Aamras / Mango puree

The best thing about the summers in India is the abundance of mangoes. There are almost 70 varieties of mangoes cultivated across India. In Gujarat, the mango season starts as early as mid March and goes on till the first few weeks of July. The kesar is my favourite one, which is as good as the famous Alphonso, but not as exorbitantly priced..
I love eating mangoes as is, but a favourite combination is Aamras (Aam - mango, Ras - Juice) with puris. This is quite a popular dish in Maharashtra and Gujarat.



The thali places in Ahmedabad have aamras on their menu every summer. In addition to all the little bowls of vegetables and kadi, there is a bowl of aamras, which is filled every time you are nearing the end. My son is too small to have an entire thali, so he always gets a little plate for the puris and a bowl for aamras. The people serving are extremely attentive to him, despite the unending rows of people seated to eat and they fill up his bowl with aamras every time they pass by. He is always overawed with their service.

Here's a picture of a regular Gujarati thali. You will have more farsaan and sweets, in a fancier looking thali, if its a more upmarket restaurant


Pic Source: Sanjiv Khamgaonkar for CNNGo.com

My little fellow has been having mangoes after every meal these last few weeks. Ma made aamras puri when my cousins came over for lunch last week. He had that and then mango ice-cream for dessert. He is on a mango diet these days and totally loving it !!

The Raspuri variety is the best for the pulp, or you can use Alphonso, or a combination of the two. This time we used one Alphonso to add to the sweetness.



Aamras

What you need -
(Serves 4-5 people)

8 ripe raspuri mangoes
1 alphonso mango (This adds to the flavour, or you can just make do with the raspuri)
1 tbsp sugar, if required
1/4 cup water
1 cardamom (optional)

What you do with it -

Soak the mangoes in water for about half an hour - this makes it easier to remove the pulp
Peel the skin off the mangoes and soak in the water
Remove as much pulp as possible from the mango as possible, using your hands
If using the cardamom, peel it and add the seeds along with the pulp
Blend the mango pulp with sugar. Use as much sugar as required
Squeeze the remaining pulp from the skin of the mangoes and add to the blended pulp
Blend once more for a smooth consistency
Serve with hot puris, or refrigerate for an hour and serve cold as a dessert

Fresh fig and goat cheese salad

I've been having a little too much fun since I landed in Bangalore. Meeting up with friends, visiting new restaurants across town and having family around - it really doesn't get better than this..I really dread that in a couple of weeks, I will be back to the grind. Early morning alarms, packing my son off to school and the hot, hot Ahmedabad weather..

Toscano, the very popular Italian restaurant with branches across Bangalore has opened one more at a new mall close to Ma's place. I've been there thrice in three weeks and still can't get enough of it !



The last time I was there, we ordered for a salad that had fresh figs, apricots and feta with rocket leaves that tasted divine. The leaves were fresh, the feta delicious and the dressing just perfect with the sweet fruits
I then happened to visit Godrej Nature's Basket store and couldn't resist buying some goat cheese - this one was the French chèvre, recommended by the very helpful person at the store. The chèvre was creamy and crumbly.

A mild dressing, some lettuce and a generous amount of figs and chèvre and it was the nicest salad I have made so far !!
This was part of my Mother's Day dinner menu

Fresh Fig and goat cheese salad

What you need -
(serves 4-6)

10-12 lettuce leaves
8 fresh figs
5-6 walnuts
100gm goat cheese

Dressing
1.5 tbsp honey
1 garlic clove crushed
juice of one lemon
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crushed pepper

What you do with it -

Combine all the ingredients for the dressing and set aside
Break the walnut into smaller pieces and toast them lightly
Wash and dry the figs and cut into quaters, lengthwise
Tear the lettuce and arrange in a plate
Place the figs over it
Cut the chèvre with a light hand and spread over the figs
Sprinkle the dressing over the salad and then top with toasted walnuts