Indian Delight: Aamras Recipe

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Nothing smells quite like apple pie. Its buttery crust and soft fruit filling served hot and topped with vanilla ice cream represents a cherished homeliness ideal. Here in the U.S., apple pie is the ultimate summer dessert of choice. But where I grew up, it was aamras.

A staple sweet dish in India's western parts, aamras (or mango nectar) is the delicacy of my childhood. Made from mango pulp, it is ideally consumed during lunchtime. What I love about this sweet dish is that it is so easy to prepare.

6 Steps to Aamras

1. Soak a handful of mangoes in water for 30 to 40 minutes.
2. Take a mango and press it evenly from all sides so that it turns soft uniformly.
3. Remove the mango's eye and squeeze the fruit well to collect the pulp in a bowl.
4. Repeat the process for all mangoes.
5. Add water or milk to the pulp and then blend the ingredients in a mixer to make a smooth paste.
6. Pour the nectar into a bowl and refrigerate it for a couple of hours. It tastes better when chilled!

If this is too much work, replace steps 1-4 with this instead:

1. Wash a handful of mangoes, then peel and chop them into small pieces.
2. Add the chopped pieces to a blender with some water or milk to make a smooth paste.

Mango is a sweet fruit, but if you like your aamras to be sweeter, add some sugar while blending. (Also, avoid having a large serving of aamras in one go — you might get a tummy upset. I once had too much of it, and that did not go down well with my stomach.)

For a significant part of my life, my grandparents lived in India's western region. Visiting them over summers meant also enjoying a massive bowl of aamras before lunch every day.

It has been ages since I spent an idle summer holiday with my grandparents. I miss the taste of the smooth, sweet nectar. More importantly, I miss my grandparents. Aamras with them, in that particular city, in their home, was what my summers were all about.

Now, whenever I have aamras, which is not very often, I can only think about them. It is funny how one sweet dish can make a person so nostalgic.