Shreya Banerjee

•Garam Masala•
"𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒔."

The minute someone says spices, most people around the world instantly think about the Indian cuisine. Within Indian cuisine, garam masala has to be one of the most used spice mixes. It is also used in Pakistani, Nepalese,Bangladeshi and Afghan cuisine. It has different compositions across different regions with each one being equally authentic as the other. Every spice in the mix is first dry roasted and then ground. You can adjust the quantities of each spice according to your personal preference. In North India, it is mostly used in the powder form whereas in South India it is made into a paste to use. The hotness of the spice mix increases as we move from North to South. The spice mix adds warmth, sweetness, floral notes, and touch of heat. The most common mix used in my house consists of: coriander seeds,black peppercorns, green cardamom, cloves, cumin, cinnamon, bay leaves, black cardamom, nutmeg, mace and star anise. We usually add it towards the end of the cooking process, switch off the flame, cover it and let it sit for sometime for the aroma to spread throughout the dish evenly. It makes all the difference in a dish.

Shreya Banerjee

Black Forest Cake
"𝑪𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒔 𝒎𝒆 𝒅𝒖𝒎𝒃 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. 𝑪𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔."

It comprises of a chocolate sponge cake with a cherry and whipped cream layering. It originated from Germany. Authentically, maraschino cherries were used for the purpose. It is decorated using some more whipped cream, cherries and chocolate shavings. The sponge is soaked with kirchwasser which is a traditional sour cherry liquor produced in Germany.
The name black forest may have come from two different places. The first school of thought is that it comes from the black forest mountain range which is popular for its cherries. The second school of thought is that the cake was inspired from the dress of the women of black forest. Their dress comprised of a unique hat with huge red pom-poms on top similar to the garnishing of the cake.
This cake gives a burst of freshness.

Shreya Banerjee