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Showing posts with label mango. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mango. Show all posts

Monday, September 8, 2014

Mango Lassi Popsicles / Mango Kulfi Ice Cream




Just before bidding goodbye to Summer, today I am going to share a perfect recipe for this season - Mango Lassi Popsicles. What could be more satisfying than a mango drink in this summer! This frozen Mango lassis is just too appropriate for beating the current heat wave of southern California. Specifically September and October are the hottest months here in San Diego.  When we came here five years back, the climate was very pleasant but in last three years, there was not much rain and summer is not pleasant anymore here. Good news is that we have only one more month before the winter starts.




We have been making ice pops, ice cream and ice cream cake for most part of this summer to beat this heat. This ice pop recipe is a nice after-school snack that your kid would love to have. It is creamy, smooth and has tart flavor.  It can send you back to your childhood days because in some parts of India, without mango or mango lassi, summer vacation was not complete. In India, Lassi is nothing but a traditional summer drink which is similar to fruit smoothie. On the other hand, many Indians keenly wait for summer only because of Mango. So a combination of these two is so perfect for them! Other than mango lassi, there are other kinds too like salty, sweet or bhang lassi. The last one is very popular in northern part of India during the festival called Holy. It is made out of “bhang”, a liquid derivative of cannabis. In Indian sub-continent, Bhang has been used as an intoxicant for many centuries.




Mango lassi is a blend of mangoes , yogurt, sugar and a touch of spice. I combined all of the above in a food processor and made it as smooth as it can be. You can swirl it into popsicle molds with some mango-less yogurt/milk mixture for a pretty smooth affect. Now Mango lassi in popsicles are ready to freeze.  Making popsicles is major fun and so easy that even a novice can make it. You don’t need to worry if you don't have Popsicle mold. You can use paper cup, take some glasses or muffin tins and pour the mixture into the same and then freeze. In terms of flavor, the options are endless. You can change the flavor as per your taste and choice. The yogurt makes the popsicles so tasty and creamy. If you like your pops icy, better to skip the yogurt and make it simpler.  








Recipe of Mango Lassi Popsicles : Makes 6 to 8 popsicles, depending on the size of popsicles molds



Ingredients :

Ripe Mango, chopped : 2 cups ( 3 medium sized mangoes )
Greek yogurt / Strained yogurt / plain yogurt : 1/2 cup 
Sugar : 2 tablespoon, or to taste. 
Ground Cardamom : a pinch (optional )


Method :

1. Combine mango, yogurt, sugar, ground cardamom in a food processor or blender and blend it until smooth. 

2. Pour the blended mango mixture into the popsicle molds or small paper cups and freeze for one hour. Then push a popsicle stick into the center of each pop. Place back in the freezer until solid. 

3. To unmold, place the mold up side down under warm running tap water. 






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Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Mango Kalakand ( Mango Flavored Indian Cottage Cheese Fudge )




After a break, I am back with a traditional Indian sweet dish today. When I noticed that my last post was 100thone, made a plan to celebrate this event with some dessert recipe. Thanks to all of my readers to follow this blog and encourage me all the time.

When it comes to sweets, you will find different variety of cuisines in IndiaSome of these dishes are popular only in a specific region. But there are others that get widely popular and manage to cross boundaries of many states and regions. Kalakand is one such sweet preparation, which was invented in northern part of India, specifically in Rajasthan. But it has made its name in every part of the country and commonly appears during festival season of either parts of India. Kalakand, also known as Sandesh, is made out of solidified, sweetened milk and cottage cheese.The name of this Softcrumbly, bite size , milky-white, square-shaped sweet makes all Indian’s mouth water.






You can follow several different styles to make kalakand. In one process, it’s preferred to use sweetened and solidified milk(khoya), while others like to use condensed milk. The whole preparation can be either done in a microwave or on a stove-top, whatever is the easier way for you.  I am not against the fact that the traditional method can still provide you the best results. It gives the best texture and the perfect softness, but at the same time, the easier method is not that bad as well! Though I have tried both, today I will share the traditional one. 






The process starts with making some fresh paneer. All you need is whole milk and something acidic, like lemon juice or vinegar. Making Paneer at home is little time-consuming. If you would like to take the short route, you can however skip this step completely. I mean, you can buy paneer from any Indian store or replace paneer with ricotta cheese. But I have preferred to use fresh paneer. As I said, most of the time Kalakand looks milky white. But since I added some mango pulp to give some summer flavor, so it got a nice yellow color in my preparation. Hope you would like this than the usual kalakand.  





Recipe of Mango Kalakand : for 24 pieces 

Ingredients :

Home-made fresh paneer / Chenna : 500 g around ( 2 cups )
Sweetened Condensed milk : 1 can (400 g)
Milk powder / Dairy whitener  : 2 tablespoons 
Mango pulp : 4 to 5 tablespoon 
Cardamoms : 3-4, crushed
Pistachios : few, chopped 

Method : 

1. Mash paneer coarsely and add milk powder to it. Add the condensed milk and mix it nicely. 

2. Take a thick bottomed pan, pour the mixture into it and heat it up. Cook on medium high heat. Add the cardamoms and mango pulp. Stir continuously till the mixture becomes thick. It will take 8 to 10 minutes (approximately ).

3. Remove from heat, and spread it on to a greased dish. Sprinkle chopped pistachios.

4. Put it into the refrigerator and let it cool. Cut into squares and serve.