FOOD & DRINK
Jalebi
Prep time 5 mins Cooking time 25 mins Makes 10
INGREDIENTS Oil for frying
Pipping bag/ziplock bag/ empty squeezy bottle
WHEN YOU NEED A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR…
By Khrishma Preston, The Alternative Indian
Sometimes life just keeps throwing you curve balls. Huge blocks and obstacles seem to be chucked our way and the current worries about increasing energy and living costs are hitting everyone hard. However, in life you sometimes need that sugar hit to keep you going, to keep you focusing on the positives and remembering you aren’t the only one feeling like this. Over the next few months please remember people are just trying to survive, support local, and most importantly be kind. Somerset and Dorset are home to some of Britain’s most established food producers and to some of the most innovative artisan food makers working in Britain today. The Somerset Food Trail Festival on 15-24 July is an open farm and farmto-fork showcase that puts the spotlight on Somerset's smaller-scale, nature-friendly farmers and artisan producers in all their fascinating diversity. The Alternative Indian is taking part and details for our popups are: Ecofair Yeovil 2022 on Saturday 16 July from 10am to 4pm at Holy Trinity Church – we will be running the cafe and will have spice mixes and our tiffins for sale. Wytch Wood Eco Campsite, Blackmore Farm, Crewkerne: Tiffins in the Woods – open 32
to the public every Friday night on a booking basis via our events page on www. thealternativeindian.com. As part of the Somerset Food Trail, we will also run an additional special offer for 20 and 21 July. Please keep an eye out on our social media pages for more information. Our other venues include Vineyards of Sherborne. Dates always sell out within days. We also host regular pop-ups at Bridge House Hotel, Bridport (www.bridgehousebridport. co.uk), who also support several other local businesses. This month’s recipe dates back to the early tenth century when it was known as ‘zulbiya’ in an ancient Persian cookbook and is ‘jilapi’ in Bengal. Jalebi is very much a humble sweet treat, enjoyed hot or cold, and is something that spans the Indian subcontinent, Western Asia, Africa, Mauritius, and Comoros. There is no single recipe for jalebi. It is made with a variety of ingredients like semolina, wheat flour, skinned black gram (urad dal), moong dal, and even cottage cheese. It has numerous versions and most of them have their own unique taste! The recipe I am providing you here is a classic Gujrati version.
Batter
Sugar syrup • 240ml water • 450g sugar • 1 tsp lemon juice
• 135g plain flour
• 2-3 strands of saffron
• 45g rice flour
• 1 pod of cardamom, crushed, or ½ tsp of cardamon powder
• ¼ tsp baking powder • 1 tsp melted butter or yogurt • Approx. half a cup of water
• 1 drop of orange food colouring
METHOD Make the batter by thoroughly mixing all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the melted butter or yogurt and mix well so there are no clumps. Washed fingers are best, making sure the flour is well coated. Slowly add a little bit of water at a time, making a medium consistency pourable batter. Whisk in one direction until completely smooth. Cover the bowl and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. In the meantime, make the sugar syrup. Start by heating water and sugar in a tall pan on medium heat, stirring until it comes to a boil. Stir in the lemon juice, this helps to prevent the sugar from crystallizing. Boil for another minute, then add the saffron and cardamon. Lower the heat and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring regularly. Take it off the heat, stir in the food colouring and let the syrup cool on the side. To check the syrup is ready for dunking, cool a teaspoon’s worth in a bowl, and put a drop between your fingers. It should feel sticky and you should be able to draw a small sugar string between the fingers as you pull them apart. If it’s not sticky enough, reheat for a few more minutes and check again. It’s really important to achieve this consistency. Once the syrup is ready, start to heat your oil on medium heat in a wide bottom pan. Fill a piping bag with your jalebi batter. If you don’t have a piping bag, you can improvise with a ziplock bag that has had a small corner cut off once filled or an empty washed squeezy condiment bottle. Once the oil feels like it's coming up to temperature for frying, test it by dropping a dollop of batter into the oil. The batter should fluff up and start to float instantly. If this doesn’t happen let the oil heat a little more. Cook 2-4 jalebis at a time by keeping the piping bag upright and quickly piping swirls. These do not need to be perfect! Do not overcrowd the pan. If they start to brown, lower the heat. Let each batch cook for 15-20 seconds without touching them. Using a fork or tongs, carefully turn them over in the oil, and cook for another 15-20 seconds until golden brown. Remove them from the oil and immediately soak them in the warm sugar syrup. Do not let the syrup cool completely throughout the process. Stop and heat it if needed. Soak the jalebis in the syrup for about 90 seconds, flipping them in the syrup only once. Take them out and plate them. Continue to make small batches until you are out of batter. They can be enjoyed warm or stored in an airtight container in the fridge for three days.
