Neesha Grover's Christmas Pudding
I have eaten Christmas puddings from some of the most sought after stores in the world — Harrods, Fortnum & Mason and Marks & Spencer. I never bothered reading Christmas pudding recipes since I had no intention of making them. However several years ago, when I was cooking Christmas lunch for Karan and Neesha Grover in Baroda, Neesha came out with her famous pudding. Lots of chopping, stirring and steaming later, the result was truly magnificent. So much so that I, who did not possess a sweet tooth, took three helpings! Since then, I have been happily following Neesha's recipe with great success adding a few twists of my own. All the ingredients are easily available in India and the methods as simply as pie, or rather, pudding.
Most Christmas pudding needs to be made months in advance. I have neither the time nor the organizational skills to plan my kitchen that much in advance. This recipe can be made three days in advance and tastes amazingly good.
Read more about Karen Anand’s family traditions here.
Recipe: Christmas Pudding
(makes 4 large puddings)
Ingredients
100 g (1cup) almonds
120 g (1 cup) sultanas (yellow)
120 g (1 cup) currants (black)
300 g (2 cups) raisins (brown)
100 g (3/4 cup) K’s Kitchen chunky orange marmalade
250 g fine breadcrumbs
180 g (1¼ cups) butter
2 tbsp cocoa
180 g (2 cups) plain flour
3 tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt
2 tsp mixed spice (mace, cardamom, cloves, all spice) (ground to powder)
2 tsp grated nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon, powdered
400 g (2 cups) brown sugar
Juice and rind of 2 limes
6 eggs
½ cup milk
½ bottle brandy
¼ bottle rum
Method
Wash all the dry fruit. Dry thoroughly. Remove seeds, if necessary, and chop in a food processor. Any other way is simply too time consuming and you are likely to lose interest in the recipe at this stage. Soak overnight with rum and half the brandy.
Blanch and chop almonds (also in the mixer). Grate butter from the fridge. Sieve the flour, cocoa and spices. Add brown sugar, juice and rind of limes, butter, almonds, breadcrumbs, marmalade and dried fruit. Stir well.
Stir in the eggs, milk, and remaining brandy. Leave for 2 hours.
Put the mixture into a greased pudding moulds (preferably glass or ceramic). Leave 1 inch from the top to expand. Tie with greaseproof paper or foil and then a muslin cloth.
Place all the puddings in a large vessel (handi). Pour in enough water to come 2 /3 of the way up the puddings. Let the water come to a rolling boil and then reduce the heat slightly. Cover with a lid and steam for 4 – 5 hours. You may need to top up with water during cooking, since the bowls must always be 2/3 submerged in water. When cooked, remove from the water and store in a cool place (not a fridge).
The puddings should last at least three months.
They can be re-heated by steaming once more or in a microwave on high for 3 minutes.
Serve warm with cream or brandy butter
Image credit: Schaer
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