The Deep Love Affair Between Mangoes and the Mughals

Excerpted with permission from the publishers Macmillan from Mango: A Global History by Constance L Kicker and Mary Newman.

During his reign in the sixteenth century, Emperor Babur kept detailed notes of his daily life and surroundings in the Baburnama (1525–6), considered to be the first autobiography in Muslim literature. Babur’s grandsons later had this manuscript illustrated and included his thoughts on the mango, especially his preference for musk melon from his native Persia: ‘Mangoes when good, are very good. They are usually plucked unripe and ripened in the house. Unripe, they make excellent condiments, are also good preserved in syrup. Taking it altogether, the mango is the best fruit of Hindustan.’ Babur describes in detail two ways of eating mangoes: either squeezing the mango to a pulp, making a hole in it and sucking out the tasty juice, or peeling it as one would a juicy peach. 

Constance L Kirker and Mary Newman,
Mango: A Global History,
Macmillan (2025)

Babur’s grandson Akbar (1542–1605) was a great champion of the mango and promoted mango orchards throughout his empire. It was during his rule that formal orchards were developed as part of grand Mughal gardens, and he himself initiated the creation of the famous Lal Bagh, an orchard of a thousand mango trees, planted near Darbhanga.

Gardening and horticulture became obsessions for Mughal emperors. Lush fruit trees, including mango trees, provide the additional benefit of dense shade. William Dalrymple, author of The Last Mughal (2006), notes that ‘For the Mughals, gardens were regarded as reflections of paradise and a connoisseurship of plants and scents was considered a central attribute of a civilized mind.’

Mangoes are mentioned numerous times in the sixteenth-century record Ain-i-Akbari, compiled on Akbar’s orders by Abul Fazl (1551–1602), his court scribe. Describing the flora of Akbar’s kingdom, Abul Fazl notes that the mango is ‘unrivaled in colour, smell, and taste’, surpassing even the much-prized musk melons and grapes of the original homeland of the Mughal rulers. 

In shape, it resembles an apricot, or a quince, or a pear, or a melon, and weighs even one ser [approx. 1 litre in dry volume, or 1 kilogram] and upwards. There are green, yellow, red, variegated, sweet, and subacid mangoes. Tho the tree looks well, especially when young; it is larger than a nut tree, and its leaves resemble those of the willow but are larger. The new leaves appear soon after the fall of the old ones in autumn and look green and yellow, orange, peach-coloured, and bright red. The flower which opens in spring resembles that of the vine, has a good smell, and looks very curious.

Abul Fazl recounts that mangoes are to be found everywhere in India, due, in part, to the stewardship of His Majesty, Akbar, and notes the uses of the unripe sour green fruit for making preserves and pickles. He describes an unusual fertilizing practice of putting milk and treacle around the tree, intended to make the fruits sweeter, and cautions that the fruit production of a mango tree can vary greatly from year to year, from a rich harvest to no fruit at all.

Jehangir welcoming Shah Abbas, Mughal school, c 1620, watercolour, gold and ink on paper. Photo: Author provided

Details about medicinal uses of the mango are documented, as well as harvesting and preservation techniques:

When people eat a great deal of mangoes, they may promote digestion by partaking of milk with the kernels of the mango stones. The kernels of old stones are subacid and taste well. When two or three years old, they are used as medicine. If a half-ripe mango, together with its stalk to a length of about two fingers, be taken from the tree, and the broken end of its stalk be closed with warm wax, and kept in butter, or honey, the fruit will retain its taste for two or three months, whilst the colour will remain even for a year.

Carrying on the tradition of mango adoration, Jahangir (1569–1627), son and successor of Akbar, states specifically that of all the fine fruits of his empire, he was fondest of the mango. In Tuzuk of Jahangir, the memoirs of Jahangir, he makes comparative notes and declares that in the sweetness of its juice, fragrance, flavour and digestibility, the mangoes of Chapramau, in the province of Agra, are superior to all mangoes. As an encouragement for his subjects to pursue the unpredictable, expensive and labour-intensive practice of fruit production, Emperor Jahangir did not tax gardeners.

Noorjahan (c. 1577–1645) was the favourite wife of Jahangir, and she exerted great influence over her husband, who was addicted to opium. She favoured mango drinks and created wines flavoured with mango and roses. A rare mango, named Noorjahan after this Mughal queen, is cultivated only in the Katthiwada in Madhya Pradesh. Today mango aficionados reserve their Noorjahan mangoes, which can grow up to 30 centimetres (1 ft) in length, weeks before they are harvested. As recently as five years ago, this mango was on the verge of extinction, but efforts by the local state government to encourage its cultivation have been successful. 

Another Mughal lady immortalised by a mango variety is the dancer and courtesan Anarkali, whose story is a popular theme for Bollywood. This mango is unique in that the pulp of each side when sliced open has a distinctly different colour, aroma and flavour. The patronage of the Mughal emperors advanced experiments in horticulture, especially in grafting, which resulted in thousands of new mango varieties, including the famous Totapuri, or Bangalore. Its name literally translates to ‘parrot beak’, referring to the pointed end of this mango variety, one of the main cultivars grown in India. The skin is less bitter than other varieties and is sometimes consumed with the flesh itself. The Jahangir mango, named in honour of this emperor, is a much prized mango variety today.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.