Caramel Custard

Have you wondered what ambrosia tastes like? Sure! It tastes like a piece of this dessert.A light, silky and luscious dessert with soft caramel on top.

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Have you wondered what ambrosia tastes like? Sure! It tastes like a piece of this dessert.

Caramel custard is a rich, light, silky and luscious dessert. It has an impressive shiny appeal, a golden color and a divine flavor.Sugar syrup cooked to caramel stage is poured into the mold and then filled with custard. It is cooked on a stovetop or in the oven and set in the refrigerator to chill. It is served inverted with the layer of soft caramel on top.

This dessert is my family’s favorite and one of my mom’s classic desserts. Every time she made it, we would sit around the dining table and she would invert the big dish on to the plate to unmold the custard. As she gently lifts the dish, we would eagerly look at the slowly uncovering custard and the caramel running down from it. A moment worth waiting for is to see the creamy, smooth custard in entirety with the layer of caramel shinning on top. Every piece of the silky custard with caramel sauce over it is a real treat.

Caramel Custard

Makes - 6 Servings

For Custard		For Caramel
Milk	– 2 cups	Sugar	– 1 cup
Eggs	– 3
Sugar	– 1/3 cup
Vanilla Essence	– 2 tsp

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Heat the milk until very hot. Turn off and let it cool while you prepare rest of the ingredients.

I start with the milk first to give it sometime to cool before combining it with egg.

In a heavy saucepan, melt the sugar until you reach a nice golden color.

Be very careful! The caramel will continue to darken once removed from the heat and you can end up with a bitter caramel. I turn off the heat as soon as the sugar has caramelized and the color starts to turn amber.

Divide it among 4 ramekins. Let the caramel cool for about 5-10 minutes to harden.

In a bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until pale and well blended.

Slowly pour the milk over the eggs/sugar mixture little by little and whisk until well incorporated.

The key here is to add milk little by little as adding hot milk all at once will cook the eggs!

Now, beat in the vanilla essence and let the mixture cool for a bit.

You can run the mixture through a sieve/colander to remove any lumps that could have formed while combining hot milk and egg mixture.

Prepare the water bath for baking. Pour some hot water to about an inch deep in a deep baking pan.

Pour the egg custard mixture on top of the caramel filled ramekins.

Set your ramekins into the baking pan. Add more water if necessary; the water bath should come to about half way up the sides of the dishes.

Bake for about 20-30 minutes until the custards are just set and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Carefully remove from the oven, remove the ramekins from the water bath, and let them cool to room temperature. Refrigerate and chill for about 4 hours before serving.

To serve, run a thin sharp knife along the side of the ramekin to loosen and invert onto dessert plates. Shake gently or slowly tap on base of the inverted ramekin to release onto the plates.

Tofu Masquerade!

Don't like tofu? Here is a trick to mask the taste of tofu from your palette, a flavorful dish, which by taste you cannot tell it has tofu!

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Yeah Yeah…I know tofu is healthy!

I have worked hard to get myself to like tofu! At every chance I have substituted tofu for Paneer but it never tasted the same! The farthest I could go with getting myself to eat tofu is pan-frying it in oil! Then talk about healthy?

With many unsuccessful attempts, I realized the only way out is to mask the taste of tofu from my palette! So, here’s the recipe to trick yourself into eating tofu with this great tasting dish. You can eat this healthy, warm and easy tofu egg scramble by the bowlful!

I felt it is easier to infuse flavors into tofu when scrambled than cubed pieces. I camouflage the bland taste of tofu by cooking it with onions and tomatoes flavored with medley of masalas. To enhance the taste and texture, I add egg and scramble it together. This creates a flavorful dish, which by the taste you cannot tell it has tofu!

Tofu Egg Scramble

Makes: 4 Servings

Tofu	- 1 block	Ginger Garlic paste	- 1 tsp
Eggs	- 4	Cinnamon	- 1 inch stick
Onion	- 1 large	Cloves	- 3
Tomato	- 2	Curry leaves	- 4-5
Chili Powder	- 1 tbsp	Cilantro	- a handful
Garam Masala	- 1 tbsp	Oil	- 3 tbsps
Pav Bhaji Masala	- 2 tbsps	Salt	- to taste

Heat oil in a pan; add cloves, cinnamon, and sauté until it flavors the oil

Add onions and sauté until translucent

Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute

Add tomatoes and cook until it is soft and mushy

Add all the spices, masalas, curry leaves and stir till it is all incorporated

You can add spices and masala of your choice.

Now, add crumbled tofu to the pan and mix well. Cook for about 8- 10 minutes or until done

Add salt and taste to adjust the masala and spices.

Now, add the eggs to the pan and mix until it combines. Keep stirring as you would for making scrambled eggs until the eggs are completely cooked.

Stir an additional 5 minutes on high heat after the eggs are cooked.

Turn off the heat, garnish with a bunch of cilantro and serve hot with rice or chapattis.