Kanamadhu Pie

It's Ramadhan, the holy month of fasting for all Muslims. So a sweet dish is a must in my house for breaking the fast.  I have always wanted to try pecan pie, because I love deserts which have nuts in them, but pecans are very expensive and not very easy to find here.

So  I came up with my version of pecan pie by replacing pecans with a local nut called kanamadhu also known as Indian almond. This pie is so delicious that I have made it quite often.

Recipe : Kanamadhu Pie , recipe adapted from pecan pie from Around the world in 350 recipes book, pastry recipe from Tools and Technique .

Pie Crust :
1 1/4 cup plain flour, sifted
1/2  cup icing sugar, sifted
1 brown egg ( large egg ), beaten lightly
125g cold butter, cut into cubes
cold water

Filling :
 1 cup kanamadhu or Indian almonds (the nut inside it as seen in the link I gave above)
3 large eggs ( brown eggs)
1 tsp vanilla essence
300g ( 3/4 cup) brown sugar, I have used dark and sometimes light so you can use either one.
4 tbsp. golden syrup.
50g (4 tbsp.) butter, melted

1. Sift, flour and icing sugar into a large mixing bowl, add butter and rub with your fingers so it resembles bread crumbs.  

2. Make a well in the centre and add your egg and mix in, add a little cold water, a few tablespoons, just enough that the dough comes together.  Don't Knead!, just gather it all up to a ball.  give a squeeze or two and you have a nice dough.  Place on a cling film and chill for at least 1 hour in the fridge.

3. Preheat oven to Gas mark 5, and grease a loose-bottomed cake tin or spring form pan with butter.  Take 2 pieces of cling film, place your chilled dough on top and cover the other cling film on top. Roll to a nice round a few sizes bigger than your cake pan.  Remove the top cling film and invert it onto the baking pan.  The edges should be about 1 1/2 inches from the base, cut the rest off.  Place a baking paper or aluminium foil on top of the pastry and fill with rice or dried beans.  Pop in the oven and bake till lightly golden.  about 15- 20 minutes.

4. While the pie crust is being baked, prepare the filling.  Place the nuts inside a grinder or food processor and pulse a few times so it's a rough chop, something like this.  You don't want it too chunky or too fine.

 

5. In a mixing bowl whisk egg, vanilla essence and sugar till mixed.  Add golden syrup,(use honey if unavailable), and butter and mix well.  Finally, stir in nuts.

6. Remove the pie crust, and reduce the heat of the oven to Gas mark 4. Remove the foil containing the dried beans or rice.

7. Pour the filling into the pie crust and carefully put it back in the oven. Bake for a further 20- 30 minutes till a toothpick comes out clean. ( troubleshoot: sometimes the  filling splits which means it is getting too hot so best to place the pie in the middle shelf of the oven)

8. Let it cool and then cut into slices and serve.