Coffee Orange Marmalade Pudding

Coffee and Orange Marmalade Pudding

There are so many things one can do with marmalade. I especially like the Orange marmalade cake. This recipe too sounded nice and so I tried it out. Turned out pretty well too. If you like bread pudding then this is a definite yes-yes.

The original recipe had orange flavoured custard powder which I dint have. So I substituted it with coffee flavoured. You can use any flavour you want or have handy.

This poor man’s pudding has a special place on the dinner table. If nothing else one can at least feast on bread pudding. Bread, fresh or stale, is easily available in every home. And the possibilities of experimentation are endless.

Ingredients

1 ½ cups milk

½ packet Coffee flavoured custard powder

 4 tbsp Orange marmalade

3 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp butter

 1 ¼ cups bread crumbs

1 egg

First make the custard using the milk, custard powder, sugar and butter. Boil the milk along with suagr and butter. Dissolve the custard powder in a little cold water and add to the milk.

Cook for a few minutes.

Pour the custard over the bread crumbs and mix well.

When cool, add the marmalade and beaten egg.

Grease little moulds.

Pour into little moulds and cover with foil.

Preheat the oven at 180 degrees.

Prepare a Bain Marie.

Bain Marie is a fancy term for a hot water bath. It is used to cook delicate desserts like puddings, custards and terrines as it creates a gentle and uniform heat around the food.

Simply take a baking dish and fill it ¾ with water.

Put it in the oven to heat the water. Once the water is hot the put in the moulds and cook for about 40 minutes.

Chicken in Mushroom Sauce

Chicken in Mushroom sauce

Indian cuisine is infused with aromatic spices and masalas. Our palette is also used to the hot and spicy taste. However at times I find it a refreshing change to have something milder. Something that doesn't have the rich red colour of butter chicken, the distinct flavour of cumin or coriander, the crunchiness of the onions or the tartness of tomatoes.

This chicken and mushroom recipe is simple yet tasty. Be sure to use fresh button mushrooms. The tinned ones are soaked in brine and they don’t have the freshness or flavour of those milky white mushrooms. 

Whenever I am dicing up a whole chicken I ensure that I use the leftover bones, wings and neck pieces to prepare some chicken broth. They are handy while making chicken soup and also in dishes like these. If I have no immediate use of the broth I simply freeze it and use it later.

To make chicken broth I pressure cook chicken pieces, one chopped onion, some carrot if I have any, few black peppercorns, one black cardamom, little bit of javitri(mace)and some salt to taste. Turn off heat after 2 whistles, strain and cool.

Baked Chicken in Mushroom Sauce

Ingredients

½ kg boneless chicken, cubed

Butter, salt and pepper to taste

Mushroom sauce

500 gm fresh button mushrooms, sliced thin

4 tbsp butter

1 tbsp parsley (dry parsley is available in most departmental stores)

¼ tsp nutmeg powder

¼ tsp pepper powder

Salt to taste

¼ cup flour

1 cup milk

1 cup chicken broth

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Marinate the chicken with salt, pepper and butter for half an hour. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

While the chicken is baking prepare your mushroom sauce. Remember the chicken and sauce should be ready at the same time.

 Melt 1 tbsp butter. Sauté the mushrooms. Keep aside.

Melt the rest of the butter. Add the flour, pepper and nutmeg. Keep stirring on low heat. Once the flour starts changing colour remove from heat and add milk add broth. If you add milk while the pan is on the flame it will start forming lumps. Beat well to mix the flour and milk properly. If you see that lumps are already forming just give it a whizzz in the mixer. Now put it back on flame to cook so that the raw taste of flour is no longer there. If the mixture thickens too much you can add some more milk or broth.

Now add the chicken and parsley.

Transfer the whole thing to a baking dish and bake again for 15 minutes. The dish is best eaten warm. 

Dessert in a cup

Dessert in a cup

Don’t you have one of those days when you are frazzled? Guests are coming in a few hours and things don’t seem to be working out. And you need to dish up a delectable dessert in a jiffy!! Even the best of cooks have those “off” days and you just want to have that one thing on the plate that will bring a smile on everyone’s face.

My oven is very temperamental. I swear at times it seems that it can judge the urgency of the situation and decides to give itself a day off. My dish is all prepped and ready to bake and Mr Oven lets me down. I have this quick-to-assemble, ready-in-a-bit dessert specially for such situations.

I always have some sort of cake in my pantry (mostly it is chocolate cake). Custard and/or jelly is also usually readily available. I just happened to have butterscotch custard at hand and I had butterscotch chips to garnish.

Cut the cake into small squares. If they feel a bit dry, drizzle some sugar syrup to make them moist. Prepare and cool the custard. Now simply layer the cake and custard. Garnish with butterscotch chips or sprinkles or chocolate flakes.