Mango Man –Aam Aadmi – By Chef Kunal Kapur
Undisputedly
known as the “King of all fruits across the world” but to me more apt would be
Kanhaiya of all fruits. Because it is no figment of my imagination but it’s a
fact that there are almost more than 200 varieties of mangoes alone in India with
that many different names to it. Am pretty convinced that lord Krishna would wonder
how that happened.
Mangoes have
been the part of very fiber that we are made of and let’s admit we can’t have
enough of it. It not just part of the daily diet of a common man but since the
ancient times mango and the tree has been part of rich culture, festivities and
growing up. The mango tree throughout India top to bottom is considered very
sacred and is used in any significant celebration. Let alone the fruit, the
leaves are of utmost importance in puja to large ceremonies. The most common
practice is to tie them in “molee” holy red thread and hang them outside a
newly opened, shop, office and house or best used for weddings, birth
ceremonies and especially in festivities like the Deepawali.
Studies now
in the modern era have suggested that mangoes are high in potassium that helps
regulating heart and blood pressure. It is loaded with antioxidants and helps
protect against colon and breast cancer and leukemia and prostate cancer.
Month of May
is the grand arrival of the sweetest of all fruits but in order to cope with
huge demands shippers now press for artificially ripening of mangoes. The best
way to ripe mangoes is to let them ripe on the tree but that is slow and has
chances of birds attaching the fruit. The other way is to pluck them and let
them ripe in a cool shade in covered with a stack of hay. But a lot of
suppliers now quicken the process by using a chemical compound called “Calcium
Carbide” or just carbide. This whitish grey powder with foul smell releases
gases that ripen the mangoes in a box. In a lot of countries this calcium
carbide is banned as the traces of this chemical reaches the human system and
is very hazardous to health. Therefore it is very important to thoroughly wash
the mangoes or best soak them in water for few minutes before using them. And
always wash hands before having them.
One of the
most elusive, most expensive and the best in the world of mangoes is the
Alfonso. This mango comes from Maharashtra and is considered the best mango in
the world. So much so that most of the best produce is simply exported. But
honestly I am not upset cause any way I feel that the shelf life of Alfonzo mango
is very less and the size is very small and aam admi cannot afford it, so my
personal favourite is the Andhra variety of Langra. Now this is a rally big
mango (almost half kg), has a thin peel, small seed, very fleshy and honey like
sweet. In true sense V.F.M. (value for money).
The use of
the mango is varied, right from pickles, relishes, chutneys and aam papad to
mango yogurt, smoothies, lassi, shakes to fish curries, meat curries and as
just plain old fruit salad. And just as I write I am just mesmerized by the
nostalgic memories of my childhood and growing up that it brings about. As a
child the arrival of mangoes was pretty evident. Because on any given summer
day I would come back from school only to find my mother on the rooftop in
fierce summers, carefully drying mangoes for pickle. I remember how I would try
to sneak a piece of raw mango into my pocket to savor it later. And as a fact
we were the few ones on the street having a 3 story building which gave a clear
view of other rooftops that I saw as far as I could laden with raw mangoes
getting ready for Pickle. Now that sight I surely miss forever.
Another
mango memory that I have as a child was summers. Summers meant holidays and
that meant a trip to somewhere. So one summer vacation we packed up for shimla.
And on that one trip my father packed a rather unusual thing….a plastic bucket full
of ice….my immediate question was are we not staying at a hotel that we have to
carry our bathing bucket…. to which he would smile and say it’s a sweet
surprise. And as we just settled in the train he pulled out the surprise. A box
of crimson red mangoes…which he carefully places them in the bucket of ice and
poured water on it. It was a bit of amusement for the rest of the people
in the compartment but my dad minced no words and said aloud, let them chill
then we shall attack. We kids were excited and the sheer joy of dipping hands
in ice cold water and pulling out mangoes and having them A La Desi Style was fun. Desi style means no knife, no fork, and no
plates… just good old hands. On that very train I learnt my first lesson on how
to eat mangoes in desi style; my father taught me how to be careful and not messy.
But as clumsy I was with mangoes I had my mouth full of half the mango with
long yellow moustaches and the sweet sticky juice running down till my elbows.
By now the amusement of the bystanders had turned into
desire to have some of the chilled mangoes. And that is the beauty of Indian
trains and “mango People” (aam aadmi) (which proudly I say my dad is) that as
soon as the train starts no one is a stranger, all are welcome to share. Now
this bucket had become part of every family outing in summers, every picnic or
very train journey I would happily drag our ulgy plastic bucket—Kya Karu aam
aadmi hu na….
Mango
mousse (SERVES
4)
Ingredients
50 ml lime
juice
Pinch of
salt
4 lb ripe
mango
80 Gms
granulated sugar
1tblsp
unflavored gelatin
2 egg
whites
100 Gms
heavy cream
Method
v Peel the
mangos, slice the flesh off the seeds, and puree in an electric blender with
the lime juice, being careful not to over- blend.
v Stir in the
sugar.
v Dissolve
the gelatin in ¼ cup water. Let it rest for 5 mins. Now just heat the gelatin
till it dissolves. Allow to cool and
stir into the mango puree.
v Beat the
egg whites with the salt until they stand in peaks.
v Whip the
cream until it is stiff.
v Fold the
cream into the egg whites, and then fold this mixture gently into mango puree.
v Pour into a
big size serving dish, or into individual dishes, and chill in a refrigerator
for 2 to 3 hours, or until set.
Aam Papad
Ingredients
Fresh mango
pulp – 500 gms
Sugar – 50
gms
Method
v
Mix the sugar and fresh mango puree and start cooking
on low heat.
v
Cook till the puree becomes very thick and hard to stir.
This may take a long time.
v
Immediately pour the contents on to a greased tray and
spread evenly.
v
Keep this in the sun for a complete day. Remove from
the edges, cut into bite size to eat.
v
P.S. – amount of sugar may vary depending on the
sweetness of the mango puree.
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