Saturday, November 22, 2014



Round Robin, November 22nd, 2014

"What is your favorite food or meal? (Doesn't have to have anything to do with Thanksgiving, although it can if you want it to.)  Tell why it is so scrumptious, and how you got hooked on it, where you first had it, etc. If you want to share a recipe, great!"

MANGO TRIFLE

“You might get him with the way you look, but you’ll keep him by the way you cook.”

My mother, a cross between Jane Austen’s Mrs. Bennet and Indian saintly mothers, (and a very outspoken woman to boot) always said that. 

Growing up in post British India and in an Army family, we were exposed to both Western and Eastern cuisine.  Coming from a family of foodies we loved everything we ate!   My mother made a wonderful British dessert that I loved…Trifle.  She said the reason I liked it so much was the alcohol in the recipe  and she was afraid that I would follow in my father’s footsteps and become enslaved by the demon rum!
  I got hooked on Trifle as a child I guess.  I had inherited my mother’s sweet tooth and that made all desserts the best part of every meal.  This one with it’s layers of sponge cake (angel food), custard, fruit, cream and sherry/rum/brandy is superlicious.
  When I was 14 and enrolled in cooking class (in the hope that talent would make me irresistible to future prospects in the field of matrimony) I came across Trifle again…this time as Pineapple Trifle.  I can’t remember if it was my mother or I who changed it to Mango Trifle, with the fruit we love best. 
  From the time I was 16, I made the trifle for any party/get together at home.  My mother would proudly announce that I was a good cook, in the hope that the family and friends grapevine would relay this to the parents of prospective grooms and snag me a good match!!!  Sorry that’s such a long sentence but it has to be read like that to get the full impact.
  In the ‘mango season’ here I get the best Kent mangoes for the trifle and then freeze some of the chopped up fruit, so that on Christmas  or New Year’s we can have this delectable dessert.
It isn’t just the dish, it’s the memories associated with it that makes it a favorite.

  Hope you enjoyed this story and if you know an editor who wants a book of them, just give her my email address. While there’s life there’s hope …and Mango Trifle.
  Anyway to cut a long story short, here’s the link to the adored ‘Mango Trifle’ on my cooking blog “Payt Pooja’ which literally means worship of the stomach.  (Indians do it all the time with food.)





Now lets wander over to the other delicacies other chefs have posted for this Round Robin. Thanks Robin for thinking this one up!






10 comments:

  1. Geeta, I am a fan of trifle (I serve a gingerbread and custard version) and consider your mango a summer indulgence must. I look forward to more stories about growing up in post war India, too.

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    1. Thanks Connie. You know how to make a friend feel good.

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  2. Oh yum! Love trifles, love mangoes. Would be a great holiday treat. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thanks Odette. The mangoes have to really ripe and juicy.

      Geeta

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  3. The Scottish saying was "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach." possibly all mothers of hormonal teenage girls simply want shot of them! On the other hand, mang trifle sounds delectable. Thanks for sharing, Geeta. Anne Stenhouse

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    1. Anne...love your comment. In India it was more the worry of not finding a good match or one who wanted a dowry...our hormones were strictly under control because they were never discussed and we were segregated and kept strictly under control. I got away...but that's another story.
      Geeta

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  4. Actually the way to anyone's heart is via the stomach! My husband wooed me with home-made spaghetti sauce, and I returned the favor with my Polish cabbage rolls, Then he made angel food cake, and I baked pies. He made cookies, I made more. Etc. We've been happily cooking and baking for each other for over 30 years. And eating...way too much eating!
    Thanks for sharing your memories of growing up in such an exotic locale.

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  5. What a courtship and I love the way you two chefs have blossomed along the way.
    Diabetes has taught me all about portion control, but I am still glad that I can enjoy everything...in small amounts.

    Geeta

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  6. I will adapt and try out your cabbage rolls and send you a note when I do...the recipe intrigues me and sounds yummy!

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  7. No one asked -- did this Trifle snag your groom? LOL

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