Imagination runs riot as mango season takes off in Pune

Mango lovers insist that the fruit is what makes summer bearable. This year, with an increase in the supply of mangoes from Karnataka as well as the Konkan, the market is flooded with the choicest varieties of the fruit. This has lowered prices and charged the imaginations of mango lovers.

At Khandani Rajdhani at Phoenix Market City, Corporate Chef Maharaj Bhawar Singh is fine-tuning dishes that feature mangoes in new ways, from Mango Pizza Dhokla, Aam Papad Chilli Samosa and Palak Patta Aamras Chaat to Mango Ring Dhokla, Kairi Dum Biryani and Mango Corn Pulao. The restaurant will also offer Fajeto, Kairi Parwal Sabji, Mango Barfi and Mango Lassi, among others, as part of a special thali.

An annual mango festival will get underway at The Orchid Hotel Pune on May 12. Executive Sous Chef Raju Adhikari and team have confronted “the challenges of high prices of mangoes and poor harvest handling that lead to limited and inconsistent availability”. They have created a menu packed with treats such as Mango Cheesecake, Mango Smoothies, Mango Barfi and Fresh Mango with Ice Cream. “We wait eagerly for the mango season. We will have a variety of juicy mangoes on display during the festival, and dishes made with the most fresh and best mangoes in town,” says the chef.

In Pimple Saudagar, artist Rachna Mehta’s new enterprise, Rachana’s Homemade Icecreams, is getting ready for its first summer. There will be mango ice cream, mango kulfi, mango juices and a preparation that is close to Mehta’s heart, mango cream. “Around 20 years ago, when I was new to Pune, I went to a shop on MG Road and ordered a mango dessert. It had ice cream, cream and floating pieces of ripe mango. I never forgot the taste. Since then, I have a mango cream party every summer for my family and friends. For the first time, I will serve mango cream to customers. I hope that it will create memories for them as well,” says Mehta.

For most people, mangoes are associated with childhood, summer holidays, visits to grandparents and home cooking. Sanjana Desai, executive director, Mother’s Recipe, remembers the two mango trees at her home in Camp. “We would track the progress of these trees. There were so many things that we used to make with mangoes. My grandmother was famous for mango milkshake and we even had mango vegetables, which was something that I never ate,” says Desai. This summer, Mother’s Recipe went back to traditional Indian drinks to quench the summer thirst and launched a line of sharbat under the tagline ‘Swaad jo dilaye bachpan ki yaad’ (A taste that reminds you of childhood). The flavours are rose, jeera masala, khus, lemon ginger and mango panna. “We are a homegrown brand that stands for everything an Indian mother would make. Celebrating the mango is a part of saluting the flavours of India,” says Desai.