Thursday 28 June 2012

Thai Mango & Coconut Rice Dessert

I love traditional Thai desserts they manage to create such a perfect balance of sweet and salt. Nothing is overpoweringly sweet , still manage to be so full of flavor and low calorie! 


Some of my favorites ....



Khao Niaow Ma Muang  ( Classic Mango Rice Dessert)


Kanom Mor Kaeng ( Taro Coconut Custard )

Khao Neo Dahm - Black Sticky rice with coconut milk

Kluay Buat Chee - Banana in Coconut Milk 


So I thought Id attempt making  Khao Niaow Ma Muang  ( Classic Mango Rice Dessert)  at home tonight .....its so simple takes about 5 minutes to make and tastes soo soo good and looks even better !





So heres what you need :


One beautifully ripe and sweet Mango


Cooked sticky rice - 1/2 cup


Thick coconut Milk  - 1/2 cup


 Sugar - 4 tablespoons


 Salt - 1 pinch 


Black Sesame seeds : to garnish


A very sharp knife




Some sushi skills and some luck :))







While the rice is still hot  in a microwave safe bowl heat coconut milk , sugar and salt for 30 seconds ...anymore and your milk may turn into coconut oil.

 So watch out.You want to heat just enough for all the sugar to dissolve into the coconut milk.


 Pour over hot rice . Give the rice sometime it will absorb most of the coconut milk. 

Let the rice come to room temperature as this is a dessert served at room temperature .


Using a very sharp knife make slices of the mango . Put sticky rice inside roll it up.Garnish with some black sesame seeds.



Note : I made it this way because I saw a pretty picture on pinterest  you can just as well serve diced  mango pieces over sticky coconut rice and garnish with some sesame seeds :))May not look so pretty but still tastes darn goooooood!! :))



And since we are talking about desserts and Thailand how can I not mention  my absolute favourite - Home made coconut ice cream sold on the streets........



Its going to take me a few more years before I even dare to attempt making this at home !
Coconut Ice cream with palm sugar , candied Pumpkin & Pineapple 




Friday 8 June 2012

Of Birthdays and Cakes!

Insanely great lemon cake filled with velvety lemon curd ....this is totally addictive ...bursting with flavor .



Lemon Cake 
  • 1/2 TBLS white vinegar
  • Nearly half cup milk
  • 8 TBLS melted butter 
  • 1 cups white sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temp
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1.5 cups flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 TBLS Lemon Zest
  • 1 TBLS Poppy Seeds ( Optional)
  • Cream butter , sugar and eggs and mix really well.
  • Pour the milk , lemon juice, lemon zest and vinegar into the mixing bowl and blend really well.
  • In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients-flour, baking powder, baking soda and poppy seeds.
  • Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, make sure to mix together completely until smooth.
  • Pour the batter into a greased cake tin .
  • Bake for 30ish or so  minutes or until a cake tester/toothpick comes out clean.
  • Allow the cake to cool for 7-10 minutes, then gently tap  to loosen the cake. 

Lemon Curd 

2 small Eggs
Little more than 1/4th cup of sugar 
40 ml Lemon Juice
Zest of 1 lemon
1 TBLSP butter cut into small chunks at room temperature

Get a water bath ready. In a steel vessel using a wire whisk , whisk together eggs , sugar , lemon juice and zest.

Put this vessel on the water bath and whisk for 7-10 minutes or until the mixture is thick and creamy . Be patient as if you undercook your lemon curd will taste of raw egg .

So let it cook through till nice and thick taste a little to check for no raw egg taste :). Take off the water bath .

Add butter . Whisk some more the addition of butter makes the lemon curd smooth and velvety .

This will thicken further as it cools .


To assemble

Lemonade

Sweetened Whipped Cream

Lemon Curd ( From step 2 )

Lemon Cake ( From Step 1)

Lemon curls - To granish 

Make sure your cake is cool . Slice through the middle using a string / knife.

Drizzle both slices with lemonade . Dont drench them just drizzle to moisten cake.

Put a layer of lemon curd in the middle of the cake.

Put the 2 slices together . Cover cake with Whipped cream. Decorate with lemon curls .



** Assemble cake just at the time of serving so that you dont need to put the cake in the fridge for too long ...it tends to go hard. So assemble very close to serving time :))