New Delhi, November 2022: Christmas- the festival of joy is in many ways, the pandora's box of happiness. And part of this happiness stems from the culture and cuisine associated with the festival. The practice of cake mixing begins quite early, mostly in the first week of November itself. It is an age-old tradition where kilograms of dry fruits, nuts, and spices are combined together to form a mixture. This mixture is then soaked in alcoholic blends for some days to let them soak all the flavors and aroma. Since alcohol is a preservative, the mixture is preserved for a long time period.. It is said that preserving the cake mix for a year can attract good luck and harmony.
British cuisine is the spearhead of Christmas goodness and it is this goodness that British Chef Vivek Chauhan brings to the Indian dining experience. Trained in the British kitchen, he presently is the Executive Pastry Chef at Le Meridien, New Delhi.
“ The ceremony marks the advent of the festive season and through this we look forward to spreading the warmth of this season of merry-making this ceremony which encourages.” In the end, it is food that is the thread that binds cultures, societies and festivities together", said, Chef Vivek Chauhan, Executive Pastry Chef at Le Meridien, New Delhi.
No Christmas celebration is complete without a typical Christmas pudding and Plum cake- what sets Chef Vivek’s apart is the enhancement he adds to the preparation of the dish- using typical british alcohol, carefully intertwined with traditional ingredients to provide a modern twist to a festive recipe. For cake mixing, almonds, cashews, raisins, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, dried ginger, candied fruits, prunes, walnuts, are mixed together. The alcohols used are Cognac VSOP and VS, brandy and dark rum to name a few.
One key that sets Chef Vivek’s work apart, is his nuanced use of knowledge garnered in the UK, to the Indian dining experience. And, along with his British chefs and Indian chefs, who taught him, he gives his heartiest thanks to chef Davinder Kumar, his team, Shefali Singh (PR manager) and to his family.
In the spirit of Christmas, here are 2 traditional recipes with a twist, courtesy Chef Vivek.
A slice of Christmas: Christmas Pudding
Ingredients:
Dry fruits
Currants - 6 kg
Sultanas - 12 kg
Raisins - 12 kg
Mixed Peel - 5 kg
Prunes - 2.25 kg
Stem Ginger - 750 gm
Muscavado Sugar - 2.6 kg
Mixed Spice
Liqueur:
Guiness - 7.5 pints
Grand Marnier- 570 ml
Brandy - 1.2 Itr
Maderia - 1.2 ltr
Sherry - 1.2 Itr
Dark Rum - 1.2 Itr
London Pride/ Perroni - 7.5 pints
Fruits:
Apple - 4 Kg (1⁄2 Cooking + 1⁄2
Braebun)
Orange Segments - 2.250 Kg
Orange Zest - 5 no.
Lemon Zest - 5 no.
Items to be added in the end:
Whole Egg - 1.8 Kg
Flour - 2.7 Kg
Bread Crumb - 1.5 Kg
Vegetarian Suet - 1.5 Kg
Method:
Mix all dry ingredients in a container. Pour liquor over mixed dry ingredients and leave to
soak for 2 months in the fridge.
Churn the mix everyday so that fruit absorbs liqueur equally. Grate apples, chop oranges
and mix. Mix flour, bread crumb, whole egg, vegetarian suet. Finally mix with fruit mix.
Keep the mix in desired moulds and steam it at 90c for 4 and half
Hours.
Make some room for Pandoro Bread
Ingredients:
Warm Water - 60 ml
Yeast - 30 gm
Sugar - 5 gm
Egg Yolk - 20 gm
Flour - 28 gm
For Dough:
Flour - 680 gm
Egg Yolk - 140 gm
Butter - 30 gm
Water - 60 ml
Egg - 2 no.
Lemon Zest - 1 no.
Vanilla Bean - 1 no.
Method:
Make the Starter with water,yeast, sugar, flour & egg yolk and Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Mix egg yolk, egg,yellow co-lour and water together.
Mix softened butter. lemon zest ,& vanilla bean in the above mix.
Finally fold in flour and knead for a few minutes.
Add starter in the above mix
Knead the mix to make a dough.
Prove the dough to attain required volume.
Knock back and put the dough in the Pandoro mould.
Prove it till it comes to 3⁄4 of the mould.
Bake it at 170 C for 20 min.
Serve it with Pomegranate salad and Crème Fraiche.
About Chef Vivek:
A patissier and chocolatier, Chef Vivek Chauhan is a highly accoladed Patisserie Chef with an illustrious experience of 22 years, currently associated with Le Meridien Hotel, New Delhi. An IHM, Gwalior graduate in Hotel Management, Chef Vivek's passion to learn beyond stereotypical creations and reinventions has allowed him to work with Michelin Star Chefs Allyn Williams and Chef Eric Chavot & others of International Reputees. His culinary experience includes his incredible years at various prestigious properties - Taj Mahal Hotel, One Aldwych, London, The Lancaster London, the Hilton London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5, The Westbury Mayfair, London and The Imperial, New Delhi. Chef Vivek is a recipient of multiple honours and awards; most notable among them is the most recent‘ Pastry Chef of the Year 2018' conferred upon by ICF. He has also hosted opulent dinners for the Association of Pastry Chefs and Craft Guild of Chefs in the UK.
