Taste, Issue 49

Blackberry and White Chocolate “Never-Fail” Muffins

2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
¾ cup sugar
100g melted butter      
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk                       
1 cup frozen blackberries
¾ cup white chocolate buttons

Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add sugar. Whisk melted butter, egg, vanilla and milk, then add to flour mix. Add fruit and chocolate and mix lightly. Spoon into muffin pans and bake for 15-18 minutes at 190C.

Serve with scrambled eggs, bacon, chilli roast tomatoes and guacamole – a meal to set you up for the day ahead of hunting-and-gathering activities at the beach.

Chilli roast tomatoes:
4 vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced in half
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 red chilli, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
olive oil
1 teaspoon brown sugar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Potato rosti:
600g potatoes (about 4), peeled and grated
bunch of chives, finely snipped
2 eggs
knob of butter and rice bran oil for frying
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve:
crispy bacon for 4
scrambled eggs for 4
guacamole (1 mashed avocado, juice of 1 lime,
few drops of Tabasco and salt)

To slow-roast tomatoes, preheat oven to 130°C. Place tomatoes, cut side up, in a single layer in a baking dish. Slide garlic and chilli slices amongst the tomato seeds. Drizzle each tomato with a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Sprinkle brown sugar over and season well. Roast for 40 minutes.
To prepare rosti, use your hands to squeeze as much water as possible out of the potatoes; spread them out on a clean tea towel to dry. In a bowl, combine potatoes, chives, eggs, salt and a generous amount of black pepper.
Heat butter and oil in a frypan over medium heat. Divide rosti mixture into four; cook in batches if required. Fry for 3-5 minutes on each side until nicely browned and cooked through. Place on kitchen towels and keep warm in the oven with the tomatoes.
Prepare bacon and scrambled eggs.

My jaipur must-sees and do's

India is one place where I would highly recommend using a travel agent, a guide and a driver. It was great to work with Jen Boyd at Asia Transpacific Journeys who helped me put my itinerary together and organized all the logistics.

Accommodation:
We loved the Samode Haveli in Jaipur and the Samode Palace (samode.com/palace-in-jaipur/palace-hotels-in-rajasthan.html). The spectacular palace is situated about 47 kilometres north-west from Jaipur and sits next to a small village where handicrafts and tools are still made on the street (a great place to buy lac bangles). Even if you don’t plan to stay, book in here for breakfast or lunch.

Shopping:
Soma Textiles, Indigo Carpets and Textiles, Anokhi Home, Ratan Textiles, Ridhi Sidhi Textiles, Royal Kite Centre, The Silver Market (Chameliwala market), Silver & Art Palace, the utensil market.

Sightseeing:
Temple of Krishna, Amber Fort, Jantar Mantar (18th-century astronomical observation site), Palace of Winds, City Palace, the flower market, the spice market. A series of city walks – cuisine, bazaar and craft – is offered by Jaipur Walks (jaipurwalks@yahoo.com) or ask your tour guide.

Eating:
The major hotels and many of the homestays offer good-quality Indian food. Especially good: Samode Haveli, Samode Palace, Anokhi Cafe and Hotel Diggi Palace, plus street eats recommended by the guide.

Reading: Love Jaipur, Rajasthan by Fiona Caulfield, Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo, Nine Lives and City of Djinns by William Dalrymple.

An Annabel Langbein recipe

The trick to any dal is to temper it with flavoured oil after it is cooked.