🥭Mangonada Recipe: How to Make a Mango Chamoy Slush at Home

What is a mangonada?

A mangonada is a frozen treat somewhere between a raspado, a sorbet and a smoothie, made with mango, chamoy, lime and chile powder. It's served in layers: chamoy at the bottom and down the sides of the cup, thick blended mango, more chamoy, fresh mango chunks on top and a good dusting of chile. The finishing touch is a chile-coated tamarind candy stick planted in the middle, which you nibble on as you go.

Depending on the region, it's also called a chamoyada de mango or mangoneada. It's a hot-weather craving, the kind of thing you'd get at a fair or a nevería, and one of those flavors you miss when you live far from Mexico. The good news: you don't need a shaved ice machine. Frozen mango and a regular blender give you the same thick, icy texture.

Mangonada vs. chamoyada: what's the difference?

They're close cousins, and plenty of people use the two names for the same thing. Chamoyada is the umbrella term: a shaved ice or frozen drink with chamoy that can be mango, strawberry, tamarind, watermelon or whatever flavor is on hand that day. A mangonada is the mango one, usually made with the fruit itself blended (not just ice and syrup) and topped with fresh mango chunks.

• •Chamoyada: a shaved ice or sorbet base, any flavor, plus chamoy and chile.
• •Mangonada: a blended mango base with chamoy, lime, chile and diced mango. Always mango.
• •Mango with chamoy: not a drink at all, just cut mango with chamoy, lime and chile, in a cup or a little bag.

What do you need to make a mangonada at home?

Learning how to make a mangonada like the nevería's starts with the right ingredients. It's a short list, and every item matters: part of it comes from your regular grocery store and part of it is Mexican pantry.

• •Frozen mango chunks from your grocery store's freezer aisle. They're the secret to the texture, and they replace ice, which only waters down the flavor.
• •One fresh mango for the chunks on top. Ataulfo, sold in the U.S. as honey or champagne mango, is sweet and has almost no stringy fibers.
• •Limes for the juice, also from your grocery store.
• •Liquid chamoy: a sweet-sour, thick one that clings to the sides of the cup.
• •Chile-lime powder like Tajín, for sprinkling between layers and on top.
• •Something for the rim: the Tajín rimmer or Pulparindo mango rim dip.
• •Tamarind candy straws or chile mango candy sticks, to stand up in the middle.

How do you keep a mangonada thick instead of watery?

The difference between a nevería-style mangonada and a runny homemade one happens in the blender. These tricks work:

• •Use the mango straight from the freezer and very little liquid. Start with half a cup and add more one tablespoon at a time, only if the blender won't turn.
• •Blend in short pulses and scrape down the sides between pulses. It should look like soft sorbet that holds its shape on a spoon.
• •Mango nectar adds more flavor than water. If your mango is already very sweet, cold water is plenty.
• •Chill the cups in the freezer for a few minutes before building them so the mangonada takes longer to melt.
• •Taste before serving. Adjust the lime and sugar at the end, since every mango has its own sweetness.

frozen mango replaces it; ice waters down the flavor

No ice

of liquid to start, more only if the blender won't turn

1/2 cup

until it looks like soft sorbet

Short pulses

a few minutes in the freezer before building them

Chilled cups

How do you make a mangonada with Pulparindo?

This is the extra-tangy version, and the favorite of anyone who grew up on tamarind candy. Two things change: the rim and the topping. For the rim, swap the chamoy and chile for Pulparindo mango rim dip, a thick paste that stays put on the cup. On top, next to the fresh mango, add a couple of Pulparindos cut into small pieces, either the classic tamarind or the mango flavor.

It comes out tangier and a little spicier, with chewy bits of tamarind candy tucked between the icy mango. Serve it with a spoon, because the candy pieces tend to sink to the bottom.

How do you make mango with chamoy without a blender?

If you don't have a blender or want something lighter, mango with chamoy is the street-cart version. Peel a mango, cut it into cubes or strips and pile it into a cup. Squeeze half a lime over it, drizzle with chamoy and sprinkle with chile powder. Stir, taste and add more chamoy if it needs it. It's ready in five minutes.

The same mango chamoy combo works on watermelon, cucumber, jícama or pineapple. And if you like cucumber with chamoy, try chamoy pickles, another craving from the same family.

Where to buy chamoy, Tajín and candy sticks in the U.S.?

Mangoes and limes are at any grocery store. The hard part is finding what gives a mangonada its Mexican flavor: chamoy that tastes like the one back home, the rimmer, the chile powder and the candy sticks. At MexGoodies you'll find Chamoy Mega, Tajín Clásico and the Tajín rimmer, Pulparindo rim dip and Marindos chile mango sticks, all original Mexican products that ship anywhere in the U.S. in 3 to 7 days (Canada too).

A tip from home: a kilo bottle of chamoy covers many rounds of mangonadas plus a week of fruit cups, so it's worth keeping one around once the hot weather starts.

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