Aarti Paarti Ep. 33: “Huggy Buggy” Bread Pudding
Posted by Aarti on May 20th, 2010 . Filed under: Uncategorized .Can we take a second and recognise the significance of the number 33? Not only is it a handsome lookin’ number, it’s also the age at which Jesus was crucified. And by no coincidence, it’s the coming of age for a hobbit, in Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Jesus performed 33 recorded miracles.
It’s also the numerical equivalent of AMEN (1+13+5+14=33).
Larry Bird’s number is 33. Speaking of which, GO CELTICS!
Hmmm, apparently, it was also Kobe’s jersey number in highschool. Oh dear.
Anyway, you get it right? It’s a pretty auspicious number. So here’s my humble offering to the number 33.
In this episode, I show you how to make my version of bread pudding, using coconut milk, fresh ginger, dried figs, cashews, and… a little whiskey. Put it all together, and it’s a recipe for bringing a smile to your face when grey clouds threaten your horizon. Because, my loves, this is all temporary. Even our darkest days are just temporary… you can’t have a valley without a mountain top. Look up dear hearts. God is on the move!
In a goofy way, the song Karen and I sing in this episode reflects that attitude. Instead of cursing up a storm when you feel like you’re doubled under with anger or sadness, maybe this little ditty will help you straighten your shoulders a touch. If not, then email me and I’ll pray for you. How ’bout that?!
Check it out!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYsNvlLWcgQ[/youtube]
——————————-
HUGGY BUGGY BREAD PUDDING
6 dried figs (I used the black mission kind but any is good), soaked in hot whiskey for at least 15 minutes. Reserve 2 tbsp of whiskey. Drink the rest. 
1 baguette, cut into 1″ chunks (about 7 cups)
1 14oz can coconut milk (not the lowfat kind)
2 1/2 cups whole milk
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamon
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
Pinch of salt
Handful roasted, unsalted cashew nuts
3 tbsp melted butter
1 small container whipping cream
Zest of an orange
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure you have two dishes: 1 large roasting pan, and 1 9″x13″ baking dish. Pour melted butter into the baking dish and use a pastry brush to make sure there’s butter all over it.
2) Whisk coconut milk and whole milk together in large bowl. Add bread and toss. Allow to soak while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
3) In another medium bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, spices, ginger, reserved whiskey and salt together until smooth. Slice figs thinly and set aside. Pour egg mixture into bread mixture, add figs, and toss together.
4) Pour the whole lot into the prepped baking dish. Sprinkle with cashews. Place roasting pan in the oven. Place baking dish in the roasting pan. Pour hot water into roasting pan, and fill until halfway up the baking dish. Shut oven door, and bake about 35 minutes, until the pudding pulls away from the sides of the dish.
5) Beat whipping cream in large bowl, with powdered sugar. When soft peaks form, gently fold in orange zest. Top serving of bread pudding with whipped cream, and serve!
UPDATE: I meant to mention that you DON’T need to add whiskey to this recipe to make it good. In fact, the first time I made it, I didn’t use any! You can soak the figs in hot water or hot juice, or heck even some hot fruity tea! You can add the juice or tea to the custard, or omit altogether.
-x-
aarti
May 20th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
this the bomb!!!!! tastes so good:)
May 20th, 2010 at 12:30 pm
So glad to have the recipe. I <3 you.
May 20th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
i smiled all the way through your song with karen.
bread pudding looks great!
May 20th, 2010 at 9:16 pm
that song was too funny.
May 20th, 2010 at 11:21 pm
Bread pudding looks yummy, “what the buck” is groovy but unfortunately waste of good whisky!!
May 21st, 2010 at 1:14 am
You are so right Aarti. We never go through life alone. According to His promise, Jesus-Emmanuel, is always with us in good times and bad times. He is truly Emmanuel!! That thought is such a consolation and source of all our strength. /
I love bread pudding, I have never tried it with figs or whiskey:)
I hope you guys will be composing more songs, listening to “What the buck” brought back fond memories of our visit to LA.
May 21st, 2010 at 5:45 am
love watching you and my sis!!
May 22nd, 2010 at 8:42 am
Hee. I’m 33. So even more awesome magic! Love the song! And it just looks sooo good!
May 22nd, 2010 at 10:39 am
hey! what is a substitute for whiskey?
June 2nd, 2010 at 10:57 pm
Awesome song! You had me smiling the entire time.
I will be cheering you on on Sunday!
June 5th, 2010 at 9:30 am
Cuuute song! Love the message.
Glad you’re posting again, thought you disappeared! And you’re going to be on the next Food Network Star show?! How cool is that — congrats! Will be rootin’ for you!
June 6th, 2010 at 9:37 pm
Aarti,
Saw you on Food Network. Wow! Looks like so much fun! Lucky girl!
Like your videos on your blog. You’ve got an ease about you in front of the camera! It’s great!
Like your bread pudding video…
Good luck on The Next Food Network Star!
Carmen
June 7th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
Aarti!
Just want to drop a line to you to tell you that when I saw you on TV last night in the opening credits for The Next Food Network Star, I jumped out of my chair, pointed at the TV and said “I KNOW HER!” Then I rewound, watched it again to see if it was really you, and then did a little happy dance that you are on the show! I’m so pumped for you! GOOD FOR YOU that you snagged a spot on the show. I don’t doubt for a minute that your Medill training, WNUR spirit, and personality are going to shoot you to the top. We’re rooting for you, Aarti! Good luck!
All the best,
Kristy Buchthal
p.s. sorry for the random placement of this, but i didn’t know how else to send you a message.
June 7th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
Hi Aarti, I found you via the Food Network site and I have to say you are one of my favorites! I’ve always wanted to experiment with Indian flavors but being raised on Southern Food (yes, I’m from Georgia and even met Paula Deen once) I’m a little intimidated by all the unique spices. Can’t wait to read more of your recipes.
Wishing you all the best with the Food Star competition!
June 7th, 2010 at 9:32 pm
Hi there!!!
Like the others, I found you online after watching you last night on TNFNS!!! I was going to email you personally, but couldn’t find an email address on here.
Anyway, I was wondering where I can find your Dal recipe you made? Looks DELICIOUS!!
Also, I am a Christian, too!
His,
Mrs. U
June 16th, 2010 at 1:10 am
Aarti,
It seems to be a re-occurring theme that those engaged by your performances on TNFNS can’t help but read up more about you on your blog! Your culinary take intrigues me and I’m thankful for the opportunity you have on the show so that I can learn from you!
I’ll continue to follow your food lessons on your blog. Meanwhile, I feel compelled to build you up in faith after learning you are Christian too! I really would like to see Christ shine through your performances in the next weeks to come. While we may have moments where we don’t have faith in ourselves, perhaps the best attitude to have is to draw strength/confidence from the one True God who deserves that glory and yet wishes you to do well! He’s given you amazing talent and knowledge. I’m excited as to how much more gifts He’s going to give you from here on!
Cheering you on,
- L
June 23rd, 2010 at 4:38 am
Aarti,
I just want to say that TNFNS should stop wasting time and money and just give you your show NOW!! My husband and I can’t wait to watch it!! We’re rooting for you all the way!
Peace,
Kathy
June 30th, 2010 at 6:23 pm
OMG.. like OMG…you’re such a storm!! I totally love your show and you’re absolutely fabulous on TNFNS … my vote is for you and i wish you all the success and truly truly truly hope and pray that you will be the next food network star… can’t wait to see more of you in the coming weeks..o n btw, funny song! !hahaha
July 2nd, 2010 at 11:34 am
OMG I would TOTALLY eat that and I loathe bread pudding! lol
July 9th, 2010 at 11:17 am
Hi Aarti,
I just wanted to let you know in case you haven’t been on the food network site in a little while, that your in 1st place on the voting chart! I really, really hope you when this! Keep riding that confidence wave!
July 11th, 2010 at 4:11 pm
Aarti,
Loved all the you tube videos. You are really fun to watch. I wish you’d relax and be like you are at home on the food network star show. Just imagine it’s “husby” behind the camera and you’ll win!
July 12th, 2010 at 6:41 am
Hoping you win TNFNS! You have the personality and the talent; just let it shine through! Good Luck!
July 17th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
Hey Aarti!
I;m new to your site and just watched “What the Buck”, it was a riot.!!. You really deserve to win TNFNS, you’re obviously a great cook and alot of fun to watch. You have my vote, God’s going to bless you girl, keep up the good work! Good Luck!!!
July 18th, 2010 at 9:31 pm
After hearing them say you were a food blogger a thousand times on TNFNS I finally walked to the computer to find you blog. I was excited to find it and even more excited to find out that you are a Christian.
I made the Huggy Buggy bread pudding for a potluck at our church tonight. It went over great.
Best of luck on the show. I’m hoping that you win so I can get a regular dose of good Indian recipes!
July 24th, 2010 at 7:03 pm
Hi Aarti! This recipe is amazing! I made it tonight for my family and they loved it! I am so excited to make more wonderful Indian dishes from your wonderful recipes! Thank you so much for inspiring me to cook more for my family.
August 14th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
Aarti, this bread pudding is amazing!!! unbelievable
i tried this yesterday, and my boyfriend finished the whole pan! Instead of figs, I tried dired banana slices. Bananas work pretty well too. Thanks for sharing 
August 16th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Here’s another 33 for you… http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100816/NEWS01/100816001/-1/RSS05
August 18th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
Wow, I loved the episode and I will definitely try this bread pudding recipe. Looks so good. Congrats on winning Food Network Star, I’ll be watching your show!
)
August 22nd, 2010 at 5:14 pm
CONGRATULATIONS on winning TNFNS Show! You are absolutely the best. I love your style. I like the way you explain things. You are unpretentious and FUN! I love watching you on the tube! Can’t wait to try some of your recipes! Saw your debut FN Show today – amazing! Congrats again.
Hugs,
/; -)
August 24th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
This looks GREAT! A bit off topic, your friend Karen favors Karen Carpenter a little bit. <3
August 31st, 2010 at 4:23 pm
Hi Aarti,
My name is Meera . I am 12 years old and I love your recipes. So far I have made the Pistachio Pops, the Bombay Sloppy Joes, the Massaged Kale Salad, and the award winning Pizza. My family loves it. This weekend I am going to try the Huggy Buggy Bread ( my family calls me Huggy). I was hoping that you could join me in my quest to raise money to help educate children in India and rid the country of illiteracy. I believe that if tribal children can get an education then they have a better chance of succes and being self-sufficient. I am supporting a program through Ekal Vidyalaya where if you can raise $365.00 you can build one school in one village with one teacher. My younger brother and I have already raised enough for one school over the summer. Ekal’s goal is to build 100,000 schools by 2012. I thought if you could come to my home town in Ohio and cook, we could have a fundraiser to raise money to build many more schools. If you could please do the cooking, than I could supply the food and the place, and invite people from the community to donate. I hope you can help in this really good cause….and we can taste your really good food.
– Meera
September 1st, 2010 at 6:56 pm
In your show, you did not use a bain marie, we tried it with this recipe, cooked for over an hour (in a bain marie), turned up the heat to 425 degrees, still came out under-cooked in the middle. I recorded the show – guess what NO mention of a bain marie!
PLEASE try some consistency!!! Otherwise, your credibility will be shot down!
Last week, we tried your fish tacos using Basa, it was ABFAB!
September 2nd, 2010 at 8:26 pm
Is David referring to the Huggy Buggy? I just cooked it tonight, and it was perfect. The demo on your site shows cooking in a water bath, but the Food Network obviously saw some changes that would make it user friendly. I love the changes! Also used the vanilla ice cream instead of the whipped cream topping.
Also did your red new potatoes at 425 on parchment, lots of olive oil, fresh thyme and s&p. Yummy!
David, save the water bath for your creme brulee where you may really need it.
Aarti, keep it coming! Great to bring out new recipes and surprise everyone! Thanks!
September 3rd, 2010 at 9:36 am
Interesting note. As I compare the 2 recipes for Huggy Buggy, I can see that I used the one from the blog and yet cooked it per the TV version. The blog recipe calls for 2 1/2 c. whole milk while the TV calls for 3 cups. Also, the coconut milk I found was 13 oz. not the 14 called for. The blog recipe had me use grated fresh ginger while I see the TV one calls for regular ground ginger. I suspect the differences in liquid may account for my pudding coming out perfect in 35 min. while David had problems. I didn’t use the bath. This is not a recipe to be discarded, just get it settled. It’s too good not to be a regular treat for everyone! I suspect the less liquid ingred. made the difference.
September 5th, 2010 at 6:18 pm
Yay! You are the one I rooted and tooted to win and look at you now!
So happy for you and your honey. He’s gonna be a Big Star too.
Don’t change from the sweet, wonderful and warm person that made
us love you. I cannot wait to make your Huggy Buggy Puddin,
and I loved the song. Will you be able to continue your blogging now
that you have a more hectic schedule with F. Network?
September 6th, 2010 at 9:14 am
can’t wait to try this…it sounds so amazing
September 9th, 2010 at 4:16 am
Hi Aarti! First off, Congratulations!! My daughter Asia (8) and I were rooting for you the whole season!! My family is very excited by your Indian style recipes and we tried 2 last night! My husband Matt made the I ain’t no chicken chicken and Asia and I made the Huggy Buggy puddin. Both were AMAZING! And when I say AMAZING I truly mean it. We are serious food lovers and when we don’t like something we DON’T like it and will never try it again. The chicken was moist, flavorful and DELICIOUS! As well as the Huggy Buggy Puddin. I’m even eating my 2nd helping this morning for breakfast because the whole dinner was so good we ate it all up! Needless to say, we were stuffed last night!
Thank you thank you!!
With love,
Dee
September 28th, 2010 at 10:40 am
Wow! This recipe looks very good. I would surely love to give this one out a try as bread puddings are one of my favorites. Thank you so much for sharing this to us, I hope I can pull this recipe off. It would go very well with a hot cup of coffee made from my new super automatic espresso machine at home. Kudos!
September 28th, 2010 at 12:33 pm
This recipe turned out delish! My husband and 2 boys, 24 & 16 look forward to our own Aarti Party each week as we dine in-dian! Our kitchen has never smelled better since inviting Aarti into our home. Looking forward to Indian Summer all Winter. Keep up the great job!
October 14th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
And 33 Miners rescued!!!
November 20th, 2010 at 5:47 am
[...] just fine! I mentioned before that I really like Aarti Sequeria, the newest Food Network star. Here’s a link to her Huggy Buggy Bread Pudding. I haven’t made it yet, but I can’t wait to try it. [...]
December 18th, 2010 at 11:33 pm
[...] I did venture out once, to my friend Michelle’s housewarming party, to deliver some bread pudding and play with her playful cat Mari. This bread pudding is good. Make it [...]
March 22nd, 2011 at 7:27 pm
[...] but Aarti is the real deal. Later, after my shift, I was able to enjoy her demo where she made Huggy Buggy Bread Pudding for the audience. During each demo, raffle tickets were sold for $1.00 each for the privilege of [...]
March 22nd, 2011 at 7:37 pm
[...] but Aarti is the real deal. Later, after my shift, I was able to enjoy her demo where she made Huggy Buggy Bread Pudding for the audience. During each demo, raffle tickets were sold for $1.00 each for the privilege of [...]
August 17th, 2011 at 1:59 pm
Hi Aarti, just made the bread and butter pudding and it was so yum, real comfort food
. I used dates instead of figs and left the alcohol out. I went to buy cardamon powder but found that its so expensive so I bought whole pods and I crushed them myself. Overall a lovely dish, thanks x
October 10th, 2011 at 8:40 am
[...] and heavy cream coupons are somewhat harder to find. I’ve talked before about bread pudding (here’s my favorite). If you don’t have heavy cream, or milk, or coconut milk, see how much coffee creamer you [...]
April 10th, 2012 at 5:16 am
Make this regularly at home. Yum. Made it dairy-free for a guest using almond milk instead of whole milk. Yum again.