Mangonada

By Daniela Galarza

Updated May 21, 2024

  • David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
15 minutes, plus chilling
Rating
4(1,275)
Comments
Read comments

When the summer sun screams across Mexico’s city streets and sandy beaches, mangonadas come to the rescue. Also called chamangos, they can be made with any combination of mango sorbet, chopped fresh mango or mango purée, and may or may not be spiked, but they’ll always contain the salty, spicy and tangy flavors of Tajín and chamoy. Tajín, a chile-lime salt, is a delicious addition to sweet and savory foods alike. Its sister condiment, chamoy, is traditionally made from fermented fruit, salt, sugar and chiles. Depending on your location, you can find Tajín, chamoy and tamarind straws — their sour, chewy coating adds an extra tickle of tartness — at supermarkets or Latin American grocers; all three are available online.

Featured in: ‘Tajín Is a Lifestyle’: An Appreciation of the Mexican Seasoning Mix

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

    or to print this recipe.

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 5 large ripe mangoes (about 15 ounces each), peeled, pitted and cut into ½-inch pieces (about 8 cups), or 2 ½ pounds frozen mango, defrosted

  • ¼ cup granulated sugar, or to taste

  • ¼ cup fresh lime juice (from 2 fresh limes)

  • 1 ½ cups cold water, or as needed

  • ¾ cup silver tequila or rum (optional)

  • ¾ to 1 cup chamoy

  • Tajín, to taste

  • 4 tamarind candy straws (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place 5 cups mango in a blender, reserving the remaining mango. Add the sugar, lime juice and ¾ cup cold water to the blender, and blend on medium-high speed until puréed. Blend in tequila or rum, if using. Blend in additional water, adding ¼ cup at a time, until mango mixture reaches the desired consistency.

  2. Step 2

    Chill mango mixture, covered, in refrigerator until ready to serve. For a colder mangonada, transfer mixture to the freezer until it reaches the consistency of a slushy.

  3. Step 3

    To serve, pour or scoop about ½ cup of mango mixture into each of four 16-ounce glasses. Add about ⅓ cup reserved mango to each glass, followed by 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons chamoy and a generous sprinkle of Tajín. Repeat with the remaining mango mixture, mango pieces, chamoy and a final sprinkling of Tajín on top. Garnish each glass with a tamarind candy straw, if using, and a spoon. Serve immediately.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,275 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Bar Not Kitchen

If looking for an easy Chamoy recipe, I found this one from Rick Bayless: 1 cup of apricot jam (or mango jam) 1/4 cup of fresh lime juice 2 teaspoons ancho chile powder 1/2 teaspoon of salt Simply put all the ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth. For a spicier sauce just add more chile powder.

Mimi L

Couldn't one start with frozen mango chunks instead of making the puree and freezing?

Myra

Marianne M - if you Google DIY Tajin you can find recipes - it is chili, lime and salt. But, the real thing is available in many grocery stores these days, even (gasp) Walmart. Or, you know, so I'm told...

Kristie

I *sorta* made this. I was out of tajin, with I really like, so I bought more, and decided to grab some tajin chamoy while I was at it. I didn’t have the right amount of nano (I thought), but 4 cups in a mix of frozen and fresh. Since I was making this for two instead of four, I decided to go with it and see where we ended up without halving the recipe. Because all of my mango ended up in the blender, I used frozen pineapple for the topping and bottom of the glass. The weirdest thing is how THICK this is. My husband ran over to the corner store (drove, but who’s picky?) and got straws. It was still thick. I added more rum and more water. If it sat, it got thick. We got creative and added some canned seltzer. If it sat, it got thick. I kept adding more rum along with all the water until the rum bottle looked like we’d Had Plenty. Still thick. And so were we. I don’t think I’d go out of my way to do this again, but mangoes and rum are really good. Cheers!

JohnC

How do you eat the tamarind straws? Do you use the straw to suck up the drink?

CAM

Less chamoy. Blend crushed ice with the mango mixture.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.