JOIN USIt’s one of those things that never fails you when you’re having a bad day. And it’s also an ingredient that’s open to vast experimentation. No ‘brownie’ points for guessing it’s chocolate. While there are some who say that there’s nothing to beat the charm of a plain, simple bar of chocolate, there are also those who like to turn innovative and take their creations a notch higher by throwing in some chocolate in good measure.
As is the case with other things, Bengalureans have also churned out some unique preparations incorporating the magical ingredient. Nerissa D’Souza, baker at ‘Wild Yeast Conquests’, recently tried out a ‘sourdough’ bread recipe, using chocolate, which turned out quite well. “I bake sourdough with a variety of flavours. I used walnuts, filter coffee, dark bitter chocolate and a handful of jaggery to bake this one. One loaf went out as part of an order, while I enjoyed the other one for breakfast with cold milk,” says an excited Nerissa.
“I used chocolate to balance out the flavour from the coffee. My client loved it!” she adds.
Akila Subramanian, a food blogger, came up with moist and spongy ‘beetroot chocolate cupcakes’ a few months back. “I like experimenting with healthy baking and am always on the lookout to try something new and different. Chocolate is a very versatile ingredient and covers up for the earthy flavours of beetroot and whole wheat in these cupcakes. So it’s a tasty way to include beet in your bakes and heathy veggies in your kids’ diet,” she details.
“The colour is a lovely chocolaty red and the beetroot juice gives the cake its moistness and look. The minute they heard about something to do with chocolate, my kids pounced upon the cupcakes and they disappeared within no time!” adds Akila.
Even the restaurants in the city are constantly whipping up new delights. Chef Yogen Datta, executive chef at ITC Gardenia Hotel Bengaluru, has created a ‘watercress, mango and fresh greens filled spiced chocolate dome with cilantro dressing’ for this mango season.
“People are always looking for something interesting and adventurous during their culinary expeditions and this dish surely fits the bill. A hint of black pepper is added to the white chocolate mix for the spiced chocolate dome, which is made using two half spherical moulds.”
“The dome is filled with cubes of mango, watercress and rocket leaves. The peppery flavour of the leaves goes well with the sweet mango. The entire combination is plated with a green chilli and coriander dressing and is drizzled with ‘togarashi’ (Japanese pepper mix),” he explains.
“The chocolate and mango work well together and the dish has a mild flavour to it. People have appreciated this unusual experimentation,” he adds.