Mango Royale

 

INGREDIENTS

Yield: One 9½-inch pie

• ¾cups/170 grams unsalted butter (1½ stick)
• 2sleeves/269 grams graham crackers (about 9½ ounces)
• 2cups heavy whipping cream
• ½cup sweetened condensed milk
• 6 to 8soft ripe Manila mangoes (a.k.a. Ataulfo or Champagne) or 3 to 4 soft ripe large mangoes (Haden or Kent)
• 1 to 2tablespoons lime juice (optional)

• PREPARATION

  1. Step 1

     In a small pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Cook the butter, occasionally scraping the pan, until it turns deep golden brown, being careful not to let it burn. Remove from the heat and let cool.

  2. Step 2

     Pulse crackers in a food processor until finely ground. Pour into a medium bowl and add brown butter. Mix until well combined and texture is like wet sand. Let cool.

  3. Step 3

     Generously spray a 9½-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, pour the cream into the mixing bowl and whip on medium speed. Slowly drizzle in sweetened condensed milk, then beat to stiff peaks. (Beating on medium takes longer, but helps build a stable structure.) Set aside and chill until ready to use.

  4. Step 4

     Cut cheeks from mangoes parallel to center pits. Scoop out flesh from cheeks with a spoon and slice flesh from pits. Coarsely purée fruit in a clean food processor. Measure 2 cups (save extra for other uses). If you like, add lime juice so purée tastes sweet-tart.

  5. Step 5

     Sprinkle about ⅔ of the graham crumbs into the pie plate. Using your fingers and the palm of your hand, press to create an even layer on the bottom and sides of the plate.

  6. Step 6

     Dollop half the whipped cream mixture on top, carefully spreading the cream evenly without stirring up crumbs. Spoon half of the mango purée on top and spread evenly.

  7. Step 7

     Sprinkle all but a few tablespoons of the remaining crumbs on top. Repeat cream and mango layers. Sprinkle top with remaining crumbs but don't smooth down.

  8. Step 8

     Loosely wrap dessert with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, about 8 hours, or overnight. Can be made ahead up to this point and kept frozen for 2 weeks.

  9. Step 9

     To serve, let thaw in fridge the night before serving, or let stand at room temperature for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Serve in wedges or scoops, making sure to scrape up the crumbs from the bottom of the plate

• 
  

Biryani recipe

 This is a recipe that has been passed down to me by my mother. She learnt it from the Hanifas, our family friends:

For 2-3 persons: scale up proportionately

Ingredients:

1 cup basmati rice - india gate classic preferred

2- 3 tbsp ghee

1 tbsp oil

Chicken or mutton - 200 g

1 - onion

1 - tomato

1-3 green chillies

1 small bunch coriander leaves - remove roots but keep the tender stem

1 small bunch mint leaves - pluck leaves alone

2 tsp - ginger garlic paste

3 pieces each- cinnamon, cardamom and cloves 

Procedure:

Wash the rice several times being careful not to break the grains. Wash several times to remove starch. Soak for 30 minutes.

Marinate the meat with some plain yoghurt for atleast an hour 

Grind the cinnamon, cardamom and cloves seperately. Grind the onions with green chillies seperately. Grind tomato with coriander and mint leaves seperately. 

Heat the oil and ghee. Add the onion mixture first. Fry till brown. Then add the spices powder and fry for few minutes. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell is gone.Then add the tomato mixture and fry for about 10 minutes or till the oil seperates. Add the marinated meat and keep the heat on high. Constantly mix together and then turn the heat to low after about 5- 10 minutes. 

Close the cooker and after the whistle lower the heat and cook for 15 minutes. Once the steam has gone, carefully open the cooker. (You can check this by lifting the weight.)

Now it's time to add water. You can measure the amount of gravy (without meat) and add enough water to make 2 cups of liquid. Wait till the mixture boils on high heat and then carefully take the rice and add to the water in the cooker. Lower the heat once the mixture is boiling (this is important).Taste the water and adjust the salt. Add a few drops of lemon juice.

Close the cooker lid and put the timer for 10 minutes.( Remember the heat is on low so there will not be any whistle). Don't open the cooker immediately. Wait for 10 minutes and then open the cooker. Gently lift the biryani from the sides of the cooker with a flat dosa type handle. Be careful not to mix too much. Leave it with the lid open for 10 minutes. 

Ta da! Biryani is ready!

Puteaux - May 12- 16

 We returned from warm Marseille of about 24° to 15° at Puteaux. It was cold. We were shocked to find that the water flooding had made the wooden planks on the floor to swell and rise in many places. Purni and Flo had to get the house ready for the party next day. Purni had invited her friends, Amelie, Rachel and her family, Cesar and his girl friend and Carem. 

We had gifts for all of them, scarves, alcohol, Himalaya products. There was a lot of food. Paneer with capsicum and onion by Flo, butter chicken and veg pulao by Purni. I made chicken biryani and salmon fish fry. We made pachadi. There was ready made samosa, chicken rolls. Also ready made parotta. 

We had a nice get-together. They all made an effort to talk in English with us. The kids of Rachel were very well behaved. The French bizu is back. They all enjoyed the food 

There was a lot of cleaning up and storing of the loads of leftover food.

The next day was a relaxed day with shopping for our chennai trip back. We packed our bags, trying to make sure they were not over the weight of 23 kg each and 12 kg hand luggage. We had a lot of chocolates and cheese in our luggage. 

We had a dinner of melted cheese on vegetables and meat in the Raclette machine.

The last day in France, May 15 we relaxed and weighed our bags. We were maxed out on the weight of our bags. 

I got ready for the Jim Gaffigan show. It was very cold and we wore layers of warm clothing to travel to Paris for the show. When we reached there we were in for a disappointment...for some reason the show had been preponed and we had missed the show.😞

Flo resolutely decided to watch Gaffigan's shows on Netflix and YouTube and that is what we all did that evening. Well, the evening turned out to be not that bad, with all of us enjoying Gaffigan's comedy.

It was an early flight the next morning and we started off to the airport.

The trip to France was over all too soon.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/F8ASMujGU53kHcn5A

May 8 - 12 Marseille

 Trying not to worry about the state of the wooden flooring when we come back we set out very early by metro to catch the train to Marseille

French Riviera: Marseille-Cannes-Nice-Monaco

We arrived in Marseille after about 3.5 hours. It was a fast train and we came to the southern part of France. Marseille is part of the exotic cities around the Mediterranean.

We checked into the NHow hotel. We had dinner at a sea side restaurant. The fish was delicious. The salad oil with chilli was really good.

The next day we went to notre dame de la garde..... Notre-Dame de la Garde (literally: Our Lady of the Guard), known to local citizens as la Bonne Mère (French for 'the Good Mother'), is a Catholic basilica in Marseille, France, and the city's best-known symbol. The site of a popular Assumption Day pilgrimage, it was^[when?] the most visited site in Marseille.^[1] It was built on the foundations of an ancient fort at the highest natural point in Marseille, a 149 m (489 ft) limestone outcropping on the south side of the Old Port of Marseille.

It was a steep climb on steps to the church. The view from the top was 360° and indeed spectacular. Flo has a fear of heights and so was in the cafe. The tall statue of Bonne Mere Mother Mary is 37 feet tall. There were many paintings of ships at sea and boat miniatures hung in strings from the ceiling. Probably those are remnants of the monitoring station that used to exist there before it became a Basilica. There are many paintings of sick people and sailors at sea being saved by Bonne Mere.

There was a cafe and a souvenir shop too...

We then walked down and visited the soap museum - musee du savon.

We saw ancient machinary used for soap making and also we were explained the current machinery and methods used to make soap. Oil is mixed with soda in a machine and allowed to rest till all the soda is absorbed. Then it is powdered in another machine and mixed along with perfume, color, etc. Then this goes into another machine where it's is warmed and pressed out into various shapes. This long strip is cut into bars. There was a fun place where there were bars of soaps with the fragrance to be guessed.  

Since we paid 2.5 euros each we were each  allowed to choose for free a 100g bar of soap from the adjacent shop - Lacorne.

We walked around the port area and sat there for a while. There were many tourists around the port. 

We then walked to the Cathedral de la Major. The first stone of ‘La Major’ was laid on September 26, 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, on the plans of Léon Vaudoyer.

It was a little over forty years later, on November 30, 1893, that the Cathedral of Sainte-Marie-Majeure was completed. 

The statues of the saints Luc, Matthew, Mark, John and Veronica (with Jesus) were stunningly beautiful. The carving was life like especially visible in the arms, legs, fingers and the folds of the clothes.

The next day on May 10 we left for the boat ride to the Island of Frioul. Since it was very windy the boat did not stop at the Chateu d'Il. Apparently prisoners were kept in the chateau d'Il in the 1800s. The novel by Dumas "Count of Monte Cristo" is set in this place...where the hero is imprisoned 

The boat ride was fast and rocky. We reached the Island of Frioule. It was even more cold windy on the island. The island was rocky. We walked around the island till we reached a little rocky beach. We spent a couple of hours at this beach. The water was cold so both Purni and Flo did not bathe in the water. As we watched a few ventured into the water but got out quite fast. Many, including Flo, were sun bathing. After a few hours we caught the ferry back to the port. Ravi saw the little bus train to Notre damme and it was only 5 pm, so we both took the little train. We wound through Marseille, listening to the commentary as we viewed the Catalan beach, and other sights of Marseille. Marseille has the largest French port.

I found that Marseille is known for a dish called Boullabase, a saffron flavoured fish soup with fish inside. Purni found a restaurant that is known to serve an authentic Boullabase and we went there for dinner. The Boullabase turned out to be a large bowl of a soup that looked like a cutoo, with 5 types of fish and also mussels in the soup. It tasted fine with some salt and pepper but was too much for one person. It was accompanied by mayonnaise, small toasts and bread. Since no one else liked the dish there was a lot of the Boullabase left over.

It was a very good day with a lot of sun, wind, and adventurous food.

 

May 11 the next day was my father's death anniversary. The 37th death anniversary. Here is a website i created that is a tribute to him: http://skumarasundaram.unaux.com/

We relaxed for half a day and then went in the evening on the giant wheel and had an Indian dinner of biryani, naan, etc. Cheese or fromage naan which is a speciality in France which Flo ordered. 

The next day we started on our train back to Paris 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/NKvQA1utRomgrDhm6

May 5 - 7 Limoges

 We started early morning at 8.30 am to catch the train to Limoges. We were in 1st class compartments. There was an annoying lady in the compartment. She was objecting to a dog and to Ravi's loud talking on the phone. We had purchased some salads,bread and ham and we ate that on the train. We boarded at 10 am and reached Limoges at about 2 pm. We were served some brioce which is a type of cake. For dinner there was a sumptuous spread of cauliflower soup, fish, vegetables, cheese, coconut flan without sugar, coffee.

Every meal was so well cooked and delicious. There was a egg mimosa where eggs were boiled, yolk removed, the white filled with home made mayonnaise and the yolk was powdered by hand and spread on the whites. Mimosa is a delicate flower and the eggs were. delicate and delicious. There was chicken in a creamy sauce, cooked greens, mushrooms; the next day there was a delicious dish made of big chunks of radish, carrots, zucchini, tomatoes without skin, and whole  onion pierced with cardamom. Flavored with Herbs like thyme, rosemary, chives from the garden....

We had taken some gifts like alcohol, fruits, material, scarves for Purni's inlaws and David and Noami.

They also gave us some expensive wine, teas...

Michelle and Jean Claude work a lot in the garden. They have an apple tree, pear trees, cherry tree... They had salad leaves, lot of potato plants, cabbage and cauliflower growing in their garden.

Jean is 80 and he picked us up and dropped us back at the railway station. Though he had prostrate cancer and underwent chemotherapy he has a healthy lifestyle 

We visited the St Etienne church in Limoge that took 600 years to build. It's a catholic church. It had solid pillars and stained glass. It was a beautiful church with a beautiful garden at the back.

We visited a thrift store in Limoges which has genuinely cheap stuff. We bought a number of things there and wished we could buy more.

The colony where Michelle and Jean have their house has a small private woods. We had a walk in the woods and the area which has beautiful houses with picturesque gardens.

It was a wonderful stay at Limoges with good company, good food and good stay. The  weather was warm and good as well.

On the day we were to leave Limoges Florent gets a call that a pipe broke in their house in Puteaux resulting in flooding. The building authorities managed to open the house and suck out the water. Both Purni and Flo were worried 

We said our good byes and started from Limoges. On the way back we had a train to Putier and were to catch our train to Paris from Putier. But there was a mishap. The train had a technical glitch and stopped on the way. After a long wait the railway authorities arranged buses to Putier and since almost everyone on the train were heading to Paris and  had missed their connecting train, the sncl railway authorities arranged a special train for us from Putier and also free meals. 

It was quiet a turn of events, especially on top of the flooding of the apartment. We reached Paris by about 10.30 pm and booked an uber to Puteaux, reaching around 11 pm. 

It was with trepidation that we entered the flat. The floor of the hall and saloon was damp and the wooden tiles were starting to puff up. 

We were leaving the next day to Marseilles so we had no time. Purni folded clothes that were drying and we packed our bags for Marseilles. 

It was probably one of the worst days for Purni and Flo but we just went with the flow. 

May 4 - Cruise on the Seine river

Purni had booked a cruise and we went to the place where we had to be board the boat. As soon as we entered the boat the feast began. It started with champagne and buns. Then we had to select from courses. We chose different things. There was fish, chicken, veal, lamb. Cheese, chocolate fudge, rasberry, pudding, ended with coffee. The food was delicious and we saw the river side restaurants, statue of Liberty, notre damme, Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomph all from the boat. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience on the river cruise.

On the way back from the cruise we visited the mall again. We wanted to buy a few trousers for Ravi as all the pants he has were very tight. We bought 4 trousers for Ravi, all were bigger size so he is more comfortable and we don't have a repeat of the stomach pain episode.

We also bought 2 shirts for Gautam. 

We came back to Purni's house and we got ready to leave early to Limoges the next day. 

May 3 - Mall and the Museum d Orsey

 Near Purni's house is a huge mall with many eateries and a huge super market. We did shopping at the supermarket and bought a number of steel bowls for gifting.  In the afternoon that day Purni and I visited the museum. On the way we crossed a huge garden where we found many people sitting out in the sun. The museum has beautiful paintings and sculptures. We weren't able to see the entire museum. We visited the sections on Van Gogh, Monet, Manet and other famous artists. We spent a lot of time appreciating the paintings and the different schools like impressionist, post impressionist etc. We really enjoyed the visit.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/NKvQA1utRomgrDhm6

May 2 - Paris Trip

 Purni had planned a cruise for our 2nd day but because of the health situation with Ravi yesterday we thought we will take it easy today. Purni loves in a building called defence 2000  which has 46 floors. The view from the 45th floor was spectacular. We could view the Eiffel tower, the arc de triomph, the tallest building in Paris, the town hall where purni got married, the tall beautifully structured buildings around and some very ugly ones as well. 

Later in the evening we walked around Puteax, the rose gardens, town hall and tulips outside the town hall where purni got married. The roses and tulips were beautiful. We found some of the big roses very fragrant and they smelled divine. 

We had a nice walk around Puteaux.

May 1 - Paris Trip - the onward flight

 We boarded the airfrance flight on May 1 very early morning at 1.20 am. Everything went well. We reached very early and went through the immigration and security after checking in. All the luggage  was checkedin. We were given a 'breakfast' of warm stuffed rolls. After that we were given nothing to eat till a few hours before landing. Ravi developed a severe stomach ache that left him in severe pain and agony. He could not have the morning meal and was vomiting at this point.  It seemed to be a combination of his tight jeans and constipation due to the bread and sitting in one place during the 10 hour flight. After we landed, with great difficulty we got through the immigration and waited a long time to collect our bags. After we collected our bags Ravi was in severe pain and agony and could not move. I had 2 trolleys with 3 big bags, 2 hand luggage and 2 back packs, to contend with. I left him seated and took one trolley out, left it with Purni and despite the siren going off, rushed in again to bring Ravi and the 2nd trolley. With great pain Ravi came out and we came to Purni's home in a taxi, a 40 minute drive. After reaching Purni's home, Ravi was still in a lot of pain and wanted to be admitted in a hospital. He was nauseated and had not  eaten for more than 12 hours He panicked so a online consult was arranged with a Doctor who prescribed  anti vomiting and pain killer medicine. Flo had some suppository that he used for constipation. After using one of the suppositories and taking an anti vomiting tablet he felt fine. He slept well and woke up refreshed. 

So our day in France began with a crisis that was successfully resolved 

Paris Trip

 Purni had been calling us to France for quite some time. We had planned to visit in 2022 but that was postponed because of Gautam's wedding on September 5, 2022. 

We applied for the visa and attended the visa interview on March 22. Everything went well and we expected the visa soon. But we waited and waited and there was no sign of the visa. We were a little worried and I was sending emails to VFS every few days. We sighed a sigh of relief when  the visa arrived on April 24 or so. We then started shopping in earnest. I already had bought the Myntra stuff that Purni wanted. There were clothes mainly for her. There were also shirts, t shirts for Flo, for Michelle and also for Purni's friend Amelie.

We also bought sweets, grocery, nagercoil chips, fruits and so on. The day of travel I made about 50 chapathis that Purni and Flo love to have. Husband  was all excited and kept buying kadla muttai, mangoes and bananas to take. We purchased for rs 5800 an extra check-in baggage to accommodate all the luggage, including the 5 litre  cooker. 

Gautam and Viji also bought some dresses and we took everything. 

We booked a large SUV a Xylo and took our 3 large bags, 2 checkin bags and 2 backpacks.