Brownie with an Arabic twist
Brownie is undoubtedly the king of all desserts. It’s a cross between a cake and a cookie in texture. Brownies come in a variety of forms and flavours and chefs have always been experimenting with the way they bake, the way they serve and the way they want their brownie to taste. They are usually accompanied by nuts, whipped cream, variety of ice creams, marzipan, powdered sugar, chocolates, cookies, crackers and many more. A variation that is made with brown sugar and no chocolate is called a blondie. A variety of brownie options have been developed like flourless brownie, fudge brownie, hash brownie. This variant of brownie is with an Arabic touch as dates in itself is like a sweet dish for the Arabs and pairing it with brownie makes it a made-for-each-other combination of two popular items of the region.
Date my brownies
Ingredients
Butter 250g
Sugar 500g
Eggs 6no
Walnuts 100g
Flour 225g
Cocoa powder 60g
Dark chocolate 100g
Dates 100g
Method
Sift flour and cocoa powder and keep aside.
Beat eggs and sugar till all the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is light and fluffy.
Cream butter and add to the egg mixture.
Add flour and cocoa powder mixture and fold using light hands.
Melt dark chocolate and add to the above mixture.
Add crushed walnuts and chopped dates to the mixture, keep aside some for garnish.
Pour the mixture in a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 190°C for 20 — 25 minutes.
Grilled chicken supreme
Ingredients
(Serves 2)
Chicken breast 4 no
Olive oil 2 tbsp
Black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
Mustard yellow 1 tbsp
Dill few sprigs
Cucumber 1 no
Red radish 4-5 no
Olives 8-10 no
Potato 2 no
Corn nib lets ½ cup
Corn flour 2 tbsp
Seasoning to taste
Oil to shallow fry
Method
Wash and pat dry chicken breast and marinate with oil, salt, crushed pepper, mustard and dill leaves.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Boil potato and allow to cool.
Peel the potato and add corn nib lets, corn flour and adjust the seasoning.
Mash the mixture and shape into cutlet.
Remove the chicken breast and grill on a seasoned grill or hot plate.
Shallow fry the prepared cutlet till golden brown.
Once the chicken is cooked, remove on a kitchen towel.
Arrange cutlet on cucumber slice and place chicken breast on top and chopped radish on top.
Garnish with dill sprig and olives on the side, serve hot.
* Tarun Kapoor is executive chef at Doha’s Horizon Manor Hotel. Send your feedback to:
[email protected]
