Summer vacations from school were always spent at my grandparents’ home in Fort Kochi, where all my maternal cousins would congregate for the entire month of June. And this paltan of kids, in ages ranging from seven to 17, had unbridled energy, controlled only by the strictness of our grandmother who had eyes, even behind her head, to know what mischief we were up to. And, so, grandmother’s siesta time was our trigger to raid the kitchen. And the object of our booty was the jars of raw mango in her store room. There were dried mango slivers salted to perfection. Then, there were jars of even smaller raw mangoes dunked in brine, which had a wonderful pungent smell and acerbic taste. But only the raw mangoes tempered in red chilli paste brought heaven on our plates when we mixed them with rice and curd; something that we could relish all the year round.
As granny’s snores hit the upper octave, we would sneak into her locked store room through the high ventilator protected only by bamboo sticks, and descend on what we called the Ali Baba jars of raw mango goodies! And the pure joy of stealing granny’s dried salted mangoes could only be experienced.
Geeta Chandran
No words can describe the utter mix of guilt, fear and joy that were redeemed only by the sourness of our booty. Of course, granny knew what tricks we were up to. And when our tummies would ache from an excess of maangai vetthal (raw mango preserve), she would chide us by saying that the stomach cramps were the punishment from heaven for stealing! Outside in the yard were several mango trees with pulpy fruit just ripening for us to pluck and gorge on. I can only remember those vacations with nostalgia for a childhood past, and my grandmother’s diamonds fiercely glaring at us from her earlobes and nose.
The simplest raw mango recipe was the maangai chammanthi (raw mango chutney). It is a quick, no-cook, Kerala-style condiment with a sour and spicy flavour profile. It is typically made by coarsely grinding raw mango and other spices.
The sourness of raw mangoes can vary, so adjust the amount of chillies and salt accordingly.
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