Mango and Ayurveda.

               Spring season is always delightful….. Pleasant climate, singing cuckoos, blooming flowers, tender greenery makes everyone happy. One more reason that we all Love this time of the year is MANGOES. I’m sure that this diversified country is definitely united over these golden fruits. We are MANGO PEOPLE after all. every mango lover starts eying mango trees, us, city people look for those “Mango only” shops. So many different varieties of mangoes are available and relished all over India. Alphanso, raival, kesar, benganapalli,badami, dashhara,payari,langada, totapuri, mulgoba, Neelam, rajapuri……. The list goes on and so is our love for mangoes.  We also enjoy many mango preparations like aamras, aam panna, mango pickle,sweet mango preserve, mango chunda, mango kasundi, mango pulissery, raw mango and prawn curry,raw mango chutney and so on…. Mango is popular across the india. 

Ayurveda has mentioned qualities of mango at length. There are mentions of mango fruit in vedas. Tender baby mangoes (bala amra), raw mangoes (taruna amra) and ripe mangoes (pakva amra) have different qualities. 

Raw mango - 

               आम्र बालं कषायाम्लं रुच्यं मारुतपित्तकृत् ।

               तरुणं तु तदत्यम्लं रुक्षं दोषत्रयास्रकृत् ।।

Amra bala kashayamlam ruchyam marutpittakrut |

Tarunam tu tadatyamlam ruksham doshtrayasrakrit ||

           Tender baby mangoes which are generally eaten just like that commonly used as whole in pickle or stored in salt water are usually kashaya (pungent) and amla (sour) in taste, amla vipaka and ushna guna. It is also Ruchya (stimulating taste). It is also vata-pitta predominant. 

             Raw mango is very sour , increases dryness and vitiates all three doshas and blood as well. It is also rich in alkalies and Vit. C. but if eating it in more quantity can lead to digestive upsets which  implies that we should consume it in moderation.
Traditionally Raw mango pulp is used for bathing as a treatment of prickly heat treatment. Grated mango pulp is used for eye pack to relieve strain.Mango seed is kahsaya (astringent) intaste and used in some traditional remedies of tooth powder.It helps in tooth cavities, tooth sensitivities,bad breath and gum diseases like bleeding gums,pyorrhea.Mango leaves are one of the ‘Panchapallava’ and used for disinfection and aroma.

Ripe mango - 

                पक्वं तु मधुरं वृष्यं स्निग्धं हृद्यं बलप्रदम् ।

                गुरु वातहरं रुच्यं वर्ण्यं शीतमपित्तलम् ।।

                रसस्तस्य सरः स्निग्धो रोचनो बलवर्णकृत् ।

Pakvan tu madhuram vrushyam snigdham hridyam balapradam |

Guru vataharam ruchyam varnyam sheetamapittalam ||

Rasastasya sarah snigdho rochano balavarnakriy |

Ripe mango is sweet to taste, vrushya (aphrodisiac), snigdha (provide oleation), hridya (cardiotonic - beneficial for heart health) , balaprada (provides strength), guru (difficult to digest), vatahara (pacifies vata dosha), ruchya (stimulates taste), varnya (improves complexion), sheeta (cold), apittalam (reduces pitta) and mango juice/pulp is sara (mild laxative),also snigdha (provides oleation), bala-varnakrut (improves complexion and provides strength).
According to some scientific studies, the more ripe the mango is, the amount of carotene in it. Carotene is a precursor of Vit. A, hence it is better to have mangoes regularly in this season.

Here are few traditional mango recipes which are  quite enjoyable ,

• Aam Panna - It is called as ‘Panak’ in Ayurveda texts.
  
  

Mango pulp - 1 cup
Sugar          - 1 - 1.5 cup (depending on sourness of raw mango pulp)
Salt
Water
Bhimseni camphor
Cumin powder
Black pepper powder
Cardamom powder
Procedure -
Remove seeds and steam mango pulp.
Add sugar as per sourness of the pulp and mix it with the blender.
Add water ,camphor,cumin-cardamom-black pepper powder as per taste.
This panak is originally ushna (heat producing) and pittakarak (causing Pitta) but adding cumin,camphot,black pepper and cardamom helps to sooth it down, reduces heat, also raw mango is rich in alkalies and vitamin C hence is really helps body to rehydrate during summer where we mostly loose water and salts due to sweating.

• Ripe mango preserve (Aam ka Murabba)
  
  Ripe mango - 1 cup (peeled and cut into pieces)
  Sugar          -  1 ½  cup
  Water          - ¾ cup
  Cloves        - 7-8
  
  

Procedure

1. Add water and sugar together to boil to make  sugar syrup.(as we call ‘don tari paak’ in  Marathi.)

2. Add mango pieces and cloves .

3. Mixture will be a bit due to mango juice so cook it up a bit until it thickens.
   
   

• Amba daal - Traditional Marathi chutney of Raw mango and Chana dal (Bengal gram dal)
  
  Chana Dal           - 1 cup (Soaked for 6-8 hrs or preferably overnight)
  Raw mango pulp - 1 cup (Grated)

Sugar                  - as per taste

Salt
Grated fresh coconut - as per palate.
For tampering - mustard, cumin, chillies , asafoetida and curry leaves.

Procedure -

1.  Grind soaked chana dal in grinder.

2. Mix grated raw mango pulp, sugar and salt in it. 

3.  Tamper oil with cumin,mustard, asafoetida,curry leaves (Tadaka) and mix it with chutney.

So let’s dive in this Mangoliciouos world with benefits of Ayurveda.

Dr. Snigdha Churi-Vartak.

9870690689.

Note - This article is written by Dr. Snigdha Churi-Vartak and it’s content is copyrighted. One can share this article without any changes in the matter and with the author's name.