Fruit Chat

Lets get down to business. Fruit chat is pretty much the simplest thing on earth. Just chop 'em up and mix 'em up. So lets go get the fruit basket.

I chopped up 5 bananas, 3 apples, seeds of 1 pomegranate, and 2 oranges. Take half a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice and pour it in. This will ensure your fruits don't turn brown. You can add strawberries, kiwis, dates, etc. The more, the merrier!

Add 4 tbsp sugar, a pinch of salt and a pinch of either black pepper or fruit chat masala. I used fruit chat masala. And that's it. Mix well. Chill and serve.

Fruits in Custard

Well its Ramadhan time...and we love our fruits at Iftar time. Here's fruit custard with a twist. Ever tried it with almonds and dates? It is simply awesome. A little crunchy. A little chewy.

• 1/2 litre milk
• 2 tsp custard powder
• 1 cup sugar
• A drop of vanilla essence
• 2 bananas
• 1 apple
• 1 orange, seeds removed
• pomegranate seeds
• 10 almonds, skinned and chopped
• 6 dates, seeds removed and chopped
• 2-3 slices of plain vanilla cake or sponge cake

Prepare custard according to directions. Heat milk to boiling point. Dissolve custard powder in a little water to make a paste. Reduce heat and add sugar to the milk. Add the custard paste stirring continuously. Add vanilla essence. Allow to cool and refrigerate.

Dice the fruits and add the orange bits preferably without the skin. Add the chopped almonds and dates. Mash the sponge cake with fingers and sprinkle into the custard. Mix well and serve cold.

Tip: Custard not your thing? Make Fruit Chat instead. Leave out the custard and the cake. Add orange juice to the diced fruits, a pinch of salt, 4 tsp sugar and some black pepper. You can use fruit chat masala available in deli counters as well. Ramadhan Kareem.