Category: Mid-Day Snack | 10 am Meal

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Afternoon Snack | 3pm Meal Mid-Day Snack | 10 am Meal

Caramel Custard Pudding | A Childhood Favourite

Caramel Custard
An Indian Dessert

For a change a have a recipe fronot my childhood, but my husband’s. I did not grow up eating this caramel custard pudding but it’s my husband’s favorite.

When I finally tried my mother-in-law’s recipe and shared it on my Instagram feed, so many friends shared how it reminded them of their childhood. Delighted that my wee ones love it too. There are many exotic names out there for this simple yet yummiest of desserts but I am just going to call it Caramel Custard Pudding. That is how I know it since I first learned the recipe. Anyway, what’s in a name right?

A Few Things To Keep In Mind

Although the recipe itself is a pretty simple one, one needs to be careful about a few things. Making the caramel for example. Read here the technique to caramelise the sugar. Once it has reached the right consistency, add some water so it is pourable. Be very careful while you do this as hot caramel splutters.

The other step which needs caution is steaming. If using a pressure cooker, add approximately 1.5 cups of water, then place a slightly elevated but flat pan inside the cooker (I used an inverted sieve). This would serve as a platform to place the dishes. See image below:

Caramel (Custard) Pudding

This not only ensures even distribution of heat but also prevents water from entering the bowls while steaming . Then bring water to boil, place the dishes inside and put the lid on without the whistle. Then steam for 15-20 minutes

Once these two steps are sorted , you will have a delicious caramel custard in no time.

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Caramel (Custard) Pudding

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients

  • Sugar-5 tbsp and 3.5 tbsp
  • Water-1.5 tbsp
  • Hot water- 2 tbsp
  • Milk- 2.5 cup
  • Eggs-3
  • Chopped nuts- 1.5 tbsp
  • Chopped raisins (optional)- 1 tsp
  • Pure Vanilla extract-1 tbsp
  • Butter-1 tbsp for greasing

Instructions

  1. Grease the insides of serving dishes with butter and keep aside
  2. Mix 5 tbsp sugar and 1.5 tbsp water and heat in a pan on medium-high heat till bubbles start to form, then gently swirl the mixture
  3. When the mixture turns golden brown, working quickly but carefully remove from heat and then add 2 tbsp hot water( keeping the bowl away from your body) and give it one last swirl before pouring out the caramel into prepared serving dish/es pouring evenly and equally
  4. To prepare the pudding mix, crack and gently beat eggs, add vanilla extract and keep aside
  5. Heat milk in a pot and add 3.5 tbsp sugar and whisk till the sugar dissolves , then let it come down to just a tad warmer than room temperature and add it to the egg mixture, whisk gently to mix well and add chopped raisins and nuts
  6. Pour into prepared serving dishes, cover them with foil and steam for 15 minutes in a vessel deep enough to prepare a water bath
  7. After 15 minutes gently remove the dish/es out of the steamer and carefully invert them on a flat plate, refrigerate for at least an hour, garnish with chopped nuts and serve chilled.
https://onewholesomemeal.com/caramel-custard-pudding/

 

 

Categories
Afternoon Snack | 3pm Meal Breakfast | 8am Meal Mid-Day Snack | 10 am Meal Recipes

Blackberry and Mint Popsicles

Blackberry and Mint Popsicles
Blackberry and Mint Popsicles

These delicious blackberry and mint popsicles motivated me to get back to the blog!

I haven’t been very regular here off late. And my sincerest apologies for that. Not making any excuses but work and home have kept me on my toes and I have literally sleep-walked (without much sleep though) through the last few months and before I knew its full-blown summer which most of us were waiting for but are complaining about the weather yet again. Seriously! If there are two things which human beings absolutely love it is either complaining about the weather or passing judgments about people who are trying to do something with their lives no matter what the weather (rolls eyes)! Someone dear once told me, if people are talking about you then rest assured you are doing something right with your life. It was a great piece of advice and comes in handy every once in a while. It helps me focus on my goals big time!

Speaking of goals! Making and capturing popsicles this summer was one of my major short term goals! No kidding! These babies are as hard to shoot as easy they are to make! Numerous failed attempts last summer which never saw the face of daylight finally helped me succeed this season. I also prepped big time to capture the glory of these blackberry and mint popsicles.

How to Shoot Popsicles?

Here are some of my tips for you to improve your food photography of popsicles.

  1. I bought and froze an extra batch of blackberries
  2. Turned my bedroom into arctic with the air-con blasting at 16 degrees and all doors and windows shut before I brought these babies out
  3. Tested and retested the light, setup, and composition like crazy BEFORE bringing in the heroes
  4. Chilled a stainless steel tub in the freezer
  5. Prepared an ice bath, then placed the chilled stainless tub into the ice bath and then finally place the popsicles (still inside their mould) into the steel tub
  6. Donned a fleece because I was freeeeezing!
  7. Brought the babies out of their moulds and shot, shot, SHOT!

Blackberry and Mint Popsicles photography by OneWholesomeMeal

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Blackberry-Mint Popsicles

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 90%

Serving Size: Makes 6-8 medium sized popsicles

Ingredients

  • Black berries- 1.5 cups pureed
  • Greek Yogurt-1/2 cup
  • Mint leaves -1 tbsp
  • Honey-2 tbsp or as per taste
  • Almonds-5-6

Instructions

  1. Blend the ingredients in a high speed blender and freeze in popsicle moulds overnight
  2. Enjoy as an afternoon treat the day after
https://onewholesomemeal.com/blackberry-mint-popsicles/

Blackberry and Mint Popsicles photographed by OneWholesomeMeal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kkstarratings]

Categories
Afternoon Snack | 3pm Meal Mid-Day Snack | 10 am Meal

Til Mawa Ke Ladoo | Sesame Energy Balls

Til Mawa Ke Ladoo by OneWholesomeMeal
A dessert with health benefits

This sweet is best enjoyed in winter. I know I am a little late, but this til mawa ke ladoo recipe had to be shared. It’s spring now and still a good time to try these little bites of heaven. I kid you not. Once you taste these, you would know what I am talking about.

If you are daunted by getting mawa for these ladoos, don’t be as most Indian provision stores will have it. For some reason, if you are unable to buy it from the store, I promise it is extremely easy to make at home using this method. However, for best results, although it would require some elbow grease, please do make it from scratch using this method. Trust me, it will be worth all the effort. Plus you can always make a little extra and freeze it to save you effort in the future.

Here is an easy to follow video, or scroll down for the recipe.

Quick Tips Before You Get Cooking

The most important ingredient is til or sesame itself. I cannot begin to stress the benefits of sesame, especially for women. These days most of the store-bought sesame is relatively clean but its always better to wash them once and air dry overnight on a flat surface before using them in this recipe. Another little hack to elevate the taste of these ladoos is blending the fennel seeds with the sugar. Powdered sugar mixes quick and easy with the ladoo mixture while the fennel gets homogeneously incorporated bringing out a beautiful flavour in the finished product.

Finally, it is the turn of my beloved coconut. I have to say, I look for excuses to include coconut in my desserts. This isn’t due to the current fads. I genuinely love how it adds a lovely dimension to a recipe without actually overpowering the taste completely. And who can resist its subtle crunch? Roasting the coconut for a minute or two on a low flame brings out the nutty flavour of the coconut but you could also use it as is.

So, without further ado, here is the Til Mawa Ke Ladoo recipe for you to try. You can also try my coconut ladoo recipe here and let me know which one you liked more.

Til Mawa Ke Ladoo by OneWholesomeMeal

 

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Til-Mawa Laddoos

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Yield: 100

Serving Size: 12-14 medium sized balls

Calories per serving: 134

Ingredients

  • White sesame-3/4 cup
  • Khoya/Mawa (reduced and thickened milk)-3/4 cup
  • Freshly desiccated coconut- 1/4 cup
  • Sugar-1/2 cup
  • Fennel seeds-1/2 teaspoon
  • Green Cardamom-3-4 pods
  • Chopped nuts-1.5 tbsp (optional)
  • Ghee-1 tsp

Instructions

  1. Blend the sugar with fennel seeds to get a powder like texture and keep aside
  2. In a thick bottomed skillet roast the sesame seeds on a medium-low flame with continuous stirring till the seeds just about start to turn light brown. Keep aside and let cool to room temperature
  3. Once the seeds have cooled off, blitz in a blender for a few seconds to get a coarse powder. Please be careful to not blend it too long and get smooth texture.
  4. Powder the cardamom seeds and keep aside
  5. In the same skillet add ghee followed by khoya (mawa) and on a low flame mix them well gently breaking the khoya lumps as you go. Make sure the mixture doesn't stick to the skillet. Continue this process for a minute or so. If the khoya you are using is too moist, then cook it on a low flame for approximately two minutes or until it reaches a semisolid consistency and starts to clump together.If the khoya is fairly dry you would need to "cook" it for a shorter duration and might need to add another teaspoon of ghee
  6. Turn off heat and add the reaming ingredients to the khoya and working quickly, mix well
  7. When the mixture cools down slightly, grease your palms with some ghee and form into tennis ball sized laddoos
  8. The laddoos need to be made when the mixture is fairly warm, a completely cold mixture would not come together well
  9. You could also wet your palms with some water and form the laddoos
https://onewholesomemeal.com/til-mawa-ke-ladoo-sesame-energy-balls/

 

Categories
Lunch | 1pm Meal Mid-Day Snack | 10 am Meal

Avocado Parathas With Mint and Methi

Avocado Parathas by OneWholesomeMeal
Avocado Parathas with Methi and Mint

I doubled up in surprise when a few years back my sweet friend P told me her cook in the US makes Avocado Parathas! Firstly, I had never heard of parathas with avocados. I couldn’t imagine for the life of me what they would taste like. Secondly, I thought about the poor Spaniard who first discovered them. The thought of what we desis are doing to his wonder fruit, must make him turn in his grave.

Now, I do not eat avocados often. I have nothing against them. Just that it is hard to find locally grown options here in Hong Kong. Eating the imported avocados all the way from Spain or the US makes me cringe at the thought of the carbon footprint it creates. So, it is very rare that I buy them and whenever I do, parathas happen. As most of us would know, avocados have what the nutritionists call the “good fat”. While on the topic, here is a little trivia about Avocados I found on Reader’s Digest.

It’s Great for the Lunch Box

Coming back to the parathas. Due to the “good fat” parathas made out of avocados are soft and require very little additional fat like ghee or butter. Unlike most parathas, they remain soft long after being cooked. Therefore, they make for great lunch box options too! I took advantage of the fresh methi (fenugreek leaves) that is abundantly available in winter and decided to throw some in along with fresh mint leaves. Feel free to add just avocados or other greens available in your kitchen. The dough can be prepped the night before. Make sure you keep it out of the fridge for 15 minutes before cooking.

For the detailed recipe, you may have a look at the simple tutorial video.


If this is the first time that you are making parathas, do not stress about the shape. That is a thing of practice. I hardly make rotis and parathas myself. Whenever I do, they never turn out the perfect circle until I have rolled out a few. As long as they are thin, and cook evenly, these avocado parathas will taste great. Make the most of winters and enjoy these yummies with a hot cup of chai during breakfast.

Avocado Parathas by OneWholesomeMeal

 

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Avocado-Mint-Methi (fenugreek) Parathas

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Yield: 100

Serving Size: Makes 12-15 medium sized thin parathas

Calories per serving: 180 per paratha

Ingredients

  • Wholewheat Flour(Aatta)-3 cups
  • Fully ripe Avocados,peeled and cubed- 2 cups
  • Methi,finally chopped-1 cup
  • Mint leaves, finely chopped-1/2 cup
  • Turmeric powder-1 tsp
  • Ajwain(caraway seeds)-1tsp
  • Kalonji (onion seeds/black caraway)-1tsp
  • Salt-1.5tsp or as per taste
  • Water-1/2 cup to be used as required
  • Ghee or Oil for shallow frying the parathas

Instructions

  1. Take all ingredients except ghee and water in a deep and wide bowl convenient for kneading
  2. Using both hands mix all ingredients together with the dough breaking the avocados into the mixture with your fingers while you knead
  3. Halfway through, wet your hands with very little water and continue to knead till you get a smooth homogeneous dough typically softer than the usual roti dough. Be very careful while adding water as you do not want the dough to be too sticky which would make it harder to roll out
  4. The moisture from avocados and the greens is enough to bring the dough together so it would need very little water
  5. Once done, cover the bowl with a lid and let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes. This helps it smoothen out and extremely pliable
  6. After 20 minutes , place a tava or flat thick bottomed skillet on the flame while you roll out a tennis ball sized dough into a thin , round paratha. Make sure the pressure on the rolling pin isn't too strong else the paratha wouldn't roll out evenly
  7. When the iron skillet is hot, reduce the flame to medium high and carefully place the paratha on the pan
  8. Once you see air bubble start to form, flip it over till bubbles form again, then smear 1 teaspoon of ghee along the periphery of the paratha and on the surface;cook gently pressing down with a spatula till the paratha starts to puff up. This takes 15-20 secs
  9. Flip and cook the other side similarly making sure you do not over cook or burn the paratha
  10. Drain it on a kitchen towel to soak excess oil and enjoy with a side of freshly set yogurt, mint chutney or even ketchup and a hot cup of masala chai
https://onewholesomemeal.com/avocado-parathas-with-mint-and-methi/

 

[kkstarratings]

Categories
Afternoon Snack | 3pm Meal Mid-Day Snack | 10 am Meal

Enduri Pitha | Traditional Odia Recipe

Enduri Pitha | Traditional Odia Recipe by OneWholesomeMeal
Enduri Pitha

This traditional Odia recipe is similar to the idli from south India. I discovered the Eduri Pitha late, but am I glad I did!

I love idlis for their versatility. By adding one or more grated veggies of your choice to the idli, it becomes a complete meal with a side of chutney or sambhar. Also, as it is so easy to whip up, it features regularly on the menu at home.

Soon after I got married into an Odia family I came across the sweet version of this family favourite. Called Enduri (pronounced “en-do-ree”) Pitha, it had all my favourite things and more. Enduri Pitha is primarily prepared during Prathamastami, a festival that celebrates the eldest born in the family. It is served as an offering to the deity. Freshly desiccated coconut enlaces palm jaggery and is steamed between layers of the fermented rice-lentil batter. The bliss of devouring piping hot pithas dunked in sambhar or coconut chutney is something that can not be expressed in words. Needless to say, when the kids first tried it, it was a massive hit! And since it is refined sugar-free, I did not mind if they (and us) indulged in it a tad more. Thus Parthmashtmi or not, this pitha is enjoyed irrespective.

It tastes best if one uses freshly desiccated coconut and palm jaggery. However, I have made it with dried desiccated coconut and regular jaggery and cannot complain about the taste.

Step By Step Enduri Pitha, A Traditional Odia Recipe

1. Prepare a regular idli batter as you would for normal idlis. Once done, crush or finely chop approximately one cup of jaggery, one cup desiccated coconut, and some raisins/sultanas (optional) and keep aside.

 

2. Next prepare the idli moulds by greasing them with ghee or coconut oil. Then scoop 1 tablespoon of batter onto the stand. Layer it with 1 teaspoon jaggery and 1 teaspoon coconut. Then cover it with another scoop of batter.

3. Steam it as you would a regular idli. Serve hot with a side of sambhar and/or chutney.

Print
Coconut-Jaggery Idlis (Enduri Pitha)

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 100

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients

  • Idli batter-2 cups
  • Desiccated Coconut-1 cup
  • Finely chopped or crushed jaggery-3/4 cup
  • Raisins or Sultanas- 2 tbsp (optional)
  • Oil- 1tbsp (for greasing the idli moulds)

Instructions

  1. Prepare all ingredients as shown in the step by step above
  2. Spoon in 1 tbsp of batter on greased moulds, then add 1 tsp each of coconut,jaggery and raisins. Feel free to adjust the amount of jaggery and coconut as per taste but do keep in mind that adding too much jaggery would make the idlis "bleed out" too much
  3. Then spoon in another tbsp batter making a sandwich
  4. Steam as you would regular idlis (for approximately 15-20 minutes) based on the kind of steamer you use
  5. Serve hot with saambhar and/or coconut chutney
https://onewholesomemeal.com/enduri-pitha-traditional-odia-recipe/

[kkstarratings]

Categories
Afternoon Snack | 3pm Meal Breakfast | 8am Meal Guest Blogs Mid-Day Snack | 10 am Meal

Uttapam Pizza (By Aarti Mehrotra Mataney)

Uttapam Pizza Recipe by OneWholesomeMeal

If you have a school going child you know the lunchbox struggle is real. If constantly racking one’s brain to come up with healthy, wholesome meals is not enough, making them easy to eat and create a variety make lunchbox menu planning a herculean task to say the least. And it doesn’t help if you have a picky eater either. When my eldest started primary earlier this school year, anxious doesn’t even begin to describe my feelings every evening at the thought of packing lunch for him the next morning. A few weeks into school, my list was soon exhausted and then began the search to find newer ideas which His Highness would eat. Online search helped but the best ideas came from my Mummy friends who had at least a few tried and tested, “picky-eater friendly” recipes in their kitty. And this recipe barter did make my life much easier.

Hence, sharing one of those recipes here in my Guest Blog section seemed like a great idea .

The contributor is my dear friend Aarti who is a mum of a an incredibly intuitive 5yo and an HR professional, event organiser and a crusader. Positive, calm and humble are just a few words that describe this sweet friend of mine.

As to the recipe, as you may have guessed, it is a fusion between our desi Uttapam and videsi Pizza. The base is made with the traditional uttapam batter, keeping it healthy and gluten-free and topped with veggies of your choice and loads of mozzarella. Comes together in less than 15 minutes and tastes great piping hot or even cold!The recipe comes with a basic tomato sauce recipe too but you can always use store bought-tastes as delicious!

It was fun trying this pizza out in different shapes and as expected the heart-shaped ones went down really well 🙂

Thank you Aarti for sharing this keeper of a recipe.

And I am sure you guys and your wee ones would love it as much as we did!

Start off by preparing the basic tomato sauce by boiling finely chopped tomatoes with sugar (I used chopped jaggery for an added flavour).Cover and cook on a medium flame with intermittent stirring till soft and mushy, then add a pinch of salt and oregano and bring to boil. Then reduce flame to medium and thicken to a semisolid consistency with continuous stirring . Keep aside until cool. The sauce keeps well in an air tight glass jar up to a week if refrigerated, so you can make it in advance.

Here is an ultimate guide to making the perfect (multipurpose) batter for dosas and uttapams. Once you have the perfect batter, making your Uttapam Pizza is easy-peasy.

Another important tip is to grate your veggies (carrots, beetroots, red, green, yellow bell peppers work great) coarse and use freshly grated mozzarella. Believe me it makes all the difference. And speaking of latter, my loyalties lie with the one Marks and Spencers stores. The cheesiest mozzarella ever. It usually comes in slices but you can scrunch and grate it with perfect results.

Print
Uttapam Pizza

Ingredients

  • Tomatoes, coarsely chopped-1 cup
  • Jaggery or sugar-1 tbsp or as per taste
  • Salt-1/2 tsp
  • Oregano-1 tsp
  • Dosa batter (pancake consistency)-2 cups with salt added as per taste
  • Grated carrots or beetroots-1 cup
  • Grated bell peppers (red and yellow)-1 cup
  • Grated Mozzarella cheese-1 cup

Instructions

  1. To make the sauce, add the chopped tomatoes in a pan with jaggery, mix well and bring to boil
  2. Then reduce flame and add salt and oregano,mix well, cover and simmer with intermittent stirring and mashing till it reaches a semisolid consistency. Then transfer to a bowl and keep aside
  3. Then proceed to make the uttapam pizza
  4. Heat a thick bottomed girdle and spread some oil or ghee
  5. Pour almost 1/4th cup of prepared batter (pancake batter consistency with salt added as per taste), reduce the flame to medium and cover and cook for a minute or so
  6. You would start to see air pockets start to form and batter start to solidify
  7. Then spread the tomato sauce followed by grated veggies and cover on a low flame for another minute
  8. The base should be nice and crispy by now
  9. Sprinkle the mozzarella and wait for it to melt
  10. Let it cool for 5 minutes if packing in a lunchbox or serve hot if eating right away with a side of chutney or even as is!
https://onewholesomemeal.com/uttapam-pizza-by-aarti-mehrotra-mataney/

[kkstarratings]