In this hot season, green mango is one of the kitchen's favourite ingredients. The sweet-and-sour fruit is not only for sherbet or pickles; it also lifts many dishes eaten with rice. Among them, green mango dal fry makes a lovely home-cooked dish.

The light sourness of green mango combined with red lentils (masoor) or mung dal and the aroma of the tempering whets the appetite and brings relief from the heat. So before the season ends, you can easily make a tasty green mango dal fry. Here is the recipe.

First wash the lentils well and soak them in water for 30 minutes. Then put the soaked lentils in a pressure cooker with water as needed, salt, turmeric and pieces of green mango, including the stone. Close the lid and set it on a medium flame. After three to five whistles, turn off the heat and open the lid once the steam inside has escaped naturally.

In a separate small pan, heat ghee and add dried chillies and cumin for the tempering. Pour this into the cooked dal and mix well. You can then cook it uncovered on a low flame for a while to get the thickness you like. It can be kept thin and soupy, or made thicker and mashed.

Finally, serve the green mango dal fry, which many know as dal makha, with hot rice, pickles or any fried dish.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.