Wattalappam - Sri Lankan coconut custard

Earlier this year, I had the wonderful opportunity to spend two weeks in the lush and beautiful landscapes of Sri Lanka with two of my dearest friends. We immersed ourselves in the local culture, explored the stunning scenery, and made it our mission to sample as many traditional dishes as possible. Along the way, I purchased several unique ingredients that I have yet to find in Melbourne. One of these was palmyrah jaggery, an unrefined sweetener made from the sap of the palmyrah palm tree. This ingredient is commonly used in the beloved Sri Lankan dessert Wattalappam, where it replaces refined sugar and gives the dish its distinctive rich caramel flavor.

Despite its rich flavour and impressive appearance, Wattalappam is remarkably simple to make. It's an approachable recipe for beginners, which only adds to its appeal. For my version, I followed Dini Kodippili's recipe to a tee.

Qubani Ka Meetha - Dried Apricot Dessert

 The first season of Masterchef was something that I would drop all tasks to watch without fail.  Over the years, I just got tired of watching it; the thrill was no longer there.  Until - I saw Sarah Todd, and her posts on instagram. I started to follow her, mainly because she was in India and posting so many Indian dishes that I had never heard of. Qubani ka Meetha is one of those - and I know she made it look 5 star in the show, but I wanted to taste the original because I have never heard of it - leave alone taste it!  

Since the show I researched it and found out that apricots or qubani were introduced to India during the Mughal era and was enjoyed by the Royals as it was an expensive fruit. It slowly found its was to the South of India, where it became a signature dish of Hyderabadi cuisine. These days it is served in Hyderabadi weddings - and the best part is it is easy to cook. All you need is dried apricots and sugar.

Cheese Suffed Pears Dessert

 A quick, easy and healthy dessert, if you have it on its own; or a little indulgent with icecream - or if you would like to have it with yogurt, you can have it for breakfast too. I had it on its own and I was just testing the recipe out to see if I would make it again. I would definitely make it again - it looks spectacular, and it tastes nice. When you present it, it looks like you have gone through a lot of trouble making it. This is also a recipe where you can play with the pears, cheeses and nuts to make the final outcome sweet or savoury so you can serve it as a dessert or an entree. The sweetness of the pear, along with a touch of saltiness from the feta, the honey and nuts all add to the textures and flavours of this dish.

San Sebastian Cheesecake or Basque Cheesecake

 When Pelin, my friend said to me that the tastiest cheesecake she had ever tasted was the San Sebastian cheesecake, I was certainly intrigued. I had never heard of it, leave alone taste it. I looked up videos and recipes and spent a lot of time researching until I finally decided I was making it. So my recipe queen internet friend Nagi - came to the rescue with her recipe and clear instructions.  I couldn't take step by step pictures because I needed both hands for the work - but I stuck to her instructions and her recipe to the exact word.

I have just taken a picture as it came out of the oven and it looks exactly like how Nagi said it should!So I am certainly hoping the taste will be exactly what I am imagining it to be as well - caramelly on the outside, souffle like on the inside - not too sweet but still divine.

I am taking this cake to another friend's house today - and I haven't seen her in ages.  I hope Michelle and family will like the cake as much as how much I enjoyed making it! The verdict is out and the cake was absolutely divine! Creamy and light, with a touch of sweetness and the contrasting caramel layer at the top.

I will definitely make this again because it is delicious,  easy to do and you do not have to spend time on the decoration.

Biscoff Cheesecake

Christmas 2024 was the first one for my daughter and son in law after their wedding.  So it was a special one, and she wanted me to make a Biscoff Cheesecake for the ocassion. I looked at a bunch of recipes and pictures on the internet and this recipe by Nagi was the one I got attracted to.  It was supposedly easy, it looked absolutely marvellous and it was something I could make the previous day and put in the fridge.

So, even though I didn't know much about Biscoff biscuits and cheese cakes, I decided to make this. The last week before Christmas is always hectic in our home with last minute grocery shopping and getting ingredients sorted for the main items.

I had my list ready - and when I walked into the biscuit aisle and spotted Biscoff biscuits, I immediately picked them up with an extra pack for the "just in case" errors and didn't think much of it.

When I started on the cake that night, I realised immediately that I had made a mistake. Nagi says in her blog DO NOT use sandwich cookies that have cream in them, as the cake may not set - and this is exactly what I had. It was too late to go back to the shops and I kept my fingers and toes crossed for two days until the actual unmoulding on Christmas day.

Nan Khattai - Indian Shortbread

 A trip to Supreme Bakery in Kollam, my hometown, was always a much looked forward to treat. Amma got us delicious treats from there right through to the time her grand children came along. In my youth I remember amma cooking and baking a lot. But after appa's death, she didn't make so many treats at home - as it was just her at home a lot of the time. But when we came home for holidays, she got us all our favourites from the bakery.  This practice continued till the grand children came along.

One of the best things you can buy at Supreme is their nan khattai. Crumbly white biscuits shaped like a tiny bun with a few crushed nuts on top and smelling of cardamom with every bite. Delicious! Amma used to bake them at home in her round electric oven - slightly bigger than an air fryer but much smaller than what is commonly seen as a "regular" size oven in Australia.

So apparently, the nan khattais were brought to India by the Dutch in the 16th century - and then updated to suit Indian tastes.  It is essentially a shortbread made of plain flour, semolina and chickpea flour - some ghee and flavoured with cardamom. This recipe makes about 30 nan khattais.

Frouta Ke Yaourti - Greek Fruit Salad

 Onions, tomatoes and green chillies - such a varied team, right?  Each of these vegetables have their own individual flavours and strengths. Too much of one or the other and your dish can turn really bad. But in the right measure, they make the perfect base for so many curries. It depends on the chef and his skills to know when to add more and what to add less of. Similarly, working in a team, we have so many different skills and strengths. If the manager doesn't recognise your skill set, then you end up feeling frustrated and the project will probably fail.  But in the right measure and with the right team members, you can turn out a dream project and get the recognition that is due.  

But we are not here to talk about work - though it is good to have an analogy and today's fruit salad is just a mix of different fruits - all with their own special qualities, coming together to create a dream dessert with the help of yoghurt. 

The original recipe used lemon rind but I happened to have oranges, so I used the rind of an orange - it reminded me of the lovely orange tree lined streets of Athens.

This dessert is healthy and tasty - healthy as there is no sugar and it is mostly fruit and if, like me, you are avoiding the temptations of the holiday season, then, it is perfect as a summer dessert.

Rizogalo - Greek Rice Pudding

 I tried my hand at making a very traditional rice pudding for my daughter's Greek family. I read a lot of recipes online, but this recipe from themediterraneandish.com rang true and authentic and I am so glad I trusted my instincts. Ruth Bardis is an Australian of Greek ethinicity and I must say that her recipe got me a lot of compliments from all the people who tasted it.

The only effort required for this recipe is to whisk the milk / rice mixture consistently and almost constantly.  It takes around 45 minutes, but the results were awesome. 

Kesari or Semolina Halwa

 Both my husband and daughter love this simple Indian dessert that can be served at weddings or at home.  When it is served at weddings or functions, it is made with ghee and saffron (kesar) - and hence the name Kesari. It is usually made with an orange food colouring but I try to refrain from using food colouring unless it is natural.  So though my kesari looks quite brown, but you can definitely taste the saffron.  It is entirely up to you if you wish to use food colouring and I will include it in the recipe as an option. The beauty about this dessert is that you can make it vegan very easily too.

Falooda

Indian Summers are oppressively hot and humid. And kids and adults would do anything to keep cool. Falooda is sold as THE thing to cool your body down and it is freely avilable in all the iceream shops, bakeries and street food vendors. It was introduced to India by the Moghuls - so it is a Middle Eastern dish except the Indians added their own twist to it.  The twist is the secret syrup - called Roohafza that you will find in all sorts of soft drinks, lemonade, fizzy sherbet drinks and so on. I tend to use Roohafza very sparingly as it is extremely sweet. But it has an amazing smell of roses and a bright pink colour that looks great on desserts.

To explain the Falooda to Aussies - it is like an Eton Mess - a jumble of things put together with different textures and flavours. I made this for my birthday last week but the pictures taken at night were not particularly good.  Luckily I had the ingredients so I could make it again for the photograph.

Pineapple Pudding

 My friend Anto introduced me to this pudding.  It is a quick one to make and only 3 ingredients are used.

When you are invited to a Christmas party and have to take dessert, this is an easy one to make and share.  It is not too heavy and is refreshing.  Needless to say, it is also a crowd pleaser.

Orange Pudding with Ginger Custard

 I love challenges ....and this pudding had so many different elements and cooking scenarios that were unfamiliar to me.  So I decided to give it a go - thanks to the recipe from Emma Knowles.  And it turned out good, though next time I will not be making the rookie mistake of sticking orange slices on the sides after the pudding has been cooked and turned on the platter!

The orange slices that I have left over are in a bottle in the fridge and are being used in cocktails - they are delightful. 

Gingerbread Tree

 To have a decoration on the table that you can eat - that is the purpose of this table centre piece / dessert / snack - whatever you want to call it.  Christmas holidays are a time when I try out a lot of new recipes because I have so much time on my hands.  Last Christmas, I got this cookie cutter set as a present from my daughter and I have been waiting to try it out ever since.  One year on and I finally get to play with my new toy!

My daughter and I decided to embark on this project because I was keen to try it out - well, me more than her.  She wanted to concentrate on her special almond cookies and chocolate brownies, but I needed her help with this one - so she got roped in by default.

My daughter has a very good eye for alignment and symmetry so I had to rope her in.  Left to myself, this would have been a lopsided Christmas tree! ha ha!!  And thank you to my amazing photographer husband for this picture.  

Black Forest Cake

 Would you like to have a chocolate sandwich with whipped cream and cherries and some sweet alcoholic cherry syrup? If you answered yes, this cake is for you - and topped off with chocolate ganache if the cake and whipped cream and alcoholic cherries wasn't enough. It is my husband's birthday today and he made a special request for a black forest cake. As usual, I scoured the internet to pick the most interesting looking recipe that was also not too hard to follow.  I think my cake turned out looking a bit lop sided - but it tastes just as I imagined it would. It is very moist and not sweet. The only thing I wouldn't do next time is the ganache.  It was too chocolatey for me. And hard to cut, I must add!

Other than that, this recipe which I adapted from Sally's Baking Recipes is quite easy.  Be warned, though: the list of ingredients is long.

Chocolate Cake

 What is it about chocolate cake that makes my children go back to it over and over again?  I will never understand. But if they tell me what they want for their birthday is a chocolate cake, then I will go hunting for a recipe and will try it out - that is my creative outlet after a hard day's work.

This week it was my daughter's 25th birthday. How time flies! I remember turning 25 - it was just a year after my dad had passed. It was a sad occasion and all my mother would talk about was what if he were here today. I do not remember celebrating the day - as a family we were still grieving at the time. 

My daughter is lucky her parents are still alive - and able to celebrate with her as she turns a quarter of a century. The recipe I chose to try was  from Recipe Tin Eats - I like Nagi's recipes. The recipe itself is very easy to follow and execute. I chose to try icing the cake with a zip lock bag and so that was the only process that was time consuming.  The end result was moist, dark, just a touch of sweetness and a great frosting on top.  I added some strawberries which added a nice touch both aesthetically and also in terms of flavour. The tart and sweet strawberries paired well with the dark chocolate and made a perfect ending to the day.

Baked Lime Cheesecake with Lime Curd

 When we moved into our house, I got quite a few fruit trees as house warming gifts. Of these, my most prolific producer is my lime tree. Over the years I have pickled limes, made juice, dried them for cake decorations, used them for making lime tea and so on.  I never ventured into the realm of making lime curd.  For some reason the word lime curd, lemon curd - conjured up a complicated process that was best handled by professional chefs. 

When I was requested to bring dessert for a family lunch, I finally broke that ceiling that has controlled me for a long time now. I must say I was pretty pleased with myself though quite nervous. I worked on the lime curd a week before and make sure no "skin" formed on the surface, spoiling the creamy texture of the curd.  After a week, when I was convinced I had a good lime curd, I worked on the cheesecake.

My recipe inspiration was a baked lemon cheese cake by https://www.instagram.com/asweetpantry/ 

I still have work to do on my biscuit base that was thicker than what I would have liked.  However, the cake itself was moist and not cloyingly sweet - and had a refreshing zing of fresh lime through it.

Rice Halwa or Black Halwa

 Today, the 15th of April, is Vishu.  Vishu is like the New Year of the Kerala calendar. It is celebrated with a lot of joy, prayers, new clothes, great food and festivities. One of the interesting things that the people of Kerala do on the morning of Vishu is to see "auspicious" things in the hope that the year will be auspicious for them. These auspicious things usually consist of harvest, clothes, money, food, pictures of Gods and so on. For me this year has been about a lot of gratitude for all the things I have received. I have received quite a lot of food from my garden - sunflowers, pumpkins, beans, corn, amaranth, figs, apples, lime, lemon, roses, an array of herbs including the holy basil, curry leaf, oregano and rosemary. I have tried to incorporate a bit of all of that in my gratitude picture along with the wonderful gluten free rice halwa or black halwa that is famous in Kerala. 

Black halwa is made from rice flour, jaggery and coconut milk and the halwa gets its black colour from the jaggery. It is flavoured with cardamom and garnished with roasted cashew nuts.  The texture is different to wheat halwa because there is no gluten. 

Halwa is a Middle Eastern dish that got introduced into India by the Turkish invaders in the North and the Greek traders in the South somewhere around the 13th to 16th century AD. Once it was introduced, the local Indians made it their own by adding locally available ingredients. Till today, the North Indian Halwas and the South Indian Halwas are very unique. Halwas are made in India using a variety of flours, fruits and vegetables and garnished with nuts or a form of fresh cheese called Khoya.

Navratan Payasam - "Nine Jewels" Pudding

 Navratan jewellery is made up of nine gemstones that create good energies for the wearer and bring good fortune, good health and professional growth. This type of jewellery has been worn for centuries in India and it looks spectacular.  However, our focus today is is the navratan pudding where I have used at least 9 different things to create a pudding that is healthy, looks and tastes great and leaves you warm all over - perfect for a cool autumn evening. I have always been fond of kitchen experiments. I must have been 14 or 15 when I made a stir fry for my appa with passion fruit leaves.  I had read that passion fruit leaves were edible and that they were good for people with high blood pressure.  Since my appa suffered from high blood pressure, I made it for him. I found it quite bitter, but the good man that he was he ate it all up and even complimented me! 

Today I have used a mix of spices, fruits and nuts to create this dessert - and both me and my husband enjoyed it a lot.  So here is the recipe - I hope you try it too!

Note: I used fresh root turmeric that I had dried and stored in the pantry.  Do not use store bought turmeric since it is often powdered in the same factory that powders chillies. If you are unable to find root turmeric, just use saffron.

Pazham Pori - Plantain Fritters

 What is it about greasy food wrapped in paper and watching the sunsets? I grew up with it, my children grew up with it - and it will probably continue for generations.  Except it is different sorts of greasy foods.  My sort of greasy food is a deep fried plantain fritter served with a cup of hot chai - and watching the sun disappearing into the deep blue waters of the Arabian sea.  

We never used to be able to get the plantains in Melbourne. Those days whenever I visited my home town I would devour them in all forms with much enthusiasm. The last two years I have been able to source them fairly regularly from my local Indian grocer. I wonder if I will have the same enthusiasm for them when I visit the next time.

This recipe is my athai (aunty) Vimala's recipe. She made the most amazing plantain fritters when I visited her in Nagercoil last time. The plantains were from her mother's back yard, organic and vine ripened. Needless to say, it is the most delicious fritter I've had in a very long time.

The perfect fritter has crispy outside skin and a soft, warm and sweet plantain inside.

Pat's Fig and Ginger Jam

One of the most interesting times in my career was when I worked at the School of Life Sciences. The job felt like it was made for me. I took care of the HR, Finance, IT and general administration of the School Office.  In return, I got to see snippets of lab sessions, animal life, experiences of highly distinguished staff and any little "creature" issue I had was explained in depth  and with such generosity.  I was amazed at the hard work put in by the staff and the dedication to their chosen profession.  

One such person is Dr. Patricia Woolley - Pat, I called her.  You can look her up on Wikipedia - she completed her PhD in 1966 and travelled to Papua New Guinea to research Dasyurids in the wild. Imagine a young lady in the 80s wandering around in the forests and trapping animals with the help of the locals - she is a legend! I had the good fortune to work in the school office where she works as an Honorary Academic.  Pat comes in to work every single day and works on her research papers without fail. I have been to her office and got an insight into the extent of her travels from the artefacts in her room and the stories she has narrated. To be in her 90s, cheerful, sprightly, turning up to work everyday and being just as excited about her work now as she was in her youth....it is not something you see often. To top it all, she is a fantastic cook. She brought me this home made fig jam one time made from the figs in her garden. I got the recipe off her and I am dedicating this post with much respect to a great lady and top scientist.  I hope I am as sprightly and cheerful in my 90s! Truly amazing energy and dedication - not many of us would think of working for no pay! Hats off to her.