Years ago I found a recipe for Indian pudding in a notebook that belonged to my great-grandmother. I have since run into a couple others. It was once a very popular dessert, less well known these days. It is called "Indian" Pudding because corn meal or as they used to call it "Indian meal" was used in it.
Anyhow I thought I would provide a couple of variations and see if you like it. If you know of any other variations, please post them.
Indian Pudding
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup water
4 cups milk
1 large egg
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup dark molasses
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins or other dried fruits like cranberries or blueberries (optional)
Vanilla ice cream (Not part of original recipe. Heavy cream was more commonly used as a topping).
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Heavily grease a 1-1/2 quart ovenproof baking dish with butter or lard.
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 - don't bring to a full boil) and stir the cornmeal mixture into the hot milk. Reduce heat to low and stir frequently, for 15 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened.
Remove from heat. Beat the egg in a small bowl. Stir some of the hot cornmeal mixture into the beaten egg, a spoonful at a time, until you have added about 1/2 cup. (This is to warm up the egg mixture gradually, so the hot cornmeal mixture doesn't cook it too quickly.) Return egg mixture to the saucepan and stir in the sugar, molasses, butter, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and optional raisins or dried fruit. Pour the mixture into the prepared greased dish. 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. Bake 2-1/2 to 3 hours longer, or until pudding begins to set. Remove from oven and set aside for 30 minutes to one hour. Pudding will thicken further as it cools. Serve warm, topped with vanilla ice cream. Serves 6.
Note: Leftover pudding may be served cold, topped with heavy cream, for the next morning's breakfast.
[size=150]Indian Pudding from Yankee Magazine[/size] (Some say this version best)
This (slightly) unorthodox version of the old favorite version has a long history of success. Though the amount of walnuts is small, it has a positive effect on the pudding.
4 cups milk
1/2 cup finely ground cornmeal
1/3 to 1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup raisins
2 teaspoons finely chopped walnuts
1. Grease a 1-1/2 quart baking dish. Heat oven to 300 degrees F. Bring milk to a rolling simmer in top of a double boiler over high heat, then dribble cornmeal in very slowly, stirring constantly. Continue to cook, still stirring, until meal is softened, about 15 minutes. Slowly stir in molasses, then remove from heat.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients and pour mixture into the prepared dish. Bake until pudding is set and top is browned, about 2 hours. Serve hot, topped with whipped cream (not necessarily PC).
I'm not responsible for your weight gain!
Topic: Indian Pudding (Read 2386 times)