Amba Nimba Jhola | Mango Neem Bud Curry

Finally the summer is in full swing !! With the high mercury level, the scorching sun has the potential to drain us out completely. By ignoring this, many feel dehydrated during these months and experienced low energy level. So, it is important that we should take extra care during this hot season. From eating right to following certain lifestyle changes, we can beat the hazardous impacts of summer. Apart from drinking lots of water, a special summer diet consisting of light and healthy food would ensure a cool mind as well as a cool body. So there must be a big NO to all oily and junk foods which are not at-all digested easily during these hot days.

In Odisha, the summer season is also bit hectic one. People are used to have Pakhala, a watered rice with curd / some tempering over it during summers. This fermented rice is the perfect dish to beat the heat and give a refreshment to the whole body. Since summer gets started from around mid of the month March, so 20th March is celebrated as Pakhala Dibasa (Universal Pakhala Day) by all Odias to welcome summer season with Odisha’s traditional food. Also some people prefer to have kanji which may be torani kanji or dahi kanji or sukhua kanji etc. This kanji is also a good body coolant during these days. 

    Well, here I have come up with a sour dish using neem buds and raw mango which is known as Nimba Amba Jhola. During starting time of summer months, mango trees are loaded with so cute cute mangoes which are neither too big nor small. Also the seed of these mangoes are bit tender. And this type of mangoes are mainly used in this dish. Along with neem buds and mango, I have also added some colocasia (arbi), potato. Some fried badis (sun-dried lentil (black gram) dumplings) are also added at the end to give a crunch in the dish. This sour dish and a bowl of steamed rice is a pure bliss for me during hot sunny days !!! The whole process is so simple and easy to make. So do try this Amba Nimba Jhola or Mango Neem Bud Curry and give your valuable feedback either in the comment box below or tag me as #firsttimercook on Instagram. Lets go in details method of preparation of this sour dish.

    Preparation Time : 15 mins  |  Cooking Time : 15 mins 

    Ingredients :        

    Ingredients

    Measurements

    Neem bud (fresh / dried)

    2-3 tbsp

    Mango (raw) (medium)

    2 no

    Potato

    1 no

    Colocasia (medium)

    2 no

    Badi

    5-6 no

    Red chili

    2 no

    Cumin seed

    ¼ tsp

    Mustard seed

    ¼ tsp

    Turmeric powder

    ¼ tsp

    Coriander powder

    ½ tsp

    Mustard oil

    2 tbsp

    Salt

    As needed

    Water

    As needed



    Method :

    1. First take all the neem buds / nimba kadhi in another bowl and pour some water.
    2. Thoroughly wash and clean the buds. 
    3. Finally strain the buds using a strainer and keep aside.
    4. Now heat 1 tbsp mustard oil in a pan, then add washed and clean neem buds.
    5. Fry over medium heat till crispy texture.
    6. Take out of the pan and keep aside in a plate.
    7. Wash and peel colocasia (arbi), potato and cut each into 4 pieces lengthwise. (I have not peeled the potatoes)
    8. Put all the chopped potato, colocasia in the pressure cooker along with some water and cook for 1 whistle.
    9. Next wash and peel raw mango and cut into 4 pieces lengthwise. Discard the seeds and keep aside in a bowl.
    10. Heat rest mustard oil in a pan.
    11. Shallow fry the badis till golden brown in color. 
    12. Transfer to a bowl and keep aside.
    13. To the same pan, add cumin seed, mustard seed, red chili and allow to splutter.
    14. Next add chopped raw mangoes and saute well.
    15. Sprinkle turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt and give a mix.
    16. Add 2 tbsp water, mix well and cover for 3-4 minutes over low-medium heat.
    17. Then add boiled potato, colocasia pieces and 1 cup water. Give a stir.
    18. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes more.
    19. Finally add fried badi and turn off heat.
    20. Serve hot this nimba amba jhola with steamed rice !

    Notes :

    • If neem buds are dried ones, then proceed directly from step-4.
    • I was run out of badis, so I have not added these. But do add to get crunchiness in the dish.


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    This ‘Amba Nimba Jhola‘ is contributed for 46 Healthy Wellthy Cuisines where the theme is ‘Summer Comfort Food‘. Here are more similar recipes shared by our Healthy Wealthy Group members as Dahi aam pohaCurd rice and mango salsa buddhaMalai paneerMambazha pulissery / ripe mango yogurt curry, Dahi wali dry bhindi.

    21 Comments

    1. Sujata Roy

      Mango neem bud curry looks delicious. A completely new and unique flavour. Lovely share.

    2. JollyHomemadeRecipes
      JollyHomemadeRecipes

      Never used neem buds in a curry, sounds interesting and delicious..loved the green color of the dish.

    3. Unknown

      This is a very unique recipe and I have never heard of neem buds. So good to read about a unique recipe. I am going to look for these ingredients and make this once.

    4. Uma Srinivas

      Lovely share! Like you said if this is perfect for beat the heat I will suggest my mother to make this 🙂

    5. Archana

      Lovely share. This is new to me sounds delicious.

    6. Archana

      Wow! This is simply delicious.😋 I love the taste.

    7. Shobha

      Looks delicious and healthy. I have never tried cooking with neem buds.

    8. Unknown

      Such a prefect dish for summers, lovely recipe must try soon.

    9. Ritu Tangri

      These days we generally run away from traditional dishes. Never heard of neem buds in a dish. Thanks for sharing such a unique dish.

    10. Mayuri

      What a delicious looking sabji Sasmita. I was wondering if the sabji turns out a bit sour because of the raw mango.

      1. Sasmita

        yes di, its bit sour and bitter as well 🙂

    11. Avin

      Lovely and unique share. Hope to try it sometime😊

    12. Rafeeda AR

      I am really wondering of the flavors… never knew that neem buds are used in cooking… very interesting post about how summer is handled in Orissa. We too have kanjis in our cooking, made with either beaten rice or wheat…

    13. Unknown

      Such a perfect and delicious this recipe looks. Cant wait to try this. 🙂

    14. Padma

      Mango and neem buds are a known combination in the Ugadi chutney we make for telugu New years day….But, using them in a curry is new to me…Unique recipe…Got to try it sometime…Great share!!

    15. Freda

      Very interesting dish, totally new to me! It looks very delicious, thanks for sharing 🙂

    16. Maria Nasir

      I've heard from my mom how amazing neem is for health but have never tasted a neem dish. Reading your description I'm salivating and feeling very hungry. 😊

    17. mildly indian

      I would actually love to try this a s soon as i catch some neem flowers. will love to see how the flavours develop

    18. cookingwithsapana
      cookingwithsapana

      Nice to know about a healthy and unique neem bud curry, thanks for sharing it with us. With all the health benefits we all should try it in our diet.

    19. Aruna

      I am enjoying learning about Odia cooking from you. This dish must taste so good, tangy, bitter, hearty. Look forward to many more traditional recipes.

    20. jayashree

      Love these odia recipes here, this is also new to me. It looks so yumm, can have it with hot rice.

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    jayashree

    Sasmita

    Hey there !

    Myself Sasmita, a techie turns to a food blogger which is reflected in this space.

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