GO MAN GO
The mango season is in full swing
at our place. Road sides are lined up with countless baskets of the local variety
of Haphooz aka Alphonso. This year has been a bumper crop and the rates are
falling fast. The variety which was 1800 a dozen has come down to 200. State of
affairs is that people have stopped plucking them and are letting them fall off
on their own.
I have two mango trees behind my
house and none of them are Haphooz. It is a local variety called “pairi”. I
haven’t tasted a tastier mango all my life. If you want to fall in love with mango
then you have to taste this. I get into my Bermuda and sandow baniyan, chill
the mangoes, “ghulao” them nicely, squeeze those two drops of white liquid out,
close my eyes and suck the pulp out, then pop out the gootli, slurp it till its
white. Then catch the rest of the skin between the teeth and pull till every
drop has been squeezed out, finally bite the rear end and repeat. My desi way
of mango eating.
I just can’t stand the Army way
of eating a mango where you get a slice and have to scoop it with your spoon. Being
the food member I used to wink at the Mess Havildar so that he doesn’t throw
the goothli’s away.
My daughter has a different issue
with mangoes. She can’t eat sweet ones and loves only “khatta” ones. Imagine
going to a shop and saying “bhaiya khatte aam dena”, sounds ridiculous. If one
eye automatically shuts with a wink for me and my wife, means that this mango
is fit for my daughter.
My favourite is the
mint-coriander-raw mango chutney. My wife is an expert but she has a problem
that I need kebabs as accompaniments with it. To be frank it is her favourite
too.
The harvest from our tree was
close to 60 dozens. We kept about 20 odd pieces for ripening the rest we shared.
Today the whole house smells of mangoes, even the milk emanates mango flavour.
Wife has already made a lot of
aamchoor. She makes aam-panna daily. The other day I screwed up my panna by
adding soda, it tasted like dish water. Imagine a panna glass, chilled and iced,
with a twig of mint and some “boondi” and freshly chopped coriander floating on
top. Add a tea spoon full of jal-jeera powder, guys it becomes a fabulous
drink. Add a little crushed pepper and rock salt and sip it, you will attain “moksha”.
Aamras is stored in big dhakkan
wala plastic buckets which come free with 10 kg washing powder. Achaars of all
kinds, “khatta”, “meetha”, “pissay masala ka”, “sookha”, “khare masalewala” are
all ready. My wife uses residue of the panna to make aap papar. If I start
spreading it I think it will cover the whole house. Our pantry is full of “martabaans”
of all shapes and sizes, ufff, too much of mango.
I love dal-chawal with pappad and
mango achar. The tangier the better it is. My favourite is the sookha aam ka
achar with lots of masala sticking to it. Once I have finished the dal then I
take time to lick the plate clean with the achar ka goothli with lots of hair.
Pure desi tariqa of cleaning your plate!
I tell my wife to put extra masala
in pickles. Reason is that after the pieces of pickle have been polished off,
the concentrated achari masala at the bottom of the martbaan is the best. I
love to eat nice crisp deep fried matthi’s with this achar ka masala along with
a hot cup of tea. The names achari baingan, achari karela and achari meat are
already salivating my mouth. Hope my wife reads this.
These days one has to be very
careful while going under the mango trees. I don’t take chances as I may become
the second Newton with one ripe mango falling on my head. It is quite a scary
noise at night as it first falls on to the roof and then rolls on it, till it
falls down to the ground with a solid thud.
Oh Yes! Homemade mango ice cream and
kulfi are doing the rounds too. Wife has thrown all my non-veg stored in the
freezers to make way for the icy delights. I would suggest to you to try a
green mango ice cream with chillies. It is out of the world. Decorate your
glass with a slit green chilli and a slice of raw mango, you will love it. Try
making a mango mary, the bloody thing will taste good.
Do you guys remember when that
typical achar smell used to hit your nostrils and went up your brain while
travelling in a train when someone opened their tiffin? I could beg for it from
anyone. That unforgettable achari smell was just enchanting, triggering hunger
in many.
My personal favourites though are
the “langra” and “dusseri” which I miss in this part of the country. Very soon
the rains are going to come and all this mango will be used to remember achhe
din. All those who love this fruit are most welcome to visit us. Who will be
the first one? I wonder!!!!!!!!!
JAI HIND
© Noel Ellis
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