Today we have a delicious guest post from Jayashree T Rao over at EvergreenDishes
We are in the last few days of mango season. Thus, I am just enjoying and recreating whatever I can in the best possible way. It is my favourite fruit, but I keep a watch of what I eat. We have a couple of trees at home and hence I do get a lot of them. I send some to my friends and neighbours.
Mango is the juicy stony fruit from numerous species of tropical trees belonging to the flowering plant genus Mangifera. Mangoes are native to South Asia, mangifera indica is widely distributed worldwide. India is the largest cultivator of mango, China ranks second.
Different variety of mango are available in the Indian market. Some of them are Alphanso, Totapuri, Benesha, Dasheri, Langra, Mulgoba, Raspuri to name a few.
Did you know that Indians are crazy about mangoes? It is regarded as the king of fruits and alphanso is the king of mangoes. They love mangoes and that is the best thing about summers. It is the national fruit. India is the highest cultivator of mangoes followed by China.
A wide range of dishes from pickles to desserts are prepared during this season.
Unripe and sour mangoes are used to make pickle, chutney, spreads, and juice. Pickles of different kinds are prepared in different states. A summer drink known as aam panna is flavourful and popular in Maharashtra. Morabba is a sweet dish used to spread with bread and chapati. A rice dish is also popular in South India. It makes a good meal by itself.
The ripe mangoes are best consumed as a fruit. But the pulp called as Aamras is very tasty. It is used as an accompaniment with puri or chapati. Puri and chapati are Indian flatbreads which are regularly made and consumed here. It is made using wheat flour.
During the mango season, extracting the mango pulp is one of the daily chores for us. Mangoes are washed, dried, softened and then the pulp is squeezed out. A little sugar and milk may be added to it. This is known as aamras. Large utensils of Aamras is usually seen in the refrigerator.
Ripe mango used in curry is flavorsome and tastes good with hot steamed rice.
Fruits are best used in sweets and desserts. Different sweets such as rabdi are made with mango flavor. Mango pieces in custard taste awesome. Mango parfait is another dessert which I often make.
Today, I present you with two recipes using mango. They are easy and can be easily made with the available ingredients. These are popular from the Indian sub-continent.
Mango Lassi
Mango Lassi is a delicious drink during summer. Use ripe and good fruit to make it. It is a refreshing drink.
- 2 ripe mango
- 1 cup yoghurt
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
- 2 almonds
- Wash and peel the mango. Cut into slices and freeze it.
- Blend it along with sugar and yoghurt.
- Pour in glass, add cardamom powder and garnish with almond pieces.
Do not use sour yoghurt. Adjust sugar as per your needs.
Lassi is a popular chilled beverage from Indian sub-continent, best served during summer. It is made of yoghurt and can be sweet or spicy. Spicy version is usually served with salt and cumin powder
Sweet version of lassi is tasty, creamy and frothy. It is one of the essentials during summer months. Yoghurt is whipped and blended with cream and sugar and topped with dry fruits. Fruits of different kind may be used in lassi. They are the taste enhancers and also nutrient suppliers.
Mango Lemonade
With the temperature rising during May, we often had this chilled mango lemonade in the afternoon. Lemonade is a popular drink in the Indian sub-continent. You are often served this welcome drink when you visit someone. Mango lemonade is made using ripe mangoes unlike the other drink Aampanna that uses unripe and sour ones.
- 2 mango
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 lemon
- 1 cup water
- Ice cubes
- Mint leaves
Peel the mango and cut into cubes.
- Put the mango and sugar in a blender jar and give a swirl.
- Add water and lemon juice. Give a swirl again.
- Pour in glass, add ice cube and garnish with a mint leaf. Refreshing mango lemonade is ready to sip.
Jayashree T Rao
A person with a zest for life and a passion for writing. Believes in living life to the fullest. She loves cooking and writing, thus her blog was born. Author of three e-books, South Indian Breakfast, 30 Tasty Dal Recipes, and Breadbasket. They are available on Amazon. A poet at heart, some of her poems are published in anthologies.
Make sure you follow her on social media and check out her website for more recipes.
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I love Mango Lassi and am so glad I now have a recipe to make it at home.
Please let Jayashree know if you tried her recipes and what you think about them in the comments below. She will be stopping by to check out the comments and to answer any questions you may have.
I don’t buy mangos real often, but I do love them. Especially love a mango salsa with fish tacos. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann
Yes, mango salsa tastes good.
gotta try mango lemonade. how do you pick a good mango at the grocery store!?
A mango can be selected depending on the colour, smell, firmness and weight. Colour of mangoes vary, some are yellow and some orangish red. Once you know, what colour your kind looks, you can get to know. The smell of ripe mangoes is good. It gives a good aroma and this is the best way to know. The riper the mango, the sweeter it gets, though this varies on the kind of the mango. Ripe mangoes are less firm and weigh more. I hope this helps.
Both recipes sound so good! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party. Hope your week is fantastic.
Thankyou, glad you liked them.
Mangoes are something I haven’t tried a lot of – but these recipes both sound good. I may have to check out our mango selection next time we go grocery shopping!
Thankyou Shelly Maynard.
I would love to try this at least once. I love mangos!