Nisarga and Pune

Looks like cyclone Nisarga spared Mumbai but Pune did get some powerful wind by which some 60 trees fell in the city. It even uprooted our Kappa (tapioca) which was planted in a grow bag. 

The usual yield of Kappa is better than this but I salvaged all that I could get from the uprooted plants. 

Wifey made the traditional dish with it, and it went well with the fish curry. 

With all that rain lashing around, I was happy to see the drumstick flowers holding on well. 

Talking of grow bags, I just tossed some watermelon seeds (and a mango seed) in one of the spare grow bags in our garden. I was happy to see that they took root within no time. 

Won't it be a good idea if we planted all the seeds that we discard from our kitchen? If there are no pots at home, just toss them where there is some mud, maybe on the road side when you go for your drive.

Within three weeks tiny watermelons have appeared and very soon I will have to give them some support when the weight increases 

As for the mango tree, I don't see much future for it in the grow bag. But let us see how far it will grow.  The  mango season is coming to an end and it is the right time to make some Uppumanga (mango in brine) 

On a lean day, (if the lockdown is reimposed) this will go well with the rice. 

Manga Chutney

I saw this Ammachi on YouTube making Mango Chammandi on the grinding stone and I couldn't help salivating. 

To our bad luck, the mango tree outside our bedroom window did not yield any mangoes this year (except for two mangoes) 

It could be due to the unseasonal rains. Talk about wrong timing, that went hand in hand with the lockdown.

To pluck the mango, I borrowed an idea from a DIY video I saw on FB about the different uses of plastic bottles.   

We did the grinding in a mixer as Ammachi's grinding stone was something that is not seen in many households now a days. 

For my part, I did the grating of the coconut (apart from plucking the mango) 

The final product looks yummy and we are waiting for lunch time to feast on the chammandi. 

The second mango is earmarked for next week.

Manga Chammandi

There is a mango tree right outside my window and looking at those mangoes reminds me of the lovely “Manga chammandi” (Mango Chutney) my aunt used to make. 

I had to just pluck a mango and give it to her and she would make it in a jiffy, grinding all the ingredients together manually on a grinding stone.

With a vague memory of how she made it, I tried to do the same. Plucked a mango, added a few leaves of Kadipatta (curry leaves) and just three of these chillies from the garden. 

Got a medium sized coconut from the store, and grated half of it.

Adding a pinch of salt for taste, ground the whole thing in a mixer. (would have loved to do it manually on a grinding stone, but unfortunately we  don’t have one now)

The end result was not bad, but I am sure that my aunt’s chammandi was better. 

Plucking the mango was a bit tricky. It was a case of “so near and yet so far” 

Was thinking of designing a fruit plucker, when I came across a small video which showed “many uses of plastic bottles” and I used one of the ideas mentioned there.  Simple but very effective. 

All in all, it was a very fruitful experience. (reminded me of how we used to steal mangoes as a kid)