Mango recipes: Salad, aamras and more!

It's the king of fruit and this is the season, so enjoy these special aam preparations.

Aamras

Ingredients:

• Three large, ripe alphonso mangoes
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 50 gms powdered sugar

Preparation:

• Wash, peel and dice mangoes.
• Grind to a smooth consistency in the blender.
• Add sugar to the milk and mix well.
• Mix mango pulp with sugared milk and chill.
• Serve cold, with puris or chapattis.

Here is a special recipe from Greek restaurant Opa in Mumbai:

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsps butter or margarine
• 2 small yellow onions, peeled and minced
• 1 medium-sized carrot, peeled and finely diced
• 1 stalk celery, finely diced
• 1/2 a green pepper, cored, seeded and minced
• 1/4 cup unsifted flour
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 3 cloves
• 2 sprigs parsley
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1 cup diced boiled chicken
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup boiled rice
• 1 raw mango (cut into jullienes or cubes)

Preparation:

• Melt butter in a large saucepan, add onion, carrot, celery and green pepper, and stir-fry for eight to 10 minutes, until onion is golden. Blend in flour, curry powder and nutmeg. Add cloves, parsley, broth, salt, pepper and raw mango cubes, cover, and simmer for an hour.
• Strain broth; pick out and discard cloves and parsley, puree vegetables with about one cup soup liquid by buzzing for 20 to 30 seconds in an electric blender at low speed, or 15 to 20 seconds in a food processor fitted with the metal chopping blade.
• Smooth puree into broth, return to heat, add chicken and cream, and heat, stirring for five to 10 minutes to blend flavours. Add rice and mango jullienes, heat and stir two to three minutes longer, then serve.

And here is another of Opa's specialties:

Ingredients:

• 2 large raw mangoes
• 1/2 a small green papaya
• 1/2 cup honey-roasted peanuts
• 1 to 2 cups bean sprouts
• 1 red apple, cut into jullienes
• 1 red chilly, minced

For the dressing:

• 1/2 tsp shrimp paste (if vegetarian, substitute 1/2 tbsp Thai golden mountain seasoning sauce or 1/2 tbsp soy sauce)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fish sauce or 2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce for vegetarians
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 1/2 to 1 tbsp liquid honey to taste

Preparation:

• Prepare the dressing by mixing together all dressing ingredients together in a cup. Make sure shrimp paste and honey dissolve fully. Blend it in a blender and set aside.
• Peel the green papaya and raw mango, then slice in half and remove all the seeds. Using the largest grater you have, grate the papaya (or you can use a potato peeler to create thin, ribbon-like strips and then cut them into jullienes). Place in a large bowl.
• Add the red apple jullienes, chillly, bean sprouts, most of the basil and the dressing, tossing to combine.
• Add the peanuts. Toss again. Taste-test the salad. If not sweet enough, add a little more honey. If not salty enough, add a little more fish sauce. If too sweet or salty, add more lime juice. If you prefer it spicier, add more fresh-cut chilly or dried crushed chilly.
• To serve, scoop the salad into individual bowls or onto a serving platter. Sprinkle with remaining red apple jullienes. Garnish with a thyme sprig.

• 2 ripe mangoes
• 2 tbsps sugar or honey
• 2 cups dahi
• 2-3 strands of saffron (kesar)
• 1 tbsp chopped dry fruits (optional)
• 5-10 ice cubes (optional)

• Wash, peel and de-seed the mangoes.
• In a blender or a mixer, grind into a paste. Set aside.
• Separately blend yoghurt and sugar/honey.
• Mix the two and blend them together this time. If the yoghurt isn't cold enough, consider adding ice cubes.
• Pour into a glass and sprinkle chopped dry fruits on top. Serve.

Ingredients:

• 2 large, ripe mangoes
• 4 tsps sugar
• 1/2 tsp black salt
• 20 mint leaves
• A two inch-piece of ginger, chopped finely
• A pinch of asafoetida
• 5-10 ice cubes

Preparation:

• Wash, peel and de-seed the mangoes.
• In a mixer, blend mango pieces, ginger and mint leaves.
• Add water and blend again.
• Strain and set aside.
• Add sugar, black salt, asafoetida and ice cubes and serve.