Summers are here and Bengaluru seems to be getting hotter by the day !!
I remember those good old months of December, March and April in late 90s, when we actually use to wear sweaters for winter and never needed an AC in this city for summers . Now been at home without a cooler is literally unbearable torture. Sigh!!! All thanks to urban development , concrete jungles and diminishing lakes- the garden city is soon close to become polluted like Delhi.
Anyways, apart from the heat one other thing that Summers remind me of is ICE CREAM!!
Summer holidays and ice creams go hand in hand. Do you remember those days when Kwality Walls had launched those ice cream walas on cycles, who would come home every afternoon? Me and my neighbourhood friends would save up on our pocket money and take pride in choosing those famous Max ice creams . Then there was the weekly ritual of going to Corner house for DBC with my cousins. All that faded away with corporate life kicking in and realising the amount of chemicals aka stabilisers, that go in to commercially produced ice creams. Nah , I don't buy those tubs anymore.
Yes, I have an ice cream maker that's sitting in a corner of some loft happily . The whole process of freezing the container, churning, getting a diary based whip cream is too tiresome somehow. So I was on a hunt for a good no churn ice cream, one with my mood lifter ingredient - Chocolate :) And this recipe is a result of scanning through the net for an absolutely easy dessert - lets accept this , the kitchen is not a nice place to be in during hot summers. There was no crystalisation of the ice cream though, however while photographing I ended up keeping the bowl in freezer. Which sort of created a white layer of frost on my ice cream. So yes this one's a light ,creamy, sinfully good ice cream that you will surely make repeat batches off.
Credit : This recipe is an adaptation from Richa Gupta's - My Food Story.
And hey this one's eggless too, doesn't need anything fancy and can be conjured in a jiffy!! Read on the ingredient list and I am sure you will be surprised with one of the elements used :). You can make this either with the normal cooking cream (Blue pack Amul) or a diary based whipping cream (Amul Red pack, Topolite or Rich's ) for a really nice creamy consistency. The usage of liquor again is optional, since not everyone may have Kahlua, Amarula or Baileys. And Oh! if you have a stash of rum soaked raisins, do add in and binge on baby :p
Here's what you need :
INGREDIENTS
110 grams Chocolate - I used Callebaut chocolate chips. Any other cooking chocolate (milk/dark) is fine.
6 tbsp - Full fat milk
8 tbsp - Cream
4 tbsp - Liquor (I used Amarula)
Pinch of salt , to enhance the chocolate flavour
2 over ripe Bananas - medium sized ones
PROCEDURE
1. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate and milk together for 30 secs. Whisk and if you see some solid bits, heat again for 10 secs. Remember not to over cook the chocolate though . Let this mixture cool.
2. In a large blender jar - add cream, liquor, melted chocolate mixture, over ripe bananas, pinch of salt and blend until a smooth milk shake like consistency is formed with no lumps.
3. Pour this into a tin/container which can be used to freeze - I used a loaf tin. Cling wrap the container, this avoids crystals from forming and keeps your ice cream smooth and creamy. Let this freeze over night for best results.
4. You can top the mixture with nuts of your choice, chocolate sauce or caramel, grated chocolate or anything that you fancy eating at home with a nice, giant scoop of indulgence .