AMCHOOR

Amchoor: Dried raw mango powder

The word aam is mango in Urdu and Hindi.

Sweet, sour, tart and tangy - amchoor is made by drying unripe / green mango flesh in the sun and then grinding the dried flesh into a powder. Usually made with wild mangoes and windfalls . Used mainly as a souring agent, it has a fruit flavour and doesn’t add moisture to food like other souring agents do for example tamarind or citrus juices. With its ability to touch upon two of the taste sensations (sour and sweet) it is a great addition during the end of a dish, and can even be added to marinates and salad dressings. Used a lot in Northern Indian and Pakistani street foods.

You can substitute it with lemon juice in recipes. It’s also one of the ingredients in chaat masala (recipe coming soon)

You can buy it from most Asian shops and large supermarkets in the UK.

Try it with:

• Roasted broccoli, goes beautifully!

• Desserts that have grapes in it, marries well.

• Use in pakoras, samosas, pickles and fruit chaat (recipe coming soon)

• Amchoor has a slight tenderising effect on meat, try using in marinades.

• It has a cooling effect on the body (we will talk more about this as the membership grows) and is good for digestion and used in summer drinks. Add a pinch or two in your lemonade.

• Add in a guava sorbet - it lifts the fruitiness and balances sweetness.