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Mangifera Indica
Culinary uses:
The
dried slices are light brown with a rough surface. Ripe mango slices
are also dried and are orange brown. Amchur powder is finely ground but
with a slightly fibrous texture. It is beige in colour witha
sour-sweet, warm and slightly resinous. Tastes slightly sweet and
acidic.The use of amchur is confined chiefly to Indian cookery, where
it is used as an acid flavouring in curries, soups, chutneys, marinades
and as a condiment. The dried slices add a piquancy to curries and the
powder acts as a souring agent akin to tamarind. It is particularly
useful as an ingredient in marinades, having the same tenderizing
qualities as lemon or lime juice. However, where, for instance, three
tablespoons of lemon or lime juice are required, one teaspoon of amchur
will suffice. Chicken and fish are enhanced by amchur and grilled fish
on skewers, machli kabab, is well worth trying. The mango tree is so
old and of such popularity in India and the Far East that it is not
surprising that every part of it yields some specific or other. The
leaves, the bark, its resin, the flowers, the fruit, the seed, all are
utilized. The unripe fruit is acidic, astringent and antiscorbutic, and
in the dried condition, amchur is particularly useful for the latter
purpose. Of the mango’s other properties, its dyeing quality is of
interest. In India, cattle are fed on mango leaves and their urine is
used as a yellow dye, the active principle in this being xanthone.
Needless to say, the fabric treated thus has its own special bouquet.
Storage:
Amchur should be stored in airtight containers in a cool dark place. Amchur lose its potency due to heat, light, and air.
Description:
Amchur
is an evergreen tropical tree, 10 - 40 m (30 - 130 ft) in height, very
long-lived (over 100 years), with a dense overhanging canopy. The trunk
is greyish-brown, rough with many branches. The leaves are dark green
and shiny. Tiny, five-petalled cream to pink flowers occur on
branchlets. The flowers open at night and in the early morning. The
fruits are sweet, medium-sized rounded oblong drupes, with thickish
green to orange skin over sweet orange flesh, sometimes fibrous, around
a large flat stone.
Cultivation:
Mangoes grow in tropical regions with marked wet and dry seasons, the
dry period being necessary for good flowering and fruiting. Biennial
cropping is usual. Mangoes will grow on a wide variety of soils
provided the climatic conditions are right. Usually propagated by
seedlings. Many trees grow in the semi-wild state.
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