Raw Mango Speaks......


It was quite a journey from the farms till the store, where some people arranged me and my friends to live on a vegetable crate. I had ripened up a bit, when I finally got picked up by a lady.

I was then  packed, billed and brought to her home. Her children loved mango pickle is why she apparently bought me, I understood from her conversations. It was rather cold, and I was glad that she did not take me out of the paper cover that the shopkeeper covered me with. Good for me. 

In the evening, she opened the fridge and took me out. A small portion of me was cut and salted thoroughly to be enjoyed by the children.  She took a bite and from what she expressed; I understood that she is not probably going to pickle me. She kept the rest of the mango inside the fridge, this time without the cover. I froze. I hoped that the family would think of making a warm meal with me or pickle me. The coldness of the refrigerator made my skin freeze to hardness and the juice in me began to dry up slowly.

Thankfully, this morning the lady took me out of the fridge. Some respite from the cold I thought.

I knew from hearsay that depending on whether you are in a South Indian home or North Indian home the recipes that they made differ. I was eager to know how I would be utilized for the family’s meal treat today.

South Indian homes made Mangaai perukku, Mangaai Thokku, Maangai Koottaan, Maangai Sambhar, Maangai Pappu, Maangai chutney, Maangai Sweet dish with me and this lady spoke Tamil, which means I may be cooked to one of these only. However, she opened up YouTube on her phone I guess and some recipe was playing. Her face said she was not exactly happy with that and it seemed like she made up her mind to make Maangai Chutney with me.

She chopped me into pieces and added a green chilly. Before putting all the ingredients into a mixer jar, she looked at the watch. Then, she went to a different room for a bit. Must be to ensure that the kids are up to get ready to go to school. There was a certain confusion in her face when she came back. 

However, I got ground into a paste. It was not the perukku or chutney that can come out of it because the paste was too juicy for both these dishes. Then she added some oil in the frying pan, some mustard seeds, the paste, a lot of jaggery, a little salt, a pinch of pepper, a tinge of asafoetida and finally turmeric powder and a glass of water. After five minutes she added some chopped coriander leaves and transferred me to a serving bowl. I just realised that she made a dish called maangai patchadi and seemed thrilled about it. The family is having me for their lunch meal today and I am awaiting the reviews from them.

I started off as mango, then was eaten as raw mango slices, then finally became semi-ripened mango patchadi. Wonder if she will post it on you tube though.

Strange it is, but true that what we are (raw mango) and what we think we must be (ripe mango, juice) and what we can be(all mango dishes) often does not really match what we may turn out to be (patchadi) at the end of it all.
  • Life is a chance game; It is a choice to accept it. 
  • Take that chance to be what you are meant to be, at any point in time. 
  • Go on and take that chance to be or do something that you never believed was possible! 
  • They say, "If you win you earn, if you lose you learn". Either ways, it is good for you.

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