Aam-yaadein

People often talk about past and the pleasant memories... In this post even I am going to talk about memories. Here memories aren't the aam (ordinary) ones but my delicious memories of childhood... My mango memories... 

My mango memories aren't those of climbing the trees or getting chased by the farm keeper with stick but they are as  sweet as the subject itself...

All round the year multiple commercial ads of mango juice claim that they satisfy the mango craving, but do they?? 

Summer and mangoes are just the synonym words for all the mango-lovers. I am among them who waits for summer or say "Mango season" to enjoy the blessing of God all packed in one fruit... 

Summer is the time of blazing sun and the sweltering heat that make life unbearable but the season also brings along its share of goodies and perks, with mango possibly being the best of them... 

I personally don't know anyone who doesn't like mangoes and those I know seem to have their own way to enjoy this delicacy... 

Man-go is one fruit that a man can't let easily go... Its everywhere in many forms be it raw, ripened, dried, juice, shakes, jams, jellies, cakes, smoothies, ice creams, well these are just few to mention... One cannot ignore the presence of king of fruits specially in India... 

I have been fan of mango all my life. I just love the aromatic fragrance and the amazing flavor that different varieties available have to offer... 

Summer starts with sweet sound of koel bird filling the air. The intoxicating smell of the mango flowers comes wafting in from the nearby tree that soothe the senses. The sound and smell is like knock on the door that its the time that you were waiting for long. 

Just like my every other article I am going down the memory lane because I strongly believe that memories have the power to rejuvenate the soul...

Time to remember different modes that we went into with different kind of mango and dishes that mom prepared...

Before I start, a key point to mention here is who is we here?? We here is me and my two young siblings occasionally joined by our father... Mangoes made dad become a little boy himself and the transformation was almost instantaneous.

Helping Mode:

Our bundle of joy arrived in big jute bags. The moment bags were brought we went into helping mode. At night we helped our dad by emptying the bags in big buckets filled with water. Our job didn't end here with cleaning the ambis(raw mangoes).

Our grandfather was the one who used to prepare pickle, we kids were the quality control team who use to find the soft mangoes and keep them aside.

Then mom used to cut the mangoes into small pieces and asked us to clear the seed and collect them separately.

At night bauji(grandfather) used to sit with all the ingredients prepared in front of him just like any other cookery show and we were his audience...

We use to monitor the whole process of making pickle not being just a viewer but more like some health inspector... 

Impatient mode. 

My mom kept few mangoes aside to make instant pickle made with few simple ingredients that we, the impatient ones including our dad, enjoyed with every meal...

The very mention of instant pickle triggers a physical response: lips puckering at the recall of brine and teeth teetering on tanginess, but also a plethora of memories and these wonderful memories every time bring smile on my face.

Murraba that mom made with mangoes, jaggery and melon seeds was like reward for our duties...

The house was filled with the tempting fragrance of jaggery that made my father make numerous visits into the kitchen with three kids jumping behind him. We were so impatient that couldn't wait it to cool down... At that moment mom handled four kids, her three biological kids and forth her husband...lol... 

Then came turn of variety of chutneys that mom use to make with simply combining different ingredients with mango like onion, coriander, peppermint, tamarind, jaggery... sweet and sour mango chutney is still my favourite with a perfect blend of spices : fenugreek, fennel, cardamom and black pepper...

Our grandmother made amchoor by drying the slices of raw mango. I still remember running across the terrace and slyly picking up a pale yellow slice, left out to dry.

By the time ripe mangoes start poring inside rectangular cartons. The cartons were piled one on top of the other outside the kitchen and we would keep poking fingers into the cartons to check the mangoes, the strong aroma permeated the air that made us more impatient.

Alphanso mangoes just like many other are my favourite as they meet up the requirements of many recipes like smoothies, jams, ice cream, aamras, aam Panna, mango shakes...luckily mom made all of them. 

We had our share of mango after every meal and at night mom use to make mango shake. A day without which felt incomplete and cherry on the cake was the preparation of ice cream. After reducing milk to half the quantity, mom use to keep it to cool down so that she would mix mango pulp right before placing it in the refrigerator. We use to sit around the bowl like kittens around milk bowl.

Even when the bowl was in refrigerator, whenever mom was around we used to behave but when she got busy with her chores we used to like I said we were always on impatient mode kept opening refrigerator just to make sure everything was going well. Dad even tasted the mixture when it was hot just to ensure that it isn't too sweet that's what he said to us and even we had our share. We tested and passed it just like I told the quality control team... Lol... 

Competing mode. 

Memories does not end here with having the best kind of mango. It's time to welcome chaunsa mango in big bags now... and the time we forgot everything and concentrating on eating. Me and my siblings use to brag about how we can eat a lot which resulted in a competition, "Who'll eat more and with most clean seeds?" with everyone being a winner in first place.

They were fun filled competitions with mangoes in bucket full of water and mangoes... Sitting around the bucket and eating one by one meant lot of mess as mangoes were too small and the seed kept sliding from hand sometimes juice would drip down in sweet and sticky streams to our elbows this is what the enjoyment was for us. 

By the end of the mango season came the another variety langra mango... When you get to see there size you end up thinking, Will I be able to eat it?... Because a single mango itself can weight around kg or more...

I was always amazed to see that how just one mango was big enough to satisfy the craving of our family.

Mangoes memories fill my heart with joy.

Its Mango season and mangoes are everywhere: on roadsides, on wheels, in shops, weekly fruit markets are flooded.

Life has changed a lot, childhood is long gone so is the taste of mango. It's not as sweet as it used to be because people now are interested in making money at any cost. Even at the cost of ones health.

Now a days people often complaining about roughness in throat, scratches and burning sensation around lips, rashes, skin allergies after eating mangoes.

Its because the sellers use chemicals to fasten the riping process. One of the main reasons behind this harmful practise is to cut short the time taken by fruits to ripen naturally, which usually takes longer than the one which involves chemicals. This has resulted in insipid taste and mediocre flavour of mangoes.

When you buy the chemical ripped mangoes they look and smell fresh and tempting i.e. Perfectly normal but when you cut them they are either raw from inside or rotten...

Still there are people who provide good quality products. That means mango is still part of our meal be it pickle, chutney, murraba, jam, shakes cakes or ice creams...

Still creating memories... 

Although my partners is crime have changed from my siblings to my son and husband, I am still in savoring mode:

My son loves mango but he doesn't hanker for them like I do. He is not at all experimental he restricts himself with few categories. Also he is too neat and tidy as a child, he daintily eats the pieces neatly cut with the fork after every lunch and dinner.

Hopefully with time he'll be more accepting and will be ready telling his memories... Seems like he has already planned something that definitely qualifies for memorable moments.

He keeps saying, "Mummy, I want mango flavor birthday cake and want a yellow dress too." In short he wants a mango themed party... Lol...

Even my husband loves mangoes but he satisfies his insatiable hunger by eating one single slice and this remains a state of incredulity for my father. My father keeps saying, "How can you just enjoy one slice? You need at least two, and it's only at three that you start getting a full taste..." and my husband politely rejects his offer with a big smile.

Aam yaadein or my mango memories -  Mango season might be ephemeral but the passing years enhance the beauty and flavour of the memories.