To speak about Indian mangoes may be cliché, but because Indians never seem to tire of the subject, there’s always some juice. London-based writer, Nikesh Shukla, will humorously tell us how to devour one correctly – a skill most South Asians seem to inherently possess – while halfway justifying why our obsession for the fruit can and should live on. A conversation with food historian Vikram Doctor follows as he talks about the colonial legacy that underpins this obsession, and the parochialism that most Indians adopt as they cultivate their specific mango fetishes. I conclude in a kitchen with a Delhi-based pastry chef, Ruchi Vaish, who turns herself in as a Mango Obsessive. For her, mango season is the very best.

Topics covered in this episode:


Min 00:31: Meet Nikesh Shukla

Min 3:27: How to eat a mango properly

Min 4:30: Mango in literature

Min 7:55: Meet Ruchi Vaish

Min 8:02: Ways to cook and bake with mango

Min 9:01: Meet Vikram Doctor

Min 10:30: Alphonso mango, the “king of kings”

Min 12:49: Is mango parochialism political?

Min 17:37: The British love for mango pickles

Min 21:08: Income hanging from a tree

Min 30:20: A mango that’s “good for diabetics”

Min 31:55: Making mango cheesecake with Ruchi



Learn more about this episode of Bad Table Manners at www.whetstoneradio.com, on IG and Twitter at @whetstoneradio, and YouTube at WhetstoneRadio.

Guests: Nikesh Shukla (@nikeshshuklawriter), Vikram Doctor (@vikram.doctor), Ruchi Vaish (@intheknowkitchen)