Be My Guest - Pies in a Pot

The next Saturday arrives with another guest post. This time, it is the very talented Priya Elias who blogs at "The Humpty Dumpty Kitchen". I came upon her blog at the early stages of starting my blog and I really loved what I saw. First of all, I love the way she writes. There is a hint of humor in each line that she jots out that you can't but help laughing. She calls herself a lazy bone but the pictures on her blog states otherwise. At least she takes the effort to take such beautiful pictures and arrange her food in a lovely way. That is definitely not the sign of a lazyhead but an extremely talented food blogger. This is the fifth in the series of guest posts on my blog. To see those that have been featured till now, you can refer here.

First. let's get to know a bit about her, before we move on to the recipe. Don't these pies in the pot look amazing? I'm sure I would never be able to stop at one. While she was working on this post, she emailed me asking if it would be appropriate to include gelatine into the recipe. I was quite impressed about her presence of mind. Yes, gelatine, being a meat based product, has to be Halal for Muslims to use. Being in the UAE, we are lucky to get Halal gelatine produced under Gelita brand and we also receive quite a bit of sweet and jelly products based on gelatine. I've in fact used gelatine in a few of my previous experiments. I responded back to her that it is OK, and she could go ahead with her initial plans.

Two pots for me please... One is just not enough for that yumminess!!!

1. Please tell us a little bit of yourself.

Hi, I’m Priya Elias and I blog at The Humpty Dumpty Kitchen. There was a time when I thought I was going to be a (Shudder!) Physicist. But then I saw the light of the day and realized the absolute folly of that grand idea ;) (Not that I have anything against Physicists – Rather, it has something to do with someone’s lethargy in general.) So, I’m now happily tucked away in the comfort of our little home with The Techie Man, my husband. Occasionally I indulge my experimental streak in my Humpty Dumpty Kitchen.

2. When did you start your page and why?

It’s the same old story of a bored, newly married, stay at home girl suddenly getting a bright idea that she won’t have to rummage through the entire house in search of recipe notes if she keeps them all in one place. The ‘sharing and making friends’ part came much later as when I kick started my rumblings in around October 2010, I talked mostly to myself (It was a private blog ;)). I stashed that blogger account and started putting the bricks on The Humpty Dumpty Kitchen last April. It has not been that many months since I crawled out of my secluded hole and began getting around in BlogVille.

3. Who was your major inspiration in cooking?

My mother and my grandmother – I seriously don’t think anyone can cook like them. (But that’s what most people think about their near ones – naturally.)

4. What do you like to cook the most?

When I’m cooking for others, the answer will be Desserts I guess :) If I’m cooking for myself, then my Potato Pie and I have a way of getting together. Not to mention, some real quick Veg Pasta Treats.

5. Your advice for new and aspiring cooks

I’m someone who never ventured in to my Mom’s or Grandmother’s kitchens except to grab things from the counters and shelves. I simply couldn’t understand why I had to learn to cook when I had the chance. In other words, I’m the last person on earth whom you should ask for advice if you are a new and aspiring cook ;)


Jokes apart, I guess it always take some time to know how things work out. Once you stumble, fall, break a leg and stand up again, you will gain a fairly good idea of what you like and what you don’t. You will also know what to change in a recipe when you are cooking it. To stress a point, treat recipes as guidelines and not as unshakable laws. (Except in the case of baking - If you are new to baking, by all means stick to the recipe.)

Over to the recipe now.

I love pies in jars – they usually impress the guests without me having to sweat it out in the kitchen. This one here is simple and can be tweaked around a lot. Also, I divide this into six portions usually - But those are rather small portions. Divide into four in larger jars, if you want a generous serving in each.

What You Will Need:

For The Oreo Base:

1.      Oreos – 8
2.      Salted Butter, melted – 1 tbsp.

For the Pudding Layer:

1.      Light Cream – 3/4 cup
2.      Condensed Milk – 1/3 cup
3.      Milk – 1/4 cup
4.      Vanilla Essence/Any other flavouring like Mint Syrup/Extract – To taste
5.      Gelatine – 1 and a 1/2 tsp.

For the Pomegranate Syrup:

The syrup is optional. Also, berry syrups (like strawberry syrups) work really well with this.

1.      Pomegranate Arils – 2 cups
2.      Sugar – 1 and a 1/2 tbsp.
3.      Lime Juice – 1 to 2 tsp. (Taste and adjust.)
4.      Mint Syrup – 1 to 2 tsp. (Or to taste. Optional.)



On To the Cauldron:

The Oreo Base:

Powder the Oreos in the grinder finely. You can use your wooden rolling pin for this – But the grinder works faster and more perfectly.

Divide the mixture equally between the jars – It would be around a tablespoon and a half for each jar if you are going to make six servings. Press the base with a flat bottomed wooden spoon or something similar. (I used a broken, bladeless peeler with a flat round bottom which did the job just fine.)

Allow it to set in fridge for half an hour.

The Pudding Layer:

Take the milk in a small bowl and sprinkle gelatine over it. Allow it to bloom over a fifteen minute period.


Heat up the cream and condensed milk together in a sauce pan. When the mixture is about to boil, switch off and add the gelatine mixture. Stir well and then add the flavouring. Stir again and allow the mixture to cool completely.

Once cold, pour it on top of the base in equal portions and allow setting for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight. (You will notice the pudding will appear to be set long before that. But it does make a difference if you wait it out a bit.)

The Syrup:

The syrup can be prepared beforehand and kept in the fridge.

For the syrup, start by pulsing pomegranate arils in a grinder and extracting their juice. Combine this with sugar and allow the mixture to boil gently over a low flame till it gets reduced to a syrupy consistency.

Take off the heat and once it has cooled down a bit, add the lime juice and mint syrup (if using) and stir well.

Allow it to cool completely and refrigerate.

Once the pie has set, pour the syrup on top and serve immediately. 


Hope you all enjoyed this post as much as I did. Thank you so much Priya for being a darling and obliging to my request for a guest post. Hope you guys are all having a great weekend... :)


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