Thursday 5 July 2007

Mango Mania

My friend Janet expressed concern as to how Condi will be able to eat mangoes with a knife and fork. She jolly well will be able to if she follows the famous tried and tested ' Jeeves '
method.I learnt this at Woodstock School.

Make a deep incision all round the mango keeping it upright.Hold it in both hands and give it a give it a twist. The two halves of the mango will come off clean exposing the seed as shown in the picture.Then you can dig in with a spoon.(You can do this to avocados too.I 've never had one.One avocado costs $2 which is very expensive.)

There are more sophisticated approaches to the operation which I 'm sure Ms Condi 's kitchen staff knows about.

When we were kids , we ate mangoes street style. Just peeling off the skin and chowing while the juice dripped off our chins and hands right down down to our elbows.
Its peak mango season right now and there are unlimited varieties to be sampled


OUR VEGETABLE MAN 'S STORY
Our vegetable man has a young daughter who is physically handicapped, maybe its polio.He got her married to a disabled man thinking they both would support each other . The marriage was a disaster right from the start. On the nuptial night he got drunk and beat her up.Within four days the battered girl had to return home to her parents. The hapless father faces a conundrum as to how he can make his daughter financially independent so she can support herself. He is thinking of taking a loan and opening a small shop.It is quite an uphill task for this economically backward man to empower his child.

My mother saw him chewing tobacco and advised him against it as it could give him throat and mouth cancer. Tobacco chewing is a major cause of cancer in our country. Today he told mama he had kicked his habit immediately after being cautioned. Praise God.

We don 't lose an opportunity to warn people against the ills of such harmful addictions.If only we could make a tiny difference in someone 's life.I once gave money to a poor old rickshaw driver to show himself to a cancer specialist as he was in such a bad shape. He promised he would go, but we don 't know what happened to him.

Mama is suffering from a gum infection.Her face was swollen mighty bad. I couldn 't take her to the doctor as our car is dead. So I went to our family physician and described the symptoms, he wrote out a prescription which is helping her. I am making semolina upma for her which will be easy for her to eat.I like upma too.Its a savoury South Indian dish good for dieters too.

12 Fertilize my soul:

Carol-Ann Allen said...

Hi Amrita!
An interesting post -- once again, depicting everyday life challenges so foreign to us in luxurious and lazy North America!

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Hi Amrita,

The best health-wishes for your Mama, I don't know 'semonila upma', when it helps to heal the gum, good to know that.

... better never chew tabacco!

I do like Mango, a very tasty fruit, peeling that is ....not easy haha!

Take care & greetings from JoAnn

Janet Jeyapaul said...
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Janet Jeyapaul said...
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Amrita said...

Hi Janet, In the local mall they have avocados for about Rs 80 a peice, that would amount to $2 or a little less than that. A small brocolli is Rs 26 and a pepper is Rs23 upwards (cheap by American standards).

I know Condi 's mango devouring skills are very polished I was just showing off my dihati techniques.

I love chola batura and chaat. Down in Civil Lines there are all these sadak ka khana outlets one has to ignore if one has to keep one 's cholestrol down.

I enjoyed the Chennai street food. Ooo the coconut water and bhajjis.
I have to come over to enjoy the Marina beach once more.

Amrita said...

Hi JoAnn, Semolina (or rawa) upma does not have any healing properties for gum trouble but its soft and you don 't have to bite it, so its easy to eat, like porridge

Janet Jeyapaul said...
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Becky Wolfe said...

mmmmm mangos. When I visited Africa they were fresh in season & we did exactly that - washed them, bit back the skin & chowed down letting the juices drip all over. Sooo yummy! Just not the same when they are imported :(

Roo said...

mmmmmmmm MANGOS!!! amrita -- those are my favorite...i just enjoyed one a moment ago!

thinking/praying for your mama. hope she is feeling better soon.

shalom friend.

Janet Jeyapaul said...

Becky has got it right..sorry amrita i keep coming back to your blog to use your links . I have a bus depot kind of approach to blogging.... several good bus depots ensures good blog trips. Pray for me there is a lot of disturbance close to my house..it is difficult to read sometimes.

Amrita said...

My dear Janet, Chennai is a most modern, advanced metropolitan city of india, a host to several leading MNCs,business and political concerns and industries apart from being a prominent seaport,common veggies like broccoli and avocados HAVE to be available there.

Janet Jeyapaul said...
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