This year we are doing things a little differently. Instead of simply an ingredient, we are highlighting entire cultures. Kits will include this ingredient, a recipe that highlights it, a little history on the ingredient or recipe, maybe some insight into the culture and some best practices. All recipes are from writers native to the country covered. I'll post the recipes and information here as well, so let's get cooking!
Guyana & Indian Arrival Day
Adapted from various online travel & cultural resources
Every year, Guyana celebrates the arrival and contributions of East Indians to their shores that arrived as indentured servants from the British as they finalized their laws outlawing slavery in their country and territories. The largest ethnic demographic in the country, Indo-Guyanese make up nearly 40% of the Guyanese people. As such, they have had a huge impact on culture, development, and cuisine. Is it any wonder that Guyana has an entire day dedicated to celebrating their arrival?
If you find yourself curious, these websites can give you a little more information on the history of the area:
The Main Event
Guyanese Jalebi
(South American Crispy Funnel Cake Cookies)
Adapted from Things Guyana for use by the Brown Deer Library Cookbook Club
Ingredients
Batter Ingredients:
1 cup Maida (All-Purpose Flour)
1 tsp Besan (Gram flour)
¼ tsp Active Dry Yeast (modified from ½ tsp Fresh)
1 tbsp. Ghee*, Melted
1 tsp Sugar
3 drops Yellow Food Color
For deep frying: Oil or Ghee
Lemon Juice
*To make your own, see the last section of this post for recipe.
Syrup Ingredients:
½ Cup Sugar
A few strands of Saffron or Kesar
¼ tsp Lemon Juice
Directions
Batter Method:
Sieve the maida and the besan together properly.
Dissolve the yeast in just one tbsp. of water.
Mix together the flour, yeast, ghee, sugar, lemon and the yellow color food color along with 2/3 cup of water in order to make a thick batter, and make sure that there are no lumps in between. Keep this batter aside for around ten minutes.
Heat the ghee in a broad frying pan and ensure that the ghee is at least 25 mm or one inch deep.
Put all the jalebi batter in a piping bag that has a single hole or a thick cloth having a tiny hole in its center.
Press out slowly round whirls into the hot oil or ghee making round shapes like whirls (roughly two inches in diameter)
Deep fry all the jalebis in the oil or ghee till they turn golden brown and then transfer them into the warm sugar syrup.
Drain immediately and then serve them hot.
Syrup Method:
Dissolve the sugar with half a cup of water and then cook on slow flame till the syrup is of two string consistency.
Add the saffron strings and the lemon juice and mix it well in the syrup.
Remove the syrup from fire and keep it aside.
Note: Do not allow the jalebi batter to become too fermented. Fry the jalebis as soon as the batter has been kept aside for ten minutes
Tips & Tricks
As adapted from Dassana's Veg Recipes
Batter consistency is the key! The batter should be thick and flowing. If the batter is too thick, the jalebi won’t be crisp or soak up the sugar syrup. If it is too thin, then it becomes difficult to get it to hold shape in the oil and it just disintegrates.
Sugar syrup consistency is also important! The sugar syrup should be one string consistency. If you stop cooking the syrup before it reaches one-string consistency, then the fried jalebi absorbs too much sugar syrup and they will break or disintegrate. If the sugar syrup is cooked to more than 1 string consistency, then the sugar syrup will crystallize on the jalebi and it won’t be juicy and syrupy.
Sugar syrup should be warm. The sugar syrup has to warm or lightly hot when you dunk the fried jalebi in it. If it’s too hot, then due to the heat the crisp crust of the jalebi will soften.
Fermentation takes time. Fermenting jalebi batter may take more or less time depending on the temperature in your city. In a hot or warm temperature, the fermentation will take less time. In a cool or cold climate, fermenting the batter will take more time. Keep this in mind when making jalebi with the traditional method. NOTE: When I made these, the outside temperature was about 26 degrees Celsius, so I kept for about 15 hours.
Oil temperature should be just right. The oil temperature has to moderately hot when frying jalebi; it should be 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176 degrees Celsius). If the temperature is too high, it will brown the outer crust fast and keep the insides uncooked. A lower temperature will make the jalebi absorb more oil and they will be soggy and not crisp. So fry at a medium temperature on a medium to medium-high flame.
Use a heavy bottomed pan for frying: A heavy, thick-bottomed kadai (wok) is perfect for frying jalebi. You can use a heavy steel kadai or iron kadai.
Work quickly when shaping the jalebi. Once the oil is hot, be quick in dropping the batter in oil in concentric circles. A squeezy tomato ketchup bottle works perfectly for this purpose. A reader also shared a tip to get a quick and better shape – first make a line with the batter and then quickly turn it into a loop (like the shape of letter ‘P’) – and then make spirals around the loop that touch the line.
Bonus Recipe
How to Make Your Own Ghee
As adapted from The Pioneer Wooman for use by the Brown Deer Cookbook Club
Ghee is a type of clarified butter originating in India in which the milk solids and whey have been removed from the butter, leaving the flavor and oil behind. It is a great way for those sensitive to dairy to still partake, and is an essential ingredient in a lot of Indian cuisine.
Ingredients
The highest quality butter you can find/afford (required - unsalted preferred but either work)
Cheese cloth/butter muslin/paper towel/coffee filter/clean tea towel (optional for final filtering)
Sterilized glass jar
Directions
Place butter in a heavy-bottomed pan.
Melt over medium-low heat.
When the whey floats to the top, skim it off. Reserve or compost.
When the milk fat sinks to the bottom and the butter turns clear, you’ve made clarified butter.
When the milk fats brown and become fragrant, you’ve made ghee.
Allow to cool slightly and strain through cheesecloth into a very clean jar. (Straining is traditional though optional if you don't have a dairy sensitivity)
Store at room temperature.
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