As you know the Mango is King of all fruit, both sweet and sour. When a sweet mango is used with this rice recipe it will provide a sweet flavor and fragrance, if sour mango is used, it will have a tart taste with sweet fragrance.What follows is really a simple recipe but so versatile in its taste, fragrance and appearance. Everyone I know loves it and there is never any left over. It will quickly disappear after being offered to Sri Krishna as if by magic.
Ingredients:
1 cup Basmati rice (uncooked)
1 large green mango (grated)
4-8 green chillies
2 curry leaves
Mustard seeds
A sprinkle of cilantro
Peanuts (quantity as desired)
Salt
Ghee or Olive Oil
Chana dal
Urad dal
Asafetida - a pinch
Procedure:
1. Cook the rice with two cups of water. Remove the lid and let the rice dry. Or simply use a rice cooker.
2. Grate the mango.
3. In a pan put some oil ( Ghee or Olive Oil ) and fry the peanuts till they become crisp. Once done, remove and save them for later.
4. In the same pan add few more tsps of oil and prepare the cooked spices( few mustard seeds, 1 tsp chana dal, 1/2 tsp urad dal, few curry leaves and three pinches of Asafetida ).
5. Add the green chillies. once the chillies are fried add the grated mango , cook just for a minute and turn off the heat.
6. Now add the peanuts, cooked rice, cilantro and salt to the above mixture and serve.
Lemon juice can be added to the mixture as desired.
Below is a narration by Govinda Dasi that mentions A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj and the quality of first class rice.
One day Srila Prabhupada was talking about his life as a gentleman householder in Calcutta. He described the various types of rice, eaten by different types of people, saying that the aristocratic class preferred the long-grain basmati rice and the servant-class preferred the short grained, cheaper type of rice. Basmati was new to us and Srila Prabhupada was expressing his appreciation of it. Srila Prabhupada said: "They like according to their nature", he explained, 'everyone has taste according to his nature.
If you give a tiger milk he will not take. He desires blood to drink. That is his nature". Srila Prabhupada began to talk about his own experiences. When he was a householder he had a few servants, as was the custom in colonial and post-colonial India. "Because we were eating a very fine quality Basmati rice, which is long-grained and very flavorful, so I wanted to give the best rice to my servants also. I wanted to offer them the best prasadam and care, as it is said that even though one pays his servants, still one becomes indebted to them as they are rendering so much service". Accepting service is such a serious thing, he explained, as it can be very much implicating.
"So for some time the servants were eating this very nice Basmati rice". Then, one day, Srila Prabhupada described, one servant came to me very humbly and requested 'Sir, you are very kind and respectable and I have no complaints in your service. I am very satisfied serving here in your household but only one thing, sir, this rice which you are giving us to eat, is very difficult for us to eat. We are not accustomed. Is it possible we may have to eat that short grain variety". Srila Prabhupada burst into smiles, chuckling and shaking his head from side to side, eyebrows raised, his eyes half-closed he said; "Just see, I am giving him first class rice, but he is unable to tolerate. He desires third class rice, cheaper quality because his taste is for that. These are the modes of nature, such a subtle thing. So I gave them as they wanted".
Note: A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj was addressed as Srila Prabhupada by his loving students.
