Mar

2

Fajeto

March 2, 2007 |

fajeto1.jpg

A Yogurt-based Mango Curry

This curry, featuring mangoes, yogurt and chickpea flour, has its origins in the Gujarati community in South Africa. It has since become integral to Gujarati cuisine in India. It’s sweet, tangy and hot, all at once.

It’s Aamras with Attitude.

We came across this recipe from two sources - Tarla Dalal’s The Complete Gujarati Cookbook, and Madhur Jaffrey’s Ultimate Curry Bible.

Fajeto sounded quite similar to the Mango Pulissheri Keralites make during mango season. We prepare it often, ‘cos frozen cubed mango is available all year round at the local supermarket. In the Gujarati version, the coconut is replaced with besan or chickpea flour.

We opted for the Tarla Dalal version, ‘cos it had unusual, aromatic ingredients like ginger powder and cinnamon. We were not disappointed. This kadhi matched our beloved Mango Pulissheri in taste, was quicker to prepare, and the absence of coconut meant fewer calories. (You can see the Madhur Jaffrey version here.)

We have tried and enjoyed an array of recipes from The Complete Gujarati Cookbook. In the process, we’ve learnt that when Tarla Dalal says ’serves 4′, she’s probably referring to foetuses. Or ferrets. We always double or triple her recipes, ‘cos the specified quantities yield minuscule portions. This dish, in particular, calls for a large batch, ‘cos it tastes better the next day. Our recipe serves four adult humans.

We halved the cayenne and used whole cinnamon instead of powdered. It was still blazing hot. And fantastic.

RECIPE

Fajeto
(Serves 4)

Ingredients

Set 1
2 cups alphonso mango pulp
2 cups plain yogurt (we used 1%)
2 tbsps. besan or chickpea flour
1/2 tsp. cayenne (chilli) powder
2 tsps. green chilli-ginger paste
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 tbsp. powdered jaggery (or maple syrup)
salt to taste

Set 2
3 sticks cinnamon
3 cloves (powdered)
1/2 tsp. ginger powder
1.5 tsps. mustard seeds
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
3 broken red chillies
1/2 tsp. asafoetida
12 curry leaves
2 tsps. oil

Method
1. Mix all the ingredients in Set 1, and whisk them together to ensure a smooth consistency.

2. Heat the oil, add the cinnamon, cumin and mustard seeds. When the mustard pops, add the powders, curry leaves and dry chillies, and stir for 30 seconds.

3. Add the mango-yogurt mixture, and simmer for 10-12 minutes, until the raw smell of the chickpea flour is no longer discernable. Do not bring to a boil.

Serve with rotis, pooris or rice.

This is our entry for Nupur’s A to Z of Indian Vegetables Series at One Hot Stove for her ‘F’ event .

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14 Comments so far

  1. Sangeeta on March 2, 2007 7:16 am

    Hi Bee & Jai,

    This is such an interesting recipe - like “Kadhi” but with magoes. never tried fajeto before but it tops my “must try” list. Thanks for sharing this great recipe

  2. asha on March 2, 2007 8:41 am

    LOL @ “It’s Aamras with Attitude”!!

    Looks delicious and very unique dish.

  3. Trupti on March 2, 2007 8:56 am

    Lovely! I adore this..my mother used to make this for me with leftover Keris..she would often add the whole mango in the kadhi for an even deeper flavor. A classic Gujarati recipe…thank you.

  4. sra on March 2, 2007 10:04 am

    Nice write-up and pic. The ending made me laugh!

  5. mandira on March 2, 2007 10:56 am

    Bee & Jai, my first time to your blog. I don’t know how I missed your blog. Wonderful collection of recipes and Fajeto sounds delicious. I like the description - aamras with attitude :)

  6. sra on March 2, 2007 11:16 am

    Hi again, Bee! I saw your comment on my blog and clicked on it to publish but it disappeared! Thanks for adding me to your blogroll, I’ve left a message on my own blog as well!

  7. sailaja on March 2, 2007 11:34 pm

    That’s a very interesting recipe and that picture makes it more exotic.

  8. padmaja on March 3, 2007 4:56 am

    My First time here,u have a great thing going here!!!
    woh!!!
    never heard anything like this recipe, sounds and looks very interesting!! u did twist my arm so i am going to make it this weekend and will update u bee
    thank u so much

    thank you all, for your kind comments. do try the recipe and tell us how it turned out. - jai.

  9. Anita on March 4, 2007 6:44 am

    Where have I been?!!
    I loooove this blog of yours! And the pictures, and the recipes….And the pictures!

    au contraire, where have we been…thanks for visiting

  10. Lakshmik on March 4, 2007 7:29 am

    Hi Bee and Jai

    I remember my mom used to make mango pulp morkozhambu. This one is so similar to her recipe. Thanks.

    I do too…and the mango seed with little flesh sticking to it thrown in for good measure. I used to be the designated “seed polisher” and I did a fine job of implementing the “no pulp left behind” policy –Jai

  11. Valor Muthia Nu Shaak » jugalbandi on June 21, 2007 9:18 pm

    […] end up with bliss on a plate. We’ve blogged about a few unusual delicacies from the book like Fajeto and […]

  12. E-D of Indian Vegetables » jugalbandi on August 29, 2007 7:13 pm

    […] Fajeto (Gujarat) […]

  13. Cropping out the mess in our kitchen » jugalbandi on September 21, 2007 4:20 pm

    […] this shot of Fajeto, that we were forced to take a night to send in time for an event. We first took a shot on a white […]

  14. bhavani on January 29, 2008 7:32 pm

    i made fajeto for dinner tonight, to go with chappati. it tasted so wonderful. and it was so fragrant, once the raw besan flour had cooked. it smelt as fragrant as your awesome erisheri!! and i wonder why, because i added neither any coconut nor coconut oil. we could hardly wait to eat it, and ended up eating it almost piping hot. almost burned our tongues. worth it, though.
    husband immediately declared this as a dish fit for guests (as in many homes, in mine too, guests are never aware of the dishes i DON’T make well, just of the ones i DO). ;;)

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