Thanks to my yesterday's success with Mojito, I tried few more ventures in the kitchen. I was searching for ice cream recipes, and a few I read involved contraptions like ice cream machine, or a container-in-container_containing_ice_and_salt, or beating icecream every half an hour for 3 hours so that it does not crystallize.
My aji has a unique method for most stuff. And mind you, aji being aji, there is no egg involved in the icecream. So the big secret is if you have to prevent water in milk from crystallizing, try doing away with that water. Now, I have to give due credits to my mom too. Mom says softy icecream that one gets for like 5Rs in India is so cheap because there is mashed paper pulp in the softy. I guess my mom and aji put 2-n-2 together and came up with this recipe. So here goes my aji's secret ingredient: bread crumbs to soak up water. Starkly simple ain't it? Wonder how the western smartypants dint come up with the idea. Aji suggests 4 slices of bread (with brown sides removed) to be crushed real finely per litre of milk. Aai also adds a couple of "pedhas" to make the milk a bit thicker, note again there is no egg involved so custard powder to make a base is out of question.
Quick, simple and non-messy ice cream recipe:
Boil together milk, a couple of pedhas / corresponding amount of khoya, sugar on low-medium heat . Let it simmer for a couple minutes. Pour the mixture into a regular dabba with a tight lid and keep it in a plate full of water to cool it. (Aji doesnt transfer hot things directly to her fridge.) When it has cooled, add the bread crumbs, and a few drops of vanilla essence and now is ready to be transferred to the freezer. Aai recommends stirring it once after initial round of freezing. Ice cream is ready in a couple of hours.
Quick Sevaiya
Sevaiya Kheer has been my standard one-of-the-five "pancha pakvanna" for Ganapati for my last 3 years of Gaeshotsav in USA. (The other 4 being shira, khirapat=sugar+grated_coconut, shikaran = indian version of banana smoothie and 5th something from Indian store.) My recipe was roast sevaiyya on ghee till golden brown and add milk. Aji knows better. Aji's recipe does away with milk chugging by sevaiyya and "tupache tavang" or ghee film on milk.
Aji's recipe: cook sevaiyya in plain water. Top it with sugar and milk.
Hats off to aji. I have literally had kheer in almost every wedding, I have even tasted Id special kheer several times. No one else has thought of this idea to do away with tupache tavang. (Usually in weddings and all, they use Dalda/ not the real deal in place of ghee, and such a kheer with a thicker "tavang" leaves a sticky film down the palate as it is eaten.)
To all the guys and gals out there.. sure you will find a lot of recipes online. But in most circumstances, your parents and grandparents have a special something born out of years of experience. No better gift to receive than a handwritten book of recipes passed to the gen-next.
My aji has a unique method for most stuff. And mind you, aji being aji, there is no egg involved in the icecream. So the big secret is if you have to prevent water in milk from crystallizing, try doing away with that water. Now, I have to give due credits to my mom too. Mom says softy icecream that one gets for like 5Rs in India is so cheap because there is mashed paper pulp in the softy. I guess my mom and aji put 2-n-2 together and came up with this recipe. So here goes my aji's secret ingredient: bread crumbs to soak up water. Starkly simple ain't it? Wonder how the western smartypants dint come up with the idea. Aji suggests 4 slices of bread (with brown sides removed) to be crushed real finely per litre of milk. Aai also adds a couple of "pedhas" to make the milk a bit thicker, note again there is no egg involved so custard powder to make a base is out of question.
Quick, simple and non-messy ice cream recipe:
Boil together milk, a couple of pedhas / corresponding amount of khoya, sugar on low-medium heat . Let it simmer for a couple minutes. Pour the mixture into a regular dabba with a tight lid and keep it in a plate full of water to cool it. (Aji doesnt transfer hot things directly to her fridge.) When it has cooled, add the bread crumbs, and a few drops of vanilla essence and now is ready to be transferred to the freezer. Aai recommends stirring it once after initial round of freezing. Ice cream is ready in a couple of hours.
Quick Sevaiya
Sevaiya Kheer has been my standard one-of-the-five "pancha pakvanna" for Ganapati for my last 3 years of Gaeshotsav in USA. (The other 4 being shira, khirapat=sugar+grated_coconut, shikaran = indian version of banana smoothie and 5th something from Indian store.) My recipe was roast sevaiyya on ghee till golden brown and add milk. Aji knows better. Aji's recipe does away with milk chugging by sevaiyya and "tupache tavang" or ghee film on milk.
Aji's recipe: cook sevaiyya in plain water. Top it with sugar and milk.
Hats off to aji. I have literally had kheer in almost every wedding, I have even tasted Id special kheer several times. No one else has thought of this idea to do away with tupache tavang. (Usually in weddings and all, they use Dalda/ not the real deal in place of ghee, and such a kheer with a thicker "tavang" leaves a sticky film down the palate as it is eaten.)
To all the guys and gals out there.. sure you will find a lot of recipes online. But in most circumstances, your parents and grandparents have a special something born out of years of experience. No better gift to receive than a handwritten book of recipes passed to the gen-next.
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