Fruity Custard

Custard used to a regular dessert item in my mother's kitchen. This also must have been the first dessert I ever made also. You can understand the sweet tooth that we Odiya's have from our dinner menu. Baba (my dad) is very health-conscious and likes to eat healthy and light for dinner. However, there has to be a sweet-dish on the side - every night. No exception to that.


Also as a kid, when I would hang out with friends, most of my friend's moms would make custard for us. This may be one of the safest item to make for kids - everyone likes it and you get to make them eat the fruits! ;)


When I went for my undergrad studies, we used to get custard often in our "mess" menu and special meals. It still intrigues me why dormitory kitchens and serving area are called "mess" - they could have been subtle enough and used a more "kinder" word for the ambience these dining areas provide :p Ok, let's get the mess picture out our head now and concentrate on the dish-in-hand! :)

Ingredients:

Milk - 5 cups
Custard Powder - 6-8 tbsp (I like mine thick - adjust as per your preference)
Ground Cardamom Powder - 1 tbsp
Condensed milk - 1/2 can
Sugar - 4 tbsp (adjust as per your sweetness preference)

Raisins - 1/2 cup
Cashewnuts (not salted) - 1/2 cup
Butter - 1-2 tbsp

Chopped fruits (apple, banana, orange, grapes)
Rasagolla - a few (I use Haldiram canned ones)

Method:

Heat the milk.
As the milk warms up, add the ground Cardamom Powder, Condensed Milk and Sugar.
Take a few spoons of the warm milk from above and add to the custard powder in a separate container. Alternatively, you can use some warm water instead of the milk. Mix it well. This will ensure that the custard powder does not remain in lump form when you add it to the milk. Removing the lumps is quite an exercise by itself! :)
Add this mixture to the warm milk.

In a separate container, warm the butter and roast the raisins and cashewnuts. When done, add to the above custard mixture. Cool it down. I place it under the fan for 10-15 mins and then dunk it in the fridge for 30 mins or so.

Chop the fruits and the Rasagolla into tiny pieces a few mins before serving.
Serve a few spoons of the chopped fruits. Add the custard on top of it.

This is a trick I learnt from Maa - if you add the fruits to the custard earlier on, it will not last long and the fruits get mushy. This way, the fruits are crunchy when you eat. Prior to learning this, I used to add the fruits to the custard before putting it in the fridge - this is good only if you are finishing it off the same day.

Enjoy the dessert!

As I was playing around with my iPhone, clicked this pic which turned out quite good in "lighting". Yes, I know it is a lamp and it provides light ... was referring to the lighting for the photograph. :p Have a great day, everyone! :)