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Posted:6/2/2017
Updated:10/5/2018

Sri Lankan Mango Curry

40 mins
Curries
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Sri Lankan Mango Curry - An easy curry recipe that is sweet, sour and spicy. Vegan and Gluten free and is absolutely amazing! A Sri Lankan favorite!

Sweet, spicy and sour, this delicious Mango Curry is a Sri Lankan classic and favorite. Simple to make and packed with a great depth of flavor, like any good curry. Perfect dish to use up seasonal mangoes that are slightly underripe.

Sri Lankan Mango Curry - An easy curry recipe that is sweet, sour and spicy. Vegan and Gluten free and is absolutely amazing! A Sri Lankan favorite!

It’s that time of the year when juicy, ripe, sweet mangoes are hitting the shelves at our local market. If we are lucky, they go on sale while the mangoes are still in prime condition (and not overripe), but since Mr K and I are both really good at choosing the best mangoes, we can generally avoid the disappointing ones. We almost always go for the ones that are just ripe or slightly underripe. Those ones that are not quite fully ripe yet, are absolutely PERFECT for this Sri Lankan Mango Curry dish that I’m going to share with you guys today! 🙂

Sri Lankan Mango Curry - How to cut the Mango for the Curry
How to cut the mangoes for the curry

A delicious mango curry like this MUST be made with fresh mangoes, though. If you use frozen mango, it gets too mushy and the peel doesn’t hold it all together and you end up with a not-quite-appetizing mess. K grew up eating mango curry in Sri Lanka and loves it. I, on the other hand, loved snacking on fresh, juicy mangoes that came straight from the tree, and didn’t much care for it in a curry form. But my taste buds have certainly become more refined with age, and I can now truly appreciate all the complex flavors that permeate this rich, flavorful dish.

Sri Lankan Mango Curry - An easy curry recipe that is sweet, sour and spicy. Vegan and Gluten free and is absolutely amazing! A Sri Lankan favorite!

Sweet, tart, sour, fruity, spicy… this Sri Lankan mango curry is nothing if not flavorful. Curries typically serve as a side-dish for rice in Sri Lanka, but every time we make this mango curry, rice becomes an after-thought. This is the star. When prepping, I cut the mango cheeks, and then cut each cheek into 3 strips. The remaining fleshy portion on either side of the seed is also cut into two strips, so you end up with a total of 8 strips, plus the seed. Do NOT throw away the seed! It adds some texture to the dish, and we love sucking on the seed at the end too! 🙂 I also do NOT peel the mangoes. The peel holds the flesh together, and it adds flavor and texture as well. And we often eat the peel as well. Nothing goes to waste!

Delicious and Perfectly ripe Mangoes

I used Kent mangoes for this recipe (sold as “Red Mangoes” here in the Mid West), because that’s what’s available to use. It has firm flesh – even when perfectly ripe, so it’s perfect for a mango curry. You don’t want to use mangoes with very soft flesh though. Kensignton Pride, Tommy Atkins, Haden, Keitt, Francis mangoes, would all be great for a curry as well.

Sri Lankan Mango Curry - An easy curry recipe that is sweet, sour and spicy. Vegan and Gluten free and is absolutely amazing! A Sri Lankan favorite!

This Sri Lankan mango curry is deceptively easy to make. Just keep in mind that you will need to adjust sugar and vinegar levels according to the fruit that you use. So always taste test and adjust the amount of seasoning. The curry powder that I use is my Sri Lankan curry powder (you can get the recipe for it, right here). If you absolutely have to, you can substitute it with an authentic curry powder or Garam Masala (a sweeter curry powder). The taste will be slightly different since you’ll be altering the curry base, but it’ll still be delicious, I guarantee it!

This Sri Lankan mango curry is vegan and gluten free. It’s amazingly flavorful and aromatic on its own, but even better when paired with other vegetarian curries like this Creamy Cashew Curry, or even a fish or meat curry too!

Sri Lankan Mango Curry - An easy curry recipe that is sweet, sour and spicy. Vegan and Gluten free and is absolutely amazing! A Sri Lankan favorite!

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Sri Lankan Mango Curry - An easy curry recipe that is sweet, sour and spicy. Vegan and Gluten free and is absolutely amazing! A Sri Lankan favorite!
5 from 7 votes

Sri Lankan Mango Curry

Cuisine: South Asian, Sri Lankan
Total Time 40 minutes
Serves 4 - 5 serving
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Print Rate

Ingredients:

  • 3 tbsp coconut oil or neutral oil
  • 2 garlic cloves chopped
  • One half of a medium red onion sliced
  • 1 tbsp mustard seeds
  • 1 ½ tsp curry powder
  • 1 - 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 ½ tsp cayenne pepper
  • ¼ heaped tsp salt plus more to taste
  • ½ cup water
  • 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
  • ¼ cup coconut milk
  • 2 Serrano pepper slices cut length-ways or across, and de-seeded if you prefer your curry less spicy
  • 3 mangoes 1 ½ lbs mangoes, with the seed
  • ¼ tsp white vinegar

Instructions:

  • Wash and cut the mangoes. To cut the mangoes - slice off the top stem, and then slice off the cheeks of the mangoes. Cut the sides off the mango seed. Then cut each mango cheek into 3 strips, so that all the mango pieces are roughly equal in size. You will end up with 8 mango pieces, plus the seed.
  • Heat 3 tbsp of coconut oil (or any neutral oil) in a large non-stick saucepan. Add the sliced onion, garlic and mustard seeds. Saute for a few minutes until the onions have softened.
  • Add the curry powder, 1 tbsp sugar, cayenne pepper and salt. Mix for a few seconds to heat the curry powder until you can smell the spices.
  • Add water, desiccated coconut and coconut milk, and mix through and heat to simmer. Add the mangoes, serrano pepper and white vinegar and gently mix to coat the mangoes with the spices. Cover and let the mango curry simmer for 15 - 20 minutes, stirring gently every 5 minutes, until the mango flesh has softened, but not mushy. Halfway through the cooking process, taste the curry and season to taste. Add the extra 1 tbsp sugar if needed (if your mangoes are particularly sweet, you might find that you won’t need extra sugar). Stir to combine, and cook for the remaining time.
  • Serve hot with rice. Enjoy!
Course:Curry, Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine:South Asian, Sri Lankan
Keyword:Curry, Mango, Vegan
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Sri Lankan Mango Curry - An easy curry recipe that is sweet, sour and spicy. Vegan and Gluten free and is absolutely amazing! A Sri Lankan favorite!

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  1. Ravithi says

    September 25, 2020 at 04:45

    5 stars
    Curry came out tasty, Did not use coconut milk

    Reply
  2. Pauline says

    July 17, 2020 at 14:09

    5 stars
    This curry was delicious. Left out the dessicated coconut though as my partner doesn’t like it. Will definitely be making this again. Thank you.

    Reply
  3. Kali Jade says

    March 9, 2020 at 19:59

    5 stars
    Yummm

    Reply
  4. Douglas Robertson says

    February 15, 2020 at 15:02

    Enjoyed it – lovely ! but do you not add tumeric to this dish?!
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Dini says

      February 17, 2020 at 13:40

      Hi Douglas
      Im glad you enjoyed it!
      You can add turmeric if you like, but I didn’t.
      Hope that helps!

      Reply
  5. Cheryl pietersz says

    January 17, 2020 at 22:52

    Wow. This was so nice. Will make it again
    Cheryl

    Reply
  6. Priya says

    December 6, 2019 at 12:39

    Trying your recipe today :-)…But I dont have vinegar. Ideas for a substitute? Thanks. Will update on the taste :-).

    Reply
    • Dini says

      December 6, 2019 at 15:14

      Hi Priya!
      If you don’t have vinegar, you can use lemon juice / lime juice instead. You may need to add more, and it can change the flavor a little (as white vinegar has a very neutral flavor compared to lemon and lime juice). Just taste at the end and add more if you need to 🙂
      Please do let me know how it came out! I hope you enjoy it.

      Reply
      • Priya says

        December 7, 2019 at 18:46

        5 stars
        OH.MY.GOODNESS! The dish came out AMAZING!!! I took extra servings without rice, twice :-). And my friend who got to taste it loved it too! This was such an easy but tasty recipe! For keeps! I did not add lemon juice or vinegar and yet the taste was heavenly! Thank you!

        Reply
        • Dini says

          December 8, 2019 at 19:50

          Yaay, I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe Priya! It’s one of our favorites too! 🙂

          Reply
  7. Ingrid says

    November 10, 2019 at 01:52

    Silly question, but does one peel the mangoes first?

    Reply
    • Dini says

      November 10, 2019 at 06:05

      Hi Ingrid!
      Not a silly question at all! I don’t peel the mangoes as the skin helps keep the mangoes intact as it cooks. Or it will become very mushy as it cooks.
      Depending on the type of mango we use, we used to eat the peel too. But we don’t recommend that unless it’s organic. There is more information in the post as well.

      Hope that helps!

      Reply
  8. Rashmi Varma says

    September 15, 2019 at 01:54

    5 stars
    An outstanding recipe! I made it for a dinner party yesterday and it was the talk of the party.

    Reply
    • Dini says

      September 15, 2019 at 07:02

      Thank you so much for letting me know Rashmi! So happy everyone liked the recipe! 🙂

      Reply
  9. Jessica Davis says

    January 8, 2019 at 15:51

    Looks yummy, I will have to try this!

    Reply
  10. Beth says

    December 29, 2018 at 17:36

    5 stars
    I love this recipe – can’t wait to try it. Trying to broaden my curry repertoire and this recipe sounds perfect!

    Reply
  11. Joanie says

    December 29, 2018 at 17:28

    5 stars
    What a lovely recipe! Perfectly seasoned and easy to make. My family loved it!

    Reply
  12. Erin says

    November 30, 2018 at 00:19

    Can you freeze this recipe?

    Reply
    • Dini says

      November 30, 2018 at 20:22

      Hi Erin!
      I’ve never frozen a fruit curry, so I can’t be sure. In theory, you can freeze curries – but with a mango curry, I don’t know if the texture of the mangoes will be affected as they are reheated. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help.

      Reply
  13. Ally Cartwright says

    October 5, 2018 at 06:36

    Hi,
    Can you tell me the amount of people the recipes serves? My daughter has just come back from doing a placement in Sri Lanka and it’s her 21st, so we are going to have a wee party.
    Many thanks, Ally

    Reply
    • Dini says

      October 5, 2018 at 11:15

      Hi Ally,
      This Mango curry recipe will serve about 4 people. I hope you love it as much as we do! And welcome back to your daughter!
      Cheers,
      Dini

      Reply

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