KAIRICHI THECHA

 KAIRICHI THECHA

Here in India, we associate the hot summer days with raw mangoes being available in plenty. Raw mangoes are called Kairi in Marathi, Maavinkayi in Kannada, Mamidikayi in Telugu, and Ambuli in my mother tongue, Konkani.

No kid growing up in India would have missed that great experience of eating slices of raw mango dipped liberally in salt and chilli powder! 

As this article explains, raw mangoes have numerous health benefits.

Elsewhere in the blog, you will find recipes for dishes made with raw mangoes, such as:-

• Raw Mango Pachadi
• Maavinkayi Chitranna
• Mamidikaya Menthi Pachadi 

Today's recipe - Kairichi Thecha- is from Maharashtrian cuisine. Raw Mango is called Kairi in Marathi. Thecha is a dry chutney-like popular accompaniment for bhakri and roti. 

Traditionally, thecha is made using a mortar and pestle. These days since most people use mixers, I must mention that the grinding should only be done in the pulse mode to get the coarse texture required for the thecha.

Do try this out and I am sure you will love it! 

Ingredients:- 

• Kairi (Raw Mango), 1 of about 240 grams
• Green Chillies, 10
• Roasted Peanuts, 1/3 cup
• Garlic Cloves, 8
• Cumin Seeds, 1/2 tsp
• Coriander Leaves, 1 handful
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, 1 tsp 

Method:-

Wash the raw mango and wipe it dry. 

Peel and cut the raw mango into cubes and discard the core

Wash the green chillies, remove the stalks, pat them dry and slit them 

Wash, dry and finely chop the coriander leaves

Peel the garlic cloves

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a kadhai and roast the slit green chillies stirring continuously till they get spotted  

Remove from the kadhai and allow them to cool

Transfer to a mixer jar

To the roasted green chillies, add the roasted peanuts, garlic cloves, cumin seeds, coriander leaves and salt to taste. 

Add the raw mango cubes. 

Grind on pulse mode till the ingredients are crushed and blended to get the Kairichi Thecha with a coarse texture

Transfer to serving bowl

Serve as accompaniment to bhakri/roti