Annapurna: Aam Papad / Mango Fruit Leather Recipe

Monday, 4 June 2018

Aam Papad / Mango Fruit Leather Recipe

Aam Papad is a traditional Indian fruit leather made from sweetened and sun dried mango pulp. This delicious mango dessert is popular throughout India and is one of the best ways to preserve mangoes and ensure one enjoys the fruit even in the off season. Aam papad can easily be made at home with just 3 ingredients and can be enjoyed in the form of bars, rolls or as bite size candies.

Aam Papad is known as Aamta ( Assamese), amawat (Hindi), mamidi tandra ( Telugu), aamsotto (Bengali) and amba Vadi (Marathi). Aam papad has a good shelf life and can be enjoyed as a dessert or to satisfy those sweet tangy mango cravings. Traditional aam papad is sweet in taste, but you can add spice powders and salt to make its lip smacking version as well. If you make the aam papad using refined sugar you will get a vibrant yellow color, but since i have used jaggery here as a sweetener, the aam papad is brown in color.

I have made this aam papad using fresh ripe mango pulp and used jaggery as a sweetener instead of refined sugar. Green cardamom is used for flavoring the mango papad and aids in digestion. Any sweet variety of mango can be used to make this papad. I have made it using Safeda variety. Fresh mango pulp is cooked with jaggery powder on low to medium flame until it reduces to half its original quantity. The sweetened and reduced pulp is flavored with green cardamom powder and poured on greased trays and spread evenly to form thin sheets and sun dried for 2-3 days . Once all the moisture is removed, the aam papad can be rolled and relished or you can cut into squares, build more layers and form blocks, as the store bought ones. For my little one, who does not like to handle the sticky rolls or blocks, i prefer rolling out small bite size aam papad and pack them in fresh wraps and serve him as candies .

My little one turned 10 this week and was on his first stay trip to a hill station in Himachal Pradesh for 3 days for a school camp. He left for the camp early morning on his birthday . It was such a mixed feeling of joy , fear and sorrow to let him go away from us for the first time, fear of how he would take care of himself without us and sorrow of not being with him on his special day. We always wanted him to learn to be independent and responsible and this camp proved to be a successful one to start . He enjoyed the trip thoroughly and while the school and camp organizers kept us updating about the kids throughout the trip, the mother inside me, could not help worrying for him, until he cam back home fit and fine with a broad smile on his face and spark in his eyes. I made these aam papad candies as welcome home treats for him. He relished them fondly and insisted me , i should make a big batch of these aam papad candies again very soon. Feels so accomplished !

Mango is known as the king of fruits. Beyond the sweet, luscious taste of mangoes, they have immense health benefits. Mangoes are very low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium. They are also an excellent source of dietary fiber and vitamin B6, as well as a good source of vitamin A and vitamin C. They are rich in minerals like potassium, magnesium, and copper, and they are one of the best sources of quercetin, beta-carotene, and astragalin. Source: here

Preparation time: 2 days
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves: 12

Ingredients : Measurements used - 1 cup = 200 ml

2 cups of ripe mango pulp ( i used 750 grams mangoes to obtain this quantity)
1 cup jaggery powder or grated jaggery
3-4 Green cardamom pods
Ghee for greasing the trays

Method:

Wash the mangoes, peel them and obtain the pulp. Run the pulp in a grinder to ensure the puree is smooth and there are no lumps in it. Grease 2 trays or plates with ghee and keep aside until use.

2. In a wok add the pulsed mango pulp and jaggery powder and heat on medium flame. Keep stirring the mix and cooking for about 15 minutes or until the mix is reduced to half its original quantity.

3. If you cook the mix on a low flame , it may take around 20 minutes. Keep stirring continuously to ensure the mix does not catch the bottom of the pan.

4. Once the mango jaggery mix is thick enough, put off the flame. Add the cardamom powder and give a quick stir. Immediately pour the mix into the greased plates / trays and spread evenly.

5. Keep the plates covered with a muslin cloth ( very thin cotton cloth) under the sun to dry out for 2-3 days .

6. Once the pulp has dried completely, remove the aam papad from the plate and cut into desired shapes and store in clean air tight containers and use as per need.

7. Aam papad can be enjoyed in the form of bars, rolls or as bite size candies all year round. Enjoy them as it is or add some chat masala, crushed black pepper and black salt over the finely chopped aap papad and serve it as a lip smacking side dish during meals.

Recipe Notes:

If you make the aam papad using refined sugar you will get a vibrant yellow color, but since i have used jaggery here as a sweetener, the aam papad is brown in color.
Traditional aam papad is sweet in taste, but you can add spice powders and salt to make its lip smacking version as well. Add the spice powders once the pulp is reduced.
Aam papad can be enjoyed in the form of bars, rolls or as bite size candies.

Serving Suggestions :

Enjoy aam papad as it is as a dessert, snack or to satisfy those mango cravings or add some chat masala, crushed black pepper and black salt over the finely chopped aam papad and serve it as a lip smacking side dish during meals.

This delicious aam papad is featured in the #147th #FoodieMondayBoghop where the theme for this week is #Mangoes

So , if you are also a mango lover like us, do try out this delicious aam papad recipe before this summer beauty disappears from the markets. Would love to know your thoughts , so feel free to drop any queries, suggestions and feedback in the comment section below.