Cream cheese pudding

Ok. So the recipe isn't actually for pudding. It's a step-by-step photo guide to making flans. But, in Bangladesh, the words "flan" is never used, although..there isn't a single home where it isn't made, cherished and devoured. Out of respect for the fond memories, I'll keep using the word pudding instead of flan throughout this post. Bear with me. :p

Pudding in Bangladesh is usually made with sugar, milk and eggs. Here, I've added cream cheese to the egg, milk mixture which takes it closer to a cheesecake, but without the added calories. This is a simple twist on a classic take and really, really easy to make. 

Recipe

Prep time: 15 minutes

Bake time: 1 hour and 20 minutes

3/4 cups sugar

1 can evaporated milk

1 can sweetened condensed milk

8 ounces cream cheese (low fat is fine)

5 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

First, pre-heat the oven to 350 F. Now put sugar in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium low heat. It won't be long before the sugar starts boiling.

 

  

Be patient, it'll seem like forever (more like 5-8 minutes..) but the sugar will caramelize to a nice golden color. This is the only tricky step to making a caramel pudding. Once the sugar turns golden remove the pot from the   stove as the residual heat will continue to cook the sugar some more and you don't want burnt sugar. That's just wrong. 

Working quickly but carefully pour the golden caramel into a 9 inch cake pan. The sugar is very very very hot at this stage and will burn if it comes into contact with skin.

After pouring the caramel, soak the pot in warm water. This makes for an easier clean up afterwards.

Now onto the next stage...Gather all the ingredients. Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature, that way it'll mix easily with the other ingredients.

And blend...

Pour into the cake pan with caramel already in it.

Bake in a water bath. This just means that you put the cake pan in a bigger dish and pour boiling water that'll come upto about 1/3rd to 1/2 of the pan. Don't go over board with the water as you don't want any to get into your pudding mixture.

Insert a clean knife into the pudding after 1 hour and 15 minutes. If the knife comes out clean your caramel pudding is ready. If the pudding still seems liquidy give it 10 more minutes and check again. You do not, I repeat, do not want to overcook the pudding. There's nothing worse than a hard, rubbery pudding. Take it from someone who knows. When you take out the pudding it should wiggle a little when you shake it.

I tested to see if it was done a couple of times. Hence the marks on the surface. But the pudding will be flipped and will look pristine and no one will be able to tell.

Once the pudding cools down run a knife along the edges. Then place a flat plate on top of the baking dish and flip it over in one single motion. The pudding should fall right out. This takes a little practice. But, hey, even if it breaks it'll still taste great.

Chill for at least 4 hours to over night. Slice off a piece and enjoy.

 Didn't I tell you it was gonna be easy. :)

Thai Flavored Whole Fish

I absolutely LOVE cooking whole fish. Although I mostly make fish curries, sometimes it feels good to have something a little different. The fish here is deep fried and then cooked using Thai ingredients that provides for an amazingly light yet flavorful sauce.     


I've used croaker for this recipe but feel free to use any white fish of your choice like tilapia or snapper. 


Recipe


Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min


Juice of 1 lime

Rice flour (Use corn starch or regular flour if you don't have rice flour on hand)
salt
1 cup oil for deep frying


Sauce:
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Sriracha (thai chili sauce)
1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce (dark soy sauce is a sweeter, thicker version of regular soy sauce) (optional)
2 green chillies (don't slit the chillies if like your food less spicy )
1/4 cup water 
1/2 cup basil leaves 


Clean the fish really well and pat dry with a paper towel. Put 2-3 deep gashes into each of the sides of the fish at an angle. Make sure the gashes are at least an inch apart from each other or the fish will break when frying. Now rub the juice of one lime and salt (according to taste) on the fish and leave it to marinate for 10 minutes. Don't forget to rub some juice on the insides as well. 

 After marinating, sprinkle enough rice flour to gently coat the fish, shake off excess flour and deep fry till the fish is cooked completely. A perfectly fried fish will have crispy skin and the slashes will open up.

One great tip about frying fish- never flip the fish too early otherwise it will stick to the pan and break. Give each side 3-5 minutes before flipping over gently. 

Dry the fish on paper towel after you've fried it and heat up 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan large enough to hold the fish. Put all the other ingredients except for the basil and cook for 2/3 minutes. Add a small amount of water (about 1/4 cup) if the sauce starts to stick to the pot. Stir constantly while the sauce is cooking and taste test to see if it needs more salt. Now, add the fish and cook uncovered for 5 minutes on each side. 

The fish will soak up all the lovely flavors of the sauce within a few minutes and a few minutes before taking it off the heat add Thai basil. Regular basil works fine too but the subtle aroma of Thai basil enhances the flavor so much more that it's worth getting some. 

This fish is best served warm with enough rice to mop up all that delicious sauce.

As always.. ENJOY!! :)

Beef Patties

I've started dental school last week. :)
Things aren't crazy busy yet but it's getting there.God knows when I might be able to post again. Before I take a short break I wanted to post a recipe one of my dear friends (you know who you are!!) has been asking for. This is one of those dishes very close to my heart. "Google" it you'll find Jamaican beef patties everywhere but not the Bengali kind. The kind of beef patties I grew up with were made with a spicy mince meat filling inside a puff pastry crust. The meat is cooked first with different spices, made into triangular shaped patties, and then baked for 20 minutes. Once made, the unbaked ones can be stored in the freezer for 3-4 weeks but in my house they rarely last that long. Without further ado, here's the recipe.

Beef Patties 

Makes 25-27

Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min

Bake time: 20 min

Minced Meat(Keema in Bengali)- 1 lb
Oil- 2 tablespoons
Medium sized onion- 1
Green chili- 4
Ground pepper- 1/2 teaspoon
Soy sauce- 2 tablespoons
oyster sauce- 2 tablespoons
Ginger paste- 2 tablespoons
Garlic paste- 3 tablespoons
Cumin powder- 1/2 teaspoon
Salt- 1/4 teaspoon
Corn flour- 1 tablespoon
Store bought puff pastry sheets

To make the filling slice a medium onion into thin half moon shaped slices.

 Fry in oil till they are translucent and barely start to get color.

Then add the minced meat and all the other ingredients except for the corn starch and cook on medium heat for 15-20 minutes, till the meat is cooked completely.

Add the corn starch 3-5 minutes before taking the pot off the heat and make sure to cool the filling first before making patties. Adding the corn starch will ensure that the filling sticks together as opposed to crumbling apart.

Now that the filling's ready, it's time to take out the pastry.

I use Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheets when I'm making this. Each box has two sheets and from each sheet you get 18 patties. So for a pound of meat, I use one and a half boxes which makes 27 patties.

First thaw the sheets according to package directions and open up the folds. I usually do one sheet at a time. Lay it flat on a surface and cut into 9 pieces following the folds.

Place about 1 tablespoon of the cooked minced meat mixture on each square.

Seal the edges really well forming little triangles.

Here's another random shot of a few more right before they head to the oven.

Bake at 425 degrees F for 20-25 minutes till they get a vibrant golden color. Pick your favorite condiment and enjoy!! :)