April was a great month, I had extended family over and my parents also paid me a visit. I did all the touristy things by taking a week off from work, stayed home, shopped till I literally dropped and ate out most of the time.

My parents brought in a carton of my favorite Alphonso mangoes and me and hubby squealed with joy. This meant we had access to our favorite fruit. We knew gulping down tall glasses of mango milkshake would be the norm for the next week or so.

Mango is the national fruit of India and Alphonso mangoes are supposed to the best of all the varieties when it comes to flavor and texture. It is widely grown in Ratnagiri region and it is commonly known as “Hapoos” in Maharashtra, a state in India from where I belong. Mangoes are rich in Vitamin A and C and also strengthens the immune system.

In my parent’s house, summers meant making the most of the seasonal produce. Mango Milkshake, Home made mango ice cream, Smoothies, Aamras puri, Mango Shrikhand, chopping up raw mangoes to make pickles and using the semi ripe variety to make mango chutney, the many ways in which my mom and grandmother used to incorporate this wonderful fruit in our daily routine.

I have fond memories of eating raw and semi-ripe mango cut in chunks and seasoned with rock salt and a pinch of red chilly powder outside my school from a vendor. But my favorite part was mango milkshake, many people use vanilla ice-cream in the milkshake to make the texture creamier but me and Sahil love mango to be the hero of the drink. Here’s how we make mango milkshake at our place.

Ingredients
3 ripe Alphonso Mangoes
500 ml Full Fat Milk
4 tsp white sugar
A few drops of vanilla essence (optional)
A few ice cubes

Peel and chop up the beautiful juicy ripe mangoes. Just look at how pretty they are, don’t be tempted to dig in! 😛

I always submerge mangoes in cold water for a few hours before using them. This also lowers the heat quotient in the fruit.

Add the cut mangoes with sugar in a blender.

Reduce or increase the amount of sugar as required depending on how sweet the mangoes on hand are. I have experimented with substituting the sugar with honey and brown sugar but did not like the taste hence chose to stick to the classic.

Blend it well and then add milk. You may add vanilla essence or crushed cardamom powder to enhance the flavor towards the end. I keep alternating between one of these as per my liking.

Blend well and add few ice cubes. Give it a mix again and serve it chilled and top it with some cut mango pieces or chopped nuts. I used cashews and a few raisins.

Serve with a smile!