amchur

origin:India

Ground dried mango powder from a green or unripe fruit, giving a distinctive sour and slightly fruity flavour. Used as a souring, thickening and tenderising agent in India

recipe kits: chana masala, butter chicken, chicken jalfrezi,

Spice Notes:

Origin: South East Asia

Amchur is ground dried mango powder from a green or unripe fruit, cut into slices, dried then pulverised. Naturally grey in colour, turmeric is sometimes added to make a more attractive colour.

Amchur has a tart, acidic fruity flavour and is used in north Indian cooking as a souring agent, much as tamarind is used in the south. Amchur powder has a strong tenderising quality and is useful either as a dry seasoning, in a marinade or as a flavour enhancer.  The sourness is useful in place of lemon, vinegar or tamarind (it doesn’t change the colour of the dish as much as tamarind) in curries or chutneys, and it can also be used as a thickening agent.

Particularly good cooked with pulses and beans as it helps soften them and aids digestion.

Apparently, one teaspoon of amchur has the equivalent acidity of approximately 3 tbls of lemon juice, but we’d usually say add around a teaspoon at the same time of cooking as you’d add garam masala (right at the end), see how it tastes, and add another pinch if needed.

Medicinal Properties:
Amchur gives a concentrated dose of all the vitamins and nutrients you would find in mango. It contains phyto-chemicals such as beta-carotene and large quantities of anti-oxidants, some of which are not found in any other fruit.
Uses:

A key ingredient in our chaat masala - a dry seasoning that can be sprinkled over salads of vegetables or fruit.

Uses:

• Sweet chutneys can have a teaspoon or so added to balance the flavour nicely (particularly useful as it acts as a thickener as well as a souring agent)

• Add towards the end of cooking, particularly to vegetable or pulse curries (up to a couple teaspoons or so) to add that crucial little bit of acidity

• The acidity aids in tenderising poultry, meat, fish – brilliant for marinades and very compatible with other marinating spices such as ginger, pepper, coriander, cumin and star anise.

• Use it raw as a dry seasoning – good just sprinkled generously over fruit or vegetable salads, potatoes, pulses etc.

• A sprinkle over a curry or vegetable dish before serving gives a subtle lift to the flavour, similar to a last minute squeeze of lemon