Ambe Upkari | Sweet & Spicy Mango Curry - Mangalorean Style | Vegan Mango Curry

Ambe Upkari is an authentic & traditional Mangalorean style sweet & spicy curry prepared using ripe mangoes. A perfect side dish for your vegetarian and vegan meal.

Ambe Upkari is a versatile, easy-to-make curry where you can adjust all the ingredients to your taste. Depending on how sweet the mangoes are, adjust the amount of jaggery. To balance and contrast the sweetness of mangoes, add green chilies. And lastly, add some tempering (tadka) and grated coconut to give the coastal flavor.

Konkanis love this dish so much that at any function you attend during the summer season, ambe upkari is served 🙂

In earlier days, ambe upkari was prepared using ripe mangoes that were bruised/damaged upon falling from the tree. These bruised/damaged mangoes would not last fresh for more than a day or two, and we never wanted to throw them away just like that. So everyone ended up using them in recipes like ambe upkari. As kids who grew up in a village, we remember going and picking up those freshly fallen ripe mangoes and bringing them to mom to make the dish. My kids will not get to experience such situations, as we live amidst a concrete jungle - which is sad if you think about it. 

These days, whenever we want to make this dish, mangoes are purchased from the market. Choose small mangoes while making this dish. Fibrous mangoes are the most preferred as they allow you to dip and savor the curry. Gonte ambo (in Konkani) is one such fibrous mango used to make this mango curry. This variety of mango, has a unique flavor, especially the peel. I doubt whether this variety is available across. But you can still make this dish with any variety of mangoes. Go for indigenous/heirloom/wild mangoes, as they tend to be fibrous and have a balance of sweet and sour flavors when ripe.

Ingredients for Ambe Upkari | Sweet & Spicy Mangalorean Style Mango Curry

6 to 8 Ripe Mangoes
¼ to ½ cup Jaggery (Adjust based on the sweetness of mango)
6 to 8 Curry leaves
3 Green chilies, slit
¾ to 1 teaspoon Salt, adjust to taste
2 tablespoon Flour (Rice flour, Maida/all-purpose flour, corn flour, etc.)
½ cup Water
2 tablespoon Grated coconut (optional)

For the tempering
1 tablespoon Oil
1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
6 to 8 Curry leaves

How to make Ambe Upkari | Sweet & Spicy Mango Curry with Ripe Mangoes

Nicely wash the mangoes in water. Peel the skin and separate the skin from the fruit. Check out the video here. Keep the peels separately.

Add ½ cup water to the peel and extract any leftover mango flavor. Add this to the pot where you have added mangoes along with additional 1 1 /2 cups of water. (Read tips)

Add jaggery, curry leaves, green chilies, and salt. Switch on the flame to medium-high and bring this to a boil.

Meanwhile, add flour and ½ cup of water to another bowl and whisk nicely to form a lump-free slurry.

Once the curry comes to a boil, add the slurry and bring it to a boil again. Keep stirring during the process.

While the curry is boiling, you can prepare the tempering. In a small pan on medium heat, add oil. Once hot, add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add curry leaves, saute for few seconds and switch off the flame.

Add the tempering to the mango curry along with grated coconut and switch off the flame. Cover and keep this aside for 10 minutes.

Some useful Tips:

• Small sweet ripe mangoes (indigenous/heirloom/wild varieties) are the best to make this curry. We use gonte ambo (small mangoes).
• If small mangoes are used, use them as it is in the recipe. If the size of the mangoes is large or the fruit is very pulpy, then you can lightly squeeze the mangoes and add them. This way, the curry also thickens, and the flavor of the mangoes pops up.
• Adjust all the ingredients to taste.
• We use maida to make slurry as it is allowed to consume even on fasting/vrat days. You can use rice flour, maida, or cornflour to make the slurry.
• You can add sugar instead of jaggery.
• If you want to get bright yellow color, add a pinch of turmeric if needed.

If you are a crazy Mango lover like us, you can check out some of the best and easy mango recipes to try. 

Video recipe for Ambe Upkari | Sweet and SPicy Mango Curry - South Indian Style

Detailed recipe for Ambe Upkari | Sweet and SPicy Mango Curry - South Indian Style

Recipe card

Ambe Upkari | Vegan Mango Curry | Sweet & Spicy Mango Curry

Kushi

Ambe Upkari is an authentic & traditional Mangalorean-style sweet & spicy curry prepared using ripe mangoes. A perfect side dish for your vegetarian and vegan meal that can be prepared in 20 mins.

5 from 12 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine Coastal Karnataka, Indian, Kerala, Konkani, Mangalore, South Indian, sri lanka, Udupi

Servings 6

Calories 205 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 6 to 8 Mangoes , ripe
• ▢ ¼ to ½ cup Jaggery adjust based on sweetness of mango
• ▢ 6 to 8 Curry leaves
• ▢ 3 Green chilies , slit
• ▢ ¾ to 1 teaspoon Salt , adjust to taste
• ▢ 2 tablespoon Flour (any flour will work - Rice flour, Maida, Corn flour)
• ▢ ½ cup Water
• ▢ 2 tablespoon Coconut , grated (optional)

For the tempering

• ▢ 1 tablespoon Oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
• ▢ 6 to 8 Curry leaves

Instructions

 

• Nicely wash the mangoes in water. Peel the skin and separate the skin from the fruit. Check out the video for vegan mango curry here. Keep the mango peels separate.
  6 to 8 Mangoes
• Add ½ cup water to the peel and extract any leftover mango flavor. Add this to the pot where you have added mangoes, along with additional 1.5 cups of water. (Read tips)
• Add jaggery, curry leaves, green chilies, and salt. Switch on the flame to medium-high and bring this to a boil.
  ¼ to ½ cup Jaggery, 6 to 8 Curry leaves, 3 Green chilies, ¾ to 1 teaspoon Salt
• Meanwhile, add flour and ½ cup of water to another bowl and whisk nicely to form a lump-free slurry
  2 tablespoon Flour, ½ cup Water
• Once the curry comes to a boil, add the slurry and bring it to a boil again. Keep stirring during the process.
• While the curry is boiling, you can prepare the tempering. In a small pan on medium heat, add oil. Once hot, add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add curry leaves, saute for few seconds and switch off the flame.
  1 tablespoon Oil, 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds, 6 to 8 Curry leaves
• Add the tempering to the mango curry along with grated coconut and switch off the flame. Cover and keep this aside for 10 minutes.
  2 tablespoon Coconut

Notes

• Small sweet ripe mangoes (indigenous/heirloom/wild varieties) are the best to make this curry. We use gonte ambo (small mangoes).
• If small mangoes are used, use them as it is in the recipe. If the size of the mangoes is large or the fruit is very pulpy, then you can lightly squeeze the mangoes and add them. This way, the curry also thickens, and the flavor of the mangoes pops up.
• Adjust all the ingredients to taste.
• We use maida to make slurry as it is allowed to consume even on fasting/vrat days. You can use rice flour, maida, or cornflour to make the slurry.
• You can add sugar instead of jaggery.
• If you want to get bright yellow color, add a pinch of turmeric if needed.

Nutrition

Calories: 205kcalCarbohydrates: 43gProtein: 2gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.01gSodium: 369mgPotassium: 360mgFiber: 4gSugar: 38gVitamin A: 2316IUVitamin C: 118mgCalcium: 37mgIron: 1mg

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