Goan Fruit Salad

The Goan Fruit Salad Recipe is made with Custard and fresh fruits. The 3 popular fruits used in this recipe were apples, oranges and grapes, bananas were optional as they turned black and made the custard a little mushy. Just like the Goan Bread Pudding (recipe here), the Fruit Salad is a must have on the dessert table. Goan’s celebrate a  Sunday Lunch more than a dinner. A large population of Goan’s are Catholics and most are very involved with the local churches. It is normal for people to be in church on Sunday mornings and then go back home to cook a great meal for the family.

The basic custard which is a lovely pastel yellow color, is made with a store-bought Custard mixture. It is a mixture of cornstarch, vanilla essence and yellow food color. Here in the US I have only seen them at Asian markets, so I made the same recipe with ingredients that are available at the local grocery stores. Corn starch/flour makes for a smooth custard without the use of eggs.

This recipe can be made vegan by substituting the milk and heavy cream with almond or soy milk. It is vegetarian as no eggs are used to make the custard. You can also use it to make a healthier version of the popular Creme Brulee.

As time has passed there are a couple of variations to the recipe in terms of the type of fruits you can add. Dried fruits and toasted cashews, almonds or walnuts can be added. Papayas, kiwi, strawberry, blueberry, pineapple can be added as well. I also add crushed cookies or frosted corn flakes for an added crunch on top.

Servings: 8-10

Ingredients:

3 cups of low-fat or whole milk

1 cup of heavy whipping cream (optional if you want to cut the fat)

1/2 cup of sugar (If you like it sweeter add another 1/2 cup more)

12 drops of yellow food color

1 tsp of vanilla essence

4 tbsp of corn starch

4 tbsp of cold water

pinch of salt

1 cup of diced apples

1 cup of halved green/red grapes

3-4 medium-sized oranges

Directions:

Mix the milk and heavy cream together in a pot and bring it to a boil. Add sugar, salt, vanilla essence and stir till the sugar is dissolved.

Next add the food color and stir. In a small mixing bowl stir the corn starch and water together till a smooth mixture. Add it to the hot milk and stir till the mixture thickens about 7 to 10 minutes on medium heat.

Take off heat and let cool.

Once cool, mix the chopped fruits and the custard together, chilli in the refrigerator for 2-4 hour and enjoy with crushed nuts, crumbled sugar cookies or frosted flakes for a nice crunch.

This fruit salad recipe is great for the holiday seasons as it can be prepared a day ahead. You can replace the fresh fruits with the canned fruit cocktail. I made the fruit salad for my 4-year-old son’s birthday and it was a hit with the small kids.