A Step Back in Time

It was really hot in the San Fernando Valley today, and I made some Mango and Pista Kulfis (Indian Ice Cream). Asniff of the fragrance of Cardamom and Mango, and I was transported to the magical days of our childhood. Mangoes were a big part of our Summers. Mangoes in all their varieties, color, texture and flavors. Our mothers would use the raw mangoes to make pickles and chutneys. In the Summer heat, we would fill a tunb with ice water and leave the fruit in there to chill and exude a heavenly flavor and fragrance. Then we would all sit around the tub and eat our Mangoes. Some would suck the nectar-like juice out of the tiny "Tapka" mangoes, while the more finicky among us would take another variety, slice and dig in to them. Somehow, it was always more fun to dunk them in ice water, than chill them in the refrigerator. At times, we would try to chase the Summer heat with an icy Mango Shake. YUM. We did not know about the currently popular "Mango Lassi". It used to be a long Summer Vacation, and we had to find things to do, since this was before the age of Television and video games. Days were pretty long, even after the volumes of home work we had to do. We would bring out the old Ice Cream churner, send someone for a block of ice the size of a suitcase, get some coarse salt, and try to make Mango Ice Cream. These were not electric machines and we would have to take turns churning the mixture.  Some days we would get perfect Ice Cream and on others it ended up as a mush. Whatever the case, it would cool our throats, aesophagus, and stomachs. Never since have I had Ice Cream that chilled me so! Maybe it's been glorified in my memories, I don't know.

Mention of Ice Cream and Kulfi is sending me twirling into my past almost like Dorothy got whisked on to the Yellow Brick Lane. It reminds me of Summers spent at our Grandma's. Those were the days when nothing moved on a Summer afternoon. Almost everyone retired to a cool room for an afternoon siesta.. Even the pets would stay close to water and fans. We were at an age when napping was a waste of time, and we would rather fill our afternoons with something more fun. There was this hawker who used to come at the perfect hour when our elders were deep in slumber, and we could creep out in the smouldering heat. This man used to sell the most unique kind of Ice Cream or Kulfi. It wa like a solid block of frozen mixture, wrapped around a cone. Then he would cover it in layers and layers of cloth to insulate and keep it solid. He would be hawking" Khoey Malai Wali Kulfi" ( Ice Cream from evaporated and condensed milk). We would run outside, give him our money, and he would shave layers off the cone, and serve them to us on large leaves. I think they were "Peepal" leaves. It was so good, we would even lick the leaves, and then go back inside, smacking our lips, savoring the taste and waiting for the next afternoon.

What a nostalgic trip down memory lane! All because of the King of Fruits!