I was born in Boston, raised on Durgin Park. Their legendary 7 hour slow bake Indian pudding was my standard. Over the years I have actually made it their way, but eventually learned a good way to speed up the process. My own take is to add fresh cranberries and most recently, of course, sumac, which I have dried and ground from local, native drupes. The commercial brands are no doubt better, but I enjoy my homemade edition, nonetheless. To save on dish washing, create your own serving dishes optionally from pumpkin and squash...okay, I am kidding. You will need a plate underneath, if you like as much ice cream with these as I do. I have always found Indian pudding a must to serve warm. I love it, but only in small servings with heaps of vanilla or ginger ice cream. My version adds more acidity with the addition of cranberries, sumac, lemon and ginger to balance out the intensity of the molasses. I like the addition of pumpkin for Thanksgiving, but that is optional. I do not suggest baking the pudding in the pumpkin; when you bake the pumpkin or squash on their own, you can get the caramelized topping. This dessert can be a mini meal in itself, a second feast. This is my offering on a traditional recipe.

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