It’s tough coming back from a long break to anything and although I have been missing this website and cooking and writing about food, I am so rusty! It took me a few minutes to even figure out the new WordPress layout and editor. But, heading back home to Kottayam always sparks my inspiration, especially my Amma’s inspiration to keep trying something new. She had bookmarked this eggless butter pudding recipe from an Instagram page and bought all ingredients and kept them ready for me to arrive and make it together. How could I not take pictures and share the results here? We had guests throughout the week we were there and the butter pudding was all gone in a day!
Table of Contents
Ingredients
The ingredients in this pudding are pretty straightforward and easily available, especially in an Indian kitchen, or anywhere, really. We add some bread to the pudding to make it more richer without adding too many calories. I loved the texture, it feels like an egg pudding but slightly more runnier and is perfect to scoop up from a pudding bowl. Yum! The crushed nuts on top of the pudding is critical to balance the texture of the pudding. Since the base of the pudding is more gloopy, the nuts add crunch to balance this, making it instantly amazing in its mouthfeel. Do not skip or skimp on the nuts, you all! Milk and custard powder, simple, easy, you know them. Butter, because that’s important in a butter pudding, eh? Now, china grass or agar agar sheets may cause some raised eyebrows if you are not familiar with them. It’s a plant-based alternative to gelatine and very easily available in supermarkets. If you are unable to find sheets, just use the powdered version. I haven’t tried this but the same measurement should work. Do leave a comment if you try this?
Tips and Tricks
Normally with any recipe, I get asked about substitutes. This recipe has quite straightforward ingredients so nothing much to swap out, I’d assume. Regarding the bread, day-old white bread is what I used. Make sure to remove the crusts for ease of blending. You could use any other type of bread too, just make sure it’s not a savoury one with spices or herbs in it. Condensed milk can be any brand, doesn’t matter. One of the best things Amma does is to buy the can size based on how much we need. So for this recipe, since it calls for 200 grams condensed milk, she bought a 200 grams can. This is not always possible outside India though, however, leftover condensed milk is a source of stress to me personally! Always keep cooking temperature low and stir frequently when cooking with custard. The mixture will thicken in an instant and go to a hardened mess if not handled gently and thoroughly. That’s probably the only “tricky” part in this recipe if you are complete newbie but do not worry. You can do it! Greasing the pan helps to release the pudding easier. If you don’t get neat squares that are thick enough, not to worry. Just scoop gently into a bowl, add more crushed nuts or even chopped dried fruits on top and serve cold. It will surely be enjoyed!
If you love eggless dessert recipes, I have a whole bunch of them on the blog. Take a look at some of my favourites and most popular ones loved by you all – eggless mango cheesecake, tender coconut pudding, fruit custard recipe.
Step by Step Photos to make Butter Pudding
Mix the custard powder with enough milk from the 500 ml we have measured out to make the pudding and make a loose mixture like below. Whisk well so there are no lumps. Adding milk little at a time helps with this. Set aside until needed. Heat water in a pan until very hot and add the china grass. Turn off heat and mix till it dissolves somewhat and becomes lighter. The china grass doesn’t need to fully dissolve, just like the picture below is fine. We will be cooking this later in the milk mixture. Remove this to a bowl and set aside. To the same pan on low heat, add the rest of the milk. Add the butter cut into chunks. Next, add the condensed milk. Mix everything together on low heat until the butter full dissolves. Then, add the china grass mixture to this. Remember to maintain the heat low and stir frequently. Add some salt and the custard powder mixture to this as well. Stir continuously from this point on, the mixture will thicken quickly and we don’t want any lumps. Cook on low heat stirring constantly until the mixture thickens to something like the below consistency. The time will depend, obviously, but it took me about 4 minutes to get here. Turn off heat at this point. Prepare the bread slides by removing the crusts. You can see the size of the slices we used below. They are quite small so adjust the quantity accordingly based on the bread you are using. The exact measurement is not critical in this recipe but don’t add too much. Roughly tear the bread slices and add to the cooked pudding mixture. Give everything a good mix and set side to cool completely. The bread doesn’t need to dissolve or anything. The slices will absorb the milk and get soft on their own. Set aside to cool completely. While the pudding mixture cools, coarsely powder the nuts for garnish. Once cool, transfer to a blender and give it all a whizz to a smooth consistency. The mixture will be thick before blending but loosen up a lot to pouring consistency when you are done. Grease a tray and pour the pudding mixture into it. See what I mean about the consistency? Garnish generously with powdered nuts (we used just almonds this time) and refrigerate covered for about 4 hours. Slice and serve chilled! Recipe adapted from Mid vlogs.
