Growing up, the only chocolate that had any kind of elevated status in our lives was Cadburys DairyMilk. Apart from it being the most widely available chocolate in India, it also tasted pretty damn delicious. Some people will argue that it was way too sweet for their liking, but that’s what I was exposed to and I loved it. When Cadburys came out with the Fruit & Nut version, I was convinced that it was the best thing that could happen to chocolate.
Strawberry season and not succumb to the luscious fruit? Not a chance. So as usual my fridge is stocked with box after box of strawberries this year. After umpteen strawberry shakes, smoothies, juices and eating the fruit dipped in chocolate (yes, that’s legit), I decided to incorporate it into a dessert. A Strawberry Tart seemed like the perfect way to enjoy the fruit without cooking it. (I’m all for jams and preserves with other fruit, but the strawberry is perfect as it is).
Cranberries are not grown in India. So all those gorgeous recipes with Cranberries in them were pushed to the back, because let’s face it – I don’t want to pay an arm and a leg to import them. Nor do I want to grab onto someone else’s arm or leg and beg them to get some from their trip abroad. The dried version however IS available here and I recently happened to pick some up for the heck of it. Foodhall offeres two types – one that looks all red and juicy (which is what I would expect a cranberry to be) and the other which looks like a mini blueberry. Of course I gravitated to the more familiar one, only to be told that they were not whole cranberries and are treated to some extent, with sugar and color to make them pretty and sweeter. I took the bait and bought the more expensive but tart, Whole Cranberries. The idea was to keep them at my work desk and have them as a snack, …
South Indian festivals are an excuse to indulge in food of the sweet and heavy kind. One of the staples is ‘Panchamrutam’ which means the five nectars. This is prepared as a festive offering and is a medley of all things sweet! It’s a sugar high to say the least and considering this is what we offer our Gods they must be getting off on the sugar buzz! Anyway there are no fixed five ingredients though Milk, Curd, Honey, Ghee, Fruits (esp bananas), Coconut and Sugar are interchangeable. My recipe is almost a fruit salad, but with a holy twist! Bless you… Panchamrutam Prep time: 10 mins Serves: 10 -12 What you need: 2 Bananas 1 Apple 2 Guava 1 Sweet Lime (peeled and segmented) Handful of Black Grapes Half a Pomegranate (peeled and separated) 500 gms Thick Curd 250ml Milk 2 Tbsp Ghee 1 Tbsp Honey 5 Tbsp Granulated Sugar What to do: Wash and dice the apples, guava and Bananas. Peel the Sweet lime and segment it. Remove seeds and transparent layer as …
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