The Tastemakers: Bani Nanda On Her Unusual Kaffir Lime Pairings | Verve Magazine
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Wine & Dine
July 23, 2018

The Tastemakers: Bani Nanda On Her Unusual Kaffir Lime Pairings

Text by Tina Dastur

The chef talks about how kaffir lime can transform a dish

Bani Nanda, 27
Chef and owner, Miam Pâtisserie, New Delhi

Power ingredient “I love travelling and always bring back ingredients from different countries, especially from Southeast Asia. Exotic ingredients which aren’t popular excite me. I have an affinity towards the citrus family because I love the zing they add to any profile. So, my power ingredient would have to be kaffir lime.”

Why “Native to Thailand, these limes have a wrinkly green peel and are extremely aromatic. There’s a bitter-sour note in the zest that really goes well with milk and cream.”

First tryst “When I launched Miam in 2015, I paired it with passion fruit curd and a coconut sponge cake. I infused the kaffir lime zest in milk and made a light, fluffy mousse. The filling was passion fruit curd and the sponge was a coconut dacquoise.”

Recipe

“I once paired kaffir lime zest with raspberry and I thought that was quite bold because raspberry has a sour taste and a seedy texture. But the two flavours complemented each other beautifully. And that realisation resulted in my kaffir lime and raspberry pound cake that goes well with tea!”

Ingredients: 130g castor sugar, three eggs, 200g flour, 10g baking powder, 200g unsalted butter, 15g honey, 30g milk, two kaffir limes, 100g frozen raspberries.

Method: Beat the eggs and mix with castor sugar in a stand mixer until it reaches a ribbon-like consistency. Separately, bring the milk and honey to a boil. Add the flour and baking powder alternately to the butter liquid mix until the batter comes together smoothly. Add in the zest of two kaffir limes and the frozen raspberries. Bake in a four-inch tin for 18 to 20 minutes at 170 degrees Celsius.

Next: Anahita Dhondy

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