The term ‘fusion’ has become rather common in the world of food. Is it just about picking up ideas from two different cuisines and pairing them together? I think it’s so much more than that. It is, in fact, about unusual food combination, a trial and error process of mingling time-tested flavours with the relatively new ones. If you were to really think about it, these new and unusual combinations is what makes cuisines evolve while they retain their roots.This is how recipes get invented and palates experience an awakening.
Tried and tested
Take our traditional pairing of yoghurt with rice. Many other cultures may think this is an odd combination. Yet, a whole line of dishes has since been featured using the same ingredients, albeit in different avatars.
In our own cuisine we have curd idli, curd vadai, bread in tempered curd, curd chappathi, curd paniyaram and so on.
All these have originated from the basic ‘curd rice’.
The chilli-and-chocolate combo believed to have existed since the Aztec times has seen a revival. Salted caramel flavours are everywhere you turn. How quickly we find ourselves embracing the unusual!
Chefs all over the world play around with food combinations relying on their bank of experience. Not so long ago, ‘strawberries’ immediately conjured up visions of a big bowl of thick double cream, to dunk them in. Now, we also think of the fruit with balsamic vinegar, in a salad or soup, etc. This kind of thought process just adds to the excitement of the whole food experience. Diners all over the world are being offered versatility not just in taste but in sight, smell and ambience too. What a pleasurable and fun era to be in for a foodie!
At a recent wedding, we were treated to an unusual food pairing by Chef Ashok Kumar of The Residency. After a sumptuous feast, the dessert table beckoned with its crepe station and a huge chaffing dish of baked rasagullas.
But that is not the unusual bit. I watched another respected foodie trying out fresh sonpapdi with vanilla ice cream. The steel trays bearing the ice cream, fresh sonpapdi, flaked almonds, fried vermicelli and a bottle of Roohafza were neatly lined up.
I love fresh sonpapdi. It’s a childhood favourite. I’m sure we all miss the sight of the sonpapdi cart with it’s bell glass dome, ringing its arrival down the street. In the west it is referred to as ‘fairy floss’!
As for the taste, it really worked. The coarse crisp texture of the sonpapdi perfectly complemented the smooth creaminess of the ice cream and the flaked almonds and vermicelli added a yummy crunch. Kudos to the chef, he kept the flavours simple. He stuck to the clean flavours of the vanilla icecream. I think any other flavour may ot have worked as well.
Try it at home
You can put this dessert together at home, and in not more than five minutes before it is to be served! All the components can be made well ahead of time and stored.
In a single bowl add a spoon of fried vermicelli, top with a scoop of vanilla icecream, pile some sonpapdi on top ,scatter with flaked and toasted almonds and finish by adding a few drops of pink Roohafza. I preferred mine minus the Roohafza but most others enjoyed lacing their dessert with it.
Read more at Shanthini’s website, >pinklemontreerecipes.com
