Mango Salsa with a Fermented Fire
This morning I woke up with a sudden penchant for a banana lassi – the kind I fell in love with in Jaisalmer, the best of my entire India rail trip. But with the old BBC Family Favourites earworm "Yes! We Have No Bananas" looping in my head, I discovered the lyric was painfully true: not a single banana in the house. It's Sunday, the shops are shut, and so a lone mango stepped up as understudy.
One thought led to another, and instead of a lassi, half that mango ended up diced, dressed and fired up with a dash of my own fermented Mango Ember hot sauce – bright, sharp, and just hot enough to wake everything else on the plate up. I served it alongside a simple roast chicken leg in the outside kitchen at Casa Adora, but this mango salsa recipe earns its place on its own – it's just as happy next to grilled fish, tacos, or a piece of griddled halloumi.
Mango Salsa Recipe Ingredients
- ½ mango, diced (for the salsa)
- ½ mango reserved (for a lassi, to satisfy this morning's original craving)
- ½ lemon, juiced
- A small amount of red onion, finely diced
- A handful of fresh parsley, chopped
- A dash of Mango Ember (or your own fermented mango hot sauce)
Method
- Dice the mango half into small, even pieces.
- Finely dice the red onion and chop the parsley.
- Combine the diced mango, lemon juice, red onion, parsley and a dash of Mango Ember in a bowl.
- Mix gently and set aside for a few minutes to let the flavours come together before serving.
And the other half of the mango? That went into a lassi after all – not banana, but close enough to scratch the itch that started all this in the first place.
This recipe is part of my Sauces, Salsas & Dressings collection.
Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures – The Flexible Chef
