Hello!
How has the pandemic been treating you? I hope you and your loved ones are safe. Time seems to be moving in slo-mo and like a time-lapse at the same time, it’s all very disorienting. Mum has been cooking up a storm in Kannur as per usual, and I’m finding new sides to my personality, like my total aversion to peeling garlic, and any recipe that asks for chopped onions. Mum, on the other hand, is on a dumpling journey, so stay tuned for more on that!
I’ve been wondering what I’ll remember most about this time in our lives. Already, so much of it such a blur. I will remember that this was the period in my life where I started using store-bought ginger-garlic paste because who has time to peel that. I don’t fall into routines very easily, so I try to anchor days in a few things. The first is making coffee for myself (black, iced) and getting on a daily call with Anisha, my friend and work partner at Goya. It is a work, life and gossip session all rolled into one, and has been instrumental in keeping me sane through the isolation. Then somewhere in the next few hours, I have a long FaceTime call with my mother, or with the ceiling in her kitchen to be more precise, because she’s usually working on something and will forget to prop up the phone.
Soon after, Sajjad and I make lunch together, or mostly he does, and I play sous chef. Appam has been having a moment in our kitchen, so at least twice a week, we have that. The rest of the hours pass by in work, reading and household chores. The best part of the day, however, is the evening, which I like to spend watching Agatha Christie’s Poirot. There are 14 seasons, each season with several one-hour episodes. A pandemic-friendly TV show, if there ever was one. David Suche’s moustache twitching in indignation at the stupidity of mankind is in itself worth the trouble of getting a vpn. I try to convince Sajjad to work on the couch next to me, to give me company, and those evenings are extra nice.
I’ve never been a dessert person, but lately, it has been nice to nibble on something sweet at the end of the day. Having a cold dessert in your fridge is an idea I am quickly warming up to. Last week, it was this rose tres leches, which is a recipe that mum came up with a few weeks ago. If you’ve been around here long enough, you know all about our love for rose flavoured dessert. We have discovered that tres leches, which is mellow and rich, makes for the perfect canvas for a floral, delicate flavour like rose. If you aren’t a fan of rose, you could make a plain tres leches and lace the topping with a sprinkling of cinnamon. I could see cardamom and orange blossom working really nicely as well. The possibilities are endless.
Recipe: Rose Tres Leches Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
3 eggs, separated
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup AP flour
3 tbsp warm milk
1/4 tsp baking powder
For the soaking liquid
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup condensed milk
3 tbsp rose water (add a little, taste and proceed — the brands have varying strength)
For the whipped cream
200 g (1 cup) fresh cream )
3 tbsp icing sugar (or to taste)
1 tbsp rose water or Rooh Azfa
Method
Separate eggs and start beating egg whites, adding sugar slowly, in 3 batches. Whisk for a while, until stiff peaks form.
Next, gently add egg yolks, one at a time, till mixed through thoroughly.
Add the milk and flour +baking powder in 3 batches, alternating between the two. Be gentle — you could use a hand whisk if you’d like — it’s important to not let the egg white deflate.
Bake it in a greased and lined 8-inch square pan for 20 minutes at 180 degrees. Cool on a rack.
Meanwhile, make the pouring liquid by mixing all the ingredients together.
When the cake is completely cooled, prick holes in it. Pour the liquid over it and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
Whip the cream with the icing sugar and rose water until light, fluffy and stiff peaks form. If using Rooh Afza instead of rose water, stir through at the end.
Spread the cream over the cake, and refrigerate again.
Serve chilled.