Lassi Kind of Mango Puddings (Bill Granger)

Raise your hands up if you like mangoes!
The hands up me says... Me me me me me me...

Raise your hands up if you like mango pudding!!!
The hands up me says... Me me me me me me me me me me me me me me...

I wish that I have more than a pair of hands to tell you how much I like mango and mango puddings. Seeing lots of mangoes in our local market, I'm thinking and craving a lot for mango puddings.

There are two types of mango puddings that I have made before and they were made with evaporated milk. After seeing Bill Granger's preference of not using evaporated milk in his mango puddings, I'm curious to try his version which is made of yogurt and cream and has a rather lassi-like texture.

After enjoying these puddings, yes that I like to make some little judgement here... and these are the few things that I really like about this recipe:

• The amount of sugar added into these puddings can be adjustable accordingly to the sweetness of the mangoes used. I have reduced the amount of sugar dramatically from 115g to 40g and the sweetness is still good enough for us.
• Instead of using 3 tbsp of natural yogurt and 3 tbsp of cream, I have chosen to use the mid-fat option, Greek yogurt (with 10% fat) and it makes the puddings taste really good!
• Lastly, I would highly recommend the addition of lime juice into mango puddings. Unlike these, the mango puddings that I have made without lime / lemon juice loses their bright yellow glow on the next day. Mainly, I think the reason is because the antioxidants in the citrus juice helps to prevent puréed mangoes from browning.

Bill Granger's Lassi Kind of Mango Puddings

Instead of using cream and low fat yogurt, I'm using this mid-fat option.

Dissolve sugar and gelatine in 1-2 tbsp of boiling water.

Purée two of these Kensington Pride mangoes first

Combine all ingredients and purée until smooth

Pour mixture into four bowls

This is not the jelly-like of puddings... Rather the viscous lassi kind. Nice!

Here's the recipe from the book, Bill's Everyday Asian by Bill Granger
(with my modification and notes in blue)

Serves 4

2 gelatine leaves (4.5g) or 1 1/2 tsp powdered gelatine
(I used gelatine leaves)
3 tbsp cream (replaced with Greek yogurt)
115g caster sugar
375g mango flesh, puréed (about 1-2 mangoes)
(I used Kensington Pride which is the fragrant type with moderate fiber)
3 tbsp natural yoghurt
(I used Greek yogurt and used 6 tbsp in total)
1 1/2 tsp lime juice
1 mango, peeled, stoned and diced

Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water or gradually sprinkle the powder over 1 1/2 tbsp water in a medium-sized bowl.

Place the cream (replaced with 2 tbsp water), sugar and soaked gelatine in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 2 mins.

Stir in the mango purée, yoghurt and lime juice and whisk (or gently purée) to combine. Pour the mixture into four 180ml bowls, cover and refrigerate for 4 hrs to set. Serve the individual puddings topped with the diced mango.

Enjoy the treat

This post is linked to Cook like a Star, organised by me, Bake for Happy Kids, Yen from Eat your heart out and Mich from Piece of Cake. Wanna cook or bake like Bill Granger? To join, simply cook or bake any recipe from here or here or here or his cookbooks and link with us at this Zoe's, this Yen's or this Mich's post for the whole of November and December 2013. 

To use this linky tool, please make sure that: (1) Your post must be a current post. (2) Please mention Cook like a Star in your post and link back to us at Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, Yen from Eat your heart out and Mich from Piece of Cake. Cheers!

For more details, please see this.

Here are my blogging friends that have joined me cooking for this event. Please visit their blogs for more of their 5-stars cooking.
This post is also linked to Cook-Your-Books #7 organised by my baking buddy, Joyce from Kitchen Flavours

Oven-Baked Chicken and Asparagus Risotto (Bill Granger)

Watching reality cooking TV shows like Hell's Kitchen and MasterChef always give me the impression that risotto is always difficult dish to cook. Often the named as the death dish, risotto seems to send many cook show contestants home.

Is risotto a really tricky dish to cook? Why are the TV shows contestants usually end with under-cooked, over-cooked, too-dry, too-water, inconsistent risotto and eventually tears? Are these being dramatize? I like to try to see if risotto is so difficult to cook...

Nay! This is absolutely no tears at all for me after cooking mine with this fool-proof oven-baked risotto recipe by Bill Granger. Maybe, it is really true that cooking risotto on stove can be difficult, producing inconsistent results. Knowing this, the more I should stick on to this oven-baked method as it works perfectly well for me.

We love this one-pot wonder dish... Here, I like to flaunt my instant success all because of the convenience of this oven-baked risotto recipe.

Oven-Baked Chicken and Asparagus Risotto (Bill Granger)

I didn't have a Le Creuset but this flameproof casserole dish has been working well for me :p

Just follow the steps and I know that I won't go wrong.

After this step, I can relax for these 15 minutes... or maybe not, I need to wrap some Christmas presents :p

Add asparagus last when the rice is cooked

Season it with Parmesan, salt and pepper.

And serve it with even more Parmesan!

Nice risotto! Nice and made with no tears!

Here's the recipe from the book, Best of Bill: The Ultimate Collection of Bill Granger's Classic Recipes by Bill Granger (with my modification and notes in blue)

2 tbsp olive oil
500g boneless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
(I used zest of 1 whole lemon)
1 cup arborio rice
1 L (4 cups) chicken stock
(I used salt-reduced one so that I can adjust the saltiness)
175g (1 bunch) asparagus, sliced on the diagonal
35g (1/3 cup) grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C (or 160°C fan forced). Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large flameproof casserole dish over high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring frequently for 3-4 mins or until golden brown. Remove and set aside.

Add remaining olive oil and onion and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 mins or until onion is soft. Add garlic and lemon zest and cook, stirring for 30 secs. Add rice and stir to coat in oil. Add stock and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally.

Cover the casserole and put in the oven for 15 mins. Add asparagus, return the chicken to the casserole and bake for a further 3-4 mins or until the asparagus is bright green and just tender. Stir in parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Serve with extra parmesan.

Happy Baking

This post is linked to Cook like a Star, organised by me, Bake for Happy Kids, Yen from Eat your heart out and Mich from Piece of Cake. Wanna cook or bake like Bill Granger? To join, simply cook or bake any recipe from here or here or here or his cookbooks and link with us at this Zoe's, this Yen's or this Mich's post for the whole of November and December 2013. 

To use this linky tool, please make sure that: (1) Your post must be a current post. (2) Please mention Cook like a Star in your post and link back to us at Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, Yen from Eat your heart out and Mich from Piece of Cake. Cheers!

For more details, please see this.

Here are my blogging friends that have joined me cooking for this event. Please visit their blogs for more of their 5-stars cooking.
This post is also linked to Cook-Your-Books #7 organised by my baking buddy, Joyce from Kitchen Flavours