A Memoir to my Grandma
Like everyone else my childhood was full of memories…for me, mostly surrounded by grandparents. We lived as a traditional joint family with a house that was full of people including my grandparents, parents and us three sisters. Whilst growing up I still remember my grandparents being my best friends especially my dadima (grandmother). My late dadima has and always will be an inspiration to me. Dadima took the time and effort to teach me her culinary expertise. She not only gave me tips but also shared the tricks to her personal collection of dessert recipes passed down from generation to generation within the family. Dadima was one of the best cooks i have ever known.
The one lesson dadima always repeatedly taught me was that you can use any ingredients and combine them to make a wonderful wholesome savoury or dessert dish. She always grew a lot of the ingredients herself in her mini garden or sourced it from the local farmers and then used for meals “ Food is all about simplicity and experimentation, kitchen is your laboratory for food innovations”. One of my all time favourite dessert that dadima has taught me is called “Kalamro”. Kalamro is a tangy rice pudding garnished with pomegranates. I will share with you my personal twist on dadima’s creation which I also dedicate to her memory
Tangy Berry Rice Pudding
easy to make and certain to make your tummy smile from the inside :)
Serves: 6 portions | Calories*: 236 kcal
Ingredients:
1/4 cup short grain rice soaked overnight
2 cups 3% milk (Full Fat milk)
1/2 tsp cardamom
1 tsp rose water
1/4 cup Dulce de leche
1/3 cup greek yogurt
6 strawberries
Preparing the Dulce de leche
Take an unopened can of condensed milk that can be cooked/boiled either in a slow cooker overnight or in a pot filled with water for about 2 hours kept on low heat.
Wait for 1 hour before opening the can, as it will be boiling hot inside and you don't want to burn yourself (I did that once and ouch it was painful).
Ta-daaaa...you’ll have it ready and it can be stored in the fridge for 1 month in an airtight container. It’s one of my dessert pantry staples as I can quickly drizzle it over my ice cream, yogurt, smoothie bowls, pancakes, cakes and many other desserts.
Instructions (Tangy Berry Rice Pudding):
Combine short grain rice, milk, cardamom and rose water and mix well in a medium sized cooking pot.
Cook the combined mixture stirring occasionally for 25 - 30 minutes until you see the rice is completely cooked and soaked up most of the liquids. Once this step is done, the mixture should look as shown in the picture below.
Let the mixture cool for approximately 20 minutes.
Meanwhile chop the strawberries into small pieces and keep it on the side as they will be used as a topping for the pudding.
Now, in a bowl, using a hand blender, partially mash the rice mixture.
Then, add the greek yogurt and dulce de leche. Fold it in carefully as you do not want the yogurt to get all runny/release water. The fluidity of the resulting mixture should look like that shown in the picture below.
Scoop the mixture into small cups or bowls and add the chopped berries to the top. (You can also layer it for an extra berrylicious bite).
Tips on Variations:
You can substitute the milk in the ingredient list with coconut milk and garnish with passion fruit and desiccated coconut for a tropical feel.
I love mangoes! So, during festive seasons, I usually add mango puree with the greek yogurt once the rice mixture is cooked to give a "lassi" kind of a feel and garnish with diced mango.
*Please note that the nutritional information on this site is only an approximate.
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