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New Indian Express

Feast on Mangoes, before it's too late at this food festival in Chennai

There's nothing like biting into a ripe, juicy mango, eating away its golden-yellow flesh, and scraping off every last bit of the fruit from the seed with our teeth, until only a pale white seed remains. For Chennaiites, this is religious, as every summer brings a vibrant parade of mangoes into the city's fruit stalls — from the sweet Imam Pasand, to the tangy Banganapalli, and the fragrant Alphonso. Every variety has its moment of glory, piled high on vendor carts, drawing customers like bees. But as June prepares to draw to an end and the south-west monsoon treats us with occasional rainfall, the once-abundant displays begin to shrink. The prices of mangoes creep up, and our favourite varieties start disappearing one after another, reminding us that the season is slipping away. But what if we told you that you don't have to part with mangoes in sorrow this season? What if, instead, you could celebrate the fruit in all its glory — served fresh and cold in cocktails, stirred into savouries, and folded into desserts? Chef, food historian, and MasterChef India (Tamil) judge Rakesh Raghunathan along with Wild Garden Café, Amethyst, Chennai, are presenting Amra — a mango festival — between June 20 and 30; ready to give the fruit the send-off it deserves.