Showing posts with label Coffee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coffee. Show all posts

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Almond Biscotti. Simple, the Donna Hay way


Biscotti dipped in coffee tastes out of this world

Almond Biscotti, home made

The first time  I ate an almond  biscotti dipped in a lovely, steaming cup of coffee was at a cafĂ© in an  airport. I loved the experience.

A few days ago, a friend made the biscotti, and it turned out almost like the one at the airports. I could not wait to try my hand at it, but there was a bit of a delay. I decided to go with the general thing of not using eggs during the Navaratras !

Today, I made it for the first time…and it was not bad for the first time. More so given that I was in a hurry, impatient, and had many things…but nothing would make me defer the biscotti. I followed the Donna  Hay recipe that seemed simple.

The result was not bad, given that….yes, the electricity failed 15 minutes after the “log” had gone into the oven preheated to 160 degrees C ! I quickly moved it on my old faithful…the gas tandoor, and took it off when the  air in the kitchen suggested that something was  on the verge of burning !

But the electricity was back by the time I had to put the slices into the oven—biscotti, I read, means twice baked. The second time, I said my prayers and kept my fingers crossed, hoping that the power would not let me and my biscotti down. The prayer actually worked .

Ingredients, and first lot of steps

The ingredients were just what the recipe mentioned, but I probably speeded up some of the processes. It was difficult to slice the “log” into 5 mm slices. I forgot to do it diagonally ! The bottom of the log was a bit burnt. But it tasted good, and the texture was great.

Try it..if nothing else, because it is simple. Show the patience that I did not.

Ingredients:
Plain flour (maida) –2 cups
Eggs 3
Sugar-3/4 cup
Almond slivers(I used bits) ¾ cup
Vanilla extract-1 and a half spoon
Baking powder-1 and a half spoon

Process

Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar,almonds and vanilla , add the eggs and blend with your hand into a nice dough. It gets sticky very easily. Just bear with it. On a dusted board , shape it like a log. I used some of the flour to dust the top too.


Bake,cool, and slice to bake again

Bake in a preheated oven (160 degrees C) for 35 minutes, switch off, and cool outside the oven. Before it gets cold, slice it , and bake the slices, for 3 to 5 mins, reducing the temperature from 160 to 100 degrees C, after two minutes.

Biscotti is "twice baked"



The biscottis are ready. Cool, and store. Serve with coffee.

Home made Almond Biscotti



Friday, May 4, 2012

Fresh Filter Coffee --South Indian

The modern coffee pot and the traditional coffee filter


Think fresh South Indian filter coffee, and comes to mind the traditional stainless steel coffee filter-- like a tumbler with perforations at the base, fitted atop another, and a lid right on top. The coffee powder-- P berry or arabica or whatever-- goes on top.Fill it with hot water, and a few minutes later, the aroma in the air tells you that the  nice dark decoction is ready.

Then begins the struggle.

Taking off the top tumbler, holding the hot bottom one, is not always easy. How often I have wished that the traditional design had been improved, given a handle, a spout, and made...well...as convenient to pour, as the good old tea pot.

As I was strolling on the road along  Mylapore temple on my last visit to Chennai, I saw just that. A stainless steel coffee pot with all the good features of the good old filter. The pot--the size I bought--was Rs420. A similar sized traditional filter was less than Rs100 ! But it being a dream come true, I bought it.

When I made the coffee--powder from Leo nearby-- I must confess I was a bit disappointed.It was weak. Too weak.
But I kept trying.

A month ago, I bought a packet of Drizzle from Cafe Coffee Day. It is a small carton of ten coffee bags, like tea bags. The coffee was really good. But what I really liked was a little tip that came on the directions printed on the carton. We've been asked to put just a wee bit of boiling water over the coffee bag in the cup, then wait for 20 seconds, and then pour the cupful of hot water.That gave real good, strong, coffee.

I applied that to the coffee powder in the coffee pot. The result was astounding. Great cuppa, easily pourable. Looks good on the table. No mess, no fuss. Only great style!

The inside view



This is how it looks from inside. A perforated bowl rests on top.

Pix shot on my Nokia E5, photoshopped a wee bit.
Enjoy!