The heat is on. It is Mango time in India!

These pages seem almost alien to me. No excuses! Just got caught up with everyday living kind of activities. Summer has set in with a vengeance. Temperatures are soaring and no AC seems cool enough. Food prices have hit the roof and to top it all , there is a water shortage. My biggest preoccupation these days seems to be lecturing my hundred year old mother about conserving water. I am fighting a losing battle! She is convinced that I am bonkers!  Our water bill is amongst the highest in our building. So be it. My mother is happy!!

The light at the end of the tunnel though, is the appearance of the ubiquitous mango in the markets. Of course, the best is yet to come but what we have now is enough to set ones taste buds racing. The best way to gorge on mangoes is just that, as they are.  It goes without saying that they have to be of premium quality to get the best out of them. However, one can still enjoy the early birds in various ways.

I like to make a Mango Fool with the first of the season. The elders in our family have always maintained that the first mangoes of the season should be consumed along with milk, in order to avoid upset stomachs. Mango Fool is definitely the answer.

Mango Fool                 Serves 5 - 6 

Mangoes                        5 med will yield about 4 cups of puree

Sugar                             1 cup.

You might need a bit more if the mangoes are not sweet.

Milk / Cream                  ¾ cup.

More if you want to make this dessert like a smoothie.

I like to make mine mousse like.

Since I make this dessert very often during the mango season, I use milk most of the time. Cutting calories being the obvious reason!!

It goes without saying that a special occasion definitely calls for cream!

A sprinkling of Cardamom powder if the mangoes are not flavourful enough.                                                             

Method

Wash and peel the mangoes. Remove all the flesh from the kernel. Discard the kernel. Blend together the mango pulp and the sugar until smooth. If you are using a fibrous variety of mango, you will have to pass the puree through a fine sieve.

Return the sieved puree to the blender and add the milk or cream a little at a time, until the desired consistency is achieved.

You need to flavour the mango fool with cardamom powder only if you use a non descript flavourless mango. Hard to come by in India!

Serve chilled. Enjoy!