First off I have to say that I am not a big fan of ice cream... I know... I know... I'll let that statement sink in, I accept that I am abnormal. Having said that I do indulge on occasion, such as when the weather is particularly warm (all too rare in the UK) or when like at the moment I have been struck down by laryngitis. Nothing eases a sore throat like smooth and creamy ice cream melting its way down to your stomach.
And onto kulfi, Indian / Pakistani style ice cream, while it shares a lot with its European cousin, it is all together a richer experience, and an absolute doddle to make. No churning required, no fiddling around with egg yolks or anything like that. Just add the ingredients to a pan, cook for a short while and you're done. With regards to flavour, traditionally it's cardamom, rose, mango, saffron, pistachio or malai (cream). For a first attempt I stuck with tradition and went for a combination of rose, cardamom and pistachio, though in addition to the more traditional stuff I also flavoured half the batch with violet, which I have to say was very tasty.
In fact spurred on by that break from tradition I sense another kulfi making session in the near future where I can experiment with date and walnut, apricot and orange blossom water, Turkish delight, halva and an assortment of other Middle Eastern flavours...
Tempted? Try the recipe below, easy as pie and guaranteed delicious results every time!
Ingredients
397g condensed milk
400ml milk
2 tablespoons skimmed milk powder
12 cardamom pods
1 tablespoon rose water
50g pistachios (crushed)
1. Add the condensed milk, milk, milk powder and 8 of the cardamom pods to a heavy bottomed pan and bring to the boil
2. Simmer for 10 minutes until thickened, take off the heat and allow to cool
3. Strain to remove the cardamom pods
4. Grind the seeds from the remaining 4 cardamoms into a powder and stir into the cooled milk along with the crushed pistachios and rose water
5. Pour into individual containers (this amount makes enough to fill 4 yoghurt pot sized containers) and freeze overnight
6. Eat, and enjoy the fact that you have made something that tastes 100 times better than any shop bought ice cream!
I would call this Pad Thai but I don't wish to insult Thai cooking! I had some rice noodles and was trying to think up something to do with them and also to use up some odds and ends languishing in the fridge. I used baby sweetcorn, sugar snap peas and a red pepper, but I guess you could use whatever is around. It's a doddle to make, really tasty and is one of those dishes that looks like you made much more of an effort than you really did. Ideal for a quick evening meal after work; 20 minutes (at the most) from start to finish...
Ingredients
200 g Thai rice noodles (I used the flat variety that look like linguini)
1 medium onion thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic sliced
1 small handful of roasted salted cashews (or peanuts) Keep a few back for the topping
1 red pepper sliced
100 g sugar snap peas (or mange tout)
100 g baby sweetcorn, sliced lengthways
100 g tofu pieces (or quorn pieces if you prefer)
For the sauce:
50 g creamed coconut (or 100 ml coconut milk)
100 ml boiling water (omit if you're using coconut milk)
1 tablespoon smooth peanut butter
dash of soy sauce
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tablespoon finely chopped coriander (I used some coriander and chilli relish I'd made the previous day)
1 tsp brown mustard seeds (optional)
1 tsp kalonji (optional)
1 tsp black cumin seeds (optional)
Fresh coriander, black sesame seeds and a finely sliced red chilli to garnish.
1. Add the noodles to boiling water and soak for 15 minutes (or cook according to packet instructions).
2. Slice the vegetables.
3. If using solid coconut cream, dissolve it in around 100ml boiling water, mix in the other ingredients and set to one side.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon of peanut oil (or whichever cooking oil you prefer) in a wok and add the vegetables, fry for a few minutes and then add the tofu and cashews
5. Once the vegetables are cooked to your own taste add the sauce and stir in.
6. Drain the noodles and rinse in cold water, then toss into the wok.
7. Serve with fresh coriander, chopped red chilli and some of the reserved cashews chopped finely.
I'd made a batch of tamales a few weeks back, and a friend had commented on how they reminded him of a zongzi, a Chinese steamed rice dumpling. Since then I'd been mulling over the idea of trying to make Chinese style dumplings but using the tamale method, and wondered if it was doable. A weekend of snow, post holiday blues and an early case of spring cleaning gave me the opportunity. Lurking at the back of my kitchen cupboards was half a bag of ground rice, that, along with leftover corn husks, cashew nuts, dessicated coconut and some baby corn located in the fridge gave me an idea...
I wasn't sure whether the method would work, but it was worth a try, and the end result would be edible if nothing else. As it turned out, making the rice dumplings tamale style worked very well, and the filling, while not in anyway resembling what you would usually find in Chinese steamed dumplings (more often than not something piggy) was very tasty.
So here follows the recipe for rice dumplings tamale style, with a vaguely Malaysian-y filling...
For the dough:
250g ground rice
1 tsp baking powder
400ml vegetable stock
100g margarine
For the filling:
2 tablespoons of smooth peanut butter
4 baby corn chopped (water chestnuts would probably work really nicely as well)
1 medium sized red chilli (finely chopped)
100g cashew nuts (crushed)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1 heaped tablespoon of dessicated coconut
1 handful of fresh coriander (finely chopped)
Soy sauce to taste
20 corn husks
Directions
1. Soak the corn husks in hot water for 1-2 hours before you start to soften
2. Mix all the ingredients for the filling together and put it to one side
3. Put the ground rice and baking powder in a large bowl
4. Melt the margarine and pour it into the rice, mixing well until all the fat is absorbed
5. Slowly add the vegetable stock, you want a fairly loose dough, if you've made tamales before then that's what you're aiming for. If not, then you're looking for a spreadable consistency (almost peanut butter-ish)
6. Take the corn husks out of the water and pat dry
7. Add a spoonful of the dough mix to the centre of the corn husk and spread out
8. Then add a spoonful of the filling onto the dough and fold, the aim is to make a nice neat little package
9. Repeat the process until you've either a) run out of dough, b) corn husks, or c) patience
10. Place the dumplings in a steamer, and steam for around 1 hour/ hour and a half
11. Then eat! They taste extra nice with a dipping sauce, something like sweet chilli would do. I made a quick sauce from some ghost chilli relish, sesame oil and soy sauce
