Dear Big Apple Curry,

I was wondering…I noticed that your chick peas curry recipe doesn’t include sundried mango (amchoor) in the ingredients list. I’m really looking forward to incorporating sundried mango into my cooking, as I’ve never used it before…when do you use it and why? Any tips?

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Dear Reader!

You’re right, sundried mango (also known as amchoor or amchur) is often an ingredient in certain Indian dishes, but I don’t happen to use it in my chick peas curry; instead, I use it in other dishes like potato stuffing for Baked Samosas. Sundried mango, if you haven’t tasted it, has a sour, citrus flavor. An unripened, green mango has a slightly sour, citrus taste, while a fully ripe mango is sticky and sweet, with nothing sour about it. Ground sundried mango is typically made by drying unripened green mangos. Just like sundried tomatoes, sundried mangoes have sharp, concentrated flavors thanks to the drying process, which intensifies the taste. Indian dishes often have a ‘sour’ or ‘tangy’ component that balances out other flavors. Ingredients like lemon, lime, tamarind, tomato, vinegar, and sundried mango are all ‘souring agents’ and the one you use often depends on the dish, but they can be interchangeable in certain recipes. What does that mean exactly? Read on!

Indian cooking is based on 6 key tastes. If you keep a few key items in your pantry and fridge (like pictured here) combining them enables one to make a host of Indian dishes. I suggest keeping the following items in your fridge: tomatoes (or tomato paste), lemon or lime, green chillis, malt vinegar, and yogurt can be used in a variety of different dishes.

As I explained in the Art of Indian Cooking, there are 6 key elements of taste in Indian cooking: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent, and pungent. Each taste is imparted from a different ingredient in a dish. Items in each group don’t necessarily have to be literally sweet or bitter, it’s what it brings to the overall dish. In my easy Chick Peas Curry the main ingredients are chick peas, onion, garlic, ginger, cumin seeds, red chilli flakes, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, salt, and tomato paste. I rely on tomato paste to bring in the sour element and balance out the other flavors. If you want to add sundried mango to your chick peas curry, cut back on the amount of tomato paste and add 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of sundried mango, adjusting for taste, you don’t want to add too much and make the whole dish overly sour. As you’re exploring Indian cooking, be sure to check out the cheat sheet (5-10-5 Rule) I created for my husband Sean when teaching him the bare basics of Indian Cooking; if  you keep a few key things in your pantry and fridge, you will be able to make a variety of dishes!

I hope this helps!