Dulce De Leche

I have seen many a blogger go ga ga over this in the blogosphere.

Basically it is a sweet prepared by slowly heating sweetened milk to create a product that derives its taste from caramelised sugar. Literally translated, it means "candy of milk" or "candy [made] of milk", "milk candy", or "milk jam"

So i too set out to try it and find out what all the noise was about.

Frankly speaking I did not find it to be anything to be over excited about, well its nice ,in its own way , but will I be making it again? Not any time soon me thinks.

It tasted like what it was i.e. condensed milk that has been solidifed and I would rather lick a spoon of milkmaid than munch on this. Not that I have anything against it.

Having said that I was now the proud owner of a jar full of this stuff without a clue as to what to do with it.

How i went about it:

1)I filled my pressure cooker with water.

2)Placed a can of Amul Mithai Mate in the lying down position (not standing up) so that it half submerged in water.

3)Closed the lid(with the gasket),and on a high flame, when the steam comes place the weight and after the first whistle, remove the weight and lower the flame to simmer.

5)Let it simmer for 40-45 mins. (the longer you steam it for the thicker and richer will be the colour).

6)Wait till it cools down to room temperature and then open it and use it however you like.

I found a couple of brownie recipes that called for the inclusion of eggs and I wasnt too keen on that.

The other day it so happened that after a lazy Saturday lunch, i wanted something sweet (as usual) and there was nothing at home!

Opened the fridge , glanced at the assorted(read crowded) stuff inside, nothing caught the eye, was just about to close the door when I chanced upon the jar sitting neglected in a corner and hoping to be picked.

I thought why not, I want something (anything, other than plain sugar) sweet and this is sweet.

So i took a spoonful, plopped down on the sofa, with "The Big Bang Theory" for company (I just love these guys, they are so damn funny) and started licking it.

I was halfway through , and realized that I was not enjoying this very much.

I wanted to dress it up a little, so I took a Marie biscuit, spread some of this stuff on it ,placed another biscuit on top and Viola there was a dulce de Leche Marie sandwich.

Which was actually pretty impressive.

If you have some chocolate cake handy, you can place a nice thin layer of it on top of the DDL and make your own easy biscuit pudding.

Quinelle of the Leche resting atop a stack of biscuits

A tasty mountain,a browny spotted in the vicinity.