Name: Mango Atchar
Ingredients: 1.5 kg unripe mangoes , chopped; 4 tsp garlic and herb salt; 3 Tbsp chilli powder; 2 Tbsp cumin powder; 1 Tbsp ground coriander; 3 Tbsp curry powder; 1½ cups (360 ml ) raw honey or fructose; 2 cups (480 ml) balsamic vinegar; ½ cup (120 g ) corn or potato starch; 2 Tbsp mustard seeds; 1 handful curry leaves; 1½ cups (360 ml ) virgin olive oil or cold-pressed sunflower oil

Why it works: Cumin and coriander match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,866 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Cumin + coriandertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,866 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,082 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Garlic + coriandertop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,474 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Mango + coriandertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together420 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
Garlic + mustardtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together4,053 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Unripe mangoes: Provide the main bulk and a firm, tart fruit texture in the pickle.
Raw honey or fructose: Adds sweetness that balances the sharp vinegar and spices.
Balsamic vinegar: Supplies acidity that preserves the mixture and gives it a tangy flavour.
Corn or potato starch: Thickens the simmered mixture so it coats the mango pieces.
Virgin olive oil or cold-pressed sunflower oil: Adds fat that carries the spice flavours and gives a rich mouthfeel.

The step that matters

Simmer until thickened. Starch thickens only when it is heated enough to swell and gelatinise. If the mixture is not cooked long enough, it stays thin and will not coat the mangoes well.

Swap the mango

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (garlic, cumin, coriander, honey, vinegar, corn, mustard):

Limefits better
Avocadofits better
Lemonfits about as well
Mangothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against garlic, cumin, coriander, honey, vinegar, corn, mustard. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Honey	1 tbsp (21g)	64
Turmeric	1 tsp ground (3g)	9
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Coriander	not in our table	0
Seed	not in our table	0
Sunflower Oil	not in our table	0

Mango Atchar

Mango Atchar

Ingredients

Directions

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)