Keri no Ras - Aamras

I love all things mango. Unending supply and variety of mangoes makes summer my favourite season. I even went to India one time in the middle of summer, so that I could eat the king of fruits to my heart's fill (Yes, I'm that crazy!). My latest trip to the Indian grocery resulted in an impulsive purchase of TWO boxes of mangoes. Result? The apartment was filled with faintly sweet fragrance as they slowly ripened. 

Everyday I would check each piece to determine which ones were ripe enough to eat and/ or refrigerate. Soon enough, there were far too many ready to eat and no place in my refrigerator. So I made the staple meal for Gujarati households during the summer (read 'mango') season - 'Keri no Ras' to eat with poori. Its makes for a perfect lazy Sunday lunch for a mango loving soul. Oh dear Lord! The very thought of Ras-Poori makes my mouth water. Here it goes.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Serves: 4-6 persons

Ingredients

3 ripe mangoes

1 cup skimmed milk, cold

2-4 tsp sugar (depending on how sweet the mangoes are)

1/2 tsp ground ginger powder

Method

• Peel and dice mangoes into 1" cubes. Extract as much pulp from the pits.

Golden ripe mango cubes

• In a blender, blend mango cubes, milk and sugar into a thick pulp or 'aamras'.
• Strain the 'aamras' in a fine wire strainer or cheese cloth to remove any mango fibres.
• Pour in a bowl and stir in ginger powder. Refrigerate till ready to serve with poori or chapatis. It can even be served as a delicious summery dessert.

NOTE: Aamras can be easily frozen in a freezer safe container if you wish to relish the golden goodness all year through. I do it in small 2 serving sized containers, for easy thawing.

Keri no ras

Bon Apetit!

Hetal from Houston