india-s-sweet-bounty-aam-is-khaas

Summer is here, sizzling hot with one heatwave after another, making us pray to the rain gods fervently for some relief. However, since all of us, almost burnt to a crisp by the cruel sun, know we have to treat ourselves to stay happy – let’s look at the bright side of life and think about the most delicious fruit available to us in this scorcher of a season: Aam or mango.

The fruit, once praised by poet Amir Khusrau as “Naghza Tarin Mewa Hindustan,” (the fairest fruit of Hindustan), is special.

 

And Indians are lucky to have such fabulous varieties on offer in every corner of the country. 

 

So let’s take a quick tour and find out where our favourites come from. 

 

Uttar Pradesh (Langra, Dasheri)
The sweeter than sweet Langra, with its distinct green skin, made its first appearance 250 to 300 years ago in Banaras in what we know as Uttar Pradesh today. Also grown in Bihar, where it’s referred to as the ‘Raja’ of mango, this variety is also called Malda in Bengal, named after one of its cities.
There are interesting theories around the name of this fruit, one being that a man with a limp grafted it first.

Langra is available the middle of June to the end of July and makes a perfect snack during the monsoon for its sweetness, pale yellow pulp and delightful flavour.

 

The fragrant and sugary Dasheri comes from a village named Dashari near Kakori in Lucknow.  It’s said a man known as Baba-e-Amba (father of the mango) or Abdul Hameed Khan Kandhari, brought a graft of a mango plant from the gardens of the Nawab of Lucknow and nurtured it with care. The result was the Dasheri fruit, which is much loved around the country and grown in Andhra Pradesh, Nepal and Pakistan too. 

 

Bihar (Chaunsa, Jardalu)
The much loved and sweet Chaunsa is believed to have been named by Afghan warlord Sher Shah Suri, founder and ruler of the Sur empire in India, to commemorate his victory over Mughal emperor Humayun at the battle of Chausa in Bihar in 1539. 

 

This fibreless variety is very sweet with a pleasant flavour. It has a bright, golden-yellow colour.

 

Chaunsa also has higher vitamin C content in comparison to other fruits.

 

Jardalu, with its pale yellow skin, is from Bhagalpur, Bihar. With a pale yellow skin, this fruit is geographical indication (GI) tagged (products identified as belonging to a specific geographical origin and possessing qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin). 

 

Rich in fibre and enzymes, it’s considered beneficial for the digestive system.

 

Maharashtra (Alphonso)
Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri, both Arabian sea-hugging zones in Maharashtra, produce the jewel among mango varieties – the Alphonso, named after the first Duke of Goa and Viceroy of Portuguese India in the sixteenth century, Aphonso de Albuquerque. 

 

It’s believed Jesuit missionaries grafted mango trees to produce Alphonso, which was then presented to the Viceroy. 

 

Also known as Hapus, Alphonso is harvested from April to June.

 

It has a rich, creamy and sweet, non-fibrous  pulp with a gorgeous golden yellow colour.

 

Alphonso is also GI tagged. 

 

West Bengal (Himsagar, Fazli)
Grown in Bangladesh, West Bengal and Odisha, the Himsagar or Khirsapati is a fibreless, creamy, sweet fruit with colours varying from yellow to orange.

 

It ripens in May and is available till the end of June. In West Bengal, the fruit is grown in Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia and Hooghly districts of West Bengal

 

It’s registered under the protected Geographical Indication Index (GI registration No. 112). 

 

Fazli is available towards the end of the summer season. Grown in Malda and Murshidabad, the fruit can sometimes weigh as much as a kilo. It’s also used for making pickles and jams.

 

In 2009 India had filed for a GI tag for the Fazli but there was a dispute over registration in the World Trade Organisation manual by India. In 2021, Fazli got a GI tag as a product of Bangladesh. 

 

Karnataka (Totapuri, Badami)
The aromatic Totapuri looks like a parrot’s beak when it ripens, which is why it’s named after the bird (tota in Hindi). The mildly flavoured fruit is greenish in colour and not very sweet. 

 

Its home is Karnataka, but Totapuri can also be found in Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

 

Badami, also known as the Alphonso of Karnataka, has a very thin skin. Its golden yellow colour takes on a touch of red when it starts to ripen.

 

Gujarat (Gir Kesar)
The Kesar, grown in the foothills of Girnar, is very aromatic with, you guessed it, hints of saffron in its flavour and colouring. The story around the fruit is that it was named by the Nawab of Junagadh, Muhammad Mahabat Khan III. 

 

Andhra Pradesh (Banganapalle) 
The smooth, oval, pale yellow Banganapalle is very beautiful to look at. Grown in Kurnool district of Banganapalli in Andhra Pradesh, it is fragrant and grows around 14 cm long.

 

Varieties found all across India
Neelam: The fruit is tiny and orange in colour.

 

Malgoa or Malgova: It’s a round and green fruit with a tinge of yellow, available in May and June.

 

GI-tagged mangoes
The Alphonso got a GI tag in October 2018, as did the Jardalu . 

 

Malihabadi Dusheri was GI-tagged in 2010 and the Gir Kesar in 2011. The Banganapalle got a GI tag in 2019