SUMMER DELIGHTS – Mangoes – King of Fruits

My first memories of mangoes is watching one of my younger brothers tumbling off our mango tree, knocking himself out, much to the consternation of my mother. Her tears stopped when he suddenly groggily stood up asking, ‘Is wa happn?” (What happened?). Those mangoes of my childhood, as ordinary as they might have been, still remain the sweetest in memory.
We all, brothers and sisters, used to climb the tree sitting at various forks, angles and heights when mango was in season. My grandmother used to warn us girls that we should not climb the tree when it was bearing fruit as we would make the fruits sour. Since we thought this was one of the dumbest excuses to prevent us from having fun, we just used to wait until she was out of sight to clamber up the tree and sit where she could not see us. We picked and ate the young hard green ones dipped in salt and pepper grains held in our palms, making sussurating sounds of chilly seasoned mouths. We ate the half ripe ones out of greed and sucked the seeds out of the over ripe ones with juices dripping down our forearms.
That was long ago on the wonderful breezy coast of the South American continent. Now over fifty years later in India, near the foothills of the Himalayas, I don’t try to climb the mango trees in our yard, but I have the same delight watching my grand daughters do that. I think they make the fruits sweeter.
We delight in the summer atmosphere redolent with the aromas of this favorite tropical fruit. There are so many varieties that I would not waste time trying to name or describe them. Each tropical place has its own flavors and varieties native to its country. In our yard we have several trees that take turns giving fruit. So at least we have one tree every year whose fruits we can enjoy.
Mangoes come in diverse sizes from those too large to hold in one hand to those small enough to fit in the palms of a toddler. In colors they vary from blushing reds, to saffron bright yellows to olive green. The colors do not necessarily determine the sweetness of the fruit, except reds and yellows always indicate ripeness.
Mangoes are such a popular fruit that there are restaurants and resorts named after them. Fortunately for Americans, the 18 year old ban on import of Indian mangoes into the US has now been lifted. Someone in India tried to mail her friend in the US a box of mangoes from South India but was refused export permission as only commercial shipments are allowed at this time. Hopefully in time to come, we will be able not only to buy Indian mangoes in the US, but to gift them from India.
The mango fruit is not the only part of the mango tree that we enjoy. Traditionally people string the green leaves on thread and hang this as a decoration on the front door of a new home. For opening a new business sometimes will be seen a peculiar ménage of one red hot chilly pepper stuck to a yellow lemon with green mango leaves sewn into it. This strange composition of fruits and leaves, hangs from the top of the front door of any new shop or store. We assume that this is to ward off the evil eye, but it also looks like a good scare for bugs and insects. The young green leaves are used as spoons in ritual blessing. The stem of the leaf is turned into the top of the leaf to form a loop, used as a handle while dipping into holy water and sprinkling for blessings to the new-born, birthday celebrants and for other rituals at home and at the temples. Dried twigs are sometimes used in the Vedic fire ritual ‘homa’, where pine or sandalwood is unavailable. The bark of the tree is used for dyeing clothes into a soft cream color. This usually leaves a subtle fragrance on the cloth.
At the entrance of villages in most of rural India a large mango tree will provide a welcoming shade for travelers. A round concrete seat surrounds the bottom of the tree, called a ‘chabutera’. Village meetings, panchayats, festivals give honor to this most receptive area throughout the year. I have always marveled at the mango farms we encounter on our road trips. When you look into these orchards you will be amazed at the symmetry of the heights from the ground to the lowest branches. They are always the same. The shapes of mango trees vary from regular triangles to hemisphere like shapes. When these are blossoming the cream colored blooms seem to form a glowing halo around the half orbs of leaves and the scent is indescribable.
Mango is high in Vitamin A, eaten with food as dessert it supposedly is good for promoting the hemoglobin in blood. The inner bark boiled with the skin of the mango is said to be good for blood flow. There are many other Ayurvedic uses for the different parts of this wonderful tree.
There are many recipes available for both green and ripe mangoes. There are chutneys, pickles, jams, drinks, ice creams and a variety of delights. I recently had a mango tart with the mango pulp artistically decorating the tart piped out of an icing tube. Umm, was that delicious?


Simple Recipe for Mango Lassi

Ingredients: The pulp of one ripe mango, equal amount of plain yogurt, some sugar to taste.
Method: Blend ingredients adding crushed ice. If the mango fruit is not available, use the canned pulp available in Indian stores. For vegans, use soygurt. It is advised not to have too much mango, as mango has a heating effect Ayurvedically.
Enjoy!!