Blender-free Mango and Coconut pudding!

I’ve had my eye on a pair of mangoes that have been sitting in my fruitbowl steadily getting riper and riper, trying to think of something interesting to do with them. Usually I just eat them fresh or add  them to a stir-fry, but I had the urge to attempt something a bit more adventurous! A quick rummage in the cupboard uncovered a tin of coconut milk and a lonely sachet of gelatine, at which point I knew exactly what I wanted – mango and coconut jelly!

I should admit that for some reason gelatine and I do not in general get on – the last time I attempted a gelatine-based pudding (in my head at least, a delicious vanilla-latte panna cotta topped with a layer of coffee jelly) it failed disastrously, and I have steered clear since. This time I am pleased to report that the recipe worked well and I’m pretty happy with the result – sure, I’ll probably fiddle with it a bit next time round but I will be making it again!

I browsed a few different recipes for this but as usual what follows is a mixture of several different recipes with my own twist (the result of my not having certain ingredients or tools!) Every other recipe I have seen recommends blending the mango to a puree, but seeing as our blender is broken that wasn’t going to happen, and I have to say I like the texture of this.

Ingredients: 2 ripe mangoes, peeled and finely diced; 100ml water; 250ml coconut milk; 100g sugar*; 4tsp gelatine powder. [I think 75g sugar would be adequate.]

Method: Bring the water to the boil, remove from the heat and sprinkle the gelatine over the surface, whisking quickly to dissolve. Add the sugar and stir again to dissolve. Add the chopped mango with any juice, together with the coconut milk, stir, and pour into moulds. Chill for at least 3 hours or until set, and serve with a drizzle of coconut milk.

This would be a lovely dessert on a hot summer’s day, especially after a spicy meal – much as I enjoyed it last night, it wasn’t really suited to the central-heating-and-gales combination. I think it would be good with something slightly tarter to lift the taste a bit, perhaps some lime sorbet, or something minty? I also think it could be nice with a hint of cardamom, I did intend to simmer the coconut with a couple of cardamom pods yesterday but had already added the gelatine before I remembered. Maybe next time.