Recipe: Easy Mango Kulfi (Indian style ice cream)

Here in NYC mangoes are in the markets and the fragrant fruit is quite often on sale now that it is Summer. In the supermarkets here, the Indian green mango is often sold. Sometimes it has a reddish pink blush to it. You can also find smaller yellow mangoes at fruit stands and in Asian markets. These tend to be sweeter.

I decided to pull out the ice cream machine to celebrate the first weekend of Summer and make mango kulfi, an Indian style ice cream that is rather simple to make. I was inspired by watching an Indian cooking show and wanted to try making the dessert. I've seen kulfi sold in Little India here in NYC and it can be pretty pricey for a small container so really, you save money making a batch yourself. Scouring the internet came of with quite a few recipes but I spied one that used frozen yogurt.

Yogurt tends to go on sale at 32 oz. (907 g) for about $2 or so and I always stock up on a couple containers to make smoothies (you can find a recipe for that here too). I decided to use the yogurt in place of the frozen yogurt (it's going to be frozen anyway) and add honey to sweeten and further enhance the mango taste. The base mixture can be considered mango lassi and you can enjoy it as a refreshing drink as well.

You'll need a food processor and an ice cream machine to make this.

Here is my version on the classic Indian dessert. Recipe makes about 1 1/2 quarts.

Ingredients

• 3 ripe yellow mangoes
• 2 cups mango nectar (you can find this in the Latin aisle of your supermarket)
• 2 cups low fat vanilla yogurt
• 1 tablespoon honey (or more to taste depending on the sweetness of the mango)

Directions

1. Follow the instructions on pre chilling your ice cream maker's tub.
2. Stand the mango up on it's stem end. There is a large pit that run down the middle of the fruit. Carefully cut the mango down both sides of the pit with a Chef's Knife. The meat that surrounds the pit you can nibble on and see how sweet it is.
3. With the knife, score the mango meat and using a spoon, scoop out the meat from the skin and put into a food processor fitted with the blade.
4. Add the mango nectar and process until smooth.
5. Add the yogurt and honey. Process again until fully mixed.
6. Pour the ice cream mixture into your ice cream machine and follow manufacturer's instruction.
7. About 20-25 minutes it should be ready. With a rubber spatula, transfer the kulfi into a plastic container (it will be soft serve at this point) and allow to set up in the freezer for a few hours.

Kulfi is pretty dense since it has low fat content and this recipe is no exception. You may want to allow the container to thaw a bit to make serving the kulfi easier or pour the mixture into disposable paper cups and then freeze to make individual servings. To unmold from the cups, dip them in warm water then slide out onto a serving plate.

Recipe: Indian Style Rice

This is a simple rice dish that you can make to go with the Indian dishes that I posted before.

I was able to find the cloves, cinnamon, and cumin in a 99¢ Store. The green cardamom pods you can find in an Indian spice shop. Remember to remove the whole spices (cloves, cinnamon stick, and cardamom pods) before you serve!

I used regular long grain rice (as that's what I had on hand) and the results came out nicely.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cups basmati rice
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 (2 inch) piece cinnamon stick
• 2 pods green cardamom
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 tablespoon cumin seed
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place rice into a bowl with enough water to cover. Set aside to soak for 20 minutes, then drain.
2. Heat the oil in a large pot or saucepan over medium heat.
3. Add the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, cloves, and cumin seed.
4. Cook the spices all the while stiring for about a minute, then add the onion.
5. Sauté the onion until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
6. Add the drained rice to the pot/saucepan.
7. Cook and stir the rice for a few minutes, until lightly toasted and coated with the flavored oil.
8. Add salt and water to the pot, and bring to a boil.
9. Cover, and reduce heat to low.
10. Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until all of the water has been absorbed.
11. Let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork before serving.

Recipe: Chicken Tikka Masala

I bought a large tray of boneless skinless chicken breasts when they were on sale and stored in the freezer until I could figure a variety of things to do with them. A 32 oz. container of yogurt is on sale this week for $1.99 at the supermarket so I bought it to make this dish.

Since I have a craving for Indian food, I decided to take a trip to Kalustyan's and pick up a small packet of garam masala and green cardamom pods. You can probably find garam masala in your local supermarket in the spice section or make it yourself. Recipe below.

Chicken Tikka Masala is such a popular dish in England that it has become the national dish. It is grilled kabobs of chicken simmered in a creamy tomato sauce. I cooked the chicken in a pan to show that it can be done without a grill. Besides, it is a snowy 29°F outside.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes

Marinade

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground red pepper
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 piece minced ginger (about 1 inch long)

• 6 bamboo skewers (soaked in water)

Sauce

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon garam masala (recipe below)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup heavy cream (can use half & half to lighten the dish)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Prepare and cook the Tikka:

1. Mix all marinade ingredients in a bowl and toss chicken chunks to coat. Thread chicken on skewers, place in a shallow dish and pour marinate on top. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for an hour.
2. After an hour, discard marinade.
3. Grill or broil chicken, turning occasionally, to cook through about 8-10 minutes. If you don't have a grill, you can cook in a large saute pan.
   
4. Remove from grill and set a side while you make the sauce.

For the Masala sauce:

1. In a large saucepan, heat butter and add garlic and the jalapeno. Cook 1 minute.
2. Stir in coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala and salt. Cook until fragrant.
3. Stir in tomato sauce.
4. Simmer 15 minutes.
5. Stir in cream and simmer until thickened about 5 minutes.
6. Remove chicken from skewers and add to the sauce.
7. Simmer 5 minutes until chicken is warmed through.
8. Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice.

Garam Masala is an Indian spice mix. If you can't find it in your area, you can make a quick version by mixing:

• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

This mix can be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place

Recipe: Aloo Saag or Saag Aloo (Indian Spinach and Potatoes)

I bought a 5 pound bag of onions and a 10 pound bag of potatoes at $1.99 each when they were on sale at Pathmark. These are the staples of many a dish and the price was so good I couldn't pass it up.
Aside from making latkes with them or hash, I had a craving for Indian and found this recipe courtesy of Food.com

I didn't have whole cumin seeds so I used ground. I had a box of frozen chopped spinach which I had bought on sale for 80¢ so I used it defrosted. Results came out fabulously! My notes are in parenthesis.

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 large potatoes, cubed (the smaller the cube, the faster it cooks)
• 400 g spinach or 400 g chard leaves, stalks removed, roughly chopped (could substitute a box of frozen chopped spinach)
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated (I used a microplane to make it easier on my knuckles)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic cloves, coarsely chopped (I find 1 clove does it)
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon garam masala (a mix of spices available in spice markets)
• olive oil
• butter
• salt

Directions

1. Fry the cumin seeds in a heavy bottomed pan in a bit of oil and butter until just starting to brown.
2. Add the onion and fry until it too starts to brown.
3. Add the potato, garlic, turmeric, ginger and garam masala and fry until the potato starts to soften.
4. Unless you are using a non-stick pan, you may need to add water and cover to keep the potato from sticking and to help it cook. The first time I did this 1/2 cup of water at a time and it took about 20-30 minutes but I now prefer to parboil the potatoes, which means you add less water and it only takes about 10 minutes to finish off from this point.
5. Add the spinach or chard and cook until it collapses over the potato.
6. Salt to taste.