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Did you know that when an avocado is really ripe, the skin peels off almost by itself? You only have to start it off with a peeler - after that you can just strip it off. This is the sort of discovery you can make if you leave an avocado in the fruit bowl for day after day after day after day... until you get perilously close to having it die of non-use and old age. My avocado nearly met with that fate - this despite my mother's gentle daily reminder in one form or another ("what were you going to do with the avocado?" "did you find a recipe for the avocado?" "the avocado seems quite ripe now" "Will you be using the avocado today?" and so on) of its existence.
Well, today turned out to be the last day of the rest of the avocado's life (to re-coin a phrase). Although I've known about and liked avocados since my first hill station holiday in Tamil Nadu (except that I knew them as "butterfruit" - the name very likely to do with their rich creamy taste), by and large, I'm not terribly fond of guacamole. And since I dont do sandwiches enthusiastically either, I was pretty much at a loss about what else to do with avocados other than eat them raw.
And then I came across a recipe for avocado milkshake in a blog called "The Traveler's Lunchbox", which seemed promising. Of course, at that point the avocado I had was not ripe enough to try out the recipe, so both had to hang fire until the circumstances turned auspicious... which was today.
Pete thought the milkshake tasted "green", kind of grassy - really, his way of saying "You may now drink the rest, thanks". Honestly, though, the shake was creamy and lovely and a pale green, but only in colour. Taste-wise, it was lovely. I'm glad I know what to do with avocados that end up in my less-than-ideal care.
Recipe for: Avocado milkshake
1 large ripe avocado
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5 tbsp light condensed milk (or to taste)
3 cups cold semi-skimmed or skimmed milk (more as required)
1/2 cup crushed ice
Method:
1. Peel the avocado and de-seed it.
2. Cut into pieces.
3. Place in a blender with the crushed ice, vanilla extract and condensed milk.
Add a cupful of cold milk
and whip till well blended. Thin with more cold milk depending on how thick you like your shake. Taste for sweetness and add more condensed milk if required.
4. Pour into a tall glass over some crushed ice if liked, and serve cold, garnished with a sprig of mint.
I wont beat around the bush re the milestone (Hey, I HEARD those sighs of relief!) - this is my 250th post! A record that wont mean much to anybody but me, but it IS a personal achievement because I've kept this blog going for quite a while. It's a good feeling because I'm not normally known for sticking with something once started. Doing this blog has been a lot of fun, and I expect I'll be going for a while yet.
I decided to make carrot halwa for my 250th post for two reasons - one, I dont make too many Indian sweets, and two, this recipe comes from my friend KiwiGee, in New Zealand. I'd pestered her for more recipes to try, and she sent me some. Of course what happened was that I sat firmly on those recipes, waiting for an opportunity to make them, in the meantime making her wonder if I'd forgotten! But then she sent a completely unsolicited recipe - for carrot halwa, and I decided that would be the perfect way to salute both my milestone and her contribution.
This is the first time I've made carrot halwa and I found the recipe very easy. It's also fairly quick to make, plus the ingredients are easily available abroad. A boon for those who arent close to Indian shops.
I made two slight changes to the recipe - one, I halved the quantity. One kilo of carrots would have been way too much! As it turned out, even half a kilo was a lot. And two, I added golden raisins along with the cashews. Carrots are just MADE to go with raisins (or possibly the other way around... whatever). And the halwa was gorgeous. Dont take my word for it, try it and see for yourself.
Recipe for: Kiwi Gee's carrot halwa
Ingredients:
1/2 kg fresh carrots (washed and grated)
1 tbsp ghee
Clove, cardamom powder (1/2 tsp)
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk (I used Nestle Light)
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
Cashews - 10
Golden raisins - about 20
Method:
1. Put the ghee in a kadai and fry the cashews and raisins till they go light brown.
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Keep aside.
2. In the ghee remaining in the pan, add the grated carrot in and keep ‘frying’ until all the ‘liquid’ in the carrot has evaporated and it is almost cooked (the carrots will change colour from bright orange to pale yellowish-orange - see photo below).
3. Then add in the ricotta cheese (if in India, you’d be adding maava, but unfortunately we are in NZ - or the UK) and keep turning the mixture on low flame.
Mix well and cook on medium heat for a couple of minutes, mashing the carrots a bit.
4. When the cheese is well mixed, add condensed milk (this has to be the sweetened variety, as we are not adding any sugar, remember).
5. Cook for a further couple of minutes (or till the mixture turns thick - it shouldnt be runny) and then add the clove/cardamom powder and then turn off the hob.
6. Decorate with cashews and then, what else, eat!
From start to finish, should not take more than half an hour (if you already have the carrot grated, that is)!!
