Mango Mayhem with Mango tartlets (Vegetarian Gluten-free treats)

No summer would be complete without eating mangoes for me. Must I add “The Alphonso Mangos“. The juicy, intensely sweet and succulent fruit with a saffron-colored skin, whose pulpy flesh inside is like scooping out creamy ice cream (only better in taste than ice cream), is a National treasure and pride in India. Grown in western India, hand harvested and perhaps the best and most expensive variety to be exported all over the world, Alphonso mangoes have fancied people’s palettes everywhere – Some frilly and stylish recipes (I would call them)  that now exist include the  mango creme brulee, mango cheese cakes , mousse and souffles , mango salsas, Asian Chicken Mango noodles,  mango lassis, mango kulfis  and many more. This is besides the usual Indian recipes made from mangos  that perhaps every grandma or mum has taught her children and recipes so old that have been passed down generations like the sweet mango barfis , shrikhands and aam ras, mango chuttneys and pickles, sweet and spicy Aam panna  (drinks made with raw, green unripe mangoes), Mango milkshakes, Mango ice creams and many more such brilliant recipes that exist.

Thus no surprise that my Grandma had a huge garden in Western India with 5 Mango trees – 2 of which grew Alphonso mangoes. Hence growing up we enjoyed the best mango treats hands down throughout the months of April to June. We were always sad that mangoes are a seasonal fruit and could not relish them year round. However come summer time, 2 months vacation from school and perhaps the best thing was the most awaited mangoes of the season for me and my family 🙂

So you see mangoes have such a special place in my heart and will always continue to do so. I was delighted when my husband went hunting for mangoes and picked the best quality Alphonsos  to bring home from an Indian mart here in Singapore. Yippee!! Like a little girl I was thrilled and actually sat and sniffed the rich aroma that mangoes have. And here I am sharing a sweet treat I made with these mangoes over the weekend. Enjoy!

I did not weigh the quantities but could make 6 mini tarts and 1 big tart as you see in the pictures. Also I used a  dark chocolate from Lindt and hence did not use any honey – However if you have some good quality bitter dark chocolate use that and sweeten the base with a little honey.

Ingredients:

Almonds

4 squares of good quality Dark chocolate (I just used Lindt)

2 Alphonso Mangoes peeled and pulped

2 spoons of low-fat yogurt (Use Greek yogurt if you want it even creamier than it already is)

Dry roast the almonds for about 10 minutes. Then grind them and form the almond flour/powder. Melt your dark chocolate – If the chocolate is totally dark then add in a teaspoon of honey for a little sweetness. Pour the melted dark chocolate over the almond flour. Start mixing it to form a dough. Chill the dough in the refrigerator until you prepare the  mango filling. In a blender, blend the mango pulp and yogurt until mixed well and it looks like you have whisked in some cream . Keep aside and refrigerate.

Now bring out the chocolate almond dough and use any mini paper cup cake liners that you have. Scoop out a little ball of dough and put into the cup cake liner. Start pressing the dough with your fingers against the walls of the liner – The idea is that you are trying to make a shape of the tart with the help from the paper liner. Once shaped freeze them in the refrigerator for a while. After about 30 min, the  chocolate in the tartlets would have hardened by now. You can even remove the paper liners now but I collapsed them and used them to serve.  The mango yogurt mix will should also be chilled now. Hence scoop out the mix and start filling in the tarts.

Serve Chilled. The colder they are, the more awesome they taste. Trust me!

Check out more Mango Mayhem around the web:

1) Interesting reads on the Alphonso Mango, its origins, food festivals and yummy takes – Click here and here

2) A few recipes that caught my eye:

Mango Lassi Ice Lollies by Tamarind and Thyme

A super cooler and chilled drink to beat the summer heat –  “Aam Panna” by Aromatic Encounters

Yummy Mango Srikhand by Dassana

Chicken Salad with Mango Avocado Dressing by Danny

3) Some interesting takes at Wholefoods in case you missed these (Not necesarily using Alphonso but any mango I guess 🙂 )

Firecracker Chicken Salad with Pineapple and Mango

Baked Salmon with Mango Salsa

Mango, Avocado and Black Bean Salad