Irresistible Hot Mud Pudding

 

Hello Folks!!!

Travel and great food is an integral part of African life. Like a ritual, all the weekends, are dedicated for travel. From Friday evening till Monday morning, people prefer to stay somewhere far away from their homes. This time we were travelling to Kasane. Kasane is a town lying in the north-eastern corner of Botswana, touching the borders of Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The place is known for its diverse wildlife, safaris and boating in dangerous waters with hippos and crocodiles. Anyone who loves adventures and seeks thrill should definitely drop in here.

After reaching Kasane, we drove to the Chobe National park, met a number of wild elephants, giraffes and kudus on the way, went for a safari and saw numerous lions and cubs, giant crocodiles and so much more. After an eventful day and a campfire dinner, we slept peacefully. The next morning, we decided to go back home.

On our way back, we stopped at Nata, close to the well known Nata Bird Sanctuary, which is in the main Nata - Francistown road. It is an oasis set among the Mokolwane Palms on the edge of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. In Nata, there is no need for speed control, since flocks of Ostriches keep moving across the road. To be on the safer side, it is better not to provoke the mighty birds! It is indeed a traveler's paradise. Nata is the junction to the Okavango, Chobe and Francistown areas. Those who travel to the  splendid Moremi Game Reserve, the majestic Chobe National Park and the breath taking Victoria Falls always halt here for a much deserved break..

Walking into the wonderful place, the ‘Nata Lodge’(it has many luxury thatched chalets built on stilts in rustic African style), I saw a number of tourists relaxing and  admiring the landscape, with a cup of steaming coffee in their hands. One among them, a man who sat next to us was describing the tales of his previous expedition. He said that a few months ago, he went scuba diving in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and was attacked by a shark. You can definitely imagine how dangerous it can get sometimes!

However, one thing caught my attention. A waitress placed a ramekin with a mud colored, cakey, dessert in front of him which was hot and had fragrance as sweet as that of Ambrosia.  He took the spoon and carefully dipped it into the middle and scooped out not just cake, but melting dark chocolate! Obviously, just like any tempted soul would do, I ordered it and gulped the wonderful pudding.  It was a mix of all that was good. Who doesn’t love to take mouthfuls of warm, molten, silky and smooth bites of goodness! They have the fudgy cake on the outside with an irresistible center of warm dark chocolate. This was how I met the 'Irresistible Hot Mud Pudding'.

RECIPE                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS

1.Butter – 100g

2. Dark Chocolate – 100g

3. Brown sugar – 150g

4. Eggs – 3

5. All-purpose flour- 50g

6.Vanilla extract – ½ tsp

 

INSTRUCTIONS

1.Butter 6 ramekins.

2. Put the butter and chopped dark chocolate together in a bowl and melt it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Then, set it aside to cool for 15minutes.

3.Mix in the sugar, then the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract  and finally, the flour.

4.Transfer this into the 6 ramekins equally and bake for 10-12 mins at 180°C.

5.Once baked, run the knife along the edge and carefully flip them onto a serving dish. Top it with a scoop of ice-cream, strawberries, nuts, or just dust it with sugar.

You can also sit back on your couch, scoop some pudding and watch a movie! A perfect day !