Peak summer was always marked by my grandmother’s jars of mangoes pickling in the sun by the gate.

Apparently, she would wait all season for the Ramkila mango, and would make many trips to the vendor to ask whether the fruit had arrived.

The Ramkila comes with the first monsoon showers, typically towards the end of June in North India, according to my mom (I don’t know if that’s true).

It’s meant to be fleshy and doesn’t need too many preservatives.

Here’s my grandmother’s Heeng (asafoetida) Mango Pickle recipe, remembered by my mom.

1. Soak the unpeeled Ramkila mango in a bucket of water for half an hour

2. Be sure to dry it completely

3. Peel it, and cut it into small pieces

4. Add salt worth 1/16th the weight of the mangoes

5. Mix it all in a bowl, and cover it overnight, for 24 hours

6. The next day add red chilli powder (two heaped teaspoons for every kilo of mango)

7. And half a teaspoon of Heeng or asafoetida for every kilo

8. Put it in a glass jar for a week in the sun

It’s meant to taste better as time goes on, and my mom insists that it never gets spoilt. She also emphasizes that there shouldn’t be a drop of water, in the whole process.

Pictured above: mangoes picking in the sun today