Mangoes galore

Went to Mustafa's 2 nights ago. Had seen mangoes appearing in the supermakets and thought this would be the time to get boxes at wholesale prices.
Wah! Little India was really bustling. Had dinner at the Anandha Bhavan outlet just opposite M's. It too was busy, busy. I asked myself - is there a festival coming up? Or was it the norm? Whatever. Had a very delicious, spicy Rava Mysore Masala Thosai. (inspired after watching Vir Sanghvi on A Matter of Taste - Discovery Travel & Living). It is a class above the regular Thosai. Was so taken by it that I forgot to take photos. Will have to return for another bite and blog! Anyway - aim of braving the crowds was to buy mangoes.

Known as the King of Fruit in India (cf Durian in SE Asia), it is well into the season now. If you want good tasty eating mangoes, get them now.
There were 4 Indian varieties, but sadly not the Alphonso, which is considered the best in the world. The next best which was Banganappalli (from Hyderabad), was available, loose as well as in boxes. They were huge, each one weighing in at 400g. These were sweet, had minimal fiber and moderately fragrant. I bought 4 of these and one other intending to compare and contrast.











Also present was Sweet Kesar, also known as the Queen of Mangoes, coming from Gujerat. Since I didnt buy these (had not done my homework, so was not sure if they were fibrous etc), I can only share a description from a Mango farm site which describes them as having a unique sweet taste, golden colour with green overtones.











The other variety which I did buy, which in my opinion is better than the Banganappalli was the Indian Chendoora. It was a smaller mango, about half the size of the former, skin having a reddish hue and had a "metallic" hint to the frangrance. The flesh was deep orange, very sweet and had a more complex taste than Banganappalli. I could imagine a slight coconutty taste, almost like gula melaka or chendol combination.










The last one was Indian Totapuri - reported as the most widely traded Mango of the world. Also called the mango of the common man. Cheap (not here in Singapore) and widely sold in all parts of India. Has a unique shape, very thick skin and good shelf life. Used extensively to make pulp and other processed items as it does not have a very distinct flavour.