Which is the best mango? Summer's juiciest debate

During an 18th-century baithak centred around mangoes, Mirza Ghalib was asked about his love for mangoes. He replied, “Aamon mein bas do khubiyaan honi chahiye, ek meethe ho aur bahut saare ho.” Anyone who loves mangoes will agree. When we asked mango lovers about their favourites, they spoke in memories – “they bring back sunlit summers and sticky fingers.” And the top pick? The jury’s still out

It’s difficult to choose one, but I’d pick chausa: Sohail Hashmi, geographer, veteran heritage walk leader
Well, it is difficult to choose a particular variety. If I have to pick a favourite, it would be chausa. Rataul and makhsoos, khas-ul-khas are the other varieties I like. Before COVID, I used to take people to a mango orchard in Rataul, to expose them to varieties of mangoes that don’t reach Delhi


Chausa kaccha bhi hota hai toh meetha hi lagta hai: Mahmood Farooqui, writer, performer and director
Mujhe chausa bahut pasand hai, jise Farsi mein ‘bahisht-e-samar’ kehte hain – yaani jannat ka phal. Jis shauq se Hindustan mein aam khaya jata hai, duniya mein kahin nahi khaya jata. Aam ke ird-gird ek tehzeeb hai. We can have endless fights about which mango is the best. I feel Bombay hapus is overrated. Aur chausa kaccha bhi hota hai toh meetha hi lagta hai

Alphonso carries that familiar, beloved scent: Nila Madhab Panda, filmmaker
My best memories go back to watching the mango trees flower, the fruits ripen, and waiting for summer thunderstorms. I always go for the ones whose aroma comes closest to the aam from my village. While nothing matches the desi mangoes I grew up with, Alphonso comes the closest – it carries that familiar, beloved scent. During summer at Dasrajpur, Odisha, our house would carry that aroma the entire time


Creamy and sweet, Alphonso is unmatched: Jones Elish, Beverage Head of a restaurant chain
Mangoes offer a remarkable range of flavours – from the honeyed sweetness of Alphonso to the tang of totapuri, each variety brings its own character to the table. But the Alphonso remains unmatched, its creamy texture and balanced sweetness make it a versatile star in traditional preparations and modern mixology. Mangoes have always been part of family traditions – whether it was the anticipation of the first box or the careful pick of ripe fruit

Loved the regal hapus, the tangy raspuri: Prathibha Prahlad, Bharatnatyam exponent
The anticipation of mango season makes the scorching summer bearable. For mango lovers like me, mangoes are a cultural experience. Growing up in Bangalore, I loved the tangy raspuri, the mellow malgova, and the regal hapus (Alphonso). I still return to Bangalore each summer to savour them. Mangoes are best enjoyed with family and friends


Thin-stoned, juicy, non-fibrous – dasheri is my favourite: Pushpesh Pant, food historian and academician
My favourite mango is dasheri, primarily because I grew up eating dasheri from Malihabad – my father’s friends used to send these to us in Mukteshwar (Uttarakhand). They were the choicest of mangoes – thin-stoned, non-fibrous and juicy, with a beautiful aroma. Agar koi dost apne bagh se aam bhejta hai toh woh daal (branch) ke pake aam utaarta hai, usko by air bhej deta hai ya khud by road le aata hai, aur unhe aane ke sath hi khol diya jata hai. Dasheri is best to consumed before it starts to wrinkle

I grew up eating the best of Dasheri in Uttar Pradesh: Chef Anahita Dhondy
One variety of mango that I crave all of summer is dasheri, and the best ones are grown in UP. My family is from Allahabad, so I grew up eating the best of dasheri and chausa. We used to put hundreds of small mangoes in a bucket of cold water, sit around it and make a mess while enjoying them. Every summer takes me back to the mangoes we ate at my grandparents’ home in Allahabad


I crave langda and Malda, especially the late-season ones: Chef Sadaf Hussain
I’m a sucker for mangoes, especially the desi varieties you find in villages. I crave Malda and langda – the late-season ones. Though they look similar, Malda is non-fibrous, unlike langda. Another favourite is biju, found in Bihar and Jharkhand. Mangoes are a bridge to your childhood. Garmi ki khushiyaan – aam - ko slice karke khane mein maza ata hai

Sticky fingers, and biting into langdas – that was summer in Kashmir: Rahul Bhat, actor
In Kashmir, summers meant sticky fingers and biting into langdas. After we migrated to Jammu, we stayed at a politician’s house on rent. One afternoon, I spotted him on the terrace with a giant basket of mangoes – he was eating one after another. I counted – he polished off 35 mangoes. I was horrified but impressed


My favourite changes every year: Philipp Ackermann, German Ambassador
I just returned from Jharkhand, where I tasted the most delicious Malda mangoes at the Chief Minister’s residence. So this year, I’m leaning towards Malda – but the season is far from over yet, thank God! Who knows… ask me again in August! I have a different favourite mango each year

I have lived on saroli aam from UP: Chef Gunjan Goela
My favourite variety is saroli from UP. This variety does not have a long shelf life, so it couldn’t travel to Delhi. But I have lived on that. As kids, we used to enjoy homemade aamras. My mother used the pits of the mangoes to make a curry – I loved her recipe

I particularly love the rajapuri variety from Gujarat: Sonal Mansingh, Odissi exponent
A shloka I once read says the mango’s grandeur makes the jamun turn black with envy, the pomegranate burst with frustration, and the jackfruit grow thorns – such is its majesty. I especially love the rajapuri from Gujarat, which has an indescribable flavour. We were taught to bite in, savour the pulp, and suck the seed clean. Joyful times


I have vivid memories of my grandmother making aam pickles: Geeta Chandran, Bharatnatyam exponent
My husband and grandkids are mango monsters. As a dancer who has to strictly count calories, being surrounded by all these mangoes requires phenomenal self-control. I have vivid memories of my grandmother making delicious aam pickles at our home in Fort Kochi. The simplest recipe was dunking green mango pods in brine. We’d sneak into granny’s store to steal these goodies

As a kid, I’d climb mango trees, pluck kairi, & savour every bite: Shovana Narayan, Kathak exponent
When we were young, we used to buy mangoes in saikras (hundreds), not in kilos. It used to cost Rs3 or Rs4 for a saikra. I come from Bihar, where langda, dudhiya Malda, kesar and jardalu varieties are popular, which I love. As a kid, I’d climb mango trees, pluck kairi, slice it, sprinkle salt, and savour every bite

That kacchi kairi taste takes me back to my childhood: Ram Madhvani, filmmaker
I grew up in Maharashtra, in a place called Barshi, and my school was in Panchgani. Alphonso was what I grew up on. But, outside our school, there used to be one of those people who sold kacchi kairi with masala and kacchi imli with masala. That kacchi kairi taste takes me back to my childhood

With inputs from Riya Sharma