Hi everyone
Hope you’re enjoying the weekend — it’s getting hotter and muggier in Mumbai as we approach the summer hell of April and May… silver lining: MANGO SEASON!
There are mangoes or mango-related items at every meal now, as the season is short and everyone is obsessed with maximizing consumption while it lasts 
. So sliced mangoes, mango pulp, mango in anything you can dream it could possibly be added to — it’s there.
And 90% of all discussions everywhere have to do with mangoes as well - pricing (it’s still a luxury item, until the glut in peak summer, but not cheap even then), sources, were they naturally ripened, are they appropriately flavorful or “bland” , and on and on and on. I haven’t come across anything that is approached with quite as much passion as Indian mango season.
Oh, I should specify that in Mumbai and environs, “mango” usually only means Alphonso / Haphoos — the King of all mangoes. It won’t grow anywhere else — in the country or the world, because: terroir and climate (diaspora Indians have tried and tried and tried, because it still cannot be imported into the US). Notoriously finicky too — people read the news with bated breath as the crop reports start rolling in, to prepare themselves mentally if there’s a bad season coming 
.
All other mangoes have their own place, but are considered less-than by those whose frame of reference is the Alphonso (some are for pulp, some for sucking, some for cooking, and the rest because Alphonso season is done and you still want to eat mangoes so what choice is there… or because you didn’t grow up in Alphonso land and don’t know any better…)
Writing up actuals for the past week. We are still working our way through leftovers from the rest of the family visit, woven through a normal menu,
Lunches are usually a balanced Indian vegetarian meal — vegetable, dal or beans, chapati, rice occasionally, and yogurt. Dinners vary significantly. ( Also imagine that I wrote “MANGO” every day, because it was definitely consumed.)
Mon - Can’t remember.
Tues - A rare treat of offal (my WFD report is here).
Wed - Potato chops, one of my top favorites from our family meals — baby goat or lamb chops coated with mashed potato and pan-fried. A bit laborious (labor was mine because everyone else was exhausted) but absolutely delicious. Tomato salad on the side
Thurs - Swedish meatballs (Hej! ikea opened up a downtown store in Mumbai!), truffled mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, sliced tomatoes.
Fri - Kababs and butter chicken (leftover takeout), naan or roomali roti (fresh takeout), homemade paneer bhurji for the vegetarian (the milk suddenly curdled, so fresh paneer!)
Sat - Kheema aloo with fresh Pav (dinner rolls) and rice, beet salad (vegetarian option was leftover paneer bhurji)
Sun - Baby lima bean pulao for lunch (the season for fresh baby lima beans is at an end so we are enjoying our last few meals of them); dinner of leftovers and takeout — potato chops (leftover), tandoori chicken (takeout), chicken farcha (takeout)
I am currently an object of annoyance because I am not consuming my weight in mangoes, even though I haven’t been here for mango season in 25 years.
I will try to do better… 
