MANGO

            Today we will study about the king of fruits and the national fruit of India the one and only the favourite of all  age groups ie Mango .Mango is mostly found on the Konkan belts so it is called Konkan cha Raja means Konkan's king .Mango has been called as Amrut fruit also. Its a seasonal fruit and we get it from Month of April till mid of June. It needs hot humid climatical conditions and sandy soil this type of climate is found in India so we get the most of the portion of harvest of mango in India .Till date there is no fix evidence of the beginning of this fruit but looking into the history of 250 to 300 years this tree may be  from south and south west regions of India. Their are many varieties of mango like Alphanso which is commonly called as Hapus in India, Payri, Totapuri, Kesar, Fernandez, Raywal, Maniknbhat, Neelam, Mankur, Ghonta, and many more. Ripe mango juice contains vitamin A and C in maximum quantity which is  good medicine on skin disease.

            South Asia is harvesting mangoes from thousands of year. Mango is the National fruit of India and Pakistan, Mango tree is a National tree of Bangladesh and National Symbol of Philippines. In India and South Asia cultural importance has been given to Mango,

Small branches of mango trees has been used in many rituals of Indian Hindu communities  of India .

            Variety of mango fruit depends upon the climatical condition of the region , as per the region its  soil the taste differs it has its own unique taste. Mango tree grows upto 40 feet, its leaves are 4 to 5 inches long. In spring season the tree starts getting small red leaves and then they grow into long dark green colour, the tree starts flowering and this flowers are called as "Ambyacha Mohar" or "Amramanjiri" in Marathi.

            Mango is eaten in different style as per its shape and size we can enjoy the fruit in many ways as per our comfort and style its realy divine. Gavti Amba is a one type of mango variety which can be enjoyed by sucking the juice of it directly using your mouth for that first we have to press the mango from all sides carefully so that it doesn't opens up from any side we have to open the cap of the mango and it is situated on the top of it where it is attached to the stem. At end of the cap and the stem a white juice is present which should be removed first and then enjoy the fruit .

If we gulp the white juice which is present in the opening of mango it destroys the taste buds of our tongue it is dangerous to gulp that juice because its reaction can make us ill as well as we can get pimples on our face.

            Langda, Neelam and Totapuri are the varieties of mangoes which has to be eaten before they get fully riped. Some of the Magoes get riped their juice is eaten with adding clarified butter and black pepper it enhances its taste.

            When India was ruled by British they have named mango as bathroom fruit because while eating mango we spoil our hands mouth dress so they use to eat mangoes in bathroom.

Each and every fruit or vegetable they have there own gender but in case of mango when it is in raw form it is known as "Kairy" in Marathi which is feminine name but as soon as it is ripe it changes its gender in masculine name as "Amba" in Marathi means mango .and it changes its characteristics also ie when it is eaten  raw it gives us  soothing effect to our body as well as it is a acid neutralizer and when it is eaten ripe it increases metabolism of our body, those who have heat problems they should eat mango in limited proportion.

         In early days mango yeild was limited as soon as its demand in market increased rapidly people started plantations of mango trees  .many different kind of mango recipes were invented in early days and now we have a wide range of mango recipes which are prepared in all household.

          First we will study raw mango recipes, raw mangoes contains potassium, tartaric, citric, and malic acid so we can preserve raw mango recipes for a year and more. Recipes like pickle,panha(a type of juice),,salads are made from mixing cucumber and raw mangoes or bengal gram dal and raw mango which is called as Pachdi, Chunda, Takku, Methamba, Ambyacha Khula, Kairi Sauce, Raw mango Juice, Chutney, Kairas, "Amboshi "this is made by peeling and chopping raw mango and then they are sundried Amboshi is later used in many curries, vegetables ,fish recipes to enhance the recipe by the sour taste. In north India powder of Amboshi is well known as Amchur and is used in mostly each and every recipe they cook , in Gujarat it is well known as Amboliya. many more recipes are cooked with raw mangoes many Goan or South Indian recipes they add raw mango in curries and vegetables .raw mango Murabba is a medicinal dish which increases blood in body

            Now we will study some interesting recipes from ripe mangoes, Aamras is the all time favourite recipe of all ages, we can enjoy this recipe as a sweet desert in all the celebration or function in the season of April to June. A big business has been put up in all Konkan areas, where mango yeild is in ample form they boil the mango juice adding sugar and preservatives and pack them so that we can store it for a year and enjoy the fruit the whole year. Aamras-Poli, Amba Barfi, Aamras Dhokla, Aamras Shevya, Aamrasatil Shevya, Ambyache Paysam, Ambyache Sasam, Ambyache Human means tampered mango curry, mango cake and many more.

            Once while traveling by road in south India in the farm of mangoes i found some people cooking interesting thing from mango on wood fire,  with my food enthusiasm i went their to check. They were cooking mango pulp in big vessels on wood fire they added jaggery and sugar to it then spread the cooked batter on  bamboo structure for sundry as soon as it dries  they put one more layer of batter for sundry ,This procedure goes on till  1inch broad layer is obtained and its length is upto 1 kilometer ,this is then cut into square shapes and send to market for sell it is very well known as "Aampapad" in the market, and has a popular demand .It can be stored for a year. Now days big factories has been set for the same where they are prepared with utmost hygiene.

                  One more  famous ice cream made from mango  which is worldwide popular is known as Mastani  And we get it in Pune in Maharashtra.

           Seeing the popularity of mango i also invented a new dish which is known as Cheese mango bite i would like to share the recipe with you.

            Ingredients for the same are Mango diskined and cut in square cubes, cheese grated 1cup add 1/2 cup of milk mix and cook it in double boiler , bread crumbs 1 cup and cornstarch 1 spoon mix well and keep aside, oil for frying sate sticks or toothpicks. Method skew the mango cubes in sate sticks dip them in the cheese batter roll them in crumbs freeze them for an hour and deep fry them on medium heat take it out immediately and serve them hot.