Karonda Murabba / Natal Plum Sweet Preserve

It seems like ages since I updated my blog. I am still holidaying and enjoying my stay with parents. Still some more days are left for the schools to start in Dubai and till the time I go back I want to cherish each and every day of my India stay. I have been pestering my mother to make my favourite dishes and just relishing eating. 

My mother makes best pickles and murabbas. And this one is my favourite. This preserve or murabba is made with karonda or natal plum and tastes yum. Natal Plum is tart but has goodness of Vitamin C, calcium and magnesium. When combined with sugar and transformed into preserve it tastes superb...khatta and meetha.

Even birds love this fruit...and we had some parrots fighting over these.

Ingredients:

Karonda/ Natal Plum- 250 gms
Sugar- 1 1/2 Cups
Water- 1 Cup

Procedure:

• Wash the natal plum thoroughly and keep aside. Slit the natal plum in half and take out the seeds. 
• Steam the natal plum for 10-12 minutes in a steamer or till cooked.
• Meanwhile make a sugar syrup by mixing sugar and water and keep it in medium heat till one string consistency is achieved.
• Once sugar syrup is made transfer the steamed plum in it and let it cook for sometime till the consistency thickens.
• Cool completely and transfer it in a air tight container.

Store the murabba at room temperature and consume within 2 weeks.

Caramel Mango Pudding

Holidays are here and my daughter is at home keeping me on my toes throughout the day, I am bending down to meet all her requests and giving her company to play as well. Also I am counting days to leave for India...yippee...I am just so much excited to see everybody.

My DH loves pudding so I thought of making pudding with mangoes and caramelised sugar for additional sweet punch. This eggless pudding was a great hit with my folks. The recipe is loosely adapted from Anushruti's space.

I hope to post next something from my mil's and my mom's kitchen. I have been enjoying seeing all my fellow bloggers wonderful posts and I hope I will be able to keep in touch with all once I return from vacations. Till then do drop in at my space and forget me not.

Ingredients:

Whole Milk- 2 Cups
Pulp of 1 large Alphonso Mango
Cream- 1/4 Cup
Sugar- 4 tbsp
Cornstarch- 3 tsp
Agar Agar Flakes- 5gms
Water- 1/2 Cup
Butter- 2 tbsp

For Almond Praline:

Sugar- 3 tbsp
Almonds- 3 tbsp( Chopped)

Procedure:

• Out of the 2 cups of milk take 1/4 cup of milk and mix cornstarch in it and keep aside.
• Meanwhile tear agar agar in small bits and soak it in 1/2 cup water for 1/2 an hour to soften it.
• Blend milk, cream and mango pulp together and keep aside.
• Heat butter and add sugar together in a pan in medium heat and don't stir the pan, the sugar will start to caramelize and turn golden brown in colour.
• Add in the blended milk and mango mix and stir to combine everything nicely. Keep it for boiling. 
• While the milk is boiling in a separate pan take agar agar along with the soaked water and keep it to heat on medium flame and cook until agar agar melts.
• Once the milk comes to boil stir in the cornstarch and cook till mixture thickens.. Now add in the melted agar agar and stir. 
• Cook for another 3-4 minutes and switch off the gas.
• Pour the mix in a dish and allow it to come to room temperature. Once the mixture is cool transfer the dish to the refrigerator and chill for at least 3-4 hours before serving.

Almond Praline:

Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil and keep aside. Heat the sugar in a pan along with 1 tbsp of water and let the sugar caramelize without stirring the pan. Once the sugar turns golden brown in colour immediately add in the chopped almonds and stir. Transfer the mixture to the lined baking sheet and spread as much as thin as possible. Once the mixture is cool break the praline into small pieces.

Serve the chilled pudding topped with praline.

Sending this to my dear friend Meghna's Healthy Cooking Challenge Event- Desserts, originally started by Smita
Also sending this to Priya and Aipi's bookmarked recipes every tuesday event