Tri-colour delights

Create some delicious tri-coloured delights in your kitchen

Celebrate your patriotism with some fun tri-coloured delicacies. You don’t have to make exotic stuff, just give a creative twist to your usual recipes to enjoy some tri-coloured delights. Be it appetisers, main course or dessert, every dish can be turned into a tri-coloured one with some food colouring. If not a fan of food colours, use natural ingredients in the shades of saffron, green and white to enjoy some colourful meals. Here are a few recipes for you to try...

Tri-colour pasta

Ingredients: 200 gm penne, 1 cup sliced fresh broccoli, 1 medium carrot, thinly sliced, 1/2 cup sliced green onions, 1/4 cup butter, cubed, 1 garlic clove, minced, 1 tsp dried basil, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/4 cup dry white wine, 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese.

Method: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add penne to the water and cook for 8-10 minutes. In a large skillet, cook the broccoli, carrot and onions in butter. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Drain penne; add to skillet and toss. Sprinkle with cheese.

Tri-colour macarons

Tri-colour macarons

Ingredients: 1 cup almond flour, 1.5 cups powdered sugar, egg whites, 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar, 3 tbsp white sugar, green food colour, orange food colour, white food colour, 2 tbsp unsalted butter, 100 gm cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 tsp heavy cream.

Method: In a bowl, mix together almond flour and powdered sugar. Start beating the egg whites. As the egg white starts to foam a little, add cream of tartar. In a while, the egg whites will develop a shaving cream like consistency, start adding sugar. Fold in the almond flour-sugar mixture into the egg whites in 3 parts. Divide batter into 3 parts, add green and orange food colouring to 2 parts and mix to combine. Transfer 3 coloured batters to 3 different piping bags. Pipe the batter onto the cookie sheets. Let the macarons sit at room temperature for 45 minutes. Once the shells have dried completely, bake macarons at 300 F degrees in a preheated oven for 15-17 minutes. Cool completely. Beat butter and cream cheese till smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar and mix well. Add vanilla extract, white food colour. Add heavy cream till you get the desired consistency. Fill the macarons with the prepared cream cheese filling and enjoy!

Tri-colour salad

Ingredients: 1/3 cup vinegar, 3 tbsp honey or sugar, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp salt, 2 cloves garlic, minced, 1 to 2 chili pepper sliced, 1 medium green papaya, 1 large carrot, peeled and julienned, 1 to 2 cucumbers, julienned, 1/3 cup mint leaves, chopped, 4 tbsp toasted peanuts.

Method: Prepare the dressing: Mix all the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl and set aside. Slice off the ends of the green papaya. Peel the outer skin. Slice off a layer of the papaya, creating green papaya shreds. Toss the salad in a large bowl, mix the green papaya, carrots, cucumber, mint and peanuts. Pour in the dressing and toss to coat the vegetables with the dressing. Serve immediately.

(The author is executive chef, Grand Mercure Bangalore)