Go crazy with Easter eggs

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It’s that time of the year when bakers and confectionaries the world over start getting the chocolate ready as Easter’s around the corner and that means Easter eggs.
While earlier elaborate Easter egg hunts would be organised and children would spend a glorious afternoon hunting down eggs hidden by the elders of the family, no one has the time these days and a goody bag filled with chocolate eggs has become the norm.

However, instead of buying Easter eggs, making them at home is much more satisfying and a whole lot of fun. One can make Easter eggs of any flavours like vanilla, caramel, coffee etc.

Gelatine Easter eggs

This is the craziest thing doing the rounds these days. A gelatine Easter egg is easy to make and totally whacky. You can use any flavours you want and the wobbly gelatine can be directly poured into a real eggshell so it looks exactly like the real thing.

Ingredients

Packet of jelly crystals (flavour of your choice)
Sugar
Water
6 eggs

Method

Make a small ½ cm hole on the thinner side of each egg carefully and drain the contents out, wash the intact eggshells under flowing water so that the shells fill up and overflow with water ensuring that all residue of egg is washed away.
Make the jelly as per directions on the packet and very carefully pour the contents into each egg. Store them in the fridge with the hole-side up. You can paint the eggshells in different colours and patterns. The kids will simply love this one.
Note: You can get special egg moulds in supermarkets for this, but using fresh eggs is more fun.

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Peanut butter Easter eggs

When bakers started experimenting with variations of Easter eggs, one of the first things they tried was to infuse peanut butter (totally understandable as it was in the US). And while purists will turn up their noses at a peanut butter Easter egg, it has become an all-time hit with kids over the years.
Ingredients

450 gm caster sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter and 1 tbsp extra
1 tbsp milk
30 gm semi-sweet chocolate
1 tbsp butter

Method

In a non-metal bowl, mix the caster sugar, peanut butter, butter and milk until well combined. Shape mixture into two large eggs or you can make a batch of smaller eggs. Freeze for an hour. Meanwhile, cut the chocolate into small pieces and place on top of a double boiler (boil a bowl of water and place another bowl with the chocolate on top of it so it melts with the steam and doesn’t come in contact with direct heat) along with the 1 tablespoon of butter. Melt over medium heat, stirring frequently until smooth.
With a satey stick or a long-tined fork, pierce the top of each peanut butter egg and dip them one by one in the melted chocolate so they are totally covered. When the chocolate has cooled, cover each with decorative foil and store in the fridge for later use.
Note: You can use chunky peanut butter for a totally different texture.

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Royal thirst quencher
While we are dealing with Rajasthani cuisine, it seems appropriate that we take a look at some traditional thirst quenchers that people in this arid state have used for centuries.
From royalty to common shepherds, everyone drinks amalvaniya — a sweet, sour tamarind drink that Rajasthanis swear is the ultimate thirst quencher.

Amalvaniya (tamarind drink)

Ingredients
1 cup tamarind
5 cups water
1 cup sugar

Method
Soak the tamarind in a cup of warm water and squeeze out the pulp so that you are left with the tangy juice. Add the remaining water and sugar and stir till the sugar dissolves completely. Pass the mixture through a sieve, chill for an hour and serve.
— PM