HIDE AND SEEK BANANA TRIFLE PUDDING

A Trifle is a Dessert dish made from thick (or often solidified) custard, fruit, sponge cake, fruit juice and whipped cream. These ingredients are usually arranged in layers in a pretty glass bowl. The earliest known recipe for “Trifle” was published in a book called "The good housewife's Jewell" by Thomas Dawson. in 1596 in England. The ingredients for this first Trifle Recipe was thick cream flavoured with sugar, ginger and rosewater pored over slices of Sponge Cake. Sixty years later, milk custard was added to the list of ingredients and the custard was poured over alcohol soaked bread.

A Trifle Pudding is often used for decoration as well as taste, incorporating the bright, layered colours of the fruit, jelly, egg custard, and the contrast of the cream. Some trifles contain a small amount of alcohol such as port, or, most commonly, sweet sherry or madeira wine. Non-alcoholic versions may use fruit juices or soft drinks such as ginger ale, lemonade etc instead, as the liquid is necessary to moisten the cake layers.

Trifle Puddings are often served at in Anglo-Indian Homes at Christmas time, sometimes as a lighter alternative to the much denser Christmas pudding. No specific recipe need be followed for preparing a Trifle. It all depends on the availability of the ingredients. One can mix and match in a Trifle and just innovate.

 Here is an easy recipe for HIDE AND SEEK BANANA TRIFLE PUDDING

Serves 6

Ingredients

500 grams sponge cake

20 Hide and Seek Chocolate Biscuits or any other Chocolate Biscuits or Cookies

3 tablespoons sugar

2 cups fresh Cream
½ teaspoon Vanilla essence
2 ripe bananas sliced

8 cherries chopped

Some chopped nuts for garnishing

1  Mix the cream, sugar, and vanilla essence together in a large bowl, and beat till smooth

2. Take a flat bottomed dish and spread a small amount of cream mixture on the bottom of it.  Slice the cake thinly into small pieces and lay them as the bottom layer in the glass dish

3. Spread cream mixture on top of the layer of cake

4. Now arrange the biscuits in rows so that cream layer is covered with biscuits.

5. Spread a layer of the cream mixture on top of Biscuit layer

6. Now spread a layer of the sliced bananas on the Cream Mixture layer

6. Continue layering the cake, biscuit, banana and cream mixture until finished.

6. The last layer should be cream. Smoothen out the top layer of cream using a spatula. Garnish with chopped cherries and nuts. Chill and serve when required

SIMPLE MEAT CURRY

A simple recipe for a tasty Meat Curry is given below. You can use the same recipe for Beef, Mutton, Chicken or Pork Curry.

SIMPLE MEAT CURRYServes 6  Preparation Time 1 hour
Ingredients
1 kg tender Meat, (either mutton, beef, chicken or pork) cut into medium pieces
2 tomatoes chopped finely
3 tablespoons oil
2 large onions chopped finely
2 green chilies slit lengthwise
2 tablespoons ginger garlic paste
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons chillie powder
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons coriander powder
1 teaspoon spice powder / garam masala powder
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons chopped corriander leaves

Boil the meat a little water, a pinch of turmeric and a little salt in a pressure cooker till tender.  Heat oil in a suitable pan and sauté the onions, green chilies and the ginger garlic paste for some time.  Add the chopped tomatoes, chillie powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, spice powder / garam masala powder and fry for some time till the tomatoes trun pulpy. Add a little water if required while frying.  Now add the cooked meat along with the soup, chopped garlic and salt and simmer till the gravy is thick. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve with white steamed rice or chappatis or bread

FISH AND BOILED EGGS KEDGEREE

Kedgeree is an Anglicised version of the Indian Kitchri or Kitchidi, which was prepared with rice, lentils, raisins, etc along with the addition of either boiled or Fried Fish Flakes and hard boiled eggs. Fish, either steamed or fried was a regular item for breakfast during the Raj and the cooks tried to incorporate it with local dishes. Eventually the Fish Kedegeree became a hot cooked spicy dish, with the addition of various spices and was invariably included in the breakfast menu all over the Commonwealth.  Minced meat was also later added as a variation. It is believed that Kedgeree which is originally a Scottish Dish, was first brought into India by the Scottish Soldiers during the British Raj.

Preparation Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

½ kg good fleshy fish cut into thick slices

¼  kg raw rice or Basmati Rice

4 tablespoons oil

1 tablespoon ghee or butter

3 onions sliced finely

3 green chillies sliced lengthwise

100 grams Moong dhal or Tur Dhal (Or any other lentils)

1 teaspoon spice powder or garam masala

1 teaspoon cumin powder

100 grams Sultanas or Raisins (Optional)

2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves

2 Bay leaves

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon chillie powder

1 tablespoon lime juice / lemon juice / vinegar

6 whole peppercorns

4 hard-boiled eggs cut into quarters.

Wash the fish and cook it in a little water along with the bay leaves and salt for about 5 minutes or till the pieces are firm. Strain and keep aside.  Add sufficient water to the left over fish soup to get 6 cups of liquid.  Remove the bones and skin from the boiled fish and break into small pieces. Wash the Rice and dhal and keep aside.

Heat the oil in a suitable vessel and sauté the onions lightly. Add the slit green chillies, whole peppercorns, spice powder, cumin powder and chillie powder and sauté for a few minutes. Add the rice and dhal and mix well. Now add 6 cups of the soup, salt, limejuice / vinegar, sultanas, chopped coriander leaves and salt and cook on high heat till boiling. Reduce heat and simmer covered till the rice and dhal are cooked and slightly pasty. Gently mix in the cooked fish, butter / ghee and the hard-boiled eggs. Cover and let the rice draw in the fish for a few minutes. Serve hot or cold with Chutney or Lime Pickle.