Mango Lassi

Mango Lassi

From "Quick and Easy Indian Cooking", by Madhur Jaffrey

Soothing and satisfying, this could be made with peeled, fresh, ripe mangoes or with good canned ones. Drain the canned mangoes before using them.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups plain yogurt
1 cup chopped, ripe mango
3 tablespoons sugar or to taste
8 ice cubes
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom seeds

Method:

Combine all the ingredients in an electric blender and blend. Some ice pieces may remain. Pour into 2 or 3 glasses and serve.

Rice Pudding (Mango and Rose)

Rice Pudding (Amb Kheer) - Mango and Rose

From  "Menus and Memories from Punjab", by Veronica "Rani" Sidhu

This is the most popular Punjabi dessert. Please taste it to ensure that it is sweet enough for you and your family. If not, add more sugar. Use rose flavor or extract, usually found behind the cashier in the Indian grocery store. Don't substitute rose water.

Yield: 10 1/2 cup servings

Ingredients:

3/4 cup basmati rice
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom seeds or 10 whole pods
1/2 gallon whole milk, or more to taste
1/4 cup slivered, blanched almonds (toast a few and reserve for garnish)
1/2 cup heavy cream or non-fat half and half
1/2 cup sugar, or more to taste
1 teaspoon rose flavor (optional)

1/3 cup golden raisins

For Mango variation: 1 cup mango puree

Method:

1) Soak rice in tap water for 5 minutes and rinse until water runs clear. Drain. In a deep, heavy pot put the rice, raisins, cardamom, and milk and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Lower heat and simmer, stirring often, until the milk is reduced by a third (about 40 minutes).

2) Add the almonds, heavy cream, and sugar and cook and stir over low heat for 10 more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in rose flavor, if using. Mixture will be slightly runny but will thicken as it cools. If it is not thick enough to your liking, you can always transfer it to a glass bowl and heat it in the microwave for several more minutes. Garnish with reserved nuts.

3) Variation: To make Mango Rice Pudding (Amb Kheer) stir in 1 cup mango puree to the pudding after removing from the heat. Do not use rose flavor.

Mango-Basil Vacherin

From Food and Wine: Mango-Basil Vacherin

Ingredients:

2 pints mango sorbet

BASIL ICE CREAM
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup packed basil leaves
2 pints vanilla ice cream, softened

LIME MERINGUE KISSES
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
Finely grated zest of 2 limes

LIME WHIPPED CREAM
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 lime

Diced mango and basil leaves, for garnish

Method:

MAKE AHEAD The basil ice cream can be frozen for up to 4 days. The lime meringue kisses can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

1) Using scissors, cut the cartons from the mango sorbet. Lay the sorbet on its side and cut each pint into 4 rounds. Arrange the sorbet slices on a plate lined with plastic wrap and freeze until firm.

2) In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the basil leaves and blanch just until wilted, about 30 seconds. Let cool slightly, then transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Let the puree cool. In a medium bowl, stir the basil puree into the vanilla ice cream; leave visible streaks in the ice cream. Freeze the basil ice cream until firm.

3)Preheat the oven to 225°. Arrange racks in the top, middle and bottom of the oven and line 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Set the bowl over a pot of simmering water and whisk until warm, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and beat at high speed until soft peaks form. Beat in the lime zest.

4)Spoon the lime meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip and pipe 1/2-inch kisses onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1/2 inch apart. Bake for about 1 1/4 hours, until the lime meringues are firm and dry; shift the pans among the racks 3 times for even baking. Turn off the oven, prop the door open and let the meringues cool completely, about 1 hour.

5)In a medium bowl, beat the heavy cream with the sugar until soft peaks form. Beat the grated lime zest into the whipped cream.

6)Arrange the frozen mango sorbet slices in the bottoms of shallow bowls or on dessert plates. Top with scoops of the basil ice cream. Top with some of the lime meringue kisses and dollops of the lime whipped cream. Garnish with diced mango, basil leaves and more lime meringue kisses. Serve the vacherin right away.