Mango is hands down my favorite fruit of all time. My fondest memories are when I’ve visited India and picked mangoes straight from the mango trees to munch on later. This is the perfect pie to make for a summer barbecue & year round if you stock up on fresh mango in the summertime & freeze the flesh (more info on this in the Mango Filling section)
Cardamom Graham Cracker Crust
A show stopping pie needs a show stopping crust PERIODT! I love a bit of extra flavor, and this is the perfect cherry on top to this mango pie. The cardamom marries well graham cracker, giving it an aromatic taste.
The recipe calls for ground graham cracker- which you can easily do by pulsing graham cracker sheets in a blender or food processor till it turns crumbly. There is also another method of placing the cracker in a large Ziploc bag & smacking it with a rolling pin, but I don’t own a rolling pin… yes the pie obsessed food blogger doesn’t own a rolling pin I use an empty 1L vodka bottle #resourceful
Medha’s Tips for Purchasing & Using Cardamom!
Cardamom is the world’s third most expensive spice after saffron & vanilla! That’s why it is important you buy the best quality cardamom which retains the flavor the longest. Cardamom is best stored in the pod, as exposed or ground seeds quickly lose their flavor. However, peeling the green pod is a pain in the bum.
I recommend buying a small quantity of cardamom seeds & storing it in an airtight container. To get ground cardamom, you can use a coffee grinder or mortar & pestle- just make sure you use a dry cloth to clean out the residue of previous spices & coffee grounds!
Here’s what I use:
- Cardamom: I love how Spicewalla packages their spices, it’s a perfect gift to give to your cooking-obsessed friend
- Coffee grinder
- Mortar & pestle
Mango Filling:
I have used frozen and fresh mangoes while developing this recipe & the consistency has stayed the same. If using frozen mango, I recommend chopping up overripe mangoes & freezing them. Store bought frozen mango just doesn’t have the same richness of flavor.
Ingredients:
Cardamom Graham Cracker Crust:
2 ½ cups (280 grams) finely ground graham-cracker crumbs
⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 large pinch of salt
9 tablespoons (128 grams) unsalted butter, melted
Mango Filling:
2 cups of mango pulp from fresh mangoes
2 Knox gelatin envelopes
3/4 cup of cold water
3/4 cup condensed milk
Directions:
- Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cardamom & salt together in a medium sized bowl. Add butter, & stir with a fork until evenly combined. Pour the crumb mixture into a deep 9-inch round metal pie pan, and spread evenly. Press down with fingers, a metal measuring cup or an identical pie pan to compact the crust as much as possible.* The more compressed the crust, the less it will crumble! Place crust in the fridge.
- In a small bowl, pour in the cold water & sprinkle in the gelatin while whisking with a fork. Set aside for 5 minutes.
- While the gelatin is “resting”, blend the mango pulp & condensed milk until smooth. I prefer to use a hand blender since it’s easier to handle & less of a mess made (fewer dishes to clean 🙂)
- Microwave the gelatin mixture on high (100%) for 30 seconds. Stir until the gelatin has completely dissolved & set aside to cool slightly. Before adding the gelatin to the filling, make sure both mixtures have similar temperatures to avoid any lumps!
- Now, pour the gelatin in the mango filling using a small strainer to avoid any lumps in the gelatin. Beat the mango filling with a whisk until smooth- 30 seconds.
- Immediately pour mango filling into the pie crust & refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.
- Serve with homemade whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
If you make this recipe, take a picture & tag me @medhacooks on Instagram!
