December 29, 2006

Ole Year Offerings (2006): Trinidad Goolab Jamoon and Sarina’s Passionate Mint Tea

So far I have only shared savory dishes for New Year’s so I thought it was time to mix it up with something sweet! Especially since the theme of this month’s Sugar High Friday was Sugar Art! Goolab jamoon is a sweet finger food that is commonly served at Indian weddings, pujas and other celebrations here in Trinidad. It is made from a creamy fragrant dough that is deep fried and then drizzled with a reduced sugar syrup that quickly crystallizes on the doughy puffs providing both sweetness and sparkle. The syrup is usually made with white sugar which makes the puffs look like they have been covered in snow. I only had brown sugar on hand so the effect is not quite the same but it’s still pretty no? 😉

I have paired it with a concoction that I’m calling Sarina’s Passionate Mint Tea. What’s so passionate about it? Well the addition of passion fruit juice of course! I love love love love love all things passion fruit and am always looking for excuses to add the flavour to my concoctions 🙂

Goolab Jamoon

Ingredients:

4 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground elychee (cardamom)
1 cup butter
1/2 cup water
1 can 14-oz condensed milk
oil for frying
2 cups sugar
1 cup water

Directions:

1. Sift flour into bowl and add spices

2. Add butter and rub into flour

3. Add liquids and knead to a smooth and stiff dough. You may need to add additional flour. Do so by the handful, kneading after each addition until you have a smooth silky dough that doesn’t stick to your hands and is still shiny 🙂

4. Taking a tablespoon of dough each time roll into balls. Taper the ends until you have an oblong shape, then roll the ends further almost to a point.

5. Heat oil in a deep pot or wok and carefully deep fry until dark golden brown (use a medium heat or dough will burn)

6. Drain

7. Make a sugar syrup by boiling 2 cups sugar in 1 cup water until thick and very bubbly. When sugar spins a thread, boil for another two minutes

8. Pour hot and bubbly onto goolab jamoon.
9. Drain and coat with sugar syrup, turning to coat until sugar crystallizes

Makes about 40 goolab jamoon

Passionate Mint Tea

Ingredients:

6 single tea bags (mint tea), steeped in 1 litre of hot water for 1 hour
4 cups (1 litre) hot water
1 1/2 cup passionfruit juice
2 cups simple syrup (2 cups sugar boiled in 2 cups water)
1 lime, juiced