Strawberry Pudding

A perfect end to a simple dinner is a fancy Dessert.By fancy i dont mean a dish which requires hours of preparation.I love quick food.Hours of  grueling in the kitchen , just ain't my can of soda.Here i have an easy Strawberry pudding recipe.This one is not meant to give you a massive sugar rush,which is usually what one expects when talking about puddings.A subtle tinge of sweetness is what we are looking for.The sweetness of the fruit overpowers the pudding .The white-red combo effect would make you wonder- the recipe will take numerous hours and might be painstaking. However, on the contrary  this is quite a versatile recipe.You can use different fruits instead of Strawberries.I have experimented with Mango & Kiwi so far.You can also use rice flour instead of semolina, in case of rice flour,just skip the roasting step.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup fine semolina  (sooji)
• 1 tbsp ghee/butter
• 4 cups evaporated/Whole milk 
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp white granulated sugar.
• 2 tbsp rose-water (1-2 drops if using rose essence)
• 1/2 tsp green cardamom powder
• 1/2 cup chopped pistachios & coconut powder
• 3 cups chopped strawberries (fresh or frozen)
• 3 tbsp white granulated sugar

Method

1. In a bowl add chopped strawberries & 2-thps of sugar leave it for 5 mins and then mash it with a potato masher.thn heat it on medium heat till it starts to thicken.The sauce should not be of running but thick consistency.pour it into the serving glasses or the dish.Leave it to set in a refrigerator
2. In a pan, on  medium heat,toast the semolina along with ghee till its light golden in color.You will need to continuously stir the flour as it roasts and keep a watch because semolina burns easily.Takes about 5-8 minutes.
3.  In another thick bottomed pan bring milk to boil ,stir to avoid it burning at the bottom.Add cardamom powder.
4. Once it starts to boil ,reduce heat to low,add the toasted semolina by continuously whisking for another 4-5 minutes.Whisking is very important as it prevents it from forming lumps.Semolina forms lumps very easily within seconds.It also starts to thicken as the semolina swells up.Keep whisking till its thick and of running consistency.Remove from the heat.
5. Add sugar,rose water & nuts.Mix well.you notice that the mixture will thin out a little.
6. Let it cool for a while and then top it over the already cooled strawberry sauce.Cover it with a cling film to avoid forming of skin over it .Refrigerate it for 3-4 hours.
7. Garnish it with coconut powder & chopped pistachios.Serve.

• I ran out of pistachios so i used coconut !!