Raw mango is a popular fruit, utilized to cook different types of recipes like mango pickle, mango chutney, aam kasundi, aam dal, and many more. Most of the time, the peels of raw mango are considered waste material which is usually discarded. (1). The mango peel constitutes around 15 to 20% of the total weight of the fruit. (2). But do you ever taste mango peels? I tasted mango peels many times and personally, I am fond of it. They have a very good taste which is a mixture of sour and stringent. The mild flavor of mango peels is so attractive!

Mango peel is a very good source of antioxidants and dietary fibre. (3)

The recipe – Raw mango peel achar

• Preparation Time: 90 minutes
• Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients Required

• Mango peels: 400g
• Jaggery: 250g
• Salt: 5g
• Black salt: 5g
• Black pepper: 5g (1 teaspoon)
• Turmeric powder: 5g(1 teaspoon)
• Panch phoron: 5g (1 teaspoon)
• Dry red chillies: 2
• Bay leaves (tej pata): 2
• Ginger paste: 5g (1 teaspoon)
• Mustard oil: 15g (1 tablespoon)

Recipe

1. Cut the mango peels in a thick layer. Divide them into one-inch pieces.
2. Marinate mango peel pieces with salt, black salt turmeric powder and black pepper. Spread the marinated peels in a single layer and keep under the sun for an hour.
3. Dry roast one spoon of panch phoron, 2 bay leaves and 2 dry red chilli on a tawa. Coarsely grind the freshly roasted masala.
4. Now heat the oil in a non-stick kadai, add the mango peels, fry for 5 minutes at medium flame.
5.  Now add the jaggery to it, cover the container and cook for 10 minutes at low flame. Stir it occasionally with a spatula.
6. Now check the peels, it is soft enough, switch off the gas.
7. Add the roasted and ground masala mix and mix well. Keep it for half an hour.
8. When cool transfer the anchar in a glass bottle.

Storage

• Store the mango peel pickle in an air-tight glass bottle. Glass container is safe and aninert container which istraditionally used to preserve the pickle for a long time.
• Fill the bottle up to the neckmark, cover the lid tightly.
• Keep the glass bottles at room temperature without the fear of spoilage.
• Keep the bottles under direct sunlight for the first 3 days for at least 4 hours.
• After that keep the bottle under sunlight for 2 hours every week.

Shelf life

You can easily store this pickle for a year at room temperature. There is no need for refrigeration.

How to serve

Serve the mango peel pickle with your lunch or dinner. It can improve the taste of your rice and dal meal. You take this pickle with the roti or puri.

Points to remember

• Be careful, don’t overcook the masala, it will impart a burned flavour and spoil the aroma of the anchar. Switch off the gas when the masala emits a beautiful aroma.
• Don’t add extra water during cooking, cook the recipe at low flame, the peels will be cooked by water liberated from itself.

Health Benefits of Mango Peels

• Mango peel is an excellent source of antioxidants. (4) Inclusion of more antioxidants in the diet impart many health benefits. Antioxidants help to prevent many diseases like cancer, cardiac problems, diabetes, etc.(5)

• It is a good source of carotenoids and polyphenols, vitamin E, and vitamin C. (6). These nutrients help to maintain the health of the skin and boost general immunity.

• It is also a rich source of dietary fiber. It contains both soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. It is a good source of iron and zinc. (7) Taking more fiber helps you to prevent obesity and diabetes.
• Mango peel has certain anti-inflammatory properties, which plays a beneficial role in the prevention of many diseases. (8)
• It has certain antibacterial properties. So, mango peel helps to improve general health and boost immunity (9)
• Since mango peel is a good source of both iron and vitamin-C, it is good food for the anemic patients. (10)

Bottom Line

Raw mango is a popular fruit, utilized to cook different types of recipes like mango pickle, mango chutney, aam kasundi, aam dal, and many more. Most of the time, the peels of raw mango are considered waste material which is usually discarded. But mango peels are usually rich sources of several antioxidants. It also a good source of dietary fiber. Mango peels have a good taste and flavor which should be utilized. It also has many health benefits. So, guys, don’t discard the peels, rather utilize it with to make tasteful pickle.