Mother Nature, she’s a crafty one. As the mellow first months of the year ripen in the shimmering heat, when the sun begins to wreak havoc on mind, body and soul and the monsoon seems far too far away, she presents six weeks of the most delicious distraction. Mangoes! Like with all things of legend, there is considerable discussion
about whom the the king of the crop, the Alphonso is named after. What seems to be a given is that Portuguese botanists, smitten by the golden fruit, took seeds and saplings back with them and grafted and persevered to develop a smoother, fleshier, less fibrous, thinner skinned, deeper flavoured fruit. Perfected, one of them brought the saplings back for cultivation. Whether you believe Affonso Albuquerque or Niculao Affonso or St Alphonso deserve the credit is up to how much time you have to research.
Alphonso and the rest of the lovely bunch: mangoes have been mentioned in Vedic texts and considering they’re here for such a short time each year, they form part of our cultural lore and personal memories. Ask around: most people, even those not prone to nostalgia, will have several poignant, bitter or sweet stories that revolve around mangoes, their paucity or their abundance. My mother remembers cartloads of mangoes coming in from their fields, the boxes filled with straw, stored under the high old beds: the old house redolent with the heavy, heady aroma of slowly ripening mangoes. I remember a delicious mango milkshake my mum used to make and aam ras and puri and always regretting wearing white at mango-eating time. There are many ways to enjoy this spectacular fruit though I maintain a perfect mango is best eaten as it is.
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Mango fool
There are several kinds of fools, don’t you know it, but this one skips on the gelatin and the work and yields a fool that is light, delicious and perfect for breakfast. This recipe yields enough for one hungry person.
Ingredients
½ cup ripe mango
½ cup cream
½ cup hung yoghurt
1 tbs sugar
Pinch of vanilla bean or drop of vanilla essence
Method
Using a hand blender or food processor, puree the mango first and then add the yoghurt, cream, sugar and vanilla. Pour into glasses. Decorate with a few mango bits and bobs and chill overnight or until you’re ready to eat it.
No Cook mango Cheese Cake
We’ve done several permutations of this cheesecake. It’s simple, subtle and, therefore, a very handy way to celebrate seasonal fruits like strawberries or kiwis. Mangoes of course, because you blend them in rather than slice them up, change the texture and colour of this lovely cheesecake making it luxurious and festive. The cream of course makes it very heavy so it’s very much a “dessert for lunch” sort of thing or as the reward at the end of a light, fresh, summer meal. Research the baked version on epicurious.com and try that as well. It’s well worth it. This is super quick (apart from the time it must sit in the fridge) and the kids just love to help make and of course eat it. You can do a big one or several individual servings. Ours turned out quite ‘peasant’ looking but you can posh the presentation up of yours with some mango puree or thin slices or even a little mango jelly on top.
Ingredients
1 pkt digestive biscuits
200 gms cream cheese
100 gms cream
200 gms ripe mango flesh
100 gms butter
2 tbs icing sugar
2 tsp gelatin
Method
Crumble the biscuits till quite fine. You can do this by hand (which takes ages but tires the kids out nicely) or in the food processor or in the housewife angst-removing way, put them in a plastic bag and whack it properly with a rolling pin. Fork the butter into the biscuits and using a spoon or your hand, mix it properly. Now take the butter, biscuit mix and press it down firmly at the bottom of the dish you’re planning to use. Put in the fridge and leave till the butter hardens. In the meanwhile, mix the gelatin with some warm water until it’s softened nicely for about 5 minutes. Puree the mangoes. Puree the cream and cream cheese separately. Now mix the softened gelatin into the mangoes and then the cream and cream cheese. My youngest sisters, the resident dessert experts, recommend you mix the gelatin in before because if the cream cheese is cold, the gelatin will set all lumpy. Pour over the biscuits and leave to set for a few hours. Then decorate and serve cold.
Sparkling Minted Mango Lemonade
Every week, researching recipes and trying them out, I am usually pleasantly surprised by something I’d never have tried but that works out beautifully. This lemonade is like that. I cannot begin to tell you how bright and sparkly it feels on the tongue and what a refreshing drink it is. Imagine a late summer brunch, infuse this lemonade with a little sparkling wine and you will be lured to go out right now, buy a white linen outfit, a big straw hat, a fancy glass to drink it in and call your friends to the party. This recipe makes enough for two.
Ingredients
1 cup chopped ripe mango
20 fresh mint leaves
1 tbs lime juice
1 tsp sugar
1 bottle commercial lemonade (Limca is best)
Method
Puree the mango, lime juice and mint leaves and then strain through a soup sieve. Do this rigourously and you will also get lovely little flecks of mint. When ready to serve, pile crushed ice in glasses. Mix half the commercial lemonade with the puree. Divide the puree over the ice into the glasses and top up with the rest of the lemonade. Give it a single stir and serve immediately.
Mango Melon Soup
This is a cold soup, a sorbet, an ice lolly or just a delicious summer cooler. It’s a brilliant way to use up over-ripe mangoes and is best done not with Alphonso but with the more ‘fruity’ mangoes which are also cheaper. Only make sure that you strain any fibres.
My sister made a batch of this a couple of days ago and we were fighting for the dregs. The normal thinness of the watermelon juice is given substance by the mango, a depth with the muskmelon and a weird sweetness with the grape. Simple and lovely!
Ingredients
2 cups seeded watermelon
1 cup ripe muskmelon
1 cup chopped mango
½ cup green seedless grapes
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp lime juice
Method
Nothing to do more than blitz the entire batch and chill. If you’re making sorbet, then I’d suggest you put it in a shallow food grade box in the freezer to hurry the process up. Stir every two hours and then leave overnight. When ready to serve, let it stand for about five minutes and it will be cold, slushy, refreshing and also full of lovely vitamins and things.
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