Last week we named Chef Joel D’Souza as winner of the Goa Streets Twitter Recipe Contest for his version of his grandmother’s delightful creation ‘Preserved Lemon Citrus Chicken with Coriander Gremolata’. There were two runners up in the contest, help and we promised we’d share those recipes with you, too. After the preserved lemon chicken, the sweetness of these dishes should hit the spot. Congratulations to winners Reeva Pinto and Nicole Figueiredo. Both give their recipes in their own words, and then tell a little bit about themselves. (By the way, if you recognize Nicole’s name, that might be because she also won our ‘Favourite Goan on Twitter’ contest – is she on a roll or what?)

Nicole Figueiredo’s Chocolate Muffins with Walnuts

Ingredients: 

4 Eggs

150 gm margarine

50 gm refined oil

160 gm flour

40 gm cocoa powder

200 gm powdered sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp soda bicarbonate

Chopped walnuts

Method:

Sieve the cocoa powder, baking powder and flour together. Cream the butter, oil and soda bicarbonate well. Add sugar powder and beat till light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat well. Lastly, add the flour mixture. Mix well and pour into the muffin moulds after greasing them and lining them with butter paper. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts on each muffin. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 30-40 minutes.

And now a little bit more about Nicole: (Catch her on Twitter at @nicolefigi)

I’m from Orlim, (the little town between Varca and Cavelosim). I’ve been born and raised in Mumbai but am a Goan at heart. My parents are both from Goa and they moved to Mumbai so that I had better opportunities to choose from. We still visit Goa every year either in May or December. I started my career in Public Relations three months ago after pursuing my Postgraduate Diploma in PR & Corporate Communication from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. I now work at MSL India. I love to bake! I love to sing more than I love to bake. I’m part of an acoustic duo, ‘Open’. We recently did two shows in Pune and are soon going to perform in Mumbai again. 

Reeva Pinto and her Banoffee Pie

This is a simple banana, cream and toffee pie, which is a very popular English dessert. Condensed milk when boiled gives a lovely toffee flavour which forms the most delicious layer of this dish. There are so many ways in which you can make this dish. You can make a pastry base or a biscuit crumble base!  Just follow the recipe which is easiest and suits you the best!

Ingredients:

Nestle Milkmaid (1 400 gm tin. I use Nestle because I like the texture and flavour of its toffee, as compared to others)

McVitties Digestive Biscuits (300 gm or more depending on how thick a base you want. McVitties taste delicious!)

Butter (60 gm or as much required to crumble the biscuit)

Bananas (make sure they’re ripe as green ones don’t give the right flavour; use as many as you need to cover the size of your dish)

Cream (200 ml. You get cream in either 200 ml/1 litre cartons. You can use 2 of the 200 ml cartons if you want more cream.)

Sugar (Powdered, 1-2 tbsp)

Coffee (Instant, 1-2 tbsp)

Garnish (grated chocolate or coffee powder)

Method:

Immerse the can of milkmaid in a saucepan of boiling water and simmer for 2 hours, making sure the can is submerged fully. (Most recipes online say for 3 hours, but I sometimes get the job done in less than 2 hours. When the water becomes less just add some more hot water, you can even turn the milkmaid can so that the side facing up is submerged again.)

Meanwhile, roughly crumble biscuits in a plastic bag, (do not make fine powder). Mix it with cool butter, not completely melted, and press it flat against a tin. The size of the tin can vary as per the thickness of the biscuit base desired. I like my biscuit base very thin so I go for a longer or broader pan. Chill till firm (and until the milkmaid is done and cooled off a little.)

Spread the cool milkmaid on top of the base (spread either with a spatula dipped in water, or if lumpy just spoon little bit at a time over the base till it covers.) You can use as much milkmaid as desired. The rest can be kept away for other sweets. I use the entire tin and make a really big pie because we are just too many of us here who love more than a second helping.

Cut banana slices thickness as desired and layer on top of the milkmaid. (Sometimes I put 2 layers.) Chill again till the cream is ready.

Whip cream with coffee and little powdered sugar (sweetness as desired, because the milkmaid can get very sweet.) I do mine without the sugar, because I love the bitter coffee to cut through the sweetness of the milkmaid and bananas. Chill again!

Cut slices and serve. It should be done in about 2-3 hours of chilling.

Now a little more about Reeva:

I am Reeva from Goa. Fun-loving, but very straight forward! (Currently recuperating from a leg injury.) Had a surgery 6 months ago and now I’m back to walk and do other small things which feel like an accomplishment now that I am back on my feet. I love to write and talk, although I am not a professional writer. You can see how much I have elaborated in my simple but very long recipe! As for cooking, I’ve just started and am still learning. But I love trying out different recipes, be it simple and easy desserts or long and tedious stews. Patience is my plus point and I can just be at a recipe for hours together. That’s all about me! (Interact with her on Twitter: @reevapinto)