Gujarati mango soup

Serves 4

(Photographs by Jason Lowe)

This is a common soup among Gujarati families in India and South Africa where they have fantastic ripe and juicy mangoes. It makes a perfect middle course or a very light starter.

2tbsp chickpea flour (gram flour)
1/2tsp ground turmeric
1/2tsp ground cumin
1/2tsp ground coriander
120g natural yoghurt (plus a few spoonfuls for garnish)
The flesh from 2 mangoes, coarsely blended
1tsp salt
1tsp sugar to taste
2 small chillies
2tbsp corn or peanut oil
A good pinch of asafoetida
1/2tsp black mustard seeds
1/2tsp cumin seeds
1 whole dried red chilli
1/2tsp fenugreek seeds
10-12 curry leaves, preferably fresh from Asian supermarkets
Salt and pepper to taste
Freshly chopped coriander as a garnish (optional)

Put the chickpea flour, turmeric, cumin and coriander in a bowl. Whisk in 120ml water. Whisk in the yoghurt then pour in the mangoes and another 400ml water. Add the salt, sugar if required, and mix well. Pour the oil into a thick bottomed pan over a medium heat, add the asafoetida, mustard and cumin seeds, dried chillies, fenugreek and the curry leaves. Take off the heat and stir in the mango mixture. Return to a low heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring every so often. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to infuse for about 30 minutes. To serve, strain the soup through a coarse strainer, scooping out some of the seeds and stirring them back into the soup. Serve hot or cold.

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