Forget chocolate as a dessert! Be prepared to eat it as part of the main course, as Sapna Sarfare brings in chocolate main course recipes which will delight your taste buds in a different way.
Just say chocolate and your mouths start salivating. There is no addiction better than chocolate addiction. Yet, we limit our chocolate fantasies to desserts and some odd chocolate delights. How many would consider this gift from Mexico as a great addition to main course? Not many! Yet, quite a few cuisines and upcoming culinary delights have chocolate as a great addition to the main course.
For Chef Gaurav Anand, Executive Sous Chef, The Westin Pune Koregaon Park, the all-rounder chocolate plays an important role in other gastronomical courses, despite its prominent role in dessert. “Chocolate has many benefits, as it lowers cholesterol and even helps in preventing memory loss! Chocolates are also suggested as a dietary staple for pregnant women, and dark chocolate also boosts athletes.”
Also Read: Are fine dining restaurants loosing charm due to fusion foods…
Umang Tewari of Big Fish Ventures feels so too. “Even though it is quite a new concept for most people in India, we still believe that chocolate is an all rounder as an ingredient. Although it is the workhorse of the pastry world, it still has the versatile personality and we can mould it into any form whether it be for a sweet or savory dish.”
For the uninitiated, chocolate originates from the Aztec word Xocolatl, which means bitter water. This much loved 3,000 years old ingredient was ‘invented’ by the Olmecs from Central America. The Mayans and Aztecs then cultivated chocolate further. In the 1500s, Spanish brought it to Spain where it was limited to the royalty and elite. It later made its way to France and very soon Europe went crazy over it. Many for a long time followed the Mayans and Aztecs by having it as a bitter drink. Then they started adding sugar to make its flavor better. Chocolate sweets came around 1850 and then chocolate savories ways were developed. Early colonization in equatorial regions was partly based on demands for chocolate and sugar.
Gaurav suggests famed dishes like Grenadian Chocolate Braised Pork Chops, Chocolate Sorbet, Chocolate and Avocado Tacos, Grilled Fillet Mignon with Chocó Coffee Barbeque Sauce and Chicken Mole Quiche with chocolate as the main ingredients. Umang, on the other hand, recalls dishes like Spiced Beef in Chocolate Sauce and Chocolate Lobster Taco.
Also Read: Oh Dough-Getting Cookied with Ice-cream
Most know that in Mexico, chocolate is used in mole sauces including mole poblano. But the flavor is just for a bit of intricacy. European countries combine wild games with dark chocolate to cut the strong flavors. Various barbeque rubs include unsweetened cocoa powder for flavor. Italians have pasta dishes with chocolate, including in sauces. They also mix chocolate with fried eggplant for festivals. Spaniards have dishes like stuffed squid with chocolate sauce. These days, chocolate is fast becoming part of many dishes in avant-garde preparations over the globe.
If you ask about their favourite, Gaurav lists Roasted Pumpkin and Chocolate Ravioli with Apple and Pine Nuts. For Umang, it has to be the Chocolate Squidgy Cake. “They were a storm in the ‘70s and was a must have at every party. With an incredibly light and soufflé like flavor, it can be served any day and anytime.”
If you want to include it in Indian dishes, Umang Tewari suggests, “The bitter taste of dark chocolate works wonderfully to highlight the hidden flavours to enhance the depth in a dish. It is also great to bring out the spicy and smoky nature of a dish. We can use cocoa powder in Mutton Curry to enhance its flavours. One can use cocoa powder to get that enriching flavor and aroma in Indian curries. Using chocolate as an element in Indian cuisine is all about innovation and creativeness hence it is really important to understand the nature of the dish being created so as to use the right elements.”
Chef Kshama Prabhu, Executive Chef, The Bar Stock Exchange, adds, “Chocolate can be played around with Indian spices and could be used as marinades for kebabs. It can also be used for gravies but I feel the treatment given to it should be right as it could make or break a dish. Also, it has to be made in a manner where it suits the Indian pallet.”
Most might ask regarding the health factors of eating chocolate. Pune-based nutritionist and author of What’s for Lunch Rita Date narrate the facts. “Though not a health food, cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate is made from cacao beans and has some beneficial properties such as flavanols which are antioxidants. These are known to help reduce BP and help improve vascular function. It has also been linked to improve mood and help for menstrual cramps. Most commercial chocolates are adulterated with high quantities of sugar and fat. Dark chocolate has less fat and more antioxidants. The chocolate should be at least 70% cacao to be considered to have health benefits. Now that the news of cocoa being healthy is getting attention chocolate manufactures are making more of their products with ‘dark chocolate’. However, the chocolates are far from 70% cacao. There is just too much fat and sugar to get any benefits. Even the highest quality chocolate is a high energy dense food with loads of calories. It needs to be eaten sparingly. Two squares of dark chocolate (at least 70%) is a good number. Including chocolate in your main course with dark chocolate can be nutritious, if used in the right quantities.”
Chocolate never got better than this.
[alert type=”e.g. warning, danger, success, info” title=””]
CHOCOLATE SPICED PORK CHOPS
INGREDIENTS
Firmly Packed Brown Sugar – 2 Tbsp
Italian Seasoning – 1 Tbsp
Onion Powder – 2 Tsp
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – 1 ½ Tsp
Garlic Powder – 1 ½ Tsp
Paprika – 1 Tsp
Ground Red Pepper Flakes – ½ Tsp
Ground Cumin – ½ Tsp
Salt – ½ Tsp
Ground Black Pepper – ½ Tsp
Pork Chops – 4 (4 Cm Thick) Bone-In
Vegetable Oil – 1 Tbsp
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Combine the brown sugar, Italian seasoning, onion powder, cocoa powder, garlic powder, paprika, red pepper, cumin, salt and black pepper together in a large bowl. Rub the mixture evenly over pork chops. Pour the oil into a large oven-proof frying pan set over a medium-high heat. Add the pork chops and cook for 3 minutes per side. Transfer the frying pan to the oven and bake the pork chops for about 3 minutes, until cooked through. Remove the pan from the oven, lift the chops onto a serving platter and serve at once.
[/alert]
[alert type=”e.g. warning, danger, success, info” title=””]
CHOCOLATE RAVIOLLI WITH BUTTER SAGE SAUCE
INGREDIENTS
For Pasta Dough,
For Pumpkin Stuffing,
Sage, a few sprigs
Butter – 50 Gms
METHOD
Prepare the pasta dough by mixing all the ingredients mentioned together. To make the stuffing, cut pumpkin into small cube, take butter in a pan and sauté onions and pumpkin together; add thyme seasoning and pine nuts once the pumpkin is cooked. Slightly mash the pumpkin with fork and keep aside. Roll the pasta sheet to a workable thinness, and cut it into 4 inch squares. Place the stuffing in the centre and close the ravioli with another square of pasta dough, seal the sides tightly. Take a pan and melt butter and sage together. Blanch the raviolis in boiling water for 4 minutes, coat them in butter sage sauce and serve.
[/alert]
[alert type=”e.g. warning, danger, success, info” title=””]
COCOA CHILLI CHICKEN BREAST
INGREDIENTS
Cocoa Powder – 1/4 Cup
Skinless Chicken Breasts – 1
Salt, to taste
Brown Sugar – 1/2 Cup
Onion Powder – 1 Tbsp
Ground Cinnamon – 1/2 Tsp
Oregano – 1/2 Tbsp
Chili Powder – 2 Tbsp
Garlic Powder – 1 Tbsp
Black Pepper – ½ Tbsp
Cooking Oil – 2 Tbsp
Garam Masala – ½ Tbsp
Yogurt – 2 Tbsp
METHOD
Combine all the dry ingredients with yogurt and mix well for 3-4 minutes, until fully incorporated. Take chicken breasts out on a clean sheet pan and completely coat the chicken breast with the yogurt mixture. Now over medium-high flame heat a large sauté pan, when the pan is hot, add cooking oil. Add chicken breasts carefully; make sure the skin-side is down. Now turn heat to medium and cook for 3-4 minutes. Carefully place the sauté pan into pre-heated 375° degree oven for 10 minutes or until chicken breasts is completely cooked. Garnish chili chocolate chicken breast with oregano and serve hot.
[/alert]
