preservation

Keeping mangoes for after summer — Aamshotto

This is how sun-dried, semi-hard Bengali treat loosely translated as mango leather, more commonly known by the local names of aamshotto or aamta, became part of our childhood stories — a way of carrying the sweet bounties of summer into the following months. The entire process appeals to all the human senses like the sight of the leather drying, glistening in the sun, aroma wafting while it cooked and dried, and the instant punch of the sweet smell of a ripe mango whenever one ate it.