Indian Chefs on Indian Mangoes

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Indian chefs are celebrating that the Indian mango will be returning to American food markets -- celebrating like Bush Mango. "Just how good are Indian mangoes?" Superchefblog asked a few leading Indian chefs about Indian mangoes and their importantce to them. Manju Malhi, author of India with Passion (see previous review) said: The new Indo-US deal on mangoes is fantastic and was a long time coming. Americans have definitely missed out on the Alphonso which is also known as the king of mangoes and is grown mainly in Western India. The Indian name for it is Haafus. It is considered by many to be the best in terms of sweetness and flavour. Its texture and rich colour is unique. I have tried several varieties from different parts of the world and I have never found one even similar. Eating an ‘Alphonso’ for me is like savouring a velvety and soft melt in the mouth dessert or ice cream created by nature. She writes that she is researching her next book The Secret History of the Spice Box and doing TV shows such as BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen. Vikas Khnana, chef, author, and founder of Cooking for Life, writes: It will be great to have such a strong variety of "King of fruits" available in the US. Even if the 20 major varities become available out of the 1,500 or more kinds, it will be worthwhile. I have been cooking with Mangoes, which is the national fruit of India available in abudance. Just like we use different variety of apples in different recipes in the US, it is the same with mangoes too. This agreement will help in preparing the many unknown recipes in the world which require these varieites not just Mexican, which are less flavorful. India has different climatic conditions in different regions which help develop the flavors. This will just give another color to the canvas of American Cuisine. (For more about Vikas, see previous article.) Suvir Saran, author of Indian Home Cooking and chef of Devi and Veda, said: India is the mother place of mangoes. And Indian mangoes, without being biased, are a world apart. Their complexities, variances by week, their varieties, their smooth flesh,their sweet and bitter at the same time flavors, their many different colors and smells, a re a world unto themselves. This will be HUGE for both us Indians in the US and also for those others that have been robbed the magic of mangoes until now. We have been blessed in seeing this day happen. This may be the single and only good thing George Bush may be remembered for in history. Mangoes are one of the few things I actually missed. I gave up eating and enjoying mangoes once I ate the bad Mexican and Caribbean varieties in the US. Only my dear friend David Karp was able to sometimes give me a taste of my land and its supernal mangoes. But not enough to make me stop missing them. Once you have eaten these mangoes, one cannot even call these others mangoes. They are only a very poor apology. Not even a substitute. -- Do I sound happy enough? All the chefs sounded happy -- almost as happy as the presidents of India and the United States: Madhur Jaffrey said: America's new nuclear and trade pact with India is a win-win deal. India gets nuclear fuel for its energy needs and America, doing far better in what might be called a stealth victory, finally gets mangoes...... See previous article, which replies to Madhur's opinionin The New York Times. Meawhile, back in India, as the American and Indian presidents met... ...and, though Americans may be surprise and moset quite likely unaware, many Indians did not like the deal that was going down... This nukes-for-mangoes deal has Sueprchefblog wondering what in the world is going through the mind of President George W. Bush & Co. What did our ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton (nominated for the Nobel Prize for Peace!), say recently? India and Pakistan had never signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty and therefore they weren't in violation of it by having nuclear programs. [source] Well, there is logic for you! we never signed on to U.S. criminal laws, so it's OK if we head out and start shooting people down in the streets? In which, shouldn't the Iranians, North Koreans, and others help themselves to nuclear weapons of mass destruction? Bolton's approval for India's illegal acquistion of nuclear arms has even made one Arab journalist speculate about which government he works for -- ours, or Israel's? (See article in the Yemen Times.) (See Superchefblog editorial for our reply to Madhur's Op-Ed in The New York Times. ) Previous articles: Mangoes Gone Nuclear Cooking For Life: Vikas Khanna Mangoes & Curry Leaves: Traveling Cookbook Suvir Saran Spins Indian Home Cooking Spice Up Your Life Week: East Curry Madhur Jaffrey: Our Lady of India, CBE Manju Malhi's India With Passion Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, politics, George W. Bush, nuclear, India, mango --> back to superchefblog