Mangos are Getting Big...Recipes Requested!

This is going to be a great year for the fiberless mangos at our house. The tree has huge ones all over. The wild mangos are always plentiful, but by the time I figure out what to do with whatever is ripe the season just about ends. I did freeze some sliced mangos last year and we just recently had the last of them. The texture changes to something like canned-peach texture, but for this recipe it doesn't matter. My sister has wanted this recipe so here it is. I forget where I found it (on the web of course). I forget how much I tweeked it as well. So this is the best thing I have figured out to do with mangos!

Curry Mango Chicken
400 for an hour - marinate for 2 hours before assembling and baking

Mince:
4 cloves garlic
4 tsp fresh ginger

Make Marinade in small bowl:
3 1/2 tbsp curry powder (I use half sweet curry and half hot curry)
2 tsp ginger
2 pressed garlic cloves
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tsp thyme
meat of choice or tofu (chicken, shrimp, flaked fish, tofu, tempeh)
marinate meat for 2 hours

Combine in casserole dish:
2 cups uncooked, rinsed rice
2 cups chopped mango
1 small chopped onion
2 cloves pressed garlic
2 tsp minced ginger
1 tbsp curry
pinch of pepper flakes
salt
thyme
10 allspice berries (dried ones)
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 cups broth
2 tbsp lime juice
handful of raisens
Arrange meat on top

Pour 14 oz can of coconut milk over the top and bake

After an hour take foil off and bake another 15 or so minutes



Assembled and ready to pop in the oven. It doesn't look like much but this is a really good recipe. Leftovers are great in the microwave - add some water before zapping it so it stays moist.

We have two small Naranja Agria (bitter orange) trees in the yard. After using a few for marinades there were still a bunch on the trees so I made some marmelade. It was wonderful (after a couple tries to get it right). I had a craving this week so I made some marmelade with regular oranges since the others are gone.

Orange Marmelade (a trial and error combo recipe)
3 pounds oranges (about 6)
3 1/2 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups water
1 lemon


First I use a zester and take the peel off of 3 of the oranges. If the strips are long I cut them. Then over a pie plate I cut the oranges from end to end (starting where it attaches to the tree) and use my finger to slip the segments out while catching all the juice as well. The seeds go in a separate bowl (you need them for the pectin). You don't want the white membranes, just the pulpy parts of the oranges and all the juice.

Put the water in a wide, flat pan and add the peel. After it cooks for a little bit (it will be kind of translucent) dump the juice, segments and lemon juice into the pan. Don't leave out the lemon juice - you need the acid to get a good set. Put the orange seeds in a tea strainer and float it in the pan (or use a tea bag to hold them). How many? for Naranja Agria there are loads of seeds and you don't need many. If you fruit it ripe you need more than if you use some not-quite-ripe fruit. Just fill a tea strainer and you should get a good set.

Now you boil it down until it is thick and kind of syrupy. It kind of takes on a darker color. I don't find that a candy thermometer helps (supposedly cook it to 220 degrees) and a meat thermometer does not work. Just make a batch and you'll figure out how it should look.

Do the smush test - have a plate in the freezer, spoon some of the mixture onto the plate and spread it. Use your finger to smush it - if it wrinkles and holds its place it is done. Get rid of the seeds and put into sterilzed jars (it makes a peanut butter jar and olive jar full).

I sterilize jars in the oven at 250 for 15 minutes or so and boil the lids. I reuse jars from peanut butter, artichoke hearts etc and they seal perfectly. If you don't hear the pop as the jars of marmelade cool just put the offender in the fridge and eat that one first!

Problems: if the jam is runny use it on pancakes or dump it back in the pan and cook it down some more. If it is a solid block put it back in the pan and add 1/2 cup of water until it is blended then put back into sterilized jars. This is yummy stuff - put it in plain yogurt and dump it over fruit, put it over ice cream, on bread, on crackers, on pancakes. Have fun making it!


Segments, juice, water and seed bag all bubbling away!

The finished product - if you don't like the little bit of white along the top just skim the foam off the stuff before putting it in the jars. So...I need some mango recipes and have to start thinking about avocado recipes as well. Any ideas? I missed the boat on lechosa - papayas don't dry well, I don't make shakes and all we did was eat them on cereal. My neighbor showed me the lechosa dulce thing but I really didn't like it much. I don't want to miss out on wonderful mango things!