An Ode to 2013

What a year it's been! From start to finish, it has been a complete roller coaster, and the last 5 months have been additionally so, partly why I have been missing in action from this space (Now, now, I am not providing pretexts for complacency, for I have been far from lazy. I am simply elaborating on why there have been no new posts, while there has been a lot of new food, and also to explain where today's recipe comes from). 

I started school once again, this time to get a post grad degree, and the month preceding to the start of the program was pure mayhem - I ensured I was present for the two new store openings at my beloved DLF Emporio, I moved cities twice, and finally shifted base to the South East Asian neighbourhood that basks in the glory of international food scene (or so it claims!). 

Back to the Classroom

The next four months were a blur. I was back in the classroom, meeting people from over 75 nationalities; went for parties, barbecues, dinners galore, cooked some Indian food on and off, learnt lots, hopefully taught some, and basically went from a happy earning individual to a happier student. Part of this four month journey included working with a "diverse" study group, and because this particular school tries to take diversity beyond a marketing buzzword, my group had this "straddling, dashing" American who was, in his day, a REAL master chef (Dan, dinner on you for this one :p)

Now, any prudent B-School student MUST be an opportunist. Therefore you must self-invite yourself for dinner at your cheffy group mate's place, and considering Americans are generous (rich) by nature, you  must expect to be fed a meal that can fetch our man a Michelin star. The recipe I am going to share (Note: It has also been tested and tried on desi grounds, so no worries on ingredient front) has been stolen out of his kitchen, and is an original. 

Before further ado, and just in time for New Year celebrations, find the recipe of Apple Beignets with Vanilla Rum Mousseline below:

Ingredients:

For Beignets

Flour - 3/4 cup

Baking Powder - 1 tsp

Egg - 1

Salt - A pinch

Beer (at room temperature) - 2/3 cup

Apples - 2 (peeled, cored and cut in 1/4" rings)

Cinnamon & Sugar Powder - For dusting

Vegetable Oil - For deep frying

For Vanilla Mousseline

Egg yolks - 3

Butter - 50 to 75 gms, melted

Vanilla Rum - 1 tsp 

Sugar - 1 tbsp

Whipped Cream - 1/2 cup

Method:

• Start with the Mousseline: Combine the egg yolks and sugar in a stainless steel bowl and beat over a double boiler for 2 minutes until it begins to thicken.
• Ensure butter is  melted simultaneously. Add the melted butter into the mixture above, whisking all the while, careful not to overheat this mixture. 
• When this mixture is thick, add in the vanilla rum (substitute with regular, locally available rum and 2-3 drops of vanilla essence, if needed). Set aside and keep warm.
• Now for the Beignets: Combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
• Beat the whole egg in a bowl and mix in the beer. 
• Stir in the flour mix. You should have a thick, smooth batter.
• Dip the apple slices in the batter above, and fry until golden brown (about 2 minutes on each side) in 375 degrees oil.
• Drain the beignets on paper towels and dust with the cinnamon and ground sugar.
• Move back to the sauce. Fold in the whipped cream into the sauce and your mousseline is ready.
• Now plate this simple, scrumptious dessert by first placing a spoonful of the mousseline on the dessert plate and placing a gorgeous, crisp apple on top.

The gorgeous

I once claimed I am a chocolate dessert fanatic. The one time I wavered was when I ate the absolutely divine pecan pie served with vanilla ice cream at the Cavalli Caffè. And then I converted, thanks to my dear group mate. An apple hater such as I now propagates a non-chocolate, apple dessert on her own blog! Strange are the ways of the world, dear friends, so while I muse on life's bungee jumps and enjoy a piping hot beignet, go create this ode to the wonderful 2013…

ATTRAVERSIAMO - Let's cross over (to an even better 2014!) and go DIG IN!!! 

Something Sweet

When one is back in the valley, surrounded by mountains that have recently seen a spurt of the worst possible devastation, one must search for reasons to rejoice, to keep the faith and to live through one more day -- and one such reason is the tremendous effort the locals have put in to assist those in need. Another reason is simply that one is ALIVE. And finally, my most favorite reason is that being back in the valley implies access to an oven, and thus a chance to rustle up something in the baking department.

So, in order to celebrate those that survived and to pay a tribute to those who departed, even as we move on, let us do something sweet...

Let us prepare a baked version of the childhood bread pudding! Recipe below:

Ingredients:

Bread slices - 8 slices (brown/ white/ multigrain -- leave the choice to you, dear reader!)

Milk - 300 mls

Sweetened Condensed Milk - 200 gms 

Eggs - 2, at room temperature

Cinnamon - A pinch

Butter - Enough to smear both sides of you bread slices with

Method:

• Pre set the oven at 160 degrees celsius. In the mean time, trim the edges of your bread slices and butter them lavishly on both sides. Line these up in layers in your baking dish (Note: The original recipe asks for raisins to be sprinkled between layers, but my aversion to the same was reason enough to completely omit them from my version of the dessert. Please feel free to add these and/ or any other dry fruit that pleases your taste buds)
• In another bowl break the eggs and beat them lightly, adding the sweetened condensed milk, milk and cinnamon (Note: The original recipe asks for nutmeg but I personally LOVE cinnamon and thus the twist)
• Now pour this gorgeous sunrise colored mixture over your layered, buttered bread slices, drowning them completely
• Bake for about 20-25 minutes in a moderately hot oven (160 to 170 degrees celsius) till the mixture has ensconced the bread and risen over the same as a beautiful golden brown crown. Ah! And the lovely scent... Sigh!
• Serve hot (as I did) or eat cold (as I did). It works both ways, trust me!

Look how deliciously well it turns out. And how quickly too!

Why I simply loved this particular dish was for two major reasons:

a) How quickly I was able to forage from the kitchen back at home and put something together that was absolutely delish, and

b) It was completely reminiscent of my childhood breakfasts when Mom used to make me fresh "meethi" bread. This was simply a sophisticated version of the same that all the Aunties will love over a cup of chai, coffee, or even just chit-chat in the rain... Lovely! :D

So go, don't just sit and read. Cook in the next thirty, and DIG IN!!!