Mango mystique

Seasonal fruit

There are a certain amount of memories attached when one thinks about the mango season. Whether it’s the aromatic smell of the fruit, the process experimenting with new recipes with it or our mothers scolding us for eating too many of them in a day.

Whatever be the reason, apart from the summertime happiness, it’s the joy of knowing that one can relish on juicy mangoes as much as they want that puts a huge smile on their faces.

However, with the lack of rain this year, agriculturists aren’t too proud of the types of mangoes that are available now. While the markets around the city have stacks of mangoes piled on their counter, it’s a known fact that they aren’t the best of the lot.

Vendors claim that the farmers who sell these mangoes to them are mostly injected, therefore making them quite unhealthy for the everyone to consume.

Regardless of this, it doesn’t really stop one from trying something that they want. Bhandavya Gowda is one such mango lover who looks forward to the season every year.

She says, “I absolutely love all types of mangoes, but raspuri mangoes are my favourite. I make sure that I head down to the market every other weekend and buy at least 2 kilograms of them. Unfortunately, the batch that I’ve bought this year haven’t been up to the mark. I guess it’s because of lack of rain this season.”

Meanwhile, there are few others who don’t think that the ones available now are that bad to consume.

Tarun Raj, an IT professional, has been a regular to the HAL market since the season started. He says, “It’s been about a month that I’ve been going to the market to get some of my favourite mangoes. Though there are smaller stores that provide the same, I find the prices at the market affordable. I also find the quality to be just fine — there are a few rotten ones here and there and especially with the summer heat, they get spoilt too fast — and I’ve been a happy camper since then.”

Showing the love for mangoes are also many cooking enthusiasts who are experimenting with some exciting recipes.

Subhasmita Panigrahi, the blogger at ‘The Flavours of Kitchen’, recently created a chilled dessert called ‘mango tender coconut ice cream’.

She says, “Since the weather these days is pretty hot, I wanted to create something that’s best to beat the heat. I purchased the Alphonso mangoes from an online store for a fairly decent price. I had some coconut left at home and I thought it would be a great combination. My family loves this recipe and I hope to continue trying new with mangoes soon.”

There’s also Maumita Paul, a blogger at ‘Experiences of a Gastronomad’, who whipped up a recipe called ‘Aam er bhaja puli or Mango calzone'. She says, “It’s a traditional sweet made in the Eastern India households typically on occasions of ‘Makar Sankranthi’. It’s quite like the ‘gujiya’ we are used to having, but since it’s mango season, I added a twist to the traditional dish. I stuffed it with ratnagiri alphonso mangoes, caressed with a dash of aromatic mango-ginger and a generous sprinkle of freshly crushed black pepper. To finish it off, I made a sinful chocolate-mango sauce.”