Mango – the golden fruit is here to tickle your taste buds and it is the most favourite thing about summers of many. Make the most of the mango season while they are available with these recipes. Whip up these easy-peasy chilled desserts to please yourself and your family this season, says Richa Vij.
Mango Cream
A great chilled dessert to pamper your family or guests with on a hot summer day. Rest assured this one is totally fuss-free and gets ready in under 15 min. Make it at least 3-4 hours before serving as it tastes best once chilled and needs to be kept in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Serves: 3-4
Ingredients:
2 Mangoes, pulped (or about 1 cup mango pulp)
1 cup Mango, diced
350 ml whipping cream (about 1 and 1/2 cup)
A pinch of cardamom powder
Sugar (depending upon the sweetness of the mangoes you’re using)
Method:
1) Start by peeling and pulping mangoes in a blender. Keep aside.
2) Chop a mango into little chunks. Keep aside.
3) Taste your mango pulp, if it’s not sweet, add sugar to whipping cream and blend for 2 min.
4) Blend together half the amount of mango pulp with 3/4th of the whipped cream and cardamom powder. Leave the rest of the cream and pulp to create layers in the glass or if you do not wish to serve as a parfait, blend the cream and mango pulp and serve in a bowl. Top it with mango chunks.
5) To make a parfait, take a jar/glass and using a spoon put in the mango chunks and then create layers with mango pulp-cream mix and then create another layer with cream or pulp and top it with mango chunks.
6) Slide the glasses into the refrigerator and serve chilled.
Mango Custard
Prepping Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 10 min
Serves: 3
Ingredients:
2.5 cups milk
4-5 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp custard powder
1-2 cups chopped mango
1 pomegranate, seeded
Method:
1) Heat milk in a heavy-bottomed pan.
2) While milk becomes heated, take 3 tbsp warm milk and add 2 tbsp custard powder to it. Mix well and ensure there are no lumps. Keep aside.
3) Add sugar to the milk pan and stir until sugar dissolves. Turn off the gas. After 2-3 min when the milk has slightly cooled (but not cold) add in the custard and milk paste that you prepared in parts. Keep on stirring to ensure there are no lumps and turn on the gas and keep on stirring the milk on low flame.
4) After a few minutes of stirring you’ll notice the milk has thickened a little. Now turn off the gas and transfer to a bowl and let it cool. After it has come to room temperature, put the bowl of custard in the fridge and chill for at least an hour.
5) Meanwhile, chop 3-4 mangoes into cubes and remove the seeds of pomegranate. Cover chopped fruits with a cling film or a lid and put into the fridge.
6) Remember to add the fruits to the custard just before you serve. Serve chilled.
Mango Parfait
Make this mango parfait by layering a glass jar or a dessert bowl with a slice of cake (you can either make at home or opt for one from the nearest bakery), mango fruit custard (see the recipe above), mango chunks, mango pulp and pomegranate seeds. The simplicity of this recipe amazes me and we can do so many variations in creating the layers. For example, you can completely omit the cake and use crushed or broken Marie/digestive biscuits. You may even create a layer using chocolate syrup or chocolate ice cream or use some other fruits such as grapes, apples. One may also garnish with dry fruits and nuts instead of pomegranate. This recipe is fairly versatile so feel free to experiment with ingredients your family enjoys. Better still just put the ingredients in front of them and invite them to create their own dessert bowl and taste each other’s creations.
Mango Oats
This is a perfect healthy breakfast to trick your brain into. You can easily close your eyes and let your mind to think that you’re having a fancy dessert to begin your day with when you’re actually eating a pretty wholesome breakfast! I prefer cold oats over warm especially in summers and if combining any fruit with it, then the oats also need to be cold. Just make your regular oats as you do, let it cool and refrigerate it for at least an hour before serving. Top it with an insane amount of mango chunks and enjoy your own bowl of healthy dessert! You can literally add more seasonal fruits to your oatmeal and even actually make kheer and serve it chilled topped up with mango cubes and dry fruits.