“Brown on the outside
But white from start,
This French classic
Gets an Indian heart.
Warm and cheesy
‘Bonjour’, it takes a bow,
Meatless yet addictive
‘Namaste’, it saved a cow.
‘Plein’, says the stomach
The mind wants more,
‘Bas’, your hand indicates
But your eyes aren’t sure!
You can’t stop at one
Nope, not at two or three,
You may have had six
Before you let them free.
Go on, indulge
‘Merci’, you smile,
This curried foreigner
Has you satisfied for a while..”
Now I don't consider myself anything close to knowledgeable of french cuisine. Hell, I barely even try to learn more about it because it's so complicated. But I love gougeres, and it was something I really wanted to bring into the 29. kitchen. After a few failed tries, I finally managed to get my Indian twist on these delish little cheese puffs.
Flour, butter, masalas and cheese. What can possibly go wrong!
Ingredients (makes 12-15 pieces)
Adapted from the recipe at thekitchn
½ cup water
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon coriander powder
½ teaspoon red chili flakes (or more if you want to increase the kick!)
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 tablespoon fresh or dried mint leaves, finely chopped/crushed
½ cup whole wheat flour (atta)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
¾ cup grated cheese (I used Indian Amul cheese, but Castello Moments Classic or Weissbier, Cheddar, Gouda or Parmesan work great as well)
Mix the water, butter and all dry spices and bring to a boil. Remove from heat once all the butter has melted. Add all the flour and mix well till the mixture looks a little like mashed potatoes. It will have a slight yellow color because of the whole wheat and curry powder. Put the mixture back on a medium-low flame and stir for 5-6 minutes to dry out the dough. The kitchn says that the dough is ready when it glistens and is thick enough to hold a spoon upright. You won’t see the glisten as much in this dough due to the yellow tinge. However, in 5-6 minutes it does dry up enough to hold a spoon upright. Remove from heat and keep mixing for a few minutes till it cools slightly. Beat the 2 eggs one by one and add them to the dough. Wait for each egg to be absorbed before adding the next. Once the dough is smooth and creamy, mix in all the cheese.
Heat the oven to 450°F. Place little scoops of the dough on a greased cookie tray and space them at least an inch apart. Bake for 5 minutes and then turn the heat down to 350°F. Bake for another 20-25 minutes, rotating the pans once during baking. Once done, the gougeres will be light brown, dry to touch but light and creamy on the inside. Cool slightly and share (or not!).
