Chocolate Pudding - Nigella Express

One of the gifts I got this birthday was Nigella Express - the book based on her show (or was it the other way round?!) which features recipes for people on the go - "quick to prepare, easy to follow".

I have been watching her shows for more than a year now, though not regularly. I like her style and the effortless ease which she seems to bring to the kitchen. It does seem like nothing is too difficult when it comes to cooking, if you enjoy it enough. And the Express series shows how you can enjoy it if you make it easier by using simple and fuss free recipes and basic ingredients. (Though I must say Nigella coming back from work by bus after shopping for a last minute dinner party seems a tad too much!)

What I have never identified with though, is the amount of fat and cream which seems to go into her cooking - especially the desserts!! A tub of cream cheese here, 2 sticks of butter there and then some whipped cream to end it all :) I guess she is also liked for cocking a snook at the New Age lean and mean recipes - it* is* refreshing in some ways though, to see food being enjoyed.

Though Nigella started out writing for newspapers and magazines since the early 90s - first as a book reviewer and restaurant critic and then as a freelance writer and even an editor - she really came into the public eye with her books How to Eat and How to be a Domestic Goddess. Then in 2000, she really came into her own with her show "Nigella Bites" on Channel Four in the UK. Her distinctive style of presentation where she seems to flirt with food and the fact that she is not a trained chef but rather comes across as someone who passionately loves food, has endeared herself to her viewers.

So, when my friend who gifted me the book was to come over for lunch with her family this weekend, I decided to cook something from the book since I knew she loves Nigella. I ended up making two recipes from the book - this chocolate pudding and a potato salad. I also saw a prawn and mango curry recipe and got inspired to make a fish curry on the same lines for our meal.

In the midst of my Saturday morning chores, I barely had about a couple of hours to cook up this meal. But truly, this chocolate pudding was ready in no time, just as Nigella promises. As the fish curry simmered on the stove and the potatoes for the salad were boiling, I got together the 5 ingredients needed and within half an hour it was all in the oven. It helped of course, that because of the astonishing intensity of the Delhi heat this year, I didn't have to melt the chocolate and butter - it turned into a gooey mess just standing there on the counter - its a wonder that there was no puddle in place of me at the end of the two hours!

I tweaked the measures a little though - the Lindt chocolate I had was only 100gms instead of the 120gms in the book. Couldn't bring myself to add 110 gms of butter, so I pared it down by half. The sugar too was halved to about half a cup and with the dark chocolate instead of bittersweet chocolate, it was fine. Eggs were 4 according to her recipe, I used 3; and about 1tbsp less than 1/3 cup of flour.

The changes did not seem to make a difference to the pudding though - it was light and airy on the edges and a little gooey in the centre - maybe it may have been much more molten in the centre with the extra egg and butter and less like a brownie. But all in all, quite delicious and a keeper of a recipe for sure. Nigella calls these Glitzy Chocolate Puddings and glazes the top with a a mixture of butter and chocolate - I didn't use the glaze and they were still quite amazing. I might do that for a dinner party next time - as a showstopper as she calls it!

Chocolate Pudding - Nigella Express

3 eggs
1/3 cup flour
60gms butter (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup sugar
100 gms dark chocolate (Lindt Dark Coffee)
1/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

1. Cream sugar and eggs together, with a whisk or a blender, till pale and shiny - about 8 minutes in my hand blender.
2. Melt dark chocolate and butter together in the microwave (20 seconds at a time on Full power) or on the stove over a double boiler. Cool.
3. Mix flour, salt and baking powder, gently fold into the beaten eggs and then mix in the cooled dark chocolate and butter.
4. Pre heat the oven to 180C (350F) and grease 8 individual ramekins or one square/rectangle baking tin.
5. Pour the pudding mix into the greased ramekins/baking tin and bake for 25 minutes.

Sweet Beginnings - Chocolate Pudding

This amazingly rich dessert is one I tried after seeing it on Jugalbandi, where Jai and Bee had in their meticulous style made it seem so simple that I just had to try it out! I made it for a dinner we hosted, on the eve of my husband’s birthday, and it turned out to be the perfect sweet ending for a lovely evening.

And since J&B have been a major inspiration for me to start my own food blog, I thought it appropriate that I should begin my blog with this dish – my photos don’t do as much justice though, I hope that in time they will improve and look as good as the dish itself.

I increased the proportions from the original recipe as well as omitted the lavender touch from J&B’s recipe since I didn’t have any on hand and not the faintest clue on where to find any in this city!

It’s an easy recipe and a surefire crowd pleaser; plus it doesn’t take much time to set, so you can make it just an hour or so before the guests arrive. OR if it’s just for you and yours, all the more reason to have something so delicious to enjoy with minimum effort.

Jai and Bee – this one is for you! Love your blog!

Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:

Dark chocolate, chopped – 225gms(I used Lindt which is fairly easy to find in Indian cities)
Sugar – 1 cup
Milk – 2 ½ cups
Corn flour – 3 tbsp
Egg yolk – 1
White butter (unsalted) – 2 tbsp
Vanilla essence – ½ tsp
Salt – a pinch

I added these variations recommended by J&B
Cocoa powder – 1 ½ tsp
Instant coffee powder – 1 tsp
Bailey’s Irish Cream – 1 tbsp

I followed the detailed method and instructions from Jugalbandi which you can find here and since it looked so intoxicating, poured the pudding into 8 shot glasses filled up 3/4th of the way.

Though initially, I felt that this might be a tad less quantity wise, it turned out to be just right. You could increase the milk by another 1/4th of a cup for more volume and for a less concentrated taste.

Though the recipe called for one egg yolk, since that was also described as optional, I didn't double it for my recipe and used only one egg yolk.

Desserts

Orange Caramel Pudding

This post was written before I was ill. I guess the surgery was inevitable, but I didn't know it then and tried my best to fob it off as best as I could..


I love Caramel Custard - there I said it. I know you are supposed to have sophisticated tastes as you grow older - dark chocolate mousse, tiramisu, passionfruit cheesecake - but there's something to be said about comforting desserts. The kind you grew up eating, the one you made for the first time when you were 15 and tried cooking in an oven for the first time (yes, a cake was not my first attempt at baking), the kind that old colonial clubs have perfected to a T.  Caramel custard is the one for me. I think its now called Caramel Pudding - but growing up we called it Caramel Custard - a relic of the British Raj I guess, when any dish which involved cooking egg and milk together, was called a custard.

I wasn't well the past month (my congenital digestive condition playing up big time) and had to go on a liquid diet for a couple of days. Then, as is inevitable, I lost some weight and my energy levels plummeted. Now that I'm back to eating solid food, I have taken to eating small portions several times.....not a great way to gain back weight - but we do what we have to do. Right now I'm just glad I'm able to eat and not giving any of my family members sleepless nights. So, this weekend, I decided I needed a bit of pampering.

Which in food terms translates to comfort food. And there is nothing more comforting than a warm, dessert redolent of caramel. No wonder my favourite Haagen Daaz flavour is Dulce de Leche - divine. I read one of this pop quizzes in a magazine, which tried to peg your "type" depending on the dessert you liked. Well, caramel pudding came back as "warm, loyal, the 12 am friend, generous". Fine by me, I say! (I am a Gemini - when I am craving Tiramisu, I morph into the "sexy, dangerous, intense type" ;)

Its been quite sometime since I made Caramel Pudding - a few years actually. So, I thought I should atleast look at a recipe in case I got the proportions wrong. Which is when I came across the Orange Caramel Pudding by Sanjeev Kapoor. This one had a nice twist which I had never tried before; so, since I had orange juice and a lone orange for the rind, I decided to give it a shot.

The caramel almost brought me to my knees though - three times,  my attempt to make caramel came to naught. No, it didn't burn - it just turned into a dry mass of lumps - somewhat like kalkand (khadi saakhar). I couldn't believe that something I had churned out when I was just 15, was giving me so much grief. I wouldn't give up -  (don't worry, if I'm stubborn, I'm also thrifty - the other versions were melted back with some more water into sugar syrup to be used for lemon juice in future!) -so for the fourth time, I referred to this David Leibovitz recipe which talked about making caramel without water, just sugar. I decided to try it - I'm a big believer in not reinventing the wheel which is why I am able to believe in recipes which are tried and tested (the pictures as proof helped!)even if its not the way I usually do it. It worked perfectly - whew.

Basically, this method involves spreading the sugar in a heavy bottomed pan in an even layer and then warming it over medium heat till the water inherent in sugar starts melting the sugar slowly. This takes about 8-10 minutes totally (I realise that I have much less patience than even 5 years back, forget 20) and then it slowly starts caramelizing. It turns brown (do not stir before this happens) and that's the signal to slowly stir a little to get the sugar at the edges into the centre - do not overstir. About 5 minutes later, it melts into a beautiful golden brown syrup and then I stirred it at 2 minutes intervals ever so gently for another 4 minutes (I would reduce that to 2 minutes the next time).

20 minutes to attain that lovely, textured caramel flavour which takes any dessert to the next level. Melt butter or cream into it at this stage to make a caramel sauce or just pour directly into a vessel for a caramel pudding. I poured into a glass casserole and swirled it around to coat the bottom and some of the sides - it doesn't matter if there are a few gaps - as it cooks with the custard, it will melt and spread some more.


The final result was an amazing dish- well worth the multiple tries(which is now history, now that I know this much easier way to make caramel). The orange juice was a great addition - in fact, the next time I might even try to make this without the caramel. The orange flavour is subtle, yet very much there and makes this so much more than just a caramel pudding. And for all those who are skeptical, the pudding didn't curdle with the orange juice; and I didn't even bother sieving the custard mixture before baking it.

Orange Caramel Pudding

 Adapted from this recipe by Sanjeev Kapoor

Ingredients:
Sugar - 1/2 cup for caramel

Eggs - 4
Sugar - 1 cup (castor sugar)
Orange juice - 1 cup
Orange rind 1 tsp-  boiled for 5 minutes in half a cup of water, cooled and then added to the orange juice.

Method:
1. Bring out the individual ramekins or glass baking dish in which you intend making the pudding.
For the caramel:
a.In a heavy bottomed pan, spread the sugar in an even layer - look here for step-by-step instructions and pictures.
b. Heat on medium heat for about 8-10 minutes, till the sugar starts to melt in its own water and starts to turn brown. Slowly bring the sugar from the edges to the centre so that it melts uniformly but do not over stir. When it turns to a nice, brown, caramel coloured liquid (approx 5 minutes), cook for another 2-3 minutes and then take off flame and immediately pour into the ramekins or baking dish and swirl around so that the bottom and sides are coated with the caramel. Don't worry if this is not even.
2. Beat the eggs and sugar together till creamy. Heat the orange juice, orange rind reserved liquid mixture for 3 minutes, cool a little and then slowly add to the egg and sugar mixture.
3. Transfer this mixture (you can sieve at this stage) into the ramekins or baking dish. Pre-heat the oven to 180C
4. Fill a bigger oven proof bowl halfway with boiling water, place the ramekins or the baking dish into it, making sure the water will not be able to enter the bowls.
5. Bake in the pre heated oven at 180C (350F) for 45 minutes (the ramekins may take less time, check at 30 minutes.) The pudding will be set.
6. Remove and cool. To serve, turn upside down onto a plate - the caramel syrup will top the pudding since it is at the bottom.

A Nigella Spread for New Year's Eve

This New Year's Eve was the third consecutive year we stayed home - After many, many years of partying the night away from home.  2008 saw our dear friends from Chennai spending New Year's with us, so we had a great time with them. Then hubby was diagnosed with swine flu on New Year's Eve last year, so that was a very quiet New Year's Eve dinner. This year too, we decided we didn't want to be driving around Delhi in the fog; also since Christmas vacation began, our daughter had been staying up later than usual and we thought it would be so much nicer to have her up with us as well, now that she is older.

So we planned to have dinner with some friends - our neighbours from upstairs and another couple of friends who live down the road, came over. It was a lovely evening - great conversation, excellent company, wine and music and a sit-down dinner to complete things.

The menu came together just the day before for me - a combination of things I had in my mind for some time - they fitted together very well. For appetizers there was -  

Bacon Wrapped Dates   - A lovely mix of sweet and salt flavours - seedless dates wrapped in strips of bacon, held together with a toothpick and then roasted in an oven at 180C for about 25 minutes. Easy Peasy as my daughter would say.

 
Crackers with a Roasted Red Pepper Hummus    

This is adapted from Nigella's recipe in her book Nigella Express - it has the usual chickpeas pureed into a slightly grainy hummus, but with a twist in the form of roasted red peppers being added to the mix. Garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and a dash of paprika powder make up the rest.

                         

 

                                                                                

                                                                             

Crudites with Hung Curd Dip 

This is basically yoghurt, about 500ml, hung for about an hour or so and then mixed with salt, a tsp of chopped garlic and a tbsp of chopped coriander. Squeeze of lime if needed and sometimes a tbsp of cheese spread mixed in.

Cocktail Sausages

Another Nigella Express recipe - Sausages tossed in honey, sesame oil and soy sauce and then roasted for 40 minutes at 180C - I cut up the sausages though, instead of roasting them whole as in the recipe.

 A from upstairs, brought a  lovely broccoli salad and I had baked this Rapid Light Wholemeal Loaf earlier in the day

And for the mains there was

Spanish Chicken baked with onions and potatoes 

The original recipe from Nigella, was supposed to have Chorizo sausages, I had some Chorizo salami which I thought I would add half an hour before it was done - but I forgot. Still good though, the flavour of the roasted onions mingled with orange zest marinated chicken was fabulous - a must try addition to your party menu, because it literally cooks itself while you spend time with your guests.

And a creamy Meatball Stew with Chickpeas, Sweet Potatoes and Pumpkin served over steamed rice
This stew is perfect for winter - it brings a touch of the Carribean summer and warms you up. Nigella's recipe had store bought "mini meatballs" - I made them from scratch using minced meat (lamb or goat mince is fine) mixed with bread crumbs, egg, oil and some herbs and spices. Make balls and then deep fry or bake. These were then simmered for about an hour and a half in coconut milk and stock along with chickpeas, sweet potato and pumpkin (in lieu of the butter squash in the original recipe).

And to end the meal and begin a New Year- a decadent Chocolate Pudding

Now while, I did plan the Pudding and the Hummus - I have made the pudding before and the hummus is something I have been wanting to try - the Spanish Chicken and the Stew just came together at the last minute (especially the chicken which I made up my mind about only in the afternoon!) and it all turned out to be Nigella's recipes!! Truly, her stuff is eminently doable and so so hassle free.

 I also made some Chocolate Fudge for my daughter to have through her vacation - though mine had Macadamia Nuts and Raisins in it and she picks all the nuts out!

For any of the recipes, just mail me at peppercornmill AT gmail DOT com or leave a comment naming the dish you want a recipe for and I will be happy to mail it to you.

Maison de Cupcakes is hosting the first edition of a brand new event called Nigella Forever - this time's theme is centred around Seasonal Sensations  - "anything Christmassy, anything celebratory for New Year, do party canapes or even wintery comfort food for snow days".