Mango Parties for all Summer

For any person who is born and raised in India, mangoes have a very special significance. Almost everyone's favorite fruit is used in every course of daily life during summer.

Starting with Mango Milkshake, Mango Srikhand, Mango Kulfi, Mango Candies, Mango Breads, Mango Rabdi, Mango Pickles, Mango Drinks (Panna) or simply eaten raw all day long before or after meals.

The variety of mangoes is so varied that in my family everyone had their favorite types. My father (Davinder Khanna) is a die hard fan of Langra (one of the varities), so my Grandmother (Biji) would always keep one piece for him after meals.

One of the strongest memories of mangoes was having a Mango tree in our backyard, like many Indian homes. Though it was more often used for our swings and for its shades, but summer had a special significance when the tree flowered and blossomed after spring. It was an eternal joy and would bring us all together during the summer for its fruits and cool shade. My Biji treasured the tree the most. None of the fallen green mangoes were every wasted. She would immediately pickle them or make a cool summer drink with mint or made fresh mango chutney.

It was the day of happiness when we used to hand churn mango ice cream under that tree and had turns to add more cracked ice to our wooden machine. I remember the ice cream had great texture.

We were all very excited when my father bought an electrical to make ice cream. Biji did not like the idea of having a machine do the job and very sad all day.

She immediately told my father that "It was not about saving time, it was about spending time together"

It took me years to understand why new techonolgy which was easier to produce the ice cream did not make her happy. She was right, we never used the electrical one after that summer and all that joy was lost.

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