MANGO N FRESH MINT HOMEMADE ICECREAM

Mango.... for us it is the king of all fruits. One reason for tolerating the scorching heat of summer is of course the availability of mango in abundance. Talking about India, specifically of West Bengal, such a wide variety of mangoes grow there. Most of the supply comes from North Bengal. My parental house had two, now one mango tree that bears enough mangoes to have to the heart's content and distribute among neighbours. Back home... almost every home in the outskirts of the city and in the interiors has at least one mango tree. May be the high rise and condo culture will rob off that pleasure in near future... 

With age, my liking with regards to various things is changing. Once living in a flat seemed to me the most comfortable and secured thing. Now I feel after going back how good it would be to have a landed property and stay amidst the green. The wiser man at home asks me to stop being silly, that at age 60 we would not be able to look after our garden and bigger home. Who will make him understand I have started hating any kind of crowd all over again. Though knowing each other for over 3 decades, he knows his lady loves solitude, always. At this stage in life, I think I do not require to compromise on my happiness. Unnecessary talks, back bitings, impolite people drive me crazy. But yes, I believe the condo culture suits us.

Mango is an all time favourite for both side of my family. Any Bengali / Indian / South Asian family loves mango, raw or ripe. Our mom used to make few things with mangoes... pickles, jelly, pudding or we ate it just like that. The father would make a hole on the top and suck the juice of not one but 3-4 mangoes per day during the season. Back from the school, putting a thick layer of mom made mango jelly atop a cream cracker biscuit and sitting with a story book was my greatest pleasure. Ice creams were never made at home. It was always store bought. Of the mango ice creams I had, Amul's Alphonso Mango was an absolute favourite. For me too, this was the first successful attempt on ice cream. I wished to do a little bit of experimentation with it, hence incorporated fresh mint leaves in it. The Mango n fresh mint ice cream had all the sweetness of a mango with a hint of refreshening mint. Let us prepare this yum Mango n Fresh Mint Ice cream in few easy steps.

INGREDIENTS :

Ripe Mango : 1 big sized
Fresh Mint Leaves : 8-10
Fresh Cream : 170 ml [I used Nestle]
Sugar : 4-5 tbsp
Milk : 1/2 medium cup boiled and at room temperature

Milk Powder : 2 tbsp
Yellow food colour : 2 pinches[optional] 

METHOD :
Wash and peel the mangoes. Take out the pulp and put in a blender. Wash the fresh mint leaves.

Add all of the ingredients and blend for 1-2 minutes at intervals.

Pour into a container and freeze for 2 hours.

Take out, leave for 4-5 minutes and pour it onto the blender  again. Blend for 2-3 minutes at intervals.

Pour onto the container, freeze overnight. Take out, keep it standing for few minutes before scooping out and serving with a topping of your choice.