Pineapples have exceptional juiciness and a vibrant tropical flavour that balances the tastes of sweet and tart. They are second only to bananas as America’s favourite tropical fruit. Although the season for pineapple runs from March through June, they are available year-round in local markets.
Pineapples are a composite of many flowers whose individual fruitlets fuse together around a central core. Each fruitlet can be identified by an ‘eye’, the rough spiny marking on the pineapple’s surface. Pineapples have a wide cylindrical shape, a scaly green, brown or yellow skin and a regal crown of spiny, blue-green leaves and fibrous yellow flesh. The area closer to the base of the fruit has more sugar content and therefore a sweeter taste and more tender texture.
Raw pineapple is an excellent source of manganese and vitamin C. Also consuming pineapple will help in digestion of the food and has refreshing effect. Chunks of pineapple are not only used in desserts such as fruit salad, but also as a main ingredient in savoury dishes, such in hamburgers, and as a pizza topping.
The juice of the pineapple is widely served as a beverage. Pineapple is one of the few wonder fruits which can reserve its place throughout the day be it breakfast in the form of a juice, be it lunch in the form of a pineapple combined with a meat item or be it dinner in the form of any dessert.
Tropical grilled chicken
(Serves 2)
Ingredients
Chicken breast 2 nos
Olive oil 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
White pepper to taste
Thyme leaves ½ tsp
Pineapple, shredded 1 tbsp
Olives 4-6 no
Asparagus 2-4 heads
For sauce
Olive oil ½ tbsp
Ginger, minced 2 cloves
Shallot, chopped ½ cup
Pineapple juice 2 tbsp
Chives, chopped 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
For rice
Long grain rice 1 cup
Salt to taste
Parmesan cheese ¼ cup
Method
Marinate chicken breast with salt, pepper, olive oil and thyme and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Heat oil in a sauce pan and saute chopped shallots and chopped ginger.
Once the raw flavour is gone, add pineapple juice and simmer.
Add chopped chives and adjust the seasoning, remove from flame and keep aside.
Prepare steamed rice separately and take the prepared hot rice in a bowl, add grated parmesan cheese to the rice, and toss to mix the cheese in the rice.
Heat the grill or hot plate and grease with oil to prevent chicken sticking to the grill.
Place the chicken breast on the grill and cook evenly on both the sides turning occasionally to avoid getting over burnt.
Once the chicken breast is cooked, arrange on the parmesan rice and pour the sauce on the chicken.
Garnish with olives and steamed asparagus stems. Serve hot
Nankathai — The traditional biskoot
The soft crumbly nankhatai brings back many a fond memory. The word ‘nankhatai’ comes from the Persian word ‘nan’ meaning bread and ‘khatai’ probably comes from ‘Catai’ or ‘Cathay’, the older name for China. Translated as ‘Bread of Cathay’. Another version from northeast Iran /Afganistan is that khatai is a type of biscuit, also referred to as kulcha-e-namaki. To the best of my knowledge this is the only cookie in the Indian cuisine. North Indian nankhatai is almost same as Pecan Sandies popular in the United States.
In the 16th century, Dutch explorers started a bakery in a trading port of Gujarat, India. When the Dutch left India they handed over the bakery to their trusted employee named Dotivala. To create a local demand for bakery products, Dotivala modified Dutch recipes and replaced the ingredients depending on the local customs and religious beliefs. Dotivala became a master baker of fusion baking and nankhatai was one of his signature offerings.
Nankhatai
Ingredients
Flour 500g
Ghee 500g
Icing sugar 1,200g
Baking powder ¼ tsp
Cardamom powder 1/3 tsp
Pistachio 30g
Method
Sieve the flour, icing sugar and baking powder.
Add ghee to the flour mixture and make a soft dough.
Knead only once and do not over knead as the crumbliness will reduce.
Refrigerate the dough for 2 hours.
Roll small balls out of the dough and flatten into 2 inch discs. They should be about 1/2 inch thick. Place them on a cookie sheet
Sprinkle each ball with some ground cardamom and crushed pistachio.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for 20 minutes.
Cool on a cooling rack and enjoy with some coffee or tea.
* Tarun Kapoor is executive chef at Doha’s Horizon Manor Hotel. Send your feedback to:
[email protected]
Tropical grilled chicken
