Delhiites savour 'king of fruits' at mango fest

Mango lovers in the national capital, aided by cool winds and rains to add to their joy, were in for a special treat Sunday as they got an opportunity to savour more than 550 varieties of the ‘king of fruits’ put on display during a two-day festival here.

‘The two-day 18th Annual Mango Festival that concluded Sunday at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium drew over 30,000 visitors and provided a package of interaction, education and entertainment to celebrate the mango,’ said Suman Sharma, chief manager (events) of Delhi Tourism.

‘More than 50 mango growers from across the country, mainly from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Delhi, were given an interactive platform to present the ‘king of fruits’,’ Sharma told IANS.

‘The visitors, who normally think mango has just five or six varieties, were educated through quizzes and competitions about the huge variety of the fruit grown and innumerable possibilities of using mango in cuisine. They also enjoyed colourful entertainment programmes of music and dance.’

Sharma said the festival was aimed at providing exposure to the domestic mango industry and exporters.

‘It is an informal and international platform with a two-fold approach, to promote tourism as well as mango export.’

The varieties of mango on display included Alphonso, Totapari, Mallika, Rataul, Himsagar, Amrapali, Mumbai Green, Kesar, Fazli and Banganpalli. There were also mangoes with camouflaging looks of other fruits like banana, guava and watermelon, but having the intrinsic taste of a mango.

The festival also featured a culinary demonstration of mango-based deserts by chefs of five star hotels like the Maurya Sheraton, Taj Palace, Inter-Continental, Marriott, Qutub and Claridges. These hotels displayed the recipes of some of the deserts on their menus.

The Marriott hotel showcased mango and plum terrine.

‘Melt 10 grams of gelatin with a little sugar. Cook 50 ml each of mango and plum puree and sugar. Add the melted gelatin and pour in the mould in layers to set. Finally, demould and garnish and enjoy the terrine.’

A wide variety of mangoes and fruit-based products were also put on sale. Despite the rains that lashed Delhi Sunday, visitors could be seen buying boxes of mangoes and mango-based products like pickles, panna, jam, juice and so on.

The festival, inaugurated by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Saturday, was participated by several private and government bodies like and Lucknow-based Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture, Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi, Rajya Krishi Mandi Parishad (Lucknow), Agriculture Produce Food Export and Development Authority (APEDA) and National Horticulture Board.

APEDA and National Horticulture Board supported the Delhi Tourism in organising the event.

India is the largest producer of mango in the world. More than 1,000 varieties of the fruit are grown across the country, mainly in the southern, northern and eastern parts.

Source: nerve.in