Mango Fool with Cardamom and Saffron

Mango is so very rightly called the King of Fruits, no other fruit can rival it. Every time I see mango in the stores here, I am reminded of Indian summers. The variety of mangoes available in the markets, the fragrance of those mangoes, you just cannot see it anywhere else. What I miss most about the mangoes here is their sweet fragrance. How mangoes are bought in India is by seeing how sweetly they smelt and the mangoes here in the US just do not seem to have that and buying mangoes here is always a gamble. You might luck out with a sweet bunch and sometimes not so sweet ones. We happen to luck out with some sweet Champagne (Adaulfo) mangoes from Costco and I have plans to make use of it the most.

This was one such recipe that has been on my list for a while now. Since amma is here, I want her to make some mambazha pulisseri for me. If possible I want to make some mango peach granitas, as I got some lovely peaches from the CSA this week. And of course, some mangoes to be eaten just as is

I remember reading about mango fool somewhere and deciding to look up for it once mangoes are in season, but then for the life of me, I could not remember where I saw it. So I looked around for some Mango Fool recipes in Bing and came across quite a lot of different recipes. But basically it was mangoes, cream and sugar, either all mixed together or layered like parfaits. So maybe you can just call in Mangoes and cream, like peaches and cream! And once you know how it is made, it was just very easy to adapt it to the way you want it to be. So, I made it the parfait way and added some cardamom and saffron to it for a very Indian touch.

Mango Fool with Cardamom and Saffron – The Recipe

Ingredients:

• Champagne mangoes – 3
• Bakers sugar – 6 tbsps or as needed, divided
• Heavy whipping cream, chilled – 1 1/2 cups
• Cardamom, powdered – 1/4 tsp
• Saffron – a pinch
• Milk – 1 tbsp
• Lime zest – 1/2 tsp

Method:

Peel the mangoes, cut them and puree in a blender. Add some of the sugar if the mangoes are not very sweet or if you need them to be more sweet.

Beat the cream till it is thick and creamy and add about 3 tbsp of sugar to it, the cardamom and the saffron with milk (warm the milk a little and add the saffron to it and let it soak/dissolve a little). Add the lime zest also to this. Whip the cream a little more and keep aside.

Now, layer your serving cups/bowls alternating the mango and the cream mix, starting and ending with the mango layer. Top with a little cream and sprinkle some saffron on top. If you saved up some mango pieces before pureeing, garnish with some of those too.

Serve immediately or if you are serving later, refrigerate till ready to serve.