Valentine's Day: Chef Tenzin Losel Teaches How To Woo With Fusion Food

Valentine's Day allows people to express their love and care in various ways. One of the time-tested methods is cooking something special for your loved one. While one can always serve the favourite dishes of their beloved, but it gets really creative when one tweaks them with fun ingredients or make an arty fusion. If you feel puzzled about how to nail it, take some inspiration from Tenzin Losel, Corporate Chef, Mosaic Hotels. With his two decades of experience, he is a master of blending different ingredients to give an exquisite spin to the dish, often leading to an amazing fusion. 

For Valentine's Day, Chef Tenzin Losel has easy-to-follow recipes of savoury and sweet something. The first is an eclectic blend of noodles with rolls, and the second brings the best of ice creams and doughnuts. 

Fusion rolls with noodles, Image Credit: Mosaic Hotels

Portion size: 1 

Ingredients 

• Noodles      80gm           
• Chilli paste 10 gm           
• Garlic          8 gm           
• Soya sauce 5 ml              
• Salt 6 gm     
• Aromat powder    4gm   
• Flour 20 gm           
• Panko bread crumb 30 gm      
• 3 eggs                   
• 5 gm capsicum red/yellow                 
• 2 gm capsicum green               
• For Garnish                    
• 1 gm whipped cream  
• 1 gm beetroot caviar

Method Boiling Noodles

• Heat 1 litre of water in a pan over high heat till it comes to a rolling boil. Add salt and noodles to the pan.
• Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring a few times in between until the noodles are just cooked. Do not overcook; otherwise, the noodles will become mushy. Drain in a colander. 
• Add little oil over it. Toss the cooked noodles with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, so they don't stick to each other. Set them aside.

Egg Omelette Sheet 

• Take three eggs and beat them properly by adding a pinch of salt
• Heat a non-stick pan and make a thin-sheet omelette. Keep aside!  

Preparation Of Noodle

• Heat oil in a wok keeping the heat high. Garlic and sauté for a while. Add scallion greens, cabbage, carrots, and bell peppers and sauté for 2 minutes. Add soy sauce, vinegar, salt, black pepper powder, and chilli paste tossed well and keep cold sometimes
•  Make a thin batter with the flour and a pinch of salt and water
• Take an egg omelette sheet and place a spicy noodle in the centre. Roll it up, tie it, and dip it in batter before deep frying it in medium-hot oil until golden.
• Cut the roll into six pieces, top with beetroot caviar and edible flowers, and serve with either mayonnaise or sweet chilli sauce.

Beet Caviar  

• Whisk together beetroot juice and agar in a saucepan keeping the medium heat, and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Simmer for 10 mins.
• Remove from heat and let the mixture stand for 5 minutes
• Fill your syringe or squeeze bottle with the juice mixture and add it to the oil  

Strawberry Doughnut Ice-Cream 

Creamy strawberry doughnut, Image Source: Mosaic Hotels

Portion: 1

Ingredients

• 240 ml milk
• 8-gram dry yeast            
• 86 gm Amul butter        
• 65 gm breakfast sugar  
• 500 gm refined flour
• 3 gm nutmeg    
• 3 gm vanilla extract       
• 4 gm salt            
• 500 ml refined oil           
• 1 doughnut       
• 5 gm sarda melon
• 5 gm watermelon         
• 5 gm apple        
• 30 gm strawberry ice cream       
• 8 gm strawberry crush  
• 15 gm cornflakes          
• 6 gm icing sugar

Method

Donut Dough: 

• Take lukewarm milk, add dry yeast, and keep it for a while. 
• Knead dough with the help of all the above ingredients and make a smooth and stretchy dough,

Divide: Form it into a ball (for proofing). In a greased bowl, place the dough ball. Now grease it to avoid developing a crust over it.

Proof: Keep the dough covered with a clean kitchen towel for proofing. Now place in a warm place and allow to rise for 1-2 hours. 

• Flatten the dough, and with a 4-inch round doughnut cutter, cut out as circles as you can and sprinkle flour on the bottom working table so that once the dough has fermented, it won't stick to the bottom. Cover the cut-out doughnut and allow it to rise for nearly 45 minutes to 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.
• Heat oil in a heavy wok to 350F. To fry doughnuts, drop several of them at a time and allow becoming golden before turning them to the other side. It will take around 1-2 minutes per side.
• Now, to drain, transfer the doughnut to paper towels or a wire rack. Allow it to cool down. 
• Cut the doughnut in half and fill it with strawberry ice cream and chopped fruits, then place the half-cut and coated with cornflakes on the sides of the doughnuts. 

Serve cold!