Fajeto tastes best when enjoyed with steamed rice, and rotli. I did not grow up enjoying this delicious delicacy. My grandmom was born and raised in East Africa, and married in India, so her way of practising things, and kitchen were different. I came to know about this recipe when I moved to the US. I tasted it for the first time at a Gujarati Indian restaurant here, and my mind was blown. Now I make this Gujarati mango kadhi is made instead of Gujarati Kadhi during summer.
What is Fajeto?
Fajeto is a delicious ripe mango kadhi made in Gujarat. It is This recipe uses mango puree, yogurt and chickpea flour base, along with a beautiful tempering of ghee, whole spices, aromatics and curry leaves. I love how it is savory, sour, sweet and spicy and tingles all your tastebuds. It is enjoyed with steamed rice or gajar matar pulao and roti. This Gujarati mango kadhi is popular amongst Gujarati Jains and Vaishnav families. This recipe is usually made on the same day when Aamras is made. You have lot of mango pits with pulp on them left from making Aamras. So, to use those mango pits this Ras no Fajeto is made. It might spook you from trying how sweet mangoes work with the sourness of yogurt, but I promise you, it will pleasantly delight you. I have made this recipe for summer parties, as savory welcome drink, to bring some variety and my friends have loved it.
Can We Make This Recipe Vegan?
I use yogurt and ghee in this recipe, but you can easily substitute them.You can substitute yogurt with cashew yogurt to make vegan kadhi because it adds the right amount of sourness to the recipe which works perfectly. And, you can substitute coconut oil for tempering instead of using ghee.
Expert Tips
Use only 1.5 cups of water to take the pulp of mangoes from the pits. If you use more water, it will be over diluted. If you are using the mango pit water, no need to add more water to the yogurt and besan mixture. You can also add the pits in the kadhi directly. You can add mango pulp to the leftover Gujarati kadhi, to make fajeto. Serve the fajeto with steamed rice and lachko dal.
Ingredients to Make this Gujarati Mango Kadhi
Mango Pulp - I prefer and recommend you to use homemade mango pulp because it doesn’t have any sharp taste in the end. You canuse the leftover pulp on the mango pits for this recipe, or simply just blend a pulp of one of two mangoes into mango puree. Yogurt - You can use any plain unsweetened full fat sour yogurt. I have a recipe of homemade Indian Dahi that you can checkout here. If you think your yogurt isn’t sour (khatta dahi), add a tablespoon of sour cream in the yogurt. In case, if you want to make this recipe vegan, you can use cashew yogurt. Chickpea Flour / Besan - I think besan is an Indian pantry staple. But if you don’t have it you can easily buy it from your local Indian grocery store. Ghee - I highly recommend adding ghee for tempering, as it adds a beautiful nutty flavor to the recipe. But, if you want to make it vegan, I recommend you to use coconut oil/ avocado oil. Tempering Spices - We will be using mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafetida, cloves, cinnamon stick and dried whole red chilies in this recipe. You can easily find these spices on amazon or at your local Indian grocery store. Aromatics - I like to grind or pound fresh ginger and green chilies using a mortar pastel or spice grinder. I also add whole curry leaves in this recipe. Ground Spices - We will be using turmeric and Kashmiri red chili powder in this recipe along with salt. Jaggery - You can use any sweetener of your choice, either sugar or jaggery. I prefer to use jaggery for this recipe. Cilantro - I like to finely chop the cilantro and add it as a garnish for this recipe.
How to Make Fajeto?
Prep the Mango Puree
Step 1 - Peel two mangoes. Now add the pulp of the mango to a mixer and puree it. Strain if you think there is lot of fiber in the puree from the mangoes. This should yeild you about 1 cup of Mango puree. ' If you are using just the mango pits after making aamras, or eating the mangoes, make sure you leave some pulp on the pits. Now add about 3 mango pits in 1.5 cups of cold water. Clean your hands, before pitting the mangoes in the water and extracting all the pulp. Leave it aside.
Prep the Sour Yogurt
Step 2 - I recommend you to use sour yogurt (khatta dahi). You can either use old dahi which naturally gets sour, or simple leave the dahi outside on the counter for 3-5 hours to make it sour. You can also add a tablespoon of sour cream in plain yogurt to make it sour. Leave it aside.
Make The Fajeto
Step 3 - In a mixing bowl, add 1 cup of mango puree, ¾th cup of yogurt and 2 tablespoons of chickpea flour. You can either blend it all together using a hand blender or whisk until smooth. Add 1 cup of water and whisk again, and make sure there are no lumps. Step 4 - In a heavy bottom pan, add ghee on medium low flame. Once it hot, add mustard seeds and let the crackle. Then add cumin seeds, asafetida, 3 cloves and a small cinnamon stick along with 2-3 dried red chilies. Step 5 - Once, the cumin seeds splutter, add the prepared ginger and green chili paste, along with curry leaves, Kashmiri red chili powder and turmeric. Step 6 Add the mango puree, yogurt and besan mixture to the pan, and stir continuously until everything is mixed. Now add jaggery and salt, mix again.Add 1 cup of water. Keep stirring for 5-7 minutes. This will make sure your yogurt doesn’t curdle. Step 7 Let the Mango Kadhi (aam ki kadhi) come to a rolling boil. It should take you about 15minutes on a low flame. Keep stirring in between. Step 8 Add finely chopped cilantro, and mix it well. Step 9 Serve it hot, with steamed rice, papad and bateta nu shaak.
Serving Suggestion
Fajeto or aam ki kadhi can be served with plain steamed rice, carrot and peas pulao, or khichdi. You can also serve fajeto with rotli or plain paratha along with dry sabzi.
Storage suggestion
Since fajeto/ aam ki kadhi is made using yogurt, I try to finish it for the meal I have made, or store it in the refrigerator for one day. To reheat the fajeto,, add the leftover fajeto to a pot, and add some water, mix and heat it up until it starts to simmer. Serve immediately.
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