One of the pleasures of the summer is certainly….mangoes! From the most unripe to the most ripe, we can enjoy mangoes in a variety of ways…and with unripe mangoes, we can make a variety of pickles.

It suddenly occurred to me that right now, I’ve got three different mango pickles in my kitchen…all home-made!

When the mangoes are tiny, they are called (in Tamizh)…mA vadu. This particular pickle is made by a process where the juices of the tiny mangoes flow out with the salt in which they are soaked. With proper preparation and storage (and frequent "shaking up"), this pickle can last for a year or so. I no longer have the ceramic "jAdi" in which pickles are traditionally stored, but here’s my photo of "mAvadu":

When they are slightly larger, but yet without hard stones, mangoes can be chopped small, and made into "menthiya mAngAi". This pickle also uses roasted and ground fenugreek seeds, as well as asafoetida. This pickle does not have a long life, but will keep in the fridge for a few days (the mango pieces lose their crunchiness after this.) Here’s menthiya mAngAi:

Larger mangoes, with hard stones, cannot be cut at home, usually; the shopkeeper cuts them into largish pieces, and they are made into "AvakkAi"…a pickle that originates in the Andhra region. This, too, can keep for a year or so. Here’s AvakkAi:

I also wanted to photograph the ripe Alphonso mangoes (the first and, alas, the most expensive, of the season!) but I realized that they were already eaten, too! Will wait for the next lot.

⊕