Vattalapam with Mango and Passion fruit

Years and years back I was traveling the beautiful island of Sri Lankawith a dear friend of mine and returned a couple of times thereafter. While living with a guest family in Mt. Levinia near Colombo, I was always amazed of the cuisine of Sri Lanka and its diversity. One dish I remembered vividly; “Vattalapam”, coconut custard with lots of spices and a crust made of delicious cashew nuts. Years later while working in Sydney, Australia I made this dish again since my assistant, Lakshman Pereira was from Sri Lanka and I had a dinner for the Lankan Embassy. This dish became so popular we kept it on our banquet menu.
One of my Pastry Chefs here in Dubai is from Sri Lanka and he brought me from his last trip home real “Jaggery”, Palm sugar which is an important ingredient for “Vattalapam”.

Ingredients:

500 gram Coconut milk
100 gram Water
220 gram Jaggery (Palmsugar)
200 gram Eggs
120 gram Cashew nuts
010 gram Cardamom
010 gram Mace
005 gram Clove

Method:

Crumble the Palmsugar into small pieces and dissolve in boiling water. Add the coconut milk and bring to simmer. Add the spiced in a mortar and grind fine. Combine the spices with the eggs and whisk creamy. Add the hot coconut milk and whisk. Strain the mixture.
Butter four ramquin dishes and place the cashew nuts on the bottom. Pour the custard into the ramquin and set into a water bath. Place in oven for 25-30 minutes at 180 Celsius. During the baking the cashew nuts will raise to the top.
After baking take the ramquin out from the water and set aside to cool. When cold remove from the ramquin and arrange on dessert plate with fresh mango and passion fruit pulp.

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SixPack of Coke!

Writing about water the other day was much enjoyableand well received by my readers. Water is such a good beverage but too many people neglect to drink more water including myself. Coca Cola certainly has mastered to convince our population to drink Coke instead but that does not include me. I do not like Cola, neither Pepsi or Coca Cola or any similar Soda for that matter. However if I had to choose than it would be Coca Cola by far, Classic and not Zero or light or even Cherry. I was told that Coke his being sold in over 200 countries and the most recognisable brand out there.

Logo design
 
U.S. containers in 2008. Various sizes from 237 mL-2 L  shown in can, glass and plastic bottles. The famous Coca-Cola logo was created by John Pemberton’s bookkeeper, Frank Mason Robinson, in 1885. Robinson came up with the name and chose the logo’s distinctive cursive script. The typeface used, known as Spencerian script, was developed in the mid 19th century and was the dominant form of formal handwriting in the United States during that period.

Robinson also played a significant role in early Coca-Cola advertising. His promotional suggestions to Pemberton included giving away thousands of free drink coupons and plastering the city of Atlanta with publicity banners and streetcar signs.

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Not every day I buy knives and certainly not Japanese knives as they are not really for Pastry work. Even though they are super sharp and could be used for fruit they are too expansive. While living in Japan I had the opportunity to visit such masters and craftsman producing one of the best knives in the world. I even brought some. I could not hold myself back walking into the Zwilling store at Dubai Mall, gazing at the counter with the whole range of Miyabi Knives. Minutes later I was the proud owner of a Miyabi 7000D Chutoh.

The Miyabi 7000D range is damascus (33 layer) finish with a core of CMV60 stainless steel resulting in a hardness of c. 60 Rockwell. The handle is stainless steel and Micarta (a multi-layer compound bonded by linen and synthetic resin) The Miyabi 5000S range is highly practical and always reliable because of easy-care top quality material. The blades are stainless special steel, FRIODOR and the knives have at traditional D-handle, of synthetic compound. Made in Seki, Japan, the centre of the sword and knife making industry since the 14th Century, by Zwilling JA Henckels.

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