Spanish Tortilla

Classic Spanish tortilla, better known as a potato omelet, has the double benefits of eggs and breakfast potatoes in one dish. I like it with a tomato cucumber salad and with a dash of ketchup. You can also serve these at room temperature.


4 medium red potatoes- thinly sliced

6 eggs

Salt, black pepper, paprika

Olive oil

1. Take some olive oil in an ovenproof pan. Add a layer of potatoes. When tender, turn. You do not want them golden brown. Do not overcrowd the pan. I do this in batches. Keep the potatoes aside and reduce the flame to low. You may season the slices when cooking.

2. Mix the eggs and the spices.

3. Layer the potatoes over the pan. Add the eggs. Keep on the flame for 2 minutes.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for around 20 minutes or when the eggs look done.

Chicken Potpie

Saturday dinner was a promising menu.


- Chicken Potpie

- Celeriac Mash

- Strawberry Panacotta

How did it turn out? The panacotta was rubbery, like milk Jell-O. Celeriac root mash is no substitute for mashed potatoes. The chicken pot pie, although had a delicious filling, could improve with a higher filling to pie ratio.

Panacotta! After reading numerous claims that it was the easiest dessert to make- boil milk and cream, add unflavored gelatin and that you would have a fool proof Italian dessert – I wanted to try my hand at it. I had some fresh strawberries, which I bought from the farmer’s market in the morning, thinking that this might be a great vehicle to highlight the berries. In my quest, I trudged to the supermarket looking for unflavored gelatin where I searched high and low until I saw little sachets of Knox unflavored gelatin winking at me from the corner of the Jell-O rack. After I got back at home, I boiled 2 cups of milk and cream, added ¼ cup of sugar, heated it all, and finally added the vanilla essence. It was supposed to be simple- add the gelatin, pour in little ramekins, refrigerate for a few hours, and then unmold perfect lovely mounds of creaminess accentuated by macerated strawberries. It all seemed great; I could unmold the panacotta very easily, almost pulling it out with my fingers that seemed eerily easy to me. When I dug my fork eagerly in anticipation, I was so disappointed. The texture of the panacotta was rubbery, almost like a milk Jell-O and even the fresh beautiful strawberries could not rescue the mess. It was time to Google and check proportions. Hah! I had used 2 and half sachets of gelatin for 2 cups of milk and cream; that is actually accurate for 4 cups. I should have used half the amount of gelatin!

Next, celeriac mash. I saw celeriac mash at the farmer’s market. I boiled celeriac mash and potatoes, pepped it with buttermilk and butter. It just did not taste good! I guess, I did not care for the flavor. Nevertheless, I am staying true to my promise to work with seasonal vegetables- if I do not like some; it is not because I did not try.

Chicken pot pie actually turned out well. I recued it from blandness by roasting the chicken and the vegetables, adding mustard, garlic and paprika to the sauce, and using thicken thighs. I do not use chicken stock, which you could instead of water. I just find the flavor of stock too overpowering.

So here goes the recipe.

5-6 chicken thigh pieces boneless
1 cup of mixed vegetables (corn, beans, carrots) – You may increase the proportion
4 tbsp. flour
1 ½ tspn mustard
2 tspn paprika
1 medium white or yellow onion – finely chopped
1 cup milk
1 cup cream
2 cups water
Salt and black pepper
3-4 cloves of garlic finely minced
2 pie crusts ( store bought dough)

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Season the chicken with kosher salt. Roast chicken and vegetables for around 20 minutes.

2. Tear the chicken to bite size pieces when cool. Mix with vegetables and keep aside.

3. Sauté the onions until translucent. Add garlic.

4. Add flour and sauté for a few minutes.

5. Add paprika and sauté to get a more intense flavor.

6. Add milk bit by bit. Add mustard. Keep sautéing.

7. Add the cream. Add water bit by bit. You can add more liquid if you want to.

8. Add some salt and black pepper. Taste seasoning but wait for final seasoning until you add vegetables and chicken.

9. Keep simmering on low heat until mixture is thick and bubbly. Add chicken and vegetables. Taste for seasoning and adjust.

10. Take a 9” pie dish. Spread a layer of the pie dough on the pan. Add the filling while trying to heap it in the center. Cover with second layer of the dough and crimp the edges. Make some vents on the top for air to escape.

11. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until crust is golden. Cover the sides with aluminum foil after 20 minutes of baking so it does not overcook.

12. Let the pie rest for at least 15-20 minutes before serving.

Chicken Chettinad

Chicken


Chicken – 6 drumsticks or 4 breasts sliced. Use breasts if you wish to serve with rice and cut into pieces.

The Paste

Dry roast -
2 tbsp. poppy seeds
¼ cup Grated coconut (I used frozen coconut)
1 tsp. each of coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and black pepper
½ “ piece of Cinnamon
1 clove

Now add ½ lime size of tamarind pulp. I microwave the tamarind pulp with some water for 40 seconds.

Add 2 cloves and 1” piece of ginger and blend to a paste.


Chop the following

1 large onion
1 medium tomato
1 bunch of cilantro

Steps

1. Take 2 tbsp. oil in a pan. Sauté the chicken until light golden.
2. Add the onion and fry until dark brown.
3. Add tomatoes. Fry till pulpy.
4. Add the paste. Sauté until brown.
5. Add the chicken. Coat all pieces.
6. Add water and salt.
7. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
8. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Spring Pasta- Broccolini, Green Onions, Peas, Fennel

1 pound of small farfalle

2 cloves garlic
1 cup of green peas
1 small pack of broccolini
1 fennel bulb
1 bunch of spring onions
Juice of ½ lemon
Asiago Cheese
Salt, black pepper, pepper flakes

• Chop the fennel and the green onion. Mince garlic.

• Boil the pasta al dente in salted water. The water should be salted until it tastes like the sea. Cook the pasta for less than a minute as indicated in the pack. Put aside some of the pasta water.

• I boil the peas with pasta.

• For 1 minute of boiling time is left, add the broccolini to the water. Pull the broccolini out with tongs, shock with cold water and chop it.

• Take some olive oil in a pan. Add the spring, onion, fennel, and garlic- sauté until fennel is soft.

• Add the pasta. Season the pasta with black pepper and pepper flakes. Check for salt. Add broccolini.

• Adjust with pasta water. Cook for 3 minutes.

• Add lemon juice. You can add more if you like. Grate Asiago cheese on top and serve immediately.

Jicama Orange Salad

Mix

1 Jicama cut into matchsticks

1 orange cut into segments

1 Grapefruit cut into segments

Cilantro leaves

Black pepper

Chicken Calvados

I had this bottle of calvados sitting on my kitchen counter forever. I use it in my apple bread pudding, which I have made multiple times. http://indianfoodathome.blogspot.com/2011/01/apple-bread-pudding.html


What else could I do with calvados? My dad had a few shots of it, when he was around. Apart from that, there did not seem to be much else. I turned to Dr. Google and discovered Chicken Calvados. A French dish from Normandy, characterized by cooked apples, further reinforced by the apple brandy, and cream. You may use mushrooms. I used bacon, which is not part of the recipe to make it more familiar for the person this was meant to please.

I made the dish on a Saturday, slicing, chopping, sautéing as I sip on my wine. I sautéed the chicken breasts, crisped the bacon and kept it aside. I made the sauce and put the whole dish together just 30 minutes before dinner. I tasted the sauce – it was good. He tasted the sauce – he loved it. It looked decadent: the chicken in the pan, covered by a golden brown creamy sauce and it smelt like bacon, brandy, butter, and creamy.

Just before dinner, I tuned on the burner to warm the dish, and then I went to gather the laundry. I was back in 3 minutes. By then, a catastrophe was awaiting me. The white cream had disappeared; it just evaporated away. The apples were burnt to a cinder. The chicken still looked edible if overly grilled. However, these were chicken breasts, which I am sure would have meant very tough overcooked meat. I was mortified. That was work, ingredients, planning all brought to a naught by minutes of distraction. Lesson learned – stand, watch, do not let chicken calvados out of your sight.



2 chicken beasts - season with salt and pepper
1 granny smith apple peeled, cored and cubed
1 cup of cream
1 clove of garlic- minced
1 strip of bacon (optional)
½  onion
Salt
Black Pepper
¼ cup calvados
1 tbsp. butter

1. Take some oil on a heavy pan and brown the seasoned chicken breasts. I like a darker color because the drippings in the pan will flavor the sauce. Remove the chicken. I like to make gashes in the chicken for the sauce to stick.
2. At this stage crisp the bacon, if you are using any, and set aside.
3. Add the onions, saute till brown and  add the apple. Add the garlic.
4. Sauté until apples are slightly golden.
5. Add the calvados. I cook this down till thick and this should take around 4 minutes.
6. Add cream and seasoning. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
7. Add chicken. Cover and simmer gently for a few minutes.
8. Garnish with parsley and add bacon.

Spicy Roasted Potatoes

I read this article today and it reminded me of the myriad ways in which I can spoil roasted potatoes.


http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/how-to-ruin-roasted-potatoes-and-other-spuds

The text from the article, which is germane here –

1. Roasting raw potatoes. “Simply tossing raw potatoes into the pan before roasting will guarantee tough results because the high water content will steam out over the course of a long cooking time. “You feel more like you’re eating the skin, because the structure just collapses inside,” says Hanson. “It also gets too hard. There’s crispy, and then there’s tooth-shattering.” To achieve that perfectly crispy exterior and creamy interior, parboil potatoes until 3/4 cooked, when a knife tip can pierce the potato, but it will not slip off when picked up. Drain before roasting for about 20 to 30 minutes at 425 degrees.”

I was guilty of throwing a perfect batch of small red potatoes right in the oven at 400 degrees. They were cooked in 30 minutes but they were dry as hell. Parboil! Parboil! Parboil!

2. Starting with a cold pan. Putting potatoes in a cold roasting pan increases the likelihood that they’ll stick. Hanson and Nasr suggest heating a pan in the oven then adding oil. Let that heat to just before smoking before dropping in the potatoes.

I roast potatoes on a tin foil on the baking sheet. Preheat!

3. Crowding the pan. Leaving space between the potatoes helps them cook evenly, so it is best to keep them in a single layer.

4. Micromanaging. It’s important to let potatoes brown completely on one side before turning them over. “As with most food,” explains Hanson, “potatoes are just not as good if they’ve been handled over and over.”

5. Adding tons of oil. Only use enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan; otherwise, they’ll have a fried quality. “I prefer using duck fat, but I understand that can be hard to obtain for most folks, so olive oil or clarified butter works well too,” says Hanson. For an extra layer of flavor, the duo likes to add a few sprigs of rosemary or sage to the oil.

I oil the potatoes beforehand with some spice.

6. Using the wrong variety. Don’t try to roast a waxy potato like red bliss. It’s better to stick to Yukon golds. Otherwise, the chefs like German butterballs or even fingerlings.



20 small red potatoes ( Which you must parboil and cut in half)

1 tsp. coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala, dried mango powder each

Salt, pepper, cayenne pepper to taste

2 tbsp. olive oil



Mix all ingredients and heat in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes. Garnish with coriander powder. I also added a dash of hot and sweet maggi sauce.

Methi Chicken

I wish I had some fresh or frozen fenugreek when I set out to make this. I even wish I had a whole chicken, but I just had drumsticks. Therefore, I set out to make methi chicken with two fundamental handicaps: a lack of fenugreek and a lack of chicken. The sauce was a sweet spicy onion sauce, which was a departure from the regular tomato heavy sauces used in Indian cooking. I would use smaller chicken parts less time, as this gravy does not work well with roti or rice.

1 large yellow onion

6 drumsticks (you can one small chicken too)

½ cup yoghurt

1 tomato

1 “piece ginger

5 pieces of garlic

½ Tspn fenugreek seeds

1 tsp. each of coriander powder and cumin powder

½ tsp. turmeric

3 bay leaves

1 tbsp. kasoori methi

2 tsp. tandoori masala

1. Heat some oil in a pan. Make gashes in the chicken. Brown the chicken while sprinkling 1 tsp. tandoori masala and salt on it. Keep aside.

2. Add the bay leaves and fenugreek seeds. Wait until you heat a splutter.

3. Add the onion and fry until golden brown.

4. Meanwhile, blend the tomato, ginger, chilies, and garlic.

5. Add to the onion mixture. Add the spices (coriander, cumin, turmeric, and balance tandoor masala) and yoghurt.

6. Sauté for 5 minutes. Now blend the sauce until it is thick but not a puree. Add salt.

7. Add the chicken. Cover and cook for 15 minutes while adjusting for more water if necessary.

8. When done, add kasoori methi.

Lemon Pudding

20 lady fingers
Juice of I lemon
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. pistachios

For Custard

5 egg yolks
2 cups of milk + 2 Tbsp. milk
1 pinch of salt
¼ cups of corn starch
½ cup sugar
1 tbsp. cold butter
Zest of 1 lemon

Heat the milk until it is warm in a saucepan. Mix egg yolks with starch, salt, and sugar. Add the eggs slowly, bit by bit, while continuously whisking the liquid to the mixture so that the eggs do not scramble.

Pour the custard in the saucepan and keep whisking until mixture feels heavy. Should take 3-5 minutes.
Add lemon zest and butter. Refrigerate overnight.

Mix the lemon juice with sugar and water. Dip the lady fingers in the juice and add to the glass. You can layer the bottom of a wide glass or lay them out like petals in a martini glass. The lady fingers will absorb the lemon juice and acquire the flavor. 5 lady fingers per serving.

Add the custard on the top. The pistachios should be roughly ground and added to the custard for texture.

Menu

Roasted Tomato Soup


Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Roasted Tomato Soup

Roasted Tomato Soup

6 Roma Tomatoes split in half

1 red onion quartered

5 cloves of garlic

Heat oven to 375 degrees and roast the above ingredients for an hour. Sprinkle with some olive oil and roast. Keep the garlic in a small parcel made of foil wrap and roast with the rest of the vegetables.

Blend all the above when cool. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper.

When serving, bring to a boil and add a dollop of crème fraiche and croutons.

Banoffee Pie

Banana + Toffee pie…English, rich creamy and utterly decadent. The essential ingredients of a banoffee pie are a pastry base (a biscuit base or a pastry crust), cream, banana, and toffee. This pie was invented in a restaurant called Hungry Monk in West Sussex. The original recipe is as follows

http://www.hungrymonk.co.uk/banoffi_pie/

First of all, the base. There are a couple of alternatives here. A graham biscuit crust, a digestive biscuit crust, or a pie crust. For a nine inch pie, that would be 9 graham crackers, 4 tbsp. butter and 2 tsp. sugar turned into a crumb base and baked for 15 minutes. The original recipe uses a shortbread pastry crust.

Then, the toffee. I thought the toffee part is daunting where you boil a tin of condensed milk in water for two and a half hour and you have to make sure that the tin of milk is always covered by water. That was too much of a hassle, like thinking about the milk for two and a half hour! So at the local store I found a 14 oz. tin of dulce de leche in the Mexican food aisle. There are other ways to caramelize condensed milk. Other ways include baking the condense milk in a water bath for 1 and ½ hours. On the other hand, here is Curtis Stone’s recipe, where you make a toffee and add condensed milk.

To make the toffee sauce: Place a medium-heavy saucepan over medium heat. Combine the sugar and 3 tablespoons of water in a medium-heavy saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and boil without stirring until the color is deep amber, occasionally swirling the pan and brushing down the sides with a pastry brush dipped into water, about 5 minutes. Stir in the condensed milk and butter. Continue stirring for 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. Remove the toffee sauce from the heat and spread 1 cup of the sauce over the prepared crust and refrigerate for about 1 hour or until the caramel is semi-firm. Keep the remaining caramel sauce at room temperature.

My recipe

I used a pie crust and pre baked it at  350 degrees in a 9” pie dish for 15 minutes, till golden.

I took a tin of dulce de leche, added 3 eggs, and 1 tbspn butter. I added it to the pie cust and baked it for another 17 minutes. I found no recipe where the toffee was mixed with eggs and baked. I thought it would lessen the sweetness of the toffee. It actually works out fine.

Cool the pie. Now slice 1 banana and stick all over the pie.

 Whip one cup of cream with 2 tbsp. confectioner’s sugar. Slather all over the pie. You could flavor the cream with instant coffee or vanilla, or even add chocolate shavings on the top. I did none of these things.

Key Lime Pie

I am on the lookout for citrusy desserts. I have never been a fan of chocolate desserts; in my mind chocolate takes over the flavor completely and nothing else shines. Therefore, I made a key lime pie yesterday. The big debate was where to get the key limes. Now key limes are hard to find and you need 10-12 key limes for ½ cup of lime juice. Some suggest using lemon instead, but there is a big difference in flavor. That would be lemon pie and not key lime pie. I ended up buying bottled key lime juice and the flavor was delightful. You can find the same recipe all over the internet and I was wondering what interesting variations could be done next time; maybe some pistachio on the top. I am wondering what pairs with lime besides ginger in a dessert.

Crust
9 graham crackers
4 -5 tbsp. butter
2 tbspn sugar
Crush the crackers with the sugar. Add melted better and pat down like a crust in a 9” pie pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Allow to cool.

In a blender mix the following-
3 eggs (every recipe suggests using egg yolks, but this turned out fine)
1 - 14 oz. tin of condensed milk
½ cup 2tbsp of key lime juice
1 Tspn zest of lemon
Add to the shell and bake for 15 minutes.

Cool and top with whipped cream.
1 cup of heavy cream, 2 Tspn confectioner sugar, and vanilla essence. Chill overnight.

Cajun Pasta

I went to New Orleans two weeks ago. I started eating sea food a few months ago and I was on a food quest in New Orleans. I tried it all – seafood jambalaya, gumbo (at Mother’s), Cajun shrimp, shrimp and crawfish etouffe, beignets (at Café Du Monde) etc. I had two great versions of shrimp and grits – one was at Café Amelie’s and the other at some restaurant in Bourbon Street. The first dish was shrimp and grits served with a spicy corn maque choux. The second dish was a combination of fried green tomatoes, grits, and shrimps served in a spicy butter sauce. The tomatoes and grits were layered over each other, in a pool of buttery sauce, with the shrimps at the side. Another great meal was a brunch at John Besh’s Luke where everything was cooked to perfection. I ordered an omelet with a filling of crabmeat, mushroom, peppers, and fromage blanc. Served with lacy potato chips called gaufrettes.

I bought some Cajun seasoning from an obscure store. The woman at the counter asked me to smell it and added that her partner made the blend. It was divine. So here I am back in San Francisco with this liovely Cajun seasoning and a quest for recipes, which will bring out the best of this spice blend.


1 pound of fettuccine
3 Tspn Cajun seasoning
Black pepper
1 cup of heavy cream
Parsley
Vegetables
1 large red pepper
1 large green pepper
1 red onion
5 cloves of garlic
3 Roma tomatoes
Meats
1 breast chicken
1-2 sausages

Boil the water, add salt, and cook the fettuccine. It should take 10-11 minutes.
Cut the onions and bell pepper into strips. Dice the tomatoes. Mince the garlic.
Cube the chicken and sprinkle Cajun seasoning on top of it. In addition, slice the sausages.
Heat the oil and brown the chicken and sausages. Remove the meat.
The flame should be on high. Add the garlic, pepper, and onions. After a few minutes, add the tomatoes. Add 2 Tspn Cajun seasoning and salt.
When the vegetables are soft, remove them from the pan.
Add some water to the pan and boil, to concentrate the flavors of the vegetables and meat in the water.
Now add the cream. Add loads of black pepper. Add the vegetables. Stir the sauce.
Add pasta to the sauce and cook it for a while. Let the pasta rest for at least 5-8 minutes after cooking to absorb the sauce. Garnish with parsley.

Menu Idea

Buttermilk Roasted Chicken
Mashed Potatoes
Stir fry with paneer and vegetables in a tomato cause

Banana pudding

Goan Shrimp Curry

I followed Sanjeev Kapoor’s recipe.
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/goan-shrimp-curry
Dry roast the following ingredients till the coconut is light brown
2 tspns dried coriander seeds
1 tspn dried cumin seeds
3 dried red chilies
¼ cup coconut flakes ( I use frozen coconut flakes from the Indian store)
Now throw the above mixture in a blender with the following and add extra water if you need to.
1 “ piece of ginger
5 cloves of garlic
Takes about 1 tbsp. of tamarind and blast in the microwave for 40 seconds with ¼ cup of water. This is your tamarind paste.
Prep work
I used 12-15 tiger shrimps, which I peeled, and deveined, that is pulled out the black vein. Also chop a small onion into small pieces. You can also slit 1-2 Thai chilies if you like your curry very spicy. ( (Remember, the dried red chilies that are part of the paste.)
Cooking
Heat some oil and sauté the onions until deep brown and caramelized. Add the chilies and sauté for a minute. Now add the spice paste. Add water and salt until you get a boil. I give it at least 5 more minutes, adjusting for water until the flavors are blended.
Add shrimp. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until shrimps are pink. Sanjeev Kapoor adds 1 tspn vinegar, however, I find that I use more tamarind than what he recommended and so no more tartness was required.

Jamaican jerk chicken with Pineapple salsa

Mix the following together and refrigerate overnight for the flavors to meld.

½ cup of pineapple finely diced
Salt
Mint leaves
Coriander leaves

I bought jerk seasoning from Jamaica, which was in the form of a marinade. I took two chicken breasts, made deep incisions all over them, and marinated them overnight. The next day, I heated my grill to medium, and grilled the breasts after salting them until I got a brown crust on both sides. I served the chicken with the salsa to cool the fiery flavors of the jerk seasoning.

Rice and peas

I love Caribbean rice. They call this rice and peas in Jamaica when it is actually rice and kidney beans. The coconut gives the rice a sweet sticky flavor, which goes well with spicy jerk chicken, and I prefer this rice a little mushy because this consistency works with the dry jerk chicken.
2 cups of rice
1 tin of coconut milk (14 oz.)
1 Tspn thyme
1 tin of kidney beans (15 oz.)
1-Scotch bonnet pepper (I used 3 Tspn of scotch bonnet hot sauce that I bought in Jamaica)
½ small onion
2 green onions (cut the greens and the whites separately)
Oil
5 cloves of garlic – smashed
Salt
Add the oil to a pan and sauté the onions and white parts of the green onion until soft. Add garlic and sauté further. Now add the kidney bean with the liquid in the can. The liquid gives the rice, its distinct red color. Sauté for a minute and add the coconut milk. Add the pepper. Now let tis boil and let the flavors meld. It should taste like a coconut kidney bean soup after 10 minutes. Add thyme, salt, and green onions. Now add the rice and cook until done. You might have to add more water.

Caribbean Dinner

Jerk chicken with pineapple salsa
Rice and peas
Fried plantains

And my non carribean banana pudding

Buttermilk Mashed potatoes

4 yukon gold potatoes – boil, mash and mix with the following
¾ cup of warm buttermilk
Salt and black pepper

Additional touch – Add a little (1 tbsp.) ghee in a pan. Add some paprika and cumin seeds to the ghee. When it splutters add to the potatoes.

Buttermilk Roasted Chicken

This was my first attempt at roasting chicken. I looked at this recipe which looked fairly foolproof.

http://smittenkitchen.com/2012/01/buttermilk-roast-chicken/

Marinade

Marinate 6 chicken drumsticks for at least 24 hours in the following marinade. Throw the chicken together with the marinade in a Ziploc bag.
2 cups buttermilk
5 cloves of garlic
2 Tspn salt
Loads of black pepper
1 Tspn cayenne pepper

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Throw the chicken in a baking dish and bake for 30 almost minutes when the chicken starts browning.

Mix some salt and pepper in some olive oil.

Crank up the heat to broiler. Now line a baking sheet with foil and put the chicken pieces on top after basting with oil and salt mixture. Watch the chicken closely. When you get the desired crispiness take it out. I turn it over a few times.

Banana Pudding

I adopted this recipe with almost no changes. This is an easy dessert, which is a great crowd pleaser. This amount should serve four.

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/banana-pudding-with-vanilla-wafer-crumble

For crumble

12 Nilla vanilla cookies
2 Tbsps. melted butter
1 ½ Tsps. sugar
Place the cookies in a Ziploc bag and pound them until the cookies crumble. Mix with butter and sugar and bake on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for 15 minutes at 325 degrees. Let this cool.

For Custard
5 egg yolks
2 cups of milk + 2 Tbsp. milk
1 pinch of salt
¼ cups of corn starch
½ cup sugar
1 Tsps. vanilla essence
1 Tbsps. cold butter
2 bananas
Heat the milk until it is warm in a saucepan.
Mix egg yolks with starch, salt, and sugar. Add the eggs slowly, bit by bit, while continuously whisking the liquid to the mixture so that the eggs do not scramble.
Pour the custard in the saucepan and keep whisking until mixture feels heavy. Should take 3-5 minutes.
Add vanilla essence and butter. Refrigerate overnight.

Assemble
Slice 2 bananas thinly
An hour before serving, layer a dish with bananas. Add the custard on top. And top with the crumble. Give this at least an hour because the pudding acquires a banana flavor and the crumble stays crisp.