Banana Choco Nut Ice Cream

So many bloggers seem to be going, er, bananas over the last couple of days....I am sure you have all noticed banana muffins and breads and halwas that have been going around in the blogosphere recently.

I couldn't resist going their way...going bananas, that is.

So here's a delicious Banana Choco Nut Ice Cream....packed with the goodness of bananas, nuts and low fat milk, this is a (healthy) treat that, to me, is irrestible!

Ingredients:

Low Fat Milk - 250 ml + 50 ml

Skimmed Milk Powder - 4 tbsps

Sugar *- 30

Cornflour - 3/4 tsp

Cocoa powder - 1 tsp

Milk/Dark Chocolate - 30 gms

Walnuts/ Almonds(peeled) - 3 tbsps, chopped (I used equal amounts of both, but I prefer using walnuts)

Banana (peeled) - 150 gms

Lemon juice* - 5 drops

Method:

Mix together skimmed milk powder, cornflour, cocoa powder, sugar with the 50 ml milk.

Boil the remaining milk and add the above mix to it in a thin stream, stirring constantly as you pour it in. Keep stirring till it comes to a boil. Lower the flame and let it simmer for a further 2-3 minutes.

Switch off the gas and add the chocolate to it; stir to melt it.

When the mixture cools, blend together in a mixie along with the bananas.

Add the chopped nuts and freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions.

If you don't have an ice cream maker, then you will need to blend the ice cream in the mixie to a thick slush, about 4 times - do this when the ice cream is in the semi-set stage. In that case, add the nuts after you are done with the last cycle of blending.

Variations:

Instead of blending the bananas in the mixie, mash it up with your hand if you like a chunky ice cream.

For a chocolate chip effect, chill the base custard in the fridge. Melt the chocolate and add it to the chilled custard.

(If you are not using an ice cream maker, add in the above two variations after the last cycle of blending).

Notes:

* if the bananas are very sweet (mine were), add the lemon juice. If they happen to be a little sour, add another 10 gms of sugar and omit the lemon juice.

And don't go by my picture of a melting ice cream - that scoop endured different poses and angles for a not so perfect picture - in fact you'll need to let the ice cream rest for about 5 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Indulge!!