Mango Revisited !!

I had to do it and i was suppose to do this much earlier...i had planned last friday to do a marathon of 10 recipes using mangoes with atleat one recipe every day in order to make up for my absence over the past one month and a half.As usual i got caught up with things and then didn't feel upto it. Nevertheless i will begin afresh and try to stick to my plans over the coming week.It wouldn't be easy though;but i know with a little bit of motivation from here and there i'll be able to sail through.Its my first of the ten entries of the marathon and the second one in the mango series.At this point all i can do is admire fellow bloggers who diligently do one food marathon after other and none of their recipes look like they've been made in a hurry.All I can say is that they inspire me .

I had a lot of recipies in my mind but i wanted to begin with the one which had a few ingredients and was considerably easy to make.i wanted to do a mango pudding initially but later i decided that a mango flan was a better option ;much easier to make as well.

Now,lets talk a little about flan first.Quite similar to creme caramel/caramel custard,Flan  is a popular dessert in Latin America,with preparation changing a little as you move around the entire region.Traditionally cooked over Bain Marie or the Double Boiler,flans can be easily cooked in a water bath in the oven.They can also be cooked inside a pressure cooker(i have added instructions for this at the end).There are numerous recipes over the internet for flan,some of which really have great pictures and have good feedbacks from users but i just cannot attempt at something too complicated for a dish that has a history of failures.I have heard stories about flans that have gone runny or have remained undercooked or tasted too eggy.But trust me,this one given to me by a friend,which i tweaked to incorporate mangoes didn't dissapoint me so i am holding on to this one.Here it is:

Easy Mango Flan

Ingredients:(4 servings)

1/4 cup white sugar


1 teaspoon lemon juice


2/3 cup mango puree(strained to remove any fibre if present)




300 ml reduced milk(begin with apx. 440 ml of milk-almost two glasses and keep reducing over medium heat till it has reduced to almost a glass and a quarter.It should still be a little warm while mixing but not hot.)Alternatively you can use a can of packaged condensed milk(Nestle/Amul)in which case you can completely omit the white sugar from the recipe.



2 teaspoons cornstarch


4 tblspn of any dark colored sugar(i used demarara).


2 large eggs at room temperature

Method:

• Place  ramekins in a  baking pan.Place the demerara sugar with a tablespoon of water and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Stir constantly over medium heat, until the sugar melts and turns the color of honey.Distribute the caramel among the ramekins.Sprinkle 1 tablespoon diced mango in each ramekin(optional).Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350° F/180°C.
• Using an electric mixer, beat mango puree with eggs and sugar on low speed to combine. Dissolve the cornstarch in a tablespoon or two of warm milk and add it to the egg mixture.Increase speed to medium high, and mix until incorporated. Add evaporated milk(luke warm) continuing the whisking on medium high for 2-3 minutes.
• Ladle custard over caramel in the ramekins, filling them upto almost the rim. Place filled ramekins in a baking dish and pour enough hot water in it to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover baking dish tightly with foil and place in the oven. Bake until flan is set, about 45 minutes (when you tap the edge of a ramekin the flan should still wobble a little in the center)or you can do the toothpick test.
• Carefully remove baking dish from oven, remove foil, and let ramekins cool slightly. Let them chill in the refrigerator for least two hours before serving(better still let it chill overnight).Just before serving place the ramekins in a hot water bath for a minute or two in order to melt the caramel well.Run a thin knife around the inside edge of the ramekin to loosen flan, and then invert it onto the plate.  Add slices of mango and a sprig of mint for garnish.

# For cooking in a pressure cooker,first ensure that the dish in which the flan is to be set fits well inside the cooker and has a lid that closes well.Fill up the presure cooker with water that reaches almost halfway to the rim of the container.Cook at high heat till you begin to hear a faint whistle,reduce heat to medium high and cook for 15 to 20 mts.Turn off the heat and let the pressure in cooker release on its own.Remaining procedures are all same as above.Also make sure you fill up the dish leaving some room for expansion or else the flan will be bulged in places and will come out uneven.