Thread by @cspanb

FINALLY!!!!!! INDIAN MANGOS HAVE ARRIVED!!!!! I AM OFFICIALLY IN HEAVEN!!!!
Here's a thread in which I share my saga:

In my quest for Indian mangos, I’ve been calling local Indian markets for weeks. Daily. To find out if they’ve received Indian mangos, or if they know when they’re arriving. (I am fortunate to live in NYC which has a large South Asian population, and therefore numerous Indian

markets, both in the city proper and the surrounding suburbs. But I need to trek to any of them, by subway or car. Hence, the calls.)
Yesterday I was going to my mom’s in New Jersey. Driving. There are 3 large Indian markets in nearby Parsippany so of course I called all three.

No, they didn’t have mangos yet. No, they didn’t know when they’d get them. So I called Patel Bros. in Jackson Heights, Queens. (In the complete opposite direction from Mom in NJ.) Just to see. And lo and behold, the man who answered said, “Yes! We do have them! Arrived today!”

And I could tell from his voice he was smiling as he spoke. He gets it. Unlike most of my (non-Indian) family and friends, who are merciless in their ridicule of my obsession with these mangos. Until they taste one, of course.

I asked the Patel-Jackson Heights guy if he thought they’d still have them the next day. He hesitated, but said they probably would.

Well, that really wasn’t enough assurance for me. After waiting since last season, I wasn't about to risk missing out.

But there wasn’t time to go all the way east to Queens for mangos and then travel all the way west to Mom. So I concocted a plan to see Mom, have an early dinner with her—we usually have dinner together when I visit—so I could leave by 7:00 and drive to Patels in Jackson Heights.

I wanted to time it so I’d get there by 8:30, a half hour before they close at 9:00, and if I left at 7 I’d have enough time even with any traffic hang-ups to get there. Perhaps I should’ve mentioned that Mom is, God willing, turning 91 this month. And she’s amazing.

Mom was just as happy to finish early because she would have otherwise missed a game of mahjongg at her apartment complex. This is a game that she’s just learning to play. At 91. Like I said, she’s amazing. But she does make fun of my mango obsession, too.

I decided to go to one of the Indian markets in Parsippany before heading to Mom’s, as I had other items I wanted to pick up there and I was worried there wouldn’t be time once I got to Patels in Queens later that night.

Also, Mom had a busy first part of the day and wouldn’t be home until sometime in the afternoon because she had her yoga class at the gym and then a manicure. Like I said, amazing. Perfect, I thought. This will work out.

I went to Patel Bros. in Parsippany. (For those who don’t know, Patel Bothers is a large chain of Indian markets here in the US, and they also sell stuff online.) Aside from dry goods, I needed some vegetables: curry leaves, okra, green Indian chili peppers ginger—

theirs is so fresh and good compared to what I can get at a regular supermarket—among other things.

As I was roaming the fresh stuff, I asked one of the employees, “No mangos yet?” He gave me broad smile and said, “They’re unloading the truck now.” WHAAAT???? I practically screamed. I asked what they were getting and he told me Kesars. Yesssssssss!. This was finally IT!!!

I called Mom to say I’d be a little delayed but I’d skip the stop I often make at Target to load up on toiletries and paper towels and such, and come straight to her once I was finished at Patels. So I waited. A little over 30 minutes, a small price to pay.

Once a load of boxes was in the store I asked a sales person for assistance opening a box or two. (I mean, they’re flown from India via Swiss Air, and they’re packed pretty tight and with cushioning, but still. I’m not paying $30-35 for a box of 10 without seeing them!)

I asked her what kind they had. She told me Kesars and Alphonso. Even better, I’d take a box of each! After we’d carefully chosen a box of Kesars, she couldn’t find Alphonsos on the sales floor, so she went to the back to get one for me.

While she was gone I noticed that there were two other kinds of mangos in front of me. So I asked her about them. One of them she said she didn’t like (I can’t remember the name—I stupidly didn’t write it down).

She wasn’t familiar with the others—Rajupuri—so she asked a colleague, who told me they are very good. When I asked how they compare to the Alphonso or the Kesar, she shook her head as if to say, “Well, there really is no comparison.”

But she told me to get a box and try them, and since they weren’t quite ripe yet I could save them for when they were ready. At her suggestion, my crazy self bought 3 boxes of mangos!!!

Mind you, the only one living with me at home right now is my son, Ben. So I don’t have a lot of mouths to feed. However, I’d promised so many neighbors and friends I’d give them some, I knew we’d run out in no time.

And 3 boxes is nothing compared to what some others were buying. One employee had a hand truck with boxes stacked so high they were up to his chin. He was taking them out to someone's car. No wonder the sales person told me they'd all be gone by the next day!

At long last, late that night, Ben and I shared 3 mangos, two Alphonso and a Kesar. Standing at the kitchen counter. We didn’t bother sitting down. Juice dribbling down our faces, scraping the inside of the mango skin to get every last morsel, and eating the remaining bits

on the pits, holding them with our now sticky hands and getting everything we could off of them. Ahhhhhh, there is nothing like an Indian mango. As I often tell people, they are their own food group. Ben said I should've bought at least one more box.

Having spent almost $100 on mangos in one go, I told him that now that they're around, I can get more next week. I think. I hope. (More.....)

Now, I know there are many more important things in this world. Some are scary and keep you up at night, whether it's a nasty election in India or the constitutional crisis we're facing here in the US. Or personal matters, or health, work and family issues that trouble all of us

This makes it all that much more important to find the joys in life, to temper the awful stuff that’s out there.

For me, it’s my family, my friends, seeing New York in full bloom now that it’s finally spring, SRK and the wonderful SRKians I’ve “met” here, who feel like an extended family.

And, yes, juicy, flavorful, gorgeous Indian mangos. They’re only available here for a few weeks, and I intend to buy and eat as many as we can bear until the last one is gone. Because they make me and others I share them with very, very happy.(End)

P.S. Here's an article I found about Rajapuri mangos. (Don't ever let it be said I don't do my research!) thestar.com/life/food_wine…

More, more, more!!
This time I DID drive to Patels in Jackson Heights, after calling and learning their delivery would be today after 2 pm.
We are happy people!!🙂🥭🧡

Well, haven't commented here for awhile but now the Indian mango season is over, or at least the season for importing them to the NYC area is. And I am sad to see them go. There is just nothing like them in this world.

A few thoughts as we enter the long wait for next season:
Almost all the mangos I bought at Indian markets in my area were exported by the same company. BUT they traveled here on different carriers--KLM, Swiss Air, Lufthansa, etc.--which I found kind of interesting.

The most popular, or most imported, mangos here are Alphonso and Kesar. Alphonsos run out sooner so maybe their season is shorter? Kesars last longest. But there are at least 3 or 4 other varieties to be had, which we really enjoyed tasting.

I feel lucky to have been able to get these marvelous fruits for as long as they lasted, and to have shared them with so many friends and family.

Finally, while parting with luscious Indian mangos until next year is sad, the pain is relieved a bit by the fact that local summer fruits start coming in just as the mangos are leaving. First strawberries, then blueberries, raspberries, blackberries. Then peaches and nectarines.

Cherries, too, both sweet and sour. We're taking full advantage of locally available summer produce, eating them daily and making pies, fruit cobblers and crumbles. And counting our blessings at this abundance. (End)