Chitranna

A breakfast dish made with rice flavored with raw mango and south Indian tempering

It will be an understatement to say that I dig rice preparations. Especially traditional Indian rice recipes. I am planning on doing a whole series on just a variety of Indian rice preparations. And Chitranna (anna = rice in kannada) deserves a place in the Indian Rice preparation as a classic.

Now this is a Karnataka-style recipe, the way my Aji (mom’s mom) makes 🙂 Remembering the Khanapur mornings in early summer with the aroma of the white lentil tempering and raw mangoes makes me nostalgic. This was, is and will remain the perfect beginning to my summer mornings. I remember walking to the attic with Aji, where the mangoes would be kept in heaps of hay to accelerate the ripening. The dim lighting, the lovely aroma of the mangoes and the fun of hunting green mangoes in the hay with Aji.. I don’t like ripe mangoes, so my thrill with mangoes in summer was limited to Chitranna, panha and the likes! For Mango lovers, these are just ways to please themselves with these tasty treats until they hang in there for the mangoes to ripen.

You will need:

2 cups Cooked white rice (sona masoori or basmati, preferably)

grated raw mango (without skin. The quantity depends on the sourness of the raw mango. Anywhere from a tablespoon to a couple or more)

2 tsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1/4 tsp asafetida, 1 tsp white split entil (urad dal)

2 green chillies, 1 dried red chilli, 5-6 curry leaves

salt

cilantro

Procedure:

• Finely grate raw mango, leaving the skin behind and keep aside
• in a small pan, heat oil on med-high and add the mustard seeds and let them crackle. Reduce the heat and add turmeric, asafetida, white lentils, chillies and curry leaves
• Make sure the coked rice is loose and warm (on the colder side). Add the grated mago, salt, lots of chopped cilantro an the tempering and give it a good mix. Taste and add more raw mango as needed.

Serve warm garnished with cilantro.