Food

Ah!! Summers are here and well, they make me gloomy! Not if, of course, I am having ice-cream after my meals every now and then. Being a little screwy in the head, I always tend to feel the brightest in monsoon and the worst in summers. Well, but ice creams always give us all the kick that we need when we go mad with the scorching heat, right?

I don’t have any allergy to any food and I can certainly eat all kind of food including gluten. But when it came to making this particular ice cream, I thought why not go dairy free and make something which is really healthy. So I opted for coconut cream instead of heavy dairy cream or double cream (Amul cream included). Coconut cream is really low in fat as compared to heavy cream or double cream and is also a great option for people who prefer dairy-free ice creams.

In India, it’s difficult to find a full-fat coconut cream which is best for such a recipe but just get whichever coconut cream you are getting here. It needs to be kept refrigerated for at least a day before we start using it. (the longer the better actually)

Let me tell you, there’s a surprise ingredient here and that is condensed milk that I made from coconut milk for this recipe. You can simply store this condensed milk in the fridge and keep using it whenever you are making ice creams.

Do note – this recipe has custard powder added to it. You can use corn flour also, that will help retain the color of the ice cream. But I used custard powder because it is easily available in our kitchens and serves the same purpose as corn flour. You are free to use any – just make sure it’s vanilla flavor custard powder. The addition of this tends to make the ice cream thicker and more creamy.

Also, keep in mind this kind of homemade ice cream should not be frozen for more than 12 hours. It’s the ideal best to freeze it for 12 hours, after that the ice cream tends to form ice crystals and becomes too hard to come along in the form of full lovely scoops. This is the trick to enjoy a homemade ice cream which looks and tastes just like a market bought ice-cream. Longer hours in the freezer will tend to spoil all your effort.

Also, make sure you keep your mixing bowl and beater in the freezer for at least a few hours (minimum 3-4 hours) before you start making the ice cream.

Just feel free to add any flavors, or fruit purees here as per your taste, of course, there are more flavors coming here on the blog. Let me know how you like this ice cream made of coconut cream…I will definitely keep posting more of such gorgeous ice creams for you all……let’s make summers bright and gay every day with such heavenly desserts!

RECIPE:

This ice cream…, it’s silky smooth and so delicious. The creamy, dreamy decadence here will simply have you hooked to this dairy-free and no churn ice cream within minutes.

Ingredients:

2 cans coconut cream

Zest of 1 Orange (you can take more also)

2 tbsp Orange juice

2-3 tbsp Condensed milk (use it as per your taste)

3 crushed digestive biscuits

2 tbsp vanilla custard powder

How to make Condensed Milk?

Ingredients:

2 can coconut milk (400 ml)

⅔ cups to 1 cup white sugar

Method:

• Add the coconut milk and sugar into a heavy bottomed saucepan
• Heat it on a low heat until the sugar has dissolved
• Once all of the sugar has dissolved bring the mix to a simmer over low/medium heat. Do not stir once the mix starts to simmer otherwise it can crack and crystallize.
• Gently simmer until the milk has darkened to an almost grey color and has reduced by half and thickened.
• When ready, remove from the heat and pour into a jar to cool.
• Let the condensed milk cool completely before putting on the air tight lid.
• Store in a jar in the fridge and it will last for months.

ICE CREAM RECIPE:

Method:

• Chill 2 cans of coconut cream in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.
• When you open the 2 cans of chilled coconut cream, the thickened cream should have risen to the top with the liquid at the bottom. Carefully scoop the cream into a mixing bowl. (Reserve the coconut water that has separated from the cream to use in a smoothie). Even if the cream hasn’t separated, there’s no need to panic. Just use the entire coconut cream mixture from the can.
• With an electric beater or a stand mixer, whip up the coconut cream on high speed for 3-4 minutes.
• Add the condensed coconut milk and whip on high speed for another 2-3 minutes.

• Now take about 3/4th cup of the mixture and add custard powder to it and mix well. Add the rest of the mixture to a pan and heat it on medium heat. When it just comes to the first boil, add the custard mix and stir it well. Keep stirring it continuously or else it will form lumps. When you see the first boil again here (it will have thickened by now), take the pan off the heat.
• Let it cool down a bit and add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

• Transfer to a lidded container and cover with a foil before you place the lid on the top. Now use another foil to cover the entire container as well (this helps to minimize formation of ice crystals). Freeze for 12 hours. Just give it a few minutes at room temperature to make it easier to scoop.

This bread is like a gesture of kindness and calm on a gloomy day…the fact that it’s a healthy bake makes it such a charm in the kitchen!

Well to start with, I had like loads and loads of cranberries in my freezer and the other plastic containers. Something had to be done about them, the weekend was around the corner and I just thought to myself – let’s make it a cranberry weekend!

Bread is such a delight – just have it as it is or spread your favorite butter, or any other spread – it just tends to give you better days. I had bananas in my fruits basket and I thought why not a combination of cranberries and bananas? Ahhh…I saw chia seeds too that I hadn’t consumed since long…Sometimes all the things that have been lying in your kitchen for a long time tend to give you the best recipe and this was one of them.

Cranberries actually belong to the genes of blueberries. They are said to help with bladder infections, but this doesn’t seem to be scientifically proven. This doesn’t mean that they aren’t healthy, because cranberries contain about 13 g of vitamin C per 100 g, a lot of vitamin A and antioxidants. The cranberry is a good natural source of potassium, sodium, and magnesium, with copper and manganese added. You can use fresh cranberries or dried cranberries here- anything you would want to!

In fact, everything that goes here – be it bananas or chia seeds, add their own good value and flavor to this bread.

The sun shined bright as I whisked all the ingredients together to bake this gorgeous bread…it was as if God was giving me a sign that the result is going to be worth the effort…and well, it was. After a few minutes, I had a moist, mildly sweet bread with a crunchy top, and the cranberries sleeping in it like still waters in the mountains ….!

The melted white chocolate and a few sliced fresh cranberries over the loaf gave me the perfect weekend shot!

RECIPE

This moist loaf is packed with the zesty taste of cranberries and the addictiveness of bananas. Try serving the slices toasted with butter or cream cheese or just plain…this awesome bake is going to occupy a permanent place on your dining table!

Ingredients:

2tbsp chia seeds + 5tbsp water

2 ripe bananas

1/2 cup sparkling water

1/2 cup plant based milk

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup oil

2-1/b cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup cranberries

10 gms vegan white chocolate

1 pinch of salt

Method:

• Mix chia seeds and water and let soak for 5-10 minutes. Squash the bananas with a fork or blend with a mixer.

• Mix water, milk, and bananas. Add the soaked chia seeds.
• Melt the coconut oil in case it’s solid and add it to the mixture. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla and salt and mix well. Stir in the apple cider vinegar.
• Roughly chop cranberries and chocolate and fold them in with a spoon.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F).
• Grease and flour a loaf pan, put the dough inside and coat it with some chopped cranberries and possibly a halved banana.

• Bake for 60-70 minutes – check with a stick to make sure the dough is definitely well done.

Basundi is a sweet thickened milk flavored with cardamom powder with addition of dry nuts. You can serve it hot as well as chilled. Here is an instant strawberry basundi which is not just easy to make but really delicious on the tongue as well….time to bring in some festivities!!!

Ingredients:

250 gms Strawberries

1 1/2 cup Milk

1 tbsp Milk powder

1/3 cup Powdered sugar

1/4 cup Strawberry custard powder

1 tbsp Honey

1 tsp Cardamom powder

For garnish:

Few sliced pistachios

Cream

Method:

• Grind strawberries to make the strawberry puree.
• Add small amounts of milk (2 -1/2 spoons) to the custard powder. Keep stirring to avoid lumps. Slowly add all milk. Make sure the milk is cold to avoid lumps. Now add 1 tbsp of milk powder. Stir well.
• Place the custard and milk powder mixture on medium flame and keep stirring continuously till the first boil. Now take the pan off the gas and cool it down to room temperature while stirring continuously.
• Now add the strawberry puree, powdered sugar and honey and mix well.
• Garnish with cream and pistachios and serve chilled.
• Enjoy the instant strawberry basundi within minutes.

This multipurpose butter is so tasty that you will forget the normal Amul butter and will be gladly using it over your cookies, toasts, muffins and several other things whenever you have a hunger pang! A great option for spreading this over any eatables you are packing in your children’s tiffin’s as well.

Ingredients:

200 gms White Butter

A little more than 1/4 cup Strawberry puree

3 to 4 Chopped strawberries

2 to 3 tbsp Honey

Method:

• Bring the butter to room temperature. Now whisk it for a few seconds and add the strawberry puree to it. Mix this well.
• Now add the chopped strawberries and honey as well and mix well.
• Remember not to whisk a lot.
• Once combined well, put the strawberry honey butter in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. Use it whenever you want to and put it back in the fridge.
• This recipe is ready within 3 minutes only!
• Enjoy!

Some people have a tough time making kids eat fruits, this sandwich is a way of cheating kids and ensuring that they eat something healthy. Well, not just with the kids, even you would love to enjoy this sandwich as your weekend breakfast or your evening tea. It’s refreshing like hell!

Ingredients:

6 slices White bread without the edges

Strawberry honey butter – to spread over the slices (recipe listed separately)

30-40 gms Pineapple chunks

2-3 tbsp Pineapple dices into small squares

3 to 4 tbsp Amul cream

1 to 2 tsp Icing sugar

3 to 4 Sliced strawberries

Method:

• Mix the strawberry dices with the cream and the icing sugar and put aside.
• Take a bread slice and spread the strawberry honey butter over it. Now place the strawberry slices over this evenly. Take another slice of bread and put it over this.
• Now take the cream and pineapple mixture and spread it over this slice of bread, such that it covers all the sides evenly.
• Place the pineapple chunks over this and cover with another slice.
• Serve chilled.

Notes :

If you are having the sandwich within a few minutes after making it, then all the ingredients should refrigerated before use including the pineapple.

If you intend to eat the sandwich later, then saute the pineapple dices in a little oil, cool it down and then mix with the cream and sugar.

This is because pineapple becomes a little sour in taste once stored in the fridge for a long time. Once you saute it with a little oil, that won’t happen if you are eating the sandwich after a few hours.

Try super easy honey cake recipe for a rich, moist honey cake: perfect with a cuppa.Belive me, when you need to pep yourself up after a hard day or a bad mood, there’s nothing which works better than this…

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup Plain flour/Maida

1 cup minus 2 tbsp Condensed milk

1/2 cup Oil (I used sunflower oil)

1/2 cup Orange juice

3 tbsp Powdered sugar

1 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp Baking soda

1/2 tsp Orange zest

1 tsp Lemon Juice

1 tsp Vanilla essence

For Syrup:

1/2 cup Water

2 tbsp Sugar

1/4 cup Honey

For topping:

4 tbsp Mixed fruit jam

1 tsp Sugar – 1 tsp

Desiccated coconut – As needed

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180 deg C. Mix flour,baking powder,baking soda with a whisk to ensure even mixing. In another bowl, mix condensed milk, orange juice, oil, sugar, vanilla essence, lemon juice.
• Add flour and mix well. Add orange zest (orange skin part, grated) and mix.
• Transfer to a baking tray greased with oil and dusted with flour. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Cool down for 10 mins and invert over a wire rack to cool down completely. Trim the sides.
• Prick the cake with tooth pick at various places. Mean while prepare sugar syrup by boiling water and sugar just until sugar dissolves.
• Bring to luke warm and mix honey.
• Heat jam and sugar over low flame in a pan until it melts.
• Over the flat surface of the cake, pour the prepared syrup generously so that the cake absorbs the syrup. Over this, spread the jam to form a thin layer.
• Sprinkle desiccated coconut all over the surface to cover up the jam. Cut into desired shape and serve.

Notes:

Add honey only to luke warm sugar syrup.

Since this cake is super moist because of syrup, jam, this has to be consumed within 2 –3 days (kept inside fridge)

After slicing the cake, you can also pour the syrup so that the sides of the cakes also get generous syrup.

A ridiculously simple ice cream recipe that is also ridiculously delicious! This mango ice cream is done in a blitz (literally!) using only a blender and 3-4 simple ingredients. Trust me, you’ll be amazed, as I was, at how good this ice cream is given how easy and quick it is to make!

Ingredients:

2 ½ Mangoes cut into bigger pieces for puree

½ of 1 mango – cut into smaller squares

400 gms Condensed milk

1 pkt Amul cream (cold and chilled)

1-2 tsp sliced pistachios

Few Chilli flakes

Few chopped Mint leaves

Method:

• Take the bigger pieces of mangoes and make a puree out of them in a blender.
• Beat the cream with a hand beater till it is a little frothy. Add the condensed milk and beat again for a few minutes.
• Now add the mango puree to the cream mixture and again blend with the beater till it is mixed properly. Add the chilli flakes, mint leaves, small mango chunks and sliced pistachios now and mix well with the help of a spoon.
• Pour the mixture in a container and cover with a klean wrap before putting on the lid of the container. Let this freeze for at least 4 hours.
• After 4 hours, take out the ice-cream mixture and blend it all nicely in a blender till it is really light and creamy in texture.
• Now pour it all to the container again and cover with the klean wrap and the lid of the container.
• Let it freeze for about 12 hours.
• Take out your perfect ice-cream scoops after the 12 hours. Your ice-cream will be absolutely ready!

This super easy Mango dip is fresh and fruity! Pair it with chicken tenders, fried shrimp, grilled fish, your favorite chips, salty buns — or anytime you want tropical flair added to your meal. All it takes is just 5 minutes to get this ready.

Ingredients:

1 Ripe mango peeled and cut

Few chunks of raw mango

1 tsp Few cumin seeds

1 tsp Few chilli flakes

2 garlic cloves

1 small piece of ginger

1-2 tbsp Honey

Few basil leaves

Method:

• In a blender combine all the ingredients and blend till smooth.
• Pour it in a bowl and garnish with some mint sprigs and some chilli flakes.
• Serve immediately with your choice of crackers, chips or veggies.
• Store in refrigerator.

Notes:

When you adjust the sweetener make sure to first add all the ingredients and according to your taste add sweetener in the end.

This dip should not be very sweet. It should be salty, tangy and spicy.

This is an easy to follow recipe for making Mango Custard and definitely pleases the crowd. A nice blend of white chocolate and mango, you wouldn’t have imagined such a delightful mango custard recipe with a touch of the sinful – chocolate.

Ingredients:

1 Ripe Mango

5 tsp Mango puree

1 cup Grated White chocolate

1 1/2 tbsp Vanilla custard powder

1 cup Milk

1 cup Fresh cream

For garnish:

Few roasted sesame seeds

Grated white chocolate

Few mango chunks

Few mint sprigs

Method:

• Peel mango. Take custard powder in a bowl. Add milk and whisk well.
• Heat a non-stick pan. Put custard mixture in it and cook till it thickens. Keep stirring once a while.
• Deseed and roughly chop peeled mango. Divide it between four individual ramekin molds.
• Add cream to custard and mix well. Switch off heat and transfer the custard into a bowl. Add chocolate and mix well till chocolate melts.
• Add mango pulp and mix well. Pour the custard mixture over the mango pieces in the molds and refrigerate for 2-2½ hours or till set.
• Garnish with some cream and mango chunks, white chocolate, roasted sesame seeds and mint. Serve and enjoy this delicious treat in every single mango season.

Chocolate & dry fruits Covered Mangoes are an easy and healthy treat to satisfy your sweet tooth! With only 3 simple ingredients, this delicious snack comes together in no time and is perfect for on the go.

Ingredients:

6-10 Mango chunks (mango chopped in big perfect squares)

3/4 cup Dark chocolate

1 small bar of white chocolate (for garnishing)

Few chopped Pistachios

Few roasted sesame seeds

Few chopped Peanuts

Method:

• Chill the mango chunks in the fridge for at least 45 minutes. In a small microwave safe bowl, heat the dark chocolate for 45 seconds. Give it a quick stir and continue to microwave in 20 second intervals, stirring each time until all the chocolate is melted. Melt the white chocolate also the same way. You can also melt the chocolate in a double boiler.
• Dip each mango piece into the dark chocolate with the help of a spoon, scrape off any excess chocolate on the side of the bowl and lay on a sheet of wax paper. Sprinkle the chocolate with the chopped pistachios, peanuts and sesame seeds as you like them.
• Allow to cool to room temperature and store in the fridge.

Whenever you crave for something sweet, what’s more easy and not-so-guilty sweet treat than this?