Lockdown recipes: Mango-walnut delicacies for summer

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With summer upon us, it is time to whip up delicious recipes using the season's favorite fruit, mangoes. While we love it best plain and sliced, and in smoothies and traditional chutneys, the flavourful fruit can add that extra punch to a lot of other recipes. Adding a dash of walnuts can pack these dishes with multiple nutritional and health benefits.

Try out these off-beat walnut-inspired mango recipes for a refreshing treat

Walnut Mango Lassi Bowl

Ingredients:

300 g of the flesh of a mango

800 g of natural, sugar-free yogurt

40 ml of milk

4 ice cubes

1/4 teaspoon of cardamom

60 g of California Walnuts

Preparation: For this recipe by Chef Sabyasachi Gorai, grinds the mango together with half of California walnuts, yogurt, milk, ice cubes and the ground cardamom. If the mixture is too thick, you can add water or milk until the desired consistency is achieved. Pour the mango lassi into 4 bowls and decorate with the rest of the California walnuts, some of them grated, grated cocoa, sheets of mango and ground cardamom.

Walnut Falafel with Mango Pickles

Ingredients for the falafel:

250 g dried green split peas

2 onions

2 garlic cloves

1 small green chili pepper

1½ bunch of coriander

Salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

40 g California walnuts

50 g chickpea flour (alternatively wheat flour)

Oil for frying

Ingredients for the pickles:

1 mango

1 small green chili pepper

2 teaspoon oil

1½ teaspoon turmeric

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1-2 tablespoon white wine vinegar

40 g walnuts

Preparation: Soak peas overnight in cold water. For the falafel, peel and chop the onions and garlic. Rinse chili pepper and chop finely. Rinse the coriander, separate the leaves and chop finely. Drain the peas and then puree with the onions, chili pepper, garlic and turmeric in a blender. Season the mix with salt and stir in baking soda. Chop walnuts and roast them briefly. Then mix walnuts and flour with the peas to form balls from the dough. Heat the frying oil to 1601½C and fry the balls for 3-5 minutes until golden brown. Let them dry on paper towels. For the pickles, peel the mango, remove the pulp from the stone and cut into dices. Wash the chili pepper and chop finely. Heat oil and saut1½ the chili pepper briefly. Add turmeric and mango, then sprinkle with sugar and let it stew for about 1-2 minutes. Add vinegar and raise heat for a minute. Chop walnuts, toast them in a small pan and mix them with the pickles. Serve the falafel with the mango pickle.

Puneri Mastani

Ingredients:

1 cup mango puree

1/2 cup ice cubes

3 cups curd

3 tablespoons sugar

1 cup California walnut milk

1/2 cup mango ice-cream

4 tablespoons strawberry crush

4 tablespoons fresh mango diced

Preparation: For this recipe by Chef Varun Inamdar, churn mango puree, walnut milk, sugar, ice cubes, curd and mango ice-cream till it is smooth in a blender. Reserve till further use. Take a few tall glasses and add a tablespoon each of strawberry crush at the base. Top with the chilled smoothie. Finally top with fresh diced mangoes. Serve chilled.

How to make walnut milk at home?

Soak a cup of untoasted walnuts for 2 hours in 2 cups of water. Strain and rinse walnuts well. Transfer to a blender with one cup cold water. Blend on high for a minute. Strain through a muslin cloth till you get an almost dry powdery mass in the muslin cloth after pressing the milk. Transfer in a glass jar and store in the refrigerator. This gives you 2 cups of home-pressed walnut milk.