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Indian sweets aside, my experiences of desserts while growing up consist largely of two particular treats: one was ice cream, and the other was fruit salad. While my mother did also bake cakes, and as mentioned in various posts, crafted a wide array of Gujarati and pan-Indian delights, there was something about either ice cream or fruit salad that was just unbeatable in my eyes. With the heat now in full swing, and having become too sugar-conscious to eat ice creams the way I did as a kid, I decided to put together a lovely Indian-style summer fruit salad to make the most of the season!

I do want to take a moment to recall the ice creams of my childhood fondly, though. Back then, our family would visit a long-gone parlour called Joy Ice Creams, which sold ice creams both on sticks and in cups. This would be a rare indulgence, and we would really look forward to those outings. However, I must confess I also enjoyed eating ice creams every day – every school day, that is. There was an ice cream seller at my school, and my friends and I would literally buy his products on a daily basis. Well, I use the word “buy” a little loosely. The truth is that we would beg him to let us have some ice cream even if we didn’t have cash on us, and would wind up accumulating bills at the end of each month, not all of which got cleared. Many years later, some of our classmates happened to meet the gentleman and reimbursed him for his kindness to us back then!

My favourite at that time was pistachio ice cream, and somehow this flavour has never tasted quite as good when I have had it anywhere else since. Some things just can’t be replicated, I guess. I am grateful that many of my late mother’s recipes can indeed not just be prepared now because she shared them with me – but also that those dishes can be enjoyed just as much, if not more, that I did back then because the recipes are accurate. She ensured I would be able to recreate the taste of her cooking as precisely as possible. This fruit salad happens to be one of them, and I am so glad that I still have it in my life.

My mother prepared fruit salad once a week during the summer, using basic fruits like apples, bananas and chikoos. Sometimes she would add tinned peaches as a treat. She would avoid tangy ones in case they soured the milk in the dish.  Now, of course, our access to fruit varieties is so much greater, and we can make our fruit salads in much more exotic ways, perhaps prioritising seasonality or a certain colour. You can see from my photographs what I have chosen, but you should select your fruits according to your preferences and the availability of the same.

Essentially, there were four ingredients in mom’s fruit salad: sugar, milk, fruit and custard powder. Custard powder was very easily available back then, and it continues to be today. I believe it was introduced to India by the British and was basically a flavourful type of corn flour that could be used as a thickening agent in desserts including puddings and of course this fruit salad. While Continental in concept, this is quite Indian in terms of popularity, as far as I know. She also occasionally made a custard and jelly combination.

Once a week, we would have lighter dinners so we could eat more of this treat. Mom knew we loved it, so she always made a large quantity so that there would be leftovers. It often tasted even better the next day. My siblings and I would be given measured cups so we wouldn’t fight over portions. Even so, there was such a sense of joy in what we all shared, limited or not. There was great satisfaction in just having one cup each. This effortlessly lovely dish was a part of so many of our evenings. It was made as a small, regular treat, but it was also served to guests, when one of us got good marks in school and so on. In this way, it was a big part of our childhoods.

I used to prepare it for my children when they were younger too, and they enjoyed it then. Now, their exposure to food is so vast that I am not sure a humble fruit salad has as special a place in their hearts as it does in mine. Nowadays, there seems to be an abundance of everything. When you can tap a few buttons on your phone and have amazing gourmet ice cream arrive at your doorstep, the idea of wearing your best dresses and going out to a parlour for a special occasion becomes a relic of the past. So too with many basic, homemade dishes. Still, some days call for very simple delights. On those days, nothing beats this Indian-style summer fruit salad.

Indian-Style Summer Fruit Salad
(Serves 4)

2 tablespoons custard powder
½ litre milk
3-4 teaspoons sugar
2-3 cups cut fruit of your choice
2 dates

Peel and cut all the fruits and the dates. Keep in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

Remove ¼ of the milk and keep it aside. Boil the rest.

Meanwhile, add custard powder to the cup of room temperature milk that was kept aside. Mix well until there are no lumps and gently add the mixture to the boiling milk. Keep stirring constantly on a low to medium flame, making sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom. Be careful here as the milk may get burnt. It will release a distinct smell if it does, and we don’t want this.

As the milk is thickening, add the sugar and stir.

Turn off the flame and after giving it a last stir, cover the mixture well. Allow to cool to room temperature. Then refrigerate until cold.

Once cold, add the cut fruits and dates to the prepared custard milk and mix. Refrigerate again and serve cold. Garnish with nuts of your choice, if you’d like to.

The season really does call for more fruit consumption, and offers some great harvests too, so I encourage you to explore more fruity recipes in my blog archives!

My mother often made caramel custard at home while I was growing up. It was a dessert we all enjoyed, and it was her personal favourite too. I go back to memories of her and her teachings all the time, but especially more so nowadays when I am missing her a lot. At this time, I tend to have what I call “solo conversations” with her. I never did learn this recipe from her when she was around, and preparing it now is a kind of ongoing connection with her too. While she made hers plain, mine has a citrus twist – it is an orange caramel custard.

My understanding is that many of us take our parents, especially our mothers, for granted. I must have done the same. Even after she stopped handling eggs and therefore did not prepare this dish anymore, it did not occur to me to ask her for this recipe. Many of us with deceased parents are also laden with guilt and regret – feelings of I should have done this or that, and so on. But I believe that we need not be. As a parent myself, I understand everything my mother did, and I know that she understood everything I did too – just as I have a sense for whatever my own kids are experiencing.

Even though I still feel like there are so many incomplete thoughts and conversations, I don’t carry any negative feelings. Now, I just feel like I can connect to my mom at any time, and without it being emotionally heavy. That connection consists of my “solo conversations” with her, and these are always pleasant and light and lovely. Rather like this delicious dessert.

Since I did not learn this recipe from her, I did so over a period of time. I rummaged around with friends’ recipes, always wanting to learn how to prepare it well as my family enjoys it very much now too. While I have been making the plain version for a while now, this citrus twist came to me during a short recent break in Assam, where oranges are now in season. Between a feeling of deeper closeness to my mother, and the sight of those ripe orange trees, I found myself dreaming up a version that upon experimenting with, I am particularly happy with. As always, I am happy to share this with you too.

 

Orange Caramel Custard

(Serves: 4-5)

 

1 cup fine sugar

2 tablespoons water

150 ml fat milk

300 ml cream

4 eggs

1 tablespoon orange zest

2 tablespoons orange juice

 

Preheat the oven to 140° C.

Keep a tray which will hold 4 medium-sized ramekins ready.

Pour ¾ of the cup of the sugar into a pan. Add 2 tablespoons of water. Allow to cook on a low flame, stirring occasionally.

Cook until this mixture turns into an amber colour and is caramelized. When this happens, remove immediately from the pan and pour it into the 4 ramekins equally. Set aside.

In another pan, add the milk and cream. Stir until the mixture is almost ready to boil. Then, turn off from the heat and add the orange zest. Stir and allow to sit for somewhere between 15 minutes and half an hour. Let the flavour seep in.

Meanwhile, pour boiling hot water in a tray and set the ramekins into it.

In another pan, beat the eggs and the remaining sugar together. Strain the cream mixture into the eggs, stirring constantly.

Add the orange juice to this mixture just before pouring it into the ramekins.

Place them into the baking tray. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the custard is firm yet jiggly.

Remove from the oven, and allow to cool in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours.

Before serving, dip each ramekin in warm water for half a minute. With the help of a knife, invert the custard. Garnish as you wish and serve. In this kind of weather, I would go for something warming like a cinnamon stick. In fact, you could even let the stick steep in the orange juice for a bit before you add it in, so it becomes more infused with that flavour.

As with many other things, I like my orange caramel custards to look dainty and petite, which is why I’ve portioned them into individual small servings. I also consider this a healthier sort of dessert, since it consists mostly of healthy eggs and dairy.

Do try it out and let me know what you think of this sweet delight. For more desserts, especially with the year-end festivities around the corner, you can explore the recipes here.