If you have been reading through my blog, you would know my family’s love for mangoes. This is one fruit that controls our fruits and dessert plate through the whole of summer, though other fruits too get some limelight only because we have a toddler at home, who by God’s grace, loves indulging in them every few hours.
Dawoodi Bohra community, which I am part of, lives by the belief of “Live to Eat”. We believe in holding opportunities to break bread together, be it any occasion or function. Typical menu in most of the Bohra’s affairs, depending on the occasion, will consist of atleast one sweet dish, one appetizer, followed by main course; which gets elaborated to two or three of the each dishes with salads and cold drinks if you are attending a wedding or a grand function. In usual bohra houses or in the jammat khaana, family eats together out of one thaal (an elongated plate enough to serve eight-nine people), on which food is served course by course. Main idea behind this concept is to promote unity and equality.
Most famous sweet that dominated the Bohra functions for many years is “Souffle” (not to be confused with French souffle) – made from fruits like mangoes, custard apple, lychees, oranges and strawberries. Souffle is basically a combination of a couple of dairy products, mixed with jelly and presented in layers of fruit and dessert to produce a melt-in-mouth treat that you’ll keep wanting to have spoonsful of and gulping down. But remember, if you are eating in a thaal there are other members dining too and you won’t want to seem greedy with so many others watching your every move! While I was in India I never felt the need of hosting a feast at mom’s house and in any case never deeply thought how the dessert as rich as souffle is prepared. A couple of weeks back I was having some guests over, so in that pursuit I looked over the internet for souffle recipe and what surprised me was that there is hardly any mention of this glorious dish or recipes contributed. A friend happily shared her father’s recipe, giving perfect directions for proportions to be used and method applied. Recipe is simple to follow and easy . Make it ahead of time since it takes a couple of hours for souffle to set in the refrigerator.
First time I made it for my guests, I couldn’t find mango jelly in supermarkets nearby and used strawberry jelly instead which made my souffle pink in color instead of giving yellow color of mango. Though it tasted how it should have tasted, the sight would make anyone think it is a strawberry souffle and not a mango one. When I was at the supermarket last week, I picked up a box of mango jelly the moment I saw it resting on the shelf, knowing well the dessert will be demanded again at home. And so glad I did! So if you spot a box of mango jelly during summer season grab it with both the hands since it is difficult to find as compared to other flavors and you would want to avoid a haph-hasard situation if you are craving for a satisfying dessert (read mango souffle) to end your meal on hot days of summer.
Recipe for Mango Souffle.
Mango Souffle
- Servings: 4
Ingredients :
- Mango pulp – 1 cup
- Mangoes – 2, cubed
- Fresh cream – 1 cup
- Evaporated milk – 1 cup
- Powdered mango Jelly – 1 packet
- Mango ice cream – 4 tbsp
- Condensed Milk – for sweetening.
- Chilled Water – 1 cup
- Digestive/Marie biscuits – 4-5, crushed
- Butter – 1 tsp, melted
Method :
Place water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Turn off the gas and empty powdered jelly immediately followed by a cup of chilled water. Stir and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together mango pulp, cream, evaporated milk and mango ice cream. Transfer to a blender and add the prepared jelly water too in the blender. Add in condensed milk adjusting to the sweetness you desire. Run the blender on a high speed till the mixture gets frothy. Taste again for the sweetness. If you need to add condensed milk, run the blender again for the final time. Mix crushed digestive/marie biscuits with butter and press tightly at the bottom of the serving bowl. You can even layer fruits on top of the biscuits which I avoided. Only pour in half the mixture in a big serving bowl or into small ones if you wish to serve them individually. Let them rest in the refrigerator for around 30 minutes to an hour. Do not place the un-used mixture in the fridge, let it remain on the room temperature. After the souffle if set, remove the bowl/s from the rerigerator and layer on top cubed mangoes followed by the remaining blended mixture. Refrigerate again till the serving time. At the time of serving, garnish the souffle with crushed nuts, sliced fruits or whipped cream.