Mango ice-cream

Am not going to buy an ice cream maker, am not going to buy an ice-cream maker, there is really no end to buying and this is one resolution I hope to keep. Unless of course a dear friend will give me a surprise or an early birthday gift. I have a huge love affair with sorbets you can see here, here and here,  I have learnt that you really do not need a fancy devise to make a sorbet. But there comes a time in everyone’s life when there is a calling, an inner strong calling to make your own ice-cream. So, am going to be doing this without an ice-cream maker ( all sympathetic thoughts can be expressed in the comments)  and It’s going to be mango, why mango ? Coz I cannot get a box of ready to eat mango ice-cream here in the US. Much to my dismay it was not disappointing and got a thumbs up from both hubs and finally teen.  There is no case ( in my own mind) for an ice-cream maker. If you are imagining me churning this mix endlessly, to give that smooth creamy texture, am sure to disappoint you. Not much of elbow-grease here.

A lot of people have been asking me about moody photography, maybe this might be a good time to talk about it. It’s uncommon to see an ice-cream shot this way. It’s usually high-key. like this one. Am talking about the over head shot, the first image in this post. First, I was a bit tired of doing high key and we had heavy sheet of dark clouds in the morning (when I shot this). So for me this could be a rainy sultry day, exactly how it was. So I switched from a white background (with white plate) to a deep blue background and a dark charcoal gray plate. It’s minimum styling. I blocked the light and the only source is upper left. A little light did trickle from the left. When I took the shot, it had a better exposure than this one, as I usually watch the histogram before I click the shutter. As I want to gather maximum information. I darkened it in post processing ( using levels). Since it was over head I used f/4 and shutter 1/50sec. It was not a bright morning and I shot it hand held, so I had to pick a shutter that would not show a visible shake.  Hope this helps, if you need any more details, let me know.  I did take more shots with different, colors and props, just to show how the mood changes.

Now back to the ice-cream….

It does not have much of fat, the reason: fat loves me and I don’t appreciate this kind of love.
2 bananas frozen
few pineapple pieces frozen ( to add a bit of water content)
1/2 cup half n half or cream
2-3 tbsp milk powder
1 cup mango pulp (ready or from fresh)
If you used ready you will not need sugar.
few saffron strands
1 tsp cardamom powder
Sugar ( to taste) if u added fresh mango pulp

Blend all the above in a blender in high speed till smooth, pour it ( it will be really thick) into a plastic airtight container, freeze for couple of hours, remove and whip till smooth - repeat, freeze over night, scoop out and enjoy.

I also served it on a bed of mango sauce.

1/4 cup mango pulp
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp red chili powder.

Mix and chill.