Easy Mango Ice cream

Of the few things to love about Summers is the availabilty of the king of fruits-the Majestic Mango. I absolutely adore mangoes and have a little weak heart for the variety which is interestingly called 'Langda' or 'Langra'. The origin of the name is debateful but it is believed that since most of the names are derived from the places of origin, it too could be named after a certain place called so. But, whats in a name. Langda has a distinct taste and even though it has a green skin which might trick you into feeling its not ripe, it is one of the most sweetest mangoes. 

Vaanya, my daughter, is a mango lover too. This season she has been wanting to eat the Langda over another sweet mango called Himsagar and has been relishing her Mango escapades with the oozing nectar and the consequent mess. 

A very ripe Langda in my fridge made me kick my lazy self and turn it into an easy mango ice cream which has been in my list for a long time. This is one super simple recipe, very much like the easy strawberry one I made. It is best to make it a night before and let it set in the freezer overnight and then relish it in the day. 

 Ingredients : 

• 3-4 tbsp condensed milk (adjust depending on the sweetness of your mangoes)
• 1 ripe mango, peeled and pureed( I used Langda variety of Mango)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup whipped cream(see notes)

Procedure : 

In a bowl, combine milkmaid, mango puree and milk. 

Fold in the whipped cream and pour in a freeze proof tin.

Allow to set in the freezer for 5-6 hours. Best is to leave overnight.

Take out and beat the mixture and allow to set again in the freezer. Repeat this 4-5 times to break the ice crystals. 

Scoop and serve.

Note:

• Take 1/4 cup of whipping cream and then whip it with a handheld beater till it gets thick and fluffy. 
• In case, you do not have condensed milk, add powdered sugar to the mango puree.
• Remember, this is a soft set variety of ice cream and therefore will not be as firm.

Happy Mango relishing

Amrita

Easy Strawberry Icecream

Vaanya, my four and a half year old daughter, is at a 'I love everything Pink' stage. Pink is not just her favourite colour but the only colour she wants everything around her to be in. Her fetish is not just limited to clothes but even food. She chooses to eat her oreo biscuits in strawberry flavour because it is pink! If she could, she would have painted the entire city pink.

Last month when we got a box of strawberries home, this simple and quick recipe was on my mind for my darling pink daughter. As I thought, the mere all natural pink colour of this ice cream made her eat spoonfuls straight from the container. The super easy recipe worked perfect and I did not have to use any artificial colour. 

Ingredients : 

• 1 cup whipped cream
• 1 cup condensed milk
• strawberries, chopped, as required

Procedure : 

Take a little less than 1/2 cup of whipping cream (to achieve 1 cup of whipped cream) and whip it to stiff peaks. 

Fold in the condensed milk and whip it again.

Fold in chopped strawberries and put the mixture in a freezer proof container and freeze for 3-4 hours. 

Scoop out and enjoy the soft serve type ice cream.

Happy Pink ice cream relishing

Amrita

Komla-lebur Chenna Payesh/Orange Kheer

Just the other day, I suddenly remembered that we are approaching that wonderful time of the year when the markets are flooded with some amazing and fresh fruits and vegetables. The first fruit that came in my mind was Oranges and I had a sudden strong craving for it.

Today being the 'Sweet day' on our blog, I just had to sync the two-Oranges and Sweet. Now, normally that should not be too difficult for the crazy Baker mind of mine. After all, I can put my hands on anything from Orange cake/cupcakes/cookies...But somehow I wanted to try something more easy, something more different and perhaps something more traditional. 

A quick search on the net led me to the perfect answer. I found a super easy and fast method of the very famous Bengali Kheer-Chenna Payesh. The interesting bit was the addition of oranges in it and the super easy method was making it in the Microwave. Though I made all the ingredient myself and used the stove top for it, I have added the easy microwave method too at the end.

Vishal, my husband, helped me buy the best Oranges available and I decided to serve the sweet in the orange itself which I shaped as a basket. The kheer/Chenna payesh was such a hit and everyone in the family admired my idea of serving in the orange basket. My father declared it 'Darun' (Wonderful in Bengali)

Stove top method

 

Ingredients: For 3-4 servings

• 500 ml milk (I used Amul Tazaa)
• 1/4 tsp citric acid/1 tsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp sugar
• Orange segments
• 1 tsp Orange rind

Procedure :

Chenna-Take 1 1/2 cup milk in a pan and bring it to a boil. Add citric acid/lemon juice and stir well till the milk curdles and the whey separates. Line a bowl with muslin cloth and drain all the chenna with the whey into it. Collect the muslin cloth by its all four sides and tie it to allow the whey to drain completely(I normally tie it to my kitchen basin Tap) for 20-30 mins. 

Kheer-Take 1 cup milk in a pan and add sugar. Bring it to a boil, allow it to simmer on low heat till it reduces to half. This should take around 15-20 mins. 

Add 1 cup milk and the drained chenna(crumble it with your hands) and mix well. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Orange Basket-Make knife marks on the orange top in the shape of a basket with a handle. Carefully remove the marked segments with the help of a knife. Loosen the white part covering the orange segments to the skin with a knife and then cut the orange through half. With the help of a spoon remove the other half of the orange to make the basket. Reserve orange segments for use in the kheer/payesh.

 

Add the orange segments and the orange rind to the now cool kheer/payesh. Refrigerate.
Just before serving, remove from the fridge and serve in the orange baskets. 

Microwave method : Adapted from Tarla Dalal

Ingredients : For 3-4 servings

• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup condensed milk
• 1/4 cup grated paneer
• orange segments
• 1 tsp orange rind

Method :

In a microwave safe bowl, combine milk and condensed milk and microwave on high for 3 minutes, stirring in between after every 1 minute. Add the paneer and mix well. Microwave again for 1 minute. Cool completely and add the orange rind and segments. Refrigerate.

Notes:

• You may add some chopped nuts like Pista or Almonds to get a nutty taste.
• You may add cardamom powder to the milk to add in the flavour. 
• Do not leave the kheer/payesh in the orange skin baskets for too long as it might make the kheer bitter. For better results, refrigerate the kheer separately and add to the orange baskets just before serving.

Happy Orange Kheer/Payesh eating
Amrita

Malai Chamcham

It is such a great pleasure for me to introduce to you, in continuation to the series of 'Know Your Kolkata Food Blogger', a very special blogger who is as humble as her accomplishments are in the world of great food that she has been churning up for so many years. In fact, she has been in the sphere of blogging for so many years that she would need no introduction and chances are that you would have already known and read her blog. Sayantani Mahapatra, blogging from 'A Homemaker's Diary' is our blogger of the week and truly a dear friend who is always ready to lend a helping hand. She has been an inspiration to many and her works speaks volume of an in-depth understanding of food and cuisines. She has a keen interest in crafts and her home is a reflection of her amazing knack in interior decoration too. Always with a smile to adorn her kind face, Sayantani is one of the most humble people I have met. 

For this event, my recipe for recreation was chosen long back. I had been eyeing her Malai Chomchom and waiting for an excuse to attempt it. With Sayantani's recipe I am always ensured to come out with amazing outcomes. I modified the recipe and made it a little milky for our liking. You may check her version and her detailed and easy to follow instructions.

Ingredients: For around 15 pieces

Chamcham :

• 1 1/2 litre milk (Ideally full fat or cow's milk, but I used Amul Taaza)
• 1/2 tsp citric acid or 1 tbsp lemon juice

Sugar syrup :

• 1 cup sugar
• 3 cup water 

Malai syrup :

• 2 cups milk
• 3 tbsp condensed milk

Garnish 

• chopped pista
• saffron threads

 Procedure :

Chamcham 
Heat milk in a pan and let it come to a boil. Add citric acid/lemon juice and stir well. Soon you will see the milk curdling and whey separating. Wait till the whey separates well. Remove from heat and using a muslin cloth drain the chenna(curdled milk) from whey. (Do not throw whey, reserve it for using to make soft chapati dough or make yummy dal/gravy.)
Hang the muslin cloth to drain excess water for half an hours. Remove and put on a plate. Cover with another plate and put a heavy object to drain any remaining liquid for about half an hour.
Take out the chenna and knead with the heel of your palm till smooth and reaches dough consistency. This requires patience and strong arm muscles and can take around 10 minutes.
Make cylindrical shapes out of the kneaded chenna and keep aside. You may even make round shapes as in rasagullas.

Sugar syrup

Boil water and sugar in a wide pan and gently lower the chenna cylinders in it. 

Simmer on medium heat for around 15-20 mins or till they start floating on the surface.

 

Alternatively, take sugar and water in a pressure cooker and as the syrup comes to a rolling boil, lower the chenna cylinders. Put the lid on and cook on medium heat for 2 whistles. Allow the heat to dissipate naturally and take out the cooked chenna cylinders.

Malai syrup:

Take milk in a pan and let it simmer on medium heat till it reduces to half in quantity. This may take 10 mins. Now add the condensed milk in it and mix well. 

Remove from heat and transfer to a a wide bowl and soak the cooked chenna cylinders.

If you like a thicker consistency, let the milk reduce more before you add the condensed milk. 

Soak pista in warm water for 5 minutes and rub the skin to remove it. Chop pista.

Garnich with chopped pista and saffron threads.

I made a batch with the chenna shaped in rounds and soaked in the same syrup.

Happy Malai Chamcham Eating 
Amrita

Tres leches Cake-the Indian way

 

Daring Baker's challenge for this month was hosted by Inma from la Galletika who challenged us with a very popular Central and South American cake called Tres Leches (pronounced tres ley-chays) A Tres leches cake is a basic sponge cake soaked in three kinds of milk- evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream/milk. It is a very light cake with air bubbles which comes from the beating of egg whites. This cake has no butter/oil and rises without the use of baking powder. This distinct texture is why it does not have a soggy consistency, despite being soaked in a mixture of three types of milk. Traditionally it is garnished with whipped cream and fresh fruits.

A Tres leces was on my list for a long time and I was really happy to see it as this month's challenge. The three milk concept sounded very Indian to me like the Rabri we use. I decided to make it myself and chose a fairly simple way to do so. I decided to opt the Indian way of garnishing it and did so with the use of edible silver sheets, chopped pista and rose petals, just as how we see it done on Indian sweets. The sponge cake was such a winner. The soaking part left me in doubts about the cake getting soggy but its surprising the way this cake holds it shape. 

The cake was declared a winner in terms of texture, taste and presentation by my family. A keeper recipe for sure and a must try for the coming festive season.

Ingredients : Serves 5-6. I halved the recipe and modified it

Sponge cake

• 2 eggs, separated
• 1/4 cup sugar, powdered
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour

Three milk syrup (Tres leches)

• 5 cups milk, divided 2+2+1
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 small stick cinnamon
• 1 tsp rum (optional)

For Garnish :

• Edible Silver sheets/Silver Warq
• Red rose petals
• Chopped Pistachio

Procedure:

Three milk syrup(Tres leches)-homemade

Take milk in a thick bottomed pan and boil it. 

Remove 1 cup and keep aside. This is the boiled milk.

Let the remaining milk simmer on low heat for 20-25 mins till the quantity is reduced to half and water has evaporated from the milk. This is the evaporated milk.

Remove half the quantity of this evaporated milk and keep aside.

Add 2 tbsp sugar into the remaining milk and let it simmer for 10-15 mins till you see the colour changing to light brown. This is the condensed milk. 

Now add the evaporated milk and boiled milk to the pan with cinnamon and let it simmer for 4-5 mins. 
Allow to cool. Scoop out the cinnamon stick and add rum(optional)

Sponge cake

Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius. Grease and line a 6x6" square pan. 

Take egg whites in a clean bowl and whip with an electrical beater for 3-5 mins till you get soft peaks. Now add sugar in batches and keep whipping till stiff peaks form(5 mins). 

Take egg yolks in another clean bowl and whip for 5 mins till they are pale coloured. I used the same electrical beater. Stir in vanilla essence. 

Pour egg yolks over the egg whites and very gently fold them in till just combined. Do not beat vigorously as that will remove all the air bubbles from the eggs.

Fold in flour little by little in the form of rain and gently incorporate in the batter till just combined. 

Pour batter in the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 mins or till a toothpick inserted in the middle come out clean.

Allow the cake to cool.

Poke all over the cake with a fork to make holes.

Pour the prepared three milk syrup all over the cake. I put my cake back in the same pan and poured the syrup for the cake to absorb. Take care to pour on the sides too. 

Refrigerate overnight (preferably) or for 2 hours. Do not worry the cake will not get soggy.

Slice and serve.
Traditionally garnished with a layer of whipped cream and fresh fruits, I did mine the Indian way and put a layer of edible silver sheet and sprinkled chopped pistachio and rose petals. 

My Darling daughter at help

Happy Tres leches cake eating

Amrita

Dulche de leche Choco brownies

24th of every month is the sweetest day of our lives. Its a day that reminds us of the birth of our daughter, Vaanya. Today, it has been 2 years and 3 months of our lives full of joy and sunshine. She is growing sweeter and smarter each day. She surprises us with her knowledge that she gains from observing her surroundings and warms our heart with her very sweet words. She loves to sing her nursery rhymes esp when Vishal strums his guitar and she makes it  a point to include me in the fun. She picks up her Santa toy and swings it from side to side while singing her favourite 'Jingle bells'. Even though its not Christmas, Vaanya makes her's and our's Christmas everyday. In her ultra sweet broken pronunciation she sings the entire song in rhythm.

Today the 'Sweet day' on our blog is celebrated with double the sweetness as it is also our Amma's (Vishal's mother) birthday. She is the most amazing, caring, selfless and loving person that I know and I truly feel blessed to be called her daughter(-in-law). What I love about her, besides many more things, is her way of giving quality time to each and everyone. This also includes the number of animals we have as pets at our home in Allahabad. Today we wish her a world of happiness and lots of joy and countless birthdays to come and wish to express how much she means to everyone in our family.  

Dulche de leche was on my to-do list for a long time. I finally took the sinful plunge and could not stop myself from licking it non stop. These brownies were a must on the list to use the dulche de leche. This batch of brownies turned out a typical cakey type and extra yummy with the swirls of the sinful Dulche de leche.

Dulche de Leche - Adapted from David Lebovitz

Ingredients : 

• 1/2 can (200 gm) Condensed milk (I used Milkmaid)

Procedure :

Preheat oven to 220 degree Celsius.

Pour condensed milk in an ovenproof glass dish (I used a Treo square dish)

Place this within the baking tray of the oven and add hot water till it reaches halfway up the sides of the glass dish.

Cover the glass dish with an aluminium foil and bake for 1 hour.

You will need to check the water level and keep adding hot water.

The condensed milk at the end of baking time should have become very thick and turn brownish.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Once cooled down, you may transfer to a tight fitting lid bowl and refrigerate till used.(Mine was good for 2 weeks till I used it all)

Dulche de Leche Choco Brownies- Adapted from David Lebovitz. I halved the original recipe and reduced the quantity of butter, chocolate and eggs.

Ingredients :

• 50 gm unsalted Butter
• 50 gm dark chocolate, chopped in small pieces
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup sugar, powdered
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup dulche de leche, room temperature
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Procedure : 

Preheat oven to 170 degree Celsius.

Line a Square or loaf pan. I used my 9X4 loaf shaped pan.

Melt butter in a pan or microwave in 10 secs interval till melted. Mine was at room temperature and therefore melted in 10 secs. 

Add the chopped chocolate pieces and stir well till all the pieces have melted.

Whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth.

Add egg and stir in the sugar, vanilla and the flour.

Mix well so that all the ingredients get incorporated well.

Pour half the batter in the prepared tin. 

Drop spoonfuls of half measure of dulche de leche on the brownie batter.

Drag with a knife to give a swirl effect.

Spread the remaining brownie batter over.

Top with spoonfuls of the remaining dulche de leche and use a knife to swirl it.

Bake for 25-30 mins or till the center feels just slightly firm. 

Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Slice in squares and serve.

Notes:

• If you want to make Dulche de leche in the pressure cooker, check here . The only problem is that you will have to use the entire jar. 
• Once refrigerated Dulche de leche gets very thick. To use it, microwave in 10-15 secs interval till thin or add hot cream to it and mix well.

This recipe is part of the KFB Blogging Marathon. Find what my other dear friends are making for the marathon in the following links :
A Homemaker's Diary
Silence Sings
My Food My Life
Recipe Junction

This post is also linked to Little Thumbs Up   hosted by Yen from Eat your heart out

 

Happy Brownie Eating
Amrita