From the category archives:

drinks

Candied Ginger + Ginger Ale

September 15, 2009

Have you ever candied something? Maybe some orange or lime zests? If you haven’t, I urge you to give it a go. I only realise now what I had been missing out on all this while once I candied some ginger this morning. What’s more, it put my skepticism about candying at rest – waaay easier than I ever thought. Also, something I didn’t expect – these babies are addictive!

Given I have zero experience with candying this seemed like a good challenge (note to self: macarons will be the next challenge). I also needed an excuse to use the candy thermometer I’d bought ~~but never used~~, in addition to proving to my mom that I do use the gazillion kitchen tools I keep buying. But more importantly, I wanted to make it because I have been itching to try Molly’s Banana Bread recipe (stay tuned!) in which candied ginger plays a very important part.

Candying ginger is quite straightforward, actually – You have to slice the ginger thinly with a sharp knife or a mandoline, then boil it twice in water, simmering for 10 minutes each time (make sure to reserve the water for an awesome ginger ale concentrate which I will tell you about in just a bit). Next, put the boiled ginger pieces with the sugar, water and a pinch of salt. Let it come to a boil and then let it simmer until it has reached a consistency of thin honey or 225F/106C on a candy thermometer (making sure people who complain about your precious kitchen gadgets are watching). Drain, toss in sugar, and set it on a cooling rack to dry up!

I’m munching on these just as I type – addictive, I tell you. And just as a final stamp of approval, grandma gives these a two thumbs up because this is excellent after meals as a digestive.

Candied Ginger
Recipe source: David Lebovitz

1/2 pound / 225g fresh ginger, peeled, sliced thinly
2 cups / 400g sugar, plus additional sugar for coating the ginger slices, if desired
2 cups / 1/2l water
pinch of salt

Put the ginger slices in a non-reactive pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let ginger simmer for ten minutes. Drain, and repeat one more time.
Mix the sugar and water in the pot, along with a pinch of salt and the ginger slices, and cook until the temperature reaches 225F/106C.
Drain very well while the ginger is hot, so the syrup will drain away better and sprinkle the drained slices with caster sugar as you toss the ginger in a bowl. Spread the ginger slices on a cooling rack for a few hours or overnight, until they’re somewhat dry.
Alternatively, you could let the ginger sit in the syrup for an hour or overnight and even store the ginger slices in its syrup.

Storage: The ginger, packed in its syrup, can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one year. Tossed in sugar, the pieces can be stored at room temperature for a few months.

Ginger Ale
Yield: 6 servings

Leftover ginger water from boiling
Leftover sugar syrup from candying
½ cup water
½ cup sugar
Juice of 3 limes (or half per serving)

Simmer all of the above except the lime for 5-7 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup is beginning to thicken. Turn off the heat. The syrup will continue to thicken. Once cool, transfer to a jar if you’re not going to be using it all up.
In a glass, add 4-5 tbsp of the concentrate, juice of half a lime and club soda and stir. Drink up!

{ 28 comments }

Watermelon and Strawberry Slushie

April 19, 2009

With the temperatures soaring (100°F/40°C, no less!) what I really need these days is something light and refeshing. I chopped up some watermelon and pulled out some strawberries from the freezer and this was ready in no time. The only thing that takes a wee bit of time is deseeding the watermelon.

I loved the flavours of strawberry, watermelon and lime combining together. Give it a shot, you’re going to love it too!

Watermelon Strawberry Slushie
Serves: 2-3

3 cups watermelon, deseeded
1 cup strawberries
Juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp sugar (much depends on the natural sweetness of the fruit)
½ cup water

Whiz together the watermelon and strawberry in a blender. Add the lime juice and sugar and water. Whiz again until the sugar is dissolved.
Pour in a glass with ice. Drink up!

Variation: I like mine on the thicker side. If you want to thin it down, simply add half a glass of water to it. Also check if it’s still sweet enough for you.

{ 26 comments }

What is Kokum?

February 16, 2008

The then NY Times food critic, Ruth Reichl (Garlic and Sapphires) was on one of her visits to the New York restaurant, Lespinasse. One of the dishes she sampled was a Braised salmon and crisped Artichoke with a syrah wine reduction. It looked familiar – a fat slice of salmon on a bed of crispy fried strips of artichoke in a deep purple sauce, garnished with bread crumbs and chervil. However, there was an unusual element in it that escaped her. So she asked the waiter, and what she learnt was a new ingredient – Kokum.

Only after reading this, did I realise the exotic value of this local ingredient. The kokum lying at the back of my pantry earned a new found respect from me. Don’t get me wrong, I have always loved kokum in my food, but simply took it for granted until now.

Photograph sourced from Wikipedia.

So what is kokum? Kokum is native to the Southern regions of India and it didn’t quite go places, that’s why there is no English name for the fruit! The dried kokum that is used to flavour foods is usually purplish black in colour; the darker the colour, the better the kokum. After the fruit is picked, the rind is removed and then soaked in the juice of the pulp and sun-dried. Sometimes a good quantity of salt is used to speed up the drying process.

Kokum is sometimes confused with mangosteen fruit. They are similar only till the point of belonging to the same family – The genus Garcinia which itself has under its wing over 435 species! The binomial name for Kokum is Garcinia Indica and that of Mangosteen is Garcinia mangostana.

And how is it used? This tart fruit is used to add a sour twist, quite like the tamarind; to dishes hot and cold – be it coconut based curries, dals, chutneys, vegetables or pickles. My favourites being Goan Fish Curry from my Grandma’s kitchen, Sindhi curry and a refreshing drink made from kokum. Thinking of the drink, I fondly remember the summers I used to make Kokum Sherbet for my family, I was probably 10 or 12 then. Everyone enjoyed the refreshing drink.

It may be February now, but you don’t have to wait for the summer to down this drink, because this fruit can reduce fat, purify blood, aid in digestion and also reduce cholesterol!

Kokum Sherbet

100g Kokum

A pinch, Asafoetida
Salt, to taste

6 tablespoon jaggery or brown sugar
4 slit green chillies
3 tablespoon parsley, chopped
3 cups of water

In a pitcher add water and all the ingredients except the parsley. Let it rest for about 6-8 hours in the refrigerator. And if you want it speed it up, you could soak it warm water.

Large quantities of this sherbet are consumed in the coastal regions of southwest India to beat the sweltering heat. You can also buy yourself a bottle of the syrup that requires just the addition of water. You could even drop in a tea bag and make a different kind of iced tea!

{ 5 comments }

Hot chocolate or hot cocoa?

September 30, 2007

I don’t know a single person who could refuse a glass of hot chocolate. It is something you have got to have, especially once you’ve got a whiff of the rich and creamy beverage.

Some might think hot chocolate and hot cocoa are the same and the terms are often used interchangeably, but actually they are quite different. Hot cocoa is made from cocoa powder, which is chocolate pressed free of all its richness of cocoa butter. Hot chocolate is made from chocolate bars melted into cream and is a more flavourful drink.

There are various ways of preparing your hot chocolate. But as long as you prepare anything with love, little can go wrong.

For basic hot chocolate, take 3 cups milk and 150g dark chocolate, melt it together in a thick bottomed saucepan, add sugar as per taste. You could add the following flavours to it:

1. Half a teaspoon of cinnamon and a little chilli powder; revolting to some but that’s the way the Mexicans like their hot chocolate!

2. Instead of 150g of dark chocolate, use 75g white and 75g dark chocolate.

3. Slow brew the milk with a split pod of vanilla for a delicious smelling hot chocolate.

4. 1 teaspoon of coffee to the drink would give it a wonderfully earthy flavour.

5. You could add ground almonds, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts.

6. Add a dash of liqueurs like Grand Marnier, Cointreau, Bailey’s, Amaretto or Frangelico.

The possibilities are endless but if you think any flavour goes with chocolate, then try it!

Whisk the drink well, top it with some whipped cream and a dash of chocolate sauce to have a sinfully decadent experience!

Something on my wish list is the molinillo (moh-lee-NEE-oh) which is the Mexican chocolate whisk warm drinks. I love my coffees and hot chocolates extremely frothy, so this would be wonderful to use.

{ 3 comments }

Lemongrass

September 23, 2007

The fragrance of lemongrass never ceases to refresh me. Lemongrass has a distinct taste of its own. A little woody but not quite lemony. You’ll know it’s taste if you’ve had Thai food. I’m not too fond of Thai food, but I love using lemongrass in my cooking.

It comes in a stalk. Much like a leek, there is a white end part trailing off to tough green leaves that tends to prick at times. Usually the white part is used in cooking, but you can use the leaves for flavouring broths. It also adds an excellent flavour to tea.

I enjoy things that are versatile and that can add character to a dish and in my opinion, lemongrass is exactly that. By simply bruising the fleshy part of the leave the oils are released. Adding this to steamed rice, gives it an incredibly zesty flavour.

Lemongrass is extremely fibrous, so some people chop it finely and grind in a mortar and pestle. I prefer slicing it and then pounding it lightly before cooking. This way the flavour gets infused and they can be discarded before eating.

A chef of a South East Asian restaurant once told me that while making satay, I could use a trimmed stalk of lemongrass instead of the regular wooden skewers to add flavour to the meat.

There are so many ways in which lemongrass can be used. You could add it a part of bouquet garni or you could give grilled foods an aromatic smokiness by scattering sliced lemongrass over hot coals or on top of the gas burners before putting food on the grill.

Another thing I discovered is that you can also take a stalk of lemongrass and place it in water and then root it and grow it.

Here is a recipe for a refreshing lemongrass drink that’s awfully simple to make!

Lemongrass Soda Recipe

2 stalks of lemongrass
500ml Soda (Sprite, 7Up)
Mint leaves to garnish

Make a paste of the lemongrass (use the entire thing, along with leaves) with water. Strain it. Add it to the soda. Garnish with mint leaves. Make sure to use the paste as soon as it is ready, else the colour will change to a dull green very quickly.

Update 16 April 2010!

I wrote a small post today on how you can grow your own lemongrass in the comfort of your own home with barely any effort or space constraints.

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