Saturday 19 December 2015

Yogurt and fruit compotes

At this time, I couldn't be happier about creating a backlog- I've been so caught up that I haven't even had the time to buy butter! (it's much easier with ingredients available for sudden bursts of creativity).

Around the time I started setting my own yogurt, there came through a mellow sweetness of the curd that I hadn't tasted in years. A part of my childhood, I would skim the little cream that would set on the top..

The real reason I was reminded of quality yogurt was actually during a plane trip from Sydney to Melbourne- the best frikkin yogurt. Roy and Ruby's I believe- boysenberry compote to be precise. I remember it being quite like magic, still slightly sleepy in the wee hours of morning.

I really don't know how to attain a texture like their's, but I'd say I'm quite satisfied with mine.

The key ingredient for yogurt is time- lots of it. At least 12 hours or so. The other thing to bear in mind is the inoculation temperature- the milk should feel slightly warm. Remember to monitor the quantity of your starter, and keep it in a closed environment wrapped with cloths. The lower the external temperature, the slower the yogurt will set.

Ideally, you would then rest it till cold before hanging it for greek yogurt. In this particular dessert, I simply whipped the greek yogurt by hand.

What to do with he whey you ask?
Ice, of course! With the help of some xanthan gum, I made some yogurt whey bubbles and froze them, They lighten the dessert effectively.

For my fruit compote, I used some rhubarb and strawberries, perfumed with vanilla and kefir lime leaf. To further enhance the element of fruit- some freeze dried mandarins, raspberries and strawberries that also bring some crunch with them.

I've never managed to make desserts with such little sugar; but that poses the question- aren't most breakfasts desserts?


whipped greek yogurt, rhubarb and strawberry compote, frozen yogurt bubbles and freeze dried fruit

Thursday 3 December 2015

Stringy cheese in dessert

The first time I hear of kunefe, u couldn't imagine eating cheese that was stringy for dessert. How could you possibly dunk sugar syrup on it and make it taste out of this world?

The proof lies in the pudding quite literally. Kunefe, a traditional dessert from turkey/ Middle East, is made with cheese baked into kataifi and soaked in sugar syrup served hot. 
I had neither kataifi or their traditional cheese. 
I'm Indian. My middle name is improvising. 

I got a hold of some locally produced mozzarella and made a semolina crumble in the style of an Indian halwa. The adults in particular loved the dessert because of this- taking then straight back to the 'kadah'. The kunefe wasn't made traditionally though; I used a ratio of creme caramel base and mozzarella cheese. 

I'm well aware that cheese and figs go well together, and anything brown butter is always welcome. I had some fresh sage on my hands and so happened sage and brown butter ice cream. The fig was caramelised with a bit of kluwak, a really delicious Balinese spice. 

An idea that only came along well in my head turned out to be more than I expected. Cheese does make everything tasty after all. 

Kunefe with semolina crumble, caramelised fig with kluwak, sage brown butter ice cream.