A Sweet Surprise Gift, an award, and a Coconut Milk Mousse to celebrate!

Today, when I checked my email, there was one that literally made my day-from Katerina, a lovely lady who I’ve only “met” online, through her blog called Culinary Flavors. She wrote in to say that I’d won the giveaway on her blog!
This being the first “giveaway” that I ever participated in, and never having had any luck with lucky draws/raffles in real life, I was overjoyed! I am so glad my first such win was from Katerina because she is one person who has unfailingly taken the time to comment on almost every blog post of mine, and even took the time to send me personal emails of encouragement when I had blogged about being apprehensive about moving from one city to another. And the fact that she would be sending me this fantastic hamper of goodies, all the way from Greece to India, was just unbelievable! It is a goodie bag filled with different types of traditional Greek food products and I can’t wait to open the parcel and start using them! Here is the post about the result of the giveaway and I won these goodies. That you can make friends like this and meet such nice, talented people half way across the world through the Internet, who share your same interests and values-that is truly priceless! Katerina’s blog showcases traditional Greek cuisine as well as cuisine from around the world and I appreciate her being able to juggle the blog, her full-time job, and her family responsibilities as a wife and mother to a 7-year-old too! So I thought who better than her to deserve a little badge of appreciation for spreading some much-needed sunshine in my life-so I’m passing on to you, Katerina, this award called the “Sunshine Award”. Keep spreading the light all around you!

I received this award myself from Biny Anoop, of Biny's Recipes (check out her blog for a wide variety of interesting recipes). Thank you, Biny, although I’ve collected it a bit late in the day due to my relocation and internet connectivity issues. You are another person who has been a regular reader and commentator on my blog (again, having a full-time job and family and half way across the world in Ireland!). My previous award was also from you! In celebration of all this, let's all enjoy a sweet dish, shall we?

This recipe is one that I’ve seen my mom make umpteen number of times, for various parties at home, so much so that the origins of the recipe has been lost in the annals of history!!! It’s supremely easy to make and delicious too and does not require much time, other than the time needed for setting. It's perfect for parties, both formal and informal. My mom used to set this in a large, flat pudding dish, like a Pyrex one. The last time I made it, I set this in ramekins (you could use individual pudding bowls instead). This made it easier to serve and nice to look at too. Either way, it's your call!

To serve 6

1. 1 tin, or 400g, sweetened condensed milk
2. 1 tin, or 400 g, coconut milk (freshly squeezed or from coconut milk powder-see tips below)
3. 1 tin, or 400 g, milk
4. 1 egg (separate the yolk from the white)
5. 4 teaspoon gelatin, soaked and dissolved in half cup hot water (follow instructions on the packet if in doubt!)
6. 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

• Mix the condensed milk and milk in a saucepan.
• In a small bowl, beat the egg yolk with a fork and add this to the saucepan with the milk.
• Stir well to combine everything together and then cook it on a low flame until it reaches boiling point, stirring in between often.
• When it starts boiling, pour in the gelatin and stir again until it becomes the consistency of custard.
• Take off the flame and leave to cool.
• Once it has cooled, add the vanilla essence and the coconut milk and mix everything together well.
• Transfer to a mixing bowl and keep it refrigerated for about 1 hour, or until it is semi-set.
• Take it out of the fridge. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites until it forms smooth peaks, and add to the mousse.
• Now transfer it to either a flat glass serving dish or individual pudding bowls and refrigerate again until set (about 4 hours).
• Decorate with cherries or chocolate shavings and serve.

TIPS:

I remember my mom emptying the condensed milk tin and using the tin to measure the coconut milk and the other milk. Though freshly squeezed coconut milk has its own taste and merits, we've used coconut milk powder too, with good results (about 50 g powder dissolved in 1 tin of warm water).