed meal. It is also perfect as a dip, to put atop your favorite crackers, chips, etc.

This mango-lover’s recipe I’m sharing today is also my way of celebrating a special day for some of the most ardent mango-lovers in my family. I offer my joyful greetings to my beloved sister-in-law and her husband, who mark another wonderful year together, and to my darling niece, who is ‘almost grown-up’, and quickly blossoming into a wonderful young woman.

Kairi: Heralding the Spring Season!

When the green Kairis start hitting the markets in early spring, folks snap them up, eager to make this and many other utterly delectable things with it. Just seeing these little gems transports you, as a riot of vivid memories surface. You drool with anticipation, thinking of the many mouth-watering delicacies racing through your mind: salads, curries, pickles, jams and more!

Early sightings are typically in late February or March, about a month or so before ripe mangoes begin to take center-stage in late April. Seeing the Kairis, a harbinger of the wondrous mango season to follow, never fails to lift my spirits. Dark green on the outside, these tart little beauties feel rock-hard when pressed gently with a thumb. You simply cannot resist holding one up, close enough to inhale its heady scent. The sticky sap that exudes from stem end of the mango, where it was plucked from the tree, is so powerfully fragrant. Ohh, what expensive perfume in the world can possibly match this exotic aroma?!

Ambe-Dal – Makes Your Day Feel Special

Mom’s Ambe-Dal was one of my personal favorites – whenever she made it, it felt like a special treat. After moving to the US many years ago, I did not get to have ‘hers’ very often. So, whenever I was in India during summer, or when she visited us in the US, this dish was always one of my special requests.

She was quite amused by my obvious delight when she made it, saying “it’s so simple, what’s the big deal?”. I just loved having yet another chance to watch her as she made it, filing away every detail for future reference. Whenever I make it, that is my gold standard for comparison – does it taste as good as Mom’s?

Eat in moderation!

Every time I make this tasty dish, though, I hear my Dad voice in my head – “Don’t go overboard with the Ambe-Dal!” The thing is, delicious and nutrient-rich though it is, this dish is a bit hard on your stomach. How come? It is made with uncooked Chana Dal, which, you might be aware, poses a bit of a challenge for your digestive system!

After soaking the Dal for several hours, you simply grind it, mix it with shredded green mangoes, season it and serve. So, even if you feel like “I can’t stop eating this”, do heed my Dad’s advice. The green mango does stimulate and revv up your digestive system a little, but still, moderation truly is a smart choice. Have a small serving and savor each tiny morsel, giving it your full attention – mindful eating, as they say….. Your tummy will certainly thank you! Leftovers? Save them for your next meal, and enjoy it all over again!

How tart are your green mangoes?

In my experience, the green mangoes commonly available in the US are generally not quite as tart as the ones in India. How come? I don’t really know, although my Mom had a theory. She said that the more sour the green mango, the sweeter it usually becomes when it ripens. I’m not sure if that is actually true, but many varieties of ripe mangoes in India do taste considerably sweeter than those I commonly find in the US. So, perhaps there is something to Mom’s theory.

To make tasty Ambe-Dal, the key is very simple – use tart green mangoes! Not so simple when your green mangoes are not very tart, is it? The green mangoes at the Indian grocery stores are sufficiently tart, but I don’t like the hefty price-tag. What they charge for it seems like price-gouging to me. I can get green mangoes for a fraction of that price at the mainstream stores, albeit not very tart ones.

How to adjust the tartness?

So, what to do about the tartness, then? From the pile of mangoes on display at the store, I select the greenest, hardest, mangoes I can find – for the firm texture I need in order to shred them; then, I “cheat” a little. How? I add a bit of citric acid, usually just a tiny pinch, to get the level of sourness I like. What about squeezing some lime/lemon instead? I don’t like that, because I feel their strong citrus aroma overshadows that of the green mangoes. After all, I want my Ambe-Dal to smell of green mangoes, not lime or lemon!

That said, I do make a delightfully tasty green-apple version of Ambe-Dal too, when the craving hits and there are no mangoes to be found anywhere. The tart Granny Smith apple works well, and then I do add lime/lemon juice to get the tang I want in my ‘faux’ Ambe-Dal. The apple and citrus flavors go well together, and tides me over till I can make the real thing again. See Recipe Notes for details if you want to try this version too.

Special Diets

This Ambe-Dal recipe is vegan, gluten-free, soy-free and nut-free. It has no onions or garlic, and is thus suitable for a Puja Prasad Thali (full meal served on a Thali as Prasad, during a Puja). In fact, my Mom always made this for the Gudi Padwa festival every year.

If you like Kairi and mangoes, perhaps you would like to try out my other recipes with it, like Methambaa, Mango Salsa, etc. I also plan to post more Kairi/Mango recipes soon, so be on the lookout for them.

So, pick up some green mangoes on your next visit to the grocery store and make yourself some tasty Ambe Dal. If you do, please do leave a review and a rating. Much appreciated.

Enjoy!

Make Simple and Tasty Ambe-Dal

Wash the Chana Dal and soak in water overnight; grind the Dal with just a little water to a slightly coarse paste; peel and shred green mango; add, to the ground Dal, along with green chillies and chopped fresh coriander leaves (cilantro); stir in salt and sugar. Make Tadka with mustard and cumin seeds, asoefetida and turmeric. Add hot tadka to the dal-mango mixture, stir and serve immediately, with any Indian-themed meal, or as a dip with your favorite crackers, chips, etc.

5 from 5 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

soaking time for Chana Dal 8 hours hrs

Total Time 8 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4 people

Calories 120 kcal

Equipment

• Food processor, chopper or blender; if not available, you can grind the soaked chana dal manually, with traditional stone grinders such as: Paata-Varvantaa; Sil-Batta,, Ammi, Shil-Nora, Sila-Puaa, Batan, etc.; you can also use a nut-chopper/Mirchi chopper, although the texture will be a bit more coarse than desired.

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1/2 cup Chana Dal – split, skinless Bengal Gram; Garbanzo; Chickpeas
• 1/4 cup Peeled Kairi (green mango) – shredded select firm unripe mango for easy shredding; slightly ripe mangoes are softer and become mushy while shredding; they still taste fine, but may be a bit sweeter. than the firm ones.
• 3/8 tsp Salt adjust as per taste preference
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Green chilli (Serrano) – sliced finely and chopped remove seeds; adjust as per spiciness preferred
• 1/4 cup Fresh coriander leaves (cilantro) – chopped use mostly leaves; tender stems OK too
• 1/16 tsp Citric acid – only if needed to adjust sourness add only if needed a small pinch at a time, to adjust the sourness, in case he green mango is not very tart. the Ambe-Dal should have a distinct sweet sour-spicy taste; if not available, can use a pinch of Cream of Tartar instead.; if not available, squeeze a little lime/lemon juice.

Tadka

• 2 tsp Oil I prefer Peanut oil; any other mild edible oil is OK
• 1/4 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp Cumin seeds
• 1/8 tsp Hing (Asoefetida)
• 1/8 tsp Turmeric
• 5-6 leaves Curry leaves (optional)- fresh preferred torn to release flavor; if not available, OK to use dried leaves or to omit.
• 2 tbsp Fresh grated coconut (optional) if not available, omit

Instructions

 

• Wash the Chana Dal thoroughly: add water, scrub the dal and drain the cloudy water (use a mesh strainer, if need be); repeat a couple more times, the water will be almost clear on the third rinse.
  
• Add 1/2 cup cool (room temperature) water, cover and set aside overnight , or 6-8 hours if soaking in the morning. I do not recommend adding hot water to hasten the soaking; slow soaking with cool water makes the Dal easier to digest.
  
• Soaked Dal: it absorbs almost all the water used for soaking.
  
• Transfer to a colander and drain the residual water. Rinse the soaked Dal under running water and transfer to a food processor/chopper. Add about 2 tbsp of fresh water while grinding.

  Note: In recipes where the soaked Dal is to be cooked later, I typically do NOT drain the soaking water. It contains various nutrients that have leached into it during soaking and I don't like washing them down the drain. However, since the Dal is not cooked when making Ambe-Dal, washing off the residual soaking water makes it easier to digest the Dal.
  
• Grind the Dal to a slightly coarse texture.
  
• Transfer the ground Dal to a mixing bowl.
  
• Wash and peel the Kairi (green mango).
  
• Shred the Kairi. Taste a little bit of it – if it is very sour, that's great. If not, you will need to adjust the sourness later by adding citric acid (or Cream of Tartar)
  
• Make Tadka: Heat the oil in a small wok (or small saucepan); Keep a lid handy to catch splatter. When oil is hot, (in about 1-2 min) add mustard seeds and cover immediately. They will pop instantly if the oil is properly hot; otherwise you may need to wait a little for the seeds to start popping.

  Turn the heat off, add the cumin seeds, they will sizzle and pop immediately; then add asoefetida and turmeric. Stir gently to mix.

  Add curry leaves last, if using – cover quickly, the wet leaves will splatter the hot oil. I did not have curry leaves when I made this, so they're not in the picture here.
  
• Add the shredded Kairi, salt, sugar, sliced Serrano peppers to the ground Dal. Pour the hot Tadka over the mixture.

  Take a spoonful of the mixture and place it in the "empty" Tadka wok – use the spoon to spread it around and mop-up and collect the residual Tadka, then transfer it back into the mixing bowl (so you don't waste any of the Tadka, and also make the wok easier to clean!)
  
• Mix everything. Taste-test and adjust seasonings as desired.

  If the Kairi is not very sour, stir in some citric acid, a tiny pinch at a time, untl you get a distinctly tart taste. The Ambe-Dal should be tangy-spicy with a hint of sweetness.
  
• Wash and chop the fresh coriander leaves (cilantro)
  
• Add the chopped coriander (cilantro) to the mixture.
  
• Stir. It is now ready to serve.
  
• Serve it up! Tangy and spicy!

  Great with any Indian-themed meal, or as a dip with your favorite crackers, chips, etc., or even just by itself.
  
• Very nice when served with hot Puris, too.
  
• Enjoy!

Notes

No green mangoes available?

Make a “faux” Ambe-Dal with tart green apples – like Granny Smith

• Squeeze a lime/lemon:
  • will need about 1 tbsp
  • place it in a bowl, ready to mix with the shredded apple as soon as you shred it, to prevent browning of the apple. The Vitamin C in the lemon juice slows down the browning of the apple
• Peel and shred the apple; measure out the required amount and mix immediately with the lemon juice.
• Use in the given recipe instead of shredded green mangoes.
• Decrease the amount of sugar you use, since the apples are also a bit sweet.

 

Leftovers:

Store in a glass/ceramic container in the refrigerator. I do not recommend using a plastic container – the acid in the Ambe Dal can react with the plastic.

• Consume within 1-2 days
• If the Ambe-Dal begins to develop an unpleasant, rancid or fermented smell, please discard it.

Nutrition

Calories: 120kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 4gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gSodium: 228mgPotassium: 41mgFiber: 6gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 275IUVitamin C: 55mgCalcium: 55mgIron: 1mg

Keyword Bengal Gram, Chana Dal, Chickpeas, Garbanzo beans, Green mango, Kairi, Maharashtrian, tadka

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