Apple Pie With A Desi Twist

Diwali is such an amazing festival. The streets are full of beautiful lights and crackers, and house is full of people and the sweets. We get the traditional sweets like laddu, jalebi or Kaju barfi from our neighbours but relatives living outside India usually come with bags full of designer and fancy sweets.

Diwali is the time when we all share, is ghar ki mithai us ghar, us ghar ki mithai kahi aur!

But even when you are done sharing all your sweets, we are always left with so many boxes, and the biggest problem we all face is this dilemma of what to do with them. So today, let us explore a new recipe of using all those leftover sweets. This is again a classic way of reinventing dishes and creating fusion food, bring two different worlds together. I believe food is all about exploring and letting your imaginations go wild. Let us begin:

Diwali Hangover

(Apple Pie with Laddu, Kaju Barfi and toasted Sesame Praline)

 Pie Crust

• Cold unsalted butter: 100 gms
• All-purpose flour (Maida): 200 gms
• Salt: 1 teaspoon
• Sugar: 15 gms (1 tablespoon)
• Ice Water:40-45 ml (4 tablespoons)

1. Mix the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl.
2. Add the chilled butter and mix till you get bread crumb consistency
3. Pour ice water litter by little. You don’t need to knead the dough, just bring the mixture
4. together and ensure that you can make a ball of your dough.
5. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
6. Flour your kitchen counter or board, and roll the dough into a circle
7. Ensure to not to make it too thick or too thin.
8. Put it in a pie mould, if there is extra on top, don’t worry just chop it off.
9. Prick your dish and freeze again for 15-20 minutes
10. Once chilled properly, bake it for 15-18 minutes at 150 degrees Celsius.
11. Take it from the oven and let it cool for a bit.

Note:

• You’ll need a 9-inch pie pan, a rolling pin and dried beans.
• Butter must be cold or frozen and cut in to cubes.
• If using salted butter, then skip the salt from the ingredients.

Apple Cinnamon Filling

• Apples: 2 (Thinly Sliced)
• Sugar – 1/2 cup
• Butter: 1 Tablespoon
• Ground Cinnamon: 1 Teaspoon

1. Wipe, quarter, core, peel, and slice apples
2. Cook apple, butter and cinnamon together for 3-4 minutes or till the apples become soft but not mushy.

Note: I like using green apples because of the tartness, but you can use any other apples.

Sesame Snaps

• Black Sesame Seeds: 1 Cup
• Sugar: 2 Cups

1. Lightly toss the black sesame seeds in pan.
2. Melt the sugar and let it caramalised.
3. Mix them together, pour on a baking sheet and spread. Let it cool.
4. Once cool, crush them roughly to get a mix texture of powder and bigger snaps.

Note:

1. Black sesame seeds can be substituted with white
2. While melting sugar, ensure that you are giving it a caramel colour and not burning it otherwise it will taste bitter.

We are done with all the cooking, and it is time to recreate and work with all the left over sweets.

Step 1:
Take the 9-inch pie, and fill it with apple cinnamon filling

Step 2:
Take the left over kaju barfi, crush them and roll them in a small disc. Ensure to match the size of pie while you are rolling the kaju barfis.

Step 3:
Put the disc on top of apple pie

Step 4:
Sprinkle some sesame snaps on top of kaju barfi

Step 5:
Now, take those leftover boondi laddu and crush them. Place them on top and cover the pie properly.

You have your Diwali Hangover ready. Enjoy alone, or give it to your neighbours. I am sure you will enjoy this new trick of recycling all those sweets and desserts.

 

This recipe is by Sadaf Hussain, who is currently a contestant in MasterChef India Season 5