Mangoes

[Suvir Saran]

I have come back after eating Alfonsos in Bombay.... Wow... they were perfect... and now I feel like I will be without mangoes for another year... till I am back in India.  

I never waste my time anymore looking for mangoes.  Have tried many times.  The mangoes are not even close to all those I grew up eating.  What do I do... I have given up.  

Shall I be trying any?  Where does one get them?  How are they?

[cabrales]

I have almost no knowledge about mangoes, but have had some small ones in Asia (about the length of a woman's pinky finger or smaller) that were better than those I have found in Western Europe or the US.

Do members use dried mangoes that are abundantly available at Asian grocery stores, or dried mangoes from other vendors, in cooking?

[Jinmyo]

Do you ever cook with green unripe mangoes?

Have you ever seen the Viet film, "Scent of a Green Papaya"? The green papaya is skinned and then chopped  in a julienne fashion using a knife on the fruit itself.

Gah. Scared. Need hands.

I shave thin slices with the mandoline and then julliene the sheets. Add use in salads, soups, curries.

[Suvir Saran]

Will have to rent that film.  I love green mango just as I do green papaya.

Cabrales.. I have never used dried mango.  Actually I have seen them in US supermarkets sold alongside dried apricots, plums etc...

What does one do with them?

I do add them to my yearly baking of Holiday Fruit Cake but that is about it.

WOuld love to know more about how they are used.

[Liza]

Well it's probably not what you're looking for, but Davy made an excellent drink last weekend: in a blender, mango, cantaloupe, lime juice, ice, and tequila. An EXcellent use of the mango, if you ask me, as its natural stringiness lends itself well to the whirring of the blender.  Though I would very much like to roast/ broil it like many people are doing to pineapple these days.

[Suvir Saran]

Liza it sounds very nice.  I will send this to a friend of mine that loves being a mixologist.

And your post takes me back to really hot days in Delhi during our summer holidays when in the evening we would have a mango milkshake.  In the blender would be put milk, mangoes, ice, some vanilla icecream and a very tiny amount of lime juice.  the milkshake was the best cooler we could have at 6 in the evening after a long day playing carom.

[mamster]

I feel like a snob saying so, but I never have any expectations for tropical fruit outside the tropics.  (Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised, though.)  The best way to enjoy mangoes (and papayas) here in the frozen North is unripe.  Green mangoes have a wonderful sour edge, and green papaya is a bland vegetable with good crunch, makes a world-beating salad.

Are green mangoes and papayas used in Indian cooking?  I know them from Thai cooking, mainly.

[Suvir Saran]

Matthew I am like you.  But you know what, not many in the US have lived overseas in the tropics and so have no comparison to make.  They are the lucky ones.  Since they can now enjoy the Mangoes found here.

I did get the mangoes from the Chelsea Market.  They were good.  Will I eat a second one?  NO.  Did I finish even one?  NO.

I did not find green mangoes.  In India we use green mangoes with much love.  I love them.  I crave  them and I would love to see them easily available.

Do we use green papaya in Indian cooking?  Yes we do.  But not very often.  And in certain regions and certain homes.

I love papaya salad.

[Jason Perlow]

This weekend, Rachel and I bought a case (24) of the small Mexican mangoes from a local Indian grocery store in Englewood for about $12. We made most of them into mango sorbet -- We peeled about 20 mangoes and put them through a food mill, getting out all the stringy stuff, and then made a simple syrup with 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of water, which we heated to a boil and let cool. We added the juice of about 4 lemons to all the mango puree. After refrigerating the mango puree/lemon juice mixture for about 1 hour, We then used 1/3 of the mango puree and all of the simple syrup and put it in our ice cream machine, reserving the rest to make more sorbet.

This yeilded the most rich and flavorful mango sorbet we ever had in our lives. The next batch we will probably add more water though, because this stuff was so unbeleiveably sweet and rich you dont want to eat too much of it.

[Suvir Saran]

When can I come taste some?  Or can you Fed-EX some to me?  You know it can be done.

Sounds great Jason.

Keep us posted on the next batch.  And I will keep the rest posted after I taste this first one.

PS:  Did you see any green mangoes?

[Jason Perlow]

Come on over and cook dinner for us... :)

[Suvir Saran]

I would be willing to... You know I charge for that.

Fees and details are on my web site.

Your people can call mine for arranging the nitty gritty.

[Suvir Saran]

Well if you are serious.. I am game.

Have been known to cook in many homes.  Some with almost no spices or ingredients.

When you are ready.. let me know.. and we can plan.

[Suvir Saran]

I will have to try the recipe for the sorbet.  It sounds very good.

[Rachel Perlow]

Just to clarify, we did not add all that simple syrup to only 1/3 of the puree. It was added to all the puree, then we only froze 1/4 of the "batter." See my description under the Cooking Forum. Also, Suvir, I think Jason was mostly kidding, we are not planning on having you cater for us any time soon. We'll bring you a taste of the sorbet on Saturday.

[Suvir Saran]

And Rachel I was pulling his leg and teasing Jason further.  Though I love to cook and it will be a pleasure for me to do so when  you are ready and up for it.

Look forward to the taste of the sorbet.

Sounds great.

[Rachel Perlow]

Clarified. You should learn to use the Smilies to help convey feelings as sometimes things are unclear online.

[Suvir Saran]

I will learn to do that Mam.  

[Suvir Saran]

Now  that you have taught me how to do this... I was only kidding.  Thanks Rachel.

[sandymalloy]

I guess I am lucky that I never tried Indian mangoes--I would be too spoiled to enjoy the Mexican ones that we get in abundance here in California.  And I do love 'em.

But nothing will be quite like the mango I had right off a tree in Venezuela.  Had my Swiss army knife with me, and ate the whole thing, of course getting juice all over me & not caring.  Unsual for me; I'm generally pretty tidy!  Some things are worth it.

You do get better produce out here, by the way; you're quite right about that, Suvir.  If we can't have Indian mangoes at least we get the wonderful local peaches, nectarines and berries--next best thing.

Sandy

[Suvir Saran]

I love the Embarcedaro farmers market.  And yes those peaches and nectarines are as good as they get.  I love how the market has them in many stages of ripeness.

I also love the salsas they make and sell.

[mamster]

I could have sworn that I posted to this thread earlier, but now I can't find my post.

You can't always find them, but we often get wonderful green mangoes in Seattle.  I've gotten to the point where I can tell from the weight, size, and firmness of the fruit whether it's going to be adequately green.  It's a pretty versatile tool, suitable for a variety of savory dishes.  If you don't see them at your local Asian market, ask--they may be able to get some.

[Suvir Saran]

You did post Matthew.  On the first page.  Below is what you said.

mamster

Group: Coordinator

Posts: 481

Joined: Aug. 2001

Posted: May 09 2002,00:58   

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I feel like a snob saying so, but I never have any expectations for tropical fruit outside the tropics.  (Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised, though.)  The best way to enjoy mangoes (and papayas) here in the frozen North is unripe.  Green mangoes have a wonderful sour edge, and green papaya is a bland vegetable with good crunch, makes a world-beating salad.

Are green mangoes and papayas used in Indian cooking?  I know them from Thai cooking, mainly.

--------------

Matthew Amster-Burton

Coordinator, eGullet Pacific Northwest board

Publisher, mamster's grub shack

[mamster]

Ah, so I'm not crazy, I'm just not paying attention.

[Suvir Saran]

Thats right!