Mango recipes for Mango Airlines

Mango Airlines is a much loved low-cost carrier in South Africa. We thought it would be right and fitting if they served up Mango dishes on their planes, given that one of the healthiest fruits abundant in the land of South Africa is the mango. Although it can be eaten on its own, it is a key ingredient to many savoury dishes. Especially when mixed with fresh ingredients, mango recipes will always have a distinct taste, irresistible to any foodie. So, here are some recipes we suggest to be served on Mango flights (and you may just want to try them at home!) - from mango chicken to mango wine, mango cocktail, mango lassi, mango beef with cashews and pickled mango.

Chicken or Beef?

In keeping with the chicken or beef cliche as airline foods, it is irresistible to start off with mango chicken & mango beef recipes.

Mango Chicken Ingredients 8 skinless and deboned chicken breasts 2 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 ½ cup chopped red onions 2 sliced and peeled mangoes 6 cups orange juice 6 tablespoons corn flower (Maizena) ½ cup hot water Directions 1. Heat the oil in a large pan. 2. After heating the oil, add the chicken breasts. Fry them until they are crispy while making sure that their juices are still clear. 3. Add the chopped onions on the pan. Sauté the onions and the chicken for three minutes by frequent stirring. 4. Add the orange juice to the pan and boil. 5. When everything starts to boil, add the mangoes. 6. Simmer everything for two minutes while lowering the heat. 7. Pour the corn flower into the hot water and dissolve it. 8. Thicken the sauce by stirring the corn flower-hot water mixture into the pan.

Mango Beef With Cashews Ingredients 2 pounds of lean beef, your choice of round steak or sirloin steak 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic 2 tbsps of light soy sauce 2 tbsps of rice wine 2 tsps of corn flower (Maizena) 4 ripe mangoes 2 tbsps of sunflower oil 4 tbsps of cilantro (coriander), freshly chopped 2 oz coarsely crushed unsalted cashew nuts Salt Fresh ground black pepper Directions 1. Slice the beef into strips, about a quarter-inch. 2. Place the beef in a bowl and put the garlic, light soy sauce, rice wine, and corn flower. Add some salt and black pepper for additional taste. 3. Set aside for half an hour to ensure that the beef has absorbed the mixture. 4. Peel the mangoes and cut into thick and even slices. 5. Heat the sunflower oil in a non-stick pan. Pour the beef mixture and start stir frying. 6. After the beef starts turning brown, stir in the mango slices. 7. Lower the heat and simmer for three minutes 8. Remove from the heat and sprinkle with cashews and cilantro. These two recipes are actually good for around eight people. Some kind of festivity, right? For more fun, you may want to consider making wine using mangoes.

Mango Cocktail

Ingredients

1 cup vodka
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 cups pineapple juice
2 mangos
1 tbsp icing sugar

Directions

1.  Skin and chop the mangos.
2.  Place the mango and all the other ingredients into the blender and blend until it is perfectly smooth.
3.  If your blender tends to leave small chunks in the mixture, use a sieve or strainer when pouring out the mixture.
4.  Pour into cocktail glasses, over ice.
5.  Garnish with a lemon wedge, if desired.

Mango Lassi

The Lassi is an extremely popular drink in India, particularly in the North.  This recipe makes a delicious type of milkshake. South Africa has the largest population of Indians, outside of India itself; so Mango Airlines, this is a good drink to put on the menu on those Durban to Johannesburg and Durban to Cape Town flights.

Ingredients

1 cup (250ml)  plain yoghurt
½ cup milk
200g (approx. 3 of the fresh fruit) mangos, stoned and sliced
4 tsp sugar, or to taste

Directions 

1.  Place all the ingredients into your blender.
2.  Blend until smooth – approximately 2 minutes.
3.  Pour into glasses and serve.
As a variation, try leaving out the sugar and putting in a little salt and a few cardamom seeds.  You can store the Lassi for up to 24 hours in a fridge.

Mango Wine

1. You will need to prepare three things:

four pounds of mango
a strainer bag,
fermenters (secondary and primary)
a masher (optional)
three and a half quarts of water
two and a half pounds of sugar
¼ tsp. of tannin
1 ½ tsp. of acid blend
2 pcs. Campden tablets
1 tsp. of yeast nutrients
½ teaspoon of pectic enzyme
1 tsp. of Montrachet wine yeast or Champagne wine yeast
2. Start peeling the mangoes.
3. Place the mango pieces inside a strainer bag.
4. Tie the strainer bag and put it in the primary fermentor.
5. Start mashing the mangoes. You can use a masher or you use your own hands.
6. Put the water into a sauce pan and bring it to a boil.
7. Add the sugar into the water. Mix it while waiting for it start turning into a syrup consistency.
8. Let the syrup mixture cool then pour it over the mango in the primary fermentor.
9. Add Campden tablets, acid blend, tannin, and yeast nutrient to the primary fermentor.
10. Cover the primary fermentor and store in a romm temperature for 24 hours.
11. Take out the primary fermentor from the storage. Then, pour in the pectic enzyme. Then, store it for twelve hours.
12. Pour the wine yeast to the primary fermentor, your choice of Montrachet or Champagne.
13. Every day for the next ten days, for two or three times a day, squeeze the strainer bag. On the last day, drain the mixture contained on the bag. Squeeze everything to ensure that all the juice will be taken out.
14. Throw away the pulp and the bag.
15. Set the wine overnight.
16. After setting the wine, siphon everything into the fermentor. Remember to never stir while pouring the wine because it can stir up the sediments.
17. Put the airlock of the secondary fermentor in place.
18. Set the wine for a month.
19. After a month, rack the wine by siphoning it from the sediments.
20. Return the wine to the fermentor.
21. Then, for six months, every two months, rack the wine. Remember to let the wine set before racking them into bottles.
22. Dependent upon your preference, you can add sugar to the wine to sweeten it.

Patience is a virtue in making a mango wine as you have to wait for a year before you can start tasting the fruits of your labor. So, if you have festivities lined up for next year, you may want to start doing it right now.

By now, as you are still reading this list of mango recipes, it cannot be denied that you have a really great love for this fruit (and perhaps Mango airline too). As a bonus, I am giving you a pickled mango recipe which is great for a variety of dishes like vegetables curries and grilled meats. Actually, some South Africans even directly pair it with their brown rice so it is actually a dish on its own.

South African Inspired Pickled Mango

Ingredients

¼ cup of balsamic vinegar
1/8 cup of honey
1 clove of garlic, chopped finely
1 tsp of chili powder
1 tsp of curry powder
½ tsp of ground cumin
½ tsp of ground ginger
½ tsp of mustard seeds
¼ tsp of sea salt
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 firm and unripe mango, peeled and dice the flesh to ½ inch

Directions

1. Mix the balsamic vinegar, chopped garlic, curry powder, cumin, ginger, mustard seeds, and sea salt.
2. Put the mixture in a pan and heat until it starts to boil.
3. Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat.
4. Simmer for a couple of minutes while stirring occasionally. Wait for the mixture to reduce and thicken. Make sure that the mixture never burns.
5. Remove the mixture from the heat then start whisking it with oil.
6. Add the diced mango on the mixture. Then, stir the mixture with the mango.
7. Set aside the mixture letting it cool.
8. Refrigerate for at least eight hours.

Ask our travel consultant your questions here. She would love to assist.