Creamy Frozen berry bars

I guess I have been making too many Popsicles. Do you blame me when it is so hot out there and it is just the beginning of July. Don't really know how hot it will get later this month and the rest of this summer. Coming to this recipe, my kids didn't like it that much because of the skin and its grainy texture. If your kids are picky like that, make sure you strain the berry puree before mixing with the milk and the condensed milk to get a smooth popsicle. Myself and my neighbor's kids did enjoy them though.

One Year Back - Easy cupcake decorating ideas, Almond poppy seed veggie rice
Two Years Back - Honey Cardamom Ice cream
Three Years Back - Spicy Dill Biscuits
Ingredients: 
Blueberries - 1 cup
Strawberries - hulled and chopped 2 cups
Milk - 1/2 cup
Condensed milk - 1 can (fat free would do)

Method:
Take all the berries in a blender or a food processor jar and puree it. Add milk after it is pureed and mix. Slowly add the condensed milk and pulse until everything is mixed properly. Freeze in the popsicle mold or small cups.

Notes:
You could use any berry of your choice. If not using strawberries, increase the berries to a total of 4 cups. Strawberries have much more pulp than other berries, so they work fine with less.

Enjoy.

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Orange Sherbet Bars / Creamy Orange popsicles

When I see people in the grocery store with the list of ingredients used for a recipe, I get surprised. At the same time, I envy them since they are so organized and buy exactly whatever is needed. I not only buy things that I need, but also things I 'might need' and then end up using it because it is going bad. Same happened the other day. I had few condensed milk cans that I had bought thinking I would need them for something. They will be expiring in a month or so and the result of that is this popsicle. I prefer this over ice cream since it is quick and easy to make and serving is a breeze. This one is not too sweet and not very strong in flavor. It was liked by all at home.

One Year Back - Vegan Mango Coconut Cake
Two Years Back - Chocolate Strawberry Muffins
Three Years Back - Zucchini Kootu

Ingredients: (Makes about 15 - 16 popsicles if filled in 3 Oz cups little more than 3/4th full)
Condensed milk - 1 can (fat free would do)
Orange Juice - 1 1/2 cups (I used juice from the carton, but freshly squeezed would be better)
Half and Half - 1 1/2 cups (Whole milk or heavy cream would work too)

Method:
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Whisk well until the condensed milk blends in with the rest of the liquid. To make it easy, you could use a blender and mix. Pour into popsicle molds or in my case, 3 Oz dixie cups. Freeze until solid and serve.
This post is written for weekend cooking post that I write with Srivalli  and  Vaishali, 

Notes:
I used orange juice from the carton since my kids would refuse it if they found pulp in the fresh juice. If you love orange flavor, you could add about 2 TBSP of orange zest to it. Or use some orange extract to intensify the flavor. I was kind of trying to hide the strong flavor so didn't add any.

Enjoy.

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Orange Creamsicles

Ice cream was something special when I was a kid. We didn't have refrigerator or freezer and the only time we would get to eat ice cream was when we went out to ice cream shops. And the other time was when the ice cream cart would come in front of the house. I still remember one flavor vividly. It used to be a creamy popsicle which would melt in the mouth just like ice cream. And it was flavored with orange and looked bright orange in color. I do not know how they make it, but I tried to mimic it with two ingredients and I should say it was awesome.

One Year Back - Salsa Vinaigrette
Two Years Back - Zucchini Chutney
Ingredients: 
Cool Whip - 16 Oz tub ( I used low fat, you could use fat free instead)
Frozen Orange juice concentrate - 1 can thawed in the refrigerator (12 Oz)

Method:
Thaw the cool whip in the refrigerator. Whisk in the orange juice concentrate to it gently. Pour into popsicle molds or 3 Oz cups and freeze till firm. It doesn't get very firm and is more like ice cream. It takes longer to set than a typical popsicle.

Notes:
You could use plain orange juice instead and use heavy cream (2 cups) whipped instead. In that case, you will have to add sugar to taste. Frozen orange juice concentrate is very sweet, so didn't have to add any. It was perfect.

Enjoy.

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Chocolate Almond Gelato / Ice cream

Gelato is an Italian ice cream. But it is not the same as traditional ice cream it seems. Gelato has less amount of fat than a traditional ice cream, is more dense than the traditional ice cream and is churned at a lower speed to incorporate less air unlike the traditional ice cream. What did I make? To be honest, I do not know. I wanted to use up the chocolate syrup and almond butter and I was looking to make some frozen dessert out of these two. Didn't have heavy cream to make ice cream, so used milk. This recipe is inspired by a hazelnut gelato recipe from the book 'Gelato' by Pamela Sheldon Johns but doesn't resemble the recipe in the book by any means. I used non fat dry milk to give more body to the 2 % milk I used. If you are using whole milk, I am sure you can skip it and it will still be fine. You might ask why I added corn starch? I added it to make milk a little thick since there was not too much fat in the recipe. This was refreshing on a hot day and not too calorific. I know almond butter has enough fat in it, but it is 'good for you' fat.

One Year Back - Home made rice milk
Two Years Back - Vegan Fondant
Ingredients:
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Chocolate syrup - 1 cup
Non fat dry milk - 1/2 cup
Milk - 3 cups (chilled)
Almond butter - 1/2 cup (Drain the oil on the top and use only the solid part)
Corn Starch - 2 TBSP

Method:
Mix all the ingredients except almond butter in a microwave safe bowl and whisk to combine. Make sure there are no lumps of corn starch. When the mixture is homogeneous, add almond butter. Whisk and microwave for 5 minutes. Whisk again. Let it come to room temperature. Chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours or over night. Freeze in the ice cream maker as per the manufacturer's instructions.

Enjoy.

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Mango Creamsicles / Easy mango kulfi

Anything mango is welcome in my house. Be it mango lassi, mango milk shake, mango mousse, mango ice cream, mango sherbet and this mango kulfi. I had promised my kids that I would make mango ice cream for them, but ran out of time. So, this was a quick fix to keep up my promise. It is delicious, but not very sweet. Add sugar if you have sweet tooth.

One Year Back - Vegan Banana Bread, No Knead Coconut and Chillies flat bread
Two Years Back - Methi Malai Mutter
Ingredients: 
Sweetened mango pulp - 3 cups
Cream cheese - One 8 Oz block softened (I used low fat but you could use fat free)
Milk - 1 cup (I used 2 % )
Optional - Sugar about 1/4 cup. This is not very sweet kulfi unless you add sugar.
Optional - cardamom powder to flavor the creamsicles

Method:
With an electric mixer (hand mixer is just fine here), blend the cream cheese till no lumps remain (My cream cheese hadn't softened till mushy. You can see small specks of it). Slowly add sweetened mango pulp and continue to beat till everything is mixed well. Add milk and stir. Freeze in popsicle molds or 3 Oz cups. I filled less in a 5 Oz cup since I was out of 3 Oz cups and I don't have so many popsicle molds. You will get about 14 - 18 popsicles out of this depending on how big the molds are.

Enjoy.

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Spiced Cashew Milk and Vegan Mango Sherbet

I have been making a lot of ice creams this summer - thanks to my ice cream machine. At the same time, I don't want all of us consuming lot of fatty ice cream. That calls for something lighter and Sherbet is somewhere in between ice cream and sorbet when it comes to calories. I made milk using cashews and used that instead of dairy milk in this recipe.

Did you know that Mangoes and Cashews are the same family? So, if someone is allergic to cashews, they can't eat mangoes.

Someone asked me if I could elaborate on different frozen desserts. Here is the simplest way of explaining.
Sorbet - Frozen dessert made with fruit puree or juice which is sweetened. Many a times, there is alcohol mixed in the sorbet to make it not freeze rock solid.
Sherbet - Similar to Sorbet but has milk in it.
Ice cream - Most of the times uses heavy cream or part heavy cream. There are exceptions to it though. And it also uses egg yolks many a times to make it rich.
Granita - Similar to sorbet but has more of crushed ice texture. This is made by sweetened fruit juices/purees and other flavorings which is semi frozen.

One year back - Peach Jam
Adapted from - 'Alton Brown's Orange Sherbet'
Ingredients:
Sweetened Condensed Mango pulp - 2 1/2 cups
Cashew milk - 1 1/2 cups
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Flavorings - optional (I didn't use any since I was using spiced cashew milk)

To make Cashew Milk (Makes 3 1/2 cups):
Cashews - 1/2 cup
Water - 4 - 4 1/2 cups (depending on how thick you want the milk to be)
Cinnamon - 1/2 " stick
Star anise - 1 (optional - it has a strong flavor)
Cloves - 4

Method:
Make the spiced cashew milk. Soak cashews in warm water for about 1 hour. Drain and grind into a smooth paste adding water as needed. Add the remaining water and stir. Add the cinnamon, cloves and star anise if using and heat in a sauce pan stirring frequently. When it comes to a boil, turn off the heat. Let it sit till it comes to room temperature. Refrigerate over night or at least 5 hours. Filter to remove the spices and the solid residue. I used a big holed strainer so part of the paste made it into the milk. You can filter through cheese clothes to get real smooth milk. Keep it refrigerated.
Measure 1 1/2 cups of the cashew milk and mix it with 2 1/2 cups of mango pulp and sugar. If you are using fresh mangoes, make a puree and measure 2 cups. To it, add 1 cup of sugar (or to taste) and stir to dissolve. Keep the whole mixture back in the refrigerator. After one hour, freeze in the ice cream machine as per the manufacturer's specification. Freeze till set and enjoy.

Notes:
My husband felt they weren't sweet enough. He takes more sugar than I do, so it was fine for me. If you like it sweeter, use about 1/2 cup of sugar to it.

Enjoy. Pin It

Roasted Banana Ice cream

There are couple of recipes that catch my attention and won't move away from my brain for a long time. One such recipe was 'Roasted banana ice cream' from 'The Perfect Little Scoop' by David Lebovitz. It was simple, not too rich and I had an ice cream maker to try it. He does say this one will come out very good if you make it by hand. So, don't let lack of ice cream machine stop you from making it. This one was very good. I changed the recipe a bit since I didn't have whole milk. Didn't use butter as the original recipe directs. Used microwave to roast the bananas rather than turning the huge oven on in summer.

One Year back - Nippattu - South Indian deep fried cracker
Adapted from - 'The Perfect Little Scoop'
Ingredients:
Ripe but not mushy bananas - 3 medium (I don't think large would harm here)
Brown Sugar - 1/3 cup packed (I used light brown sugar)
Whole milk - 1 1/2 cups (I used low fat half and half)
Vanilla - 2 tsp
Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Method:
Slice the bananas. In a microwave safe bowl, toss the banana slices with brown sugar and microwave for 3 minutes. Stir and continue to microwave for 2 - 3 minutes till the mixture is bubbly and you can see brown sugar as thick syrup. Take it out. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Add lemon juice, milk or half and half and puree in a blender. Add vanilla and refrigerate till very cold about 5 hours or over night.
After it is thoroughly chilled, freeze in the ice cream machine as per the directions from the manufacturer. Freeze till set and use.

To make by hand:
After the mixture is thoroughly chilled, place in a freezer safe box and keep it in the freezer. Every half hour, break the ice crystals with fork and return to the freezer. Do this for about 4 - 6 times and then let it freeze for the final time. It might be time consuming to make this by hand, but will definitely be worth making.

Vegan version:
Bananas and almonds go very well. Use Almond milk in place of milk/half and half in the above recipe.

Have a great weekend. Pin It

Weight Watcher's Chocolate Sorbet

I promise you that I won't post any more ice cream/sorbet or a creation using my ice cream maker for at least one more week. I have been posting too many frozen desserts this week and it is great for summer I guess. Plus, the strawberry ice cream that I posted earlier this week was fat free. This is a weight watcher's recipe. So, you can't complain much about gaining weight by eating these two right?

One Year back - Homemade Almond Milk
Adapted from - Weight Watcher's Magazine Jan/Feb 2011 edition
Ingredients:
Sugar - 1 1/4 cups
Salt - a pinch
Water - 2 1/2 cups
Unsweetened Cocoa - 2/3 cups (I used Dutch processed but any will do fine)
Semisweet chocolate - 4 Oz chopped (Some brands are not vegan)
Vanilla - 2 tsp

Method:
In a sauce pan combine water, sugar, salt and unsweetened cocoa. Stir and bring it to a rolling boil stirring constantly till all the sugar is dissolved. Turn off the heat and add chopped chocolate. Stir till it is all melted. Let it come to room temperature. Add vanilla. Chill for 3 hours or overnight. Process in the ice cream maker as per manufacturer's specifications. Freeze for at least 3 hours or overnight before serving.

Notes:
Strain the whole liquid before chilling. Since I didn't do that, there was a little bit of grainy texture which is not very palatable when you are eating sorbet. I felt the whole sorbet is very chocolatey. For those who like mild chocolate flavor, reduce the cocoa powder to 1/3 cup.

Nutrition Info:
For 1/2 cup sorbet - 217 Cal, 5 G Total Fat, 3 G SAT FAT, 0 G transfat, 0 MG CHOL, 51 MG SOD, 47 G Total Carb, 40 G Total Sugar, 4 G FIB, 2 G PROT, 51 MG CALC. Pointplus value : 6

Have a great Sunday. Pin It

Strawberry Ice cream - Egg free, fat free

I am in love with my new ice cream maker. I have two of them. One is the kind which uses ice and salt. I hardly used it since it was a pain to set it up. Then, I bought one more with the freezer canister. I just love it. Making ice cream is a breeze. Make the base, let it chill and all it takes is about 10 minutes time to make delicious ice cream. That too, turn the handle, let it sit for 3 minutes, turn it one more time and so on.

This ice cream was a breeze to make since I didn't have to even heat anything. On top of it, my younger one who is 4, turned the handle and made this. I would let her turn, and say count to 50 and then turn again. It was a game for her. Isn't it easier than going to store and buying a carton which has so many preservatives?
You want to know how much I spent on the ice cream machine? 5 dollars. In a thrift store. It was brand new with the manual and the box.

One year back -  Basil Mint Rice, Almond Mousse
Ingredients:
Strawberries - Hulled, chopped and measured - 2 cups
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Fat free Half and Half - 2 cups
Vanilla - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Method:
Take strawberries in a blender or food processor. Add sugar and process till almost smooth. Add the half and half and whip it for 30 seconds. Refrigerate till very cold, about 3 hours. Freeze in the ice cream machine as per manufacturer's specification. This takes less time to freeze than other ice creams since there is no fat. Don't over process. Freeze for at least an hour or more before serving. If frozen overnight, it might be very solid. Let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving to get the best taste and texture.

Notes:
Feel free to use half heavy cream and half milk in the place of half and half. It won't be fat free then. You could add some chopped chocolate to it towards the final minute of churning. Some people like chunks of strawberries in the ice cream, but beware that they freeze too hard and if it is alright with you, go ahead and reserve few strawberry pieces to fold in towards the end.

Enjoy. Pin It

Honey Cardamom Ice cream

During my initial days in this country, I used to look forward to the long weekends. That is the only time we could go out and visit places. When we are still having fun on memorial day weekend, I would be thinking what to do for independence day weekend. Not anymore. These long weekends come and go and I am shocked to see that we have already crossed half of 2011. Time just flies particularly if one keeps themselves busy.

So, what are your plans for this weekend? We are not doing anything in particular. Simple weekend, simple food and a very simple recipe for those who want to sit back and enjoy their time off and beat the heat. This recipe has only two ingredients with one optional ingredient I should say. Not many are fond of cardamom and you can use some other flavoring or omit it altogether. Ice cream will still be delicious. Consistency of this ice cream is more like the soft serve ice cream. Very creamy, very soft and ready to melt in the mouth.

One Year Back - Spicy Dill Biscuits
Ingredients:
Heavy Cream - 4 cups (You could use 2 1/2 cups heavy cream and 1 1/2 cups whole milk or half and half)
Honey - 2/3 cup
Cardamom - 7 pods crushed into powder (Or per taste)

Method:
In a sauce pan, heat the heavy cream. Add honey and stir till honey is dissolved. Add cardamom powder. It has to be heated just until small bubbles appear all over. No need to boil it. Cover and let it sit at room temperature for an hour or so till it comes to room temperature. Place it in the refrigerator till very cold or preferably overnight.
Freeze in the ice cream maker as per the manufacturer's instructions. Freeze for at least 10 hours. Use within a month. If you don't have the ice cream maker, refer to this post for instructions to make ice cream without the machine.

Enjoy. Pin It

Vegan Chocolate Popsicle (almost fat free)

What am I doing here?
I have absolutely no clue, do you?
I started this blog on a whim 1 1/2 years back. Had no idea what was involved.
Come to think of it, I am no writer. I write SQL code for a living.
I am no artist. I am not a photographer either.
I didn't know anything about photography a year back, not that I know anything now.
So, why am I doing this? Because I am a foodie? Or have too much time on hand? Or because I like to share my never ending experiments with you all? I think I blog because it is fun. With me on this one?

This was inspired by a comment left by Richa on my 'Rice Milk' post. I have never eaten the chocobar that she was referring to, but I went ahead and made this chocolate popsicle/fudgesicle. This is almost fat free if not for a miniscule amount in the cocoa powder.

One Year back -  Dark Chocolate Mousse
Ingredients:
Rice milk - 2 cups (I used home made, you could use rice dream)
Sugar - 2/3 cups
Cocoa - 1/3 cups (I used dutch processed)
Salt - a pinch (See Notes)
Vanilla - 2 tsp

Method:
Whisk the sugar and cocoa together. If there are any lumps in the cocoa, break them with the whisk or by sifting it. Add salt and slowly add 1 cup of rice milk. Beat it till it is smooth and continue to beat adding the remaining cup of rice milk till all the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the vanilla. Pour into the popsicle molds or cups in my case and freeze. When it is still not frozen solid, insert sticks and let it freeze solid. I didn't call it fudgesicle since it is not rich. I am sure this will be great if made with any other milk.

Notes:
If you use rice dream, omit salt since it is already added. Thanks Priya for pointing it out that I had left out this section altogether.

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Malai Kulfi / Indian Creamy popsicle - Quick and Easy version

Kulfi is not ice cream. Kulfi is not even a sorbet. Kulfi is more like a popsicle but has milk in it. Lots of thickened milk and sugar frozen to take you to a comfort zone in hot weather. It is perfect for any day but is like heaven on a summer day. It is not summer here yet but feels like one though.

Can you believe when I tell you that first time I ate kulfi was when I was in my early twenties? It is so true. But the first time I ate, I fell in love with it. That too the one I ate was mutka kulfi or the kulfi frozen in the earthern ware. They were full of cream, sugar and cardamom. For some reason, I still remember that taste after more than a decade. This one comes pretty close to that, but is an easy fix. You need less than 10 minutes of active time in the kitchen to make this. You could add nuts if you like them. Make sure you chop them really fine.

One Year back -  Banana Chocolate Chip Bread, Eggplant Curry
Ingredients:
Evaporated milk - 2 cans (use fat free or low fat or full fat -12 Oz can)
Sweetened condensed milk - 1 can (use fat free or low fat or full fat - 14 Oz can)
Heavy Cream - 1 cup (I have used regular milk also with good results)
Cardamom extract or cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp (optional - you could use vanilla or any other flavor)

Method:
In a microwave safe bowl, warm the evaporated milk. When it is warm, add the condensed milk and stir very well. Heat for couple more minutes. Stir and add the heavy cream or milk. Stir and let it come to room temperature. Add the cardamom extract or powder (or any other flavor of your choice) and stir very well. Pour into popsicle molds or individual cups (3 Oz plastic cups work very well). Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for an hour. When it is still not rock solid, insert the popsicle stick in the center and return to freezer to freeze solid.
I use these 1 Oz cups with lids for serving it in the parties. This proportion makes about 30 1 Oz serving cups. The cups are not filled all the way up though.

Enjoy. Pin It

Mango Mousse

When I got married, my mother-in-law told me one thing that is so true about my husband. She said "He is never going to say that food is good. If he goes for second serving, assume that he liked it". Till today (12 years now), he always goes for second and many times third serving of the food that I cook. But how many times in these 12 years has he told me that food is good? I believe I can count that with my fingers. Anyway, he doesn't even ask me to make something in particular. One day, we went to Hot Breads and he bought a piece of sponge cake filled with Mango Mousse. He liked it so much that I decided to make it at home. I searched online and found a video on Wareh wah chef. I started making this since then. I make it for the parties at home and fill it in 3 Oz cups and freeze a week before. Just have to get it out of the freezer and place on a tray when it is time for dessert. And everyone loves it particularly kids.

One Year Back - Chocolate Almond Spread
Ingredients:
Sweetened Condensed Mango pulp - 1 can (You can get this in Asian grocery stores)
Water - 3/4 cups
Heavy Whipping Cream - 2 cups chilled or 1 tub 16 Oz Cool whip thawed in the refrigerator (See Notes)
Mango flavored jelly crystals - 2 packets (90 gms each) Or 2 TBSP agar - agar powder
Sugar - 1/2 cup if using heavy whipping cream. Omit if using cool whip.

Method:
Empty the pulp into a large bowl. Rinse the can with 3/4 cup of water and pour the water into a saucepan. Keep on low heat. Add the crystals and keep stirring till they dissolve. It need not boil. Turn off the heat. Keep stirring occasionally to prevent skin from forming. When cool,  add the contents of the sauce pan to the bowl which has mango pulp in it. Stir well to combine.

If you are using whipping cream, whip it to soft peaks with sugar. Fold in the cool whip or whipped cream.  Pour into the serving cups and refrigerate. You can even freeze this. Better still, you can use graham cracker pie crust and fill it with it and let it set in the refrigerator.

Mousse stays fine in the refrigerator for 2 - 3 days. For longer storage, freeze it. If you are a fan of mousse, you should check out these posts too. Strawberry Mousse, Almond Mousse, Eggless Dark Chocolate Mousse.

Notes:
I prefer to use cool whip in this recipe because of one reason. I can use low fat or non-fat cool whip and the texture will be just fine. If you are alright using gelatin, instead of the jelly crystals, you can use 2 envelops of gelatin. Soften with 1/2 cup of water. Let it bloom then warm with another 1/4 cup of water. When it is melted, add it to the mango pulp and proceed. You can get Mango flavored jelly crystals in asian grocery stores particularly Indian and Pakisthani stores.

Check out what other ladies are cooking/baking/blogging on the last day of the marathon.
Srivalli, Azeema, Gayathri Kumar, Harini, Jay, Kamalika, Meena, Mina, Padma, Pavani,  PJ,  Priya Suresh,Priya Mahadevan,  Rujuta, Santosh, Saraswathi, Savitha, Shanavi, Smitha, Sowmya, Suma, Usha, Veena.


Enjoy. Pin It

Almond Mousse

Our brains work overtime. Have you ever thought about that? At least, I do believe mine does. It never stops working except when my kids are driving me crazy. Duh...
I give the credit to the brain for coming up with different recipes. Not just mine, all the recipes came to existence because of this wonderful thing.
For example, we have mango lassi, mango kulfi, mango mousse, mango ice cream, mango bread, mango milk shake....
We have strawberry ice cream, strawberry mousse, strawberry milk shake....
We have almond cookies, almond with penne, almond butter, so why not almond mousse?
At least, that is my excuse for coming up with this recipe.

Actually, I had heavy cream that I wanted to use up and I didn't want to make more ice cream. This makes a lot of mousse. Perfect for parties. You can freeze them in individual cups and use it when you have the party. They are good in the freezer for 3 months. I use the 3 Oz solo cups and freeze them.

Ingredients:
Heavy cream - 4 cups
Almonds - 1 1/2 cup blanched (See notes on how to do it)
Sugar - 2 cups or less if you like it less sweeter
Rose essence - 1 tsp (You could use cardamom, I wanted something different today)
Agar agar - 2 TBSP (If you don't mind using gelatin, use 2 TBSP of gelatin)
Cold Water - 1/2 cup
Warm water - 1/2 cup

Method:
In a food processor, take the blanched almonds and powder them. If you like the crunch of almonds, you can make a coarse powder. In a bowl, sprinkle agar agar to cold water and let it rest for about 5 minutes. When almonds are almost ground, add warm water, sugar to the food processor and keep running it. When it has come to desired fineness, turn off the food processor and mix in the cold water to which you had added agar agar. Run it again to incorporate everything. Mix in the rose essence or flavor of your choice. Scrape it to a bowl and set aside. To the same food processor, add whipping cream and turn it on. Keep an eye on it since couple of seconds more, it'll turn into butter. You could use your mixer instead for this. I was lazy to clean two gadgets. Whip till you get stiff peaks. Fold in the almond sugar mixture gently to the whipped cream. Try not to deflate the whipped cream. Pour into serving cups and refrigerate for couple of hours or freeze the rest for later use. These stay fine in the refrigerator for about a week. You could garnish them with some chopped almonds.

Notes:
To blanch almonds, bring enough water to cover the almonds to a boil. Pour the boiling water on the almonds placed in a bowl. Leave it for exactly one minute. Drain and rinse with cold water. You'll be able to see the wrinkling of the skin. When you can handle the almonds easily, start squeezing them between your index finger and the thumb. Skin will peel off easily. Or you could use already blanched almonds.

You should definitely taste this. This was great and has the consistency of something in between ice cream and kulfi. One of my kids loved it but the other one didn't due to almond bits. So, if you are a picky eater, make sure you have made the almond into a fine paste.

Enjoy!! Pin It

Cantaloupe Granita

Summer is here and kids ask for ice cream quite often. When either I or my husband are giving them the ice cream, we get tempted to eat it too. Since we are not among those lucky people who can eat 5000 calories a day and not put on an inch around the waist, I try to come up with things we can eat when kids are eating something cold like ice cream. My first choice would be fat-free sorbet. But after I started making granita since last year, I would say I love granita too. Last year I had made some watermelon granita which we loved. Here comes 'Cantaloupe Granita' for folks like us.

Granita is basically raked ice which is made with a simple syrup (sugar and water boiled together) which is flavored with seasonal fruits. Cantaloupe has so much water in it, I didn't bother to make a syrup at all. Just added brown sugar and churned it in the food processor. I used brown sugar since we South Indians are used to this cantaloupe mixed with jaggery to make a juice 'panaka' during 'Rama Navami'. I kind of tried to mimic that taste in a different form.

Ingredients:
1 medium cantaloupe - cut into cubes
Brown sugar - 1/2 cup or to taste (You could use regular sugar here)

Method:
Take the cantaloupe cubes in a food processor or a blender. Add sugar and churn till the mixture is smooth. Pour into a freezer safe container and freeze. Every 30 minutes to 45 minutes (this may vary depending on the kind of freezer and the size of the box you have frozen it in), take it out of the freezer and rake it with a fork to get crushed ice kind of a finished product. After doing this for 3 times, freeze. When ready to serve,  scoop the granita into serving dish and serve. It melts pretty fast so don't take it out of the freezer just before serving.

Notes:
You could add a little bit of cardamom to this after raking for the first time. Otherwise, it'll go and settle in the bottom. Same recipe can be used to make watermelon granita. Just use sugar to taste. If you like tangy taste, you can add some lime or lemon juice to this. Mix with the blended puree and freeze.

Enjoy!! Pin It

Mango Icecream

Looks like I am getting ready for summer in spring itself. My kids do love ice cream (are there any who don't?) and I thought of making some for them. Last summer, I had made banana ice cream and knowing that my kids love mangoes, I wanted to make some mango ice cream. I made it by hand for two reasons. One, I was too lazy to unwrap my ice cream machine and get ice going and use it. Second, not everyone has an ice cream machine. I wanted to give an option to those who do not have it. Here goes my recipe..

Ingredients:

• Sweetened condensed mango pulp - 1 30 Oz can (I used Kesar Mango)
• Heavy whipping cream - 3 cups
• Sugar - 3/4 cups (Start with 1/2 cup and then adjust accordingly. Different brands differ in sugar concentration)

Method:
In a big stainless steel bowl which has a tight fitting lid (Ice cream freezes well in a metal container than plastic), mix heavy cream, mango pulp. Add sugar and stir till sugar has dissolved. Cover with the lid and place in the freezer. At the end of 4 hours, remove from the freezer and break the ice crystals with a fork. You could let it sit for couple of minutes and cut into chunks and pulse in food processor too. When you have mixed it all over, transfer the container back to the freezer. Repeat this process 3 - 4 times or until the ice cream is fairly smooth and set completely. Serve as desired. To be honest, I probably will never buy mango ice cream from the Indian store.

Another peek at the ice cream..

Variation:
You can add some cardamom powder if desired along with some saffron to get 'Kesar Mango Ice cream'

Enjoy!! Pin It

Strawberry Mousse

I don't know what is with me and fancy words. I like to learn to make them just because their names sound fancy to me.  If you are not from India, you probably will think 'what is so fancy about 'Mousse'?'. It is to me since I had no idea what it was a decade back. Then when we went to 'hotbreads' ( a bakery), my husband fell in love with sponge cake layered with 'Mango Mousse'. That is when I first tried to make 'Mango Mousse' and it came out very good. I wanted to use up some strawberries some time back, and I came up with a mousse using strawberries. It has become a favorite frozen treat for my kids now. I wasn't blogging then, but since I am now, I thought it makes sense to shared this recipe with all of you. It is actually a very good way of making your kids eat fruit too.

So, what is mousse? Mousse is a sweetened dessert with whipped cream as a base, often stabilized with gelatin and chilled in a mold. Example: chocolate mousse (From Dictionary.com).

Ingredients:

• Strawberries - 1 pound (cleaned and cut into big chunks) You can use fresh or frozen strawberries.
• Sugar - 3/4 - 1 cup (Strawberries I used weren't very sweet so I used 1 cup)
• Strawberry Jelly crystals - 1 Pack from the Indian store. If you are alright with gelatin, use one envelop of knox gelatin. Or you could use a box of Strawberry jello.
• Heavy whipping cream - 1 cup (If you want the easy way, you could use a tub of 8 oz cool whip)
• Water - 1/2 cup

Method:
Place strawberries in a bowl and pour sugar on the top and mix well. Let it macerate for about an hour. In a sauce pan, heat water. When it starts boiling, turn the heat low to simmer and add the jelly crystals. Stir and let it dissolve. Turn off the heat. Let it cool down to room temperature. Place all the strawberries with sugar in a blender or food processor and puree them. Slowly add the water, jelly mixture and combine. Remove and set aside in a bowl. In another bowl, take chilled whipping cream and whip till soft peaks form. Gently fold in the whipped cream to the fruit mixture. Don't deflate the cream. Pour into molds and refrigerate until set at least for an hour. I usually pour into individual cups and freeze for later use.

Serve cold with additional strawberries as garnish if desired.


I am sending this to Srivalli's 'Thanda Mela'.
Happy Cooking!! Pin It