- Minu M M
When you think of summer, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? To me, it has to be the summers of childhood and, of course, mangoes.
My summers used to begin with cousins coming home right after their exams. I used to wait for them. And then would begin the April Fool pranks on everyone at our home. It was so much fun! Then there used to be the results day, which we were never worried about. After the results, we would get sweets from our grandfather, no matter what our rank.
We were never home. We used to visit home only to eat. Such carefree vacations! We never had bicycles of our own but there was a small shop that rented cycles for Rs2 per hour, depending upon the cycle. Our parents were tension-free and would let us enjoy every bit of the vacation without any restrictions.
We had three mango trees in our home, all of different varieties. We would wait for the varieties. We would wait for the pulpy mangoes to ripen. It was a beautiful routine, where our grandfather involved all of us into it. I can still smell those mangoes of our home as I write this. The unripe mangoes would be picked, stored in our garage carefully under straws to help them ripen naturally. It takes a few days. If the mangoes were left on the trees, they would attract birds and monkeys. Oh yes, we would certainly leave some for them.
Our grandfather had taught us the art of identifying ripe mangoes from the lot by touching and smelling. This was our everyday routine. We had mangoes for breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner too. I believe mangoes taste the best in their natural form. We used to share the mangoes with all our relatives and neighbours. My grandfather inspired us to always share.
As is wont, there were boys trying to steal the mangoes by throwing stones at the tree but could our dog ever let them! My grandmother would make delicious chutney every day using the stone grinder. In North Karnataka, we make a dish called Shikarni using mango pulp, which is had with chapathi. My father was in charge of this. We had a fun game too. My father or aunt used to leave one mango with the seed. We’d eagerly look forward to learn which lucky one got the seed.
We ate together, played together and slept together in the hall. Our dinner used to be outside, under the moonlight where my grandmother used to feed us with kaituthu. Kaithutu is where bites or morsels of rice are served on our palm, turn-wise. We made handmade cards for all birthdays and anniversaries during vacations.
I love to often go back and revisit my childhood memories. We hardly clicked photos those days. It was only on special occasions. Vacations used to end with us preparing for school, putting cover on our books, looking forward to the new school year.
This year too I waited for summer. Of course, there cannot be another summer of childhood but I waited for my kid's vacation, spending time as a family, some relaxation and of course, to relish the king of fruits. But we got an unexpected, extended lockdown, which didn’t seem serious initially but then turned out to be quite grim. While there is chaos and scare, not everyone is privileged. But I did see glimpses of my childhood summer during the lockdown: family spending more time together, cooking for the family, everyone being involved in the household chores, playing some long-forgotten indoor games.
Unlike our childhood, the environment now is neither safe nor healthy. Technology has made things easy now and lockdown has almost made work paperless. People have developed new hobbies. It also gave us an opportunity to complete things we always procrastinated. I tried looking at the lockdown from kids’ point of view. Though they know there is something called coronavirus, they have no idea what impact it has had. Without knowing about it, they have adapted themselves to the new normal—schooling digitally, not visiting their favourite hangouts, no meeting friends, no school, play, no vacation outing. They deserve all the appreciation. I did try a few things I did during my vacations to make them happy indoors.
When we think about summer, the unbearable heat comes to our mind and then comes the solution to beat the heat, natural solution being summer fruits. This year, it was not only summer but a summer combined with lockdown. For some of us, it was difficult to go out and buy our favourite summer fruits while it was easy for some. We all have many favourites when it comes to fruits but if we have to choose two fruits especially for summer, they would be watermelon and mangoes. People wait the entire year for summer to arrive so that they can enjoy mangoes. All fruits taste the best when consumed in their original form but they taste great even when used to create some delicious recipes. Mango season brings back so many memories of childhood and our homegrown mangoes. When I think of watermelons, it reminds me of the 90s film, Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin. Bollywood fans would know what I mean.
Mangoes
The best way to eat mangoes is in its purest, natural form, I personally love it so. Since mango has a tangy and sweet flavour, we can use it in many dishes. I have tried many dishes. Sharing two of my favourite recipes.
Mango salsa: Time for some salsa. No, not the dance. Your taste buds might feel like dancing, though. I make mango salsa every summer. Mango can be added to any salad, for that matter. Mango brings all the missing flavours and combines so well with whatever you add. So you get to hear that salsa goes well with nachos and some super expensive chips and all that. My ideas are very desi. Try mango salsa with some khakhra! Chaat masala-flavoured khakhra, in particular, tastes great with mango salsa. Forget nachos, instead nachao your tastebuds with this super easy, very desi mango salsa. Mix some diced mangoes with tomatoes, onion, coriander, add some lime juice, salt and pepper, you can add little chilli powder too and herbs. Enjoy salsa time.
Nuts over mangoes: Mangoes taste the best in their natural form and also when combined with other fruits In their natural form. Since it is mango season, we can use fresh ripe mangoes to make smoothies. You need to combine one mango with one banana, blend them, serve with some chopped walnuts and mango cubes. You can use frozen banana too. The smoothie will be very creamy and doesn’t require added sugar. You can freeze the smoothie in popsicle mould and enjoy them as mango smoothie popsicles.
Watermelon
Watermelons are succulent and loved by all. Since they are huge, they can be enjoyed by the entire family. Below are two interesting recipes using watermelons.
Spicy watermelon popsicle: Popsicles are loved by people of all ages. This particular popsicle gives that spicy and sweet flavour like a gola. You can freeze it to make a popsicle or drink it as juice. The below ingredients and recipe serve two people. This recipe doesn’t need any sugar. Take the chuski and enjoy.
Ingredients: Some watermelon cubes de-seeded, salt and pepper powder as per taste, chaat masala powder.
Procedure: Blend all the ingredients. Do not dilute or overblend it. If you prefer it as juice, you can add some finely chopped watermelon, add some ice cubes and enjoy the drink. If you want to have them as popsicles, freeze it, add some pepper and chaat masala on top and enjoy the chuski.
Watermelon rind sabzi: In our kitchen, whenever we cook vegetables or eat fruits, there are a lot of things that we dispose of, such as peels, seed, stems etc. Some people use it to make compost whereas some of us cannot. I personally dispose of peels etc only if nothing can be made out of it. Some peels like that of ridgegourd are used in making chutneys. My father uses thin methi stems to prepare chutney. Coriander stems can also be used in chutney and rasam, soups to make them flavourful.
One such thing which we dispose of is watermelon rind. It is the thick part between the fruit and the skin. I had read that it is nutritious, hence i tried making its sabzi. Upon tasting, you cannot make out that it is watermelon rind, it was so tasty. No particular way of cooking it as such. Just chop the white rind (with a little pink part but not the hard green part) and make sabzi using the masala you usually use at home, dry or gravy of your choice. You can use it in sambhar too.
Since the lockdown is still on and we can't venture out like earlier for shopping for our kitchen, making best and complete use of available resources is the best thing we can do.