Mango Pannacotta

Two post in a week , this is a real progress for me. i love love cooking and that was a reason for me to start a food blog of my own where in i can document my tries and tested recipes. But somewhere along the way life took over and i forgot my blog. Planning to post reguraly from now on . I have joined some baking groups on Facebook where in we all cook a particular dish for a month with a twist of our own and Groovy Gourmets is one of them. This months Challenge was Pannacotta and i prepared it a mango version.

Panna cotta is one of the easiest yet elegant desserts from Italy and it consist of very less ingredients as well. I have used agar agar to set these and cant wait to try out different flovours with strawberry and coffee being top on my list.

Mango Pannacotta

Recipe Sourve : Collaborative Curry

Ingredients

Mangoes  – 2

Amul Cream  1 cup

Sugar- 1/2 cup

Milk- 1 cup

Agar Agar – 2 tbsp or 5 gms

Water- 1/4 cup

vanilla extract- 1 tsp

Method :

Peel cube and puree 2 mangoes. Alphonso works best.

Divide the puree in 5 shot glasses and chill in the freezer for 2 hours.

Mix cream , milk and sugar in a pan and heat.

Mix agar agar in 1/4 cup water and cook on a slow flame till smooth and the threads dissolve completely.

When the milk and cream mixture comes to a boil add the agar agar mixture and cook further for 2-3 mins.

Cool the mixture and add vanilla essence and mix.

Pour it over the mango puree and chill in the fridge for some hours.

Serve chilled.

Garnish with Mango cubes or some chopped Almonds for crunch.

To check on what other gourmets have been cooking check here.

Pinks Notes:

This is a great make ahead dessert.

Many variations can be done to the basic recipe.

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Strawberry Jam

A delicious jam which is bursting with flavor of a magic ingredient and that is lavender. Till recently i had never tasted lavender or had tasted something with it, but thanx to Simran of Bombay foodie,she had sent me a pack of dried lavender.I was so very elated with the heady aroma of it. This is my 1st attempt at making Jam and found it so easy , planning to experiment with a mix of other fruits as well.

Strawberry is a fruit which was hardly seen in Mysore some years back, it is only from a couple of years that the markets are flooded with it and this is Sakshi’s fav fruit as well. The Jam doesn’t contain pectin and i tried it in a small quantity and so happy with the result that have already planned to prepare a bigger batch.

Strawberry Jam 

Recipe Source: Good Food India Magazine

Ingredients

Strawberries 500gms

Sugar 1/2 cup

Lemon Juice 1 tbsp

Dried Lavender 1 tsp

Method

Wash and clean the strawberries and cut them into halves.

In a clean jar layer strawberry and sugar in layers with sugar being the top layer.

Sprinkle the dried lavender on the top so that all the flavor of the lavender will be absorbed.

Rest for 6 hrs or overnight in a fridge.

At this stage you can either crush the strawberries lightly if u like chunky jams or puree it.

I pureed the mixture with a bit of pieces peaking from it.

Transfer the mixture in a pan and cook it.

Add lemon juice and cook on a slow flame for the next 10 mins.

To test er the Jam is ready, drop a little jam on a saucer which is already chilled in the fridge and when u tilt it should not be runny, it should be set.

Once ready cool completely.

Pour the jams in a sterilized jar and store in the fridge.

Pinks Notes:

To sterilize jars i usually boil water in a wide pan and place the jar and the lid upside down . Rest in hot water for some time and keep them out in the sun till dry.

Do check this site for more info on sterilizing jars.

The qty of sugar mentioned here suited m just fine, the jam is not overly sweet , it has the tartness of the strawberry with the sweetness of sugar and the heady aroma of lavender.

Do try this and i bet you will fall in love with this jam.

Mango Smoothie

This is one of the easiest drink you can make in a jiffy.I feel there is not much difference in a fruit shake and a fruit smoothie, the only one i can notice is that smoothies are on the thicker side when compared to shakes. The end of mango season is here and i  had some full ripe mangoes on hand to be used. So prepared this smoothie which was nice and refreshing.

Mango Smoothie

Ingredients

Mango 1 peeled and cubed

Curds 1/4 cup (Preferably fresh without any sour taste)

Sugar 2 Tbsp

Method

Blend Mangoes, curds and sugar with some ice till smooth.

Pour into a tall glass  and serve Immediately

I have added  chocolate ball on the top  to get my  daughter intersted in drinking it.

Note:

U can skip ice when preparing for kids.

Maybe a dollop of good old vanilla ice cream will do good in this.

You can substitute mangoes with any fresh fruit.(Banana, Apples, Strawberry)

Enjoy drinking!