Lentils with mango

Serves two:

 

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• waxy potatoes according to needs
• good piece of leek in thin strips
• 1 clove garlic
• canned lentils (net weight 260 g)
• 2  medium-sized ripe mangoes
• 2 tbsp coarsely chopped coriander leaves
• salt

Mango is the most eaten fruit in the world. And just as with apples the most exiting stories are told about it. The Vedic scriptures of India see the mango as a transformation of the Lord of Creation/Procreation. But we are also told that the doughter of the Sun, married to the king became a lotus flower to escape a wicked witch. The king fell in love with the flower after which the sorceress burned her to ashes. From this ash the mango tree evolved, and when she fell to the ground as a ripe fruit she came to life and the king could embrace his great love again.

In the Philippines too the tree is connected with love. Girls married off to men they did not love, could not live on. From their hearts grew the mango tree with its heart-shaped fruit.

In many countries you can buy the fruit ‘ready to eat’. Then they have to yield to a light pressure and spread a nice perfume. Black spots mean rottenness. When the fruit is still hard you should follow the advice of Madhur Jaffrey, Indian cookery writer: wrap them up in newsprint and put them a few days in a basket.

• Peel the potatoes, cut into finger-thick strips. Heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan. Cook the potatoes covered until brown and done, stirring from time to time. Ladle them in a smaller frying-pan. Keep warm.
• Fry the leek strips with the chopped garlic gently in the remaining fat. Add the drained lentils and cubes of mango in the middle. The cubes are made as follows: cut the flesh off the mango on either side. Make square indentations in the flesh down to the skin. Cut the cubes free, starting from the skin. Do the same with the rest of the fruit. Warm through.
• Make room around the rim for the potato strips, sprinkle with some salt. Garnish the lentils with coriander.

 

Menu suggestion

• Starter: Raw vegetables. Thin strips of carrots (made with a peeler) mixed with thin strips of oxheart cabbage and a dressing of lime juice, garlic, olive oil, 1 tsp dill seed, peper and salt. Garnished with chopped almonds roasted in a dry frying pan.
• Dessert: mandarins