A version of the Thailand famous dessert, Mango Sticky Rice, made with jeerakashala rice…
Each time I decide to take a little breaker from the blog, it just keeps going a little long. Days are going quite fast, to say the least. We are already in August of this year. There has been quite a few things happening. Last week, we had a very dicey climate, that actually ended up with two days of rain. Even though our sides weren’t affected, the Fujeirah and Kalba side were badly damaged in the rains. Some of the videos were extremely scary, since the wadis were flooded, thanks to the consistent and strong rains. It did bring down the temperatures a bit, but we are still in summers, so it is crazy humid and very draining to say the least. Being a food blogger, I am ashamed to say that I have been hardly cooking to avoid the heat stress. OK, don’t tell me I should be hiding somewhere… I have never said that I love to cook, though it was my love to have a space of mine that eventually landed me up on this lovely blog, Alhamdulillah… 🙂
During Eid, D had asked B to get us a crate of Pakistani mangoes. I don’t have to tell you that they were amazingly sweet. We finished eating up most of it but from the time I had it, I wanted to make at least one more dessert apart from the fro-yo I posted earlier this year. That is when I decided to make the dessert I have been wanting to really make in my kitchen – the mango sticky rice or Khao Neeyo Mamuang in Thai… Very fancy, right? 😉
Just like it’s name suggests, this very popular dessert is cooked sticky rice, served with ripe mangoes and a thick coconut sauce, topped optionally with sesame seeds or caramelized seeds. Usually, the rice that is used is the Thai sticky rice. The method of cooking the rice is different from regular rice. The rice is usually soaked overnight, drained, steam cooked till soft and then cooked further in coconut milk till it looses shape and becomes clumpy. I simply didn’t want to buy a packet of this rice, because I very well knew I would struggle to finish it. That is when I remembered someone posting on their Instagram of using the jeerakashala rice to make the sticky rice component. Now, jeerakashala rice, when overly cooked, does become clumpy and sticky. So I decided to try it that way.
I soaked the rice for half an hour. After cooking it in a little over double the water, I added in some coconut milk and sugar till it got overcooked. Even though the coconut milk sauce is optional, I would really advise to make it, since it just ups the coconut flavor on the dessert and makes it absolutely irresistible. I had tapioca flour in my pantry, thanks to Azza’s experiments, and hence I used it, but you can use corn flour instead. The one flavoring I would advise you to get on with is the pandan essence. Since most of us may not be able to land up with actual pandan leaves, pandan essence gives a very realistic flavor to the dessert – if you remember, I had used it in the Maldivian sago pudding. Even if you skip it, it is fine but it wouldn’t give the authentic taste. We really enjoyed the dessert. It was mildly sweet and just aptly flavored. So now you know, you don’t have to search for sticky rice when you have mangoes in hand… 😉
Mango Sticky Rice {Cheat Version!}
Ingredients
- 1 large mango chopped
- 1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds
FOR STICKY RICE
- 1/2 cup Jeerakashala rice soaked for 30 minutes and drained
- 1 1/4 cup water
- A pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup thick coconut milk
- 2 tbsp sugar
FOR COCONUT SAUCE
- 1/2 cup thick coconut milk
- 2 tbsp water
- 1/2 tsp tapioca starch or rice flour
- 2 tbsp sugar
- A pinch of sugar
- A dash of pandan essence
Instructions
- In a saucepan, add the drained rice, water and salt and bring it to boil. Cook on low flame till the rice absorbs all the water and is soft.
- Add the coconut milk and sugar and cook further till absorbed. By now, the rice would be overcooked and sticky. Allow to cook.
- For the sauce, combine all the ingredients except the pandan essence and cook on low flame till glossy. Keep stirring to avoid the tapioca starch from settling at the end.
- Once slightly thick, switch off and mix the essence. Set aside to cool.
- To serve, divide the rice into three parts, shape using a bowl and flip onto a plate. Spoon over one-third of the sauce.
- Set chopped mangoes on the side and sprinkle some sesame seeds, if using. Dig in!