Luscious Mango Shrikhand/ Yogurt

Nairobi, as fresh as the sparkling dew, as beautiful as the blossoming flowers, and as amicable as the grazing giraffes; a perfect holiday destination pertaining to its luscious green grasslands and mystical forests. Summer is shining its glory, and sun-rays are penetrating enough to burn and tan your skin. While going out on a Sunday after-noon to the Masai Market for some tribal shopping, I saw a young lady with a small kiddo resting on the road-corner, selling some mangoes. The little one was dancing around her mom, hiding in the surrounding bushes, and playing with the twigs and leaves. And then suddenly I realized that she was the tiny doll my hubby was telling about the last night. The two-some, mommy and daughter, sit in the scorching summers, selling fruits, especially mangoes to earn their daily breads. The first thought that flashed a smile on my face was the fact that they were not begging, but earning to survive. I adore such people who decide to work rather than to beg on the road-sides, and I respect such mothers who take this plunge of raising their kids just on their own without a wrinkle of worry on their forehead. I bought some mangoes from this lady, and I can't measure the  sweetness these mangoes carried, not just in terms of taste, but the warmth with which they were passed on with. My recipe for today has all that sweetness stirred in to the core, and for sure this is one of the best Shrikhands I've had till date. :)

LUSCIOUS MANGO SHRIKHAND/ YOGURT

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: None

Serves: 4

Fun Facts:

- Even inedible parts of the mango have interesting uses. The bark, leaves, skin and
  pit have been used as folk remedies for centuries.

- Mangoes are bursting with protective nutrients. The vitamin content depends upon the
  variety and maturity of the fruit. When the mango is immature the amount of vitamin
  C is higher, as it ripens the amount of beta carotene (vitamin A) increases.

- Mangoes are distantly related to a few plants that you'd probably never guess: the
  cashew and pistachio.

Ingredients:

1. Fully Ripe Mango: 1 ( Big and sweet)

2. Hung Curd/ Yogurt: 2 small cups

3. Sugar: 4 tbs or as per taste (also depends on the amount of sugar contained in the mango by itself)

4. Milk: 1/4 cup

Method:

1. Peel out the mango skin and cube the flesh, excluding the inner seed. In simple words, take the mango flesh and cut it in small cubes/pieces. Save some finely cut cubes separately for garnish.
2. Push the remaining cubed mango into a blender/juicer with the milk and sugar, and then pulse it till you get a smooth mango pulp/paste. 
3. Now add the hung curd or yogurt to it and give a strong stir so as to blend them well. 
4. For ease, you can use a blender for this too, but I prefer using a spoon to do that, because blending hard and fast can sometimes cause the curd to leave butter if it is too chilled.
5. Ornament the Mango Shrikhand/Yogurt with the saved mango delights/cubes.

Tips:

1. Always prefer fully ripe mangoes for preparing this which are sweet in taste.
2. If you are using home-made curd, please make sure that it is fresh and not sour. 
3. Hang the curd in a muslin cloth for 1 hour prior to use, for getting the perfect creamy texture.
4. Adjust the sugar addition as per your taste and based on the glucose the mango already carries.

The recipe takes off to my event, Cakes, Cookies and Desserts,

Just 4 Fun  by Sobha, Show Me Your Hits by Spicy Treats

Let’s Cook ~ Sweet Somethings by Radhika, Vardhini’s Sweet Luv,
Kalyani’s Serve with love, Sumee’s Bon Vivant,
Kid's Delight hosted by Edible Entertainment,
  Dish For Loved Ones by Srav's, Holi Hai at My Cook Book
Simple and in Season on Fabulicious Food

Kheer-e-bajra ( Pearl Millet Porridge)

Bajra...aah...reminds me of the bajre ki roti and gur back at home in Rajasthan, but this grain is like a celebrity for me now because I don't get to see it much, and since celebs are usually posey, so is this Millet who rarely blesses me with its divine presence, Almighty Millet!!

Haha, but I'm no less, no wonder! If you think you can run away from me, I know how to catch you my tiny miny grain and push you in my kadai and see you dance there. :P

Well, humor apart, I seriously ( and I'm really serious here, serious serious...he he!!) love this grain and whether it is roti or khichdi with bajra, I can leave behind everything else for it. 

A few days back, a friend of mine gifted me some Broken Millet for preparing khichdi with it, and I almost forgot that. While packing stuff for my second Kenyan tour, I encountered this smiling beauty and wooooh, I knew I had to make something with it. My hubby clearly instructed for a 'no khichdi show' and poor me, I was still dreaming of bajra/ millet. I told my hubby that I'm generously serving him with his favorite kheer, but then the 'Kheer Story' had a twist. My hubby could not make out the lucky grain if not rice in it, and then I was smiling, tapping and dancing all around the house since I had found a new recipe for me, and that too 'Kheer'.....a must wow!!!! :)

KHEER-E-BAJRA

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Serves: 4

Health Meter:

The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult production environments such as those at risk of drought. The two commonest varieties of millet are: Pearl Millet ( Bajra) and Finger Millet (Ragi).

Millets are rich in B vitamins, especially niacin, B6 and folic acid, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, and zinc. Millets contain no gluten, so they are not suitable for raised bread. When combined with wheat, (or xanthan gum for those who have cœliac disease), they can be used for raised bread. Alone, they are suited for flatbread.

Ingredients:

1. Broken Bajra (Pearl Millet)/ Bajre ke faade: 1/2 cup

2. Whole Milk: 2 litres

3. Cardamom Powder: a pinch

4. Sugar: 1/2 cup or as per taste

5. Almonds: a few

Method:

1. Wash the bajra faade/ broken millet and keep them aside.
2. Take milk in a thick bottomed heavy pan or kadai. The pan should be big enough to avoid any over-spilling of milk.
3. Add the broken millet/bajra to the milk and keep for boiling.
4. Keep stirring continuously/ frequently to avoid any millet sticking at the bottom.
5. The milk should reduce to half and by then the bajra/millet would have gone soft too.
6. Add cardamom powder and sugar towards the end. Take a boil.
7. Serve hot or refrigerated. ( I love kheers that are a day old and refrigerated.)
8. Jewel with sliced almonds. 

The recipe flies off to:
My event: Cakes, Cookies and Desserts 
Yummy Dessert  by Pranati's Kitchen
ABC Series- Desserts  by Ramya
New U  by Vardhini's Kitchen
Cook . Eat. Delicious Desserts  by Veggie Platter

Any One Can Cook by Taste of Pearl City