Whenever I went to Vellore, amma (my grandmother) would call me aside and when no one, specifically my mother, was looking, she'd hand me some aamchoor. How I loved her for that! There were times when I thought that aamchoor was even better than chocolate!

Aamchoor is the Indian name for dried mango pieces. In some parts of India, mostly North India, the aamchoor is pounded into powder and used in cooking. However, I prefer the dried mango chunks that amma would give all of us. Aamchoor is fun to eat as it is, and if you love the taste of sour mangoes, there’s no doubt you’ll love aamchoor too!

Aamchoor is often sour, tart and is encrusted with salt. A piece of aamchoor could last for more than two hours if you just nibbled at it. And it was something we often did, nibbling at the aamchoor while playing cards with the others, or simply lazing around in the old house in Vellore, or lying down on that huge swing that was there in amma's house.

As I grew older, however I started liking aamchoor that was dry and not soft and squishy. I wanted to learn how to make it, but every year, during the mango season whenever I'd put out the mango pieces in the sun, they'd magically grow less and less, and even less, until there wasn't much to dry anyway. Magic being, one of us who would pop a piece or two on our way to 'check' it out on the terrace, to shoo away crows ostensibly.
I learnt however that aamchoor is quite simple to make. One just has to follow the right process.
Put mango pieces in a container (preferably plastic, because the salt can react with the metal if you use a metal container), and sprinkle it with rock salt.

Shake it up well and let it stay in the sun the whole day.
The salt would have dissolved and it would have formed a salty syrup(brine). Cover it with a cloth and keep it inside.

Remove the mango pieces and leave out to dry in the sun. Spread it out on a cloth if possible.
Let the brine also stay in the sun. It will get evaporated too.
Every evening, repeat the process and you will see that the mango pieces will change colour. They will become brown and slowly they will start drying.

Store the aamchoor in an airtight container. Aamchoor has many benefits. Apart from tasting fantastic, if you ever feel queasy and feel like throwing up for any reason, just nibble on a piece of aamchoor and you will feel fine. Aamchoor also helps you in digestion. But hey, people like me don’t need the benefits. We just love aamchoor!

Pic and text: Andaleeb Wajid