The pitaya is more commonly referred to as the dragon fruit. It is a beautiful fruit that has dazzling flowers and an intense shape and colour. The dragon fruit is usually a dark red colour, although some types of this fruit are pink or yellow.
The skin of the dragon fruit is a thin rind and is not eaten. The skin is usually covered in scales, and the centre of the fruit is made up of a red or white, sweet tasting pulp. While this super fruit is grown mainly in Asia, you might be able to find one at your nearby hypermarket.
Eat dragon fruit as a good natural source of antioxidants, which help to prevent the dangers of free radicals that can cause cancer and other undesirable health detriments. The number, quantity and variety of antioxidants in real foods like dragon fruit is completely unmatched by any food supplement or pills.
Dragon fruit has a small amount of fat as it contains seeds but the flesh has no fat at all. The seeds contain fat and proteins like any other seed or nut. Dietary fibre is an important nutrition factor for everyone from young to old, and the best way to get dietary fibre is to eat fruits and vegetables. Dragon fruit has lots of dietary fibre with almost 1g of fibre per 100g of the flesh. To choose a good dragon fruit look for bright, even-coloured skin. If the fruit has a lot of blotches, it may be over-ripe (a few is normal). Another sign of over-ripe dragon fruit is a very dry, brittle brown stem, or brown on the tips of the ‘leaves’.
Hold the dragon fruit in your palm and try pressing the skin with your thumb or fingers — it should give in a little (like a ripe kiwi), but shouldn’t be too soft or mushy. If it’s very firm, it will need to ripen for a few days.
Dragon and cherry slice
Ingredients
For sponge
Whole egg 6 no
Castor sugar 1 cup
All-purpose flour 2 cups
Baking powder ½ tsp
Vanilla essence few drops
For icing/decoration
Whipping cream 1 cup
Black grapes few nos
Dragon fruit 1 no
Dark cherry filling ½ cup
Method
Pre heat oven to 350F.
Sift flour and baking powder together and keep aside.
Whip sugar and eggs till light and fluffy, add vanilla essence.
Fold in flour into the creamed butter and sugar.
Pour the mixture into a greased baking tray lined with baking paper.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until a knife inserted in the sponge comes out clean.
Remove and allow to cool, remove baking paper.
Cut into square shape if you want to make a cake or long rectangle if you want to make pastry and slice into three layers.
Prepare icing by combining dragon fruit pulp and whipped cream and dark cherry filling.
Layer each layer with the icing and decorate the top with dragon fruit slices and black grapes on side.
You can also add fruit slices of your choice on top to make your signature pastry/cake.
Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. Serve cold
Arabic mezze
Few days back I made a list of small bite meals around the world. One item on this list was mezze, which is a collection of finger foods. A mezze is a big part of the dining experience in Eastern Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Arab countries. The word ‘mezze’ means ‘taste’ and ‘snack’.
Mezze is a selection of Arabic specialties like the tapas from Spain, zakuski from Russia and amuse bouche from the West. These dishes are served and enjoyed at almost any time of the day whether it is breakfast, lunch, dinner or even an evening meal. Dishes that are served in a mezze are called mezedhes, and these vary by region. The Middle Eastern mezze usually comprises the following
Fulmedames: A dish made of mashed fava beans cooked with garlic, parsley, and lemon.
Falafel: Chickpeas cutlet served with tahini.
Baba ghanoush: A smokey eggplant dip with tahini.
Hummus: Chickpeas paste flavoured with garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and tahini.
Kibbeh: A dish made with spices, bulgur wheat and lamb meat and beef sausages.
Labneh: Thick strained yogurt
Cheeses made from cow’s or sheep’s milk
Muhammara: A dip made with roasted red peppers, walnuts, and pomegranate molasses.
Fresh vegetable salads with seasonal ingredients such as rocket leaves.
Tabbouleh: A salad made with bulgur, parsley, mint, tomatoes, lemon juice, and olive oil.
Fattoush: A salad made with toasted pita bread, fresh vegetables, lemon juice, olive oil, and sumac.
* Tarun Kapoor is executive chef at Doha’s Horizon Manor Hotel. Send your feedback to: exe.chef@horizonmanor.com