KOCHI: If the Onam season has made you drink an overwhelming amount of payasam and you are in search of something new, how about tarts made of semiya payasam or macarons made of lemon pickle? Ann Mary Jesudas, one of the founding partners of home bake kitchen, Whisk and the Knife, has come out with three sweet delicacies for the Onam special menu, combining French pastry with traditional Kerala desserts.
With the fusion menu, the Thiruvananthapuram-based pastry chef aims to present a unique festive flavour for the foodies. To entice the sweet tooth’s Ann included pradhaman entremet, semiya creme brule tart, and lemon-pickle flavoured special macrons.
“To bring a change to the staple Onam menu, sadhya and payasam, I decided to explore my pastry skills to bring a taste of Paris to the Kerala cuisine. The theme was conceived with the support of my friend and co-owner of Whisk and the Knife, Dhananjay V who is a culinary chef,” says Ann, who has a diploma from Le Cordon Bleu, Paris
The Pradhaman entremet was the most challenging for her. It was prepared by mixing several ingredients, including, milk chocolate, coconut milk mousse, to get the thick creamy texture, banana cremeux, made out of banana pulp and jaggery was also added. Then multiple layers of grounded almonds and other nuts along with coconut is kept to freeze for around 20 hours to gain the right consistency. It is then finished with a spray of chocolate cocoa butter.
“Entremet has multiple textural elements. Since ada pradhaman is made by mixing banana, I infused banana cremeux to add the same flavour and to enhance its spongy, creamy and jelly texture,” adds Ann.
But the most loved item on Ann’s menu preferred even by children was the Semiya creme brulé tart. “The tart has a pastry base that is buttery and a bit sweet and salty. To form the base I infused roasted vermicelli into a creamy mixture. When served, I topped with torched sugar giving it a caramel taste,” says Ann.
Ann gave her usual macrons a twist by adding four onam related flavours. One made of dark chocolate ganache and boondi. The second had cardamom and vanilla buttercream flavour. Third, evoked the ‘Sharkara Upperi’ taste and was mixed with buttercream. The final flavour was the sweet and soury lemon pickle butter cream. “I came up with this idea as I have seen some drinking lemonade mixed with salt and sugar. I was a little tensed about this dish but many welcomed the flavour though. This has given me the confidence to explore more fusion dishes in the coming festive seasons as well,” she adds.
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