NEVER FAIL PUDDING / EASY CHOCOLATE LAYER PUDDING

Recipe source: Vanitha
Ingredients

1. Butter( room  temperature)- 1/2 cup
2. Marie biscuit -powdered- 1.5 cups
3. Grated coconut- 1 cup
4. Drinking chocolate powder-3/4 to 1 cup
5. Condensed milk- 1 tin( 400 ml)

Method

• Preheat oven to 180 Deg C.

• In a mixing bowl combine together butter and powdered biscuit.Using a spoon ,press this evenly over the bottom of a pie dish or individual ramekins/small baking dishes.

• Spread grated coconut evenly over the biscuit layer.

• Spread drinking chocolate powder over the coconut layer.

• Carefully pour condensed milk over the chocolate powder layer.
• Bake for about 10 minutes.Allow it to cool slightly (dust with cocoa powder and garnish with chopped cashew nuts if desired.)
• Serve with cream or vanilla /caramel ice cream. 

Mango Ice Cream

Summer  is the time when we get fresh mango in India. As we get good varieties of mango in this season. I decided to make the summer special refreshing homemade mango ice cream. Mango ice cream is an all time favourite hit. I just cubed the mangoes and blended to make this silky, smooth and delicious ice cream.

Ingredients :

Low Fat Cream - 1 tin 
Alphonso Mango - 2, big
Condense milk - 1 tin
Milk powder - 2 tbsp

Method :

Peel the mango and cube it. Put in a blender and puree it.

In a bowl add take low fat cream and beat with electric beater.

Then add condense milk and milk into it and again whisk it.

Add mango puree into this mixture and beat well.

Pour this mixture in kulfi moulds and plastic containers. 

Close the moulds and put this in the freezer atleast 8-10 hours or overnight.

Enjoy creamy and fresh homemade mango ice cream. 

Sending this to Merry Tummy's "Cook With Yellow" and Simply Food's "Taste of Topics - Mango"

Watermelon Kulfi With Chocolate Sauce

Kulfi is one of the most delicious frozen Indian desserts, popular in many countries around the world. It is very similar to western ice cream. The best kulfi's I have tasted are on the streets of Kolkata where they sell the flavors according to seasons - lechee kulfi, Kesar kulfi, Mango kulfi etc. 
Kulfi is not made with cream, it's made with reduced milk. I make this traditional kulfi with watermelon pulp and serve with  chocolate sauce.

Ingredients :

Seedless watermelon pulp - 1/2 cup
Milk - 1 ltr
Sugar- As per taste
Condense milk - 1/2 cup
Chocolate Sauce as per requirement

Method :

Heat milk in a heavy bottomed nonstick saucepan and bring it to boil. Increase the heat to med-high and let it come to a boil.

Give it an occasional stir so that the milk does not stick to the bottom. Non-stick pan works great for this. Also take care not to let the milk burn. Even a little burn spoils the milk. Add sugar and give it a stir.

Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the milk has reduced in half. Keep stirring often. When the milk has reduced . Cool completely.

Add watermelon pulp and mix well.

Now take a kulfi mould and fill it with the ready mixture. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or till done. 

Then remove the kulfi from freezer. Once frozen you can run the mould under water to enable easy release on to the plate.

Now using a knife  cut it into rounds and keep them in the center of the plate and decorate it with choclate sauce. The delicious kulfi is ready to eat.

Sending this to Indrani's "Spotlight - Show Your Best" hosted by me, Viji's "SHOW YOUR STYLES TO THE WORLD SERIES - 2" event, Sizzling Tastebud's "Summer Splash" event, Sumee's "Bon Vivant #13 - Kids Delight" event, Nayna's "Lets cook for kids"event

EGGLESS ICE CREAM BROWNIE SQUARES

Recipe for brownie :www.food.com
You can find the original recipe here

Ingredients

1. All purpose flour- 1 /2 cup
2. Cocoa powder-1/2 cup
3. Brown sugar- 1 1/2 cup
4. Baking powder- 3/4 tsp
5. Baking soda-1 1/2 tsp
6. Salt-1/2 tsp
7. Brewed coffee-3/4 cup
8. Milk-3/4 cup
9. Vanilla extract-1 tsp
10. Vegetable oil- 1/3 cup
11. Finely chopped walnuts-2 tbsp ( optional)
12. Eggless caramel Ice cream -  3/4 to 1 ltr

Method

• Preheat oven to 180 deg C and  line a  baking pan with parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl whisk together all purpose flour,cocoa powder, brown sugar,baking powder,baking soda and salt.
• In another mixing bowl whisk together coffee,milk,vanilla extract and vegetable oil.Slowly add this into the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
• Add finely chopped walnuts ,if desired.
• Pour the prepared batter into the pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the brownie comes out clean.
• Let it cool completely.
• Place the brownie on to a work surface and cut out hearts using a heart shaped cookie cutter.Keep aside.

• Place ice cream in a large bowl.Let stand at room temperature ,mashing well with a spoon in between until it is soft enough to stir.
• Line a baking tray with foil or plastic wrap and let it extend over the edges of the pan.Now spread the softened ice cream on the prepared pan .Level it using a spatula.

• Now arrange the brownie hearts over the ice cream layer and press it gently so that the top of the brownie is almost in level with the ice cream layer.

• Cover this with a cling film and freeze until firm.
• Cut into squares using a sharp knife and serve.

NOTES:

• Allow the brownie to cool completely before cutting out hearts from it ,to avoid  cracks on  top of the brownie hearts.
• I halved the recipe for thinner brownies.
• These brownie have more of a cake like texture.

EGGLESS CARAMEL ICECREAM

Recipe Source: www.Cookingchanneltv.com
You can find the recipe here
Ingredients

1. Milk- 1 1/2 cup
2. Light cream- 1 cup
3. Cornflour- 3 tbsp
4. Sugar- 1/2 cup
5. Vanilla pod- 1  or  vanilla essence - 1 tsp
6. Dulce de leche-1 to 2  tbsp ( see note)
7. Salt- 1 pinch

Method

• Mix cornflour with 1/4 cup milk and keep aside.
• In a saucepan add rest of the milk,cream ,sugar and salt .If you are using vanilla pod,cut it into two, lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the milk mixture along with the pod.Cook this over medium low heat until it begins to steam.
• Now remove the vanilla pod and add the cornflour mixture,stirring well as you do so.
• Bring this to just under a boil,stirring continuously.
• Now reduce the flame to low and cook for 5 minutes or until  the milk mixture thickens.
• If you are using vanilla extract ,add it and mix well.
• Transfer the mixture to a wide container .Allow it to cool well.
• Cover and place the container in the refrigerator to chill for 30-40 minutes.
• Take the container out ,now it should have just started freezing from the outside edges.
• Using a wooden spatula or a sturdy whisk( a hand blender works really well),beat the mixture well to make it smooth once again.Put it in the freezer.
• Continue to check every 30- 40 minutes ,stirring well as it is freezing .( repeat this process 3 to 4 times)
• After the final mixing ,once the mixture is soft,add the dulce de leche 1 tsp at a time and fold in lightly for just two or three times.Put it back in the freezer until it is firm.

Note:
Adjust the quantity of sugar according to your taste.
Check this link to see 5 different ways to make homemade Dulce De Leche.

Mango Kulfi ~ Hot Summer Treat

Summer ….the season of Mangoes, sorbets, ice-creams, kulfis and more…. The indian version of “kulfi “ sums up taste of home for me. The exotic flavors of rose water and the luscious taste of mango combined with hints of cardamom powder takes me straight to those hot, childhood days in Kolkata when waiting for the kulfiwala [vendor] was our favorite way to kill summer vacations. They have unbeatable number of flavors and a price to suit every pocket.

 Kulfi is nothing but a frozen, unchurned milk based dessert in numerous flavors like cream [malai] nuts ,rose, cardamom and saffron.Frankly,I have personally not seen any kulfiwala selling mango kulfi during childhood days. .If you do not have access to fresh mango, buy frozen mango slices,thaw them & puree at home.You can skip the mango and still make the malai [cream] kulfi version.

Ingredients :- For the Mango Kulfi:- [Serves 4]

1 litre half and half [or use whole milk/evaporated milk]
4-5 mangoes [ yield about 2 cups of mango pulp]
3/4 cup white sugar [ adjust to taste,depends on how sweet your mangoes are]
1 cup heavy cream
1.5 tsp green cardamom powder
1 tbsp Cashew powder
1 tbsp rose water

Method :-

In a heavy bottomed,wide-mouthed & large pot, pour the half and half and transfer to stove top on medium and let come to a boil.

While the milk is boiling, peel the mangoes, slice the flesh roughly into a bowl & discard the seed.Tip the slices into the blender and churn to make a smooth puree. Sieve the puree once to remove all the lumps and fibre.Keep a watch on the milk.

Once the milk is boiling, reduce the heat to low and let the milk simmer with periodic stirring till it reduces by 1/3 of its original volume then add cashew powder and mix well.

Once the milk has reduced,remove from heat add the sugar and let cool to a room temperature.

Once the milk has cooled,mix in the cream,mango puree,salt, rose water and green cardamom powder.Whisk gently to combine well to make kulfi mix.

Pour the kulfi mix into moulds/plastic containers, cover and freeze for at least 10-12 hours until set.

Mango Kulfi is ready to serve………



Sending this to Indrani's "Spotlight : Summer Cooler" event, Srav's "Splash into Summer" The Pumpkin Firm's "Mango Mania 99" event, Akila's "Dish Name Starts with M", Divya's "SHOWCASE- Fun in the Sun", Anu's "ONLY Mango" event, Jyoti's "Cool Summer Sips" event and Preeti's "Jump' N Jive @ Icypritz"