Summers in Goa are incomplete without mangoes when people of all age groups relish this fruit available in various varieties. A summer without Mangoes is unthinkable for any given Goenkar. “The heat provided to one’s body by Mangoes eaten during summer, comes in play during the chilly monsoons”, said Pedro Aguiar from Colva.
The mango is inextricably connected with the folklore and religious ceremonies of India. Buddha was presented with a mango grove that he might find repose in its graceful shade. The name mango, by which the fruit is known in English- and Spanish-speaking countries, is most likely derived from the Malayam manna, which the Portuguese adopted as manga when they came to Kerala in 1498 for the spice trade. Probably because of the difficulty in transporting seeds (they retain their viability a short time only), the tree was not introduced into the Western Hemisphere until about 1700, when it was planted in Brazil; it reached the West Indies in about 1740 A.D.
Mangoes are native to India and are one of the most important fruit crops world-wide. Its botanical name is Mangifera indica L. It is the member of the cashew family (Anacardiaceae) and one of the most important and widely cultivated fruits of the tropical World. The mango tree is considered indigenous to Southern Asia, especially to Myanmar and Assam of India, where numerous cultivars have been developed. They are a rich source of vitamins C. The mango has been part of Indian myth, culture and history long before the arrival of the Portuguese. Mangoes have been mentioned in the Mahabaratha, Ramayana and earliest Buddhist and Jain literature. Interestingly, according to historical records, it was only in 1510 that the Portuguese secured the mango’s position as the king of fruits in India. In accordance with Colóquios dos simples e drogas da India written in 1553 by Portuguese Renaissance Sephardic Jewish physician and pharmacognosy pioneer Garcia da Orta, Mangoes are superior to all the fruits of Spain (i.e. Europe). By the end of the 16th century, the Estado da India’s economy was growing due to its massive mango exports to the rest of India. Thanks to the Jesuits who created over 100 verities of mangoes and invented scientific grafting methods during that period. Several verities of mangoes with unusual names came into existence as the practice of grafting spread like wild fire among locals, each striving to outdo the other variety. These names were based on surnames of influential families, landlords, kings and Catholic saints. Antonio Andrade from Margão recalls with a smile, “students studying at the Holy Spirit Institute, Borda in the 1970s would slowly try to steel mangoes from the church compound and get bitten with candles made of bees wax, by the Vigario of the Church if got caught”. There were originally 11 trees planted on the church grounds. Eleven is said to have represented the eleven strikes of the bell rung during the angelus.
Apart from consuming ripe mangoes as such, there are a lot of Goan delicacies revolving around them.
The Monserrate or Monserrate de Bardez, originated in the Bardez taluka has been used for preparing mango jam (Mangada/Mangaad). This variety is sweet with a slight sourish tinge and loads of fibre. “I recall raw mangoes pickled in brine with green chillies, ginger, bibe (raw cashewnuts) or cashew. These brine-soaked mangoes were stored in jars with small rocks placed above them so as to ensure that they were completely immersed into the brine and didn’t show up on the surface. These are locally referred to as ‘chepnetullim tora
m’ with the brine serving as a preservative in itself”, says Agnelo Andrade from Ambajim. ‘Borlolim toram’ are slit raw mangoes stuffed with a spicy mix. ‘Ambea sollam’ are peeled, dried and salted slices of raw mangoes used in cooking. Pickels referred to as ‘miskut’ or ‘lonchem’ may be also prepared as small cut pieces of raw mango. ‘Ambea Sáttam’ are dried mango pulp sheets, prepared by drying mango pulp under scotching sunlight, onto an oiled banana leaf. These preparations served as provisions for families during the monsoon. “‘Arroz Coco’ is a delicacy which was generally prepared on Sundays during the mango season. It was made of rice cooked with coconut extract, turmeric and whole spices like cloves, cardamom and cinnamon served with ripe chewy ‘Gotam’ variety of mangoes”, mentions Antoneta Santana Quadros Fernandes from Margão. The Hindu community in Goa would use this variety of mangoes in preparation of ‘Sãsav’, a sweet and sour curry that is served with steamed rice. “If required, we would get our ‘sotel’ (a copper utensil) tinned at the cansar’s (coppersmiths) outlet or with a coloikar (A person who did the tinning of copperware) who came door to door in the month of April, keeping it ready for preparing Mangada in May”, mentions Joyce Aguiar from Colva. Further she states that, on the day the Mangada was being prepared, children in the house were asked to peel the mangoes and squash them with their hands to obtain the pulp required to get going. Children would be asked to stay away from the fireplace while it was being cooked. However, stirring the pulp with the long wooden spatula referred to as ‘dhái’ was a dream come true for them. Loretta Andrade of Ambajim states, “Children at home should be encouraged to assist with preparing stuff like this. It is only if they are exposed to these kinds of things at a tender age, that they would carry on the legacy when they turn to be adults”.
“Going to the kulagar, throwing stones at mangoes (gontã) on the tree and collecting them along with those already fallen before, in ‘povli’ (a portion of the beetlenut tree palm), then washing some of them there itself in spring water and eating most of the mangoes washed and taking home the remaining few was fun. My aunties would then peel the outer part of these gontã and use them to make Sãsav” says Goraksh Rasaikar, a class XII passout from Loutolim, South Goa.
“We annually make dishes like ‘Saat’ and ‘Sãsav’ during the mango season and everyone is excited to gulp these down as soon as they are being prepared”, says Akanksha Sinai Borkar from Margão.
There were people who rendered their service of plucking mangoes to various households. They would suspend a bamboo basket from the mango tree, using a choir rope, fill it with freshly plucked mangoes and slowly bring it down using the rope. Mangoes if plucked got wet in the rain were wiped using a cloth, moist with warm water to ensure that they didn’t rot. When placed in a room for ripening, they would be placed in paddy straw with their pedicel facing downwards.