Recipes> Homemade Chocolates

Image: Homemade chocolates

Image by: Darwin Bel

Text by: Tanya Munshi

If someone offers you gourmet chocolates, relish the chocolates but don’t throw away the plastic moulds. You can use them again to make your own chocolates. Here’s how –

Ingredients:

• 300 gms/ 1 bowl of cooking chocolate chunks 
  
• 100 gms/ 1/3rd bowl of coco butter
  
• 4 tsp – powdered sugar
  
• 1 small bowl – almonds, raisins, cashew all finely chopped
  
• Liqueur of your choice
  
• Mint oil
  
• Moulds 
  
• Colorful foil paper

Method:

1. In a microwave safe bowl add the coco butter and the chocolate chunks and heat them on low medium power for three to four minutes.
   
2. You can stop the heating process in between to check whether the chocolate and coco butter are melting and give a stir.
   
3. After completing the heating process, take it out from the microwave.
   
4. Now mix the melted chocolate and coco butter well and add powdered sugar.
   
5. Sift the sugar first, to prevent any lumps forming in the chocolate mixture.
   
6. Since we add coco butter, there is no need to grease the moulds.
   
7. Fill the moulds half with the liquid chocolate mix.
   
8. You can now add 1 drop of mint oil or a liqueur of your choice.
   
9. Now add some more melted chocolate on top.
   
10. For other flavors, you can simply fill the chocolate completely in the mould and add a cashew for one, a raisin for another and an almond for another. It is entirely up to you what kind of flavors and fillings that you desire.
    
11. Now place the chocolate filled mould in the deep freezer for 15 to 30 minutes.
    
12. Tap the moulds from the bottom and the chocolates will come out with ease.
    
13. You can wrap each chocolate with a different color foil paper, or simply serve it as an accompaniment with deserts. Better still, gift this to someone special.
    

Note – Never overheat the chocolate, else it becomes hard.

Published in CookingGoddess.com, on July 6, 2007
Link: http://www.cookinggoddess.com/category/Recipes/Homemade-Chocolates/

Summer Special> Cool Treats> Sherbets - 1

Text by: Tanya Munshi
Gone winter, the sun is no longer a welcome companion, as we draw the curtains to keep its harsh rays away from us. After days of hot soups, stews and bakes, now is the time to cool and refresh our senses. What better way to keep us cool, than digging into some delicious cold salads, sipping refreshing sherbets and melting into divine cool desserts. Let’s begin with one of the world’s oldest forms of thirst quenchers that offered immense relief from the summer sun.

Sherbet
The word Sherbet comes from the Arabic word shariba, which means “to drink.” It is from the word shariba that several variations arose both in Arabic and many languages. Sherbet’s actual meaning is “syrup” or “a cooling drink (of the East)”.

The first reference of sherbet was in the 101 Arabian Nights, where it made its appearance as a pleasant drink with healing properties. Philosopher Francis Bacon in 1626 was one of the few to have tasted sherbet and introduced it to the English dictionary.

Sherbet is made from plant, fruit or flower extract, blended beautifully with sugar, water or vinegar, depending upon the taste desired. It was then, thinned down in form of syrup, which could then be added to cold water and served as a refreshing drink. Sherbets came about with the main aim of preserving the essential nutrients, at a time when preserving perishable food items was not very easy.

Interior designer, Mahua Khanna lends one of her personal favourite sherbet recipe – Cucumber and Mint Sherbet.

Cucumber and Mint Sherbet
Ingredients
Cucumber – 1 small
Fresh mint – 2 strands
Lots of ice
Sugar syrup – according to taste
Soda

Method

• Coarsely chop the cucumber and add it to a blender.
• Wash the mint leaves and drop them in the blender.
• Give the mixture one churn and remove from the blender.
• In a tall glass, add lots of ice, sugar syrup and pour the cucumber and mint mixture, till about half a glass.
• Top it up with soda and serve chilled.

Published in Simplyfly, the in-flight magazine of Kingfisher Deccan, May 2008 issue.