Monday, April 8, 2013

The Hindu Macaroons are made by mixing egg white, cashew and sugar at bakeries in Thoothukudi. Photo: N. Rajesh
The Hindu In Thoothukudi, it is stuffed with cashew and shaped into a cone with a round base and a pointed peak. Photo: N. Rajesh
The Hindu A peek inside the bakeries. Photo: N. Rajesh
The Hindu A peek inside the bakeries. Photo: N. Rajesh
The Hindu A peek inside the bakeries. Photo: N. Rajesh

Bakers reveal to Olympia Shilpa Gerald how they reinvented a vestige of European colonisation into a much-coveted confection.

I gingerly lift the waist-high wooden plank that cordons off swarming devotees of bread and cakes from the baking gods, who turn out the confection that the seaport of Thoothukudi (or to give its anglicised name Tuticorin) is celebrated for — macaroons.

Squeezing into the tiny space between the wall and the display cabinets, I emerge behind the sales counter of a bakery that opens out into a narrow room lined with gilded cardboard boxes. The anterior chambers of the bakeries in this city, like those behind church altars where garments and vessels are stored, are privy only to a select few. It takes much cajoling, coaxing and running around in circles till the custodians of confectionery secrets condescend to allow us a peep into their mystery shrouded rituals. That too only after ascertaining I am not from the income tax department or a nosy apprentice of a rival baker.

What strikes me as strange is that I am yet to spot the macaroons, though all around me orders are flying and so are the cardboard boxes. The macaroons are missing among the tempting puffs and plum cakes that dress up counters. “This is not a roadside snack,” my local friend accompanying me informs quite snobbishly. “One kg costs Rs.600,” she nods to the price list, where the macaroon tops the list. The snack that sells by reputation alone has an elitist air to it and understandably its makers are viewed as royalty, so much so that the hole-in-the-wall bakeries double up as landmarks in a city synonymous with pearl fishing, feisty freedom fighters and salt pans.

“There was a time when we used to store the macaroons in glass jars. But the rise in demand meant frequently opening them to transfer the contents,” says Suresh of Gnanam Bakery, established 45 years ago by his grandfather Isravel who named the bakery after his wife. “Watch,” says Suresh, finally producing a macaroon. “It won’t taste the same five minutes later. The macaroon tends to absorb moisture and is best stored away in air-tight containers.”

Chellappa, who has been making macaroons for 30 years, places one on my palm. Unlike other Indian pedas with ethnic flavours, the Thoothukudi macaroon is a European export and a vestige of colonisation, albeit reinvented in a unique shape. For around the world, the macaroon is mostly flat and filled with almonds, chocolate or coconut; only in Thoothukudi, it is stuffed with cashew and shaped into a cone with a round base, bulging middle and a pointed peak.

Nutty affairs

I sink my teeth into the crunchy sugary tip that gives way to gluey and gooey cashew crumbs. For all the secrecy that shrouds the pastry, deconstructing it reveals just three ingredients — eggs, cashew nuts and sugar. No water, no oil and no secret ingredient! The secret rather lies in technique — in blending each ingredient into the hat-shaped pastry, says macaroon master Chellappa. “It involves using high grade cashew nuts (most shops source it from Kerala), knowing when to add each ingredient and baking in firewood ovens.” Suresh paces to and fro, wrapping loaves of bread and heading back to answer my questions. “I challenge you to get the shape or taste of the Thoothukudi macaroon at home in an electric oven or microwave. We have tried, it never works.”

When I get curious about the origins of the pastry, I’m directed to Dhanalakshmi Bakery, one of the oldest around town, where Thoothukudi’s association with the confection is believed to have been shaped, much before Independence. Though the bakery has lost its yesteryear prominence, I find it still makes the nuttiest of macaroons, with the base choc-a-bloc of cashew granules. In the kitchen, I peep into a closet size hollow kiln built of brick, inside which are rows and rows of pearly white macaroons, just baked. “The firewood furnace is just right for macaroons in the morning as it reaches the ideal temperature after all the baking the previous evening,” says owner Velammal. But how does she get the temperature right? “O, I put my hand inside the wall of the kiln and I know when it’s right.” Pointing to a portrait of the late Arunachalam Pillai, his daughter Velammal claims it was her father who popularised the macaroons in Thoothukudi. “He worked in a confectionery at Tiruchi and later at Spencers in Chennai and learnt to bake cakes and other European confections from Anglo-Indians and foreigners there. He came here and began selling pastries, and the macaroons which he shaped like this. Many ‘masters’ or confectioners learnt from my father and set up their own bakeries.”

Though many of the bakers in the city acknowledge Velammal’s story, Dharmalingam at Ganesh Bakery, arguably the most popular in the city (courtesy the milling crowds at any time of the day), believes that macaroons must have been around in Thoothukudi much earlier, but gained popularity in Arunachalam’s period. “The Dutch and Portuguese occupied Thoothukudi before the British and the fondness for continental pastries over Indian snacks is seen here even today. The ships that anchored off the shores of Thoothukudi must have required local labour. These men improvised on the flat almond macaroons.” Macaroons at Ganesh Bakery are handed out in gift-wrapping paper. “What matters as much as quality is the way you present the product,” Dharmalingam says.

Unlike many of their counterparts, folks at Ganesh believe mass production calls for modernisation, and macaroons are baked both in firewood and electric ovens. I watch as men in vests crack the egg gently, pouring in the gummy albumin inside a vessel, while the yolk hovers precariously in the shell. The rest of the ingredients go in one after the other as given in the recipe (see box).

Around half a dozen men stand over a table squeezing the cones as little peaks materialize on greased trays. The trays are assembled on a rack and wheeled into the massive glass fronted oven. As I nibble at the macaroons that scream of sugar than cashew at Ganesh Bakery, I wonder if Dharmalingam has tried his hand at export. Like many of his peers, he notes, “The delicate crumbly texture of the macaroon does not lend itself to transportation over long distances.”

But industrialist S.G. Ponseelan, who entered the confectionery business recently is determined to make the city’s coveted confection available to pastry worshippers in other cities. Packed in aluminium packs and Halal certified, Abi Macaroons guarantees a shelf life over two months. “We have come up with baby macaroons to minimise risk of breakage during transportation,” says Ponseelan who got started with the macaroon production after a company producing miniature versions adored by his daughter, closed down. The macaroons maybe a treat for children but miss out on the fulsome delight of crunching into a conventionally packed one.

Though improvisations like macaroons with pistas and chocolates have been tried by bakers, as Sridhar, proprietor at Shanti Macaroons established in 1964, will tell you, cashew macaroons are unparalleled in popularity. Sridhar has two stores slated to open in Chennai and Bangalore, but insists that the macaroons will be carted from Thoothukudi. “I have tried baking them in firewood ovens in other cities with masters from Thoothukudi, but the taste was not the same.” Though none of the ingredients is sourced from the city, almost all bakers I have met swear that attempts to produce the macaroons elsewhere have failed miserably. Some say it is the expertise of veteran macaroon masters, others believe it is the firewood ovens, but everyone admits to a certain je ne sais quoi. “Perhaps it’s something to do with this land, there’s something in the air here,” Sridhar smiles.

Interestingly, however varied their techniques might be, I notice that they are unequivocally similar across major bakeries. The paper cones that give the confections their distinctive shape is shaped out of thick newspapers — all invariably The Hindu. A utility for the newspaper that I never dreamt of!

HOW IT’S MADE

Ingredients

Eggs 12 to 15

Cashewnuts (Some recommend 1/4 kg)

Sugar 1/2 kg.

Method

Powder cashew nuts, set aside. Crack eggs and separate the whites ensuring not a single drop of yolk falls in. With an egg beater, whisk the egg whites in a large bowl. When they turn frothy, start adding sugar little by little while continuing to vigorously whip up egg whites. Keep beating till the mixture rises into stiff peaks. Gently fold in the powdered cashews. Scoop batter into a stiff paper cone and squeeze cone to shape pointed macaroons. These macaroons are generally baked in firewood ovens, but baking them in electric ovens at 70 degrees may also achieve a similar result.

Keywords: Thoothukudi macaroon, Food safari column

1 comment:

Abi MacroonnsMarch 25, 2013 at 4:59 AM

Now Thoothukudi macroons are available in air sealed packets in chennai at 45587772

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Sula to launch new Tempranillo wine

Sula Vineyards set to launch new red wine in India, using Spanish grape Tempranillo which they have harvested for the first time ever in Nashik

March 24, 2013

Mumbai

Dhiman Chattopadhyay

What does a master wine maker do?
It takes great grapes to make great wine. It’s my job to articulate a definable style for a wine but I wont create an identity. That comes from the grapes! My job is like that of a gem cutter. Unless I get high quality grapes, I cannot work wonders.
Kerry Damskey

You live in the US. How do you manage to make wines in India?
I come down to Nashik three times a year. As we speak, we are nearing the completion of the 2013 vintage. We are currently fermenting some varietals while also bottling some of the early white wines. I am tasting the grapes and the wines at different stages of fermentation every day.
How do you make sure the grapes are protected enough to produce good wine?
In Nashik we prune the grapes twice a year instead of the usual practice of pruning grapes just once a year in many nations. This happens in March and in September. The quality of any wine is dependant on the weather. So we pray that there is no rainfall after the second pruning in September. Luckily the rains stayed away post-September last year and so, we have had a fabulous harvest
this year.
You bottle different varietals at different times of the year. Why is this so?
Just like any other fruit, different varieties mature at slightly different times. We usually pick the white wine grapes first. So we start by picking Sauvignon Blanc grapes in January. Riesling and Zinfandel varietals follow this in February. And finally, in March, we pick the grapes for Shiraz and Tempranillo. It takes a month or more for the grapes to dry and then ferment.
So at this moment we are bottling the first of the Sauvignon Blanc. Next up, are the Rieslings.
Riesling in India? Isn’t that a German wine?
Yes of course we grow Riesling. You are correct that German and French Rieslings are the most famous. But now others also grow this variety. Australia does it for instance. But our Riesling is better the Australian ones for sure.
Wow! And what is the Tempranillo?
This is a Spanish red grape we are growing for the first time in India. This is surely one of our strong suites this year. It is an early red grape, dark purple in colour, has spice and berry tones on the nose. It has long legs, tastes bright acidic without leaving a heavy tannin aftertaste. We are yet to decide what we will name the bottle. But trust me this will be a red wine Indians will fall in
love with.

Sounds like 2013 is going to be a good year for wine connoisseurs.
Yes, overall I would say the 2103 vintage in Nashik is probably the best in the last five years.
Kerry Damskey is a viticulturist with a degree from the University of California t Davis. He worked for wineries at San Diego before becoming a winemaker for Zellerbach Winery in the USA in 1986. He has been the chief winemaker at Sula since inception.

Vegan movement thrives in Mumbai

LIFESTYLE

Vegans across Mumbai are networking big time over potluck parties, cook-offs and cycling expeditions to make sure they support each other.

March 24, 2013

Mumbai

Phorum Dalal

Even before Monika Siriya answers her door, I can hear dogs barking in the background. “That’s Rapchik and Dhinchak,” says the 29-year-old, pointing to her two pet dogs who are now busy wagging their tails. “They are vegan too,” she says. Monika, an entrepreneur, and her husband Chintan, a CSR consultant, are recent converts, having moved to a vegan lifestyle since 2010.

Three cheers: Entrepreneur Monika (centre) and CSR consultant Chetan Siriya (right) join fellow vegan Chidanand Hiremath (left), a web developer and photographer, for some delicious cold coffee made with soya milk. Pic/Nimesh Dave

When we visit the Siriya residence, preparations are on for a potluck party, a monthly event. She has prepared a chocolate cake and strawberry ice cream. But none of the items have eggs, milk or even butter. “People feel it is really tough to be a vegan as you have to give up on a lot of foods, which is not true at all. If you learn to replace some ingredients, you can have all your favourite dishes. They’ll only taste better,” she says, offering me a cup of tea with cashew milk.

Strawberry ice cream without any dairy products by Monika Siriya. Pic/Nimesh Dave

The couple has not only given up dairy products in their diet, but discarded using any animal-made products such as leather and turned environment-friendly even for items such as shaving cream, natural oils and toothpaste. They even wash their clothes in reetha instead of detergent and extend support to many new vegans through social media networks and give free lectures to whoever invites them.
What seemed to be an underground movement of sorts a few years ago, has today turned into a widespread lifestyle that people are choosing for their health and for environmental purposes. In fact, as we discover, Mumbai’s vegans are bonding with likeminded individual through virtual groups that meet up for potlucks, treks, picnics and share information too.

Monika Siriya makes almond milk at her Kandivli residence. Pic/Nimesh Dave

“It is a good time to turn vegan,” says Chintan, adding that he hears about a friend turning vegan almost every week. “These are the people who are realising that the change for a healthier life and a better environment lies inside them. The moment I turned vegan, my acidity problems have never given me a sleepless night. To add to that, my wife and I have not fallen ill in the past two years. Our doggy Rapchik had a severe heart ailment when we adopted her. Today, her reports are excellent,” smiles Chintan.
Take the case of 28-year-old Rithika Ramesh, who runs a vegan bakery, the Green Stove, since 2010. She knew just about a dozen or so fellow vegans in the city when she chose to give up dairy products in 2009. “I didn’t even know what the term meant. I read about going vegan online and attended a seminar by Dr Nandita Shah, founder of Sharan, a health awareness non-profit organisation, and one of the pioneers of the vegan movement in India.

Richa Rungta and her friend Akriti Tobhal dig into a vegan bagel at Bagelwala in Bandra. Pic/Shadab Khan

Today, I am connected to at least 200 vegans on a regular basis. It’s awesome to know there are so many people who share your way of life and are approachable,” says the chef. Her cakes replace eggs with oil and flavseed, condensed milk with soy or cashew milk, and uses non-dairy whipped cream available in the market. Since the past three weeks, she has been shooting vegan recipe videos for a YouTube channel, India Food Network, and has also started supplying her vegan delights to Bagelwala in Bandra. “Once a month we host potluck parties, and it’s amazing how this network is growing. People are really passionate about their vegan choices,” smiles Ramesh, who has demonstrated healthy gajar halwa, vegan pesto pasta and tandoori mushroom recipes on the channel.

Amit Mehta founded Unived in July 2012. The company manufactures Omega-3 pills using micro algae instead of fish oil. Pics/Pradeep Dhivar

No more fish oil
With awareness spreading fast, initiatives and sustainable businesses are also looking into vegan options. Amit Mehta, for instance, founded Unived Healthcare, which manufactures and retails herbal and vegan products, last July. “We make Vegan Omega-3 DHA MAX using micro algae oil. It is a myth that only fish oil contains Omega-3.
The fact is that micro algae are the biggest source of Omega-3,which is consumed by fish,” explains the 30-year-old Bandra resident, whose company is recognised by the Vegan Society of UK. Even their capsules, which are generally made of pig fat or cow bone, are made using plant leaves. Their other products include Red Yeast Rice, an alternative to natural statin that lowers bad cholesterol. They also manufactureherbal teas.
After a successful stint with PeTA in Delhi, 37-year-old vegan blogger Himani Shetty founded Choosing Life Foundation in January this year. “We are creating a website that will offer a comprehensive vegan database that offers a scientific explanation about veganism. There is a lot of misrepresentation of facts, so we are consolidating data from United Nations,” says Shetty. And, it is the youth that is her primary target. “We are creating leaflets that will answer the question that is riding on everyone’s lips: ‘Why veganism?’ Facts make a better impact than advice,” opines Shetty, who turned vegan four and a years ago, after she saw a study on dairy and skin industry.
One of the biggest obstacles to turn vegan, as 25-year-old Chidanand Hiremath puts it is explaining the concept to non-vegans. “In the beginning, people always questioned and argued with me about turning vegan, saying I would not get enough intake of protein and calcium. Since the past five years, I have turned completely vegan,” says Hiremath, a web designer and photographer.
Casual meetings
Vegan meetings are a whole lot of fun as they involve like-minded people who care for the environment. “The Vegan Mumbai group on Facebook has 270 members and everyone is active. People voluntarily put up posts for treks, cycling, potlucks and even organic farming. And if you think there is nothing vegans can eat when they go out. Think again. South Indian and Chinese cuisines are mostly vegan. We just ask them to replace butter with oil,” smiles Hiremath.
Meanwhile, for people with health problems, Dr Rupa Shah conducts a disease reversal programme through healthy vegan diet. Along with Jinal Rathod, she started this clinic to help patients suffering from diabetes, heart risks and cholesterol problem, etc. “I help them chart a vegan diet, and firstly get them off dairy products. Jinal even visits their kitchen and skims through their food items and gives them a kitchen replacement chart. We monitor their shopping lists, teach them how to read product labels and even share recipes,” explains Shah. The duo even conducts workshops for corporate and homemakers. “We also conduct a cook-along class for a smaller group. Veganism can solve many lifestyle related diseases,” says Shah.
If the question still arises: Why vegan? Monika’s simple explanation offers a powerful answer. “When you walk into a butcher’s shop, do you like what you see? Can you eat the meat in its raw state? Do you like the smell? And can you hear the shriek of an animal being butchered? No. This is because all five senses are rejecting this as food. Your body tells you what is edible and what is not. Walk into an orchard, smell the fruit. The red apple tempts you to pluck it, and take a juicy bite. This is good for you, the body signals.”
Studying vegans
Mia Baldursdottir, 23-year-old research student at Aarhus University, Denmark, has been conducting anthropologic and ethnographic research in India/ South Asia. “I have conducted a field research on veganism and vegans in India. Last year, I visited Mumbai and joined the Vegan Mumbai Facebook page. I also took part in a meeting on veganism at Tata School of Social Sciences. I visited PETAs offices and met vegans working there. My overall experience with meeting the Mumbai vegans has been very positive. They are very passionate about their cause.”
Make your own milk
Author Anuradha Sawhney, who has started a vegan home delivery service in Pune, Back to the Basics, last December, shares the recipe of peanut milk
Ingredients:
½ cup peanuts
3 cups of water

Curd and chaas made using peanut milk

Method:
>> Soak 1/2 cup raw peanuts with their red cover for about 6 hours till soft.
>> Grind very fine with minimal water
>> Take a heavy-bottomed pan (not non-stick) and transfer the ground peanut mixture in it
>> Add 3 cups of drinking water and mix well
>> Bring this mixture to the boil, stirring all the while
>> Cool to room temperature
>> Strain (optional)
Curd
Ingredients
10 stalks of chillies, washed and dried
Method:
>> To set peanut milk dahi, when the milk is at room temperature, place it in the bowl
>> Put 15 chilli stalk caps in the milk
>> Cover the milk and leave it undisturbed for 10 to 16 hours
>> Remove the stalks before using. Add lemon juice, salt and any other flavourings to make the raita or the chaas

Knead of the hour

By: Sonal Ved

Date: 2012-03-11

Place: Mumbai

Dough is to bakes, what scripts are to movies. One can't be right without the other. Sonal Ved takes down notes as baking experts teach her how to make fresh dough for breads, pizzas and pastries at home

The next time you bite into that homemade bread, which you picked up from a nearby deli, think twice. Is it really homemade? For all you know, it might be made from a premix. Most reputed bakeries and delis around the city rely on this magic potion to get that perfect bread, pie and an array of baking items. Chef Savio Fernandes from the Bombay Baking Company at JW Marriott Mumbai says, "Premix is a flour-based powder that is conditioned with the necessary enzymes that go into making a good bake."

To explain its effectiveness in terms of bread making, he cites the example of Ciabatta (an Italian white bread made from wheat flour and yeast). "If you decide to make Ciabatta from scratch, then it can take you as long as five hours, whereas with a premix, you can finish the process within two hours," explains the pastry chef.

There are many reasons why chefs rely on pre-mixed powders in commercial baking industries. Firstly, premixes are non-messy to work with and secondly they guarantee a foolproof result, which saves a lot of time and effort for a mass production industry. Also, "Mumbai's flour quality isn't exactly conducive to baking from scratch," explains Fernandes.

Some bakers are also of the opinion that the humidity in the air affects the dough and prevents products from rising well. Yet there are some like Chef Viraf Patel who insists on making bakes from scratch at Caf © Zoe, his newly-opened restaurant. "If you regulate the temperature of your kitchen and control oven-conditions, then you can do without premixes," says Patel, who makes puff pastry, short crust pastry and dough for breads such as French loaf, dinner rolls, burger buns and multigrain, at his cafe. He likes to restrict the usage of premixes as they are not fully natural.

For some, making bakes from scratch is a passion. Take for instance, Mumbai-based food blogger Nikhil Merchant (from nonchalantgourmand.com). "For me baking is a mentally satisfying activity. I like to put together a good bake -- right from binding the dough to waiting for it to rise in the oven," says Merchant.
If you think that making fresh dough in the confines of your kitchen is a cumbersome process, then you are wrong. Experts show us how we can make freshly baked products without sweating it out.

Basic bread
(Recipe courtesy food blogger Nikhil Merchant)

Food blogger Nikhil Merchant adds finishing touches to his basic
bread recipe before popping it into the oven. Pic/ Pradeep Dhivar

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups plain flour (sieved)
25 gm active dry yeast
2 tsp honey or 1.5 tsp sugar
3/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil

You can also make focaccia and crispy cheese sticks with a basic
bread dough. PIC/ Pradeep Dhivar
Method:
* Heat water and pour it into a glass bowl.
* Add honey/sugar and stir well.
* Add the yeast and give it a brief stir.
* Cover the mixture and let it sit for eight to 10 minutes.
* Once the yeast is activated, add it to cup sifted flour and mix well. This is your 'starter dough'. Cover it with muslin cloth and let it rise.
* Preheat the oven to 180 degree celsius.
* Once the starter dough has risen, take another bowl, add the rest of the flour, salt and olive oil and mix it well.
* Knead this dough evenly until you get a soft product. Ensure that there are no dry flour specks.
* Cover the dough again with a wet muslin cloth and let it rise.
* This should take around 30 to 60 minutes.
* Once it has risen, punch it down and place it in a greased baking tray. Give it an egg/milk wash.
* Bake the bread for 20 minutes or until the top is brown.
Variations:
* You can also make focaccia with the same dough. For this, skip the oil and the egg/milk wash. Instead, fold flat-rolled dough into half and fold it once again. Place this dough in your tin and spread it with the help of your fingertips. Top this with a powdered spice of your choice and bake it for 30 minutes.
* Another option is crispy cheese sticks. Here roll out the dough into a thin sheet and layer it with cheese. Fold this into a tube and bake it.
Dabble with your dough:
"You can flavour your bread with herbs like thyme or marjoram, sea salt and pepper. For a garlic loaf, add garlic powder. Flat bread topped with some sundried tomatoes and chilli flakes also tastes good."

Choux pastry
(Recipe by baking expert Kiran Salaskar from Country Of Origin)

Chef Kiran Salaskar pipes out the Choux pastry at his restaurant
Country Of Origin. Pic/ Santosh Nagwekar

Ingredients:
100 ml water
130 gm butter (at room temperature, cubed)
125 gm plain flour (sifted)
5 eggs (at room temperature)
Vegetable oil to grease the tray

Profiteroles with milk chocolates can be made from a Choux
pastry dough. Pic/ Santosh Nagwekar

Method:
* In a saucepan, place the butter and pour in the water. Stir the mixture until it melts completely. This should take about three to four minutes.
* Once the mixture comes to a boil, let it simmer on a low heat for about one to two minutes.
* Remove from fire and let it cool for a minute.
* Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl and add it to the flour mixture.
* Beat the batter well with a wooden spoon and keep it aside.
* Preheat the oven to 140 C.
* Meanwhile, brush a baking tray with oil and fill up a piping bag with the flour batter.
* With the help of a plain nozzle, line the tray with small dots or lines of the batter.
* Brush the top of your pastry with a little whisked egg and bake it for 15 minutes.
Variations:
* Depending on how you shape the dough while piping it onto the tray, you can make several desserts. For Profiteroles (light Choux pastry balls filled with cream), pipe the dough in a swirl. For clairs (cream-filled oblong shaped pastry), pipe a straight line. Cheese lovers can add some cheese to the raw dough paste to make Goug re (a savoury Choux pastry) and pipe it as they like before baking.
Dabble with your dough:
"This is one of the most complicated doughs to make. It can be flavoured with dry herbs such as thyme, basil and chilli powder."

Pizza dough
(Recipe courtesy pastry chef Savio Fernandes, Bombay Baking Company, JW Marriott Mumbai)

Chef Savio Fernandes of Bombay Baking Company rolls out the
pizza dough. PIC/ Nimesh Dave

Ingredients:
1 kg flour
25 gm dry yeast
50 gm sugar
75 ml olive oil
20 gm salt
550 ml water

Chef Savio with his creations - Three-pepper pizza, strawberry
and fudge pizza and doughnuts, which he has made using a
basic pizza dough. PIC/ Nimesh Dave
Method:
* Activate the yeast, as per the instructions given by the manufacturer and keep it aside.
* On a large surface, place all the dry ingredients and make a well.
* Pour all the wet ingredients in between and mix everything together.
* Knead this into a soft dough and allow it to rest until the yeast starts acting. This should take around 30 minutes.
* To make a pizza, roll out the dough into thin sheets and sprinkle it with some butter.
* Half-bake the bread in an oven for about 10 minutes at 150 degree celsius and save it for use.
Variations:
* You can use this dough to make dessert pizza as well. For this, sprinkle sugar and extra butter on the fresh dough and bake it for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and layer it with chunks of chocolate. Re-bake it until the pizza looks crispy. Serve it with vanilla ice cream.
* You can also experiment with doughnuts. Simply cut the dough with a doughnut cutter and deep fry it until golden. Top it with chocolate sauce and serve.
Dabble with your dough:
"Pizza dough is one of the easiest doughs to make at home. All you need is good quality flour and yeast. You can flavour it with ingredients such as garlic flakes, chilli flakes, dried parsley and kasuri methi."

Short crust pastry
(Recipe courtesy baking expert Kiran Salaskar from Country Of Origin)

Chef Kiran Salaskar mixes the dough for Short crust pastry at his
restaurant Country Of Origin. Pic/ Santosh Nagwekar

Ingredients:
200 gm plain flour
125 gm unsalted butter (chilled and finely chopped),
2 eggs
125 gm icing sugar
A pinch of sea salt

Short bread cookies with various fillings and toppings can be
made with a short crust pastry dough. Pic/ Santosh Nagwekar

Method:
* In a food processor, mix together flour, butter, sea salt and icing sugar and churn it until it begins to resemble breadcrumbs.
* Whisk the eggs and add one tablespoon of chilled water.
* Add this mixture to the flour and bind all the ingredients together.
* Give the dough a final knead, wrap it in a plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight.
Variations:
* Short crust pastry is very versatile. Fresh pastry dough can be used to line tart and pie moulds to make shells. Fill them with chocolate ganache or slices of banana and cream to make Chocolate tart or Banoffee pie, respectively.
* You can also cut it with cookie cutters and bake it to make short bread cookies. Cheesecake lovers can powder these cookies to make a crumbly base for their cake.
Dabble with your dough:
"Short crust pastry is an important part of the baking repertoire. It can be used for a variety of sweet and savoury dishes. You can even flavour it with ingredients such as rosemary, vanilla and walnut powder."

Colour Palate

Traditionally, Holi fare has to be either cooling or energising. As the festival marks the onset of summer, the food doled out during this period focuses on flavours that helps one sustain the sun-soaked days.
Take for instance Mawa or Lentil-stuffed Gujiyas and Puran Polis that farmers chomped on the fields for their instant energy. Similarly, thandai was gulped down by peasants because the fennel-fragrant concoction had a natural cooling effect on the body.
Keeping these rules in mind and without meddling with the traditional essence of Holi, a lot can be done by simply adding new flavour notes to classic preparations.
An effortless experiment is stuffing gujiyas with varied fillings. A popular Holi staple in many parts of the country, this flour pastry-based dumpling packs-off almost all ingredients well. You can clog it with dessert cheeses such as comte or fruity stilton or infuse traditional mawa with real vanilla bean and orange extract before pushing it into the flaky dough and frying it until golden.
Similar attempts can also be made with malpuas whose filling can range from classic Belgian chocolate to salted caramel to peanut butter to fresh fruits.
Daring ones can also convert these desserts into salty treats by gambling with fillings such as minced meats or herbed-roasted vegetables such as bell peppers, zucchini, shitake mushroom, spinach and red amaranth.
This season, I took a spin on the quintessential thandai. While the North Indian coolant is known for its peppery aftertaste, I introduced a few sweet and fruity elements to make it friendlier for first timers attending our annual Holi bash.
I infused this drink with seasonal pieces of strawberries, petals of home-grown and dried rose and a spoonful of rose syrup to give this adult milkshake a cool pink colour and a summery, fresh zing.
To serve, while I stuck to traditional clay pots to add a rustic touch, you can go ahead with classy shot glasses, tall high balls or glass flutes.

Strawberry, Rose Petal and Peppercorn Thandai

Pic/Sameer Sayed Abedi

Ingredients
>> 1 cup strawberries (halved)
>> 1 ½ tbsp rose syrup
>> 2 tsp black peppercorn
>> 8 cups milks
>> ½ cup almonds
>> ½ cup pistachios
>> 1/3 cup watermelon seeds
>> 1/3 cup white poppy seeds (khus khus)
>> 1 tbsp fennel seeds
>> 2 tsp dry rose petals
>> Few strands of saffron
>> Sugar as per taste
Fresh rose petals for garnish
Method:
>> In a blender, grind strawberries with two tablespoons of sugar and churn it into a fine purée.
>> In a bowl, soak almonds, pistachios, peppercorn, watermelon seeds, fennel seeds, rose petals and white poppy seeds in water (enough to cover the ingredients completely).
>> Allow it to soak for two to three hours and drain the water. Grind this into a fine paste and keep aside.
>> In a deep-bottomed pan, heat milk with sugar and bring it to a boil. Add saffron strands to this and mix until it gains a pale yellow colour.
>> Allow the milk to come down to room temperature and add the almond-poppy seed paste to it. Mix thoroughly until the coarse powder dilutes well. Do not do this while the milk is still warm or it will curdle.
>> Transfer the thandai into a jug and chill it in the refrigerator for four to five hours.
>> To serve, add strawberry puree and rose syrup to the thandai and give it a quick stir.
>> Garnish with fresh rose petals and serve cold.

combo munch

Monday, April 8, 2013

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Thoothukudi macaroon- a vestige of European colonisation

Perhaps it’s something to do with this land, there’s something in the air here,- Thoothukudi macaroon- a vestige of European colonisation