The initial inspiration for this pie were the really nice mangoes that were on sale at the market. Had I realized that this would be ''lucky'' pie number thirteen...I might have gone with a pie that was less of a gamble. :o)
When I got home with my mangoes, I googled ''mango pie'' and discovered that mango pie tastes a lot like peach pie, which I love but I wanted a pie that would be distinct from the one that I would later make when peaches are in season.
With this in mind, I knew I had to stay away from cinnamon. But would removing the spice be enough?
That's when I started to look for just plain mango recipes, which reminded of a simple mango street food – fresh mango spears sprinkled with lime juice, salt, and chili powder – which lead me to the Mango Chili Pie.
So I took an apple pie recipe and reduced the sugar since mangoes didn't seem to need as much. Then I replace the lemon juice with lime and swapped the spices for a combination of chili powder, cayenne pepper, and salt (to enhance flavor, not to add saltiness).
The end result still reminded me of peach but it had a nice heat that finished each bite but didn't burn your mouth.
Next time, I'll see if this can go a bit more sour – less or no sugar? I'm also wondering if I use a sweeter crust and then sprinkle salt on top rather rather than sugar just to give each bite a bit of pop.
I thought the flavor and heat of the piece I sampled was perfect! :-)
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