29 June 2005

Mangoes

Mangoes and India are inseparable. I remember reading somewhere that mangoes were sent as part of the wedding gift from India when Charles married Diana.

The hot summer season brings with it the scent of mangoes. Being in Trichy, near the "Thathachariyar Gardens" which is famous for its "Imam pasand" mangoes, buying mangoes during the summer was a must. In most cases almost a ritual. One of my uncles used to go there early in the morning, just when the retailers come to get the mangoes for their shops, so that he could get mangoes for the same price as the retailers. One would have to buy in bulk at this time as it is for wholesale only. So a few families would join together and get the mangoes. Just thinking about those mangoes makes my mouth water.....hmm..yummy smell and yummy yummy taste. Nothing can equal the pleasure of sitting around and eating those mangoes. We used to also get those small "Neelam" mangoes which have to be squeezed a bit and then sucked for the juice. Its the best way to eat a mango that has a lot of fiber.

After coming to Singapore, I did try a few of the mangoes that are sold in the supermarkets and felt disappointed. The ones from India which can be got in Little India were better, but nothing could beat the taste of Thathachariyar's Imam pasand or the small "Neelam".

This year, my in-laws visited us during the summer and guess what? They had got us loads of mangoes... the same Thathachariyar Imam pasands and "killi mooku" and Neelam from their own groves. This is called heaven :))

If there's anyone out there missing this wonderful experience, do feel free to drop by, we have enough to share with all of you.

21 comments:

Kaps said...

Looks like there is some business opportunity here :-)

Vaibhav Arora said...

chennai mangoes are quite delicious. And surprisingly, the mango season here seems to start earlier than the north. But somehow, whats available in foodworld doesnt quite satisfy the palate as much as whats available with hawkers on pavements! haggle, buy , chill and eat.

Krish said...

I am missing Srirangam along with the mangoes. Can someone provide me with both?

:-)

hari said...

Vow PVS,

That posts sounds as sweet and luscious as the mangoes themselves. Great one. And that invitation comes out of a heart that is already well filled with best of the mangoes.

This year in Chennai we had enough of mangoes. It was a bumper crop it seems this year around.

Chakra said...

ada.. namma Mambazha Saalai mangoes.. nothing can beat that. getting nostalgic now...

Aravinth said...

What I feel now is that the Thathachariya Gardens have vanished and there are only flats there...but people started growing Imam passand in their on gardens...

Ganesh Venkittu said...

Can you mail order to the US? too bad e-bay does not sell mangoes....

I go to farmers market in Greensboro and there is a store that has good quality mangoes (nothing to beat my favorite Banganapalli)....I paid 69 cents ( about 28 rupees) for one mango.....and my parents house in India has your neelam + banganapalli + Malgova (giant fruit).....and they were having a bumper crop this year according to my mom.....when you have to pay for those things that you used to just go to the backyard and climb up the tree and eat....that is terrible.....

PVS said...

@Kaps....an IIM Brain

PVS said...

@puddlefrog: thanks for visiting my blog. The hawkers always have the best buy!!!

@Thennavan: Get your father to arrange your wedding in Srirangam...then all of us can enjoy both :))

@Hari: Didn't know that this year it was bumper crop for Mangoes. hope you enjoyed the mangoes.

PVS said...

@Chakra: yep, nothing can beat our Mambazha salai

@Aravinth: Even thou the Thathachariyar gardens are no more, we do get good "Imam Pasaand" in Mambazha salai.

@Ganesh: 69 cents is actually cheap...even in India, one fruit is more than 25 rupees. But nothing like eating it directly from the trees

Me said...

u know what i have been thinking of buying mangoes for last 3 days.....couldn't find time to go to indian stores.....though they sell mangoes it is not so good....so i get processed CAN variety....

i used to go to my grandparents village every summer and we used to have so much mangoes that they kept one whole room of mangoes just for all of us.....diff variety....neelam, bengloora, malguava, rumani...

i have tasted Banganapalli and alphonsa only in madras....we dont get that in our place...

oh boy couldn't still control my wide opening vaaai thinking abt all these.....

though i cannot have any of those mangoes now....i am happy with the experiences ...

appreciate it pvs for writing this...it brought smile on my face now....

Me said...

pvs i wrote a post abt this exp....thanks once again...

வெங்கி / Venki said...

maampazamaam maampazam
imaam pasan-th maampazam
thiththikkum maampazam
thikaddaatha maampazam

ellaam sonna niingka vilaasaththai kodukka maddum maRan-thutdiingkaLee!

Ram C said...

you can't beat mangoes from india.. that smell itself will bring you to the kitchen, from wherever you are...here i don't get the real mangoes with so much of nice smell.

btw..did you read this post of mine earlier? not to scare you....

http://dreamstores.blogspot.com/2005/05/fruits-are-they-keeping-us-fit-or.html

Narayanan Venkitu said...

Lucky you....People can bring mangoes into singapore? We can't do it here in the US ( some people manage to sneak in). My dad brought some a few years back..and the customs people took them out.!

Yeah, I miss Indian mangoes. I miss Malgova, Banganapalli, Kili Mooku, Rumani, Neelam..! To name a few. I've never tasted the much acclaimed 'Alphonso'.

Mango is a delicious and nutritious fruit - I buy it regulary here ( From Mexico / Peru) and my kids love it.!

The Doodler said...

Wow,
reminded me of Thathachariyar garden mangoes! In the hot, merciless sun of Trichy, my brother and I used to go and get mangoes from Mambazha Salai..:) And when the juicy pieces went down my throat, woww! that was heaven...
Thanks for bringing up sweet memories..

Adaengappa !! said...

Amazing..Itha padikum pothe vaayil ***** ooruthu..Hmmm

Inge Mango juice kudichukka vendiyathu thaan !!

PVS said...

@me: Oh my, a whole room of mangoes? Read your post. thanks for mentioning me there.


@Venki: hehe :)

@Ram.C: Yep read your post. I always have that concern when buying ripe fruits. So normally we get raw ones and allow it to ripen at home.

PVS said...

@Dumbs: "matha ootaatha soorum maanga ootum"

@Narayanan: Yep, we can bring mangoes to Singapore...one of the blessings of living close to India and having a goverment that allows such items to be bought in.

@Subha: Thanks for visiting. I love your posts about Trichy.

@Adeengappa: Mango juice kidaichatha?

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