Ambe Dal (Raw Mango Chana Dal Salad).

“Ambe Dal (Raw Mango Chana Dal Salad)” … a delicious coarsely ground (Vatli Dal) chutney sort of a dish from Maharashtrian Cuisine prepared when raw mango is in season … though this is served as a snack as it … somehow I love to relish it as side dish with roti/ chapatti/ poori/ dosa etc. tastes great … Yummilicious …

** “Ambe Dal” the name itself spells that it is a dish with addition of Dal and Mango. During summer raw mangoes are available in plenty almost all round country and each region has their own dishes prepared using them beside the famous pickle. In southern side we amchies add it to pachodi, chanbure upkari etc. off course there are many more cooked dishes using the same too. The tart distinctive flavor of raw mangoes is something almost all love and await eagerly for the season to begin.

** Maharashtra too has its own cuisine delicacies using raw mangoes and the most famous of all in panna a lovely sweet spicy tangy beverage relished throughout the summer season. Then there are chutney’s and rice dishes too prepared using them, but the one which is more famous is “Ambe Dal” a dish prepared with coarsely ground chana dal and grated raw mangoes which is spiced up and served in raw stage with panna. I remember tasting ambe dal for the first time in my neighbor's home 3 decades back.

** Ambe Dal is also referred as Vatli Dal or Kairichi Dal, though once again Vatli Dal has two variations, one which is cooked while the one with inclusion of kairi is served raw. I found this closer to our coarsely ground chutney gooli like gosale shire etc. if ground slightly finer which is what I do. Though it is served as it is, I prefer to have it with roti, poori, fried bread slices, dosa etc. Well, each one has their own preference and I have made slight tweets in my variation by just pulse grinding the ingredients together to a coarse paste and seasoning it.

** Here is my recipe for “Ambe Dal (Raw Mango Chana Dal Salad)” ….

** Wash well, say at least 3 times 1 cup of Chana Dal/ Bengal Gram split Dal and then soak it in about 3-4 cups of water for at least 5-6 hours (important to soak at least min. 4 hours). Once again rinse and wash well and then put it in a colander and keep it aside for atleast 10-20 minutes for the water to get completely drained off.

** Wash and wipe dry one medium sized raw mango/ ambuli/ kairi. Snip off the stem side edge, grate it through a medium holed grate, and keep it ready aside. You can also cut it into small pieces and grind it coarsely along with other ingredients, which is what I do.

** In a mixer grinder add in the 3-4 green chillies (tarni mirsang/ hari mirchi) and 2-3 red chillies (sukki mirsanga/ sooki mirchi) both cut into pieces along with 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds (jeera) and coarsely grind it till crushed well, do not make it smooth. Remove and put this in a wide stainless steel bowl.

** Now in the same mixer grinder add ½ cup of freshly grated coconut (soyi/ nariyal) and ¼ cup of coriander leaves (kottambari pallo/ dhania), the cut raw mango (kairi/ ambuli) pieces and grind using pulse method till it just gets crushed well. Do not use grinding method or else it will turn into paste, we just need it coarsely powdered, so be careful.

** Note : to get coarsely textured ingredients you need practice and if you are not comfortable you can just add them finely chopped too. I am a gadget lover and I use them to maximum benefit and over years I have perfected the method of getting right consistency mixtures. It is not difficult, all you need is patience and practice and yes, use pulse mode only.

** Remove and add the above too to the ground items in the bowl. Now add in the drained and kept aside chana dal and once again using the pulse mode grind it to a very coarse mixture say just about 8-10 pieces of each dal, a few will get crushed more, but that’s fine. To get it perfectly done, pulse for a few seconds, mix, pulse and continue till done.

** Remove and add the coarsely ground chana dal also to the mixture in the bowl, add in salt (namak/ meeta) to taste and about 1 tsp of sugar (shakkar/ Sakkara) or jaggery powder (godda pitti or grated goda/ jaggery) and mix well in a light mixing method using a fork, till all the ingredients are well mixed.

** Note : Use a fork or light motion to mix the mixture, tossing method is fine. Do not mix vigorously or everything may turn mushy, we need it slightly dry textured, so be careful.

** For Seasoning/ Tempering : Heat 1 tblsp of coconut oil (any edible oil), when hot lower the heat and add in 1 tsp of mustard seeds (sasam/ rai) and when it begins to splutter add in ¼ tsp of jeera (cumin seeds), 5-6 curry leaves (kadipatta/ karbevu), ½ - 1 tsp hing (asafoetida) powder, pinch of haldi (turmeric) powder, 1 red chilly (sukki miirsanga/ sooki mirchi) cut into two pieces and fry for a second and then pour this over the prepared and kept aside ready mixture.

** Once again the mix all the ingredients loosely with the seasoning, no vigorous motions please or else the whole dish will turn into a mess. Put it in an stainless steel box and put it in the fridge for about an hour or two as it taste better served slightly cold. If you have not ground the coconut gratings and coriander leaves, you may add them toward the end and mix well, that is the original method and you may follow any suitable to you.

** “Ambe Dal (Raw Mango Chana Dal Salad)” is done and ready to be served. This is served as it is with sweet- spicy- tangy Panna (Raw Mango Coolant), sort of a salad type snack. Haldi Kumkum a famous tradition in Maharashtra were in married women are invited and offered the same along with some fruit or a small gift when held in home is accompanied with this dish at times. In my home however, we prefer to relish the Ambe Dal with roti/ paratha/ poori or even fried bread slices, try that variation, I am sure you will like it too. 

** Note : My preparation of “Ambe Dal (Raw Mango Chana Dal Salad)” differs slightly from the traditional Maharashtrian method, I learned this from my neighbor and made a few variations to suit to our liking at home. However both are similar in taste and ingredients wise, it just a slight variation in cooking method. I also follow the vatli dal method where in the dal is cooked and proceeded to prepare the dish, which I will share very soon too.