Mango Panna Cotta, again!

Yes, again. This time, I did it in the simplest way possible; but plated it differently, from my previous attempts. Simple, because its just cream and mango cordial, mixed (half and half), a heaped teaspoon of dissolved gelatin added, to each cup's worth of mixture. (Fresh fruit reduction gives a more complex flavor, and takes more time). Usually I pour the mix into shot glasses; this time I wanted to 'turn it out,' so emboldened by extra gelatin, I poured the mix into small coffee cups, and after four hours in the frig., I prized out the gelled cream with a knife, tapped the bottoms of the cups, sliding the gel out.
I added a little more cordial, reduced with a little wine, into the bowls, and garnished every thing with sliced fresh mango. Yes, its that easy.

Fay and Kingston joined us for dessert

Mango Orange Panna Cotta

Mango Orange Panna Cotta
Originally uploaded by pradeep jeganathan.

i guess wanted to go back to orange after red as red strawberries.

i've done coconut panna cotta's before, and blogged about them, but this one is a new variation. its a layer of mango coconut cream jelled on a base of fresh squeezed orange juice, orange liquor and blanched, sliced orange peel.

it needs work:

Deshan and Jehan, who came over to taste it, thought it was okay, with Deshan suggesting I try Grand Marnier instead of Cointreau, since it has, he said, a more 'burnt' taste, which might blend better with the orange peel which after blanching has a slight bitter taste, and a huge citric kick.
Jehan liked the cream top a lot he said, but thought the dish might be inverted. (Mango at the bottom). Well, I think the whole thing should be in orange, that is loose the mango, and the juice should be reduced for a thicker base and more concentrated flavor.
Deshan also liked the idea of a thicker base.

I shall try this again for Monday lunch.

Roast pork, with fruit relish

Me? I've been roasting a lot of pork lately.
Trying to really understand how to do it well -- and make a memorable dish of it. Can't say I've got there yet, but hey its fun to try.
-- this loin was marinated in red wine vinegar, pineapple juice, over night, then stuffed with fresh pineapple and roasted. The meat was subtly flavored, I wonder if I could make that stronger.
Since not even I can eat a whole loin of roast pork at a sitting, I've been having this in sliced helpings over a few days.
When I warm it, I add a little sesame oil, and that really gives it fine, nutty overlay.
The relish is diced pineapple and mango with red chilli pieces -- some thing I've done with black bean beef earlier, on the blog.

Would you like try some? Seriously, if you are into food, and like the kind of stuff I cook (meats predominate right now) -- I'd like to hear from you -- if you can offer thoughtful comments on what you taste.
Really.
Leave a note on the blog or let me know on facebook, and I'll get back to you.

Mango Panna Cotta & Liquor.

This is really similar to the Pineapple Coconut Panna Cotta I did a couple of weeks ago; except I used cream (Kotmale), instead of thick coconut milk, so it is more traditional as it were.
The mango substituted for pineapple, and I reduced it in white wine, pureed one half, adding cream and dissolved gelatin to this half, and a little vodka and sugar to the other half.
That’s what I call the liquor, and this goes in the bottom of the shot glass, with some small, dainty pieces of mango, from the reduction. If you don't have little pieces sticking up a tiny bit out of the surface of the liquor, you will have trouble keeping the two layers separate.
That's physics.
You can add a few more bits of mango, if you like – and then pour the creamed puree over it. Let it sit over night in the fridge, and then garnish with more slivers of mango.

Eat it when its cool, and savor the creamy mango layer, before swooping down with a eager spoon into the sweet, thick, mango-vodka nectar down bellow.
If only I had a longer tongue...!

And an update: Published in Zero77, Oct., 2007.

Beef with mango relish.

I’ve been working on the mango part of this for awhile. The first time was with pork, but it wasn’t a success. But this time, the whole dish came together!
The idea in this particular line of meat dishes I’ve been doing is to contrast the rich, chewy meatiness of beef, lamb or pork – with sharp, hot, and slightly sweet fruity taste that makes you end each bite, with soft gasp for more. That’s a tall order, for sure. For one, sharp tastes can over power, and then while the dish may still be tasty, it won’t be memorable – it will end up like every other over sauced South Asian or American Chinese dish you’ve had. So subtly is also important, and since I have a difficult to control sweet tooth, that’s some times hard.
Its also harder with paws, but that’s a whole another thing.
In the pineapple wasabi lamb, the sharp taste works as a glaze, which clings to the outside of the cubes of meat, layering each bite with a hot, sweet tingle and then a full, rich meaty core. In the Beef dish I did today, the tastes are kept separate, and the diner is invited to mix between the two, just we do with a chutney when we eat rice and curry.

For the beef, I started with 500g of cubed beef, which I seasoned with one teaspoon of salt, fresh ground pepper, teaspoon of balsamic vinegar, and two teaspoons of brown sugar. After about an hour, I browned in the beef in a caste iron skillet, deglazed with arrack, added water, to about half away, and let it simmer for two hours.
Then I had a beer.
Later, (obviously – one must never cut anything right after a beer J ). I peeled a sour, that is half ripe, mango, and sliced one half of it length ways, and then mixed one tablespoon of white vinegar, one tablespoon of white sugar, and a teaspoon of red chillie pieces (not power), and reduced in down with the mango. I did this in the microwave one time (3 mins on hi-700w), and another time in a heavy bottomed pan. Basically, you’ve got it get it boiled down, but not burned. Taste for balance. If you like it subtler, keep to the proportions, but add less of every thing.
Once that was almost ready, I stir fried, in the tiny bit of sesame oil, 150g of the well cooked beef, with two teaspoons of black bean sauce. You can do the beef well before hand, and then refrigerate it. It will taste even better the next day!
Then I scalded the sliced leeks, in salted water for a minute, and plated it.

Moving between the succulent, yet lightly flavored beef and the hot, sweet, sour and still meaty mango was marvelous. I've blogged about chillie mango before, and it is as any school child in Sri Lanka knows, some thing to die for, especially when its half ripe.
The leeks gave the whole thing a nice, crunchy punctuation – with of course, a hint, a vague hint, of onion.

Mango + Chillie

Mango + Chillie
Originally uploaded by pradeep jeganathan.

It wasn't really a sour mango; even though the colour seemed a little pale.
but i added a whole heaped tea spoon of chillie pieces, anyway and a small pinch of salt.
It seems enough for lunch, eating any else for awhile will only spoil the lingering burn of pleasure, deep on my tongue.

Pork, Sour Mango & Bokchoy

Pork, Sour Mango & Bokchoy
Originally uploaded by pradeep jeganathan.

This dish isn't well worked out yet. Another work in progress!
The pork loin is marinated in an arrack brine; the sour mango is supposed to be a sweetish relish, and the bokchoy scalded in pork broth.
The texures worked well with each other, but the mango relish was too sour. Needs to be tweaked.

I used my new tall tripod with the magic Canon 50mm/1.4.
No flash.
Looks colourful, so thats nice!