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Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. 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, June 25, 2014

Skinny Strawberry Ice Cream



When we think about summer, what comes to our mind first is ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet or sundae. Probably we can still smell the taste of ice cream that we used to have during summer vacation in our school life. We could finish several scoops without feeling guilty about calories. There was no worry about how we look in our profile pictures. But now whenever we take full-fat ice cream or frozen desserts, unfortunately we start thinking about how much calories it will add up.





Last few days I was looking for a recipe that an ice cream lover like me could polish off half a gallon with no guilty feelings. But it has to be creamy as well as addictive. Eventually I found the one I wanted. This Skinny Strawberry Ice cream gives you the same sweet and chilled satisfaction that full-fat regular ice cream does. It’s a healthy substitute to those late night ice cream cravings since it adds less than 100 calories per serving. It can become one of your staple snacks this summer!





The recipe is damn easy and needs only 3 ingredients. What you have to do to make this ice cream is just throw all of the ingredients in a blender and make it a puree. Then pour the mixture into freeze and wait until it is done. Last year I made Strawberry Cream cheese PopsiclesBut this simple, skinny, scrumptious dessert is more rich and delicious than the former without using any cream stuff. On the other hand, the recipe is extremely versatile. If you don’t like or get strawberries, can use other berries, banana or mango. If you like chunks of fruits in your ice cream, chop up a few extra strawberries and fold that into the mixture right before you put in the freezer. 









Whenever I think about making ice creaming at home, the very first question arises in my mind is if I would get same consistency that branded  ice creams have, without using ice cream maker. But finally I solved the problem. You have to mainly churn the ice cream base yourself while freezing and need to incorporate a sufficient amount of air bubbles into the mixture. Otherwise it will come out with an icy almost rock hard ice cream. The churning will also break down these unpleasant large ice crystals. 40 minutes after you first put your ice cream into the freezer, take it out and vigorously churn it with a fork or a spoon or electric hand mixer. Return the ice cream to the freezer again, wait for another 30 minutes and repeat the process. Do the same process 2 to 3 times more. You would get smoothcreamy ice cream like texture without using ice cream maker. So go aheadmake and enjoy your homemade skinny strawberry ice cream.





Recipe of Skinny Strawberry Ice Cream : Serves : 4 to 6 


prep time : 10 minutes, freezing time : maximum 2 hrs. 

Ingredients :
Fat free Greek yogurt / hung yogurt : 1 and 1/2 cup
Strawberries : 1 cup chopped ( you can use frozen too ) 
Honey : 2 tablespoons or to taste 

Method :

1. Add all ingredients to a food processor or a blender and pulse until the mixture becomes creamy.

2. Pour the mixture into a freezer safe air tight container and freeze it.  After 30 minutes take it out and vigorously churn it with a fork or a spoon or electric hand mixer. 

3. Do the same process 2 to 3 times more. If you like chunky ice cream, now add hand full of fresh strawberries ( chopped ). Mix it well and freeze for up to one hour. Don't let it freeze for longer than an hour. It will become hard like an ice block. 

4. Scoop the ice cream into individual dishes, add toppings ( if desired ) and serve immediately.

Note: 
For the vegan version, use coconut milk yogurt in the place of non fat Greek yogurt. 

You can try the same recipe with other fruits too.