Known as the ‘King of Fruits’ in South Asia, Mangoes are among the things that almost every Pakistani waits for all year! The arrival of summer in Pakistan also signals the arrival of mangoes. As Pakistan is one of the largest producers of mangoes in the world with hundreds of varieties being grown in the country, there is a need to identify the most popular types of mangoes in Pakistan consumed and loved by people most.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF MANGOES IN PAKISTAN
While summers are usually all about foods that help you beat the heat and stay cool, mangoes have a special place reserved in the hearts of Pakistanis everywhere, which is why they are also exported all over the world. `Pakistan has the perfect weather conditions and soil to grow mango trees on the commercial level in southern Punjab and these conditions are two of the many reasons why Pakistani mangos are popular across the world. The heavenly fruit can be peeled and eaten raw once it is ripe, chopped up into desserts and salads, blended to make smoothies and mango lassi, or even pickled before it is ripe to make mango pickles or ‘aam ka achaar’. Shredded mango is also used to create a sour and sweet murabba to be consumed with meals during the mango season in Pakistan.
Some of the most popular types of mangoes in Pakistan include:
- Langra
- Chaunsa
- Anwer Ratol
- Sindhri
- Dussehri
Let’s discuss this list of mangoes available in Pakistan in detail below.
LANGRA
This mango variety was most probably first cultivated in Varanasi, also commonly known as Banaras, in the northern part of India. Nobody knows why the mango came to be known as Langra or ‘lame’, but many local stories claim that the owner of the tree was lame himself, and so, this circumstance gave the mango its name.
The major factor that distinguishes Langra from all the other types of mangoes is that it maintains its green colour even after it’s ripe, while other mangoes change into a yellow-reddish colour. Langra’s flesh is fibreless, yellowish-brown, and has a strong smell when ripe. The skin is fragile, and this mango is only available as a medium-sized fruit with a small and oval seed.
It usually hits the markets from mid-July to August and is the ideal variety for canning and preservation, while the flavour can range from extremely sweet to a bitter sourness, depending on the ripeness of the fruit.
ANWAR RATOL
This mango owes its existence to Anwar-ul-Haq, who is said to have been the first to cultivate this type of mango in a village named Rataul near Baghpat district in Uttar Pradesh, India. Anwar Ratol is primarily found in the Punjab province of Pakistan and has a distinctive sweet taste and fragrance with fibreless flesh.
Due to high demand, it hits the markets for a very short duration in two bursts, once at the start of the mango season from May to June when it is thin-skinned but incredibly sweet, and then in July to August, when it has a relatively thicker skin but is less sweet in taste.
CHAUNSA
This mango was originally cultivated in Rahim Yar Khan and Multan, but legend has it that it was given its current name by Sher Shah Suri after he defeated the Mughal Emperor Humayun at Chausa, a district in Bihar, India. This mango was the favourite of the founder of the Suri Empire.
Chaunsa is also one of the most loved types of mangoes across the world because it is exceptionally sweet and juicy. You can simply soften the flesh from the outside by pushing the skin inwards with your thumbs before removing the mango’s eye that connects it to the stem to drink the delicious juice. It doesn’t get any fresher than this!
The deliciously soft mango has a wonderful fragrance, minimum fibre, and a thick stone in the middle with light yellow flesh. Its ripening season is June to August, and it keeps on delighting taste buds in Pakistan and across the world until late September when no other mango varieties are available.
Chaunsa mango has four types; Summer Chaunsa which arrives in the markets in early July, Black Chaunsa is sweet and has higher fibre content and comes after mid-July, White Chaunsa aka Nawab Puri has a mild taste, longer shelf life and is exported and lastly Azeem Chaunsa which has the longest shelf life and is smaller in size.
SINDHRI
Sindhri is a leading variety of mango from Sindh with its origins in a town of the same name in Mirpur Khas District. It is a large, oval-shaped mango with yellowish skin, is low in fibre, and is highly aromatic. For many, Sindhri mango is the epitome of taste and texture in mangoes. While it is generally sweet, Sindhri mangoes might be a bit tangy early in the season.
It is also one of the varieties that is seen most commonly in markets in Sindh and the top variety of mangoes that are used commercially for milkshakes and ice creams. This mango also grows larger towards the end of its season between May and August and does not spoil easily, providing it with a fairly long shelf life than some of the other varieties, like Langra, which will start to turn black in a few days if you keep them refrigerated.
DUSSEHRI
Dussehri traces its roots back to the gardens of the Nawab of Lucknow in the 18th century. Mouth-watering and lip-smacking, the mango has the juiciest pulp with an exquisite taste and delightful aroma.
Smaller than other mangoes, it is no less delicious with a sweet juice, leaving you wanting more even after having 2 or 3 in one go. The best time to enjoy this mango is at the peak of its flavour during the first two weeks of July.
Saroli, Neelum, Fajri, Almas, Malda, Gulab Khans, Sunera, Lal Badshah, Totapuri, and Alphonso are other famous and readily available mangoes in Pakistan. You can also grow a mango tree in your backyard to enjoy the best mangoes in Pakistan, as our climate is ideal for planting quite a few trees in your garden at home. You can also make delicious and refreshing summer drinks from the fruits of your garden, including mango juice, which can be frozen to make mango ice cream.
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