#365DaysOfWriting — Day Fourteen
It’s the season of mangoes! And I’m ecstatic. Do you know why? It’s because my grandmother makes a delectable ripe mango curry— and it’s what food in heaven tastes like. Large chunks of mango generously spread across a base of curd and coconut (sorry, I have this habit of talking MasterChef lingo).
I have fond memories of mango that go all the way back to my childhood.
I was never a huge fan of the fruit in its natural form though — didn’t see the fun in slurping or sucking on ripe mangoes, getting your hands and lips all messy. I did love mango milkshake, homemade mango ice-cream (my mother and grandmother made homemade ice-creams and cakes back in the day), and of course, this ripe mango curry. What sets it apart from other curries is that you can have it alone, with rice or with chapati — it doesn’t matter. You can have the curry first and leave the mango pieces for last, or vice-versa, and it’ll still taste sublime. It’s one of those dishes where you will lick the plate and your fingers CLEAN — believe me, I’ve done it a lot over the last 15–20 years.
My grandmother’s a genius cook, by the way. Everyone in the family, and my friends, office colleagues and almost everyone I know on this planet will testify. This ripe mango curry is one of her specialities.
One thing I’ve found weird about mangoes is that it’s a fruit that packs a lot of heat, and yet it is available only in the summer. I wonder what it would’ve been like had mango been available during the Indian winters (let me know if it is, this is an assumption based on my personal experiences). I would love to have that ripe mango curry on a cold, wintry night.
