Tipsy : Marilyn Monroe of Desserts
A BOUQUET OF PALETTES
The Savoury Legacy of Tipsy Pudding
BY
ASHUTOSH TEWARI
A Historical Overview
Tipsy Pudding, often associated with the British colonial era, has a history deeply embedded in the culinary traditions of the United Kingdom and its former colonies. Originating from the classic British dessert known as "tipsy cake" or "tipsy pudding," this dish was first popularised in the 18th century. Its name derives from the use of alcohol in the recipe, which was believed to "tip" or intoxicate the pudding, hence the term "Tipsy."
The pudding’s basic components include layers of sponge cake or ladyfingers soaked in a mixture of alcohol (typically sherry or brandy), which are then covered with a rich, creamy custard. This combination results in a dish that is both indulgent and sophisticated.
Global Presence
As British influence spread across the world, so did Tipsy Pudding. Its presence was established in various regions, particularly in former British colonies where it adapted to local tastes and ingredients. In countries like India, Tipsy Pudding has been embraced and modified to reflect regional preferences, including the incorporation of local spices and fruits.
In Australia and New Zealand, the dish remains a popular choice for festive occasions, often enjoyed in its traditional form. The pudding's adaptability has allowed it to retain its appeal across different cultures while still preserving its classic characteristics.
Recipe and Preparation
The preparation of Tipsy Pudding is a relatively straightforward process, though it requires some time and care to perfect. Here is a simplified version of the recipe:
1. Ingredients.
- Sponge cake or ladyfingers
- Sherry or brandy
- Milk
- Eggs
- Sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Optional: fruit or nuts for added texture
2. Method.
- Soak the sponge cake or ladyfingers in sherry or brandy, ensuring they are well saturated but not overly soggy.
- Prepare a custard by heating milk and mixing it with beaten eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract. Cook until it thickens.
- Layer the soaked cake or ladyfingers in a dish, alternating with layers of custard.
- Refrigerate for several hours or overnight to allow the flavours to meld together.
The result is a creamy, flavourful pudding with a pleasant kick from the alcohol, making it a delightful treat.
Tipsy Pudding at the Defence Academy
At the National Defence Academy (NDA) in Khadakwasla, Tipsy Pudding holds a special place in the hearts and taste buds of defence officers. The pudding is often served during formal dinners and ceremonial events, providing a touch of tradition and elegance to the academy’s cuisine.
For generations of cadets, Tipsy Pudding has been more than just a dessert; it represents a connection to the rich culinary heritage of the British colonial period and offers a moment of indulgence amidst rigorous training. The dish's complex flavours and luxurious texture provide a rewarding contrast to the demanding lifestyle of NDA officers.
The combination of sweet, creamy custard with the distinctive note of sherry or brandy makes Tipsy Pudding a cherished treat, evoking nostalgia and camaraderie among those who have had the privilege of tasting it during their time at the academy.
In summary, Tipsy Pudding's rich history, global adaptations, and enduring presence at prestigious institutions like the NDA illustrate its significance as both a culinary delight and a symbol of tradition. Its continued popularity across the world underscores its timeless appeal and the way it brings people together through shared experiences and flavours.
What the Officers Remember
Nitin Kanitkar
My earliest memory of Tipsy pudding and perhaps the one that made a lasting impression was a son et lumiere of sorts. It was on the penultimate day of the Ist term camp that we first saw the Tipsy. It came in a big aluminum vessel, almost a small drum look alike. We were to stand in orderly fashion in a single file and await our turn. The initial lot had it like gentlemen would, a moderate helping, neatly placing the ladle back into the pudding. As those smells wafted into the nostrils of the eagerly waiting cadets, it seemed like the calm before the storm.... Soon thereafter, all hell broke loose and the ladle found its way into the garden floor. Nimble hands replaced the ladle and a free for all ensued with the vessel departing from its position on the table to the garden floor. It was in this setting that a veteran tipsy partaker was seen with his entire hand inside the vessel. He was churning the delicately placed layers of the pudding like Lord Vishnu and other gods did to the ocean. Like in the Puranas, the tipsy vessel also yielded a treasure, his watch which was consumed by the pudding during Op Tipsy Grab.
That memory, of the cadet brandishing his watch much to the consternation of others remains fresh in my memory..
Kavin Macker, Owner of Le Mont Bakery in AWHO Gurjinder Vihar
Sure sir...
Being a fauji kid one did get to eat a very tasty fruit cream cake dessert...only didn't know what it was called...fast forward..NDA...that's where one learnt what tipsy pudding was...
For a cadet it was the ultimate happy food...
And it happen only once in a while...there are hundreds of anecdotes bout NDA cadets n their tryst with Tipsy...
Fast forward...have a course reunion IN NDA...
Tipsy again...this time my wife tasted it too...
Later we went into the kitchen..where she had a long chat with the Tipsy chef...n learnt the secret from the horses mouth...
Fast forward...we open a Cafe in Gurjinder Vihar...and produce the same Tipsy...only with premium ingredients..
Now it's the fastest moving item on our inventory...
It not just Tipsy...it's a bouquet of wonderful memories....
Col SS Deswal, 81 AR
Training period at NDA, reminds you of many peculiar activities and obviously Tipsy Pudding is one of them .
It used to be delicious but more important is the scramble caused amongst cadets to get a sizeable share.
On many occasions ,large portions of it used to spill over at different places but even that did not prevent the enthusiastic cadets from picking it up and relishing it .
We all used to wait for it being served but particularly it's wait was very eager on termination of important trg camps such as Torna .
Scenes of its service and scramble amongst all of us were often talked about.
Not too certain if this write up will be adequate for your write up as my memory is fading away in recollecting specific events but yes memory is very clear that it was a sought after sweet dish which figured in our tell tales pretty often.
Mind you ... I was one of those who used to try to restrain myself during the scramble and more so in the senior terms when I held appointments, I attempted to enforce discipline during its service ... though more often than not , I failed in maintaining it when Tipsy Pudding was being served outside the dining Hall
Gen Mangat
I liked, tipsy pudding sir but i am no gourmand!! 🙏🙏😊
Atul Yadav, J70
There are many things, one looks for as one gets into senior terms in NDA like table liberties , clearing bathrooms as late as possible, going for musters late & many other stuff. However one that I recall is the fun of having Tipsy pudding . As you get senior you are sure to get more than you share & eat it as much as you want not only on the day it’s made but also till the day you can preserve it . It is part of the regular menu but it’s the Star ⭐️ Attraction of Camp Rover when you get it at in the Campfire 🔥 Dinner . All of those who are not part of the Rovers but go there to enjoy the campfire get the pudding for their buddies who are at the Squadron & are not privileged to attending the campfire function . They carry the pudding not in tiffins but in buckets because there are so many wanting to treat on it & still there are many who gets left out because those who eat are not with spoons but with hands . The taste , the smell & the texture of it is as fresh in mind as it was made & you smell for it for many years even after commissioning in all the Messes that you walk in . I have never found it again after NDA as tasty & as delicious as they use to make it in NDA . Loved it all the while relished it all my life .
ACA Arvinder Singh
I loved Tipsy pudding😁
Sandy
Tipsy pudding, The very name brings back fond memories of this delectable dessert in the minds of ex NDAs. I've never experienced the same taste in any of the, so called, Tipsys after passing out from the academy. Wonder what was the recipe that the cadet's mess used to produce just the right taste and texture. More importantly, it was repeatable and always tasted the same. The ladies find it amazing to see 50 somethings going nuts over a sweetish concoction that they would under normal circumstances avoid, keeping in mind that most have higher levels of blood sugar than is desired.
In the NDA camps, the above-mentioned pudding was brought in aluminium cans about two feet high and cadets would scoop it up in their (not so clean) mess tins. As in everything, the early bird got the worm, but the beauty was that even after the initial rush, there was enough to go around and more. I've seen cadets looking green behind the gills after downing one (or two) mess tins and actually refusing the nth helping. Oh Tipsy. You certainly was our fourth or fifth love in the academy.
Anil Kumar
We looked, forward to NDA camps as Tipsy pudding would be menu on the occasion of Camp fires. As cadets, we were all crazy for it and ate to our heart content. We enjoyed the famous Tipsy Pudding during our two course get togethers, held after 33 yrs of passing out from NDA. Our taste and Craze for Tipsy pudding hasn’t eroded and would always be on the menu, in our future NDA couse get togethers.
Mike James
Now the thing,
Satish
I was too lazy to rush for any tipsy pudding. Born and brought up on Laddoo, Jalebi, Rasgulla, etc didn’t find anything spectacular in Tipsy. Hardly any memories.
Anil Nautiyal
Tipsy pudding, the delicacy of NDA, is perhaps the pudding which majority of cadets hear off ,see and savour for the first time when they report to NDA. This signature delicacy of NDA is something which even a 5/7 star hotel anywhere in the world can’t replicate.
In first term at Ghorpuri, Pune, during a camp fire night when the pudding was served after the dinner, the so called very disciplined cadets couldn’t control themselves and pounced on the pudding. The taller cadets could manage to fill their plates, some shorter guys (like me) could sneak in and get their fill ,however there were large number of cadets, who were left in lurch. There was a cadet who lost his wrist watch in the pudding during that struggle.
Tipsy pudding is the life line of all cadets. Even Generals salivate thinking of it.
Sachdeva
Here's a story,
inspired by my memory: It was the end of our first field camp, and the entire course was buzzing with excitement. After days of hard work, the promise of a special treat awaited us: Tipsy pudding. We gathered around a massive tub filled to the brim with this decadent dessert, ready to indulge.
The atmosphere was festive as everyone lined up, holding out their trusty water mugs to be filled with the sweet, boozy concoction. The air was filled with laughter and chatter as we eagerly anticipated our well-deserved reward.
As the pudding was served, the line quickly turned into a merry chaos, with everyone jostling for their share. In the midst of the friendly chaos, one of our comrades plunged his mug into the tub with enthusiasm, only to realise a moment too late that his watch had slipped off his wrist and into the depths of the pudding.
Pandemonium ensued. Our friend, wide-eyed with panic, began to frantically dig through the tub, pudding splattering in all directions as he searched for his lost watch. The rest of us were too busy laughing to be of much help, finding humour in the absurdity of the situation.
The poor guy was knee-deep in pudding, pushing and shoving as he fumbled around, trying to find his watch in the mess. Despite the chaos, we all shared in the hilarity of the moment, cheering him on as he finally retrieved the sticky, pudding-coated watch with a triumphant grin.
As we gathered around to finish our dessert, the incident became the talk of the evening, adding an unforgettable and humorous twist to our celebration. To this day, the story of the watch in the pudding tub remains a cherished memory, a reminder of the camaraderie and lightheartedness that defined our time together.
Sheraz Varma
Rum marinated Sponge cake with dollops of jam layering topped with cream, pineapple chunks, cherries and more was a monthly treat at home parties by Dad Mom. Teenage years saw the elder brother experiment with ingredients past midnight upon return from our Army Club Late night dance get-togethers. Fast forward to Khadakwasla, sweat, grime, sub-marathons and gruelling camp-athons always had a Sweet Silver Lining, the Quintessential Tipsy, the original feel good factor. A tumble in it, on it, for it, was by all means contested, worthy & a Hasty Pudding Theatrical Award.
Raghu Srinivasan
I remember being, part of a time honoured tradition of 5th termers taking tipsy for their Sqn 4th termers at Camp Rover. Self and Riyaz Khan with a satchel each filled with mess tins of tipsy slipped out of the Sqn during study period and jogged up to 7 temples. There was a small perimeter of barbed wire we snuck under. Delivered the tipsy & watched it devoured by the 4th termers. Then jogged back to be in time for evening fall in before dinner. We were all fit young buggers then, but the story is forty years old.
Brig Shailendra Malik VSM
My tryst with Tipsy 😊There is hardly any Ex NDA who does not have memories of his first tasting of Tipsy while at NDA. Being totally from non Army/ Sainik School background, I had no idea of what Tipsy is or how it tastes , till I devoured it for the first time , on the last day of Camp Green horn ( 2 nd term camp at Khadakwasla ).
Being a public school boy who had not run even 100 meters in the school , having completed the arduous route marches of GreenHorn , I was really exhausted and eagerly waiting for chance to pounce upon the huge aluminum trays of Tipsy Pudding which arrive at camp site from the main academy kitchen in the evening of campfire . And when the opportunity came after the so called entertainment programme in the night , there was no stopping the cadets from pouncing on those trays loaded to the brim with Tipsy and filling their mess tins and anything else they could lay their hands on. I too distinctly remember how I not only ate to my fill but also filled my Mess Tin with Tipsy for the next day’s Josh Run back to Academy.
Tipsy was and is heavenly undoubtedly!! 😊
Tipsy, the word itself is adequate to make most faujis start salivating; for the unfortunate and uninitiated this tipsy does make us go a little crazy, not that we are sane anyways. Tipsy is not a feeling of being ‘pleasurably high’ after a sundowner, but a dessert which when served to the cadets after a rigorous camp is a sight to be savoured for life. The Dharavi dwellers in front of the municipal water taps would be put to shame by the melee which results when a big patila full of this delicacy is placed on the table. The cadets are normally expected to take their fill in their mess tins which they carry with them, which serves as a universal dish for everything from a khichdi to eggs or toasts to veg with gravy. Mess tin is a set i.e. it has two dishes which fit into one another catering to the ravenous appetite of the trainees.We are also issued with mug enamelled, for our morning evening cuppa, which finds multiple usages, as it doubles up as the mug for shaving, bathing and even for the big job in the morning. You must be wondering why am I describing the utensils rather than the pudding itself, well the fact is unless you grasp the nuances of collecting the tipsy, you will not be able to relish the heavenly taste, that will linger long after you are done with licking your fingers clean. So the bowl is placed on the table and the hungry pack of wolves are let loose on this poor hapless vessel. At first the serving spoon is put to some use, thereafter, the mess tins and mugs enamelled are dipped into the gooey dish and then in sheer desperation the hands are resorted to, to fill whatever can serve as a dish, so caps, water bottles, scooped palms everything is fair in love, war and for the tipsy. There have been occasions when someone lost his watch in the bowl, which was found by someone else a little while later, which was duly returned to the owner after licking the last traces of this cuisine. There can never be enough of this tipsy as second, third and nth helping is very much par for the course.
Tipsy is a love affair, all of us are enamoured by the aroma and naturally it lasts a lifetime. Even today when many of us have gracefully retired and are senior citizens, tipsy makes us give up all our resolves. Given a choice between salvation and tipsy I am sure all of us would plump for the latter without batting an eyelid. Buddha was lucky, he was not tempted by tipsy as the chefs then had not yet come up with this celestial offering, else he too would have succumbed. Why do you think, we haven’t had any other incarnations after that? Although I am all for the Be Indian Buy Indian, and savour all desi cuisines but when it comes to tipsy I am afraid my vote would go for tipsy and tipsy alone, as it is second to none.
Having been posted in Pune first time after nearly 37 years of passing out from NDA, I learnt that the Tipsy pudding is now available from Gole Market on special orders, on first occasion I ordered a bowl ful. It did take me back to the NDA days when we cherished it, Tipsy pudding is definitely cherished always: but I think it is cherished much more in the company of Coursemates and ex NDAs when it brings out all the memories.
ReplyDeleteBest part of NDA!!! I vividly recollect the then Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma and Wg Cdr Ravish Malhotra came to NDA after the space sojourn of former. During the Dinner Night/Guest Lunch we started concentrating more on Typsy Pudding.
ReplyDeletePankaj
Tipsy Tales of Yore
ReplyDeleteMouth wateringly Delicious!
ReplyDeleteSanat
Earliest memories of Tipsy Pudding date back to NDA - getting a plateful or mess tin of Tipsy Pudding was a prestige issue and struggle was always worth the effort. The special place for T pudding carries on unabated despite the passage of time. My wife being a great cook added her touch to make THE T pudding even more irresistable. Ashutosh your photography has vetted the appetite again - and Sukhi will have to do the magic trick again
ReplyDeleteA K Pathak
ReplyDeleteThe tipsy pudding is the best pudding that I have had in my life. Tipsy pudding kindles fond memories of training at NDA.
TIPSY pudding is just not a name or a dish, it's a tale of beautiful old memories. Memories which get lively with every bowl served. The blog drove me to those bit forgotten few of best memories of life.
ReplyDeleteJust hearing the word Tipsy Pudding brings back memories of NDA and the taste buds tingle in anticipation. Thanx Ashu for a walk through memory lane. 🥃🥃
ReplyDeleteReally loved the blog! Brought back memories of the Academy. Ashu, you mixed history, the recipe and our experience of this queen of desserts so seamlessly and evocatively. Cheers, Raghu
ReplyDeleteBucket full of memories flooded me as i read this... The sweet tipsy, in my mind, is forever associated with the sweet and salty memories of the sweat, grind and beautiful comradery that defines my alma mater.....lovely
ReplyDeleteAah! Tipsy pudding. Naam hi kaafi hai - to send us down nostalgia lane! Superb
ReplyDelete