Rice Pudding - Queen of the comfort pud!

If we’re talking old-school, winter-warming, comfort food (we are) this is actually the best. It’s creamy and dreamy and dangerously easy to make. Let’s get cracking.

INGREDIENTS:

• 40g of butter

• 100g of pudding rice (as it’s known in the UK) I think it’s called short-grained white rice here.

• 75g caster sugar

• 1 litre full-fat milk

• 150ml of double cream

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• pinch salt

• nutmeg

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 140C.

2. Melt the butter in a heavy-based casserole dish over a medium heat. Add the rice and stir to coat. Add the sugar, stirring until dissolved. Continue stirring until the rice swells and becomes sticky with sugar.

3. Pour in the milk and keep stirring until no lumps remain. Add the cream and vanilla and bring the mixture to a simmer. Once this is reached, give the mixture a final stir and sprinkle nutmeg over the surface. Bake for 1-1½ hours and cover with foil if the surfaces browns too quickly.

4. Once there is a thin, tarpaulin-like skin on the surface, and the pudding only just wobbles in the centre, it is ready. Serve at room temperature.

Scrumptious Apple Strudel

Apples*, cinnamon, brown sugar - say no more. I’m feeling comforted just thinking about eating this. It’s unlikely, but if there’s any leftovers, it’s also excellent with a cup of tea the next day.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tsp butter

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, more if needed later

• 3 apples, peeled, cored, thinly sliced* (1 Granny Smith and 2 Gala apples worked well)

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

• 2 tbsp orange juice

• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

• 1/3 cup raisins

• 10 filo pastry sheets

• Icing sugar for dusting

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Make the filling. In a large pan heat butter and extra virgin olive oil. Add the sliced apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and orange juice. Cook over medium heat, stirring as needed, for about 2 minutes. Stir in walnuts and raisins. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Prepare a large baking tray lined with baking paper. Pour the juices from the apple filling into a small bowl and mix with a little more extra virgin olive oil (you’ll use this mixture to brush the filo sheets).

3. Lay 10 sheets of filo pastry flat on a clean surface (you can cover with a clean towel to keep the filo from drying.) Take 1 filo sheet and lay it on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with the mixture you prepared (apple filling juice and olive oil). Sprinkle a little brown sugar on top. Repeat the process with the remaining filo sheets.

4. Spoon apple filling towards the middle of the filo leaving about a 2-inch boarder of filo all around. Fold short edges of filo to cover 2 -inches of apple mixture on each end. Brush ends with extra virgin olive oil. Starting at long edge closest to you, fold filo over apple filling and roll towards the other end (not too tightly). Keep the seam on the bottom.

5. Brush strudel with extra virgin olive oil. Bake for 35 minutes or until filo turns a nice golden brown.

6. Remove from oven and let cool. Dust with icing sugar, add any walnuts or raisins remaining. Slice and serve.

* I suggest using this truly excellent apple coring/peeling gadget. I’m not one for gadgetry but this is special - it will change your approach to apples forever. If you get one, apple-eating will increase in your household by approximately 85% in the first month of ownership.

Heavenly Lemon Delicious Pudding

This super-lemony pudding is perfect for this time of year - there’s plenty of lemons around, it’s warming, comforting and pretty easy to throw together. And it’s jam-packed full of lemons, so it’s pretty much a health food.

This is so insanely good.

INGREDIENTS:

• 60 gm unsalted butter, softened

• 330 gm (1½ cups) caster sugar

• Finely grated rind of 1 lemon, plus 150ml juice (from about 3-4 lemons)

• 3 eggs, separated

• 60 gm self-raising flour

• 375 ml (1½ cups) milk

• Pure icing sugar and pouring cream, to serve

METHOD:

• Preheat oven to 170°C. Beat butter, sugar and lemon rind in an electric mixer until pale (2-3 minutes). Add yolks, one at a time, beating well to combine between each addition, add flour, then gradually add milk, mixing until a smooth batter forms. Scrape down sides of bowl and stir in lemon juice. Transfer batter to a bowl and clean and dry mixer bowl thoroughly.

• Whisk eggwhites in an electric mixer until firm peaks form, then gradually add to batter, gently folding in until well combined. Pour into a 1.5-litre ceramic dish, place in a deep baking tray, transfer to oven, then fill tray with enough boiling water to come halfway up sides of dish.

• Bake until risen and golden brown on top (40-50 minutes). Cool briefly (5 minutes), then dust with icing sugar and serve with cream.

If you want to keep adding to your Indian cooking then this is a great accompaniment to almost any Indian dish.

It can be a dip for samosa or a fresh taste to go with your rice dish and curry.

And, if you grow fresh herbs in your own garden, it can be a new way to use them!

The tamarind paste is a staple in Indian cooking, (along with Thai cooking) adding that sour element like lime would, and keeps for a long time in your fridge.

Ingredients

• 30g mint leaves

• 30g coriander leaves

• 1 green chilli

• 1 tablespoon tamarind paste ( find at Indian grocer)

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar

• 3 tablespoons thick natural yoghurt

Wash the mint and coriander leaves. Discard any tough stalks but keep any soft ones.

Blend all the ingredients together in a food processor.

Taste the chutney. Add more salt if necessary. If you want a creamier milder chutney stir in more yoghurt.

The is the second in a series Indian recipes from our community lunches … by Kalimna.

This is a great way to make your regular rice a little bit special. Whenever we cook Indian for community lunch we include some variety of this recipe. It will go with any Indian dish.

The book I cook from all the time was gifted by a dear friend. I am taking the recipe for Pulao Rice from this and adding my favourite things to it. So here goes:

Ingredients

• 500g basmati rice

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• 2 cinnamon quills

• 5 cardamom pods

• 1 tsp sugar

• 15 saffron threads soaked in 1 tblsp warm milk

• 250ml coconut milk

• 2 tblsp of fresh or frozen peas

• 4 tblsp ghee

• 2 tblsp chopped almonds

• 2 tblsp sultanas or raisins

• 2 onions finely sliced

• rosewater

• pomegranate seeds

Instructions

Dry roast the cumin seeds in a frying pan.

Wash the rice in a sieve under cold water until it runs clear.

If you are like me and use a rice cooker to make your rice you add the cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, saffron, peas, sugar and coconut milk into the rice cooker then set the rice to cook.

While the rice is cooking heat the ghee in a heavy based frying pan and fry the almonds and raisins until browned, then remove. Next fry the onion in the same ghee until dark golden brown and set aside.

When the rice has cooked I recommend removing the cinnamon quill and the cardamon pods.

Then stir through the almonds, raisins and onion. Top with fresh pomegranate seeds and drizzle a few drops of rosewater before serving. You might also like to add some coriander leaves.

If you don’t have all the spices just try with what you do have in your pantry. Even just adding peas and the roasted cumin seeds while you cook your rice and then adding golden fried onion rings on top when you serve will make your rice so tasty.

Note that ghee can be bought at the supermarket but is also easily found at the Indian grocer.

MKS Spices and Things is a great local shop in Preston that is worth a visit just to soak up all the atmosphere! It has a wide variety of curry pastes and ingredients that aren’t available elsewhere, along with a fabulous takeaway section. Samosas and curries and yummy Indian desserts to explore if you really want to create an authentic Indian banquet at home. 258 High Street, Preston (north of Bell, south of the market).