Banana-Bread Pudding

Wishing all my readers HAPPY NEW YEAR

I am commencing my year in a special way with yummy and tremendous pudding from my gorgeous sister. So happy to begin the year by presenting such lovely visual treats in front of you. Thank You so much and I am so happy, lucky and proud to get a wonderful sis like you dear. On to the recipe now

Recipe & Photo Courtesy: My Sister

Ingredients

Bread: 5 Slices

Sugar: 1 ½ cup & 1tbsp

Water: ¼ cup

Milk: 4 cups

China Grass: 10gms

Custard powder: 3full tsp

Banana/Plantain: 1 big

Cherry: 6

Ghee/butter: as needed to toast the bread

Semiya roasted in ghee for decoration

Method Of Preparation

1.     First prepare the caramel solution for that heat a nonstick pan and add 4tbsp sugar, low the flame and do not stir the sugar, when it melts completely add ¼ cup of boiling water to it and stir. Switch off the flame after 2minutes. Keep this aside.

2.     Slice the Banana and keep aside.

3.     Toast the bread in ghee and keep aside.

4.     Divide the milk to 2 parts, one for custard and other for china grass.

5.     Melt the china grass by adding ½ cup water. Boil two cups of milk by adding 1 cup sugar and when it boils lower the flame and keep it for 5 minutes low flame. Switch off the flame. Add the melted china grass at the same temperature of milk.

6.     To the other 2 cups of milk add custard powder and 1 cup sugar. Stir without lumps and keep on flame. Stir frequently till it thickens and switch off the flame.

7.     Take the sliced banana and add 3tbsp the caramel solution to it and keep aside.

Arranging

Take the bowl in which you are preparing the pudding.

1.     Grease the bowl with ghee/butter

2.     Arrange or spread the cherries by cutting into small pieces or as it is in the bowl.

3.     Then add/spread the banana pieces above the cherries.

4.     Then spread the toasted bread pieces over the banana.

5.     Then add the china grass milk mix over the bread and add 2-3tbsp caramel solution over it and keep in refrigerator for 10-15minutes.

6.     The add the custard mix over it, add caramel solution and roasted semiya and again refrigerate it for 1 hour or till it sets.

7.     When sets, upside down it to a plate and cut and serve.

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Strawberry Layered Cake

Ingredients

Cake

Maida: ¾ cup

Egg: 6

Sugar: 7 ½ tbsp

Baking Powder: ¾ tsp

Vanilla Essence: ¾ tsp

Refined oil: 2tbsp

Salt: a pinch

Icing

Whip cream: 6 Sachets

Chilled Milk: 1 ¼ cups

Vanila essence: 3tsp

Food Color red and green: few drops

Strawberry: needed

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Method Of Preparation

Cake

In a bowl add maida and baking powder and sieve it twice.

Take another bowl and add egg to the bowl.

Beat well with an electric beater till it becomes fluffy. Then add sugar and salt and beat well till it melts.

Then add refined oil and vanilla essence and beat it again.

Then add maida and fold it without lumps and deflating the batter.

Grease the tray or line it with butter paper. Pour the batter to it.

Preheat the oven at 200 deg c and bake it at 180 deg C to about 30 minutes or till done.

Take out the cake when done and let it cool well.

Icing

Meanwhile prepare the icing by beating whip cream powder with chilled milk and vanilla essence till it reach the peak.

Then divide it into three parts, let one part be white and one red and the other green.

After cooling well cut the cake into two pieces with a sharp knife

Take the board where the cake is going to be place.

Apply the white whip cream on it and place one piece cake over it.

Then again apply the white icing all over the cake evenly and spread the strawberry pieces on it.

Place the other piece over it and cover the cake with white icing.

Take the piping bag with desired nozzle and decorate the cake as per your desire.

Passion Fruit-Mint Cooler

Ingredients

Passion Fruit: 3

Sugar: ½- ¾ cup or as needed

Chilled Water: 350 ml

Lemon Juice: 4-6 tbsp

Mint leaves: 7

Method Of Preparation

Take the pulp out from the passion fruit.

Mix well with a spoon or just add the pulp into a bottle and shake well.

In a mortar add the mint leaves and crush it with pestle by adding a spoon of water and squeeze the juice out from the leaf.

In a bowl add the passion fruit pulp, mint extract, sugar, lemon juice and chilled water.

Stir well. Serve chilled.

Mutton Dry Fry

Ingredients

Mutton: 700gms

Garlic: 5cloves

Ginger: 1” piece

Green Chilli: 3+3

Pepper corns: 1tsp or as per taste

Cumin seeds/Jeerakam: ½ tsp

Fenugreek seed/Uluva: 1tbsp

Onion: 2

Curry leaves: few

Turmeric powder: 1tsp

Coriander powder: 1 tsp.

Garam Masala: ¼ tsp

Salt: needed

Coconut oil: 1tbsp+ 3tbsp

Lemon Juice: 1tbsp

Method Of Preparation

Wash and drain the mutton pieces.

Grind garlic, ginger, 3green chilli, pepper corns and cumin seeds. Keep aside.

In a pan add the mutton pieces, grinded paste, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala and salt.

Add 1tbsp coconut oil to it and mix well with hand

Pour little water and keep on flame.

When boils lower the flame and keep closed with a lid.

When mutton gets cooked and gravy becomes thick switch off the flame or pressure cook it for 4 whistles. Make sure the mutton doesn’t get over cooked.

Heat a wide frying pan, add coconut oil to it.

Add in chopped onion to it.

When onion gets slight transparent add the cooked mutton with the gravy.

Stir well and put in low flame and stir in between.

When the gravy gets well coated with the mutton pieces add in lemon juice, curry leaves and green chilli.

Stir well and put in low flame till you get the mutton dry.

Switch off the flame and serve hot with chappathi/rice.

Note: If you don't like the taste of fenugreek seeds you can avoid that step

Chick Pea -Sausage Salad With Tahini Dressing

Ingredients

Carrot: 1

Cucumber: 2

Onion: 1

Tomato: 2

Mint leaves: 6

Chick peas: 1 cup (soaked and cooked by adding salt)

Sausage: 4 (fried in oil)

Thahini Paste: as required

Olive oil: 3tbsp

Lemon Juice: 3tbsp or as per taste

Pepper powder: ¾ tsp

Salt: as required

Method Of Preparation

Chop carrot, cucumber, onion, tomato mint leaves and sausage.

Add this into the bowl. Add chick peas to it.

Add olive oil, lemon juice, pepper powder and sprinkle salt. Mix all well.

At the time of serving add thahini paste and serve.

Honey Cardamom Cake Topped With Pecan Nuts

Recipe Source: Divya's Culinary Journey

Thanks a lot Divya for this super yummy cake recipe. I have done slight variation by using oil instead of butter and Normal sugar instead of Light brown Sugar.

Ingredients

All Purpose Flour: 1 ¼ cups

Baking powder: ½ teaspoon

Baking Soda: 2 pinch 

Salt: ¼ teaspoon

Cardamom, 7-8 nos (powdered with a tablespoon of Sugar)

Sunflower oil: ¼ cup

Sugar powdered: 1/8 cup

Eggs: 1

Honey: ½ cup

Warm water 1/3 cup

Pecan Nuts: needed

Method Of Preparation

Pre heat the oven to 200 C. Apply oil and sprinkle flour or line the tray with butter paper.

In a bowl combine together all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and powdered cardamom and keep it aside.

In another large bowl, whisk butter and sugar together. Then add egg and mix well. 

Then add honey and mix well.

To this mixture, add flour mixture and warm water little by little and mix well.

To the prepared cake pan pour the cake batter and sprinkle chopped pecan nuts over the batter.

Bake till the cake is done at 160 C to about 30-35 minutes. 

Let the cake cool, and then remove it from the pan, slice and serve.