It’s officially the season of the ‘king of fruits’ – here’s how to use it
While delicious eaten raw, these versatile fruits are also great for cooking with, lending their distinctive flavour to both sweet and savoury dishes. Here's how to make the most of them this summer. By Romy Gill Known as ‘the king of fruits’ due to their juicy, tropical flavour and nutritional benefits, mangoes played a special part in my childhood. When I was young, living in West Bengal in India, I’d eat three or four a day when they were in season. This is between March and August, although they’re usually at their very best from May to July. My dad would pluck the mangoes from a tree and drop them into a bucket of water to cool them down. Then, we’d suck the juice straight from the fruit, taking our tops off first as we knew just how sticky they could be. They also bring back memories of my mum in the kitchen turning them into mango pickle to serve with our meals. They were a staple part of our diet. As you can tell, mangoes fill me with nostalgia. So much so that several years ago I returned to India, travelling through various states trying to find different varieties. On this trip, when visiting Lucknow, I travelled north of the city and was lucky enough to be granted an audience with Haji Kalimullah Khan (Kaleem Ullah Khan), known as ‘Mango Man’. He achieved fame by grafting a mango tree to grow over 300 varieties. Hundreds of awards and photographs of him with dignitaries were hung on the walls and he talked to me about them all, proud of his life’s achievements. Romy meeting the celebrated 'Mango Man' What to expect from the most famous varieties There are over 1,000 varieties of mango grown in India and there’s a huge amount of difference between them in terms of flavour and texture – for example, some have lots of stringy fibres whereas others have none. When I was growing up, vendors would travel to our town from different states throughout mango season, selling their region’s varieties. My dad would be told when each type would arrive and I’d be particularly excited when the sweet, soft and juicy Langra variety, as well as the Kesar with its gentle acidity were imminent. While in years past it’s been hard to find Indian mango varieties here in the UK, that’s thankfully no longer the case. In fact, just over the last few weeks I’ve picked up three different varieties from three different national supermarkets. Of course, if you go to a greengrocer or a specialist shop which sells Indian produce, you’ll find even more varieties and they’ll taste different to the two types most often found in supermarkets – the Tommy Atkins, which is sweet with a slight tart note, and the Kent, which has a rich and sweet flavour with some sourness. Here’s what the most popular Indian mango varieties are and what you can expect from them: Choosing the right mango The type you choose will depend on the texture you need and the level of sweetness you want in your recipe: mangoes with softer, less fibrous flesh are great for pulping, while those with firmer flesh work better in recipes where the fruit needs more bite. Some recipes will call for ripe mangoes while others, like my mango salad, work better with unripe mangoes. To test for ripeness, smell the mango first; if it smells sweet it’s likely to be ripe, and if it smells bitter or sour it’s likely unripe (or bad!). The way to tell whether it’s unripe is if it’s still very hard. Avoid picking a bad one by checking the skin. It should be smooth and firm – wrinkled skin could suggest that a mango is past its best. Finally, apply gentle pressure to the skin: if it gives slightly when you squeeze it, it’s ripe. Cooking with mangoes Mangoes are perfect to eat just as they are, but when you do cook with them you can expect beautiful dishes. It’s worth experimenting with both sweet and savoury recipes. As I’ve mentioned, different types lend themselves to different dishes – although there are a few all-rounders. For instance, Kesar mango is versatile and as such you could chop it into chunks and add to a curry, blend the pulp and add it to a drink or grate it into rice pudding. Banganpalle mangoes, meanwhile, are great for turning into a refreshing salad with a squeeze of lemon juice and mint. And when it comes to the ever-popular alphonso, you could get a tin of its pulp and use it to make a dessert such as a tart or pie. If you have a sour, unripe mango, it will be perfect for turning into a tangy chutney or pickle, or you could make aam papad (fruit leather). You mash it to a pulp, spread it onto a baking tray and oven bake. Whatever you end up making, you can be sure that it will bring you joy and sunshiny flavour, just as mangoes have done for me both as a child and an adult. Now make Kesar mango and chicken curryMango chutneyAlphonso mango tartMango salad Kesar mango and chicken curry Mango chutney Alphonso mango tart Mango salad Originally published June 2023