Nestor Rangel’s
farm in Valpoi boasts of various varieties of mango trees and made for a perfect venue for this
year’s Ambeachem Fest. This time around, the festival, paying tribute to the
king of fruits, was different as compared to its predecessors. Firstly, the
guests had to register themselves and then were taken from Panjim to Valpoi in
air-conditioned buses. “From now on, we want the festivals to be educational
instead of only being enjoyable experiences. The festival had a small workshop
on grafting mancurad mango trees, which was conducted by Priyanka Parab and ten
students from Don Bosco College of Agriculture, Sulcorna, Quepem; the audience
was also asked to join in for the live demonstration. We intend to go to
villages for the festivals instead of focusing on cities,” says Marius
Fernandes.
The guests were taken for a market trip at the Valpoi market
followed by the drive to the farm. There were 30 mango trees, which were
identified and named. Nestor Rangel was enthusiastic to see the response for
the festival as guests were treated to a menu based on the mango. “We expected
one busload of participants but he overwhelming response had us booking another
bus. Aam panna was served as a welcome drink and the main course included pez,
brown rice, chicken xacuti, raw mango slices, jackfruit vegetable, ghotache
sasav, channaa bhaji and dried banana salad. We also served mango ice cream and
then mango cake and lemon grass tea,” says Nestor.
There
are many varieties of mango that the younger generations of Goans have
forgotten and through these festivals, one can learn about how a humble mango
can be used to make beverages, salads, pastries, cakes and so much more.
