Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango and Kiwi (Khao niew ma muang)

I know it is a little strange posting a mango recipe at this time of the year. Actually this recipe has been sitting for a long long time waiting patiently for me to press the 'publish' button and before this recipe too gets buried in deep amongst 'unpublished - to be posted soon' pile and disappears, I decided its time to share it with you especially as the dish is insanely delicious.

Another reason for it to be sitting idle for so long in the drafts section, is because I was waiting for it to be published in a food magazine. Yes! You heard it right. I too was excited when I was approached by a reputed magazine to be a part of their taste team by trying out their given recipe at home and share my thoughts about it, which would have been printed alongside the recipe in the magazine. Unfortunately for me there were were some snags with space issues on the page and the 'taste team' column had to be scrapped. 
Sad!! But still on a positive note, I got a great new recipe to try out which otherwise, quite likely I might not have made an attempt to try.

It turned out to be a delicious dessert without any fuss - sticky, al dente rice with a beautiful coconutty flavor. The best part is that the dessert is not overtly sweet which makes it a beautiful base combined with the sweet mangoes.

Do not be intimidated by the steaming instructions, you can steam any way. I did not have a bamboo steamer to steam my rice and as I did not want to buy one just to try this recipe out, I devised a makeshift steamer with a metal strainer atop a boiling pot which worked beautifully. Details about how to set this contraption up given below. Also remember that since the rice has to sit in the coconut mixture after being cooked, do not steam it too soft.

I know traditionally this coconut sticky rice is served with mangoes but as It will be quite some time before they make an appearance again in the markets here in India, you can try substituting the mangoes with caramelized pears or plums. I am sure they too will taste delicious.

For best results, serve it freshly steamed.

Ingredients

Serves 6 

For  rice

250 gms Sushi rice (Try Blue Dragon available at gourmet stores)

225 ml coconut milk unsweetened (Try Dabur Hommade available at grocery stores))

85-100 gms caster sugar

1 lime, juiced

For Sauce

1 mango, peeled, stoned and chopped

60 ml orange juice

1 tbsp lime juice

50 gms, golden caster sugar

For Decoration

1-2 mangoes, ripe, peeled, halved and very thinly sliced
2 Kiwis, sliced (optional)
a few leaves mint leaves
zest of 1 lime

Method

A day ahead, wash the rice in plenty of cold water, then drain and tip it into a bowl. (According to some people 3 hours are also enough to soak the rice but you can experiment). Pour over enough cold water to more than cover it and leave to soak overnight.

To make the mango sauce, liquidise the mango flesh with the orange juice, lime juice and sugar. Taste and add a little extra sugar or lime juice if necessary. Pass through a fine sieve, then chill if making ahead.

Drain the rice, transfer to a steamer and steam for 25-30 minutes until soft and tender, making sure the water doesn't boil dry. 

If you don't have a bamboo steamer, try out this method which worked beautifully too. Check it out here and also here how to make the perfect sticky rice without a steamer.

Simmer the coconut milk with 85 g of the sugar for 1 minute. 

Pour in the lime juice, stir in the steamed rice, then leave, covered, for 5 minutes until it has reached a thick, creamy consistency. 

Add more sugar to taste if needed. Cool slightly, for about 10 minutes, until tepid and holding its shape. 

The rice is best served slightly warm, as the longer it is left, the firmer and stickier it becomes.

For each serving, place a 6.5cm diameter x 3.5cm tall ring mould in the middle of a large plate. Spoon in 1/6th of the rice. 

Drizzle a little mango sauce around the rice. Arrange a few slices of mango on the sauce and lay a few slices on top of the rice with a sprinkling of lime zest. 

Arrange slices of cut Kiwis around the plate.

Scatter over a few mint leaves. 

Serve the remaining mango sauce separately.

Enjoy this Thai Restaurant styled dessert and impress everyone.