Mango Ice Cream

Yes, you might be thinking that I have gone crazy. The season of Mangoes and Ice-creams has not been arrived yet or I must say we are just a few weeks away to indulge ourselves in the sweetness of mangoes and the rich, creamy goodness of Ice-creams.

To be very frank I am a die hard fan of Ice-creams and can enjoy it even in the subzero temperatures and when its Mango flavored I can't resist myself to have a scoop of it. Moreover who doesn't love mangoes after all it's the King of all fruits.

Recently, I found a can of mango puree in a departmental store and as usual I couldn't stop myself from buying it without a second thought. I was walking through the aisles and thinking what to do with this puree. Suddenly I turned and saw an aisle of ice-creams. Yippee!!! I got it. I decided to treat my family and of course myself with Mango Ice-cream.

Whenever we think of making ice-cream at home two thoughts comes in our mind successively:

• Will it be smooth, creamy, rich and soft like store bought?
• Is it possible to make ice-cream without an Ice-cream maker?

Well, the answer to all your questions is "Yes, Of course!" . It's just a pleasure when your ice-cream scooper glides through the ice-cream without encountering any ice crystals and yet you get a nice and perfect scoop. Moreover it requires very few ingredients and no cooking or churning. Just mix all the ingredients together and set it in the refrigerator for 5-6 hours. 

So let's dig into the divine flavors of Mango Ice-cream:

Ingredients:

1. Mango Puree: 1 and 1/2 cup

2. Heavy whipping Cream: 1 and 1/2 cup

3. Sweetened Condensed Milk: 1 cup

4. Salt: a pinch

5. Powdered Sugar (if required)

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl Pour the heavy whipping cream and whip it with your electric blender or wire whisk until you get soft peaks.

2. Add in the sweetened condensed milk and mix very gently otherwise the whipped cream will deflate.

3. Now add the mango puree and a pinch of salt then fold the mixture with very light hands.

4. Once everything is well incorporated, pour this mixture into a bowl and keep it in the freezer for good 5-6 hours and till then control yourself not to open the freezer every single hour and check whether its set or not :)

5. Take out the bowl 5 minutes prior to serving scoop it and top with anything you like. 

6. Enjoy the real flavors of mango and the richness of ice-cream blended together.

Note:

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Raspberry Pannacotta......A perfect dessert for your Valentine

Love is in the air as Valentine's Day is here. We all know this day is celebrated as the day of love and romance all over the world. Being a foodie the best way to celebrate this special day is making something special for the love of my life. So, I decided to make one of my all time favorite desserts - "Raspberry Pannacotta".

Pannacotta is an Italian dessert which means cooked cream. Traditionally it is made from milk, cream, sugar and gelatin. It is generally served chilled and topped with chocolate, caramel sauce or fruits of your choice. You can enjoy this dessert as it is just spoon up and indulge yourself in it's silky smooth texture.

These days we can easily find gelatin in our local grocery stores unlike earlier; people would use egg-whites instead. So, if you are not in favor of using gelatin you can always replace gelatin with egg whites but in that case you need to bake it. Having gelatin in your pantry makes your life easy and you can make really gorgeous looking desserts instantly.

I used Raspberry but you can always use fruit of your choice or replace it with chocolate the options are endless! So let's begin with the recipe:

Ingredients:

1. Milk: 1 cup
2. Cream: 1 cup
3. Sugar: 1 cup
4. Vanilla Extract: 1 tbsp
5. Fresh Raspberries: 1 cup
6. Unflavored Gelatin: 2 packet

Method:

1. Dissolve one packet of gelatin in water as per the instructions on the packet and keep it aside.

2. In a separate pan pour the milk and boil it on low-medium heat. Keep stirring so that it doesn't stick to the bottom. Add the cream and mix well.  

3. Add 1/2 cup of sugar to the milk-cream mixture and cook it for 5-6 mins. Check the sweetness and adjust accordingly. Pour vanilla extract and give a nice mix.

4. Add the gelatin to the mixture and stir continously until the gelatin gets dissolved completely.

5. Pour this mixture into individual glasses or ramekins and refrigerate for 2-3 hours or until it sets.

6. In the meanwhile take the raspberries and sugar in the blender and puree it. Strain it through a strainer to discard the seeds.

7. Once the milk-cream mixture is set completely take them out of the refrigerator.

8. Dissolve the other packet of gelatin in water as per the instructions.

9. Mix gelatin with the raspberry puree and pour the mixture into the glasses. Refrigerate it for 2-3 hours.

10. When you are ready to serve garnish it the way you like.

11. Enjoy.

Note:

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Gajar Ka Halwa.......A quintessential dessert of Indian Winters

A very Happy New Year to all my readers. May this new year flourish with new discoveries, wonderful inspirations and happiness to fulfill all your desires. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and enjoyed with your near and dear ones.

I know last week I was bit irregular in posting since there was so many things going on at my end. It was my husband's birthday so we hosted a small party at our home followed by a Christmas potluck, a dinner invitation at our friend's place, prepping for the new year celebrations and finally welcoming the new year.

There are few food items which are specially prepared in winters and without which the winters are incomplete; "Gajar Ka Halwa" is one of them. Back in India, marriages and parties during winter are incomplete without it. Such is the influence of this delectable dessert.

There are many variations of this recipe like microwave version, pressure cooker version, sugar free version blah...blah...blah but this tastes best when it's made in a traditional way, where grated carrot is slow cooked in milk and then a generous amount of ghee, khoa and dry fruits are added to it. This makes the recipe very rich in calories. I need to confess here that I'm not that much calorie conscious but yes, I do care about my waistline.

During winters those red, sweet and long carrots can be found copiously and my mind starts drifting shall I have them in salads or make some Gajar Ka Halwa out of those. After having a prolonged dilemma I manage to convince myself to indulge into this sinful bowl of Halwa. Whenever I have a bowl it makes me feel guilty :( So, I tried to keep this recipe low in calories as much as I can. 

So, let's relish this bowl of bliss:

Ingredients:

1. Carrots: 1 kg

2. Low fat Milk: 2 cups

3. Ghee (clarified butter): 2 tbsp

4. Green Cardamoms (crushed): 3-4 

5. Sweetened Condensed Milk: 1 and 1/2 cup

6. Dry fruits (Cashews, Raisins, Almonds): as required

Method:

1. Wash the carrots thoroughly and peel off the skin. Now grate them with the help of a vegatable grater.

2. Take the milk in a heavy bottomed pan. As the milk starts boiling add the grated carrots and stir it continuously on low-medium heat.

3. Once all the milk is absorbed by the carrots add the sweetened condensed milk (since I have used sweetened condensed milk so there's no need of extra sugar. But you can adjust it according to your taste buds) Let it cook for 10-12 mins or until is mixture is completely dry. Stir the halwa continuously to assure that it doesn't stick to the bottom.

4. In a separate pan add ghee and fry the dry fruits. Now add them to the halwa along with the ghee. 

5. Now sprinkle the crushed cardamoms and give it a nice mix.

6. Enjoy it hot or cold. 

Note:

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Eggless Mango Mousse....No Cook No Bake Mango Mousse

Mango Mousse.......Yes, I know this is not the season of Mangoes but last week when I went out for grocery I saw a can of mango puree which caught my attention. Immediately, chain of "Dessert-full" thoughts ran through my mind because when it comes to Dessert my imaginations get wings and they fly randomly. I have a sweet tooth so does every Bengali and I love to try desserts from every cuisine.

These days fruits and vegetables don't have any season constraints. We can get all our favorite fruits and vegetables all year round but mangoes. We can get them in puree form tough and enjoy its taste throughout the year.

Mango is considered as the king of all fruits and it deserves too. It is also known as national fruit of India where summers are incomplete without them. 

There are endless recipes made from mangoes starting from pickles to sweets. The recipe I am going to share today is Eggless Mango Mousse. It's hassle free and requires very few ingredients.  A Mousse may be sweet or savory. Dessert Mousses are typically made from whipped egg whites or whipped cream and flavored with chocolate or fruit puree. I used Mangoes but you can use any fruit of your choice.

Ingredients:

1. Mango puree: 2 cups (You can use ripe mangoes too and puree it in a blender)

2. Gelatin: 1 tbsp

3. Heavy Whipping Cream: 1 cup

4. Powdered Sugar to taste
5. Strawberries for garnishing (optional)

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl pour the heavy whipping cream. Add the powdered sugar. Whip the cream with your hand blender until you get stiff peaks. You can also use your wire whisk for this. Using electric blender makes your life easy. This will take around 2-3 mins on medium speed.

2. Dissolve the gelatin in water as per the instructions on the packet. Mix well and keep it aside.

3. Now, in a separate bowl take the mango puree. Add the dissolved gelatin and combine well so that the gelatin gets dissolved completely.

4. Now add the whipped cream to this mixture. Fold in the cream very gently. 

5. Check the sweetness and transfer this mixture into a big size serving dish or individual glasses.

6. Refrigerate it for at least an hour or until set. Remove from refrigerator 5 mins prior serving and garnish it as you like.

7. Enjoy your rich and creamy Eggless Mango Mousse  

Note:

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