Three Wise Men Yuletide Fruitcake

My ‘Three Wise Men Yuletide Fruitcake’ has a generous portion of the three wise men of alcohol, and no its not Jim, Jack and Johnnie but our Goan friends; the ornery old monk, the fine teacher and the priestly tipple –Vinicola. Soaking the fruits in the alcohol and then feeding the cake each day with some more adds a unique depth and flavor to this Christmas cake. This is the  perfect recipe when you want to show off some baking prowess. Feliz Natal.

Ingredients

½ cup Old Monk Dark Rum

½ cup Teachers Whisky

½   cup Vinicola Port wine

3 cups dried fruit (a combination of golden and black raisins, glace cherries, dates, figs

and orange peel ;as per your preference), chopped

1 cup salted butter

2 cups packed brown sugar

4 large eggs

3 cups flour

1 cup nuts (a combination of almonds, cashewnuts and walnuts), chopped

1 tblsp ground mixed spice ( a combination of cinnamon, cloves and ginger)

2 tblsp orange marmalade

Zest and juice of 1 orange

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tblsp baking powder

2 tblsp molasses/ treacle or a dash of caramel colour

Mix the alcohols together and use half of it to soak the fruit overnight in an airtight container. Keep the rest of the alcohol aside for feeding the baked cake later. You may soak the fruits for longer if you desire.

To prepare the cake batter, cream the butter and sugar well, and then add eggs one at a time, beating well, in between each addition. Fold in all the other ingredients till well incorporated. Pour into two 7 inch lined pans and bake in a preheated oven at 170 degree Celsius till done.  Leave the cake to cool, remove from pan and douse with some of the remaining alcohol. Wrap the cake in cling wrap and parchment paper and keep in a cool dry place. Feed the cake with the remaining alcohol for a couple of days to a week before serving.

Batica (Batega)

Batica/Baath or  Batega is essentially a traditional Goan Christmas cake. This cake, made of semolina and the usual suspects gets an exotic flair with the addition of rose water and some aromatic cardamom.  Soaking the batter in a cool place allows the semolina to soften and absorb the flavours of rose and cardamom and ensures that the cake turns out moist, soft and crumbly. A slice of Batica with a hot cup of tea is the perfect evening indulgence.

Ingredients

250 gms semolina

1 ½ cups fresh coconut, ground

3 eggs

1 ½ cups Sugar

5 tblsp butter/ghee

1tsp salt

½ tblsp baking powder

1 tblsp Rose water

1/2 tblsp ground cardamom

¼ cup milk

Method

Beat the eggs, sugar and butter till fluffy. Add the semolina, coconut, cardamom, salt and rose water, mixing well. Set aside for 12 hours, or overnight in a cool place so that the semolina can soak and soften. Add the baking powder and the milk beat together and pour into a 7 by 7 inch lined pan and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees till done and the cake passes the skewer test. 

An Ode to the Bombay Duck

-Anonymous

Consider the unfortunate Bombay Duck.
Neither from Bombay, nor a duck
Clearly a fish out of luck
Named for a train that brought it to the city
Ugly as sin, it deserves your pity.
But squeeze out the Arabian Sea in which

But, squeeze out the Arabian Sea in which it was spawned

Embalm it in a pungent mixture carefully ground

Slow cook it over an embracing flame

Warn your veggie neighbours – especially Mrs Jain!

Soon, a pungent odour will rise in the air

Redolent of oceans, trawlers

and rugged men with wind in their hair

As the edges begin to sizzle and the skin turns to gold,

You'll feel as elated as Sanjay on his third parole.

It's crispy, it's crumbly, it's a winner without doubt.

Its flavours explode against the roof of your mouth

They swirl and they roll like the surf on the beach

they access parts of you even Budweiser cannot reach

The end is now nigh, you slower the pace.

You regret having started with stuffing your face.

But, as the last piece disappears,

you so want to cry :

You just finished your plate of Bombil Fry!

Marzipan

The Goan version of this delicious German sweet is made widely for Christmas and Easter; we of course substitute local cashew nuts for almonds. Marzipan is generally molded into seasonal shapes using silicon mold that will be available at your closest baking supplies retailer. You may also shape the dough into miniature fruits and paint them using food colour for some beautiful food art right out of your kitchen. This recipe makes a loaf of marzipan dough of approximately 500 gms.

Ingredients

250 gms finely ground cashew nut/almond meal

250 gms powdered sugar/confectioners’ sugar

1 tsp lime juice

1 tsp almond/rose extract+ 1/3 cup water

Method

Sieve the cashew nut/almond meal and sugar together. The finer the nut flour, the smoother the marzipan will be. In a small bowl, mix together the lemon juice, almond/rose extract, and water.
Then, start adding the liquid into the bowl of dry ingredients. Add one teaspoon at a time and then mix and check the consistency. Once combined it should look like a soft ball of dough. Do not over mix or the nut oils will be released which will make the marzipan oily. Wrap in Cling wrap and leave to rest for a while.  

You may colour this dough using edible food colour and mold it as per your choice. Store sealed well in an air tight container. The marzipan will stay in the refrigerator for several weeks.

Coconut Macaroons

This moist and chewy gluten free cookie is delish had with a cup of chai. Biting into one of these will transform you to warm and coco nutty Goa!

Ingredients

 3 egg whites whipped

 4 cups fresh shredded coconut

 ½ cup powdered sugar

 1 teaspoon Vanilla essence

 Dash of Salt to balance

 Melted Chocolate (optional)

Preheat oven to 180 C. In a large bowl beat the egg white, sugar, salt and vanilla until foamy and the sugar is mostly dissolved - at least 2 minutes. Fold in the coconut, making sure the coconut is evenly moistened. Form 1 inch compact mounds and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake until lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes. Make sure to rotate the pan to ensure even baking. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets before enjoying. Drizzle the macaroons with some melted chocolate if desired. Cover leftover macaroons tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days or 3 days at room temperature. Have fun trying out this easy Goan recipe during this festive season.

Sorpotel

Ingredients

1/2 kg boneless pork meat
1/2 kg pork offal (liver,heart,kidneys,tongue etc)
Use of  offal in Sorpotel is typical, but if you don't like the idea of eating the off cuts replace it with more pork meat.

10 red chillies
10 peppercorns
1 whole pod garlic
3/4 inch piece ginger
1/2 tsp cumin
1 inch piece cinnamon
5 cloves
1/4 cup coconut feni
6 green chillies , slit
2 medium onions, finely diced
Tamarind pulp and/or vinegar for sourness
Salt to season

Method

Boil the meat with some water till parboiled. Drain and keep liquid aside to use later. Dice the meat and fry till brown.Make a paste of the spices with some tamarind, vinegar and water.

To the fried meat, add onions, green chillies and the paste and fry till the masala is cooked Season as required. Add the feni, reserved liquid from boiling the meat, some water and simmer for 45 minutes stirring occasionally till cooked. This dish tastes better after 3 to 4 days of preparing it and is best eaten with Sannas to sop up the gravy.