03 July, 2009

Cardamom Affair

Recently, on a trip to London, I did my traditional pilgrimage to Whole Foods on Kensington HighStreet, and to my delight I wondered upon a huge table of discounted spices. I had always wanted to try cardamom; kheer, indian rice pudding, is one of my all time favorites and heavily flavored with cardamom. At 99p I couldn't really pass up the opportunity.

Returning home from London I tried my hand and the simplest recipe involving cardamom I could find, Cardamom Spiced Filo Crisps with Strawberries and Cream, a good treat for the summer with a Mumbai meets Wimbledon feel to it.

Cardamom Spiced Filo Crisps with Strawberries and Cream:
12 sheets filo dough
1/3 cup butter (melted)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp cardamom (ground)
1 cup whipping cream
strawberries
100 ml Pimms No.1
300 ml Sparkling Diet Lemonade
(Okay sooo the last two may not be a part of the recipe, but just as breathing isn't written it, Pimms drinking is assumed.)


Brown butter in pan, do not burn. Mix sugar and cardamom together in small bowl. Cut the sheets into 10 pieces. Seperate the filo sheets and place the first 10 individually on a baking sheet. Brush the browned butter on each of the bottom sheets then sprinkle sugar mixture on each. Repeat adding new layers on top of the previous, making them as neat as possible, until you've run out of sheets. Add more browned butter and sugar mixture to the tops of the filo stacks and bake at 200C until golden brown. Wait for them to cool and remove them from the baking sheet.
In a bowl whip the whipping cream until it holds peaks. Spoon cream on to one crisp and top with another. Add more cream to the top as well as sliced strawberries.
Mix Pimms and Lemonade in glass, add ice and fresh mint, drink it. Make more. Keep drinking...

Sorry the pictures aren't the best, it was very hot and the cream was falling.
If you like you can layer the filo in a muffin pan and create little cups to fill with cream; lessens the mess and creates a smaller serving.

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