Custard with Apple and Nuts

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I am feeling rather rusted as I try to get back to this space writing about recipes I believe in, and sharing my stories both inside, and outside the kitchen. Isn’t it always comfortable to start off a conversation with stories about weather? Then again this summer being so beastly, not just because of mercury rising, but with the wild fires rampant in Colorado, I am not so sure weather is a fun way to start talking. Coloradans are keeping our fingers and toes crossed wishing not just for rain but a down pour. You must all have heard about floods in India and Calgary, Canada, don’t you think weather is getting most unpredictable? I think so. Before moving on to chirpier topics, here is hoping you and yours are well and enjoying this summer.

We kick started summer with a few hikes both in Front Range and Rocky mountains. It is always a few degrees cooler in the mountains. Added to it the fragrance of the woods is so refreshing I like to just be out and about soaking in the atmosphere come summer. I am glad that my kids enjoy nature as much and are never bored in the outdoors like their parents.

Talking about kids my lil guy is not so little anymore, and he will be going to kindergarten this academic year. Time sure flies! Even as he gets older he does not cease to amuse or entertain with his quirks. Recently I overheard this conversation he had with his sister.

Chechi: What do you want to become when you get older?
Lil M(Without missing a beat replies): A garbage truck driver
Chechi (Aghast) : Why ?
Lil M(with a twinkle in his eyes): Then I can pick ALL the junk from all the people and BRING THEM HOME.

The rest of the family laughed out in unison and he looked at us quizzically as if we are the ones out of our mind. Knowing my son's keen interest in collecting junk, I wasn't surprised at his answer. But the animation with which he replies face all lit up, excited, and in the moment is so precious. Hm.. my son dreams of becoming rich collecting junk, Oh Boy! I might have an entrepreneur on my hands.

My husband and I both being scientifically inclined I wonder where he might have got that genes from. I am optimistic, maybe I have a midget of entrepreneur in me and that is where he gets it from. I will be sure of my selling skills if you are convinced to give this recipe a whirl.

Now, in all honesty what I have to share today is not exactly a recipe. It's just an idea for a quick dessert for summer. A friend of mine introduced it to me back in the days while I was in Hyderabad. It was a regular dessert in my household until some time back when blogging happened and more serious desserts took over. Even then it is so easy and fulfilling to put together this easy dessert it has found it’s way back into my heart and I hope it will into yours as well.

Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 5-6 min
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

Custard powder- 2 to 3 Tbsp
Milk- ~2 cup
Sugar- to taste
Slivered almonds- 2 Tbsp
Blanched almonds- a few
Apple, cut into bite sized pieces- ~ 1/2 cup

Method:

1.Cook the custard according to instructions on the packet. Don't let it go too thick. Add sugar,mix and let cool.
2.Grate the blanched whole almonds, keep aside.
3.When custard is cool, add the grated almonds and mix.
4.Throw in the slivered almonds and apple pieces.
4.Chill in the refrigerator and serve.

Notes:

1.I use Bird's custard powder, but you could use any brand preferably vanilla flavored one for this recipe.
2.The consistency of custard s totally up to you.

Apple Tea Cake With Lemon Glaze

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The weather is getting warmer in Colorado, well, most of the days. As I type this, I see snow flakes falling on trees,like floating feathers. But still, it is unusually warm for a January in this ski country. As I have told you before, winter is my favorite excuse to bake something nice. This tea cake is no exception !

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins

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Hello ! I am not going to tell you a sorry this time, since I am not going to be irregular here,any more:-) Did I tell you that my little one is a preschooler now ? Time sure flies and in no time he will be in school ! How I wish I could freeze time ! No, I am not complaining,every age is great as a kid. Lil M loves preschool and he is learning a lot new things too. Mamma is happy that she gets some me time and to see that he is getting some new friends. In the beginning when the I asked him whether he has some friends, he told me yes, but when I asked for names,he answered they don't have names,they are all "friends".

Apple Rabdi/Rabri- Evaporated milk based Apple dessert

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A big HELLO to everyone ! It has been a long time since we updated a post here. So much has been going on in our personal lives that the blog sort of took second seat. Although, one of the highlights during this time was that  Sunitha and I visited after 13 long years.  Those of you, who are our friends in Facebook might already know about that reunion. I was so busy with the preparations and planning. Sunitha is in the middle of a move and that is why off the blogging scene for a while. Sorry about that !

Today's post has been in my drafts for a while now.  Hopefully,  I will be back in the swing of things as far as blogging goes soon.  I am waiting for my children to finish summer vacation, general visiting, travelling and holidaying the family is involved in right now.  Coming back to the recipe, the whole inspiration behind making this dessert was Kulsum from Journey Kitchen.  She did a guest post on it.  I have combined her recipe and the traditional one but I must thank her for tempting me with her beautiful pictures.

The preparation is very much similar to that of Basundi, if you haven't noticed.The main difference here is the presence of Apples.So if you love Basundi, just like me, you must try this !

Ingredients:

Milk- 4 cups/1 liter
Condensed milk-2 Tbsp
Sugar- 1/4 cup
Apples,peeled and grated- 3
Cardamom powdered- 1 tsp
Saffron- a pinch soaked in a Tbsp warm milk
Pistachios, blanched and slivered- 2-3 Tbsp

Method:

1.Boil milk in a thick bottom pan and cook until it is reduced to about half the quantity.
2.Add sugar and condensed milk and stir continuously for 4-5 minutes.
3.Add the grated apple and cook for about 4 minutes.
4.Add the cardamom and saffron. Mix well and switch off the heat.
5.Throw in the pistachios.Serve warm or cold.

Notes:

1.You could use condensed milk as a sweetener instead of sugar, just like Kulsum says.
2.It is better to use a sweet variety of apple for this preparation.
3.You could replace pistachios with almonds if you like.

Apple Raita/ Apple Salad

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   I never imagined I would eat a cooked apple  until my time in Germany proved me wrong.  It started with Apple pie, and thereafter nothing could stop me.  Next thing I know, I was experimenting with baking apples, as well as other fruits.  But then again, I never thought I would be making savory dishes with apples, until recently.  Oh Yeah! I made this simple raita for lunch and everyone, including my toddler loved it.

 It's tangy and delicious.   Very simple to make - refreshing and tasty!

Two kinds of Green apples, for comparison,the Golden delicious is so sweet and the Granny Smith is tart and perfect for baking.





Garnish with mint or coriander leaves





Ingredients:

Granny Smith/Any tart Apple- 1/2, peeled and cored
Yogurt- 1 cup scant
Green Chillies- 1
Onion, finely chopped- 2 tsp
Ginger, finely grated- 1/2 tsp
Salt- to taste
Dash of lime juice (optional)

Method:

1.Finely chop the apple into small pieces.
2.Finely chop the green chillies too.
3.Whisk the yogurt in a mixing bowl.
4.Add the salt and other ingredients except lemon juice and mix well.
5.Chill,mix in the lime juice, garnish and serve.

Candied Apple Fritters

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  Howz it going for you guys?  I have been super lazy to cook.  I have also started another walking regime which makes me very reluctant to cook, fearing I will be overdoing the calories.  None of this works though.  I walk and then eat well too.  I use all this as just an excuse not to cook.  Anyways, here is a very tasty apply recipe for you which I made when my guard was down and I craved sugar.



  I have never had apple fritters before yesterday. Today,  I am in love.  To begin with I had some apples which were sure to rot if it sat any longer in the nice glass dish I had it displayed on the kitchen counter.  My friend J called me last week and told me she was making apple scallops.  I decided to try it myself but then got the idea of fritters and then candying it and decided candied sounds like fun. A lot of recipes online suggest we make the batter with eggs, however, since we make banana fritters without it I went along with out eggs.  It came out well, if I may say so myself. 




  Making it candied was not the easiest process but if you are serving it for dessert for a party the effort is worth your while. However, if you are trying to cut down on sugar stop with the fritters and enjoy them as they are.   


Ingredients:
Red Delicious Apples                   - 4 cut into chunks or thin if you like it nicely cooked
Corn Starch                                 - 1 Tbspn
All purpose flour                          - 1/2 cup
Water                                          - to make a loose batter to dip and fry the apples
Salt                                              - to taste
Oil                                               - for deep frying

Sugar Coating
Sugar                     - 1/2 cup
Water                    - 3 Tbspn

Method:
1. Slice apples, dust with corn starch and set aside
2. Dip in batter and deep fry to golden brown and drain on a kitchen towel (paper napkin)

Coating
1. Heat the water and add sugar a little at a time dissolving after each addition
2. Bring the syrup to a golden brown color
3. Dip in ice cold water holding the apples on a fork and let it be for a few seconds allowing the sugar to solidify
4. Drain water by holding it vertically on a paper towel and set on the serving dish
5. Follow this with all the apple pieces and then sprinkle with sesame seeds
6. The sugar will become hard quickly so work in small batches
7. If sugar syrup solidifies re heat on low flame stirring continuously. 

Contributor: Sunitha 

Apple Cobbler

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    It has been a pleasantly-hectic weekend with family.  We packed in a lot of traveling, eating, joking and general banter over the course of  three days my brother-in-law and family visited.  I enjoyed myself thoroughly and was super energetic through the days!  As soon as they left,  I deflated like a popped balloon.  Here is what happened:



My b-i-l recommends power naps highly. So much that we caught him at it quite a few times through our travelling.  But every time he awoke after these naps, he was super enthusiastic, and I decided it was time to test this theory myself.  I chose my day for this experiment to be yesterday (after they left), and my power nap ended up being embarrassingly long.  That is my excuse for not showing up online yesterday.  Let's blame it on power naps shall we? :) However, I am here to make this all right now.   I have a dessert which will knock your socks off!

 


When the family visited, I made some apple cobbler and it was received quite well. If it's that good, then I know you will be interested to know more.  Here you are, enjoy!



Ingredients:
For the Apple Layer:
Apples        - 3 Gala and 2 Granny Smith
Sugar          - 1/2 cup and 2 Tbspn granulated Sugar
Flour           - 2 Tbspn
Vanilla Essence - 1 Tbspn
Cinnamon Powder - 2 Tspn
Butter - 2 Tbspn
Water                    - 1/4 tspn
Salt                       - 1/4 tspn

For the Crust:

Sugar - 1/2 Cup
Butter - 2 Tbspn
Egg    - 1 Large
Baking Powder - 1/2 Tspn
Flour - 1/2 Cup
Salt    - 1/4 Tspn

Method:
1. Peel the apple and cut into small pieces
2. Mix ingredients under "For the Apple Layer"
3. Grease a 9 inch pan with butter and add apple mixture and set aside

For Topping:
1. Beat all the ingredients under 'topping' and spoon over the top of the apple mixture in small portions around.
2. The batter will spread while baking and cover the top.
3. Space the batter out evenly to allow spreading and covering the top while baking.

Bake in a pre heated oven at 350 D F for 35 - 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown
Don't forget to serve it warm with cold vanilla ice cream.

Apple Pie

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My husbands favorite and a very common dessert in American homes I thought it makes sense to post this for Thanksgiving.  My version has been inspired by quite a few recipes online and also an old better homes book.  I make the pie crust at home and I promise you its' worth your while.  Hot, flaky, buttery goodness of the crust makes all the difference to the pie.  The filling is pudding like tasting sweet, tangy and cinnamony.  Serve the pie hot topped with vanilla icecream and be sure to share your pie to see how their faces light up in awe!

Ingredients: (To make the Crust)
All Purpose Flour - 2 cups
Sugar - 1 Tbspn
Salt - 1 tspn
Butter/Cisco shortening - 12 tbspn (you could also try using half of both or just any one)  I have also tried it with 1/2 butter and 1/2 canola oil and it was just fine)
Ice cold water - 5-7 tbspn

The measurment is for a 8-9 inch pie pan.

Method:
1. Mix flour, salt and sugar.
2. Cut the butter into the flour.  Make sure you integrate the butter and flour well slowly keeping the consistency powdery and not kneading together. (If you are using all oil make sure you add 1 tbspn oil at a time wetting the dough all over)
3. Once you have incorporated the butter or oil slowly add the cold water a spoon at a time bringing the dough together which you can roll out into discs.
4. Leave the dough in the refrigerator for 1/2 hour and start working on your filling.

Ingredients: ( For Filling)
1. Granny Smith Apple - 5-6 nos (I used the red colored apple which is meant for apple pie.  The trick here is to buy only the sour green apple or the red apple meant for pie which is also slightly sour
2. Sugar - 3/4 to 1 cup
3. Cinnamon - 1/2 - 1 tspn
4. Salt - a pinch
5. Nutmeg - optional.. I made mine with only cinnamon
6. Flour - 2 Tbspn
7. Butter - 1- 2 Tbspn

Method:
1. Pear and cut the apples into thin slices
2. Mix all the ingredients together and add the sliced apples in
3. Divide the dough into two halves
4. Roll one half of the dough and line the pie pan.
5. Spoon in the filling
6. Roll out the other half of the dough and place it one top.  You could also do a lattice work on top by cutting strips of the dough and lining it up on the top.
7. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 D F for 45 to 50 mins.

P.S:
1. Sqeeze some lemon on the cut apples to keep it from being discolored
2. When baking a lot of juice tend to boil over and out of the pan messing the oven.  Keep a cookie sheet under the pan to make cleaning easier or even better avoiding spill over into the oven.
3. Close the edges using a tinfoil to avoid over burning of the sides.  Cut a long strip of tin foil just enough to cover only the edges...

Happy Thanksgiving to you from all at Collaborative Curry!

Contributor: Sunitha