Sarika reminisces about her stay in Maharashtra 13 years ago. She takes a trip down the memory lane and offers us the traditional festive recipe, Amrakhand. You may try this lip-smacking delicacy from West India in your homes and enjoy the festivities of Gudi Padwa.
Gudi Padwa is round the corner. It marks the beginning of the New Year in Maharashtra. It is a harvest festival. As India is an agricultural-based country, most of the festivals are related to it. Talking of Maharashtra, I become nostalgic. I had spent more than five years in Pune.
From 2000 to 2005, but the memories are still fresh in my mind. Pune, is one of the best city in Maharashtra, well known for its beautiful climate and monsoon getaways. Surrounded by Lonavala, Khandala, Panchgani, Mahabaleshwar and so on. The enchanting beauty of these quaint hill stations in the Western Ghats, leave me speechless.
Mysterious Pune, foggy winter mornings, roaming around Fergusson College road and treating ourselves with missal pau, the malai kulfi at JM road, roadside shopping at Laxmi road, bun maska, movies with friends, the SPDP from Vaishali, the hot vada-pau, mouth-watering thick lassi at Shree Kailash at Pune station, Goodluck Café in Deccan, also visit to the Jungle Maharaj temple at JM road. Walking the lush green beauty of Pune University campus, I could go on and on…
And during summer, Hapoos (Alphonso) mango is in great demand. With ripe mango there is a dessert called Amrakhand, which is very popular and delicious. I remember very clearly, when I tried this dessert for the first time, I called my mom, to tell her how lip-smacking it was!
Now, it is more than 13 years that I am away from ripe mangoes. However, I am a big fan of raw mangoes too. I prepare this dessert at least once a year for my family.
Today, I am going to share the recipe of Amrakhand. Mango shrikhand or amrakhand dessert made from thick yogurt and succulent ripe mangoes.
Recipe-desserts
Cuisine-Indian
Prep time-6 to 7 hours
Ingredients
Thick yogurt 500 gm
Fresh mango puree 6 tbsp.
Powdered sugar 2 tbsps (depends on mango taste)
Cardamom powder ½ tsp
Chopped pistachios 2 tbsp.
Saffron 1 pinch
Method
Hang yogurt (curd) in a cheese cloth for five to six hours.
Shift the yogurt into a blender.
Mix mango puree, cardamom powder, saffron, chopped pistachios and sugar until smooth and creamy.
Refrigerate three to four hours.
Garnish with leftover puree mango chunks.
Serve chilled.
Pix and Text by Author
Happy Gudi Padwa to one and all in Different Truths!
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