Thursday, November 6, 2008

A little bit of Java

School mornings always began early. Seldom was the day that started without a whiff of Gurumoorthy Aunty's filter coffee. It was heady, that aroma. And at 5 am, it seemed especially enticing. While, miserable and sleepy me had to contend with plain ol' Bournvita, an egg-sandwich and a couple of almonds, Rajesh had his mother's coffee with piping idlis, no less. On other days, he had dosai and filter coffee. All that urad dal and delicious coffee concoction was responsible for his math genius. Or so I believed. Mum of course refused to buy into this brilliant theory and continued my staple of cocoa, badams and eggs.

Several years later, I had my first cup of cappuccino at a new bookstore in Pune. It wasn't great by any means. Certainly wasn't Gurumoorthy Aunty's heavenly filter coffee. But, I had acquired a deep love for the fragrance of roasted coffee beans. That, mingled with the crisp smell of new books was like having my grandmother's fish curry for a month straight -- Simply divine. It's another thing that later I was bouncing off walls and couldn't sleep the entire night.

Funny as it is, 10 years later, every time I have a cuppa, I am pretty much the same. Hyperactive and sleepless. A decade is a long time to come to terms with the fact that mine is a system built for hot chocolates. I am supposed to only gulp in the fragrance of coffee by the nostril-fulls, but never ingest it. Every time I come across a scientific clipping citing the ill-effects of caffeine, I feel a little happy. As only someone who is denied one of life's most simple pleasures would feel.

But, but, but. This was the situation until a year ago. One afternoon, as I was browsing through one of my treasured finds from a local thrift-store, I chanced upon a recipe for cappuccino muffins. Ordinarily, I would have skipped right by, but that day I was in the mood for some experimentation. Besides, I thought to myself, it would make a nice little treat for AM's colleagues the following day. As it turned out, it has now become one of our house-favorites. So far, we've made these at least half-a-dozen times. My husband is yet to reach office with those muffins.

Given my body's resistance to all things caffeine, you would think I would be wise not to have any. For a whiff of these what's breaking a few chairs and a sleepless night or two?

♣ "Pick me up, as you go, go"

This recipe for cappuccino muffins takes espresso and bittersweet chocolate to a whole new level. When you don't have time for either breakfast or a hot cup of Joe, these muffins give you a shot of both. Filling, delicious and oh so heady -- can there be a better way to begin that rushed morning? Since I love these little ones so very much, I am marching them off to play and mingle -- hope you like these Meeta!

"For a deeper, more intense chocolate flavor," the authors, James Barrett and Wendy Smith, "cut their own chocolate chips from a bar of good quality bittersweet chocolate."


From the Metropolitan Bakery Cookbook

You need:


1/8 C instant espresso powder
1 1/8 C's milk, heated until hot
1 1/4 C's all-purpose flour
1/2 +1/8 C's granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 + 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 + 1/4 C's bittersweet chocolate chunks

Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Grease or butter 12 two-and-half-inch muffin-pan cups. Melt the butter and set aside to cool. Then heat the milk until it is just hot and dissolve in the espresso powder. I strain this mixture, but the book doesn't suggest so, skip the straining if you think it unnecessary. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool.

In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Once the espresso-milk mixture has cooled down, whisk into it the egg and vanilla extract. Then, whisk this espresso-milk mixture into the sifted ingredients just until blended. Stir in the melted butter, and then fold in the chocolate chunks with a rubber spatula.

Spoon the batter evenly (I pour in about 2 tablespoons) into the muffin-pan cups. Bake for 14-16 minutes, rotating the pan between the upper and lower oven racks halfway through baking. Check by inserting a wooden skewer in the center of the muffins, once it comes out clean, remove and cool the muffins in the pan for five minutes. Then, remove from pan and cool completely on wire racks.

Bite into some moist deliciousness coupled with this lovely extract from the novel Devadasi by Kasturi Sreenivasan ...

Chapter I - The Course of True Lovers (1977):

"Outside the temple, the petty vendors along the dusty street were doing a brisk trade by the light of smokey oil lamps..."


"Though Palayam was only a small town, one of its eating places started serving a new drink called coffee. It had been introduced by the British rulers and there were many stories about it. Some argued that, since it was of European origin, it must necessarily be unclean; others said it might be alcoholic. In any case, very few tried it, since a tumbler full cost as much as half an anna, while butter-milk was served free in many places and coconut water including the tender coconut meat was only a paisa. Only the most daring or the wealthy could afford the exotic brew ... "


22 comments:

Manasi said...

Stunning pictures and beautiful write up Sheetal(as always!)
I feel the same with coffee, jittery and 'bouncing off the walls' yet can't resist the ocassional dark Madras coffee with milky white foam on top.
Those cupcakes look good for a milder fix though.

Manasi said...

Consider yourself awarded :)
http://kisss-the-cook.blogspot.com/2008/10/big-blogging-break-awards-and-heartfelt.html

Sheetal Kiran said...

Thank you for your wonderful comments and the award Manasi ... I am so touched! Thank you for making my day ... hugs.

Adhi Potoba said...

Mmmm, I miss me a hot cuppa Bournvita from the dented light brown tin.

Anonymous said...

Nowadays I drink coffee just to have the energy to put on my shoes! Maybe that's an exaggeration...but I do love a fragrant cupful! And these muffins, well, if it's any indication, I was looking over the ingredient list to see if I had everything handy. :-)

Sheetal Kiran said...

Indrajeet: ahh ... the days of Bournvita! I really love it with toasted bread ... mhhhmmm

Pel: Tell me about it ... on those i-can't-even-tie-my-shoe-days, I really want me a cuppa, even if it will keep me awake the entire night.

Meeta K said...

Sheetal this really looks great. I love your story and the muffins are perfect with them! Thanks for joing us!

Kiran said...

Hi Sheetal,
Makes a wonderful reading.I liked the imaginative pic also.Don't know when I will have these divine goodies and some more!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kiran

Snooky doodle said...

the pics are great and the cupcakes so cute and yummy :)

Sagari said...

beautiful pics sheetal

Anita said...

The pairing of coffee and chocolate was definitely made in heaven....
And now I want to read that book!

Sheetal Kiran said...

Meeta: Thanks for having me over and hosting this wonderful, wonderful event!

Kiran: Thanks Dad! Going to fedex you some ;)

Snooky Doodle: Cupcakes and muffins are really the cutesies of the food world!

Sagari: Will convey your lovely compliment to my ace photographer husband :D

Anita: Amen to that.

Cynthia said...

That is such a beautiful photograph.

Deepthi Shankar said...

I loved the photograph .. yummy muffins

sra said...

Hi Sheetal, you have a fun blog here, thanks for visiting mine and allowing me to discover yours.

Srikitchen said...

first time to ur blog and it is very nice
do visit my blog and join in the sweet event going in my blog!

jesse said...

Wow, I'm left speechless by your amazingly artistic pictures! And I love your style of writing... oh I'm so glad I found your blog. =D

Sheetal Kiran said...

Cynthia, Deesha: Thank you :D

Sra: The world of blogging is truly wonderful!

Srilekha: I am actively planning a post for you.

Jesse: Thanks a bunch for your kind and encouraging words .. keep dropping by.

Uj said...

Amazing pics and a very sweet write up.. :) Muffin looks yum and with coffee & Chocolate it must be a geat combination

Sagari said...

Hi Sheetal , all your pictures are wonderfull ,u have a lovely blog , one more thing ,can I have your email id plz

Sheetal Kiran said...

UJ, Sagari: Thank you both.. The photos are AM :D will let him know. Sagari, e-mailing you my e-mail address.

marina said...

Hi,

I loved the photograph. And a really great post. I'm a very foodie person and can't do without my coffee.
I'm a big fan of filter coffee as well. And I admit that Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And I love being part of the filter coffee (kappi) culture down south.
I love my coffee to such an extent that I brought a Fresh And Honest Coffee Machine for my office. Its more than just satisfying, believe me. Its saves me and my employees endless trips to Coffee Houses.
I just wanted you to Checkout the type of machines that meet your business needs/ personal machines for top corporate management or even your homes at http://www.fresh-honest.com/
Thanks
Marina Lobo