Indian Pudding: Childhood Memories And Autumnal Tr...
Thinking back on my childhood, one of the things I remember from this time of year was my Mum making a dessert known as Indian Pudding. There was nothing quite like playing outside in the crisp Autumn air – jumping in piles of leaves and playing make believe in the back yard – and then coming inside to this wonderful dish. The spicy aroma and deep smoky flavour of molasses take me right back to those happy childhood memories.
The origins of Indian Pudding come from Colonial America where the settlers attempted to recreate dishes from their homelands. It is very similar to porridge and also to what is known in the U.K as hasty pudding. Cereal grains (usually wheat or oats) would be boiled down over a long period of time in scalded milk, resulting in a thick creamy consistency (no lumps please!).
Not having access to large stores of wheat or oats the colonists used cornmeal instead which was more readily available. Often butter or beaten eggs would be added to give the dish extra richness. Spices such as Cinnamon, Ginger and Nutmeg would be used to enhance the flavour and it would be sweetened with molasses. Dried fruits were also occasionally added.
For me this creamy dessert conjures up happy childhood memories (and Autumn) just as much as a big slice of pumpkin pie.
Here is the recipe for my Mum’s Indian Pudding
Ingredients
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup water
4 cups whole milk
1 large egg
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup dark molasses
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup combination of raisins and dried cranberries
Good quality vanilla ice cream to serve. (I love Mackie’s)
Directions
Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius (300 degrees F).
Heavily grease a 1-1/2 quart oven proof baking dish with unsalted butter.
Place 3/4 cup water in a small bowl and gradually whisk in the cornmeal until it is completely mixed and smooth.
Scald 3 cups of the milk in a heavy saucepan (heat until tiny bubbles appear around the edge). Make sure you don’t bring the milk to a full boil.
Stir the cornmeal mixture into the hot milk. Reduce heat to low and stir frequently, for approximately 15 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened.
Remove from heat.
Beat the egg in a small bowl. Gradually stir some of the hot cornmeal mixture into the beaten egg, one spoonful at a time, until you have added about 1/2 cup of the mixture. (This will gently warm up the egg so the hot cornmeal mixture doesn’t cook it too quickly.)
Return the egg and cornmeal mixture to the saucepan and stir in the sugar, molasses, butter, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. You can add dried fruit at this stage if you want.
Pour the mixture into the prepared greased dish and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and gently pour the remaining 1 cup of milk over the top of the pudding. Do not stir in.
Continue to bake for approximately 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the pudding begins to set.
Remove from oven and set aside for 30 minutes to one hour. It will continue to thicken further as it cools.
Serve warm, topped with vanilla ice cream.
Enjoy!
Note: This recipe serves 5-6 but I love to have the leftovers for breakfast the next day – slightly warmed and served with milk. YUMMY!
Indian Pudding
