Baked Custard (and a Giveaway!)

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One fine morning, I received a message from Papatia, who runs Djaribi Books, which specializes in Islamic books for kids and adults in the USA. They have launched a new book called “Halal Comfort Foods” and she asked if I would be interested in reviewing it. I was more than happy to do it and hence responded back with a “yes”. Couple of weeks later, I received a pretty parcel which actually had more than the book itself! It came with some nibbles, which were thoroughly enjoyed by ourselves over tea. 🙂

 

Why the book? USA is said to have the most number of reverts into Islam. More than the inclination to the Shahadah (the Oneness of Allah and accepting that Prophet Muhammad SAW is His messenger), it entails a total change in lifestyle for reverts. That change includes in food as well. Food as a total is Halaal or permissible, however there are certain sections of food that are not permitted, ie. pork, alcohol and meat slaughtered in a name other than that of Allah. From a position of being able to eat and drink anything without restriction, a revert will need to go through several checks in their eating habits. The book is a perfect guide for reverts living in the West as to how to look into their eating options.

 

 

 

The book explains in detail about what is Halal, and what to look for while searching for Halal food. The book then goes on to provide various sections of recipes – breakfasts, beverages, appetizers and snacks, breads, entrees and desserts, prepared with Halal ingredients. What I loved about the book is that it does focus on certain American recipes converted to a Halal format. For example, making sausages out of beef mince and making beer bread by replacing the beer with club soda! The book is a perfect example of how to make a revert feel assured that it is not all about giving up on comfort food that they grew up with. The book is with very simple prints and easy to follow. I have a few already bookmarked like the few mentioned above, the Broccoli Salad, Old Fashioned American Biscuits, Red Beans and Rice and Lemon Sponge Pie. From these names, you can understand how much the book concentrates on food that comforts and consoles. The book ends with details about the author M. K. Johnston, who is a revert herself as well as her interview which was featured in the Hayati Magazine in 2015. This is followed by an index and a little article on Ramadan.

 

While going through the book, even though I marked a few recipes like my eyes fell on the custard pie recipe. As impulsive I can be, I pulled out all the ingredients and started whipping it up, only to realize that I needed to make a pie crust and that process would take time. 🙁  Still, I went ahead and baked them in my thin flat tray. Once bought to room temperature, I allowed it to cool. Like the author mentions in the book, the waiting part was really difficult, but it was really worth it. Within minutes, the little portion I made vanished off! It was really delicious and definitely something I would repeat it in a pie crust next time, InShaAllah. Off to the recipe…

 

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5 from 3 votes

Baked Custard

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 5 minutes
Servings 3
Author Rafeeda

Ingredients

  • 2 large eggs slightly beaten
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • A pinch of salt
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/4 scalding hot milk
  • A dash of cardamom and cinnamon powders

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 160 degrees. Keep a small flat pan ready.
  • Whisk the eggs with sugar, salt and vanilla till pale.
  • Slowly pour the hot milk and keep whisking till you have a homogeneous mixture. Ensure to keep whisking to avoid curdling.
  • Pour into the pan and sprinkle the spice powders.
  • Bake for 40 minutes or till a skewer comes out clean and the top looks set.
  • Cool completely, before chilling it till fully set.

Notes

The original recipe was with a pie crust, so if you have a ready made pie, pour the mixture into it and bake it the same time.
The author used a sprinkling of nutmeg, but I substituted with cardamom.

 

And I have a good news too! The publishers are giving away a copy of this book and a little hamper for those who read this post! All you need to do is to comment on this post by answering,

“What according to you is comfort food?”

The giveaway is open for two weeks and once back, a winner will be chosen from the best responses. So keep typing in your responses below, I would love to read through them. May the best one win!

 

JazakAllah Khair to Papatia for including this little space of mine for the launch and promotion of this informative book. InShaAllah, it will definitely benefit new reverts to make easy decisions and be stress free with regards to food.

 

The book was received for review. Opinions expressed in this article are totally mine and without any bias. 

 

Join the Conversation

  1. Love baked custard! Your looks great and not overly sweet with just 3 tablespoons of sugar.

  2. According to me comfort food is traditional food prepared at home …

  3. Yummy preparation Rafee….

  4. It was beautiful reading through the post …
    Anything umma makes is my comfort food …nothing comparable to that .

  5. Salaam.. I discovered your blog quite recently.. but I have already written down many of your recipes and have made some of them too with excellent results.. jazakillah khair.. comfort food for me is food which brings memories of happy carefree childhood days in dubai, food which in my mind is associated with that sense of security, love, and happy family meals.. when Umma prepared our favourite dishes, food that was fulfilling to tummy and heart.. her sambar, chore and upperi with thick Dubai curd!, her masala dosa and chutney, her chemmeen fry and Ada, her erachi pidi,..ahh the list is endless!:)

  6. Wow that baked custard looks absolutely irresistible. Anything cooked with loads of love is definitely comforting na. However my mom’s dal and rasam with potato fry is my kind of comforting food. Though i make varieties of foods, i never fail to ask my mom to prepare her dal n potato fry whenever i visit her. Halal comfort food book prefect to have its own place in my culinary book shelf.

  7. comfort food is something with a story

  8. Buraida Jinas says:

    5 stars
    Well written Rafeeda!

    Comfort food for me is something that u gobble up without a second thought….a food that comforts ur taste buds, ur heart and ur tummy at the same time…something that u have it guilt free….mostly homemade n if not, it could be any of ur fixed menu u keep ordering from the same restaurant over n over again….that u eat with so much passion n u keep enjoying every bit of it!!

  9. 5 stars
    look really delicious !!

  10. Looks delicious!
    Comfort food is that which brings back memories you have grown up with!

  11. The custard looks awesome Sweetie. I am sure it is one of the comfort desserts next to ice cream. In my opinion comfort food is a dish that you wouldn’t be bored of eating umpteen times back to back and also something that you can never live without.

  12. 5 stars
    Comfort food is something that brings back good memories — old memories, or even recent ones. And probably something is pretty easy to prepare (like your baked custard). Rice pudding comes to mind for me.

  13. oooh can i get the give away too? or just for only dubai based blogger? anyway custard looks perfect !. For me Comfort food is any the kind of food that helps to put a smile on your face and makes you feel good inside.
    For me its hot rice and Rihaakuru ( which is a kind of fish paste condiment) with lime and chillies and fried morainga leaves.

  14. Custard in the baked version is new to me.. feel to have a scoop of the yummy custard !!
    To me comfort food is any food that is easily digestible and is super healthy esp our kanji,cherupayaru thoran combo 🙂

  15. My mom used to make something similar to this when I was young! This looks great!
    Comfort food to me is hands-down mom’s home cooked meals 🙂 Nothing beats them!

  16. Cooking is my #1 passion in life and I am all about comfort food when the fall and winter arrives in Michigan. Love love love making things like a chicken pot pie in my cast iron skillet or a batch of chili that has been simmering all day long. Comfort foods fill my heart and soul and make me feel so happy.

  17. Danielle D says:

    comfort food is whatever brings you back to a time in your life when everything was wonderful! usually a home made warm meal! my favorite comfort food is chicken pot pie!

  18. Bake custard looks perfectly made and so irresistible to dig into.

    COmfort food for me is something simple to make at the same time, to feel content on having it.

  19. Comfort food for me is a totally veg affair! Rice, sambar, with ghee and pickle and papadams. nothing else comforts more than this…. But the level of comfort increases if the food is prepared by my mom and I am sitting with her in our home while chit chatting away… and lose the count of serves.

  20. Rafeeda AR Author says:

    Thank you so much all of you for participating… as per randomizer, the winner is Julie! Congratulations! We will contact you for your address… 🙂

    1. Thanks a lot Rafee for the big surprise…feeling happy !!

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