Shrimp Mango Soup
Photo: Ajna Jai / Contributor
Years ago, I got an email from the American consulate in England inviting me to represent the United States at an Indian food festival. I would do a couple of food demos, as well as cook a dish with the American ambassador — his grandmother’s favorite chicken curry — on stage with live BBC coverage. I wondered about this curry, but still accepted the invite.
A few weeks later, I met Ambassador Matt Barzun in London the night before the festival. I whispered in his ear, “Please don’t tell me your grandmother’s curry has apples in it!” He turned around, surprised. “Yes, of course it has apple in it.” It was well known that while the British were colonizing India, they loved putting apples in stews and curries. Ambassador Barzun’s grandmother had spent several years in India, I gathered. I whispered back, “No self-respecting Indian cook would put apples in a curry. May I replace it with mangoes?” He frowned; I knew the answer.
I did make the chicken curry with little bits of apple alongside the charming ambassador on stage, but I made sure the crowd knew that I was reluctantly using apples. We all had a good laugh over this, and life moved on. I still won’t make a curry with apples, but here is a delicious South Indian inspired shrimp soup with mango, a fruit much more likely to show up in savory foods in India. Enjoy it on its own or with noodles or rice.