Tarun Kapoor is executive chef at Doha’s Horizon Manor Hotel. Send your feedback to:
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Cherry is also known as the American super fruit. It is a stone fruit with a pulp layer around the seed, and bright or dark red colour thin peel covering the flesh. Cherries are also distantly related to plum and peach. There are two main types of cherries namely sweet and sour.
Sour cherries are lower in calories and higher in vitamin C and beta carotene than sweet cherries. Tart or sour cherries are one of the nature’s best sources of Melatonin a hormone that lowers body temperature and makes us sleepy.
Cherries have always been a popular fruit crop in the USA and the consumption peaked in 2009, due to the recent studies that have unveiled the benefits of the red super fruit to a person’s health. Cherries have a very short growing season and can grow in most temperate regions and summer time is the peak season for cherries.
Buy the cherries that have been kept moist and cool as the increase in temperature affects the taste. Cherries have a limited growing season and it is likely that any cherry from United States after August came from cold storage.
Cherry cream tart
Ingredients
Whipping cream 200ml
Vanilla extracts few drops
Dark cherry filling 200g
White chocolate to garnish
Mint sprig to garnish
Tart shell
Unsalted butter 200g
Sugar 50g
Flour 300g
Egg 1 no
Salt to taste
Water 80ml
Method
Sift flour and keep aside, cream butter and sugar till sugar is dissolved.
Add egg and mix well.
Gradually add flour and mix to a crumbly texture.
Add water and make a soft dough, roll into 5mm thickness.
Cut dough using desired cutter matching with the baking tart mould.
Line the baking shell with the dough and shape.
Pierce the base using a folk and to avoid de shaping while baking.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 12-15 minutes.
Once the tart shell are crispy remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Whip cream with vanilla extracts and fill piping bag.
Pipe the cream in the prepared tarts and place a dark cherry dollop on top.
Garnish with white chocolate shaving or mint leaves and serve cold.
The yellow chilli
Chillies come in all colours, shapes and sizes ranging from pointed extremely hot ones, bird’s eye chilli to the larger mild fleshy peppers. Chillies have been cultivated from thousands of the years and travelled across the world with Spanish conquerers. Around 400 varieties of chillies are cultivated widely and are served in the cuisines of the world. Some of the most commonly cultivated varieties are jalapeno, habanero, cayenne, serrano, poblano, bird’s eye and yellow wax.
The chillies are easy to grow and are can be grown in small pots at home too. In the year 1912 Wibur Scoville developed a method for measuring the strength of capsicum in a pepper. Now a day the manual process is replaced by computers and the peppers are rated in Scoville units.
The fiery burning sensation after eating chili is caused by capsaicin oil, that survives cooking and freezing, and it also triggers the brain to produce natural painkillers that promote sense of wellbeing. Bhut Jolokia a locally grown chilli from Assam had the Guinness World record for the hottest chilli in the world measuring 1,001,301 Scoville score. Recently the record was broken by Carolina Reaper measuring 2,200,000 Scoville units, confirmed as the hottest chilli in the world.
Tandoori pankh
Serves 2
Ingredients
Chicken breast with bone 600g
Ginger paste 2tbsp
Garlic paste 2tbsp
Lemon juice 1tbsp
Mustard oil 3tbsp
Yellow chilli powder 1tbsp
Yoghurt 2cup
Coriander powder 1tsp
Cumin powder ½tsp
Salt to taste
Kasoori methi 1tbsp
Mint powder ½ tsp
Chat masala 1tsp
Garnish/ finishing
Butter 3tbsp
Coriander leaves 1tbsp
Lemon wedge 2-3 nos
Onion rings as required
Mint sauce to accompany
Method
Wash and pat dry the chicken breast and keep the wing bone intact.
Marinate it with ginger garlic paste, lemon juice and salt and refrigerate at least for 2 hours.
Hang the yoghurt in a thin muslin cloth to remove the water and get thick yoghurt.
Take the hung yoghurt in a bowl and add the remaining spices and mix well to make a smooth marinade.
Marinate the chicken in the prepared marinade and leave them for another 30 minutes in refrigerator.
Heat the oven at 180 degree C and skewer the chicken and cook evenly turning them to get the even browning of meat.
Once the chicken is half cooked, remove from oven and allow to stand for 5-8 minutes to allow the excess moisture to drip down.
Baste with butter and return to oven to get the colour and cook the chicken.
Once done, the chicken should have a nice brown colour from outside and soft and juicy from inside.
Sprinkle some chat masala and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
Serve hot as an appetiser.
Cherry cream tart
