Bread pudding

Simplest of all the bread puddings that I have tried so far.

3 slices of bread
1/2 litre of milk (3% fat)
4 tablespoons of custard powder
4 tablespoons of sugar (adjust based on the sweet tooth)
4 tablespoon chopped nuts, I used pecans and cashews.
2 apples cored, peeled and diced
Arils of one pomegranate
1 tablepoon butter

Chop the bread to bite size pieces.
In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter (10 secs) on high power (900W).
Now add the bread pieces to this bowl and microwave it again for another 3 min at 600W power. The bowl should be big enough to lay the pieces in one layer.
Now, stir the bread pieces around and wait for them to cool and get the texture of toast
Boil milk (reserve 4-5 tablespoon of milk in a small container)
Add Custard powder to the reserved milk and make a runny paste with no lumps
Add this paste/mixture to the boiled milk
Stir it around and as the milk thickens, wait to get one boil.
Layer the apple pieces, nuts and the pomegranate seeds on the bread and pour custard over it.
cover with seran wrap and chill in the fridge for an hour
Serve with a dollop of ice cream (or not)

Took me about 15 min to make. One needs to pay attention to the toast making part as each oven is different.

My sister makes a trifle pudding using cake instead of bread, but that dessert is rich and more decadent. So when in hurry this recipe will hit a similar spot.

Biscotti

I made Biscotti over the weekend and it turned out nice. Here is the recipe that I followed.

http://arundathi-foodblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/nutella-and-chocolate-chip-biscotti.html

And guess what the catch is I made them in the microwave and they still turned out great. I nuked the log the first time around for 5 min in my Samsung Microwave+Convection+Grill box on full power(900W) and then cut the biscuits and nuked them for another 4 min at 450W power.

I missed the oven when we relocated and got this Samsung box, it did not live upto my expectations of a conventional oven, but I still continued to bake cakes (in microwave+convection mode) as they turned out ok, but was hesitant to do any other kind of baking in it and yesterday I broke the jinx. Now let me see what other stunts I can pull in this way. Until then Ciao.

Aleevache Ladoo

I like these ladoos quite some and when I googled for the names in other languages and nutritional information of these seeds, I found only one meaningful post which was on Anita's blog. As I did not find any recipes for these Aleeve/Halim/Raktabeej seeds, I decided to put the ladoo recipe in my blog for future references. These ladoos are mostly given to new mothers, as the seeds are considered to be very nutritious.

In the initial days of the delivery, when the idea is to keep it easy for the digestive system, My mom gave these seeds to me in a kheer form for 3 days and a month or so after the delivery as a ladoo. The seeds help tighten the lower back which takes a huge beating thru the pregnancy and delivery.

The Ladoos are very simple to make. Soak the seeds, they become slimy and plump like Sabja seeds. To 2 cups of soaked seeds add a cup of sugar (increase or decrease per taste)and heat it till the mixture leaves the sides. Then add half a cup of grated coconut and make ladoos while the mixture is warm. Enjoy the ladoos.

For the Kheer, soak the seeds, and add it to boiled and slightly reduced milk, add sugar and serve.

Although I should mention that since we like these ladoos, my mom makes them ocassionally. (Good News! one needn't procreate to eat them :D) Also care should be taken to clean the seeds as usually there is some fine sand in them and running thru a seive before soaking removes the sand and other dust particles.