M for mango

Mango is one fruit that has a special place in Indian homes. The leaves feature prominently in all auspicious undertakings. The fruit finds its ways into our mouths in a wide variety of forms whether in its sour yet sweet raw green form or the juicy and sweet ripe yellow version. Nothing tickles the tastebuds like slices of Totapuri with a sprinkle of salt and chilli-powder. Or you can choose to gulp down a glass of aam-panna to beat the heat on a scorching summer day. Bowls of aam-ras being polished off or slices of this yummy fruit disappearing in minutes is a common story of lazy summer afternoons. Many homes also stock up on their annual pickle quota by bottling up mango slices and pulp with a special mixture of spices. To cater to the sweet tooth, Jams, morabba, gulamba, avakkai, maavinkai thokku whatever be the form and name, just their very thought makes my mouth water. Many a times, these recipes are treasured and handed down for generations, off late this annual event is on the decline for today we can get a mind boggling variety of pickles in the market in almost all parts of the world.  Mango flavored rice,  chutneys, pickles, aamra-khand(shrikhand with mango), the list can go on. In fact, raw mango is used in place of lemon and tamarind in many preparations to bring twist to routine cuisine.

It is the national fruit of India and more than half of the world's mangoes are cultivated in India. The hindi name for this delicious fruit is misleading if you ask me. "Aam" as it is called in hindi also means common, but this fruit is anything but that. It should be renamed "khaas" aka special. There a nearly 400 varieties of mangoes to choose from and though today we can see mangoes in the market almost all year long, the taste is unparalleled only during the season of mangoes. So between late march and early july it is time to go mangoes about this king of fruits.

This post is shared with April A-Z blogging challenge for alphabet M