Tropical treats

Glossy lychees covered in pink peels, and its tropical companion, the dark purple jamuns, have hit the market. These juicy little wonders add a pop to any dish, pleasing our palate with their refreshing flavours. Five home-chefs, who use the tartness of jamuns and sweetness of lychees to whip up delightful desserts in their kitchen, share simple recipes with Vaishali Vijaykumar

Jamun Chia Pudding by Shilpa Jindal
Ingredients
Jamun: 6-7, Milk of choice: 1 cup (Tastes amazing in cashew milk), Jaggery/raw sugar: 1 tbsp, Chia seeds: 2-3 tbsp, Oats (optional): 1 tbsp, Fruits and nuts of choice for topping (optional)

Method

• Deseed all the jamun and gently mash them into pulp, either with fingers or with the help of mortar and pestle.
• Transfer the pulp to a medium-sized bowl. In the same bowl, add the rest of the ingredients.
• Give a gentle stir. Cover the bowl with a lid and keep it in the refrigerator overnight or at least for four hours.
• Take out in the morning and jamun chia pudding is ready.
• Top it up with additional fruits and nuts of choice (or even more chopped jamun) and serve chilled.

Jamun puree for lassi and gummies by Reethika Singh
Ingredients 
For jamun puree: Ripe jamun: 400 g, Water: 3.4 cup, Sugar or jaggery powder: 1/4 cup, Lemon: 1, Salt: A pinch

Method

• In a saucepan, add ripe jamun, water, sugar or jaggery powder, lime juice and a pinch of salt.
• Cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes or until the fruit disintegrates. Turn off the heat and allow it to cool.
• Remove the pits and discard them.
• Add 1/4 cup of cold water to the cooked jamun, blend, then strain the mixture twice to get a smooth purée.
• Use as required for making jamun lassi or gummies and refrigerate the remaining purée in an airtight container.
• This jamun purée should last for 4-5 days.

Jamun gummies by Reethika Singh
Ingredients
Gelatin: 4 tbsp, Strained jamun puree: 3/4 cup, Hot water: 1/4 cup, Lemon: 1, Honey to taste

Method

• Bloom gelatin in a cup of strained jamun purée.
• Add a cup of hot water and whisk the mixture over low heat until the gelatin has completely dissolved.
• Next, stir in the juice of one lemon and add honey to taste.
• Strain the mixture once more and spoon it into silicone moulds.
• Refrigerate for a couple of hours or until the gummies are fully set.

Jamun Lassi by Reethika Singh
Ingredients
Jamun puree: 1/4 cup, Yogurt: 2 cups, Roasted cumin powder: 1/2 tsp, Mint leaves, Salt to taste

Method

• In a blender, add jamun purée, plain yogurt, roasted cumin powder and a few mint leaves.
• Blend everything until it is smooth.
• Add black salt to taste and blend again.
• Pour over ice and enjoy.

Lychee coconut ice-cream by Janice Rego olivera and Sunny olivera
Ingredients
Ripe lychees: one and a half dozen, Fresh cream: 200 ml, 
Condensed milk: 4 tbsp, Grated coconut: 4 tbsp

Method

• Peel the lychee skin, deseed and roughly chop the pulp.
• Blend with some fresh cream, condensed milk and grated coconut.
• Freeze overnight and scoop out a bowlful of delight.

Lychee firni by Sobha Biswal

Ingredients
Full fat milk: 500 ml, Rice: 5 tbsp, Ghee: 1 tbsp, Milk powder: 4 tbsp, Sugar: 3 tbsp , A pinch of salt, Pinch of cardamom powder, Dry fruits (almond and raisins), Lychee: 10, Saffron, pumpkin seed to garnish

Method

• Heat milk in a heavy-bottomed pan. When it starts boiling add rice.
• Cook on low flame till rice is cooked properly. Keep stirring in between.
• Add sugar, salt, cardamom powder and cook for a minute.
• Fry the dry fruits in a spoonful of ghee add this to the firni. Mix milk powder to hot water and add this to kheer.
• Boil it for a minute, not more than that. Add chopped fresh lychee to firni and turn off the flame. Don’t over boil firni after adding lychee.
• Add some saffron strands and chopped pumpkin seeds for garnish.
• Serve hot or chilled.

Lychee popsicles by Reethika Singh
Ingredients
Ripe lychees: 18-20, Fresh cream: one cup, Condensed milk: 8-10 tbsp

Method

• Blend the flesh of ripe lychees with a cup of fresh cream and condensed milk.
• Stir in a tablespoon of chopped lychee flesh (optional).
• Pour the mixture into kulfi moulds and freeze until it sets.

Lychee Rabdi by Lakshmi Priya Sankar

Ingredients
Lychees: 12 to 15, For Sandesh (for stuffing the lychees): Normal milk: 1 litre, Lemon juice: from one full lemon, Powdered sugar: ¼ cup, Cardamom powder: ¼ tsp, For rabdi: Full cream milk: 1 litre, Condensed milk: 300ml (use ¾th of the 400 ml Milkmaid tin), Badam: 10 to 12 (cut into small pieces), Pista: 10 to 12 (cut into small pieces), Cardamom powder: ¼ tsp, Saffron: 2 pinches (soak in a tbsp of hot milk and keep ready)

Method

• Heat milk in a heavy-bottomed pan. Let it boil on medium flame and take care that the milk doesn’t get burnt at the bottom of the pan.
• Soak saffron in a tablespoon of hot milk. Keep ready. 
• Keep stirring the milk at regular intervals and let it reduce to half the quantity. Now add Milkmaid and saffron-soaked milk to the boiling milk. Stir well until it reaches the desired consistency. 
• Add all the chopped nuts and cardamom powder. Keep in low flame for two minutes.
• Switch off the flame. This is rabdi. Let it cool at room temperature, until we make the stuffed lychees ready.
• Wash and clean the lychees. Remove the skin. Carefully remove the seeds, without breaking the lychees.
• Now to prepare sandesh for stuffing the lychees, boil 1 litre of milk in a vessel. When it starts boiling start adding the lemon juice. Add a spoon first and see if the milk curdles. If not, add a little more.
• Keep boiling the milk in medium flame. Within three to four minutes the milk will fully curdle. Switch off the flame.
• Use a muslin cloth and strain the whey water and keep it aside.
• Pour a glass of cold water over the chena (paneer obtained from curdling the milk), to remove the smell of lemon.
• Squeeze the muslin cloth and remove the excess water from the chena. Take care that some amount of moisture is still there in chena.
• When the chena is still warm, transfer it to a plate. Use the edge of your palm and start pressing the chena.
• This will make it soft. You need to keep pressing for 10 minutes.
• Add ¼ cup of powdered sugar to the chena. Mix well with your hands. Transfer this to a kadai.
• Add ¼ tsp of cardamom powder. Cook on low flame for two to three minutes. Keep stirring to avoid getting burnt. Switch off the stove and let it cool to room temperature. Sandesh is ready.
• Now take the sandesh and fill it inside the deseeded lychees. Fill in all the lychees similarly.
• Add the stuffed lychees to the rabdi. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours. Serve it chilled.

Note:

• The shape of lychees should be intact, or else stuffing the sandesh would be difficult. So, make sure that you don’t break the lychees while deseeding.
• Don’t cook the sandesh on the stove for more than 2 to 3 minutes; it might turn dry.
• People who prefer less sweet, add only 200 ml condensed milk while making the rabdi.