Dishoom Digests: The Mango

Much-Loved Mango Varieties

Relished for millennia, there are over a thousand types of mango across India, and many more across the world – but a few that grow close to Bombay merit particular attention (in our subjective opinion): one for reverent eating, a couple for blending or blitzing, and some for fruity-sharpness.

The Alphonso Mango

Luscious beyond measure, the ‘King of Mangoes’ (we attest), grown in Maharashtra. Golden-skinned with a soft red blush. So abundantly juicy and richly perfumed, it is treasured above all for its creamy, non-fibrous pulp – best eaten fresh straight from the gutli (pit).

The Kesar Mango

The ‘Queen of Mangoes’ (we also attest), grown in Gujarat. Greenish-yellow skinned with vivid saffron-coloured flesh – it is said that in 1934, the Nawab of Junagadh named it after seeing its glowing pulp (kesar meaning saffron in Hindi and Gujarati). Often used for aamras (mango pulp), lassis and shrikhand. (For all those impatient for Kesar, the early-season Pairi – March onwards – makes for a delightful, if somewhat smaller, substitute).

A Green (Unripe) Mango

More an early stage of life than a specific variety. Firm to the touch with pale skin and a grassy aroma when cut. Piercingly sharp, used widely in kitchens for pickles, chutneys, salads and dishes where sharpness is most needed (including our beloved Dishoom Mango Chutney). Cherished green-eating varieties include: Totapuri, Rajapuri and Langra mangoes.

When Is Mango Season?

Mango season in India broadly runs from March through July, though the fruit’s exact arrival depends upon heat, region and variety. The air is heady with the scent of ripening mangoes. Pushcarts of piled-high mangoes laze in shaded corners. Aunties and uncles teeter out of markets with prized boxes. It is brief and glorious.

To preserve mangoes beyond the season, they are often turned into tart pickle or sweet-sour Chunda, where vinegar, sugar and/or spices allow the fruit to linger long after. Riper mangoes might be frozen as purée for lassis and desserts – a fruitful attempt to sweeten lips year-round.

Savour mango season at Dishooom.

Buying & Ripeness

In Bombay and across India, mangoes of many types are bought from markets and mango-wallas, a bounty for all. Here, one must be a little more self-reliant – but the principles of choosing remain the same.

Buying mangoes is as much about ripeness as it is about quality and variety. Unlike most fruits, the mango has many moments of readiness: unripe, semi-ripe, ripe or overripe – each with its own purpose and own reward (see The Dishoom Guide to Mango Ripeness).

Colour can be deceptive when it comes to mango ripeness: some varieties, such as Langra, stay green when ripe, while others turn golden long before. Instead, trust touch: squeeze the mango gently. An unripe mango will be firm. Semi-ripe, it is firm but beginning to yield. Ripe, it gives easily, and overripe, it is soft and collapsing.

For added certainty, give the stem a polite sniff: no scent means unripe, while a ripe mango will release a delightful aroma.

Ripening & Storing At Home

Peculiarly – but not unusually for a fruit – mangoes ripen due to ethylene gas, not heat or sunlight. (Indeed, try to avoid warmth or direct sunlight as it risks uneven ripening.) For best effect, allow mangoes to ripen at their own patient pace at room temperature in a shaded spot.

If in a hurry, place mangoes in a paper bag to trap the ethylene gas and speed ripening (for situations most urgent, add a banana for good measure).

Cold, on the other hand, interrupts ripening entirely. In the fridge, a mango will never come to fruition. Only once fully ripe, should a mango be chilled – if preferred.

Green unripe mangoes are the exception: they do not develop the sweetness of ‘eating’ mangoes, nor are they so intended. Refrigeration will not improve them, but it will preserve their much-solicited firmness.

Mango Preparation

A mango has a flat, oblong gutli (pit) running through its centre. When preparing a mango for eating, the task is simple: work around it.

The Slice Method

• Place your mango on a cutting board with the pointy end at the top.
• Using a small, sharp knife, slice down either side of the gutli to make two large ovals of mango.
• Leaving the skin on, slice each oval lengthways into 2–3 long strips. Trim the remaining mango left on either side of the gutli into long slices.
• Bite the flesh straight from the skin.

The Waffle Method

• Place your mango on a cutting board with the pointy end at the top.
• Using a small, sharp knife, slice down either side of the gutli to make two large ovals of mango.
• Score a crisscross pattern into the two ovals’ flesh, being careful not to cut through the skin.
• Push the skin upward so the cubes rise.
• Spoon or slice the cubes out, or bite straight from the skin.
• Peel the skin away from the mango left on the gutli and fight over whose turn it is to suck it dry.

The Glass Method

• Place your mango on a cutting board with the pointy end at the top.
• Using a small, sharp knife, slice down either side of the stone to make two large ovals of mango.
• Hold an oval in your palm (with the mango’s skin touching your skin) and press the rim of a glass between the mango’s skin and flesh, then slide down so the fruit drops cleanly into the glass.
• Repeat. Nibble the leftover middle.

The Chuski (Sip) Method

The messiest method by far, for overripe mangoes.

• Roll the mango in your hands to soften the flesh.
• Bite a small hole at the top with your teeth.
• Squeeze the juicy pulp straight into your mouth, relish it until you hit the gutli.
• Take the gutli out and suck it dry. If juice doesn't trickle down your arm, you're not doing it right.

Cooking With Mangoes

Mango is enjoyed in countless forms across Indian cooking: sliced and chilli-salted at roadside stalls, blended into cooling lassis, or simmered into chutney for best dipping and daubing – how it is used depends entirely on its stage of ripeness.

Unripe and piercingly sharp, it brings brightness to pickles, chutneys, salads and dishes where freshness is most-needed. Semi-ripe, it yields satisfying harmony to sweet-savoury plates. (Ripe, it is best eaten fresh). Overripe, its perfumed pulp becomes a gift for lassis and puddings.

Explore your curiosities at home with our selection of recipes below, each a willing accompaniment to a different stage of mango readiness.