Lychee pannacotta with Ginger biscuit crumb and Coconut lemon curd

I am back to crazy 'Masterchef Australia' watching days. With the current season going on at number 8, I realized that I have missed many seasons in between my first tryst with the series. It all started with series 2 and I remember those days when Dinner was finished by 9 PM so that I could indulge in some non-stop gastronomic ride. My baby, Vaanya was then just few months old and needed attention all the time. Vishal and me would take turns to look after her while we eagerly watched each episode very religiously. 

This season my interest got rejuvenated and I have been ogling and drooling at all the artistic desserts that have been put up. Plating is the key in making even a simple dish shine and stand out in front of complex ones. With all this in my mind, I decided to try my hands in a simple dessert with different elements and a pretty plating technique. Firstly, I decided to hero the fruit-Lychee and pondered on all the other components which can go along with it. In terms of flavours, I decided to pair my lychee with ginger and coconut. So, the idea of ginger biscuits crumb and a coconut lemon curd came into my mind which sounded like a perfect harmony to my lychee pannacotta. 

I used some thickened grape juice to brush the plate and then very patiently decorated all the components on it. My over excitement led me to try 2 different platings with the same dessert. I am super mighty happy with the outcome. Do share your thoughts on the dessert. Will mean a lot to me. 

Components : 

• Lychee Pannacotta
• Ginger biscuit crumb
• Coconut and lemon curd
• Reduced grape juice
• Fresh lychees
• Mint leaves

Ingredients and Procedure: 

Lychee Pannacotta : 

• 1 cup cream (I used Amul)
• 9-10 lychees, peeled and deseeded
• 2 tbsp sugar, powdered
• 1 1/2 tsp gelatin powder

Blend the lychees in a mixer and strain.

Bloom gelatin in 1 tbsp cold water and allow it to get spongy for about 5 minutes.  

Heat cream and sugar on medium heat and add the pureed and strained lychee mixture. Do not let this mixture boil. 

When the mixture is warm enough to touch, add the bloomed gelatin and mix well. 

Pour in moulds of your choice. I chose my small spherical moulds and some silicon cupcake moulds. 

Refrigerate for 4 hours.

Ginger Biscuit : 

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 4 tbsp brown sugar, powdered
• 25 gms butter, room temperature
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• a pinch of salt
• 2 tsp dry ginger powder

Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy.

Add baking powder, baking soda, dry ginger powder, salt to all purpose flour. 

Add flour mixture to butter-sugar mixture and mix well.

Knead the mixture to a dough and cling wrap it. 

Refrigerate for 1 hr.

Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.

Roll the dough and cut round shapes from it.

Place on a baking paper lined baking pan and bake for 15-20 minutes. 

Coconut and lemon curd : 

• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar
• 25 gms butter, cut in cubes
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Take egg yolk and sugar in a bowl and put on a double boiler on low heat. 

Keep stirring the mixture.

Add butter cubes and mix well.

Add coconut milk and stir till it thickens for about 3-4 minutes.

Finish with adding lemon juice and mix well.

Allow to cool and then transfer to a piping bag. 

Plating : 

Brush your plate with the reduced grape juice which is made by simply putting grape juice in a pan and heating it till it thickens. 

Crumble the ginger biscuits and put them on the plate in a round shape, a little bigger than the pannacotta size.

Demould the Pannacotta and gently put on top of the ginger biscuit crumb. 

Add some fresh peeled and deseeded lychees.

Pipe the coconut lemon curd in intervals and finish with arranging fresh mint leaves. 

Happy Masterchef Inspirations

Amrita

Cold oven Fig and almond tea cake

Winters are here and it is by far my most favourite season because it is the season to bake and indulge in all sinful good things. Baking in the holiday season is such a delight and is soul therapy. The fresh produce in the markets has pushed my lazy self to whip up some bakes and enjoy them.

On a recent trip to our fruit vendor, my husband Vishal spotted fresh figs. He was quick to point them out to me but I refused saying that they will be expensive. But Vishal knowing how much I love to bake with fresh fruits urged me to buy and use them. The box of figs sat in my fridge for two days before the thought of them getting spoilt made me push myself to start baking. 

A quick browse on the net led me to this cold oven tea cake recipe. I have heard of the cold oven baking method but had never tried it. Cold oven baking method is more popular with the pound cake recipe where putting your cake in a cold oven and then adjusting the temperature is believed to help make the cake dense and achieve a more crisp crust on the top. The cake is basically baked at low temperature for a long time in a cold oven which has not been preheated. 

As weird as the method sounds, it worked wonders for my experiment. My cake was, most arguably, the best one I have ever baked. The cake does not rise much which gives it a compact dense texture and the crust on top is to die for. I cooked my fresh figs with some sugar and brandy and used them in the cake along with roasted and chopped almonds. The fresh figs on top added to the figilicious experience. Pairing the slice of cake with our evening tea was just the right thing for this weather.  

Recipe source : Hungry rabbit. I have reduced the recipe to 1/4th and adapted it to yield a 6X3" cake loaf.

Ingredients :

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour + 1 tbsp cornflour
• 1/4 cup + 2tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp coconut milk (I used Dabur Homemade tetrapack) 
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• a drop of almond extract(optional)
• 3 1/2 tbsp butter
• 1 egg
• 8-10 almonds, dry roasted on a pan and chopped

Fig filling: 

• 2 fresh figs, chopped
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp brandy or water

Procedure : 

Fig filing:

Put chopped figs and sugar in a saucepan and add brandy or water. Let it simmer on medium heat till the consistency becomes thick and the figs gets squashed. Cool.

Cold oven tea cake : 

Grease and line 6X3 loaf pan.

In a bowl, combine all pupose flour, cornflour, salt and baking powder.

In a small bowl, mix coconut milk with vanilla and almond extract.

Take butter and sugar in a big bowl and beat till it becomes light and fluffy.

Add egg and beat.

Now add the flour mixture in 3 additions alternating with the coconut milk mixture. 

Add the roasted and chopped almonds to the mixture and drop in little chunks of the fig filling. 

Lightly fold the mixture and pour batter to the prepared baking tin. 

Put the tin in the cold oven and adjust oven temperature to 170 degree Celsius for 30 minutes. Do not open the oven door in between.

Cool.

Garnish with some powdered sugar, fresh fig slices and chopped almonds. 

Notes : 

• You may use dried figs instead of the fresh figs I have used for the filling. Just chop dried figs and use them in the batter.
• Instead of coconut milk, you may use normal milk

Sending this recipe to Kolkata Food Bloggers ongoing event Baking Palooza 2015. Check out the page for some more exciting holiday bakes. 

Happy tea cake enjoying

Amrita

Kamalika's Bhapa Baigun (Microwave version)/ Steamed brinjals in coconut gravy

It comes across as a surprise to most that being a Sikh, our family is more of a vegetarian. As a child I remember my Grandfather was the one who was more excited about any meat. He would bring it home for my Grandmother to cook who happened to be a strict vegetarian. She kept separate vessels to cook any kind of meat. In fact, she would keep a different pan for frying eggs too.

Therefore when my grandparents shifted to my Aunt's place to stay with her, non-vegetarian food at home  became extinct. My father had no liking towards meat and preferred homemade simple vegetarian meals. I guess he had gone on my grandmother. So naturally, food at home also was a simple affair. When people asked me whether I am a vegetarian or  a non-vegetarian eater, I would simple say I am both but more of the first. 

Kolkata Food Bloggers has been the most amazing group I have been blessed to find. All kudos to the spirit of this incredible person Kamalika Chakrabarty who envisioned this group and formed it. It has been over a year and within this time I have found not only an enthusiastic leader in her but a very simple, homely and extremely humble person in her. It is very rare to find someone so dedicated towards her group where day in and out she is thinking and planning about the up gradation. It is only because of her efforts that today Kolkata Food Bloggers is a visible face in the culinary world. 

Kamalika is a great friend and a very giving person. Once when we got together at home she prepared an incredible and lip-smacking spread for me from Chingri Malaikari, Yogurt Chicken and Bhapa Baigun amongst other yummies. Being a vegetarian lover, I fell for the delectable flavours of the Bhapa Baigun more than the prawn and the chicken dishes. 

When Kolkata Food Bloggers announced their new event to celebrate Poila Boishakh with vegetarian dishes from Bengal, I knew this recipe needed a place in the blog. Extremely simple yet so yummy, this recipe has now become our weekend favourite. 

This recipe has no ginger, garlic, onions or tomatoes, the pillars of our Punjabi cooking and yet you will relish it and crave for more. Moreoever this recipe is a quick and modern one where the Microwave method is used. The use of mustard powder further reduces the tedious process of grinding. The recipe calls for a dash of sugar which I almost forgot the first time I made, so do be careful to add that bit as it makes a huge difference to the taste. 

Ingredients : For 2-3 servings

• 6 medium sized brinjals
• 2 tsp mustard powder
• 2 tbsp curd
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• sugar to taste
• salt to taste
• oil for shallow frying

Procedure : 

Wash, wipe and cut brinjals vertically in two halves.

Take oil in a pan and shallow fry the brinjal halves.

Drain them on a tissue paper and arrange in a microwave safe vessel.

Soak mustard powder in little warm water for 5 minutes.

Beat curd to remove any lumps.

Take a bowl and add soaked mustard powder, curd, coconut milk, salt, turmeric powder and sugar. Mix well.

Pour this mixture over the brinjals. 
Drizzle some mustard oil on top.

Put the vessel with brinjals in the microwave and switch on for 5 minutes on normal microwave mode.

Check and adjust seasoning.

Microwave for another 10 minutes in 5 minute batch till the mixture thickens.

Serve with boiled rice and plain dal. 

Notes : 

• You may use fresh mustard seeds paste instead of mustard powder.
• I have used canned coconut milk, but you may also use fresh coconut milk. 
• If you like a more sour taste, add more curd.
• Add green chillies if you love spicy food. 

This recipe is part of Kolkata Food Bloggers new event to celebrate Poila Boishakh where we are sharing Vegetarian Bengali dishes.

Happy vegetarian relishing

Amrita