Mango in Estyle!

 

" What diamonds are for women, mangoes are for Indians! "

American: What do you miss most about India in summers ?

Indian: Mangoes man!

After putting things in perspective, let me share the legendary story of mango flower with you. 

When I moved to Santa Barbara a year and half back, I heard from a friend about a roadside cart that sells mango (on a stick) on a Sunday afternoon in front of a church in downtown. I wanted to try that but somehow forgot about it during last summer.

Recently, I have been going to Coffee Cat Cafe to work (or pretend! to work) on Sundays. One such Sunday, I was buried in my laptop screen and was suddenly distracted by a person who just sat next to my table. He had a mango (on a stick ) and for the two hours that I was there he kept that on a plate. Hardly eating it. I looked at that mango every now and then from the sides of my eyes. After every glance I thought: Why on earth is he not eating that mango ? I would have finished it in minutes. Since I knew, I didn't ask where he got his mango from.

So I waited.  Waited for a whole week.  Next Sunday, I was (with Sid) at the cart with a huge mango flower (not just mango on a stick, sprinkled with lemon and chilli powder) in my hand. Coffee Cat was three blocks from the cart. Sid and I walked to the Coffee Cat, happily sharing one mango flower.  Mango flower was huge and we had no plans of finishing it just yet.  We kept it on a plate in Coffee Cat.

Five minutes later, the guy on the table next  to us asks "Where did you get the mango from"......and the Coffee Cat  mango (on a stick) SAGA continues...

Recipe for Mango flower:

Ingredients: 1 mango

- Peel the  mango

- Take a wooden BBQ stick (pointed on one side) and insert it in the center of the pit (the point where the mango was connected to the tree) with some force

- You have mango on a stick, lift it to make sure that the stick can handle weight of the mango. Otherwise, try to insert it further with your hand

- Now cut it in a systematic way starting from the top to get your own mango flower (see picture)

- If you are using Mexican mango which are little tarty, sprinkle red pepper and some lemon juice on the flower otherwise eat your mango as is

- Go to Coffee cat!