Last time Ma (mother-in-law) had visited us, she got us a jar of dried mangosteen (thekera) slices. For the uninitiated, mangosteen is a tropical fruit, grown in the humid climates of Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, etc. Sour in taste, this fruit can be used raw or can be sun dried and preserved, as shown in the second image.
In India, mangosteen can be found in good measure in my native state Assam. That apart, I believe it is also grown in areas like Malabar and Nilgiris. Back home, the fruit is commonly used in sour preparations like maas tenga (sour fish), tenga daal (sour daal), etc.
Last weekend, I used this ingredient to dish out sour fish. Abhijit just relishes the unique flavor that mangosteen adds to the preparation.
Ingredients:
• About 5-6 pieces of Rohu fish
• Five-six pieces of dried mangosteen (soaked for about half an hour)
• Two-three medium sized tomatoes
• ½ teaspoon white mustard seeds
• Two tablespoon oil (I used non-stick pan – so you might need more depending on the type of pan you’re using)
• Two-three green chillies (chopped)
• 1/4th teaspoon turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
Method:
Marinate the fish with salt, turmeric powder and a dash of mustard oil; set them aside. Soak the mangosteen slices in a bowl. The water so obtained is the key ingredient in the preparation.
Heat the pan, pour oil and fry the fish (it shouldn’t be deep fried). In the remaining oil (we need just about a teaspoon of oil for this preparation), add the mustard seeds. When they crackle, add the chopped green chilies and cut tomatoes. Add salt and turmeric; when the tomatoes go pulpy, add water (preferably hot). Add the fish and then add the mangosteen pieces along with the soaking water. Heat them for some time and your thekera maas tenga is ready!
