if you don't mind
Many years ago I had a favourite Indian restaurant on Corlett Drive in Johannesburg. They served an Indian rice pudding as a speciality on their dessert menu.
A rare treat I have searched high and low for ever since. I assume it was Kheer and infused with saffron. But I have yet to find anything that compares.
Although it is also the dessert menu that has me going back to Darbar in Emsworth. For both their rice pudding and a very sweet doughnut type dessert which I think is Gulab Jamun.
[Edit] Closed. Reverted to the original Albion Inn but think it has closed as well.
I never for one moment believed that I would find the perfect Malva pudding in a small village in Kent which lies between the North Downs and the Weald of Kent.
But if you are lucky enough, you could find it on the menu at The Curious Eatery in Boughton Monchelsea. After growing up in Botswana and training in Cape Town, two sisters Lesley & Nicole set up their eatery in the disused Albion Inn.
Rustic, informal and tasteful furnished creating a setting that complements an exciting, vibrant menu.
Homemade, home baked cakes, tarts and chocolatey treats. As well as ever difficult to find traditional bread and butter pudding.
The boxed pudding that travels cross country before being popped through a letter box cannot by any stretch of the imagination, be referred to as home cooked.
Whereas a light steaming sponge plucked straight out the hot pan, drenched in golden syrup and served in a bowl of fresh farm cream is what I look forward to at the Royal Oak Hooksway.
A 16th Century pub, it might well be.
But they are pushing boundaries a bit when it comes to traditional Sussex pub food. Not with the desserts though. Besides my sponge pudding there is a crumble of the day
as well as a chocolate fudge cake. Not strictly exclusive to Sussex. But close enough.
It is the Main menu which, besides the sausages which are served with chips, holds no surprises.
A simple standard menu. Exactly what you would expect from a country pub. The ubiquitous burger, pies, ham and eggs, lasagne, curry of the day and jacket potatoes.
Which is what appeals to me. Unassuming, perfectly ordinary, no pretensions. Stricly ordinary hopefully home cooked pub comfort food .
And a Sunday Roast which ranks amongst the better ones I have found in the South Downs.
One of my enduring memories of Christmas, is finding the sixpence inside the brandy drenched Christmas pudding.
Patiently waiting for the adults after switching off the lights. All the oohing and aahing, as the flaming pudding was brought to the table. I wasn’t particularly interested in the brandy butter either. It was the shiny new sixpence and a years good luck which I was after.
Whereas now that I am a lot older and a lot wiser, it is what makes the difference between one pudding and another that is important. Like the handmade traditional puddings from a tiny artisan bakery in Devon. Figgy’s puddings that are steamed and matured in the traditional way that allows the flavours to mature and develop.
I wonder if they have ever considered popping a shiny new sixpence into the mix?
A traditional English steamed sponge pudding on a cold winter’s day.
A rare treat that is not as easy to find as it should be. Unless you already know about Quantock Steamers. Situated at the base of the Quantock Hills they specialise in making artisan steamed sponge and meat suet puddings.
The Quantock Hills in Somerset, consist of heathland, oak woodlands, ancient parklands and agricultural land. They were England’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and are the perfect setting for this family-run business.
If you have never had the pleasure of sitting down to a steamed syrup sponge pudding you have something to look forward to.