Share
Imagine a hot summer day—and it’s not that difficult to imagine given how bad Indian summers can get—and what do you think you’ll feel like eating? Maybe some Kadhi to cool down your system? Maybe some mangoes, that favourite summer fruit of ours? How about both in one dish? If you want Kadhi-like flavours while getting that sweet taste of mangoes this summer, this Gujarati Ras No Fajeto recipe is all you need.
While the North-Indian Kadhi Pakoda and Sindhi-Gujarati sweet Kadhi are more well known, Ras No Fajeto is a vibrant variation of the Kadhi genre. Made with the pulp or puree of ripe mangoes, literally referred to as Ras in Gujarati—you've heard of Aamras I’m sure—this Kadhi variety is packed with sweet, tangy and salty flavours. Just like Aamras, Ras No Fajeto can be eaten with rotis and puri, but many eat it with rice to keep the system cool during long, hot summer days.
Experts believe that Ras No Fajeto was born out of the frugal nature of Gujarati home cooks who wanted to utilise every last dreg of flavour from ripe mangoes. Usually, Ras No Fajeto is made with the leftover pulp around the mango seeds after the rest of the fruit has been turned into Aamras. In this sense, Aamras and Ras No Fajeto are forever linked in Gujarati households.
True to this idea, my first experience with Ras No Fajeto was in a Gujarati home where this dish was served as a part of the main course, followed by a cold bowl of Aamras. Since then, I have usually prepared both recipes at once, one more savoury and the other sweeter. If you want to give this dish a try, here’s the recipe.
Image courtesy: Facebook/Vegetarian Tastebuds
Ingredients:
1 cup ripe mango puree
1 cup curd
2 tbsp gram flour
½ tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp jaggery, grated
2 cups water
Salt, to taste
1 tbsp ghee
½ tsp small mustard seeds
¼ tsp asafaoetida
¼ tsp cumin seeds
1 dry red chilli
2 green chillies, slit
1 sprig curry leaves
1 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
Method:
1. Place the curd, gram flour, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, jaggery, salt and water in a large pot.
2. Whisk everything well, then put it on a medium flame.
3. Keep whisking and cooking until the gram flour is no longer raw.
4. Switch off the flame, then add the ripe mango puree.
5. Whisk again, then pour the Fajeto in a clean serving bowl.
6. To make the tempering, heat some ghee in a small pan.
7. Add the asafoetida, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dry red chilli, green chillies and curry leaves.
8. Once they stop spluttering, pour the tempering over the Fajeto.
9. Garnish with some coriander leaves, and serve the Fajeto hot with some phulkas or rice.
