Christmas Pudding

Ingredients

l lb of each: raisins, currants, golden raisins, breadcrumbs, brown sugar
8oz Suet
4oz each: Mixed peel, glace cherries chopped, almonds chopped
1 each: Lemon - grate rind, orange - grate rind, carrot - grated, apple - grated
1 tbs Flour
1 tsp mixed spice
Pinch salt
6-8 Eggs
10oz stout (bottle) or dark beer (Guiness is good)
OR 5 ozs each brandy & milk.

Method:-

Mix dry ingredients first then mix with lightly beaten eggs & liquid. Grease the bottom of a bowl large enough to hold pudding and press mixture into it. Place wax paper over the top and then foil over that, crimping it around the edges to keep firm. Either cook for 2 hours in pressure cooker with about 2 inches water or put in pan with water on stove for 4 hours. Keep checking water in pan to prevent burning. Store well wrapped for as long as possible for better flavor. Some people make them one year to eat the next. Donated by sister Margaret Hawksley Serve with hot custard, cream, or brandy sauce.

Why steam for so long? Christmas puddings are quite dense because of all the fruit, nuts, etc. they contain. Steaming is the best method of cooking because it allows a slow cooking which ensures a moist and palatable result (cakes being less dense can cook for less time and still remain moist, so baking is the best method). If you used a faster cooking method for a Christmas pudding you would get a crusty pudding. A pudding steamed for 2 hours, rather than 4, would probably still have some uncooked mixture in the center. So, while the cooking time obviously depends on the size of the pudding. (This is when it is cooked on the stove - not the pressure cooker)

Date Palm Molasses/Jaggery (Toffee)

Jaggery Toffee: - Date Palm molasses

Ingredients:-

Jaggery-250 GMS,
Milk extracted from one coconut,
100 GMS roasted peanuts,
½ a litre of water.

Method:-

Take a heavy bottomed vessel and add the jaggery, water and coconut milk and bring to a boil, add the peanuts and keep stirring continuously to avoid sticking. Empty the mixture onto buttered plates and cut up when cool.

Danish Apple Walnut Cake

Ingredients:-

4 cups coarsely chopped apples
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 t. soda
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt 1 cup chopped walnuts

Method:-

Combine apples and sugar and set aside. Beat eggs, oil, and vanilla. Set aside. Put flour, soda, cinnamon and salt into bowl. Mix apples and sugar alternatively with eggs and oil. Mix into dry ingredients. Stir in walnuts. Bake at 350 in 13x9" pan for 1 hr. Top with 10x sugar or whipped cream.

Note:- Crunchy apples and walnuts make this cake stand out. Top it with
whipped cream for a perfect dessert.

Chocolate Caramel Bars

Ingredients

Chocolate Caramel Bars

2 cups of flour
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of butter
1 cup of finely chopped pecans
2/3 cup of butter
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method

Mix flour, 1 cup brown sugar, butter in a food processor or with a pastry blender: Pat this crust into the bottom of a 9 X 15 pan. Sprinkle pecans on top of the crust. Melt butter and half cup of brown sugar and cook until bubbly (about 2-3 minutes): Pour the melted butter and sugar over the top of the crust. Bake in an oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until the melted butter and sugar is bubbling on top and the crust is lightly browned. Remove from the oven and sprinkle a mixture of butterscotch chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips over the top. Let the chips melt and then swirl them together over the top of the crust. Cut while still warm into 48 squares.

Rice Pudding or (Indian Kheer)

INGREDIENTS: -

• 2 cups coconut milk
• 2 cups milk
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 cup Basmati rice
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon rose water (optional)
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
• 1/4 cup chopped pistachio nuts

PREPARATION:-

1. Bring the coconut milk, milk and sugar to a boil in a large saucepan. Add basmati rice, and simmer over low heat until the mixture thickens and the rice is tender, about 20 minutes.

2. Stir in the raisins, cardamom and rose water, and cook for a few more minutes. Ladle into serving bowls, and garnish with almonds and pistachios.

Rava Ladoo ( Sweet )

INGREDIENTS:• 500 gms Sooji/ Rava/ Semolina (coarse variety)
• 6 tbsps ghee (see recipe below)
• 300 gms sugar
• 500 ml milk (full cream)
• 3/4 cup mixture of cashews (coarsely chopped ) and whole raisins/ sultanas

PREPARATION:

Heat a deep pan on a medium flame and when hot add the ghee. When it melts, add the cashews and rasins and fry for 2-3 minutes. Drain with a slotted spoon and remove onto paper towels. Keep aside for later.

In the same ghee, add the Sooji and mix well.

Roast the Sooji (stirring frequently) till it begins to turn a very light golden color and give off a faint aroma.

Add the sugar and mix well.

Now gently add the milk, stirring all the while to prevent lumps from forming. If any do form, make sure to break them with the back of the stirring spoon so you get a smooth paste-like consistency. Cook the mixture till it is thick and begins to come away from the sides of the pan.

Add the nuts and raisins now and mix well. Turn off the fire and allow the mixture to cool till you are able to comfortably handle it.

Now form the mixture, a little at a time, into lime-sized balls (Laddoos). Press gently but firmly with lightly greased palms to ensure they have no cracks and are firm and smooth. Arrange the Laddoos on a lightly greased platter as you prepare.

The Laddoos will become firmer if left alone for approximately half an hour. They are now ready to serve or store for later. Keep in an airtight container for upto 1 week.

GAUVA CHEESE

Chewy fudge-like sweet, Guava Cheese is best made with fresh guavas. They are a rich source of vitamin C - from 3-6 times more than in oranges to almost 30 times more than that found in bananas! Most of this vitamin C is found in the skin of the fruit.

INGREDIENTS:
1 kg soft guavas
• Sugar (amount based on how much pulp you get out of the guavas)

PREPARATION:
• Cut the guavas into quarters and remove the seeds.
• Put the seeds in a sieve and add a small amount of water. Rub into the sieve and press down with a flat spoon so as to extract the pulp surrounding the seeds, into a bowl kept below the sieve.
• Blend the gauva pieces to a smooth pulp in your food processor. Measure how many cups of pulp you have and include the pulp removed from around the seeds.
• Put all the pulp into a large, flat, heavy-bottomed dish on a medium flame.
• Add sugar to the amount of one cup less than the number of cups of guava pulp. For example, if you had 6 cups of pulp, add 5 cups of sugar to it.
• Cook, stirring frequently, till it becomes hard to stir and the guava cheese begins to come away from the sides of the pan.
• Grease a platter and spoon the guava cheese onto it. Spread into a thick layer.
• Allow to cool a little and while still warm, cut into diamond shapes.
• When completely cooled, store in an air-tight container.

Mango Delight

Ingredients:-

400 ml Fresh Milk
250 ml Ice Water
250 gms Whipping cream
40 gms Gelatine Powder
300 gms Mango Puree
300 ml Water
20 gms Butter
Coconut Powder
200 gms Sugar

Method:-

1. Mix gelatine powder, sugar and water, stir well and bring to boil till sugar dissolves in water.

2. Add in greased bowl and keep aside.

3. Stir and mix well mango puree, ice water, milk, whipped cream and instant coconut powder.

4. Now Mix the sugar solution and puree together and stir well.

5. Pour the mixture into a desired shape mould.
Chill well and serve.

Chocolate Blamange

Ingredients:

3 cups milk
3 teaspoons cocoa
5 teaspoons sugar
5 teaspoons cornstarch
1 pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk

Method:

Bring 3 Cups milk to a boil.
Add remaining ingredients together in a small bowl.
Add to boiling milk.
Stir until thickened and smooth.
Pour into individual custard dishes and put in fridge until set.
This is great served covered with cool whip or half and half.

Coconut Barfi with Cashew Nuts

Ingredients

700 gram sugar
2 coconuts
35 grams cashewnuts
70 grams ghee


Method

Scrape the coconut. Break the cashewnuts into small pieces and fry them in ghee.
Next Heat water in a vessel containing 1/4 ltr. of water and add the sugar to it.

After the sugary liquid is no longer thin, add the coconut shreds and heat it until it turns thick. Keep stirring till thick add the fried cashewnut pieces and ghee and stir the mixture well. Turn off the heat.

Pour the mixture onto a deep plate or tray which could accomodate sufficient thickness. Cut into rectangular pieces while hot. Allow to cool well and place in a container to be eaten any time after lunch or dinner.

ZAFRIANI SEVIAN

Ingredients - Vermicelli - 3 tablespoons, saffron 10-15 strands, skimmed milk 4 1/4 cups
sugar 4 tablespoons, raisins 20. Green cardamom powder - 1 teaspoon, Almond slivers, toaste 1 tablespoon.

Method

Heat a non-stick pan and roast vermicelli on medium heat till lightly browned. Take milk in a deep pan and bring it to boil. Lower heat and simmer for two to three minutes. Add sugar and cook for two minutes. Take it off the heat. Add saffron and green cardamom powder and stir well. Serve hot or cold garnished with toasted almond slivers.

Coconut Sweets

Ingredients: - 15 to 20 pieces

1. Coconut gratings -- 1 cup
2. Sugar -- 3/4th Cup
3. Milk -- 1 cup
4. Ghee -- 3 tbsp
5. Cardamom (elaichi) -- 1 tsp

Method:
1. Cook coconut, milk and sugar on medium flame with constant stirring for about 45 minutes or until milk is condensed. Add ghee whenever milk sticks to the bottom of the pan.

2. Add elaichi and remove from heat when the paste starts leaving the sides of the pan. Pour into a well greased plate and allow it to cool before cutting into pieces.

Carrot Halwa

Ingredients:- 1 Kg carrots, 3 cups milk, 1 cup sugar, 1 /4 cup clarified butter or ghee, walnuts or cashew nuts about 6 pcs crushed, cardomom powder 1 tsp and a few raisins if necessary.

Method:- Peel and grate the carrots. Heat one spoon of ghee in a heavy non stick pan. Fry the walnuts, cashews and raisins. Keep aside. Add the grated carrot with the remaining ghee in the same pan and fry for 10 minutes on low flame. Add milk and stir, till the milk is absorbed. Add sugar with cardamom powder and keep stirring for 10 more minutes. Garnish with fried cashews and raisins. Serve hot immediately or cold after refrigeration.

MANGO PANACOTTA

Ingredients - Double cream 1 litre, mango pulp 100 ml, fresh mango 200 grms, gelatin 12 grms.
Sugar according to your taste 1/2 cup approx.

Method

Boil half the cream with sugar. Add gelatin, and allow to cool. Whip rest of cream, and add to the boiled cream add the mango pulp. Freeze in mould for 4 hours. Remove from freezer and place fresh mango pieces around the frozen dessert.

CARAMEL CUSTARD PUDDING

Ingredients - 3/4 cup sugar, 1-3/4 cup water, 2 cups milk, 3 eggs, 2 drops of vanilla essence.

Tto make caramel: In a small saucepan combine 1/4 cup sugar and 6 tablespoons water. Place on low flame till sugar dissolves then turn up heat and allow syrup to brown slightly. The syrup should be evenly spread on the bottom of sauce pan. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Boil milk and allow to cool slightly. In a bowl beat eggs lightly to mix yolks and whites. Add vanilla and remaining sugar. Stir gradually add milk stirring constantly. Now pour the mixture into a mould cover tightly with aluminium foil. Bake in an oven for 25- 30 mins. Or pressure cook. Bring to full pressure on high heat. Then reduce heat and cook for 10 mins on low heat.
Remove from pressure cooker or oven and allow to cool at room temperatue. Then refrigerate
Serve chilled after meals.