CARIB CREAM AND MICROWAVED LAUKI HALWA!

I am making a delicious and refreshing cold non-alcoholic cocktail called Carib Cream for Meeta from "What's for lunch honey" blog's Monthly Mingle with the theme of "Liquid Dreams" this month. Thanks for choosing a much needed Summer theme Meeta! We are burning up in the heat wave here in NC!:)

I have an old Cocktail book ,the only one I own,which I bought in England. It has many many cocktails with Alcohol and at the end of the book, thankfully they have spared few pages for Non-alcoholic cocktails too. Of all the recipes they have ,I chose the easiest and tastiest. Kids loved it, so here it is!!

Carib Cream:



How to make Carib Cream:

You need: 2 small bananas, chopped,1 small measure lemon juice, 2 large measures 2% milk or half and Half or cream,1 small measure Orange juice, 1 tsp Vanilla essense.
For garnish:1 tsp finely chopped walnuts.
Walnuts are optional. This cocktail is best served immediately to avoid the bananas from turning darker even with the addition of lemon juice.



And;
1. Add the chopped bananas, lemon juice , Orange juice , Vanilla and milk in a blender with some crushed ice and blend until you get smooth liquid.
Pour into a cocktail or any tall glass and sprinkle the chopped walnuts on top just before serving. Photo of Oranges from WIKI



Note:
1. Bananas usually turn dark after a while no matter how much lemon juice you add to prevent the browning. Blend this cocktail just before serving.
2. If Carib Cream is too thick for your liking,(depends on the size of the Banana fruit),add a little more fat-free milk to thin it out.
3. If you don't like to chew on Walnut pieces, powder it or throw them in the blender when blending the cocktail.Sprinkling Walnuts on top is just for garnish.
4. That cocktail measure you see up there is 2 tbsp each for smaller side and larger measure is 3 tbsp of any liquid.Adjust the Lemon and Orange Juice to your taste, no hard and fast rules there!

Enjoy!!:))


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Lauki Halwa cooked in the Microwave is my entry for a new event "Easy cooking with Microwave" which is just launched by Srivalli for "Cooking 4 all seasons" with a theme of "Desserts" this month. Thanks for a great idea and for hosting too Sri!:))


Microwaving the Halwa!:))
Cooking has become so much simpler with the invention of the microwave,specially in summer when you don't have to slog before the hot stove most of the time! When I saw my gourds which are growing in lightening speed in this heat,I thought of making this dessert and in a Microwave too! It was so easy, even I wondered why did I cooked this on the stove top all the years!;D
We in Karnataka, also call this dessert as "Dumrote", and usually Lauki/Doodhi Halwa in rest of India, a very tasty and quick dessert to make in the Microwave. I used a whole Bottle Gourd peeled and after cleaning the insides, I got about 4 cups of grated pulp and after it is cooked ,you get about 1 1/2 cups of delicious Halwa!! Enjoy!:)

Lauki Halwa or Dumrote:
Dumrote,a typical Karnataka dessert, is usually made from Ash Gourd (Boodukumbala kai in Kannada),which gives this dessert a glass like appearance.I used to Bottle Gourd with the Dumrote recipe with pinch of Saffron for color! Enjoy!:)



Here are the ingredients you need to make Halwa:

Add all these to a big bowl 3 times bigger than the contents; 3-4 cups of grated Lauki,1/3 cup or more brown Sugar,(I don't like any dessert too sweet, so add more sugar if you like),2 tbsp Almonds peeled and sliced,1/4 cup heavy cream, 2 tsp butter,pinch of Saffron,1/2 tsp powdered Cardamom, 1/4 tsp Ginger powder, 1/8 tsp Clove pd, pinch of salt to bring out flavor.
To Make it:
1. Mix all the above, microwave it for 10 mins on full power ie on HIGH, stir once and microwave it for another 5-7 mins on HIGH, stir again.
2. Once the liquid evaporates, be careful not to burn the Halwa and Microwave for shorter periods like every 2-3 mins and keep stirring in between.
3. Taste and adjust the sugar and any flavors before microwaving. When the Halwa looks shiny with butter on top and semi solid, it's ready to eat warm or chilled.
4. Total time it took for me is about 23 mins to make this.I have 50% power in my Microwave, I used that for the last few mins to prevent burning.Please use your judgment and enjoy the beautiful looking and tasting dessert!:)

My out of control Bottle/Bird House gourd plant growing on my deck!!



Here are few Microwave tips:
1. Always use a dish twice as big as the food you are cooking to avoid spillage.
2. Do not use gold or silver edged dishes or dishes which are not meant for using in MWs.Always use the lowest cooking time specified in your recipe. It is easy to dry out food in your microwave.
3. Arrange even sized food in a circle on the turning plate for more even cooking.
4. Thicker foods should be place toward outer edges for faster cooking. Food cooks better if cut in uniform sizes.
5. Always stir at least once or twice during the cooking cycle.
6. Cooking time varies than recipe given because of the different power in Watts your MW has, so your judgment when cooking!
7. Clean the MW immediately after each dish is done. Let a bowl of water heat inside for 3 mins without the lid, take it out and clean with a dish towel to loosen the dry, hard splatters inside the walls of the MW if any.
Here is a site about lessons 101 on how to use Microwaves.

Have fun this week!