Manga Inji Chammandhi

Let me share a little about Manga Inji before I go on to my Manga Inji Chammandhi recipe. Manga Inji, Maa Inji or Mango-Ginger is a rhizome that looks like ginger but is nothing like it. It is a pale yellowish on the inside and has a mild raw mango flavor with a hint of ginger without the pungency. It actually belongs to the Turmeric family and many refer to it as White Turmeric or Zedoary.

Manga Inji is not Zedoary. The scientific name is of Manga Inji is Curcuma Amada which is slightly different from Curcuma Zedoaria. Manga Inji is creamy white and sweeter in taste while Zedoary is yellow orange with a stronger camphor like aroma and is pungent in taste.

It is a close relative of turmeric and native to India and Indonesia. In India, Manga Inji is usually used fresh in chutneys or in pickles. It can be used in salads, stir fries, dals, etc. The Mango-Ginger root is used in Ayurveda as it has a lot of medicinal properties. Modern medical research has confirmed this.

I love Manga Inji in any form, especially as pickles and chutneys. A few years back, I found some in a vegetable store and saved a few to plant. Since then, I harvest a large amount every year. This year I had a really huge harvest and ended up sharing most of it with family and neighbours.

I have previously shared my Manga Inji Pickle and today it is Manga Inji Chammandhi. Chammandhi is a Kerala style thick coarsely ground coconut based chutney. It is much like Thogayal of Tamilnadu, and is mostly eaten with Kanji, a broken rice gruel. Chammandhi is equally good with curd rice (rice and yogurt) or even Dosa and Idli. It also comes together in very little time.