Muhallebi (Milk Pudding) ~ Monthly Mingle ~ Arabian Nights

This is my entry for Meeta's Monthly Mingle theme Arabian Nights. This dessert is ready in 10 minutes flat. Of course, you need to allow it to cool and set for about 2 hours. For a faster option, try putting the dessert in the fridge and it will set just like our conventional custard. The original recipe called for rose water and I skipped this step. Just use your imagination to flavor this pudding. You could add kesar color, top it with fruit slices, add mango pulp, etc. Here is the recipe.


Muhallebi

Ingredients
5 tablespoons corn flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 pints (4 cups) milk
1 tablespoon rose water
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
1 tablespoon chopped pistachios

Method
1. Dissolve the corn flour in milk in a pan. Ensure there are no lumps and the mixture is smooth.
2. Add cardamom powder, sugar, rosewater and mix well.
3. Place the pan on medium heat and stir till the mixture thickens. This takes about 7 to 8 minutes.
4. Transfer the pudding to a serving bowl, garnish with pistachios and set aside to cool.

I halved the recipe and ended up with one bowl of milk pudding.

Strawberry-Banana dessert ~ AFAM ~ February 2007 ~ Strawberry

Health recipe!

This dessert is almost like a smoothie except that I added applesauce and cardamom. And instead of serving in a glass, I served it in ice-cream cups. The applesauce adds a rich and creamy taste to the dessert. This is my entry for Maheswari's AFAM Strawberry event. Click here to read about the health benefits of strawberries. With Valentine's Day round the corner, I am waiting for strawberry recipes from fellow bloggers. I am sure there will be some great ideas coming up!

Ingredients

1 ripe banana
6 or 7 fresh strawberries
1/2 cup apple sauce
2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp plain non-fat yogurt (can add vanilla or strawberry yogurt too)
Whipped cream for topping (optional)
2 strawberries for decoration
A pinch of cardamom powder
A few tsps of milk (if required)

Method1. Peel the banana, clean and dice the strawberries and put in a blender.
2. Add the apple sauce, sugar, yogurt and cardamom powder and blend to a smooth paste. If you feel the mixture is too thick you can add a few tsps of milk. Ensure it comes out thick and creamy.
3. Transfer into serving cups and decorate with sliced strawberries and whipping cream.

Strawberry~Banana~dessert

Serving size - 1 cup

Number of servings - 2

Tea party - Mini pecan pies and potato pea cups

I like all food that come in small packages. Precisely, why I loved making these mini pecan pies and potato pea cups. Both these recipes are from fellow bloggers, except that I made a few changes to the recipes.

Mini Pecan Pies
I followed the same recipe from Ahaar. Instead of pouring the filling in a 9-inch pie crust, I used mini graham cracker pie crusts. For this recipe, I used the filling for 12 mini pie crusts. I used light corn syrup and also added chopped pecans to the filling. Of course, I did top off the pies with pecans again. I used 3/4 cup of sugar instead of 1 cup. Click here for the original recipe. I baked the pies for about 40 to 45 minutes. Do keep an eye on these pies as you might end up baking them too much. If you do that, the corn syrup will crystallize and the center of the pie will become very hard. Serve these mini wonders with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.

Baked mini pecan pies

Potato pea cups

This is a savory treat I absolutely loved making. Once done, they look like a piece of art and are a big hit as a starter to any meal. I came across this recipe at Priya's Kitchen. Click here for the original recipe. Here is my recipe.

Ingredients
2 medium potatoes (boiled and mashed)
1/2 cup of green peas
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 tsp of red chilli powder
1/2 tsp of coriander powder
1/2 tsp of cumin powder
Salt to taste
Oil as needed
Pepperidge Farm Puff pastry sheets
1 egg (beaten) for egg wash (you can use butter too)

Method
1. Sauté the onions in a pan with a little oil until soft.
2. Add the green peas and sauté till tender.
3. Add the mashed potatoes, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and salt and mix till everything is well blended.
4. Thaw the puff pastry sheets and cut into squares (you can make 9 squares from one sheet).
5. Brush with egg wash on both sides and place in a big muffin pan.
6. Put a tbsp of the potato-pea filling and bake at 425°F for 8 to 10 minutes or until brown and flaky.
7. Top it off with the sweet and sour chutney and serve warm.

Potato pea cups

Sweet and sour chutneyFor the sweet and sour chutney I used store-bought chutney and followed this recipe:
1 tsp of coriander paste
1 tsp of mint paste
1 tsp of date-tamarind chutney

Mix all the above in a bowl and garnish the potato-pea cups when they come out of the oven.

Food bites

A few days ago, I bought a whole wheat baguette from Whole Foods Market. I made two bite-sized snacks out of the baguette. One is the chocolate panini sandwich, that I made in my new panini maker. The other is bruschetta. Here are the recipes for both these bite-sized goodies.

Chocolate Panini sandwich

Ingredients8 slices of whole wheat baguette (cut them into 1 inch thick rounds)
4 tsps of Trade Joes Chocolate Hazelnut Spread (you can also use Nutella)
Pam fat-free butter spray

Method1. Spray one side of the baguette with Pam spray.
2. Place the buttered side on the panini maker and spread out the chocolate-hazelnut cream.
3. Cover it with another baguette - buttered side up.
4. Close the panini grill and gently press down on the baguettes.
5. It will take you about 3 to 4 minutes depending on your panini maker.
6. Remove from panini maker when the baguette is brown and you notice deep grill marks.
7. Serve warm. Makes a great dessert.

8. Makes 4 servings.

Chocolate panini sandwiches

Bruschetta
IngredientsA couple of whole wheat baguette slices (cut into 1/2 inch thin rounds)
Pam fat-free olive oil spray
Store-bought bruschetta (I used the bruschetta from Trader Joes - check the end of this post for a quick-bruschetta recipe)
1 pod of fresh garlic

Method1. Spray the baguette slices with the olive oil spray and bake in the oven at 425 degrees for about 7 to 8 minutes or until light brown.
2. Remove from the oven and immediately rub the garlic on the warm bread.
3. Line up on a tray and top with the bruschetta.
4. Serve with pasta or salad.

Warm garlic bread served with bruschetta

Quick bruschetta

Ingredients

5 or 6 ripe plum tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium red onion
1/2 tsp of dried basil (use can use fresh basil too)
1 tbsp fresh cilantro
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste (you can also use red chilli pepper flakes)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or regular olive oil

Method1. Cut the tomatoes into half and remove the seeds. Chop the tomato finely.
2. Chop the onions and the cilantro finely.
3. Transfer the tomatoes, onions and cilantro to a bowl.
4. Add the minced garlic, basil, salt, pepper and cilantro and mix well.
5. Finally add the extra virgin olive oil.

Optional: You can place the tomato-onion mixture on the baguette and top it off with the olive oil instead of mixing it into the mixture.