Kerala-style creamy Coconut Shrimp Curry – with the tongue-tickling essence of (unripened) green mango and the lovely creamy ‘bite’ of jackfruit seeds. A traditional recipe, which is nostalgic to many!
Chakkakuru Manga Chemmeen Curry
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♦Prep time:30 min ♦Cook time:25 min ♦Yield: 4 servings
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Chakkakuru Manga Chemmeen Curry
Description
A deeply nostalgic, seasonal specialty from Kerala that celebrates the quintessential flavors of a traditional Malayali kitchen. This curry is a combination of three distinct textures: succulent, tender shrimp (Chemmeen), creamy and starchy jackfruit seeds (Chakkakuru), and the tangy, tongue-tickling zest of raw green mango (Manga). The gravy is a golden-hued, enriched with a smooth paste of freshly grated coconut It is distinctively flavored with Kudampuli (Gamboge), which adds a smoky sourness that perfectly complements the fruitiness of the mango, resulting in a complex, layered curry that tastes like home.
Ingredients:
Ground coconut paste:
For Tempering:
Instructions
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Peel and prep the Fresh Jackfruit seeds. See notes and refer Video.
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Rinse and soak the gambooge/fish tamarind pieces in a small bowl of hot water
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Keep the shrimp - cleaned as well.
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Add the jackfruit seeds to a small pressure cooker with 2-3 cups of water. Pressure cook for 3-4 steams till tender.
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Meanwhile, slice the mango into thick wedges. You don't have to peel and discard the skin unless it is bitter to taste. Check and peel if needed.
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Transfer the cooked jackfruit seeds and the cooking water to an earthen pot to cook the curry in the traditional way. Use a nonstick pot if you don't have earthenware.
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Add the chilli powders and turmeric to this and bring it to a boil. Add salt to taste.
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Also, add 1 piece of soaked Kudampuli /Gambooge/fish tamarind. You need only a small piece if the green mango is nice and sour. But I will always add it as it enhances the flavor of this authentic curry best. Also, make sure that you don't add too much. The green mango flavor should be the star here.
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Add the cleaned prawns now.
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As the liquid returns to a boil again, you can add half to three-quarters of the green mango wedges now. Allow it to cook for a while and taste before you add more according to taste. Do this at your own discretion according to how sour your green mango is.
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Also, add a bit more turmeric powder if needed to bring out the color now. As the prawns cook, prepare the ground coconut paste.
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Add all the ingredients listed for the ground coconut paste into a small grinder jar and grind to a smooth paste, adding just enough water to assist in grinding. The paste should not be too runny.
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Once the shrimp is cooked and the green mango is tender, add the ground coconut paste. Stir through. Simmer again for 1-2 minutes, adding more slices of the green mango now if needed. Add salt if needed also. You can add a little boiled water if the curry has thickened too much.
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At this stage, add the coriander powder and allow to simmer for another minute.
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Now is when we can remove most of the pieces of the cooked green mango from the curry. You can serve it separately. Leaving the cooked mango in the curry too long can result in mushy mango and can also often cause the color of the curry to change. Don't discard the green cooked green mango. It's vitamin-rich, and many people love it with their rice.
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Turn off the heat.
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For tempering: Heat coconut oil in a small pan and add the sliced shallots along with the curry leaves and green chilli. Fry till golden brown and pour this over the curry.
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Your delicious Chakkakuru Manga Chemmeen Curry is ready to be served.
Note
- To peel and prep the Jackfruit seeds: First, let the seeds dry off a bit. Wet seeds are very slippery and difficult to handle. Mine are usually kept in the fridge for a day or two before I get the chance to get the shrimp and green tomato to make this curry. The outer skin covering the seed is easy to peel off. Some seeds crack open, making it easier to peel with your fingernails, but others might need help with a knife. When you peel away the outer, white skin, you see another brown layer. This is edible, but for this curry, we prefer to peel it. To do so, soak the seeds in hot water for 10 minutes. Later, you can scrape off and peel the brown skin with a small dull knife. Once all the seeds are peeled, give them another rinse. Now, cut each seed vertically into two. For larger seeds, you could cut them horizontally into 3 pieces also.
- Kudampuli /Gambooge
- When adding the fish, tamarind, and green mango, always taste as you go. Keep in mind we will add the coconut paste halfway through cooking, and this always brings down the sout tone a notch. Giving the curry the perfect amount of balanced sour flavour is very important and is achieved perfectly with some practice. Don't let it become too sour! For this reason, we also remove the mango pieces after cooking.
- Key Ingredients: Shrimp, Coconut, Green Mango, Jackfruit seeds, Shallots, Curry leaves, Spices, Gambooge, Coconut oil, Salt.
