300. mango fool

my three hundredth recipe

Its a proud moment for me as this is my 300th recipe on my blog. There are so many more recipes to share and try out. But the feeling is great. The support from my hubby, my kids, family and friends has been overwhelming. The opening line for a conversation at a social gathering is my blog. Recently I have had other food bloggers commenting on my blog and its an appreciative feeling to know their opinion and at the same time its like making new friends without actually meeting them in person.... more like modern day penpals. So far my most memorable moment was I received an email from the grandson of the owners of Cosy Tearoom. I had mentioned the name of the restaurant in my blog on dal bhajias and he wrote to me. Its at that moment that I realised how powerful the internet can be. He wrote to me from US. Cosy Tearoom no longer exists but fond memories will live on. I look forward to your valued support and please feel free to leave comments whenever you can. 
 I happen to make some mango fool a couple of days ago and its just a coincidence that for my 300th recipe, its a dessert recipe I am blogging. I guess that was meant to be as any celebration of an occasion, festival or happy moment is incomplete with something sweet. Mango fool is a quick and very simple dessert. Ideal for the hot Ramadhan month.... a cooling way to end a meal. Sweet mangoes are still available so friends go ahead and make this dessert for your loved ones. 
A fool (foole) is an English dessert originally made from crushed fruit puree and custard. Modern fool recipes have a bit of custard and fresh cream or just the cream mixed with a fruit puree. How it got the name foole is unknown but it could have derived from the french word "fouler" meaning to crush or press. My bhabhi makes mango fool using canned mango puree but I prefer to use fresh puree and also to give a much thicker consistency, I do make a bit of the custard. 

MANGO FOOL
Serves 6

1 cup milk
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
2 cups mango puree
½ tsp cardamom powder
1 cup fresh whipping cream
1 tbsp powdered sugar

For serving:
chopped nuts,chopped fresh fruit,wafer biscuits or grated chocolate

1. Take 3 tbsp of milk from the measured amount and put it into a small container.
2. Add the cornflour and mix it well.
3. Add the remaining milk and sugar into a saucepan and let it become hot over medium heat. Stir occasionally so that  the milk does not scald at the bottom of the pan.
4. When the milk begins to boil, add the cornflour mixture and constantly stir the milk mixture till it becomes thick like  custard.
5. Let the custard become cold. Make sure you stir is occasionally.
6. Add the mango puree and cardamom powder to the custard. Mix it well and put it in the refrigerator. At this stage if the custard has become lumpy, whisk it a little with a hand blender when you add the puree.

To serve:

1. Whip the cold fresh cream and icing sugar till you have a soft peak consistency.
2. There are several ways you can serve the mango fool :

              a) Fold the mango mixture and cream together and serve.
              b) Fold half of the cream and mango mixture. Spoon the mixture into serving bowls    

                   and top  it with the remaining fresh cream. 

             c) Make layers using the mango mixture and whipped cream.

     3. Serve the mango fool with a topping of your choice. 

Tips:

• Make a fool with any other fruit of your choice e.g. strawberry, peaches, other berries etc.
• Reduce the amount of cream if you want a healthier option.
• Make sure the cream is cold before whipping it. Room temperature cream tends to curdle when whipped. 
• Make a fool using 2 different fruit purees.
• The amount of sugar required in the custard mixture will depend on how sweet or sour the fruit is. 

Sending this recipe for the following event:

http://www.sajustastes.com/2013/06/foodabulous-fest-ramzan-mango-season_30.html

http://www.simplytadka.com/2012/12/monthly-series-foodabulous-fest.html

You may want to check out the following:

eggless chocolate truffle cake

santra basundi (tangerine kheer)

cold cake