Sweets
Pudding
Rice Pudding
Ingredients:
Cooking time : 2 1/2min. Serving : 4
Rice 100 gm.
Milk 1 lt.
Caster Sugar 75 gm.
Butter 15 gm.
Nutmeg 1.25 ml.
Salt (pinch)
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 150 C-185 C. Wash and drain the rice in cold water.
2. Butter a 1.75 litre pie dish and add the milk and rice. Lave the dish to stand for about half an hour.
3. Stir in the sugar as well as adding a few flakes of butter nd the nutmeg.
4. Place the dish in the oven and bake until the pudding is thick and creamy (about 2-2 1/2 hours). Serve on its own or with jam.
---Meenakshi Sarma.
Pink Pond
Ingredients:
Cooking time : 30 min. Serving : 5
China grass 1 packet
Bananas 2
Strawberry Powder 1 tbsp.
Egg 1
Red Plum pulp 50 gm
Cashew nut 25 gm
Milk Powder 4 tbsp.
Fresh milk 1 Lt.
Golden Syrup 1 tbsp.
Silver Foil 1 leaf
Method:
Soak the china grass in water for 1 hour. Boil the milk and reduce to almost half. Allow the milk to cool and add sugar and china grass. Stir and cook for 5 minutes more till it is mixed properly. Allow this to cool and add the egg(well beaten) when it is lukewarm.
In the meantime take the red plum pulp and add the dry milk and golden syrup to it. Add strawberry powder and mashed bananas. Blend in a mixture for 1 minute and add to the custard in such a way that the 2 are not completely mixed. Decorate with Cashew nut and sliver foil. Serve Chilled.
---Shakti Marwaha.
Baked Custard
Ingredients:
Cooking time : 40 min. Serving : 4
Milk 570 ml. (1 pint)
Egg 3
Caster Sugar 2 tbsp.
Vanilla Essence few drops
Butter
Method:
Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and add the sugar. Add a few drops of vanilla essence and beat the mixture. Stir the hot milk slowly into the egg mixture, whisking all the time.
Spread the butter around the top of the dish and strain the custard into the dish. Sprinkle the dish with a little nutmeg.
Place the dish into the oven and bake the custard at around 150ºC for about half an hour, until the custard sets. Serve hot or cold.
Pour the milk into a saucepan and heat it gently, until it comes to the boil.
---Meenakshi Sarma.
Apple and Nuts Custard
Ingredients:
Cooking time : 30 min. Serving : 6
For garnishing
Apples 2 Nuts and Apple Strips
Eggs 3
Vanilla essence 2 Drops
Milk 1 litre
Sugar 1 tsp.
Custard 6 tsp.
Powdered Nuts 10 gm.
Method
Beat the eggs well and boil the milk. When milk boils, add sugar and stir. Remove from the fire and add beaten eggs when the milk becomes lukewarm. Keep on stirring till it is mixed well.
Now add custard powder to 3 tsp of warm water and add to the lukewarm milk. Steam it for 30 minutes.
Allow to cool to normal temperature and spread in a dish. Spread strawberry jam like a frill on it and keep in the fridge for half an hour. Dip the thin strips of apple in golden syrup
Take out the custard from the fridge and decorate it with overlapping strips of apple. Put back into the fridge and serve cold after lunch or supper.
---Vijai Mehra.
Laddu
Ingredients:
Cooking time : 1 1/2 hours. Serving : 10-15
Bengal-gram flour 250 gms.
Sugar 250 gms.
Cardamom powder 1 tsp.
Oil to Fry
Cashew nuts 50 gms.(fried)
Method
Heat 4 tbsp. spoons of oil and add it to bengalgram Flour. Mix well with hand and knead it into dough using water. It should not be too soft or too hard. The consistency should be like that of poori dough. Place the disc with medium size holes in the muruku press. Fill it
with dough leaving space to place the upper part of the press. Heat the oil and carefully press the dough, like spirals and without overlapping, directly into the oil, keeping the bottom of the press 2 inches away from the oil. Take proper care that the hot fumes of oil
does not reach your hands. Turn it over and remove when golden brown. Drain the oil and repeat the procedure till the dough is over. Powder them in a blender, measure and set aside. Take equal measure of sugar and make light syrup. Add the powdered spirals, cardamom powder and the cashew nuts to it and mix well. Turn off the flame and make big lime size balls of it by smearing ghee to your palms.
There is simple and easy way of doing it (provided there is no connoisseur in the family)
for those who do not have the muruku press or time and patience. Powder sugar in a blender, fry bengalgram flour lightly in 2 tbps. of ghee and mix them along with the roasted cashew nuts and cardamom powder. Add a little more ghee for consistency while making
the laddus.
---Meenakshi Sarma.
Halwa
Rich Vegetable- Fruit Halwa
Ingredients:
Cooking time : 40 min. Serving : 4
For Garnishing:
Cabbage 150 gm. Silver Foil 1 leaf
Red pumpkin 150 gm. Dry Fruits
White pumpkin 150 gm.
Peaches 150 gm.
Or
Plum 150 gm.
Khoya 200 gm.
Cashew nut 50 gm.
Bottle Gourd 100 gm.
Kishmish 50 gm.
Cardamom Powder 1 tsp.
Coconut Powder 50 gm.
Red Gur 100 gm.
Ghee 100 gm.
Milk 2 Cup
Method:
Chop the cabbage, grate the bottle ground, peel and cut both the red and white pumpkins into small pieces. Cook them in 2 Cups of milk along with cashews. When tender and when the milk has been absorbed, remove from the fire, allow to cool and grind in a mixer.
Steam the peaches, destine them and crush them. Fry kishmish and grind on a grind stone. If peaches are not available, use red plums in the same way.
Melt ghee and add red jaggery to it. When it becomes a little soft add the vegetable-fruit mixture. Fry a little and then add crumbled khoya and cardamom powder. Keep on frying, stirring continuously till it becomes one mass. When it starts to leave the sides of the karahi, remove and spread in a deep dish. Decorate with silver foil and nuts. Sprinkle coconut powder on it.
---Shakti Marwaha.
Chane Ki Daal ka Halwa
Ingredients:
Cooking time : 1 1/2 hours. Serving : 4-6
Channa daal 1 cup
Ghee 1 1/2 cups
Sugar 1 1/2 cups
Tuti-fritti 2
Dry fruits 1/4 cup (chopped)
Cardamom Powder 1 tsp.
Water 1 cup
Method:
Wash the daal and soak it for about 5-6 hours. Make a paste of the soaked daal in a mixie. Heat ghee in a pan or wok.
Now heat the daal paste in ghee and stir vigorously till it is fried. It will give out a pleasant aroma and turn red. Make sugar syrup of one string consistency with sugar, water and elaichi powder.
Add this syrup to the daal mixture on a medium flame stirring continuously.
When all the liquid is evaporated and the ghee starts to separate, add the tutti-frutti and chopped dry fruits. Serve hot.
---Meenakshi Sarma.
Ice Cream
Bananna Ice Cream
Ingredients:
Cooking time : 45 min. Serving : 8
Milk 2 Cup
Heavy cream 2 Cups
Eggs 2 (beaten)
Sugar 1 1/4 Cup
Salt 1/4 tsp.
Banannas 1 Cup(purée)
Vanilla Extract 1/2 tsp.
Nutmeg 1/8 tsp.
Method:
In a saucepan, combine the milk, cream, eggs, sugar and salt.
Cook and stir over low heat until mixture thickens slightly
and coats the back of a spoon. Refrigerate the mixture until cool.
Combine the cooled custard with the bananas, vanilla and nutmeg.
Pour into freezer container. Freeze according to manufacturer’s
instructions. Or follow as per the berry ice cream method.
---Meenakshi Sarma.
Almond Ice Cream
Ingredients:
Cooking time : 45 min. Serving : 8
Almonds 1/4 cup (blanched)
Milk 2 cups
Heavy cream 2/3 cup
Egg Yolks 3
Sugar 1/2 cup
Method:
Reduce the almonds to a powder. Add the milk and heavy cream,
mix thoroughly together. In a saucepan, heat the almond mixture
and bring it to a boil. Remove from heat.
In a bowl, mix the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the almond mixture and mix well. Return
the mixture to the saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until
the custard thickens.(For reference it has to stick to the spoon)Do not boil.
Strain custard into a clean bowl and refrigerate until cold.
Process custard in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s
instruction. Transfer to covered container and freeze until firm.
---Meenakshi Sarma.
Berry Ice Cream
Ingredients:
Cooking time : 1 1/2 hours. Serving : 8
Ingredients:
Sugar(caster) 5 tbsp.
Salt 1/4 tsp.
Heavy Cream 285 ml.
Water 1/2 Cup
Note: No matter how many fruits you take it should not exceed
500 gm. or 4 Cups.
Mixed Fruits
Strawberries,
Cherries,
Raspberries,
Blackberries
Method:
In a freezer-proof container mix well salt, heavy cream and 2 tbsp. of sugar.
Put into the freezer to chill.
Meanwhile, put the berries into a pan together with the water and
remaining sugar. Heat gently for 10 min., stirring frequently until
the fruit softens, and then let the mixture simmer gently for
15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, so that some of the water
can evaporate off. Remove the pan from the heat. The fruit should now be in an unrecognisable state. Using a masher, mash the fruit gently to make sure the mixture has no large lumps of fruit in it. Let the fruit mixture cool,
then remove the cream mixture from the freezer, and then add the
berry mixture to the cream mixture in the container and mix well.
Check the mixture for sweetness, and if not sweet enough, add more
sugar to taste and mix well.
Return the container to the freezer, and let the ice-cream freeze.
When it is half-frozen (approximately 4 hours, but could be sooner
or later depending on your freezer), take out the container,
beat the ice-cream thoroughly with a fork, and return it to the
freezer.
Once it is frozen, the ice-cream should be scoopable direct from
the freezer, but if not, remove the container from the freezer
15 minutes before serving. There aren't many servings to this
ice cream as it is too delicious.
---Meenakshi Sarma.
