Mango Phirni

Phirni is believed to have come in with the Mughal kings and is a popular sweet dish in North India and Pakistan. Mango Phirni is made by adding mango puree to the basic phirni. Recipe from www.sailusfood.com.

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Basmati rice, washed and soaked in water for 20 minutes
• 4 cups milk
• 8 to 10 almonds, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes, peeled and ground to a fine paste
• 1 cup mango puree
• 1/3 cup sugar (You could use sugarfree substitutes)
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
• 8 to 10  strands saffron, soaked in warm milk
• 15 pistachios, chopped for garnish
  

Preparation

• Bring milk to a boil in a vessel and simmer until reduced to three fourths.
• While milk is simmering, grind soaked basmati rice to a fine paste with 1/2 cup simmering milk and set aside.
• After the milk has reduced, slowly add the ground paste into it and keep stirring constantly till it mixes well and begins to thicken, about 10 to 12 minutes.
• Add almond paste, sugar, saffron and cardamom powder and stir to form a creamy and smooth mixture without any lumps. Switch off flame and bring to room temperature.
• Add mango puree and mix till well blended. Refrigerate until serving time.
• Serve garnished with chopped pistachios.

Mango Shrikhand (Amrakhand)

Mango Shrikhand is made by adding mango puree to the basic, Maharashtrian sweet Shrikhand made with strained yogurt (hung curd) and flovoured with cardamom and saffron. Recipe from www.sailusfood.com.

Serves 3

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 to 2 cups mango puree
• 2 cups strained yogurt (hung curd)
• 1/4 tsp cardamom
• Few saffron strands, soaked in warm milk
• 2 to 3 tbsp powdered sugar (I used sugarfree drops)
• 8 pistachios, chopped
• 6 almonds, chopped
• Ripe mangoes, chopped for garnish
  

Preparation

• Place curd in a muslin cloth over a vessel and leave it in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 hours or overnight.
• In a bowl, add the strained yogurt and mix well till blended. Add the powdered sugar and mix well. Add the mango puree, saffron and cardamom into the mixture till well blended, smooth and creamy. You could also use the mixer to blend them. 
• Chill for at least a couple of hours and serve garnished with chopped nuts and mangoes. 

Mango Mastani

Mango Mastani, I believe, is a very popular drink in Pune, used to be served by an age old cold drink house to its customers. It was praised for its flovour and was called 'mast' meaning 'lovely' and came to be given the royal name "Mastani' after the famous and beautiful wife of the Marathi general Peshwa Bajirao. Recipe from www.sailusfood.com.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 cups mango puree, chilled
• 3 tbsp sugar or sugarfree drops
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 4 scoops mango ice cream
• 6 almonds, chopped
• 8 pistachios, chopped
• 4 cherries
• Mango cubes for garnish
  

Preparation

• Bring milk to a boil in a vessel and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Add sugar, allow to dissolve and switch off heat. Refrigerate for a while.
• Set aside 1/2 cup mango puree and blend the rest with the chilled milk to a smooth consistency.
• Pour 2 tbsp mango puree in the bottom of each glass and pour the blended thick mango milkshake to about three fourths of the glass. Place a scoop of mango ice cream on the top and garnish with nuts, cherry and mango cubes.

Mango Falooda

Recipe from www.sailusfood.com. Very yummy mango falooda does take some elaborate preparation but is completely worth it while the mango season lasts!

Ingredients

• 2 cups milk
• 5 tbsp sugar, can be adjusted as per your taste (I used sugarfree drops)
• 1 tbsp basil seeds, soaked in about 1/2 cup to 1 cup water for 30 min (Sabja seeds)
• 1 cup falooda sev (Recipe below)
• 2 cups mango puree
• 4 scoops mango ice cream
• 1 1/2 cups mango cubes
• 8 to 10 pistachios, chopped
• 6 to 8 almonds, chopped
• Cherries for garnish

Falooda Sev

Yield about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup corn flour
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 tbsp sugar (You could also use sugarfree substitutes)

Preparation

• Grease the press (in picture) and set aside. 
• In a vessel add a litre of ice cold water and ice cubes and set aside in the refirgerator.
• In a mixing bowl, add corn flour, 1/2 cup water and sugar and mix well without any lumps.
• Bring one cup water to boil in a heavy bottomed vessel, reduce flame and slowly add the cornflour mixture. Keep stirring constantly till it thickens and turns transparent and glossy. 
• Switch off and spoon the mixture into the sev press (Use the mould with thin holes).
• Remove the ice cold water from the refrigerator and press the hot cornflour mixture through the sev press into it so that the thin strands are completely immersed in the cold water.
• Refrigerate the sev immersed in cold water till use.

  

  Mango Falooda

Preparation

• Bring milk to a boil in a vessel and simmer till it reduces to 1 cup. Add sugar and stir till it dissolves. Switch off and chill till use.
• Set aside the soaked basil seeds in the refrigerator.
• Blend mango puree with sugar and refrigerate till use.
• Chill the falooda sev till use.
• Chill the serving falooda glasses in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.
• To assemble falooda, take the chilled glass and add few mango cubes in the bottom followed by 2 tbsp basil seeds. Follow it with 2 heaped tbsp of falooda sev and then 3 tbsp of mango puree. Slowly pour 2 to 3 tbsp of chilled milk. Next layer with few more mango cubes followed by basil seeds, falooda sev, mango puree and chilled milk in the same proportion as before. 
• Finally place a scoop of mango ice cream on the top and garnish with chopped nuts and cherry. 
• Serve immediately.

Mango Rabri

I had excess milk in the refrigerator and was looking to make some dessert out of these. I came upon Sailu's food blog www.sailusfood.com with a lot of yummy mango desserts. As the mango season is still on, I began trying them one by one and loved each of the desserts. 

Serves 4 

Ingredients

• 1 litre milk
• 1 cup mango puree 
• 2 tbsp sugar (I used sugarfree drops)
• 1/4 tsp cardamom
• 6 to 8 strands saffron, soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk
• 6 to 8 almonds, chopped
• 10 to 15 pistachios, chopped
• 1 cup mango cubes
  

Preparation

• Bring milk to boil in a heavy bottomed vessel. Reduce heat and allow to simmer. Keep stirring at regular intervals and keep moving the cream that forms on the top to the sides till the milk is reduced to less than half the quantity. 
• Add sugar and half of the chopped nuts continue to simmer till the milk is reduced to 1/3 of the original quantity. 
• Add cardamom and saffron, mix well and switch off. 
• Allow to come to room temperature and add the mango puree. Mix well till well combined. Remove to a bowl and chill for a couple of hours.
• Garnish with the remaining nuts and mango cubes and serve.

Jackfruit Idli (Halasina Hannini Kadubu)

I had some left over jackfruit and was looking for a sweet dish from them. I got this recipe from http://www.smithakalluraya.com/2016/06/jackfruit-idli-halasina-hannina-kadubu.html. I tried it and it came out well. I believe the dish is famous in Coastal Karnataka.

Makes about 8-10 idlis

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw rice rava (See note)
•  2 – 2 1/2 cups ripe jackfruit, deseeded and chopped coarsely
• 1 cup grated coconut
• 1/2 cup jaggery, add more or less as per your taste
• 2 – 3 cardamom
• Salt, a pinch
• Oil to grease mould

Preparation

• In a mixer, grind jackfruit and jaggery with little or no water to a coarse paste.
• Add grated coconut and cardamom and grind everything to a fine paste and add it in a mixing bowl.
• Add rice rava and salt a little water. Mix well and allow to stand for about 20 minutes. The consistency should be a little thicker than idli batter. 
• Grease idli moulds with oil and pour the mixture into them.
• Steam for about 15 minutes. It is done when a toothpick or a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the idlis.
• Serve hot.

Note

To make rice rava, soak raw rice in water for an hour, drain it on a cloth for an hour or two and dry grind it to a coarse semolina (rava) consistency.

  

Ras Malai

I tried this for the first time for my sister-in-law who loves these. Recipe from indianhealthyrecipes.com

Makes 8 ras malai

Ingredients

For Malai/Rabri

• 3 cups milk 
• saffron threads, a few
• 1/2 cup sugar (I used sugarfree drops)

For Chhena/Indian Cottage Cheese

• 5 cups milk
• 2 to 3 tsp lemon juice or vinegar

For Sugar Syrup

• 3 cups water
• 1 cup sugar
• Pinch of cardamom

For Garnish

• Almonds, chopped
• Pistachios. chopped

Preparation

• Bring 3 cups of milk to a boil in a heavy bottomed vessel on medium flame. Add saffron and keep stirring it often.
• Add sugar and continue to stir. Keep moving aside the cream that forms on the top. Continue to stir till the milk is reduced to half the quantity. Switch off and set aside.
• While the malai is being done, bring 5 cups of milk to a boil in another vessel. Add vinegar or lemon juice and keep stirring till the milk curdles completely. Add more vinegar or lemon juice if needed. Switch off and add ice cubes into the vessel.This keeps the chhena soft.
• Strain it through a muslin cloth and tie up the ends. Squeeze out the excess water and hang it for an hour or 1 1/2 hours. (I kept it hung for about 2 hours)
• When the water is completely drained, knead the chhena for about 3 minutes. (You can watch how to knead chhena here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5OATz9GyRQ)
• Divide it into 8 portions, make balls and flatten them. If the edges crack, smoothen them gently. Set aside.
• Bring water and sugar to a boil in another vessel. Add cardamom. When the syrup begins to boil rapidly, add the flattened chhena. Cover and cook on moderately high flame for 8 minutes. They would have doubled in size.
• Take them out one by one, cool and squeeze out the syrup by placing them between 2 spatulas.
• Add them to the malai or rabri.
• Add pistachios and almonds and simmer for about 2 minutes to allow the chhena to absorb the milk. 
• Refrigerate, preferably overnight and serve.