Strawberry Lollies/Kulfi

 Yesterday, after winding up all my work for the day i opened the fridge to have a glass of milk before sleep. An unopened 600ml of  single cream pot was sitting idle and luckily i noticed this on its 'Use By' date. How on earth did i miss this?

I was too tired to make any time consuming recipes using single cream. Thanks Louisa for reminding me to use my lolly makers. I followed  your recipe by replacing yogurt with single cream, honey with caster sugar and skipped the bananas. I had to make this to avoid 600ml of single cream going down the drain. My recipe was a quickie and the results were amazing.

Ingredients :

Caster sugar - 1/2 cup
Strawberry Juice concentrate - 2 tbsps
Fresh strawberries - As u please
Single Cream - 600 ml

I highly recommend the healthy ingredients from Louisa's page for this recipe Strawberry and banana yoghurt pops

Preparation method:
 Simply whisk all the ingredients until the sugar is dissolved, pour in lolly makers and set to freeze

My version tasted like Indian Kulfis. We really enjoyed it! It was a trip down the memory lane to our childhood days.

 

Strawberry Juice with Tender coconut water

Until i moved to the UK, i used to start off my day with tender coconut water. It helped to reboot  my digestional system every morning ,refreshingly. I miss the fresh tender coconuts very much as we don't get it  here except selected areas. I stock up the tinned tender coconut water but not happy with the taste. My better half surprised me with the whole tender coconut, whenever he spots it he buys it without hesitation.

 In India it is so easily available that it's widely used for medicinal purposes apart from being just a health drink.  I need a huge space to write about the goodness of tender coconut water . To cut the long story short, tender coconut is the best gift provided by mother nature to reduce body heat. My experiment of making a sugar free strawberry juice with tender coconut is a big success.

 Ingredients:
Whole tender coconut - 1
Strawberry juice extract (sugarfree) - 1 tbsp

Pre-Requisites:
    Extract the tender cocnut water from the whole tender coconut

 Preparation Method:

               In a pint glass pour the tender coconut water ,add a tbsp of strawberry juice extract and stir well. Silly me to write a post on mixing strawberry juice extract with tender cocnout water but the point here is to explain how to make juices with naturally occuring sugar and i felt this is a great combination.

My plan was to make a sugar free  strawberry smoothie with tender coconut water but i changed my plan as i prefer to drink tender coconut water in  watery form. British strawberries with an Indian tender coconut, a perfect drink for an Indian Summer in Britain!

Strawberry Jam

Every year i make batches of strawberry jam to give it to my friends and family who miss out the fresh berries from my garden. For all you loved ones , I was too lazy to write a post every time you ask me for this recipe and here's the perfect opportunity during the strawberry season to share it with you. I can call myself a jam queen as i' ve tried and tested this recipe for the past few years . The jam i make during this season stays fresh until next season , ofcourse by refrigerating.I don't use any preservatives in the jam making process. Though i'm having fun experimenting different strawberry recipes , none of those requires hundreds of strawberries.

I've just  listed the ingredients below as i made batches of jam in huge quantity :
Strawberries
Sugar
Fresh lime

The ratio guidelines for you to make small quantity:
Sugar should be added in a 1:1 ratio on  kg basis . For example if you are using 1/2 a kg of strawberries 1/2 a kg of sugar is required. Fresh lime should be used in a 2:1 basis say for example 1 lime should be used for 1/2 a kg of strawberries.

Pre-Requisites:

   Wash and hull the strawberries . I didn't slice as the quantity was huge but slicing will help if you make small quantity .

 Cooking Method:
    Follow the Steps 1 through 4 from Strawberry Juice Concentrate by skipping Step 2. The  final step is to  slice the fresh lime and filtering the juice to add to the jam.

Cool the jam and transfer to sterilised air-tight preservation jam bottles. Keep refrigerated.

Make sure only dry spoon is used every time you use the jam and close the lid tight. Always leave some space between the neck of the bottle and the lid. Avoid touching it by hand. Keep checking the status of the jam every few months. The jam made this way stays for an year if you follow the instructions carefully.

Strawberry and Lychee Pudding

 My favourite dessert is Lychee icecream , i used to order it from icecream parlours,restaurants and they mostly serve the tinned ones. The tinned ones are pitted , peeled and you don't get an opportunity to see the whole fruit. I was clueless how fresh lychee looks, until  i bought fresh lychees in commercial street , Bangalore. Lychee is a perfect fruit for any pudding and my experiment of coupling it with strawberries didn't fail to please me.

Ingredients:

 Lychees -  1 punnet

Strawberries - 1 punnet

Granulated sugar - 1/2 cup

Semolina - 1 dsp (please note dsp is larger than a teaspoon and smaller than a tablespoon)

Pre-Requisites:

 Pit ,peel and slice the lychees into small pieces.Skip this step if you use the tinned ones. Wash , hull and mash  the strawberries

Preparation Method:

 In a saucepan add the  mashed strawberries and  sliced lychees and bring it to a boil for a couple of minutes. Now scatter the fine semolina over it and keep stirring continuously until the semolina is cooked . This process takes about 5 minutes.Semolina tends to form lumps if unchecked and hence the stirring part plays a key role . Add the sugar and bring it to a boil until the sugar dissolves.

 Make sure that the total cooking time does not exceed 10 minutes as overcooking spoils the consistency and taste. Can be served hot or cold.

    

Almondy strawberry and cream frozen dessert

    For making strawberry trifle i used only 150 ml of extra thick double cream and  there was half a pot left. As i prefer to use only big berries for jam, there were some tiny strawberries left after making jam. Experimented by combining these with almonds and it turned out to be an ideal summer dessert.

Ingredients:

Strawberries - a dozen ( i used the tiny homegrown ones left out after making jam)
Extra thick double cream - 150 ml
Almonds - 1/2 cup
Caster sugar - 6 tsps

Pre-requisites:

    Grind the almonds to a fine powder by reserving a few whole almonds for the topping. Wash and hull the strawberries.

Preparation Method:

Fill the powdered almonds in a cake tin by forming the first layer.No need to mix the almond powder with butter as almonds has a buttery texture. Whip the cream with caster sugar and mix it with strawberries by forming the next layer. I didn't slice the strawberries but if you buy the big berries from shops slicing the berries will help. Decorate with whole almonds and set to freeze for atleast 4 hours. Remove carefully from the cake tin after freezing. 

 Make slices and serve!

Strawberry Raita/Thayir Pachadi

   Raita/thayir paccahadi is a yogurt based salad traditionally served in India with biryani/pulav or any variety rice. With plenty of strawberries in hand, my innovations with strawberries doesn't seem to end. I made tomato rice for lunch yesterday and  while making raita the idea of adding strawberries flashed in.

Ingredients:
      Strawberries - 1/2 a dozen + 1 for decoration
      Coriander - few leaves
      Greek Style yogurt - 2 cups
      Red onion - 1
      Black Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp or Green chillies(chopped)  - 1/2 tsp
      Salt - 1/4 tsp      

      

       Step 1:
        Thinly slice red onion and wash them in a bowl of water . Chop strawberries(reserving one for decoration) and coriander

    Step 2:
     Add the chopped onions and coriander with the yogurt and mix it with a spatula

Step 3:
 Using the peppercorn grinder add some cracked pepper,salt and mix well again. Green chillies or pepper powder can be used instead of cracked pepper

Step 4:
     Garnish with corainder and decorate by placing the strawberry at the centre

Strawberry Smoothie

Cream doesn't have to be so high in calories and i found an alternative . It's nothing but single cream  made out of buttermilk and vegetable oils. Made a smoothie with it and it's tastes exactly like the rich cream.The packaging says 150 Kcal per 100 ml compared to the extra thick double cream which contains 140 Kcal per 30 ml.

Ingredients:
Strawberries - 1/2 a bowl
Single cream - 100 ml
Sugar - 1/2 cup

Blend all the ingredients using a blenderuntil you get a creamy texture.

Despite adding the cream we had this smoothie guilt-free.

Strawberry Trifle

Picking the strawberries from my garden is a back-breaking work . I was too tired to make any preservations and happily packed away these berries to my friends and neighbours.

As soon as i handed some of  these berries to my neighbour , he said wow! i'll have it with some cream. That reminded me to make a strawberry recipe with cream.

Ingredients:
Extra thick double cream - 150 ml
Honey-soaked strawberries - 1/4 of a bowl
Chocolate swiss roll  - 4 slices
Fresh strawberries  for decoration - 8 (optional)

Yesterday i soaked some strawberries in honey and  i've used it instead  of jelly to form the first layer . Form the second layer with with swiss roll and scoop up the extra thick double cream to form the third layer.Decorate with a fresh strawberry on top for each serving. I haven't whipped the cream with caster sugar as there enough sweetness in the honey soaked strawberries.You can do it according to your preference.

I kept away from using cream because of the calories involved. Everyone deserves occasional treats and this trifle made with extra thick double cream is one such treat!

No Bake Leftover Strawberry Cake

Half a dozen digestive biscuits were waiting for any takers at my snack section, a little chunk of butter and a bar of milk chocolate were nearing it's Best Before End date.Half a bottle of last year's preserved strawberry jam was sitting idle in the fridge . I've also had a bowl of fresh homegrown strawberries left after trying out some strawberry recipes. Though my initial plan was to make Strawberry cheesecake , i ended up making this to avoid any wastage of food. When i made this innovative leftover cake and offered it to my hubby as a tea-time snack he asked me where did u buy it?


Ingredients:
Digestive biscuits -6
Strawberry jam - 1/2 bottle
Butter  - a chunk (Approximately 50 gms)
Milk  chocolate - 1 bar
Fresh strawberries - a bowl (approximately 1 punnet)

 Step 1:

Crush the digestives in a blender and add butter . Microwave it for a minute to melt the butter and mix thoroughly

 Step 2:
Create the crushed biscuits and butter base in a cake tin or a springform pan

Step 3:
Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl for 1 and a half minute

Step 4:

Pour the melted chocolate over the first layer . I had to scatter it as the chocolate was not sufficient to form a layer of chocolate

 Step 5 :
Spread  the strawberry jam on top . After spreading the jam it covered just half the cake and i decided to make only half the cake and formed another layer by folding the base layer of the cake.Luckily i decided before it sets.

Step 6 :
Wash ,hull and slice the strawberries in half  and form this fresh fruit layer of the cake with the sliced strawberries

It was too embarrasing to click this half cake ..........

Step 7:
 Set in the fridge for 2 hours by covering  the lid

The final click speaks for itself, the results were outstanding !

   As i made this cake with homegrown strawberries and other leftovers and  saving a  lot of  money in terms of energy usage by not baking.

Sending this  to  Kate's No Waste Food Challenge hosted  this month by Elizabeth 


Sending this  to ' Credit Crunch Munch ' hosted this month  by Sian of Fishfingersfortea, co-hosted by  Helen of Fussfreeflavours and  Camilla of   FabFood4all

Strawberry Milkshake

When i was busy preserving strawberries, my hubby sneaked-in to the kitchen and asked for his favourite milkshake. As i busy trying too many strawberry recipes, i totally forgot this simple yet delicious milkshake. Home grown strawberries tastes best in the form of milkshake.

Ingredients:
Strawberries - a handfull(hulled and washed)
Whole milk - 3/4 pint
Sugar - 1 tbsp

Preparation Method:

In a blender add the strawberries, milk , sugar and blend until smooth.

Kosambari (With strawberry)

Kosambari is a mung bean salad made in karnataka. There are plenty of versions of kosambari . It's tradionally made with split yellow mung bean ,cucumber ,coriander, carrot ,chilli, lime juice and grated carrots. Retaining the main ingredient yellow split mung bean i  wanted to try out a different combination . With my strawberrymania at the moment i couldn't help but slice in some of these berries into kosambari. This is the first time ever i'm adding a fruit to kosambari and it tasted heavenly.

Main Ingredients:
Yellow Split Mung Bean - 1/2 cup
Fresh lime - 1/4
Baby Chantenay Carrot- 1
Manzanilla olives with lemon and coriander dressing - 1/4 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Black pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
Strawberries - 4

Optional Ingredient :

Finely chopped red onions - 1 tsp

Pre-Requisites:
Soak the yellow split mung bean for half an hour in water

Servings:
Serves 2

Salad Preparation Method:
Peel the skin of carrot and grate it.Chop the strawberries and reserve one for decoration. Mix all the ingredients by sqeezing in a dash of Lime.

With legumes, fruit, veg , onion and olive going in , i couldn't ask for more for my one of 5-A-Day!

Sending this entry to this month's challenge 'Legume Salad - No Croutons Required ' @ Lisa's Kitchen  :

Strawberry Juice Concentrate

          Today i literally counted the number of berries while picking, it was exactly 294 which is almost 300 . Every recipe i tried doesn't require these many berries .I had no other go and ended at following one of my routine preservation techniques. I made 2 batches  of concentrate and the recipe here is for  1 batch. Adjust the ratio according to your preference

 Ingredients:

Strawberries - 150(Approximately)
Water - 100 ml
Sugar - 1 kg

Preparation Method:
Step1:
 Wash and hull the strawberries and place it in a wide bottomed deep saucepan

Step2: 
Barely cover the fruits with water and boil for 20 to 25 minutes.

Step3:
Always choose a deep pan so that there's enough space left while foaming

Step :4
 Add sugar and boil until it dissolves.Do not boil more than 3 or 4 minutes once sugar is added

Step 5:
 Filter the boiled concentrate in another clean and dry bowl

Step 6:
Cool down and store away in clean preservation bottles and refrigerate it.