Amba Khatta or Sweet and Sour Mango Chutney

Back home, when mom cooked a proper Odia meal, it used to have horizons of taste. There used to be something savory, something sweet, something tart, something both sour-sweet, something bitter. This would be an all taste in a balanced meal of health. The big Odia platter always had a small sweet and sour chutney called as Khatta (Amba Khatta in my recipe today) and was made up of some seasonal tart veggies or fruits and had an ample amount of jaggery or sugar with flavoring from very own pancha phutana or popularly known as panch phoran.

In summer, when you get the raw mangoes no family in Odisha miss cooking Amba Khatta. The raw mangoes are cubed and cooked in Jaggery with ample flavoring from a pinch of five spices.

Ingredients for Amba Khatta:

1. Green Mango – 1 large or 3-4 small sized, cut into reasonably sized cubes
2. Phutana or Panch Phoran – 1 tsp
3. Curry Leaves – 1 sprig
4. Red Chili – 1
5. Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp
6. Salt – 1 tsp
7. Jaggery – 1 cup, grated or coarsely made in small pieces
8. Vegetable Oil – 1 tbsp

Steps of Preparation for Amba Khatta:

1. Cut mangoes into medium sized cubes.

   

2. Heat a frying pan and add the oil to the pan.

   

3. After the oil is hot, add the red chili, panch phoran and curry leaves and let it splutter.

   

4. To the Tadka, add the cubed mangoes and saute.

   

5. Then add the turmeric powder and salt and let it cover and cook.

   

   

6. After the mangoes are cooked 70%, add the jaggery and cover it again.

   

7. Once the jaggery melts and coats the mangoes well, switch off the flame and serve in your lunch platter.

   

I love this dish so much that I can have it solely with my plain Parathas or Rotis. They make my summer time awesome.