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Recipe: Just In Time For Christmas – Date & Orange Cake

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A merry, merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate! Whether you are reading this post on that auspicious day or a little later, I hope that your home and your heart are both filled with all good things. Christmas is a time of feasting and of special delicacies, and as I prepared many re:store orders in the past few weeks, I gave a little thought to what I might want to serve at my own table during the festivities. As you may recall from the last few posts, travels to Europe are brightening my thoughts these days. A delicious dessert that I’ve eaten many times in the U.K. came to mind too on these memory-lane wanderings. That would be this date and orange cake, and I am sharing the recipe for it with you today.

My introduction to date and orange cake was through the commercial versions that are widely available in supermarkets in the U.K. They come in individual portions, in cups, just right for a quick dessert or a tea-time snack for one. I loved them, and I always wondered how much fresher the homemade rendition may be. Somehow, I didn’t have the chance to experience a homemade date and orange cake during any of my visits to the U.K., but I fondly recall baking some right here in Chennai when a group of us from school met after many years at one of our homes. As the baker in our friend group, I was placed in charge of dessert. I made individual portions of date and orange cake, in line with my London memories, and we all enjoyed them very much.

This week, I set about recreating that dessert again, realising that I don’t bake it often enough. As I am fortunate to have many people to share it with – loved ones, family and of course, you – I decided to bake a whole cake, serving the sauce drizzled on top as well as on the side.

I also decided to up the festive quotient a bit by adding a little Grand Marnier orange liqueur to the mix, which helps put us into the happy, grateful mood that this time of year is all about. I had some lovely serendipities in terms of the other ingredients as well. I get many orders for date squares, in general but especially when there are gifting needs, so I had a whole lot of dates in my kitchen. Plus, it’s orange season in Nagpur, so some of India’s best citrus fruits are on hand as well. These tend to be a staple in the house, and it was nice to put them to special use, in this wonderful cake that brings the year to a gentle close.

Date & Orange Cake

Cake

200 grams chopped dates

2 cups water

125 grams maida

2 eggs

150 grams butter (unsalted)

90 grams brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Topping

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed orange juice

 

Sauce

2 tablespoons butter (room temperature)

¼ cup sugar

½ cup cream

1 tablespoon orange juice

¼ teaspoon orange extract

1 teaspoon Grand Marnier (optional)

Pre-heat the oven to 170°C for 20 minutes.

Prepare a 9-inch baking tin by greasing the edges and dusting with flour. Set aside.

Boil the dates along with the water, stirring until the dates become soft. You could use a hand blender and slowly mush them. Then, add the baking soda. The mixture will bubble up.

Combine and sieve all the dry ingredients except the baking soda. Set aside.

In a mixer bowl, cream the butter and sugar for approximately 3 minutes. Now, add the eggs and while stirring, slowly add the vanilla extract. Make sure the ingredients are well-incorporated by scraping down the sides occasionally. Then, gently add all the dry ingredients to the bowl, making sure the flour doesn’t fly around. Next, add the tender date mixture. Using a spatula, fold it all together. Pour into the prepared baking tin.

Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

In the meantime, prepare the sauce. In a pan, add the butter, salt, sugar and cream. Allow to boil while stirring. Once combined, add the orange extract and vanilla extract. Drizzle in the Grand Marnier for that festive and indulgent touch.

Once the cake is ready, top with the orange juice and spoon the sauce on top, saving some to serve on the side if you wish. You may give it a light dusting of cinnamon for more flavour, and add fresh cream as well for extra decadence.

Serve with a seasonal beverage of your choice. This boozy, orange-kissed hot chocolate may just be the perfect accompaniment, with more citrusy liqueur to really play up that zest.

To all my dearest friends and lovely readers, I want to take this opportunity to remind you that it is the festive season, and so it is a time to treat ourselves. Especially during these uncertain times, we must celebrate and give thanks for what we have. Let’s not lose out on joy by counting calories, at least this week (that, after all, are what New Year’s resolutions are for!).

As another year dawns, let me also take the opportunity to wish you all good health and happiness. I am reflecting at the moment on how we are each responsible for making this world a better place to live in. How we treat people and how we treat the planet are equally important. We are at a crucial point where we may lose the planet’s good health, and the pandemic we are still in is a reminder of how closely linked we are to Earth, as well as to each other. Let us heal together and return to safety, putting the worst behind us. I look forward to the way that food will continue to connect us all, and eagerly anticipate sharing many more dishes from my kitchen with you too.

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Recipe: The Next Best, Still Better Than The Rest – Saffron Crème Brûlée

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My absolute, all-time favourite dessert in the world is crema catalana. Barcelona is one of my favourite cities in the world as well, and to me the idea of a perfect Spanish meal simply must end with a delectable bowl of crema catalana. I can’t quite make it here in India, but fortunately for me, the next best thing to crema catalana is easy to make, and requires only easy-to-source ingredients. That would be crème brûlée, and I’ve added a dash of a regional element to pep it up, which gives us this week’s recipe: saffron crème brûlée.

Crème brûlée originates in France, and as with many dishes that one didn’t grow up with, I had the impression that it was very complicated to prepare. I can assure you that this was a misconception. The method is quite easy, the ingredients are basic, and you can make parts of it ahead of time, which also considerably speeds up the process. The original crema catalana is similar in all regards, except that it uses something we don’t get in India, an ingredient called farina (which looks like wheat rava).

I’m nostalgic for my travels at this time of year, and I love journeying through my tastebuds. So I thank you for joining me as I head back to Europe in my imagination! As I prepare this dessert, my mind lingers over happy memories of waking up in the mornings to go for a walk around the neighbourhood, finding a crowded café (a clue: if it’s popular with the locals, it must be good) where I would sit and people-watch over fresh, authentic coffee and pastries. This would be the same whether I was in Venice, in Santiago de Compostela or somewhere else.

If I was in Barcelona, this lovely day would later culminate with going out to dinner with friends. How I miss ordering a starter of deep-fried Padrón peppers sprinkled with rock salt, followed by delicious patatas bravas and saving the best for last with a tiny, well-presented portion of crema catalana! I love that culture and even tried to learn Spanish at one point. While studying the language didn’t go so far, I have had better luck with exploring and replicating European cuisines in my own kitchen. To be candid with you, I’ve never had a good crème brûlée in Chennai, which is one of the reasons why I tried my hand at it. So without further ado, here is my recipe, so that you can do so too!

Saffron Crème Brûlée

4 egg yolks

2 cups heavy cream

¼ cup sugar + 4 tablespoons

¼ teaspoon salt

2 pinches of saffron

Topping

2 teaspoons white sugar

1 teaspoon brown sugar

 

There are four parts to this method: preparing the custard, preparing the egg yolks, baking and then brûléeing. If you’re familiar with baking, you’ll find this method to be easy to follow. If you’re new to baking, keep in mind that the secret is in following the recipe to a tee.

Before we begin, here are a few more tips:

  • There are two key elements to a good crème brûlée: being mindful while adding the yolks to the custard and maintaining a continuous whisk, and baking only up to the correct moment so that the different textures of the dish are maintained.
  • Ovens vary and temperatures vary. I was literally sitting in front of mine with my eyes peeled, so that I would know exactly when to switch it off.
  • You can prepare the custard a couple of days ahead, then bake it and stick it back in the fridge, and then do the brûléeing just before you serve it. If you’re expecting guests, this paces the process well so that you can make the dish in a leisurely way.

Preparing the custard

In a pot, add cream, ¼ cup sugar and salt. Cook on a medium flame and stir often so the mixture doesn’t stick to the bottom.

Midway through mixing, add the saffron. It adds a nice festive colour to the dessert, as does the flavour. Once the cream comes to a simmer, remove from stove and cover with a lid. Rest this for 20 minutes, during which you must open and stir again no more than twice.

Preparing the egg yolks

Meanwhile, take the egg yolks, add the remaining sugar and stir well.

After the custard has rested for 20 minutes, it’s time to add the yolks to it. Slowly and in a single steady pour, add the custard to the yolks. Beat continuously while pouring. At this point, you have to be careful that the eggs don’t become a scramble due to the heat. This is where you may wind up with breakfast rather than dessert! The key is to stir constantly. Once all the cream is added, mix the custard well and refrigerate until you are ready to bake. This can keep in the fridge for up to 2-3 days.

Baking

Preheat the oven at 150° C. In a wide enough tray with tall sides, arrange 6 ramekins. Now, it’s time for the bain-marie technique, used for delicate baked goods like this. You do this by simply pouring hot water into the tray. With the help of a ladle, gently fill the ramekins with the custard-yolk concoction to ¾.

Place the tray gently into the preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until the centre looks jiggly while the edges are not.

Remove the ramekins from the tray and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Once they are at room temperature, refrigerate for at least 5-24 hours.

Brûléeing

Remove the ramekins from the refrigerator and sprinkle 1 teaspoon each of brown sugar and white sugar on top. Brûléeing is the process of using a torch to heat the sugar until it melts and changes colour. Hold the torch longer to make it a nice crust on top and until all the sugar melts. You may add another spoonful of sugar if you like and repeat the same. Do this for each individually.

Serve immediately. The custard must be cold and the brûléed sugar on top must be warm. This play of temperatures, along with the play of textures, is what a good crème brûlée is all about!

It’s quite a simple recipe once you get a little practice at it. Remember to follow it very closely. The one place where you have room to innovate is in the flavouring. The authentic dessert is plain, but I have no doubt that others must also be playing with the taste additions like I am.  If you’re not a fan of saffron, you may want to try vanilla, rose or lavender. I also like to have the plain one with a little passion fruit on top of the brûléed sugar, which brings in a fun flavour interaction.

If you have any questions at all about the process, especially if you are still a little intimidated about trying out what is usually considered a somewhat fancy dessert, drop a comment below. I’m happy to help you figure it out. Trust me, you deserve to taste this loveliness!

On that note, more desserts are coming up here on this blog later this month, in time for Christmas, so do stay tuned! You may want to explore the dessert archive as you plan your menu as well. If you’re in Chennai and want to order from the re:store kitchen for the festivities, give me a buzz!

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Recipe: Better With A Jiggle – Saffron-Pistachio-Rose Panna Cotta

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Some years ago, I shared a recipe for a vegan lavender panna cotta, and this dessert has been on my mind yet again. This time however, the non-vegan variety is what I’ve been craving. Perhaps I am drawn to dairy in desserts because it is the basis of most Indian sweets, and therefore is a part of what I grew up eating. Although it is not Indian in origin, panna cotta certainly hits the spot as a milk-based, delicious sweet treat. It is light but satisfying, and I love that it lends itself to a range of flavours. While playing around with possible flavours, I hit on a combination that retains a sense of the regional. So here you have it: a saffron-pistachio-rose panna cotta.

While many people enjoy their panna cotta with a coulis made of berries, I prefer a pistachio topping. I find it complements the saffron. It’s is one of my favourite flavours, and when I make my pistachio cake at re:store (available in saffron, rose and classic variants), I often make a tiny cupcake for myself from the batter. This panna cotta therefore brings together all the flavours that I have tried, tested and tasted time and again and know work well with pistachio.

You may wish to use agar-agar if you prefer, but I find that this substitute just doesn’t give the dessert the jiggle that gelatine does. If you ask me, a good panna cotta should jiggle. Perhaps it’s just a matter of presentation, but as I’ve said often, presentation is key when it comes to sweet treats. The eye eats first.

Remember that you can make sugar-free and vegan panna cottas, using any medium (almond milk, coconut milk, etc). I often do. Today, however, I felt indulgent… The saffron I used was some absolutely beautiful Spanish saffron that dear friends who live in Spain gave me when they visited. So many friends of mine scattered across the globe tend to bring gifts that can be used at re:store or in my kitchen. The lavender in my previous panna cotta recipe was a gift as well. I’m grateful to have these delectable ingredients, alongside my local and seasonal ones.

A pinch of Spanish saffron, with distinctly Indian touches of pistachio and rose water… And yet it’s memories of a trip to Rome that emerged as I prepared this lovely dessert. Wherever we went, we gorged on authentic panna cotta, tiramisu and gelato. Reminiscing on my Italian sojourn must have been what inspired me to become interested in making ice cream. As I’ve said on this blog before, I consider myself an eternal student, and I’m literally going to sign up for a course. Isn’t it wonderful how food is a way to travel, especially in these difficult times when travel is sometimes not possible, or just not what it used to be? It’s all the more special when we are able to evoke memories or aspirations of travel right in our very own kitchens.

Saffron-Pistachio-Rose Panna Cotta

(Serves 4)

Panna Cotta

7 grams gelatine

3 tablespoons cold water (to soak)

1 cup cream

1½ cups whole milk

1⁄3 cup sugar

A pinch of salt

½ teaspoon saffron + 1 tablespoon milk

 

Pistachio Topping

¼ cup shelled, toasted and sliced pistachio

 

Rose Cream

½ cup whipping cream

1 teaspoon rose water

 

Soak the gelatine in cold water for about ten minutes. Soak the saffron in milk.

In the meanwhile, add the cream, milk and sugar along with the salt in a saucepan. Allow to cook on a medium flame, stirring occasionally.

When the mixture is ready to boil, add the soaked saffron. Bring to a boil and turn off the flame.

Allow to rest for about ten minutes, and then add the bloomed gelatine. Due to the heat, the gelatine will melt. Stir well, pour into a mould and set overnight in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to serve the panna cotta, prepare the topping of rose cream. Whip the ingredients together in a bowl until you get soft peaks, or the consistency that you prefer.

Now, it’s time to assemble the dessert. Dip the mould in which the panna cotta has set in warm water. Turn it upside down onto a serving plate. Garnish the panna cotta with a sprinkling of pistachio, a dollop of the whipped rose cream and rose petals if you have them. You will have an aromatic, alluring-looking dish, replete with a plethora of flavours. You can keep this saffron-pistachio-rose panna cotta in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. It’s a perfect dish to prepare in advance when you are expecting guests, and it is sure to wow them visually too.

Saffron, pistachio and rose are international flavours as well as Indian ones, and I hope that they are easily available to you. The panna cotta base is beautifully adaptable, so you’ll easily be able to swap any of them out if you don’t have something on hand.

Aside from how gorgeous it is to the eye and how delicious it is to savour, what I like most about this dish is that it is a symbol of how food can make the world a smaller place. As we span worlds and cuisines, here’s an ongoing wish for the end of the pandemic and for us all to be able to communicate, commute, share and care again as easily as we did before.

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Recipe: In The Pink Of Health – Vegan Strawberry-Rose Smoothie

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It’s an ongoing story of mine that I’m avoiding carbs, but I confess that I’m sneaking them in from time to time. To beat this craving, I’ve been reaching out for more smoothies than ever, as they are very filling, thus cancelling out the carb craving, and also take care of my protein needs. I always add a fruit of some kind, and with strawberries being in season right now, and a beautiful bounty of them in my fridge, they have been an obvious choice these days. Of course, this vegan strawberry-rose smoothie is also perfect for beating the summer heat!

This recipe features one of my all-time favourite elements – rose – and, all in all, it makes for a wonderfully uplifting and healthy beverage. Regular re:store customers will know that I’m obsessed with the flavour and that it’s a signature of mine. I have just not had my fill of adding rose to everything, and I hope that you will also enjoy its intoxicating aroma and delicate taste in this recipe just as much. But this is not just indulgence. This smoothie is vegan, and I usually use almond milk or oats milk (you can even just use water). It is also ideal for exercise enthusiasts like me, and lately I’ve been keeping a tall glass of it ready in my fridge as my post-workout boost each morning.

The rose plays so well with the strawberries, so while the drink itself may look a little bland, it is very flavourful. To offset the visual nondescriptness of the drink, however, I ensure that I serve it elegantly. The glassware that I use in these photos aren’t just props. During this lockdown, I’ve begun to use for our daily meals all the special crockery, cutlery and other serving ware that are usually saved for important occasions. I try to dress everything up, including myself. Even though I don’t leave the house, I put on clothing that makes me feel confident. Even though it’s just us family at home, I ensure the presentation of meals is just as attractive as it would be if we had guests over. I feel that these small things make a big difference. We should enjoy life, every day. Why wait? This is one of the many lessons of the pandemic.

So, my friends, let me encourage you to do the same. Don’t wait for the day when you will next be entertaining. Don’t wait for a celebration. Put up those beautiful curtains that you promised yourself you would deck your windows with when the lockdown lifts. Take the good porcelain out of storage, and see for yourself how it brightens the vibe at the dining table. Unfurl that gorgeous handmade bedspread you were saving for the guest bedroom and enjoy a hearty nap on it. All the carefully chosen things that have lain in cupboards for years deserve to be enjoyed, and you deserve to enjoy them! Use them, flaunt them, let them give you joy!

Bring more life into your home with small planters. A touch of green here and there not only adds beauty and freshness, but also helps purify the air. You don’t need a whole garden for this: old kitchen utensils are lovely spots to grow money plants and other low-maintenance greenery. The daily act of nurturing the plant is itself so fulfilling.

This is self-care, not selfishness. We must learn to do things for our own pleasure, to lift our own spirits. Live for today. Live for right now. We never know what may happen tomorrow, so we may as well enjoy what we have, when we have it.

So yes, this is just a recipe for a simple smoothie. But how I make it, how I serve it for myself (choosing a different cup or glass every day from my collection), how I set the table if I’m having it over a chat with a family member, how I put on some music as we share bigger meals together – these are the things that pep me up, keep me going, and help to create pleasant experiences even during a time that is frightening and difficult. This is what it means to bring positivity and hope into our day-to-day lives. It’s all about the small things, and showing gratitude by enjoying those small things. I really hope that the few minutes of your day in which you prepare and relish this vegan strawberry-rose smoothie will be one of those small things for you, too.

Vegan Strawberry-Rose Smoothie

(Yield: 2 small cups)

 

8-10 strawberries

2 tablespoons powdered almonds

Your preferred quantity of protein powder

2 cups almond milk (or milk of your choice)

1 teaspoon chia seeds

A drizzle of honey or maple syrup or a date (optional)

Rose extract

Rose petals to garnish (optional)

 

Simply put all the ingredients into a blender, and blend well. Make sure you use powdered almonds – that’s the trick to perfecting the texture, ensuring that there are no chunks. You may later garnish the drink with some whole or broken nuts, if you’d like more texture. You may eliminate the rose ingredients if you prefer and just enjoy the strawberries’ flavour on their own. The chia seeds make the drink deliciously creamy, in addition to bringing their numerous health benefits to it, so I would suggest that you retain them.

Pour into a glass and enjoy. Don’t forget to refrigerate it first, if you prefer it cool, or just add some ice if you’re in a hurry.

I hope this nourishing beverage brings some sweetness your way this summer. You may remember that I shared a different strawberry smoothie recipe last year too. I hope you’ll try both out and tell me which one you prefer and why, in the comments. One can never get enough of strawberry season – so why not?

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Recipe: Luscious Layers – Mango Twist

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Sometimes, you just don’t have the energy to do much in the kitchen at all, but that’s no reason to skimp on having a dessert that can make you feel better. Whether the heat has enervated you, or the ongoing pandemic has dragged your cheerful spirits down, the key to preparing a pick-me-up is in one aspect only: the simplicity quotient. I’ve been making this mango twist nearly every day, and you can too.

What I love about it is that ticks all the boxes: it satisfies my sweet tooth without the use of refined sugar, allows me to have well-rounded meals while I am off carbs, makes the most of the earth’s seasonal bounty, and is practically effortless to prepare.

Really, it’s so easy that anyone can make it. Which brings me to another reason that I thought this fruity dessert would be perfect to share right now. It’s that making it is just the kind of activity to keep your younger kids happy, and that’s something I can imagine many of you doing with the little ones being at home all the time now. Putting this dessert together is a simple way to get them to explore the vast world of cooking. The sense of achievement they’ll enjoy will taste almost as good as the dish itself. This is a beautiful way impart the value of a home-made treat or meal, and it shouldn’t surprise you if they graduate to wanting to try out more culinary experiments too. As I’ve said before on this blog, I consider my recipes my heirlooms. There’s no reason to wait till they are older to share an elaborate traditional method when you can instill the love of cooking in them from a very young age through simple dishes like this one.

Here’s yet another amazing tick on that check-list: this mango twist is vegan! Of late, I have noticed that cutting down on my dairy consumption really does make me feel better overall. While I am not a hardcore vegan, as much as I would like to be, I do love the coconut milk I use in this dish and enjoy consuming it in this delicious way. You can use dairy, if that’s what you have on hand. Or you can substitute the coconut milk with almond milk, which will result in a thinner dessert that you can plump up with nutritious chia seeds.

Variety is certainly one of the elements that keeps a dish like this interesting. When mango season ends, simply use any other fruit that you have on hand.

I think of this Mango Twist as one of those recipes that is so common that it hardly warrants a recipe. Surely, everyone already knows it, I pondered to myself when the idea of this post occurred to me. Then, I realised how in any hectic time, we often get so carried away that we neglect to notice what is right before our eyes. So this recipe is really more of a reminder, something that tells you to open your fridge and see for yourself – you probably already have everything you need to whip up something wonderful right away.

As a refrigerated dessert, you can also make it in advance so that it’s right there and ready for you when you desperately need something to cool off in this sweltering heat, or could use a pick-me-up. Some time in the hopefully not-far future, when we are back to entertaining guests as always, it’s also an ideal dessert to prepare earlier in the day so that you won’t have to take time putting a snack together after they arrive. Just take it out of the fridge and it’s ready to be served on a tray. It’s a visually attractive dessert, so presentation is key – what colours do you want to have pop inside the glass, and how will you layer the ingredients? You can go decadent, or you can keep it nutritious but still appealing by using fruits of different colours to create a tempting look.

Mango Twist

(Yield: 2 glasses)

1 cup coconut cream

½ cup mango pulp

Pecans or any topping of your choice

½ teaspoon maple syrup or honey (optional)

 

In each glass, add 2 teaspoons of coconut cream. I like to use small eatery glasses as they look very pretty. Layer this with the mango pulp. Freeze for sometime, then remove from the freezer. Now, top the pulp again with the coconut cream gently. Finally, add the pecans or any other toppings of your choice, and drizzle with some maple syrup or honey, as healthier sweetening substitutes. I only use these if I find the mango a little tart. Otherwise, the dessert doesn’t need it.

In lieu of coconut cream, you can also use pudding, fresh cream or other substitutes. Some other great toppings include caramelised nuts, maple syrup, honey, orange rind and seeds. Any kind of brittle, crumbled cake or re:store’s popular muesli will also add more taste and texture. Don’t forget that no matter what time of year you make this, you can use any seasonal fruit of your choice. When preparing it with your kids, indulge them with colourful jellies or cute chocolates that will make the smiles on their faces even bigger.

Given that this is a summer during which the simple pleasures are more important than ever, as we continue to collectively fight the pandemic, I intend to fully take all the joy I can get from the mango season. Do subscribe or connect over Instagram so that you’ll know as soon as my next few recipes go up – dishes that range from sweet to sour to savoury are coming, all thanks to this wonderful fruit!

As I said earlier, I think of this mango twist as a “reminder recipe” – is there anything similar that you’d like to share in the comments? I am sure we would all love to know more about each others’ summer go-to dishes and desserts!

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Recipe: To Bright New Beginnings – Boozy, Orange-Kissed Hot Chocolate

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Christmas was always a very special occasion in our home when my children were growing up. They would be so excited about setting up the Christmas tree, going shopping to find beautiful decorative ornaments, and simply enjoying the festive atmosphere. While Diwali always held its own importance as as our main religious event, Christmas was something we enjoyed as pure celebration. We had our own little Christmas traditions, and as the kids started leaving home, these slowly disappeared. But this year, for the first time in a while and with nothing but this pandemic to credit for it, we are all at home together. And once again, Christmas feels just like it used to, full of camaraderie and deliciousness – except, now that my kids are adults, we’re all raising toasts together. The beverage we’re clinking glasses with? This orange-kissed, boozy hot chocolate!

There are scores of recipes for hot chocolate all over Instagram this time of year. But this is my version, and I can assure you that it’s absolutely delicious. I first tried hot chocolates like this one abroad, but these days you not only find excellent brands here in India but also have homegrown confectioners who work with small-scale farmers, are eco-conscious and create locally-made chocolates of a high quality. You can use the dark chocolate of your preference for this recipe.

The booze quotient here comes from Cointreau. A French liqueur containing bitter orange peels, it adds a wonderful citrusy kick to the beverage. While I’ve used whole milk, you can try this recipe with almond or coconut milk too – let me know what you think of the results, if you do? You can also play around with the liqueur, perhaps substituting a mint-based one or some other flavour. But for me, chocolate-orange is an unbeatable combination, and that’s why this is my favourite version of this festive drink.

Every day during this pandemic, we’ve been drinking tonics that boost our immunity: warm turmeric, herbal anti-sniffle concoctions and more. I’m sure you’ve been doing the same at home. Hot chocolate – hot, boozy chocolate, to be accurate – is a nice change! The weather in Chennai has also been changing for the better, and there’s a nice nip in the air and the season of heavy rains has passed. This is such a lovely and appropriate dessert for this time of year, especially as we reflect on all that has passed and all that is to come.

The theme of hope is on my mind constantly of late. I believe hope is what separates us from others in the animal kingdom, and is the only thing that has kept and still keeps us going through the pandemic. “Hope, gratitude and good health” is truly going to be our mantra for the coming year. I wish for you that all three are in abundance always.

The lockdowns in various parts of the world have taught us all so much. We have changed and we have learned. We’ve understood what bears meaning, and what doesn’t. For me, one of the most important learnings is that Nature rules us all. We have to be mindful and respectful of the health of the planet and the co-existence of all living things. Our interconnectivity has never been clearer than through the spread of the pandemic. I believe that now that we have seen this, we must change our individual habits. I also believe that it is never too late to start doing so. Even though the planet is on the brink of climate collapse, we can still do our part to contribute to its healing. I have hope. I have hope that hope itself, combined with a strong sense of responsibility, can save us.

Just look at how much we have overcome already. We are no longer scared and confused. We’ve figured out how to cope, and we’ve also been able to bring little rays of sunshine back into life.

The beginning of a new year usually inspires optimism, but this year I’m feeling it all the more. I truly feel like I’m seeing everything in a fresh light, and I am looking forward to good things to come

It so happens that even our home has also undergone a bit of a transformation, and has been repainted and rejuvenated. It’s also our wedding anniversary in late December, so there’s a double reason to celebrate. We have had decades together, with all the ups and downs, and thick phases and thin ones, that such a duration invariably brings. It has been a beautiful journey, and has contained so much. I hope that you too have something to toast as this year winds down.

 

Boozy, Orange-Kissed Hot Chocolate

(Yield: Serves 2)

 

1 ½ cups whole milk

¼ cup cream

75 grams dark chocolate

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1 teaspoon corn flour

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon sugar

1 star anise

1 tablespoon Cointreau

 

Garnish options (pick any, or all!)

Dried or candied orange slice

Cinnamon stick

Whipped cream

Caramel sauce

 

In a ¼ cup of milk, add the corn flour and whisk until the mixture is smooth.

Add the remaining milk and cream to this and stir. The cream is optional, depending on your tastes. Vegans – you may replace the milk with almond milk, and eliminate the cream. Next, add the cocoa powder and mix it all up.

In a heavy bottomed pot, place the concoction on a low flame and stir constantly.

You can now add the star anise. Do not allow the milk to boil, but once it is heated up, turn off the flame and then add the chocolate, sugar and cinnamon powder. We like our boozy hot chocolate only lightly sweetened so I use just a tablespoon of sugar, but you may double this quantity if you prefer. Stir constantly at this time, making sure the chocolate melts and the milk turns silky smooth.

Add the Cointreau. Use more liqueur if you want to make it boozier. Garnish as you wish to and serve immediately.

I believe that thoughtful portion sizes are very important, both aesthetically and as well as in terms of what is good for us. I always say that the eye feasts first, and I knew this from a culinary perspective even before I understood it as a photographer. Serve this beverage in small cups or glasses. It’s a heavy, filling drink that keeps you warm and cozy and you will not need a whole mug of it to enjoy it. What a perfect symbol for the year that has ended too, which has taught us all to be grateful for the little things. Look more closely at what you have, rather than take it for granted, and you will cherish it all the more.

I am cherishing having my family around, and having the joy of my work to keep me busy. The re:store kitchen is always especially busy and beautifully aromatic at this time of year as I bake an array of goodies for the year-end festivities. I would love to bring some deliciousness and warmth to your home as well. If you are in Chennai, please take a look at my product catalogue  and see if anything catches your fancy. May I draw your eye to the almond cakes, available in a range of flavours and with an eggless option, to complement this wonderful beverage? Or how about my latest addition to the menu: a caramel-pecan cake that simply uplifts everything through its sweetness? I can’t wait to hear from you, and to place something special into the oven for you and your loved ones…

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Recipe: Perchance, Passion Fruit – Vegan Passion Fruit Shrikhand

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A friend and I were on a weekend getaway in the hills when another friend, who coincidentally had embarked on the same idea of a little escape to the same sleepy town, dropped by to visit us. We were enjoying each others’ company and trying to pep up the meal we would share, wanting to make it as fancy as possible with the simple but fresh ingredients at our disposal. There was a lot of yoghurt on hand, and perchance, some luscious passion fruit. Voilà, inspiration struck! We were quick to leap into action and put together a beautiful shrikhand for dessert, and even quicker to polish it off as we caught up on our conversation.

Both passion fruit and shrikhand have been celebrated on this blog before, and bringing them together felt like a lovely stroke of luck. Passion fruit always has a short season, so I suggest that you take advantage of the same and try this recipe as soon as you find the fruit. It truly is one of the most beloved fruits in my home, as you may remember from this recipe for a passion fruit salad dressing that I still make as often as possible. At the very least, sliced passion fruit or passion fruit juice is a daily feature whenever we’re able to get a fresh harvest.

While I had prepared this dish using dairy while on the getaway, once I got back home I tried it again in a vegan preparation. I had initially wanted to make a vegan version of the coconut pudding that was shared last week, but wasn’t able to do enough trials due to the festive rush. So this time, what I am sharing is a tried and tested vegan dessert, made with coconut yoghurt.

Quite like the sitaphal kheer that needs very little to enhance it, being so flavourful on its own, the passion fruit shrikhand too does not need the the usual frills of a typical or traditional shrikand. It doesn’t need saffron or slivers of almond or pistachio to elevate it. All I used was a little bit of cardamom. The focus is very much on the taste of the fruit, which happens to be quite sweet, and this means that you can cut down on the sugar quantity used in the dish.

Gujaratis take pride in our shrikhand, and it is even eaten as part of a main meal in a great combination known as shrikhand-poori (I’ve written many times on this blog about that famous Gujarati sweet tooth!). So while I don’t want to make an easy comparison to flavoured yoghurts you can get in supermarkets, I can definitely say after this experiment that it’s very easy to flavour your shrikhand too, using different kinds of fruits. It’s very easy to prepare overall, too. The best part of it is that being homemade, we know exactly what goes into it. A flavoured shrikhand is a healthy treat, and a fun and simple way to add a twist to this immensely popular Gujarati dish.

 

Vegan Passion Fruit Shrikhand

(Yield: 4-5 cups)

5 cups coconut yoghurt

½ cup icing sugar (substitute: ½ cup honey or maple syrup)

¼ teaspoon cardamom

Pulp of 2 passion fruits

 

Take a fine muslin cloth, put the 5 cups of coconut yoghurt into it and tie the cloth. Use plain yoghurt if you prefer a vegetarian rather than vegan version. Hang this yoghurt for about 2-3 hours or until all the whey drips out. You can use this whey to bind dough for rotis.

Then, put the yoghurt into a strainer and add the sugar to it. Sieve the yoghurt with the help of a spoon and collect it into a bowl. Add the cardamom powder and passion fruit pulp. Mix well.

You may garnish the bowl with a pinch more of cardamom and some lovely passion fruit seeds. Serve chilled.

While you can use almost any fruit as flavouring, there’s just something about a naturally sweet one such as passion fruit that brings this dessert together so beautifully. Do be sure to take advantage of the season for it.

We returned from our trip to the hills with lots of fruits, bringing bags of avocado and passion fruit back to our urban lives. The cooler climes really do have such an interesting variety of produce, and if you have access to these at the moment, I’d love for you to check out some other posts using peas, plums, strawberries and peaches. Fruits had been such an integral part of our meals on our getaway, and usually made up our entire breakfasts too. Given the nutrition quotient of this food category, I think I’m going to keep looking more deeply into bringing more fruits into more dishes, innovatively…

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Recipe: A Sweet Finish – Coconut Pudding

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And so, the coconut series comes to a sweet finish with a dessert, just in time for Diwali! The first time that I had this coconut pudding was at a friend’s potluck, a long time ago. I had not yet started re:store then or become known for my baking, and so my standard contribution was always some kind of traditional Gujarati fare, like a kachori or a dal dhokli. Each of us would bring something, and we would partake in a lovely and diverse feast together. It was at one such gathering that I first encountered this sublime coconut pudding. Whose preparation it was, and at whose house, blurs in my mind. Every one of the posts in this series (podi, oil and stew) has involved the inspiration of one or several friends of mine, and while I wish I could recall exactly who inspired this one, I can say with certainty that my friendships were a big part of it too.

Despite forgetting the other details, I still remember vividly that first coconut pudding itself. It looked very pleasing to the eye, giving off a sense that it would be cool and refreshing. The first spoonful confirmed my expectations. It was just fabulous, and tasted so light. I can recall that it was summer at the time, but the elements and sensations of the dish are the same no matter when in the year you have it. It is simply a delight.

Every Diwali, I usually prepare the ghugra that my mother taught me, as well as boondi. This year, given the circumstances, I wanted to create something lighter, something that would not only have a subtle flavour but would also feel more breezy overall. I also wanted something that would be consumed quickly, given that we cannot have guests for days on end as we usually do. The coconut pudding was perfect on all counts. With the exception of the ceremonial laapsi, there are no other sweets at home for Diwali this year.

But rest assured that we are, finally, in a celebratory mood, and I hope very much that you are too. I have had an instinct for a while now that November would be the turning point when things would begin to get better. The news of Joe Biden being elected the next President of the USA seems to usher the good times in, and as I have American family members, the feeling of hope is quite close to home. Moreover, our Gujarati New Year is also around the corner. This time of year is always a new chapter for us, and the number of lovely traditional dishes I’ve linked from my native cuisine in this post also honours the same.

To return to the uplifting and delicious star of our Diwali this year, this coconut pudding… While I can’t remember who brought this dish to the potluck where I fell in love with it, or who shared their recipe with me afterwards, I’ve been making it for years. You may recall an earlier rendition, with chia seeds, here. This is a different version, and the twist here is rose – re:store’s most preferred flavour, as many of you who have made orders with me know. Somehow, a rose represents so many things at once: love, coolness, fragrance, birth, death, celebration and more. It is a universal symbol, and a timeless flavour. One of the things I love most about roses is that they are locally available and very accessible. It’s so easy for me to bring that aroma and those soft petals into my day.

 

Coconut Pudding

(Yield: Serves 4-6)

1 cup condensed milk

½ cup cream

1½ cups coconut milk

11 grams agar agar

¾ cup water

1½ tablespoons rose water

 

Place a saucepan with the water and the agar agar on a double boiler. Stir until the agar agar melts and becomes translucent. Cool and strain.

The method for this dish is quite simple, but agar agar – which is a vegetarian substitute for gelatin – is a bit tricky to work with. If required, add another cup of water while melting it.

Making sure that all the other ingredients are at room temperature, mix them well together. Add the strained agar agar at the end. Pour into cups or moulds.

Leave to set in the refrigerator, and serve chilled. I hope that this dish uplifts your mood as much as it does mine.

I am lighting a lamp this Diwali to wish you all the best for a hopeful and healthy 2021. Even though we have not yet become able to open our homes in the ways we used to, let us open our hearts even wider to make up for it. May the festive season bring you and your family joy!

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Recipe: Biting Into Delight – Chocolate Cupcakes

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Many of you know that I picked up the camera because of re:store. What began with taking product shots and creating images for the blog grew into a deep love of food styling and photography, gradually becoming a major component of my work. Cooking and photography are my twin passions, and I have dedicated myself to both through challenging myself, studying and learning, and lots of trial and error. Despite knowing the amount of effort it takes to get really good at something, like anyone in today’s era, I also get excited about attractive new creative forms. I’ll see some interesting content that someone else has shared, and go, “OMG, I have to do this!” So it was with stop motion video. Having seen some charming stop motion videos online, I made it my mission to produce a couple for re:store.

Tada! Here is the first: some cute, classic chocolate cupcakes. Do click on the link to watch the video on Instagram.

Let me tell you, that one minute of fun was a whole day’s work! I’m so glad that I had a friend’s daughter, Anushka, to work with me on the technical aspects. What this experience has taught me is that it isn’t about learning 75 different things, but being able to focus on the handful that one is really drawn to, so as to become good at those. There are so many eye-catching possibilities out there today, but I can’t manage them all, and neither should I aim for that. I need to give myself time to get through one learning, and let it naturally lead to the next one. This dilemma or distraction I had, about whether or not to begin studying stop motion video production, ultimately reminded me that this is how my businesses have grown from inception anyhow. Step by step, following a logical flow of studying, experience and growth, and knowing when to accept help. Doing the next best thing of delegation and collaboration helps me focus on what I am good at, and what is in my control.

Authenticity is a really important part of this blog, and all my work at re:store and at Nandi Shah Photography. Every recipe I share is something that I enjoy, and have prepared, served and eaten multiple times before I decide to showcase it. These are my recipes, containing my touch. For every shoot, I cook, style, photograph and edit everything myself. There’s a lot of love and attention that goes into each post, and there’s already a lot on my hands. In addition to my work, the current scenario has me responsible for the well-being of an entire household, including geriatric family members, and I must use any spare time I have from those responsibilities thoughtfully.

Still, I’m glad I indulged my curiosity about stop motion videos. I deliberated over what recipes would look good in this format, and these chocolate cupcakes were one of two (a different one will be coming up next weekend, so stay tuned for that as well). Even though it’s not a technical skill I want to learn for myself anymore, I enjoyed the process – having company, laughing, joking, learning more things about my camera, and of course, making the cupcakes and enjoying them with tea once the production was all done.

Subsequently, I baked these chocolate cupcakes all over again for the photoshoot for this blog. That was a separate endeavour, and I felt right back at home, doing what I love to do (and striving to better my best each time).

In addition to how they’re perfect for cute videos, I feel like although I’ve shared a variety of baked goods here before, I haven’t done any cupcakes. I also wanted to share something sweet, after several main courses. These classic chocolate cupcakes are a popular product that we get a lot of orders for, but I thought I’d share the recipe for those who want to try them out at home as well, in the spirit of spreading joy in this time.

 

 

Chocolate Cupcakes

(Yield: 12-15 cupcakes)

 

Cupcakes

1½ cups flour

½ cup cocoa powder

1 cup granulated sugar

¾ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

⅓  cup oil

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

¾ cup buttermilk

 

Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

3 cups icing sugar (and a little extra, if required)

A pinch of salt

2 tablespoons fresh cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Preheat the oven to 180° for 20 minutes. Prepare the cupcake pans with liners.

First, prepare the dry mixture. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.

Now, prepare the wet mixture. Whisk the sugar, oil, egg and vanilla extract together.

Mix the flour mixture and the milk, alternating them, into the wet mixture. Beat them all together until the batter achieves a smooth consistency.

Scoop the batter into the prepared pans. Fill the liners to a ¾ level so that the batter has room to rise. If you’re fairly new to baking, you may want to check out this recent post of mine, which has a primer with tips you may find very useful.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool, then top with frosting.

To prepare the frosting, beat the butter until it turns fluffy. Now, add the icing sugar and stir with a spoon. Be gentle, or else you will have the icing sugar dust all over. Once the two have come together, beat well. Add the salt and vanilla extract and beat for approximately another two minutes. If the butter cream is thick and difficult to spread, then add the cream a teaspoon at a time.

As I said earlier, these cupcakes are actually a part of our menu and one of our fastest-moving products. At re:store, we avoid artificial sweeteners that contain harmful chemicals, switching them out for natural or unprocessed ones, and use good old-fashioned ingredients (eggs, butter, oil and cake flour for instance – the basic elements of a cake)  of the best quality available locally. If you’re in Chennai and would like a fresh batch of these cupcakes from the re:store kitchen, especially with the festive season coming up, we’re just a phone call away. They’re delectable at tea-time, and ideal for gifting. As you can see again in the stop motion video, we give a lot of importance to packaging and the finished look of each product.

I’m currently very busy in the kitchen, and happily so, conducting trials for more delicious goodies, and am so looking forward to expanding the product list. Do stay tuned for some lovely new treats from re:store in the coming months, as well as new recipes on this blog as always!

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Recipe: Making The Most Of Mangoes 2 – Mango Lassi

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Lassi is an extremely popular and very effective Indian beverage, a coolant that’s popular in the summer months. Being yoghurt-based, it not only reduces the heat in the body but is also rich in probiotics. Naturally, the classic mango lassi had to find a place in my ongoing mango series here on the blog!

This wonderful, lip-smackingly good mango lassi doubles as a dessert. The natural sweetness of the fruit is enhanced by the use of honey (or a sweetener of your choice). I like a flavourful lassi, so a little cardamom and a sliver of ginger go into mine as well.

Some wonder whether mangoes, which are known to be a “heaty” fruit, can really be eaten so much during the summer, despite this being the season when they are most delicious. I’d like to share a very interesting Ayurvedic technique that I came across. It seems that by simply soaking the fruit in water for at least half an hour before consumption, the heat is depleted from it. Mixing it with yoghurt as one does with this lassi also neutralises the heat.

Yoghurt in India is usually homemade, and dairy is consumed regularly. Chaas, also known as buttermilk, was a daily drink for us when we were growing up, as our mother insisted that we always had it after lunch. Lassi is a more indulgent dairy drink that has the same beneficial effects. It can be had salty or sweet, and flavoured in many ways. As a child, I enjoyed a watery lassi best. An excellent savoury variant uses ginger, green chilli, mint, coriander and salt. As for the best sweet variant, well, the recipe is below!

 

Mango Lassi

(Yield: 2 servings)

½ cup peeled & cut Alphonso mango

½ cup plain yoghurt

¼ cup plain milk

1 cup water

A pinch of salt

1 heaped teaspoon sugar or honey

¼ teaspoon cardamom powder

½ teaspoon grated ginger

A few mint leaves

Blend all the ingredients together, except the mint leaves. Adjust the water quantity based on your requirement. If you prefer a thick lassi, use less. Or use more to thin it according to your preference.

Top with ice and serve with the mint leaves as a garnish. Sliced nuts or saffron also work well as garnishing options.

Mango season will continue on this blog, and hopefully in the world too, and I have a variety of innovative dishes I’m excited about sharing with you soon. So do stay tuned for more fruity deliciousness to come!

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