Tarun Kapoor is executive chef at Doha’s Horizon Manor Hotel. Send your feedback to: [email protected]
Waffles are made of sweet leavened batter cooked between two hot plates to give it a unique shape and surface impression. The recipes vary from one region to another but waffles mainly comprise beaten eggs with flour, milk and sugar and flavouring cooked between two greased hot plates, served with choice of maple syrup, honey, whipped cream or ice cream.
The batter can be prepared in advance and kept refrigerated up to a week. Early waffle irons were made up of two metal plates connected by a hinge, and equipped with long handles used to hold the apparatus over the fire.
Designs on the plates not only decorated the flat cake, but allowed it to cook quickly and more evenly. Once the decorated kind became popular, they were called Gaufres, a word related to wafer.
Gaufres were made of a coarse flour, usually barley and oats. They were unsweetened and unleavened, as the common folks ate them. Later, when they spread to the upper classes, they were much tastier, and contained eggs, milk and honey. The irons got more decorative, as the simple honeycomb pattern was replaced by more ornamental patterns.
Waffles became extremely popular and were sold by street vendors. Waffle parties, or “waffle frolics,” as they were called, soon became a stylish way to entertain. Guests could enjoy their waffles either sweet — with maple syrup or molasses — or savoury. Kidney stew was said to be a popular topping for non-sweetened waffles.
Waffle with fruits
(Serves 2)
Ingredients
Eggs 2 nos
Flour 2 cups
Milk 1 ¾ cups
Butter, clarified ½ cup
Sugar 1 tbsp
Baking powder 4 tsp
Vanilla extracts ½ tsp
Kiwi 1 no
Mango 1 no
Apple 1 no
Sweet melon ½ no
Vanilla ice cream 1 scoop
Mint sprig 1 no
Method
Beat eggs in a large bowl until fluffy.
Dissolve sugar in milk and keep aside.
Pour milk into the whipped eggs and add vanilla, and clarified butter.
Sift flour with baking powder and fold with the above mixture.
Preheat waffle iron and grease it with butter and pour the prepared mixture in it and cook till golden brown and remove.
Cut all the fruits in dices and fill the waffle with fruits and place an ice cream scoop in centre.
Garnish with mint leaf and serve.
Quesadilla
Quesadilla is a flour or corn bread known as tortilla filled with beans, cheese, flavourings and choice of meat with abundance of cilantro leaves served with avocado dip, sour cream or a salsa dip. Mexico is the birth place of quesadilla but they are popular across the globe.
Ingredients
(Makes 10 quesadillas)
Chicken breast 200g
Red kidney beans 100g
Fajita seasoning 3 tbsp
Cumin powder ½ tsp
Oil 2 tbsp
Green bell peppers 1no
Red bell peppers 1no
Onion 1no
Flour tortillas 10 nos
Cheddar cheese 120g
Monterey jack cheese 120g
Salt to taste
White pepper powder to taste
Cilantro leaves chopped ½ cup
Guacamole 1 cup
Sour cream ½ cup
For tomato salsa
Tomato 3 nos
Olive oil ½ tbsp
Vinegar 1 tbsp
Cilantro leaves chopped 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Method
For quesadilla
Season chicken breast with salt pepper and oil and grill on a hot plate or saute pan from both sides till chicken is cooked.
Allow chicken to cool and cut into small green peas sized dices.
Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onion and saute till onion turns translucent.
Add diced bell peppers and boiled red kidney beans, mash using the back of ladle to get the kidney beans half mashed.
Add the fajita seasoning, cumin powder and chicken pieces.
Toss well to combine the flavouring, add cilantro leaves and adjust the seasoning.
Remove from flame, add grated Monterey jack cheese.
Take a tortilla bread spread guacamole and grate cheddar cheese.
Place 2–3tbsp of prepared filling in half of tortilla and fold to make half-moon shape.
Heat a skillet and cook from both sides to get nice crispy crust.
Remove and sprinkle some more cheese to garnish and serve with guacamole, sour cream and prepared tomato salsa.
Note: You can also bake the quesadilla in oven for 5 minutes at 180 degree C instead of cooking on skillet.
For tomato salsa
Blanch and peel tomato and deseed them.
Cut them into small dices and add chopped cilantro, olive oil and seasoning.
Blend in a mixer top for a coarse dip, take care not to blend it more otherwise the dip will be very smooth.
Refrigerate and serve along quesadilla.
