Pakistani Mango Recipes
Aam ka salan, Pakistan's mango curry
A proper curry built around the mango, not a curry with mango thrown in.
8 min read · published 12 June 2026
What aam ka salan actually is
Aam ka salan is a tamarind-peanut-sesame gravy built to coat whole baby mangoes, usually unripe or just-turning Anwar Ratol, small enough to fit in a serving spoon. The dish migrated from Hyderabad to Karachi at Partition and is now most strongly associated with Pakistani Sindhi cuisine.
It is not a sweet mango curry. The fruit is the savoury anchor; the gravy is sour, nutty and chilli-warm. Pair it with biryani, never with rice on its own.
Sourcing baby Anwar Ratol
You need small green or barely-yellowing Anwar Ratol mangoes, 60 to 80g each. A standard PakMango.Com Anwar Ratol carton arrives ripe, so for this recipe ask your supplier for a green-pick carton, or use the smallest fruit from a regular carton and accept a slightly sweeter gravy.
If you can't find Anwar Ratol at all, use small Indian Kesar or any 80g unripe variety. The flavour will be more astringent and the cooking time slightly longer.
The gravy paste
Toast 50g raw peanuts, 30g sesame seeds, 30g desiccated coconut and 2 tsp coriander seeds in a dry pan until golden. Cool, then blend with 4 dried red chillies, 1 tbsp tamarind paste, 1 tsp jaggery, 1 tsp salt and 200ml water into a smooth, runny paste.
In a wide pan, heat 4 tbsp mustard oil until smoking, then cool slightly. Crackle 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 8 curry leaves and 1 tsp nigella seeds. Add 1 sliced onion, fry until brown. Pour in the paste. Simmer 8 minutes.
Cooking the mangoes
Score each baby mango lengthways in 4 places (don't cut through). Slip into the gravy, cover, and simmer on low for 25 minutes, turning every 5 minutes so each side cooks evenly. The flesh should be just yielding when pricked.
Rest the salan for 1 hour off the heat before serving, the mangoes absorb the gravy in this rest, and the dish doubles in flavour. Reheat gently. Serve with mutton biryani, salted yoghurt, and sliced raw onion.
Frequently asked
- Can I make this with ripe mango?
- Not really, ripe mangoes disintegrate in 5 minutes. The dish needs firm, sour-edged fruit to survive 25 minutes of gravy simmer.
- Is it very spicy?
- Medium. The four dried chillies provide warmth, not fire. Reduce to two for children or adjust upward with fresh green chillies for heat-seekers.
- How long does it keep?
- 3 days refrigerated; the mangoes get better on day 2. Don't freeze, the fruit goes mushy on thaw.
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