A thousand shades of Mango-Green

- by Deepa Krishnan

Mum and I went to the market this weekend. The little green mangoes were there in all their splendour, tempting me.

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"I want to make mangakari", I said to mum. Mangakari, pickled green mango cut into little bits, is a summer favourite of mine. Snazzes up a meal like nothing else and leaves everyone wishing for more. So we set off to find the perfect green mango.

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The mangoes were in different sizes - tiny, not-so-tiny, medium and largish. I walked around with mum looking for a largish size that would still have the special taste of unripe green. We rejected several larger mangoes that looked as if they would be sort of sweetish inside.

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Finally we found a vendor who had just the perfect shade of green! He handpicked them for me - they were a little smaller than I would have wanted, so we'd have more effort in cutting, but at least they would be delicious.

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And now to make the pickle. Watch this space!

Published in the Hindustan Times - HT Cafe - April 11, 2008