Some Like It Hot
The Mango Tree is bringing the heat with fresh Indian dishes made with local Washington produce.
As the temperatures outside drop, the friendly faces at The Mango Tree have a tasty solution for you. Come in to any one of their five locations and order the Daal Makhani. Or the Tikka Masala. Or maybe the Chicken Korma. No matter what you choose, you’ll feel yourself warming up from your head to your toes.
“Indian spices warm from the inside,” said Chef Rahul, when the Washington Grown crew visited the restaurant’s north Spokane location in Season 11. “You will not feel too ‘spicy’ in the mouth – you will feel warm on the inside. It’s hot food, but it’s comfort food.”
The Mango Tree has been specializing in accessible Indian cuisine since opening their first Pacific Northwest location in 2018. While many of the spices used in the kitchen are imported from India, many of the vegetables are grown locally in Washington.
“We twisted a little bit on the traditional style dishes,” said operating partner Hillary Yarno. “At first, people can be kind of scared if they’ve never had Indian food. But the food is phenomenal – we’re lucky enough to have some great chefs from India. The way we do things is a little different, but it works really well for this area.”
Those local ingredients include the bell peppers in the aloo, the potatoes in the vindaloo, the cilantro in the curry, and the onions in … well, everything.
“We use so many onions!” said Yarno with a laugh. “We use onions in everything. And a ton of potatoes. Cilantro. The majority of our bases come from local ingredients like these.”
The end result of all those fresh and local ingredients is a menu filled with delicious comfort foods that still taste vibrant and fresh. Each main dish is served with fluffy rice and soft, buttery naan. Customers love the food and come back again and again.
“The food is delicious, it’s fresh, it has a lot of flavor,” said one customer, while another nodded in agreement. “You can tell its spicy, but it’s a ‘flavor’ hot, not a ‘I can’t taste my food’ type of hot.”
The Mango Tree has become a favorite in the Spokane area for experienced Indian food lovers and newcomers alike. The service staff takes pride in helping customers discover a new favorite dish whenever they get the chance.
“Most people either come in and know exactly what they want – they have no questions, they know,” said Yarno. “Or they come in kind of clueless, and we get to guide them through their experience here.”
