I was introduced to the aamras-poori combination when I moved to Mumbai after marriage. I never knew that something like this existed. By nature I was not the adventurous kinds, I never took a chance tasting new foods and God knows how many amazing things I’ve missed in life because of this. I have played safe with most kinds of foods and if it weren’t for my ever persistent husband who always coaxes and cajoles me into trying something new, I may have been just a plain Jane that I always was. Well, long story short, my colleague once raved about the amazing aamras and made me try it out in one of Crawford Market’s famous food joints, the name of which I forget. The taste was nothing short of spectacular and I wondered why I had shied away from it for so long! The hot and savoury poori (deep fried wheat flatbreads) torn into bite sized portions and used to scoop up chilled, sweet & tantalising mango dip is something to be experienced. I remember washing this very satisfying snack down with some rose falooda, again something that I had not tasted before. Street food was indeed very satisfying that day. I really miss those days in Mumbai.
Aamras poori is a summertime staple in Maharashtra & Gujarat and pretty popular along the northern parts of the Konkan belt. Thanks to social media, almost all of India loves to enjoy some during the mango season.
Sometime last month I wanted to use up a big bag of frozen Alphonso mangoes and I asked the members of my group on Facebook for some ideas. I received plenty. Many of them required more effort than I was willing to invest in at that moment and since I had never really made aamras at home, I zeroed in on this. I had the wonderful privilege of enjoying this snack all by myself since my kids didn’t want to eat the pooris again (after breakfast) and the husband was too busy to react to an inviting bowl of mango pulp amidst a conference call. His loss, my gain. Tee hee! Evil, I know – I do that so many times.
Anyway, the moral of the story is that, the mango season is upon us. Supermarkets are flooded with so many varieties of the king of fruits, so take your pick, find the sweetest, non-fibrous, juiciest of mangoes, your favourite variety. Just peel them, stone them, lick off the juice that oozes into your hands – revel in the glory of all things wonderful, reminisce good times and childhood memories that revolve around this season and make the most of the aamras making session.
If fresh mangoes are not available, this recipe is very forgiving towards the use of frozen ones too (which is what I used). So go on, wait no longer my friend. Enjoy some aamras today!
A simple yet amazingly delicious ripe mango sauce is a total treat during the summers. This delicious sauce or dip is served with piping hot pooris (deep fried flatbreads)
- 1 cup chopped ripe mango pieces
- a pinch of saffron strands
- a pinch of dry ginger
- a pinch of cardamom powder
- 1-2 teaspoons sugar optional - adjust according to the sweetness of the mangoes
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Transfer all the ingredients into a blender or mixer grinder and puree them together. Use no water or milk if you prefer it thick
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Transfer into a bowl and serve chilled with hot pooris
For a slightly thinner consistency of aamras, add a tablespoon of water or milk while blending.
Use your most favourite variety of ripe and sweet mangoes for best results
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