Fresh mango puree

Gujaratis tend to  eat the sweet element of a meal alongside the main course.  When I was growing up, my mum would serve guests tinned mango pulp made slightly more interesting with the addition of lumps of Wall's vanilla ice cream.  I never mastered the act of eating savoury food interspersed with sweet morsels.  Relatives would question why I wasn't eating the sweet and my parents would laugh and say that I could only concentrate on  one part of the meal at a time.  I was (and still am) more of a sticky toffee pudding girl and I prefer my dessert to follow the main course.

I have been feeling slightly nostalgic recently and so I decided to revisit the mango pulp dessert using fresh mango.  I have continued with the use of ice cream but I have added lime juice to cut through the sweetness of the fruit and recommend using an ice cream with high butterfat content.  I serve this as a pre-dessert in shot glasses as it is a great palate cleanser before the main event - which is generally more traditionally British!  Not only is it quick to prepare, you can make it several hours prior to serving.  It is the perfect additional course for a dinner party.


Serves 4 as a pre-dessert

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons good quality vanilla ice cream.
• 75 grams fresh mango - peeled, stoned and cut into large chunks
• 1/2 tablespoon lime juice

Method

1. Place a teaspoon of icecream into each shot glass.  Leave to soften.
2. Puree the mango and lime juice into a smooth consistency and then spoon over the icecream in the shot glasses.
3. Refrigerate until you serve.
4. Serve with straws cut to an appropriate length.