Chutney Tales: Mango Shrikhand a.k.a Aamrakhand

In our part of the world, Mangoes are probably the only joys of summer. The blistering hot climate and frequent power cuts make this season totally an unpleasant experience in India. But on the brighter side, summer offers surplus of mangoes in myriad of varieties. And that equals many heavenly mango desserts for the summer time :) Aamrakhand is very famous in northern part of India and loved by most people. This post is my take on this dessert and its finger-licking good! Plus, you will just need 3 ingredients to put together.

For this recipe, I recommend using two different kinds of mangoes : Alphonso, for its orangish color and Himayat/Himampasand for taste.
If you can't find these, it is still okay to use any variety of mango provided it is flavorful and sweet.
Those who can't source mangoes in their region, can enjoy making this with store bought mango pulp.

Alphonso Mangoes

The simplest, absolutely mango-licious dessert, Aamrakhand recipe as follows...

Preparation time: 3 hours
Cooking time : Nil
Serves: 5 people

You will need:
4 medium sized Alphonso Mangoes (or) 2 Cups of Mango pulp
1 large Himayat/Himampasand Mango
400 ml Curd for hung curd (or) 1.25 Cups of greek yogurt
Powdered sugar or Honey to taste

Procedure:

To make hung curd: Line a strainer with a clean piece of cotton/muslin cloth. Pour the curd onto it and gather the edges of the cloth to squeeze gently the excess water from the curd. You can tie the ends of the cloth together to hang them to drain the excess water out for an hour.(Just like making Paneer at home). Then refrigerate with the cloth wrapped for another hour. There you have it- 'hung curd'.
If your super market carries, greek yogurt then you are lucky. Just use that in place of hung curd.

Peel the alphonso mangoes and remove the flesh off the seed. Throw them in a blender and puree them smooth.

Transfer the mango puree in a bowl. Stir in the hung curd/ greek yogurt until well combined.
The mixture should be smooth. To ensure there are no curd lumps, you can pass through a strainer.

The mangoes sweetness can vary depending on the variety used. So taste the mixture and add the sweetener of your choice accordingly. I usually add approximately 2 tbsp of powdered sugar for the proportion given in this recipe.

Peel the Himayat mango and dice them into cubes. This is a extremely sweet kind of mango and the flesh is nice and firm. Fold the mango cubes into the mango mixture. Cover and refrigerate at least for an hour before serving.