After dinner, we would pester our father or grandfather for the best ice cream ever produced — the Mango Dolly
The sun started setting when my younger sister and I heard the distant calls of our mother, our playtime at the local park finally over. Red-cheeked and panting, we quickly finished up our game of pithhu (a game where two teams take chances to knock down a small tower of stones with a ball) with the other children; a swarm of mosquitos flying over our heads and only dispersing once we made our way inside our dada-dadi’s (paternal grandparents) house.
Mom would have two tall glasses of cold water ready for us to gulp down, drinking as fast as we could before we were told to wash our hands for dinner. It used to be a six-people affair – our mother, who would make sure to serve the rest of the table before herself, our grandfather, who would be talking about the news with our father while complaining about the salt in the food, and my grandmother, who would be cutting up the freshly bought mangoes for the table, meant to be consumed as a dessert.
My sister and I, though, never ate mangoes after dinner. We would have them as shakes in the morning, or as a snack in the afternoon – but after food, we would pester our father or grandfather for the best ice cream ever produced – the Mango Dolly. A vanilla lolly wrapped in a layer of iced mango-flavored syrup, it was, and still is, our favorite treat. Our father, or grandfather (depending on who was free) would get the Activa out and take us to our local shopping centre – where he would buy an entire box of the stick ice creams, enough to tide us over for a week at least.
Sure, you can purchase Mango Duets here in Dubai, but Havmor’s Mango Dolly was the original – our childhood was centered around the sweet treat, the ultimate dessert to chase away the heat and also give us the perfect amount of the mangoes that India is so famous for. Now, every time I go back to my dada-dadi’s house in Jaipur, there is always a box of Mango Dollys waiting for me in the freezer; and yet I am no longer a child, I still reach for them after each meal, peeling the wrapper to slowly enjoy the treat, silently thanking the universe that the recipe has not been changed over the many decades of its production.
On that note, if you’re looking to beat the heat in Dubai, here’s something we can recommend — healthy frozen treats, with a touch of Beirut available from the Lebanese delivery kitchen, Mama Rita, and at all House of Pops outlets. Lebanese food is one of the most popular cuisines in the UAE, so it’s no surprise that House of Pops has formed a collaboration with Mama Rita.
The new pops come in five delicious flavours to complement Mama Rita’s home delivery food service offering:
Orange Blossom: a Lebanese grandma staple! Inspired by all those afternoons after family lunch, having hot orange blossom made by “teta” after a delicious home-cooked meal.
Toot A Beirut: inspired by the Lebanese jingle and the wild mulberries that grow across different regions of Lebanon
Cold Brew: because coffee is in their blood! With a splash of organic coconut milk.
Choco Matcha: inspired by Jessica’s favourite House of Pops range – the choco-dipped collection.
Peach Paradise: inspired by those giant fruit platters at grandma’s house, where peach overflowed!
As with all House of Pops treats, these pops are 100% natural, plant-based, allergen free, and contain no refined sugar.
