This summer dessert recipe from Vineet Bhatia combines the magnificent flavours of mango, melon and strawberry. Fresh and fruity, this mango baked yoghurt recipe does require some of the components to be made in advance, so it's best to plan ahead.
For the strawberry cream fingers, put the cream and milk in a heavy-based saucepan, bring gently to the boil, then set aside
140ml of whipping cream
140ml of full-fat milk
2
In a bowl, whisk the granulated sugar and 2 egg yolks together until pale, then pour in the warm milk and cream a little at a time, stirring constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until it thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon
Add the strawberry purée and immediately strain it through a sieve into a clean, dry bowl and leave to cool. Transfer to an ice cream machine and freeze until firm
Spoon the ice cream into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle and pipe it on to a baking tray lined with baking parchment in eight 12cm sticks. Immediately freeze these for 6 hours
5
For the mango baked yogurt, place the plain yoghurt, condensed milk, single cream, mango puree, and ground cardamom in a bowl and whisk together well. Pour into 4 whisky glasses, filling them two-thirds full, and place in a roasting tin
Pour hot water into the roasting tin to come three-quarters of the way up the sides of the glasses then cover the tin and glasses with foil. Bake in an oven preheated to 150°C/Gas mark 2 for 10 minutes, until the yogurt sets. Remove and leave to cool
7
While the yogurt is in the oven, prepare the melon and mint salsa. Mix the diced melon and mint together in a bowl, add icing sugar only if the melon is not sweet
To serve, spoon the melon-mint salsa on the mango baked yogurt, place the strawberry ice cream finger to the side and add one halved and finely sliced strawberry as a garnish
While Vineet Bhatia has borrowed from European traditions to plate up his food, the manner and matter of his dishes are unmistakably those of India, handled with immense sophistication and personal panache.
