Mixed Fruit Custard

Luscious desserts give THE finishing touch to any perfect meal! Some spectacular desserts, like the Mixed fruit Custard can be made with little time, turns out be delicious and not too over sweet.. Chennai summer makes us crave for something chill and this dessert is good for any time of the day..And what’s more, everyone loves it..



Ingredients

1 whole cup of fresh fruits – Banana, apple, ripened mangoes, pomegranate pearls, pineapple etc.,
2 teaspoon full – Custard Powder (Vanilla Flavour)
Milkmaid – Condensed Milk – half a tin ( adjust to your sweet buds!)
Vanilla Essence – Few Drops
Milk – 2 cups

Preparation :

Warm the milk just for 2 minutes and add the custard powder to it. On a slow flame, stir in regularly without any lumps till it becomes semi-thick. It would take just 3-4 minutes. Switch off the flame.

Now add the condensed milk and mix well. Cool it. Add the Vanilla essence.

Whip this mixture in a mixie just for ½ a minute, now it transforms in to a divine creamy mixture.

Transfer this sauce to a bowl and chill in a refrigerator. (If the mixture becomes a little thick, you can add in a spoon of cold milk or some more milkmaid..)

Mix this creamy custard and fruits and serve in individual bowls. The heavenly dish is ready to be served. If you not the calorie conscious kind, add a generous dose of whipped cream as topping to make it more heavenly. Indulge!

Trivia about Custard

Custard is cornflour-based and thickens to form a sauce when mixed with milk and heated to a sufficient temperature. Custard was invented by a Birmingham scientist, Alfred Bird in 1837, because his wife was allergic to eggs - Eggs were the key ingredient used to thicken traditional custard.

After he discovered his custard (Bird’s custard powder)and became popular, he formed Alfred Bird and Sons Ltd., in Birmingham. By 1843, the company was also making the newly invented baking powder and by 1844 was promoting custard powder nationally. By 1895 the company was producing Blancmange powder, jelly powder, and egg substitute. In World War I, Bird's Custard was supplied to the British armed forces. It was later on acquired by General Foods in 1947 and has been part of Kraft Foods since 1989.

Chinna Vengaya Chutney

Chinna Vengayam – also called as Sambar Vengayam / Small Onions / Shallots are indispensable in South Indian cooking and enhances the taste of any dish in which it is added.



Chinna Vengaya Chutney and Idlis are “Made for each other” and try this simple finger licking chutney recipe, you’ll never go wrong! This is best made with gingelly oil and can be stored in the refrigerator for a week.. (If it lasts..)

My grand-mom used to whip up this delicious chutney as an accompaniment with packed idlis / chappatis for train travel.. I remember how I used to gobble this up and fight with my sister till the last serving!

The only pain is to peel the small onions with eyes watering and with the advent of departmental stores offering ready made - peeled onions, its sure a blessing for lazy people like me!

Ingredients

Small Onions – ½ kg
Dry Red Chillies (long variety) – 10 -15
Lemon sized ball – Tamarind
Tomato (small) - 2
Garlic – 3 pods
Salt – to taste
Sugar – 1 tsp
Asafoetida powder - 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – a pinch
Gingelly oil – 4 tablespoons


1.Cut the onions in to half / small size so that while grinding, it comes out even.
2.Add all the ingredients (except gingelly oil) in a mixie and grind it. This mixture need not be too fine, but a little coarse. You may add half cup of water to grind this. (Not too much of water, this mixture should be semi-solid)
3.In a Kadai, add 2 tablespoons of gingelly oil, add mustard and a little asafetida, turmeric powder for tempering.
4.Add the ground onion mixture. Lower the flame and cook for about 10 minutes.
5.Add the rest of the oil after 10 minutes(after the onion is cooked) and now you can see the chutney like consistency (The chutney comes out in one whole lump without sticking to the sides of the Kadai).
6.Check for salt and sugar, and if needed, add the same. Allow to cool.


Try out this recipe which would go well with any tiffin – be it Idli, Dosa, Upma or chapatti and enjoy the compliments! As a variation, you could also make this with the regular onions, but you cannot beat the taste of Sambar vengayam..

Vazhakai Podi

This amazingly easy south indian curry is a tasty dish which goes well with rice. Just steam the vazhakai (green raw plantain) and grate it, add the curry powder.. and you have a nice dish ready in a moment!

Ingredients

Vazhakai – 2
Coconut oil – 2 tsp
Curry leaves
Asafoetida
Curry Powder – 2 -3 tablespoons
Turmeric powder
Red chillies - 2
Salt
Mustard and split urad dal for tadka

Cut the Vazhakai (with the skin on) in to half and microwave these pieces wrapped in a wet cloth. Microwave in high for 3 minutes and let it cool. If you overcook these, then it would become Vazhai Halwa.. so be careful!

After it’s completely cooled, grate this and keep aside. To this grated mixture, add ½ tsp of coconut oil, asafetida, turmeric powder, curry powder, and salt and gently sift through using your hands. (so that the mixture is not sticky forming lumps).

In a Kadai, heat coconut oil and do the tadka with red chillies, mustard seeds, split urad dal, curry leaves, asafetida. Toss in the grated Vazhakai mixture on a low flame. Leave it on for just 2-3 minutes till everything is mixed well. You can add in a little more curry powder if you like it a little spicer. Enjoy!

For the Curry Powder - This can be made in advance and stored for 2-3 weeks. This curry powder or podi can also be used for Ennai Kathirikai and all other Podi Curries. Dry roast all the below mentioned ingredients and make a semi-ground podi in the mixi.

Corainder seeds – 4 tsp
Long, dried red chillies – 10-15
Asafoetida – ½ tsp
Channa dal or Kadalai Parruppu – 2 tsp
Broken white urad dal – 2 tsp
Rice – 1 tsp

Chilli Parotta

A quick, easy and finger-licking snack.. Chilli Parotta is a famous menu item at the hotels (esp. Saravana Bhavan) and Kaiyendi bhavans and my friends vouch for the yummy chilli parottas at Madurai and Thirunelveli.

This version is a popular version served at hotels and street food joints, and of course it is Chinese - Indian Fusion.. This tried and tested receipe is a favourite and has rave reviews from my son and his friends!


Ingredients:

Sumeru Flaky Frozen Parottas - 2 nos
Veggies :
Onions - 2, Spring Onions - 1/2 cup, capsicum - 1 (Cut the onions and capsicum length-wise)
Chillies, slit lengthwise and deseeded (or else, you'll have a red-hot dynamite in your plate)
Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Ajinomoto - a pinch
Soya Sauce, Tomato-Chilli Sauce and if your need a sweet tinge, add the sweet chilli sauce too.


1. Thaw the Parottas in a Microwave for a minute. Chop the Parotta pieces, stir fry in hot oil. Keep the crisp pieces aside.

2. In a Kadai, add oil, saute the onions, ginger garlic paste, capsicum pieces with a pinch of ajinomoto. Add the de-seeded chillies according to your levels - hot, hotter, hottest!

3. Stir fry it quickly, add the sauces and toss in the fried parottas. Finally add the spring onions..

And you have a fab menu quickly in place.. Enjoy!
Variation : You can also add the Bajji chillis or molagai during the season

For some hot trivia on chillies,

The Hottest Chilli in the World- Bhut Jolokia

The Bhut Jolokia (also known as Naga Jolokia, Ghost Chili, Ghost Pepper, Naga Morich) is a chilli pepper originating in Assam, India, that has earned Guiness World Records' recognition as the World's Hottest Chilli Pepper!

Weighing in at 1,001,304 Scoville Heat Units(SHUs), the Bhut Jolokia chilli from India blasted the previous champion Red Savina which was at 577,000 SHUs) by almost double.

This landrace chile originates from the northeast of India, particularly Assam, Nagaland and Manipur. It belongs to the Capsicum Chinense family and is known by many names in the different Indian provinces. The most common names include Bhut Jolokia, Bih jolokia, Nagahari, Raja Mircha, Raja chilli or Borbih Jolokia. For example Bih jolokia translates to 'poison chilli' in Assamese. Bhut Jolokia translates to 'Ghost chilli' probably due to its ghostly bite. Raja Mircha means 'King of Chillies'.