Blog Post No. 900: A divine, delicious and delightful, traditional fare of this season.

This is my 900th blog post! As I was nearing this milestone I was anxious to make this post significant, something personal and exciting from my life, like my 800th blog post (which was about our 68 years old Kodak Brownie Six-20 camera of 1947). I had a few ideas in mind, but then suddenly today’s food, a traditional summer favourite overtook other ideas and prompted me to write on this sweet subject, a short photo-blog post to be embossed in my blog for as long as my blog lasts.

I have given the title “A divine, delicious and delightful, traditional fare of this season” to this article because this food loved by our family for generations and similarly by perhaps countless households in our country is really divine. It is based on God’s greatest gift among fruits, the king of fruits, the Mango. And this fare I am talking about is called Mamidi Pandu Paanakam or Aamras with Poori/Puri and Bhajji/Pakora. Paanakam or Aamras is the delicious pulp of Rasaalu Mango - the juicy type Mango, squeezed, smoothened, sieved and sweetened with sugar and enriched with additives like nuts, cardamom etc. At our house, the following additives are added to sweetened Paanakam - powdered Cardamom, pieces of Cashew nuts, Almonds, Chironji (Sara Palukulu/Pappu) and sometimes grated dry Coconut. Paanakam is a dessert we frequently enjoy in summer. And having Poori and Bhajji with Paanakam is a traditional ritual we must have a few times every summer. And when relatives visit us during summer, offering this menu is a pleasure. Another combination we like to have with Paanakam is Dosa or bits of sugared Mango slices with Dosa.

Such is the popularity of this food in our house! I hope this is your favourite summer food too. And if you haven’t tried it yet, you must, I insist! I guarantee your admiration!

You may now see photographs of this traditional summer fare: