CHOCOLATE RUM CAKE WITH FRESH CREAM TOPPING

Serves 6
Preparation time 1 hour
Ingredients

250 Grams Plain Flour / Maida
250 grams soft brown sugar
3 Eggs Beaten
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup sunflower oil or any other cooking oil
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
4 tablespoons Rum
200 grams fresh cream
3 tablespoons icing sugar
10 walnut halves

Sift flour, cocoa and baking powder into bowl. Mix in the brown sugar. Add the beaten eggs, rum, oil, a little milk, and vanilla essence and mix well to a smooth batter. Pour into a greased and papered cake tin and bake for 1 hour in a slow oven or until the case has risen well and brown on top. Set aside to cool then remove from the tin.

Beat the Cream, Icing sugar and the remaining milk until thick and creamy. Pile on top of the cake and smoothen with a spatula. Decorate with the walnut halves.

PORK CHOPS & MASH POTATOES

Serves 6
Preparation Time 1 hour

½ kg good pork chops
2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 large onions sliced finely
2 or 3 green chilies sliced lengthwise
3 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon chilly powder
1 teaspoon spice powder or garam masala
1 teaspoon pepper powder
Salt to taste
2 Tablespoons tomato sauce / ketchup

Wash the chops and marinate them with the ginger garlic paste, pepper powder, spice powder, vinegar, chilly powder and salt for about one hour. Heat oil in a large pan and sauté the onions, and green chilies for a few minutes. Add the marinated chops and tomato sauce / ketchup and mix well. Simmer for a few minutes. Add sufficient water and cook till the chops are done and the gravy dries up. Garnish with onion rings.

MASH POTATOES
Preparation Time 45 minutes
Ingredients

6 large potatoes
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoon pepper powder
salt to taste

Method
Wash the potatoes and cook till soft.Remove the skins and mash well. Add the butter, pepper and salt and mix well. Serve with toast and Pork Chops

EGGLESS TEA CAKE

Serves 6 Preparation time 1 hour
Ingredients

200 grams flour / maida
200 grams butter
1 tin condensed milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon soda bicarbonate / baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Sieve flour, baking powder and soda bicarbonate together and keep aside. Mix butter and condensed milk together. Add vanilla essence. Slowly add the flour. Beat lightly till well mixed. Pour into a greased baking tin and bake in a moderate oven for about 25 minutes.

VEAL CHOPS

Serves 6
Preparation Time 45 minutes

½ kg good veal chops (Flatten them)
3 or 4 potatoes (Boil peal and cut each in half lengthwise)
4 big onions sliced
2 green chilies slit lengthwise
2 teaspoons pepper powder
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons oil

Pressure cook the veal chops with a little water till tender letting some soup remain. Open the pressure cooker and add the onions, green chilies, salt, pepper powder and oil and mix well. Keep cooking on low heat till the soup dries up and the onions and meat are a nice brown. Just before turning off the heat add the boiled potatoes and mix once so that the masala covers the potatoes. Serve hot with bread or rice.

TROTTERS SOUP

Serves 6 Preparation time 30 minutes
Ingredients

6 to 8 trotters (mutton or pork) each to be chopped into 2 pieces
2 or 3 green chilies (optional)
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon pepper powder
1 tomato chopped
1 large onion chopped

Wash the trotters well. Place all the above ingredients together with the trotters and about 6 glasses of water in a pressure cooker. Pressure cook for about 20 minutes or till the trotters are tender and the soup is thick. Serve hot. This is a very nourishing soup.

SPICY PORK SPARE RIBS

Serves 6 Preparation Time 45 minutes
Ingredients

1 kg Pork Spare Ribs
2 teaspoons Coriander Powder
1 teaspoon Cumin Powder
2 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons oil
Salt to taste
2 teaspoons chillie Powder
2 tablespoons vinegar
3 onions finely chopped
2 tablespoons Tomato sauce

Marinate the Pork Spare Ribs with the coriander powder, cumin powder, chillie powder, vinegar, tomato sauce and salt for one hour. Heat oil in a pan and sauté the onions and chopped garlic till golden brown. Add the marinated Pork Spare Ribs and mix well. Add sufficient water and cook till tender. Serve with rice or Bread.

PRAWNS AND TOMATO CURRY

Serves 6
Preparation time 45 minutes

½ kg medium sized prawns cleaned, shelled and de-veined
2 big onions sliced finely
1 teaspoon pepper powder
2 teaspoons chilly powder
2 teaspoons garlic paste
Salt to taste
2 or 3 tablespoons oil
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 cup coconut paste or coconut milk
2 tomatoes chopped finely


Wash the pawns well and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan and sauté the onions and garlic paste for some time. Add the chopped tomatoes chilly powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, pepper powder, salt and a little water and fry till the masala separates from the oil. Now add the prawns and mix well. Cover and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes till the prawns are cooked and the gravy is thick. Serve with bread,chapattis or rice

This recipe is featured in my Cookery Book FLAVOURS OF THE PAST

FISH MOLEY

Serves 6 Preparation Time 45 minutes
Ingredients

1 kg good fleshy fish sliced thickly
3 big onions sliced finely
8 to 10 green chilies sliced lengthwise
2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
1cup thick coconut milk
1 teaspoon tumeric powder
3 tablespoons oil
Salt to taste

Wash the fish well and rub all over with the turmeric powder. Lightly fry the fish. When slightly cool place in a shallow pan and add all the other ingredients to it. Shake the pan so that all the pieces of fish get covered well. Cook on medium heat till the gravy thickens.
Serve with rice and papads

STEAM ROLLER CHICKEN

The Steamroller Chicken is also another Colonial Dish, which got its name only because the pieces of chicken used in its preparation would be cut lengthwise and then flattened with a cleaver or Rolling Pin. The Chicken eventually looked as if it was flattened by a heavy object such as a “Steam Roller or Road Roller”.

Serves 6
Preparation Time 1 hour
Ingredients

2 chickens each jointed into 4 pieces so as to get a total of 8 pieces
4 teaspoons pepper powder
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons oil
5 tablespoons lime juice or vinegar
3 tablespoons corn flour

Wash the chicken well. Beat each piece with a large knife or cleaver and then flatten with a rolling pin. Marinate the flattened chicken with the pepper powder, salt and lime juice / vinegar and keep aside for one hour.
Mix in the corn flour and one tablespoon butter. Heat a little oil in a nonstick pan and fry each chicken piece separately on medium heat till tender. When all the pieces are fried put them all back in the pan, add 2 tablespoons butter and sauté the chicken for about 5 minutes on low heat. Serve with rice or bread.
(Alternately the chicken can be baked in an oven using the same recipe)

SPICY CHICKEN WINGS

Serves: 6
Time required: 1 hour 45 minutes including marinating and frying time

10 pieces chicken wings
2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
2 tablespoons onion paste
2 teaspoons red chilly powder
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon all spice powder
Salt to taste
2 eggs beaten
3 tablespoons bread crumbs
3 tablespoons oil

1. Cut the wing tips and remove the thin bone. Pull the flesh to one end of the thick bone and wash well.

2. Marinate the chicken wings with the ginger garlic paste, red chilly powder, onion paste, vinegar, lemon juice, all spice powder, beaten egg, oil and salt and keep aside for 1 hour.

3. Coat each chicken wing with breadcrumbs.

4. Place the chicken wings in a greased baking tray and cook in a moderate oven till golden brown.

4 Serve with tomato sauce and Onion Rings

DAK BUNGALOW MEAT CURRY

The Dak Bungalow Curry was another famous dish during Colonial times. It was prepared with either meat or chicken and served with rice and vegetables or bread to the British Officers when they stayed at the various Dak Bungalows, while on official trips around the country. The recipe for preparing this dish varied with each cook at the Dak Bungalows depending on the availability of ingredients in a particular place during the war.

DAK BUNGALOW MEAT CURRY
Serves 6
Preparation Time 45 minutes

½ kg mutton or beef cut into medium size pieces
1 teaspoon spice powder or garam masala powder
3 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 teaspoon chilly powder
3 onions sliced
salt to taste
3 green chillies
½ teaspoon tumeric powder
½ teaspoon pepper powder
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
½ cup milk or curds (optional)

Wash the meat well. Add all the ingredients mentioned above to it and marinate for about 1 hour in a suitable pan. Place the pan on medium heat and cook closed for about 5 to 6 minutes. Lower the heat, add enough water and then simmer for about 40 to 45 minutes till the meat is cooked and the gravy is thick.
Serve with steamed white rice or Bread

This recipe is featured in my Cookery Book FLAVOURS OF THE PAST

HOME MADE HOT CROSS BUNS

500 grams refined flour
1 teaspoon dried yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
50 grams butter
50 grams sultanas or raisins
50 grams black currants
2 tablespoons sugar
400 ml milk
2 eggs beaten

Disolve the yeast in a little warm milk. Put flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon powder, sultanas / raisins, black currants into a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the butter, milk, yeast and egg and knead till the dough is soft and elastic. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Leave aside for 2 hours by which time the dough would have doubled in size.

Punch the dough down and knead again. Divide the dough into 12 equal balls. Flatten them a little and place on a greased baking tray taking care to leave sufficient space between each bun. Cover and keep aside for 45 minutes till the dough rises again.

Make crosses with strips of dough and carefully place on each bun. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 deg C for about 20 minutes.

EASTER CAKE AND MIXED FRUIT FRITTERS

EASTER FRUIT CAKE

Serves 6 Preparation time 1 hour

300 grams plain flour or maida A pinch of salt

250 grams butter 250 grams sugar (powdered)

300 grams mixed dried fruit (chopped into small pieces and soaked in rum for 2 months)

1 teaspoon finely grated orange rind 2 eggs beaten well

½ cup cold milk 1 teaspoon baking powder

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a big bowl. Mix in the butter and rub finely with the fingertips to form crumbs. Add the sugar, chopped fruit and orange rind and mix well. Add the milk and eggs and using a fork mix to a semi stiff batter without churning or beating. When evenly mixed pour the mixture into a greased and papered cake tin and bake in a hot oven for 45 minutes or till the cake is cooked inside and brown on the top.


MIXED FRUIT FRITTERS

200 grams refined flour / Maida
100 grams sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 cup chopped mixed fruit such as apple, pineapple, banana etc
½ teaspoon salt
oil for frying

Mix all the ingredients together to a thick smooth batter. Heat oil in a deep pan till smoky. Drop a tablespoon of the batter at a time into the hot oil and fry till golden brown.

Serve plain or with vanilla Icecream

PORK VINDALOO

Serves 6 Preparation Time 45 minutes

1 kg pork (With a little fat /lard) cut into medium pieces

3 big onions slices finely

3 big tomatoes pureed

1 tablespoon cumin powder

½ teaspoon tumeric powder

1 teaspoon mustard powder

3 teaspoons chilly powder

2 teaspoons pepper powder

3 tablespoons ginger garlic paste

1 cup vinegar

3 tablespoons oil

Salt to taste

Marinate the pork for about one hour with the salt, vinegar, chilly powder, cumin powder pepper powder, mustard powder, tumeric powder and ginger and garlic paste.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker and fry the onions till golden brown. Add the marinated pork and the tomato puree and keep frying for some time. Now add more water and pressure cook till the meat is well cooked. Serve hot with rice or bread

MUTTON /LAMB PALAU

Serves 6 Preparation time 1 hour

1 kg Basmati Rice or any other Good Rice …wash and soak for about 1 hour

1 kg Mutton / Lamb (or Beef) cut into fairly big pieces

2 bay leaves

2 teaspoons spice powder or garam masala

½ kg tomatoes chopped

3 pieces cinnamon, 3 cloves, 3 cardamoms 1 nutmeg flower

2 cups oil or ghee

Salt to taste

6 green chilies ground

1 tablespoon ginger paste

1 tablespoon garlic paste

2 teaspoons chilly powder

½ kg onions sliced finely

1- teaspoon tumeric powder

½ cup fresh mint leaves

Wash the meat and marinate with the spice powder, green chilly paste, half the quantity of ginger garlic paste and tumeric powder for half an hour.

Heat the oil or ghee in a large vessel and add the cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg flower, remaining ginger garlic paste and onions and sauté for some time. Add the chopped tomatoes, curds, mint leaves and chilly powder and simmer till the oil separates from the masala and the tomatoes are reduced to pulp. Add the marinated meat and salt and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the pieces and keep aside. Now add sufficient water to the gravy in the vessel so as to get about 7 glasses of liquid. Add the rice and cook till half done. Now add the cooked meat and mix well. Cover and cook on low heat till done. Serve with Curd Chutney or salad

Jhovaan - (Meal in Konkani): Railway mutton and vindaloo

Jhovaan - (Meal in Konkani): Railway mutton and vindaloo

COCONUT RICE, MEAT BALL CURRY & DEVIL CHUTNEY

Here’s a typical Anglo-Indian Lunch menu.. Yes you guessed right. Its Coconut Rice, Meat Ball Curry (Bad word Curry) and Devil Chutney 

  COCONUT RICE 

Serves 6 

 1 pack of coconut milk diluted with water to get 4 cups of milk or 1 fresh coconut grated and milk extracted to get 4 cups of diluted milk

2 cups of Raw Rice or Basmati Rice 

 ½ teaspoon tumeric powder or a few strands of saffron 

 Salt to taste 

 4 tablespoons butter or ghee 

 3 cloves, 3 cardamoms, 3 pieces of cinnamon 

 Heat ghee in a large vessel or Rice cooker and fry the spices for a few minutes. 

 Add the washed rice, salt, tumeric and 4 cups of coconut milk and cook till the rice is done. 

  MEAT BALL CURRY 

Serves 6 

 Ingredients; 

For the Curry 3 large onions chopped 

 1 sprig curry leaves

 3 teaspoons chilly powder 

 1 ½ teaspoons coriander powder 

 3 teaspoons ginger garlic paste 

 3 big tomatoes pureed 

 ½ cup ground coconut paste 

 1 teaspoon spice powder or garam masala 

 Salt to taste 

 3 tablespoons oil 

 1 teaspoon coriander leaves chopped finely for garnishing 

 ½ teaspoon tumeric powder 

 Ingredients for the Mince Balls (Kofta) 

 ½ kg minced meat beef or mutton (fine mince)

 ½ teaspoon spice powder 

 3 green chilies chopped 

 A small bunch of coriander leaves chopped finely 

 Salt to taste 

 ½ teaspoon tumeric powder 

 Heat oil in a large pan and fry the onions till golden brown .

Add the ginger garlic paste and the curry leaves and fry for some time. 

 Now add the chilly powder, coriander powder, spice powder or garam masala powder, tumeric powder and coconut and fry for a few minutes till the oil separates from the masala. 

Now add the tomato juice and salt and simmer for some time. 

 Add sufficient water and bring to boil. 

Meanwhile mix the spice powder, salt, chopped green chilies, tumeric powder and coriander leaves with the mince and form into small balls. 

When the curry is boiling slowly drop in the mince balls carefully one by one. 

Simmer on slow heat for 20 minutes till the balls are cooked and the gravy is not too thick. 

 Serve hot with Coconut Rice and Devil Chutney. 

  DEVIL CHUTNEY (HELL’S FLAME CHUTNEY) 

Devil Chutney is a fiery red chutney . Its bright red colour often leads people to think that is very pungent and spicy, when actually it is sweetish and only slightly pungent The vinegar and sugar react with the onion and red chilly to produce the bright red colour. It is also known as HELL FIRE OR HELL’S FLAME CHUTNEY due to its vivid colour. 

 2 medium size onions chopped roughly 

 2 red chillies

2 teaspoons sugar 

 A pinch of salt 

 2 tablespoons vinegar 

 Grind all the above ingredients together till smooth. If chutney is too thick add a little more vinegar.

 Serve with Coconut Rice 

  These recipes are featured in my Recipe Book THE BEST OF ANGLO-INDIAN CUISINE - A LEGACY.

ANGLO-INDIAN BEEF STEAK

The word “Steak” is derived from an Old Norse word “steik” meaning "roast”. It is a continental dish, popular all over the world, served in restaurants and Steakhouses with or without various accompaniments such as Potatoes, Vegetables, etc.

Steak is actually a slice of meat such as Beef or Lamb from the most tender cuts of the animal such as the short loin, sirloin and rib areas with names such as Porterhouse, T-bone, Rib-eye, etc. It is cut on a slant, perpendicular to the muscle fibres, so that it can cook fast. The steaks cut from these parts are quite tender and range in thickness between half to one inch and are cut in a size intended to be one serving per person. Steaks from the short loin, rib, and sirloin are best when grilled or broiled / pan-fried. Steaks can also cut from the chuck, round, plate, and flank. However these are a bit tough if not cooked properly. However they should be marinated for a few hours then cooked.

Steaks are typically grilled, but they are also often pan-fried or broiled, using dry heat, and served whole.The meat should be a bright red, the fat should be a creamy white and there should be thin streaks of fat running through the meat. Grilling makes it usually dry where as cooking or broiling it in a pan would make it more juicy. The perfect steak needs the right flavors, and different steak cuts are prepared differently. The amount of time a steak is cooked is a personal preference. The shorter the cooking time, the more juice is retained. The longer the cooking time would result in drier, tougher meat. A vocabulary has also evolved to describe the degree to which a steak is cooked such as Raw, Blue rare or Very Rare, Rare, Rare, Medium Rare Medium, and Well done.

Steak was first introduced in India by the British as early as the 16th Century. As was the case of almost all of our cuisine, which started out as insipid concoctions, in the days of the British Raj, the original “Beef Steak” introduced by them was quite bland and tasteless. Over the years many more ingredients and spices were added to this dish to make it more spicy and delicious as it is today. It has become synonymous with Anglo-Indian Cuisine, as our famous Anglo-Indian Pepper Steak and Anglo-Indian Masala Steak,. These dishes are relished by all of us and I’m sharing the recipes for them below. So let your steaks sizzle the old fashioned way in a skillet or heavy fry pan. However, the steaks could be grilled if desired using the same ingredients.

BEEF PEPPER STEAKS
Serves 6 Preparation Time 45 minutes

1kg Beef Undercut or Sirloin cut into steaks

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

3 or 4 teaspoons fresh pepper powder

3 tablespoons oil

2 big onions sliced finely

2 big tomatoes chopped

3 potatoes peeled

Salt to taste

Wash the meat well and marinate it with the pepper powder, salt and turmeric powder in a flat plate. Pour the oil on top and keep it over night in the refrigerator (or for at least 4 hours before cooking), Pressure cook for just 5 minutes or cook in a pan for about 15 minutes along with the potatoes. Add the onions and tomatoes and continue frying on low heat till the tomatoes turn pulpy and the steaks and the potatoes are a nice brown colour. Serve hot with boiled vegetables and bread.

ANGLO-INDIAN MASALA STEAK
Serves 6 Preparation Time approx 1 hour

Ingredients

1 kg boneless Mutton or Beef from the Round portion cut into steaks

2 medium size onions sliced

2 medium potatoes sliced

2 cups water

Salt to taste

3 tbsp Oil

1 teaspoon ginger paste

1 teaspoon garlic paste

2 teaspoons coriander powder

1 teaspoons cumin powder

½ teaspoon tumeric powder

1 teaspoon pepper powder

Heat the oil in a large, wide pan . Add the onions and sauté for a few minutes. Remove half the quantity of onions and keep aside. Add the meat and stir-fry for 10 minutes until the pieces turn brown. Reduce heat to medium and add all the other ingredients except the potatoes. Mix well. Add the water and simmer covered for 45 minutes. Add the potatoes and salt to taste. Stir and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked. Now add the pre fried onions and mix well into the Steak

These recipes are featured in my Cookery Book FLAVOURS OF THE PAST

Mulligatawny Soup

Mulligatawny Soup was actually the anglicized version of the Tamil “Melligu -Thani”. (“Melligu” meaning pepper and “Thanir” meaning water). As the name suggests it was originally just pepper in a watery soup.

The original Mulligatawny Soup can be traced back to the early days of the East India Company in Madras to around the 18th century. It was originally a soup made with chicken or mutton/lamb stock. Mulligatawny Soup had no history in India before the British Raj. Supposedly, it was simply an invention to satisfy the Britishers, who demanded a soup course for dinner from a cuisine that had never produced one till then. The Tamil servants in those days concocted a stew like dish, that contained pepper and water on the lines of their local “Rasam” or “Melligu –Thanir. It was an interesting mix of East meets West, and was the nearest thing to soup in the cuisine of Colonial India.

In course of time a lot of other ingredients such meat, chicken, coconut, turmeric and other spices were added to give it a completely different flavour. A variety of “Mulligatawnies”, then came into existence which quickly became popular throughout the Common Wealth. Recipes for mulligatawny were quickly brought back to England by the British and its popularity spread through out the country. It has made a lasting impression on British cuisine right down to the present day, though it has undergone many changes. It is still an excellent “Comfort” dish on a cold rainy day and will surely lift the spirits when one is down in the dumps.

Mulligatawny Soup is now firmly entrenched not just in cookbooks but history books as well as a thick, spicy meat soup which is a wholesome meal in itself served with bread or rice. It has remained popular in the United Kingdom and is now available even in cans in some stores. The Mulligatawny Soup of today bears little resemblance to the original “MELLIGU -THANI”. And despite the name, pepper itself is not an important ingredient in the dish.

Though purported to be a classic Anglo-Indian dish since it came into existence during the Colonial Era, and was very popular then, Mulligatawny is not a typical Anglo-Indian dish. The real dish we Anglo-Indians call "Pepper water" is actually closer to the Tamil Rasam than Mulligatawny. Mulligatawny ultimately culminated into our very own Breast Bone pepperwater and various other variations such Shrimp Pepperwater, Dal Pepperwater, Horsegram pepperwater, etc.

CHICKEN MULLIGATAWNY
Serves 6 Preparation time 45 minutes

½ kg chicken chopped into medium size pieces

1-teaspoon chilly powder 2-teaspoons pepper powder

1-teaspoon cumin powder 1-teaspoon coriander powder

1-teaspoon crushed garlic 2 big onions sliced

1 cup coconut paste or coconut milk Salt to taste

2 cloves 2 small pieces cinnamon

2 cardamoms 1 tablespoon oil or butter

Cook the chicken and all the ingredients with 6 to 8 cups of water in a large vessel on high heat till it reaches boiling point. Lower the heat and simmer for at least one hour till the soup is nice and thick. Garnish with mint leaves. Serve with bread or rice.

(Mutton or Lamb could be substituted for chicken)

BREAD PUDDING – THE POOR MAN’S PUDDING

Bread Pudding is an old fashioned dessert that had its humble beginnings in the 13th century in England. It was first known as a "poor man's pudding" as it was created as a means of making use of stale left over bread for poor people to eat. It was just moistened in water, to which a little sugar, spices and other ingredients were added. Today after it has passed through so many centuries, we think of bread Pudding as a Rich Treat.

Bread pudding is a dessert popular in British cuisine. It is also a popular dessert item of Belgian, Spanish and French cuisine as well. The French refer to it by the English name "pudding" without the word "bread" and the Belgians call it “Bodding”. It is also referred to as "Migas" and "Budin de Pan" in Spanish.

For those unfamiliar with this dish, (which I’m sure there aren’t many), bread pudding is typically made the British way, by soaking slices of bread cut into cubes in a mixture of milk, egg, and sugar; adding raisins and spices and baking or steaming the mixture. Actually its taste is not that much different from French toast, except much moister. In Spain, bread pudding is made using stale (usually left-over) bread, suet, eggs, sugar, spices, dried fruit and / or golden syrup. The bread is soaked (often overnight) in some water, squeezed dry, and mixed with the other ingredients. The mixture is transferred into a dish and baked. It is then served with a sweet liquor sauce of some sort, such as whiskey sauce, rum sauce, or just caramel sauce. However in the U K and Southern USA where it is now quite popular, it is typically sprinkled with sugar and eaten cold in squares or slices along with custard sauce. In France oranges and other fruits are added to give it a different flavour.

Bread Pudding was introduced in India by the British during the time of the East India company. It was an easy dessert for the colonial servants to make and became popular in Anglo-Indian cusine which is loved and enjoyed even today. Each family has its own recipe for making bread pudding whether baked or steamed. Adding Condensed milk, cream, etc adds to the taste and calories!!!

Bread pudding can be made into a savoury dish as well by substituting sugar and raisins with chopped tomatoes, green chillies or capsisums / chillie peppers etc. You could experiment and make your own tasty pudding. Of course, one’s choice of bread, the addition of optional ingredients, and the details of preparation can make bread pudding into art form. Bread pudding can be made into a rich heavy dessert or just a simple light dish that even an invalid can digest. The possibilities are endless. Try out the recipes given below.

OLD FASHION BREAD PUDDING

Serves 6 Preparation time 1 hour

3 cups Milk 8 slices of bread cut into cubes
200 grams butter 200 grams sugar
2 beaten eggs 1/4 tsp salt
200 grams raisins and chopped nuts 1 tsp vanilla essence

Heat milk to scalding, and pour over the bread cubes. Set aside to cool for some time then add all the other ingredients. Add more milk if too dry. Pour into a buttered baking pan or dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Serve warm.

The same pudding can be steamed in a pressure cooker as well