Authors: Hari Nayak

Easy Indian Cooking (40 page)

BOOK: Easy Indian Cooking

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2
Pour the juice into a large pitcher. Add the cranberry juice, lime juice and sugar, and stir to combine. Refrigerate until very cold.

3
Pour into tall chilled glasses and garnish with the lime slices.

valrhona chocolate burfi with toasted coconut

Makes
36 pieces
Preparation
10 minutes
Cooking
15 minutes

Burfi is a common Indian confection that is generally made with condensed milk and sugar. Here is my version prepared with my favorite chocolate. Valrhona is an expensive and exotic bittersweet chocolate from Belgium; my favorite to use when making chocolate sweets. It is definitely worth trying out when making desserts and it’s easy to find in gourmet stores. However, any popular brand of bittersweet chocolate available in your supermarket can be used to make this dish. I have used toasted coconut to lend an Indian twist. You can use hazelnut shavings, or a mixture of crushed dried fruits and nuts, raisins, cashews and almonds for this recipe.

1 cup (200 g) sugar

½ cup (125 ml) water

1 lb (500 g) almond paste, broken up into small pieces

1 cup (210 g) clarified butter

1 cup (200 g) Valrhona chocolate, melted

¼ cup (25 g) almonds, ground

½ cup (50 g) grated sweetened coconut, toasted (page 7)

1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar

1
Combine the sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan and boil together until a candy thermometer registers 225ºF (105ºC) and a small amount of the syrup forms a thin thread when pressed between the thumb and forefinger.

2
Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the almond paste with ¼ cup (52 g) of the clarified butter. Stir in the rest of the clarified butter slowly until all of it has been absorbed. Keep stirring over medium to medium-low heat. The mixture will become a single mass.

3
Lower the heat and continue stirring until the mixture becomes porous and starts to appear drier, about 10 minutes. Add the melted chocolate and mix to incorporate.

4
Spread the mixture into a 9-in (23-cm) square baking pan and press to compact and even the surface. Immediately sprinkle with the almonds and coconut, gently pressing them into the surface. While still warm, cut into small square or diamond shapes. Dust with sugar and serve at room temperature. This can be stored covered at room temperature for up to a week.

cardamom brownies

Makes
20 brownies
Preparation
10 minutes
Cooking
25 minutes

Everyone loves a chocolate brownie! Add a twist to this favorite by adding spices or even chili peppers for a unique taste. I have added freshly ground cardamom powder, but feel to experiment with spice packets you would find at your local Indian store, or in the spice aisle of your supermarket.

5 oz (140 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2¼ sticks/250 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for buttering pan

4 large eggs

1¼ cups (250 g) sugar

Seeds from 15 cardamom pods, ground

1 cup (135 g) all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting pan

1¼ cups (125 g) pecans, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped (page 7)

1
Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC).

2
Butter a 9 x 12-in (23 x 30.5-cm) baking pan, fit the bottom with a piece of parchment paper and dust the inside of the pan with flour; tap the excess flour out and set aside.

3
Melt the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water or with a microwave oven. Remove the chocolate from the heat and let it cool slightly.

4
Beat the butter in a large mixing bowl with a flexible rubber spatula until smooth and creamy. Stir in the chocolate. Gradually add the eggs one at a time. Whisk and then add the sugar and ground cardamom, followed by the flour and pecans, stirring using a whisk until all the ingredients are incorporated. Do not beat or aerate.

5
Scrape the batter into the baking pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. The top of the brownies will be dry, but a knife inserted in the center will come out wet with batter on it. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and allow the brownies to cool for 30 minutes.

6
Run a knife around the edges of the pan and unmold the brownies. Remove the baking paper, cut the brownies, and serve.

mango yogurt lassi with saffron

Serves
4
Preparation
10 minutes

Lassi is an ever-popular Indian drink. Here I have used vanilla-flavored yogurt and fresh mangoes. You can also use canned mangoes in this drink.

4 cups (975 g) vanilla yogurt

2 ripe mangoes (about 900 g), peeled and cut into chunks or 2 cups (500 ml) canned mango pulp

1 cup (125 g) crushed ice

2 tablespoons sugar

¼ teaspoon saffron strands, toasted and ground (page 7)

Combine the ingredients in a blender and process until the yogurt is frothy. Serve cold.

sparkling ginger-lime cooler

Serves
4
Preparation
10 minutes

This cooler was inspired by the ever-popular ginger soda—a favorite childhood drink of mine that I remember fondly from my time in India! This is a variation of that: I’ve added some sparkling water, mint and pepper, for that extra spike of flavor. You can make a concentrate of this and refrigerate it, and then add the soda or sparkling water as needed before serving.