Quarantine blues might be the new thing but it’s not every day that we come across a recipe so easy peasy lemon squeezy to beat those gloomy days. Eid and Raksha Bandhan are around the corner and what better way to lit it up with some rose petals, nuts, and fresh fruits with chocolate-tart. Upcoming food blogger, Karishma Mehandroo shows us a quick way to get ready for the festivities. After all, the best things in life are sweet.
Excerpts from the interview:
1. Tell us about your food journey
No one’s born a baker and I was no different. Having said that, I recognized my love for cooking and baking as early as when I was 4 (even if that meant an undercooked maggie!). Over the years, what started as a hobby, gradually led to baking a variety of desserts: cakes, cookies, cupcakes, and a whole range of bakery products. Basically, feeding my folks, experimenting with different flavors, and of course aspiring to be a food blogger summarises a considerable chunk of me growing up. From adding salt instead of sugar while making tiramisu to literally burning my first ever batch of cookies, I’ve had my fair share of learnings, which still continues!
2. The lockdown because of the Coronavirus pandemic has made everyone experiment in the kitchen and bring out their chef hats. Which is that one recipe that amateurs can ace and relish? Please share the recipe, images, and video link to the recipe.
Chocolate-Tart
Ingredients:
- Hide and Seek Biscuits – 3 Packets
- Butter – ¼ Cup
- Amul Dark Chocolate – 1 Cup
- Amul Milk Chocolate – 1 Cup
- Amul Cream – 1 Cup
Instructions:
1. In a blender, blend the biscuits and add melted butter. Mix it well and transfer it to a tart tin and press the mixture firmly into the tin.
2. Refrigerate the base or you can even bake it in a preheated oven @ 180* C for 5 mins.
3. Pour the warm cream over the chopped chocolate and mix well till chocolate chunks are dissolved completely.
4. Pour the melted chocolate onto the pre-made base and refrigerate it for 3hrs before serving.
5.. Garnish it with chopped Pistachios and rose buds or top it with chocolate shavings.
3. What are the trends in the food industry that you foresee?
There are some amazing food trends doing the rounds the past few years, which are here to stay, such as, gluten-free, vegan desserts, zero-sugar healthy desserts. Given how health-conscious people are nowadays, there are multiple options the markets are flooded with. Specifically, all kinds of flours be it a fruit flour, vegetable flour or grain and not just the flour department is growing the sweeteners also have a variety, made from natural sugar for example date sugar, palm sugar, coconut sugar, molasse, agave, maple syrup, and the list goes on. These healthy alternatives not only make super healthy trendy options but the easy access makes it more fun to make them. People are now more aware, more people are turning vegan so the market has a huge variety.
4. These days people eat with their eyes. What are your views on the same? Please share some plating tips and your expertise on how to make food look tempting.
Couldn’t agree more! We are drawn to food in general which is appealing to look and is plated well! I invest as much thought into the overall presentation, as much as I do in all my recipes. Come to think of it, I can come up with the most sumptuous recipe, but if I don’t plate it well, it definitely wouldn’t draw the attention as much, how you present your dish/bake ultimately is like a cherry on top.
So some basic food plating tips are:
Portion – Choose the right plate for your dish, the portion/quantity and the plate should go together, a small portion of food served on a large plate will look scanty, serving food on a small plate can make the dish look messy and overcrowded. You can leave a half-inch of space between the food and the edge of the plate.
Work with textures – A dish with multiple textures isn’t just more fun to eat but it’s more fun to look at. For instance, serving a cake slice with smooth ganache quenelle with a caramel sauce and a caramelized marshmallow can be super tempting, also uplifting the whole dessert experience.
Compose your plate artistically – Imagine yourself as an artist and your plate as a blank canvas, observe designs that can be carved out to fill the space, giving precedence to the main dish you want to highlight. The main idea is the food should reflect your idea, be as creative as you can.
Highlight the key elements of your dish – Make your key element the star of your dish and keep it simple.
5. One trend/practice that is a complete no-no for you.
Use of synthetic colour or artificial food flavours is a strict no-no for me, which can only harm your body and health. I personally endorse healthy substitutes for baking goods to keep it light and healthy.