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Memories of the Middle Berth. Every summer, the journey to my grandmother’s house began with a massive steel tiffin box. While the heat outside the train window soared past 40°C, inside our compartment, the air smelled of roasting spices and tangy mangoes. My aunt would pack Aam Choka Rice. Because it uses raw mango instead of water for its tartness, and the rice is thoroughly cooled and tossed in oil-roasted spices, it never spoils—even on a 24-hour journey, it was a meal that brought the whole compartment together. It represents the ancient Indian culinary wisdom of using seasonal preservation to fight summer dehydration.
For the rice base
Cooked rice (preferably short grain like Sona Masuri): 2 cups
Raw green mango (peeled and finely grated): 1 cup
Peanut oil or gingelly oil: 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
For the spice paste and tempering (Choka)
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Chana dal (Bengal gram): 1 tbsp
Urad dal (Split black gram): 1 tbsp
Raw peanuts or cashew nuts: 1/4 cup
Green chilies (slit lengthwise): 2-3
Dry red chilies: 2
Asafoetida (Hing): 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
Fresh curry leaves: 10-12
1. Wash and clean the rice well. Boil rice with water in 1:2 ratio. Cool and dry the cooked rice by spreading it on a flat plate. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of oil over the rice and gently fluff with a fork to keep the grains separate.
2. Heat the remaining oil in a heavy-bottomed pan or kadhai over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Fry the lentils & nuts: Add the chana dal, urad dal, and peanuts. Fry on low-medium brown and the peanuts are crunchy. Add the cumin seeds, slit green chilies, dry red chilies, curry leaves, and asafoetida. Sauté for 30 seconds until fragrant. Lower the heat and stir in the turmeric powder followed by the grated raw mango. Cook the mango for 3-4 minutes until it softens slightly and loses its raw moisture but still retains its bright colour. Season with salt.
3. Turn off the heat. Add the cooled rice to the pan. Gently toss and mix until the vibrant yellow mango spice paste evenly coats every grain of rice. Let the rice cool down completely to room temperature before packing it into your travel container.
My Food Story is a collection of stories and recipes that celebrate India’s traditional plant-based ingredients sourced from local biodiversity. You can see these recipes on our interactive dashboard (https://www.cseindia.org/page/myfoodstory).
Ramalakshmi Sundararajan is a content creator from Telangana