Since we are still bang in the middle of summer, when mangoes are abundant, I simply must share yet another mango recipe. I had been longing to make a tart for ages, but was held back by the worry that I would not be very good at it. However, I reminded myself that when you come down to it, baking is very simple. There are different methods, but it’s about following one method to a tee (for my beginner’s intro to baking, do check out this post). So you could say I went back to my own basics, and made myself this very marvellous mango tart.
When I say that mangoes are abundant, I mean both in the market as well as in my back garden. It’s funny how I actually take them for granted. There are just so many hanging on my three different varieties of mango trees – each of which yield very sweet fruit. I know that one is the killimooku, and one is the sindoora. As for the last one, I’m uncertain of the species but it tastes great just the same. I give away lots of the harvest, but the fruits are so flourishing at this time of year that I sometimes just have to leave them on the trees. There are monkeys, squirrels and parrots in the neighbourhood that enjoy them too, and more often that not, I let Nature do its thing. The birds and animals eat the fruit, drop the seeds somewhere in the yard, and now and then I find a young mango shoot emerging from the soil. These little discoveries remind me of how amazing life itself is.
Besides which, look at the beautiful colours of this sindoora. I enjoy even just admiring the fruit on the tree (though of course, I probably enjoy eating it all the more).
Not needing to buy mangoes has many perks, including that I know that the ones at home are naturally ripened and grown. I’m aware that many store-bought mangoes are either sweetened or advanced through chemical processes, and am grateful that I can avoid these.
When I do eat mangoes from beyond my own backyard, they are usually the ones in friends’ backyards. There is a lot of exchange that happens this season. That’s how I got my hands on some luscious Alphonso mangoes. They are delicious and the flesh is a lovely orange colour that makes the tart altogether very pretty. Any sweet mango variety, available all over the subcontinent now, will work perfectly for this dish.
Mango Tart
(Yield: 9’ tart)
1¾ cups flour
¼ cup almond flour
½ cup powdered sugar
½ cup cold butter
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
Filling:
½ cup mango pulp
1 cup milk
¼ cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons cornflour
1 teaspoon agar agar
Preheat the oven at 160°C for 20 minutes.
Add all the ingredients for the filling in a bowl. Set aside.Crumble the butter with your fingers along with the flour and the egg. Gently bring it all together until you get a smooth dough. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Remove the dough from the fridge. Using parchment papers, roll the dough gently into a 12’ roll and place carefully over the tart pan. Using your hands, press the sides down. With the help of a fork, pierce the tart base so that it does not fluff, and cover with foil (you can use lentils to weigh down the foil). Bake until golden, which will take about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little.
Meanwhile, add the milk, mango pulp, sugar, cornflour and agar agar in a pan. Stir well. Now place on a medium flame and stir constantly until it thickens. Set aside.
Once the filling cools down a little, and the tart base is at room temperature, pour the custard over the tart. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Decorate the top of the tart with sliced mangoes and any other garnishing of your choice. Refrigerate for at least thirty minutes before serving.
I know many people use biscuit crumbs as a tart base, but I like making it from scratch this way. Now that I’ve done so and gained confidence in my tart-making skills, I’ll certainly try making it with other kinds of fruit too. For now, here is a lovely mango tart. I hope you’ll be inspired to try it out too!
