Summers are wonderful for just ONE thing – Mangoes !!!! I can live on a Mango diet, especially if its “Mallika”. I discovered that Mallika has a dwarf twin called Amrapali. Both are hybrids of Neelam and Dusseri. I have been getting organic mangoes from Farmer Uncle and EatRightBasket. This time Staple Kaka and Hemanth Ji’s Kiyora Life got added to the list of mango suppliers.
Ofcourse, am a serious Mango woman 😁🥭 .
The First Rataul
This time around, Staple Kaka announced that they were getting Rataul Mangoes sourced from an organic farmer. I immediately placed my order because I had heard a lot about the Ratauls but had never eaten one. Amreen informed us that the Ratauls were ripening very quickly and many of them had got spoilt. I kept hoping that we would get to eat some and we did.
The Rataul is a small mango. It tastes somewhat like the Rumani, which I miss in Delhi NCR as its only available in South India. Ratauls are sweet and have a distinct aroma. The seed is actually big for the size of the mango.
The famous story connected to the Ratauls
Apparently Gen Zia-ul-haq had gifted a box full of Ratauls to Mrs. Gandhi and she replied that the “Pakistani mangoes were sweet”. Apparently the Rataul Mango growers went and complained to Mrs. Gandhi that this was an Indian variety.
I just realised that there is a whole different Mango war that is going on between India and Pakistan 🙄. A gentle reminder to Pakistan that they didn’t exist till 1947….. and there were Rataul orchards in U.P before then and now, growing Ratauls. 🇮🇳
As the Mango season 2021 comes to an end, I miss the Mangoes already. I also miss meeting our dear friends, Ilayaraja and Vijay – The Mango boys are back! Hopefully next year, we get to meet them and eat their specially curated mangoes.
Do read – Fruit Ripening.
#GoOrganic