Kheer Komla (Milk Pudding with Orange)

Happy Friday and a very happy Children's day !!

After procrastinating for days I am finally here....

A lot has happened in the last few months... the toddler has started school, I joined work and...... aah.. yup. and thats about it. Actually, though a lot hasn't really happened, life suddenly seems to have picked up pace and toddler and I are gradually settling down to our new routine. Naturally the time spent on doing things that are not of mutual interest has minimized... but I guess that is alright. after all they stay little for only so long and I should know better than to spend this time doing things that can wait.....  

...thus dinner these days is usually quick and simple.. wrapped up almost always with a helping of yogurt for dessert. Weekends are however different. We are all relaxed and while the boys hang out doing boy-stuff... I take my time and prepare something special for them. 

Last weekend I cooked Kheer Komla, one of my favorite desserts from childhood...

Literally, Kheer Komla means milk pudding with orange. In winter when the local markets flood with oranges almost every Bengali I know picks up a bunch and prepares bowls of Kheer Komla. Of course those who have the luxury of time, patiently watch over a kadai of whole milk while it simmers and reduces to kheer, then sweeten the reduced milk, flavor it with elaichi(green cardamom) and sometimes saffron, chill the kheer, then dot it with segments of oranges... While others like me take the short route and prepare the kheer with a mix of whole milk and condensed milk and then flavor it and adorn it the usual way. 

However if you are like me and find condensed milk a little too sweet for your taste, you might want to consider the way I prepare kheer these days. The recipe is a medley of  Cajeta and traditional Kheer. It is relatively quick, gives you a handle on how sweet you want your dessert to be and works like a charm every time....  

Kheer Komla (Milk Pudding with Orange)

Oranges in milk pudding flavored with green cardamom and saffron

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Recipe by Tanusree

Cook time: 45 minutes                                                               Total time: 45 minutes + chilling time
Yield: 2-3 servings

Ingredients

• 2 + ½ cup milk
• 3 tbsps sugar
• ¼tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1 green cardamom
• 5-6 strands of saffron
• 1 orange

Cooking Directions

1. In a large saucepan or kadai, combine 2 cups of milk with the sugar and salt and bring to a boil over medium heat.
2. Dissolve the baking soda in 2 tablespoons of the milk mixture and stirring vigorously pour it into the saucepan of milk mixture. (The milk swells at this point so keep a close watch and stir continuously. )
3. Reduce the heat to medium-low,split open the green cardamom, add it to the milk and stirring occasionally simmer the milk for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile stir the saffron into the remaining milk and keep it aside.
5. Once the milk in the saucepan thickens and becomes a light shade of orange , add the remaining milk to it and stir occasionally simmer over medium-low heat for another 15-20 minutes until the flavored milk  thickens enough to coat the back of your spoon.
6. Now switching off the heat, pour the flavored milk into 2 or 3 serving bowls and chill for 1 hour.
7. Add the orange segments to the bowl and chill the dessert for another hour or until you are ready to serve.

Serve and enjoy !!

Until next time,
Tanusree

I shall be sharing this dessert at the following parties..

Sunday
Sweet & Savory Sunday Link Party @ Baking in Pyjamas

Monday 
 Mix it up Monday, 
Made with love Monday, 
Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks, 
Recipe Sharing @ Jam Hands
Melt in your Mouth Monday, 
Inspiration Monday Party 
Recipe Sharing Monday,
Inspire Me Monday, 
Clever Chicks Blog Hop,
Maniac Monday Linky Party

Meatless Monday :  Meatless Monday My Sweet and Savory

Tuesday 
Totally Tasty Tuesday @ Mandy's Recipe Box,
 Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home ,  
Hand Made Tuesday @ Ladybug Blessings
Share it Link Party @ Winthrop Chronicles,  
Tasty Tuesday @ Anyonita Nibbles,  
Hearth and Soul blog Hop @ Zesty South Indian Kitchen,
In & Out of the Kitchen @ Feeding Big & More, 
Tuesday's Table @ Love in the Kitchen, 
Tickle My Tastebuds@Mini Van Dreams
The Southern Special @Spatulas on Parade
 Time to Sparkle Tuesday, 
Create Link Inspire, Tuesday Talent Show, 
Two Cup Tuesday, The Scoop, Simple Supper Tuesday, 
Brag About it Tuesday, Social Media 2-for-Tuesday, Take a Look Tuesday, 
Treasure Box Tuesday, Take a Bow. 

Wednesday 
What's Cooking Wednesday @ Buns in my Oven, 
Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain, 
Show and Share @ Semi Homemade Mom, 
Wine'd Down Wednesday, 
Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ All She Cooks
Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ Mom's Test Kitchen 
Wednesday, Whatsit@White Lights on Wednesday,
Wednesday Extravaganza @ Hunger Little Girl, 
Create & Share @ The Trendy Tree House,
What I Whipped Up Wednesday @ Sugar & Dots Look, 
Hump Day Happenings @A Savory Feast

Thursday
Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive,
Fantastic Thursday @ Three Little Chiefs, 
Thriving on Thursdays @ Domesblissity,  
Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage , 
 Freedom Friday @ My Turn,  
Thursday's Treasures @ Food Done Light,
Pin it Thursday @ Sweet Bella Roos

Friday 
Foodie Friday @ Simple Living and Eating,  
Friday Linky Party @ The Pin Junkie, 
Get Him Feed @ Anyonita Nibbles
 Friday Favorite (DYI too) @ Simple Sweet Home,  
Foodie Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes,
 Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm, 
Weekend Wonders @ The Thriftiness Miss, 
Friday Food Frenzy @ Mostly Food and Crafts, 
Weekend Potluck @ Sunflower Supper Club, 
The Weekend re-Treat @The Best Blog Recipes

Saturday
Saturday Show Stopper @Will Cook for smilles
  Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Fresh Foods Wednesdays, Allergy-Free Wednesdays, 
Let’s Get Real, Gluten-Free Fridays,Fight Back Fridays

Pineapple, Orange & Celery Juice

My toddler is a healthy eater by choice. Given the option between a slice of pizza and lentil-rice, he invariably chooses the latter. He loves fish, likes boiled eggs, adores yogurt but the one thing that he refuses to eat, rather drink are juices. Store-bought apple juices he can do, but something about freshly made juices repulses him. He simply does not like them...

Chicken Paella with Orange

With only four more weeks to go before spring sets in, I am already feeling chirpy. As an early celebration, son and I went out for a walk this morning and returned back after an hour feeling fresh and cheery. It was so good to be out in the sun for so long.. Later, when the toddler went for his nap I cooked up this delicious citrusy chicken paella for dinner...

I adapted the recipe from the book Perfect Over Spanish a Collection of Over 100 Essential Recipe. I had cooked this paella before and had intended to write about it but then forgot until my sister asked me for a paella recipe the other day.... 

It is a gorgeous easy-to-cook one-pot-meal that can be made on a weeknight, provided you have planned it before and have an hour to spare. Else cook it up for a delicious weekend dinner and enjoy with your family and loved ones.....

Orange-Almond Tuiles # French Fridays with Dorie

I have to say, Orange-Almond Tuiles are one of the most elegant tea-time cookies I have ever tasted..

I got introduced to Tuiles recently and was pretty excited about baking them for French Fridays with Dorie. Though a little delicate and somewhat finicky, tuiles are always a delight to serve with tea. In the past I have tried Dorie's Translucent Maple Syrup tuiles and until Friday we thought that those are the best cookies we've ever had. But these tuiles are even better. They were simply delicious. Even the little one couldn't stop at one.

Hokkaido Milk Toast with Tangzhong, Orange Marmalade & Dorie's Nutella Tartine

My day started on a rather delicious note today... For breakfast we had Dorie's divine Nutella Tartine. While the actual recipe calls for slices of brioche or challah as the base, I happily substituted it with slices from my Hokkaido Milk Toast and then felt all good about myself for finally baking this super soft yummy loaf yesterday.....

and just so that you know the marmalade was also homemade and it was delicious !

Back in March, many bloggers around the world were baking the Hokkaido Milk Bread using Tangzhong and each of them were full of admiration for this loaf. Being still a novice at bread-baking at that time, I bookmarked the recipe intending to go back to it later. finally I tried it out yesterday and was beyond excited with the cotton-soft-pillow-y texture of the loaf.both husband and I agreed that this is by far the B-E-S-T loaf I have baked so far ... Because the exterior of the freshly baked loaf almost compared to the store-bought Brioche loaves in texture, I decided to make the Nutella tartine for breakfast. Though the slices weren't as soft as brioche, the toasted bread with a slather of butter, orange marmalade, a drizzle of warm Nutella and the crunchiness of sliced almonds, presented  us with a delightful treat for breakfast today....

Apparently, the Hokkaido Milk Toast also known as the Asian Sweet Bread and Hong Kong Pai is a very popular bread in South Asian bakeries around the world. This loaf owes its springy-fluffiness to the "Tangzhong method." As I learnt from Christine's Recipes, this method of making bread was introduced by Yvonne Chen in her book, whose title translates to "65°C Bread Doctor". In the book, she described tangzhong as the “secret ingredient” which originated in Japan to make soft and bouncy bread. Tangzhong is actually a kind of "flour paste" or water roux starter, prepared by cooking 1 part of bread flour with 5 parts of water to 65°C. At 65°C, the gluten in the flour and water mixture absorbs the moisture and becomes leavened. As a result when tangzhong is added to the other ingredients the bread dough is heightened and that produces a softer and fluffier loaf.

Though I had been scaring away from this bread for a while, it turned out to be a simple recipe to work through.. I minimally adapted the recipe from My Diverse Kitchen and baked an eggless loaf. the only changes I made were the ones which Aparna had suggested. i.e. I halved the recipe for the tangzhong using the measurements from Pastry Scoop.com (which yielded the exact quantity of roux that the recipe called for) and added an extra helping of milk and cream to ease the dough of its initial firmness and make it softer. Also since the rising time for the dough (as mentioned in the recipe I was following) was the same as the rising time in the dough cycle of my bread machine, i made the dough in the bread machine and then proceeded with the steps following the first rise. to finish I used a maple syrup glaze. I had read here that the maple syrup glaze is a good substitute for egg wash and was quite happy with the way my baked loaf turned out.

now the recipe.... 

Hokkaido Milk Toast   (Original Recipe appeared in Yvonne Chen's Chinese book "65 Degrees Tangzhong “65C Bread Doctor” and adapted from My Diverse Kitchen)

ingredients for the Tangzhong (makes 1/3 cup flour-water roux) 3 tbsps all-purpose flour 1/4 cup water 1/4 cup milk for the Dough 1/2 cup (+ 1tbsp)* milk  2 (+1)* tbsp heavy cream 1/3 cup tangzhong 2 tbsp unsalted butter (cut into small pieces, softened at room temperature) 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 tbsp powdered milk 3 tbsp sugar 1 tsp salt 2 tsp bread machine yeast for the glaze maple syrup   * I added the quantities in the bracket a little later (about 10 minutes after the dough cycle started) because the dough felt firm and needed to be softened.    what i did for the tangzhong  i whisked together the flour, milk and water in a saucepan until there were no lumps. then placing the saucepan over medium heat, stirring continuously  i cooked the roux until it began to thicken.  it is suggested to cook the roux till if reaches 65 degrees C and then take is off the heat. but since i do not have a thermometer i cooked till stable lines began to form in the tangzhong. (you may want to refer to the initial 3 minutes of this video to see the desired  consistency of the roux).   once my roux was made, i took it off the heat and let it rest for the next 3 hours. ** for the dough as i mentioned, i made the dough in the bread machine. so i put in all the ingredients(minus the quantities in the bracket) in the order recommended by the manufacturer, (mine recommends liquids first, then the solids and yeast goes in last)  and programmed the machine for the dough cycle. half way through the first knead i felt the dough with my fingers. at this point the dough felt a little firm. so i added the extra helping of milk and cream that i mentioned and let the dough cycle finish. when the machine beeped at the end of the cycle, I turned out the dough on a baking tray, (at this point the dough was easy to handle so i did not have to flour the baking), then divided the dough into 3 parts and started shaping each part as follows.★   first using a rolling pin i rolled the first portion into a 1/8 inch thick oval. then i folded 1/3 from the top edge to the middle and folded 1/3 from the bottom to the middle and pressed over the first fold. flipping the dough over i rolled it and stretched it 11 inch long. then flipping again, with seamm side facing up, i rolled it into a cylinder and put it in a well oiled 9x5 inch bread tin. i then repeated the process with the remaining two portions of the dough. once the dough was shaped, i covered the bread tin with a clean towel and let the dough rise for the next 45 minutes. 15 minutes before i was ready to bake, i positioned the rack to the top third and preheated the oven to 330 degrees F. after the second rise was done, i glazed the surface with maple syrup and transferred the bread pan to the preheated oven and baked the bread for 30 minutes, until the surface turned golden brown.      ** if you are not baking your bread the same day, you can transfer the roux to a bowl, cover it using a plastic wrap and refrigerate it for a day.           i believe it is best to use the roux within a day since the recipe suggests discarding it away after that.   ★   while i have written down how i shaped the dough, you might find this  pictorial description more helpful. i used it as a reference.

This recipe yeilds one 9x5 inch loaf and the total time for preparation is 4 1/2 hours of which the active cooking/preparation time is only 15 minutes. i.e., 5 minutes for preparing the tangzhong, 2 hours resting time for the tangzhong,  30-35 minutes of kneading in the bread machine followed by 50 minutes of rising time, then another 10 minutes for the shaping the dough, 45-50 minutes of rising time before baking the loaf and 30 minutes of baking time. So you see this is a rather easy loaf to bake and yields a bread that you'll love to have for breakfast, tea or dinner...

and if you care, heres the recipe of the orange marmalade... its simple, easy and your kids will LOVE it. at least mine does :-) 

Orange Marmalade Adapted from Ina Garten's Recipe

ingredients 6 small oranges 1 lemon peeled 2 1/2 cup sugar 4 cups water (+ more in case your marmalade becomes too thick)   what i did i peeled the oranges and lemons and cut the peeled fruits into 1/2 inch pieces. i also cut half of the orange peel into thin long strips 1/2-3/4 inches long. i then put the cut oranges, lemon and orange peel in a saucepan, added the water to it and stirring often, brought it to a boil. once the water began to boil, i switched off the heat, stirred in the sugar, covered the saucepan and left it that way overnight. next morning i simmered the mixture over medium-low heat for about 30. once the mixture acquired the desired consistency i switched off the heat and poured the before marmalade into a sterilized jar.

the recipe says that without any added preservatives, the marmalade stays good at room temperature for upto an year . isn't that great ?? while the recipe above yields only 12 ounces of marmalade, i feel the long shelf life is a reason good enough to make it in larger batches.. don't you agree ?

That is it for today. Hope you all are doing great. Lately I have been trying out some crafting projects. so far they look pretty good. hopefully i'll be able to share them with you by the end of the week.

Since this loaf is glazed with maple syrup, I am sharing it with Bread Baking Day #60. BBD is celebrating its 6th Anniversary this month and Zorra the creator and this month's host for thr event chose Glazed Bread as the theme for BBD #60.


Yeastspotting the Hokkaido Milk Bread.   

Also sharing it at Made with Love Mondays , Tuesday Food:  Tempt my Tummy @Blessed with Grace, Totally Tasty Tuesday @ Mandy's Recipe Box, Tasteful Tuesday Party @ Nap Time Creations,  Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home,  Hand Made Tuesday @ Ladybug Blessings, Share it Link Party @ Winthrop Chronicles, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop 

Wednesday Food : What's Cooking Wednesday @ Confessions of Overworked Mom, Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain ,  Wednesday Whatsit @White Lights on , Show and Share @ Semi Homemade Mom, Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ Home Take 2, Seasonal Celebration @ Natural Mother's Network
Thursday Food:Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive, Creative Thursday @ Michelle's Tasty Creations, Fantastic Thursday @ Three Little Chiefs, Thriving on Thursdays @ Domesblissity, Freedom Friday @ My Turn, Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage  
Friday Food: Foodie Friday @ Home Maid Simple, Friday Favorite (DYI too) @ Simple Sweet Home, Foodie Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes,  Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm , Weekend Wonders @ The Thriftiness Miss, Friday Food Frenzy @ Mostly Food and Crafts , Weekend Potluck @ Sunflower Supper Club,  The Weekend re-Treat @The Best Blog  Recipes

Orange Yogurt Cake with Syrup (Yaourtopitta me Syropi)

Yesterday I baked Orange Yogurt Cake and then poured tons of honey syrup over it. The recipe was Greek and i found it in Aphrodite Polemis's cookbook From a Traditional Greek Kitchen. 

besides wanting to bake something new and different, the thing that drove me to try this particular recipe was farina, one of the 'star' ingredients in the cake. i had never used farina before. in fact i had no idea as to what it was until yesterday. so you may say it was curiosity that made me try this cake. in case you too are ignorant about it, farina is a cereal food similar in texture to suji or semolina. once i saw how its texture was i thought, may be this cake was going to taste a bit like halwa. so i wasn't very surprised when the final product resembled a 'mithai' more than a cake. i mean cake in the sense of "birthday cake." however it is a nice sweet which i'll like plating out for Holi or Diwali or for Bijaya Dashomi, with an additional garnish of raisins and/or silvered almonds. though the recipe itself is pretty straight forward, soaking the cake in the syrup might take a while(at least it took my cake quite some time to absorb the syrup). so if you plan to bake it for any occasion, you'll probably want to get it done a day before.