Semolina Mango Yoghurt Cake with Mastic

Semolina Mango Yoghurt Cake with Mastic happened because I didn't have enough mango puree which I made up with yoghurt and then I had to find ways to use up my mastic tears and this is a perfect recipe to try.

I know mango season is off the calendar in India, but I am posting this recipe because I do still see some small portions of mangoes in the supermarket and then there is always the frozen pulp if you were that organized. 😛 (not me!)

If you ask me which version I like better, it would be hands down this one with yoghurt and mastic. The difference would be just with the flavour of mastic and the moistness of yoghurt. So this cake was less crumbly and can easily be on a dessert plate.

Mastic is easily available in the Gulf countries and is sold in both tears of pearls and "chewing gum" form. You need to pick the pearls for cooking purposes. When I posted this cake pic in IG stories, many of you asked me about mastic so posting a pic here. I highly recommend that you look out for this as it is something you have to try to know the taste.

At last! I finally got my hands on #mastic 😎

A post shared by Famidha Ashraf (@fashfaiz) on Nov 9, 2016, at 10:08pm PST

Semolina Mango Yoghurt Cake Recipe

The Loaf pan size - is 8 inches in length and 4 inches in breadth and 2.5 inches deep. or 8 x 4 x 2.5 inches that can hold up to 4 cups of water.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup fine semolina
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup white sugar (adjust as per the sweetness of the mango)
2 mastic tears, crushed to powder with the back of a spoon
½ teaspoon cardamom powder
¼ cup sunflower oil
¾ cup fresh mango puree
¼ cup yoghurt
1 teaspoon rose water
2 tablespoons crushed pistachios

METHOD

Prep:

Place a flat pan on low to medium flame and place the pressure cooker over the pan to preheat
Grease the loaf pan lightly and line the pan with baking paper with excess extended on either side so we can lift the cake once done.

Batter:

In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients like the fine semolina, sugar, cardamom, baking powder and crushed mastic
Gradually add the oil and mix well.
Next, fold in the mango puree and yoghurt and mix until homogeneous. Let the batter rest for 10 to 15 minutes.

Bake:

Transfer the batter to the greased loaf pan and garnish with the chopped pistachios.
Place the pan in the pressure cooker, close with the lid, without the weight and bake on a medium flame for 20 minutes. Then reduce the flame to low and bake another 30 mins and check the doneness every 20 minutes with a toothpick in the centre. Mine took almost an hour and more.
You can check with a toothpick or touch the centre of the cake and if it is firm, then it is done. Remove the pan immediately and lift off the loaf with the help of excess baking paper and let it cool on the counter.
Slice and serve

I had drafted this post right after I made this Semolina Mango Yoghurt Cake with Mastic on August 1st but never got to publish it for many reasons. If you have been following me on IG and FB, you would have learnt that my Ragee was unwell and hospitalized for two days. Alhamdulillah, she is back home and we were able to celebrate Eid with a much better state of mind.

This Eid, we are staying home to give company to our recovering cat. InshaAllah, I hope to spend some time updating the blog and reading other blogs.