Treat your mommy to breakfast in bed or a yummy nashta of Kairi Makai Dhokla and a tall glass of Mango Lassi or Mango Thandai.
Three irresistible mango recipes from Chef Bhanwar Singh.
Photographs: Kind courtesy Khandani Rajdhani
Mango Lassi
Serves: 3-4
Ingredients:
- 1 kg yoghurt
- 200 gm sugar
- 200 gm mango puree
- 1 tbsp elaichi or green cardamom powder
- Mango leaves, for garnish
- Slivered almonds, for garnish
- Ice cubes
Method
- Pour the yoghurt into a bowl.
Add the sugar and a few ice cubes.
Blend using a ghotni or manual blender.
Avoid using an electric blender, if you can, because high-speed blending separates the milk solids and makes the lassi thinner.
Add the mango puree, elaichi powder and blend again.
Pour the mango lassi into glasses with the ice cubes.
Garnish with mango leaves, silvered almonds and serve chilled.
Note: For vegan mango lassi, use vegan yoghurt, made by several brands in India.
For sugar-free lassi skip the sugar and substitute with honey or stevia powder. Each brand of stevia has its own stevia for sugar substitution ratio provided on its packing.
Mango Thandai
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients:
- 200 gm aamras
- 150 ml thandai syrup
- 1 l chilled milk
- 150 gm sugar
- 10 gm almonds, chopped
- 10 gm pistachios, chopped
- Few strands kesar or saffron
Method
- Pour the chilled milk into a bowl and add the sugar.
Stir until the sugar dissolves.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix.
Garnish with saffron and serve chilled.
Note: For vegan mango thandai, use almond milk or soy milk.
For sugar-free thandai skip the sugar and substitute with honey or stevia powder and reduce the amount of thandai syrup. Each brand of stevia has its own stevia for sugar substitution ratio provided on its packing.
Kairi Makai Dhokla
Serves: 3-4
Ingredients
- ½ cup makai or corn flour
- ¾ cup rava or semolina
- 2 tbsp besan or gram flour
- 2-3 raw mangoes, grated
- 2 cups buttermilk + little extra for diluting batter
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic-green chilly paste
- Salt to taste
- 1½ tsp Eno fruit salts + 1 tbsp water
For the seasoning
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 tsp rai or mustard seeds
- ¼ tsp hing or asafoetida powder
To garnish
- 2 tbsp freshly grated coconut
- 2 tbsp green dhania or coriander or cilantro leaves, chopped
- Grated raw mangoes
To serve
- Coriander chutney
- Tamarind chutney
Method
- Blend the grated raw mangoes with 1 cup of buttermilk into a puree.
Keep aside.
- In a bowl, mix the corn flour, ginger-garlic-green chilly paste, semolina, besan, salt, mango puree and the remaining cup of buttermilk.
Mix and keep aside to ferment for 30 minutes.
- If the batter is too thick after 30 minutes, add some more buttermilk.
It should be of idli batter consistency.
- Heat water in a steamer over medium heat.
Or use a pressure cooker without the rubber gasket and whistle.
Grease a small pan that will easily fit into the steamer or pressure cooker.
- Mix the Eno with 1 tbsp water and add to the batter.
- Stir the batter and then pour it into the greased pan.
Place the pan into the steamer or pressure cooker and steam for 15-20 minutes.
Check if done by inserting a fork.
If the fork comes out clean, the dhokla is cooked.
Take off heat.
- Heat oil in a tempering pan add the mustard seeds, hing.
Once the seeds begin to splutter, pour it over the dhokla.
Cut the dhokla in small squares.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves, grated coconut and grated raw mango.
Serve with coriander chutney or sweet chutney.
Note: For vegan dhoklas, make the buttermilk using vegan yoghurt, made by several brands in India.
For low-sodium dhoklas, skip the Eno fruit salts and ferment the batter for several hours or overnight so it rises on its own.
Maharaj Bhanwar Singh is the corporate chef at Khandani Rajdhani.