I promised a friend of mine that I would be posting the recipe of this particular mango mousse that I recently made. It’s a regular mousse recipe, but what makes it different from an everyday mango mousse is an ingredient called ‘Gulukand’.
Gulukand is rose petal and sugar preserve found in Northern India and Pakistan. Making rose and sugar preserve as a medicine started in ancient India, and has been detailed in Ayurveda (Sushruta Samhita).
Modern medical science will tell you that it does not work, but trust me, it does. Ask my family – allopathic couldn’t offer a treatment for the very painful condition of piles that runs in the family, other than surgery. Cure? Yes, Ayurveda. Godsend I tell you.
Coming back to Gulukand, typically made with rose petals and sugar, gulukand is said to have a lot of medicinal properties, backed by National Institute of Ayurvedic Medicine.
Wiki lists a number of benefits of gulukand:
• Gulkand is a powerful antioxidant and a very good rejuvenator.
• Consuming 1 – 2 teaspoons of gulkand helps to reduce acidity and stomach heat. It also helps in treating ulcers and prevents swelling in the intestine.
• Gulkand helps to treat mouth ulcers, strengthens teeth and gums.
• It can be used to treat dysmenorrhoea and is effective in relieving menstrual pain. It is also helpful in treating excessive white discharge problem.
• A very good digestive tonic – helps to improve appetite, improves digestion and corrects digestive problems.
• Gulkand helps to remove toxins from the body and purifies blood. Thus, it helps in giving a clear complexion and prevents the occurrence of various skin problems like acne, boils, whiteheads etc.
• Helps to reduce excessive perspiration and foul body odour.
• Having two teaspoons of gulkand before venturing outdoors, can help to prevent sunstroke and controls nostril-bleeding.
• It is good for all those individuals who have water retention problem, as it helps in increasing your urine output.
• It has a calming effect on the nervous system, thus helps in reducing stress.
Gulukand is not cooked. Petals are layered with sugar in a jar and set out in the sun for weeks, a meticulous process followed to get just the right consistency. The finished product has a leathery texture, is chewy and cloying sweet. People find it quite unpleasant to have it by itself. However adding it as a flavor to other sweets or simply stirring some in the milk makes it delicious. It’s widely used in ‘paan’ or a beetle leaf wrapping that is typically consumed after meals (not a good habit, it’s messy and stains everything it touches).
I added some in the mango mousse. It adds a layered texture to the mousse, and adds to the taste, plus acts as a decorative feature.
- 2 cups half and half
- 2 cups Mango puree (tin, sweetened. For fresh mangoes, see notes).
- ½ cup cashews
- ½ cup Gulukand
- ½ tsp saffron strands
- 2 tbs of mixed nuts for garnish
- 1 pkg gelatin or agar agar (optional)
- Sugar - adjust according to taste, if needed.
- Soak the cashews in 1 cup of half and half for 30 minutes. Grind into a paste.
- Soak gelatin in hot water till dissolved or prepare agar agar by mixing it in hot water and boiling it. (Optional)
- Whip the rest of the half and half till it forms soft peaks.
- Add gelatin/agar agar (if using).
- Combine mango puree with whipped half and half and whip on low till it's all mixed.
- Add the cashew paste and blend.
- Now, add gulukand. Whip for 30 seconds.
- Check for sugar, and add if needed. (See notes).
- Transfer the mixture to a serving pot. Garnish with saffron strands, gulukand, nuts. You can also sprinkle castor sugar for decoration (use sparingly).
- Refrigerate for 4 hours and serve cold.
- If you don't have tinned mangoes, puree 3-4 large, sweet mangoes. If the mango is fibrous, it's would be good to seive it. It should make two thick cups of puree.
- Add ¾ cup of sugar if the mango puree sweetend. Go by your taste buds when adding sugar. Gulukand is a sugar preserve so always add sugar at the end.
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