flavors-of-the-world

It all started when a client showed up at my office a couple weeks ago bearing a signed copy of Maneet Chauhan’s new book Flavors of My World. While I didn’t know anything about this chef (I don’t have cable – it’s really a blessing as if I had Food Network I may never leave the house), it was an amazingly thoughtful gift indeed and what’s not to love about such a nice surprise in the middle of the work day?

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Then last week I was lucky enough to attend the National Restaurant Association show in Chicago and there she was again – Maneet Chauhan – the second speaker of the day. What a great opportunity to find out more about the author of my newest cookbook first hand.

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We were going to a BBQ last weekend and I tend to like to bring something unique – in part because I don’t want to repeat someone else’s efforts (nothing like three potato salads and no other side dishes showing up) but mostly because I like to try new things, introduce others to new things, and make something memorable. Plus I’m on this quest to pull down a cookbook each month I’ve never made something out of it and crack the pages – this month the cookbook just happened to be brand new.

Chef Chauhan made a less boozy version of this drink during her demonstration and it looked interesting but I have to be honest – one of the main reasons I chose it was that a lot of the recipes in the book are filled with ingredients that might be a bit of a challenge to find or I’d end up buying lots of specialty items for one recipe that then I may or may not use again. Besides the garam masala (which can be found at Whole Foods), all the other ingredients were familiar and easy to locate.

There were a lot of wrinkled noses when folks saw me putting an avocado in their cocktail, but I think that I can easily tout that I made a believer out of each and every one of them – even the guy that professed to hate avocados. The drink was beautiful, delicious and had a silky texture. The only downfall was that I didn’t have enough ingredients to make seconds.

Trying something new on a group is always a bit risky and doesn’t always pay off, but it sure is awesome when it does.

garam-masala-alpukat

Garam Masala Alpukat
Author: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 1 ripe avocado
  • 3 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 cup (about) milk
  • 3 Tbsp chocolate syrup (more for garnishing)
  • 1 Tbsp garam masala
  • 1 oz coffee liqueur, such as Kahlua
  • 1 oz Irish crème liqueur, such as Bailey’s
Instructions
  1. Squirt chocolate syrup to make pattern around the inside of 4 dessert drink glasses. Set aside.
  2. Cut the avocado into halves longwise. Remove the seed and scoop the avocado into a blender container. Add the condensed milk, ½ cup of the milk and enough ice to form a smoothie consistency. Blend to mix. Divide evenly among prepared glasses.
  3. Rinse blender.
  4. Blend the remaining milk, chocolate syrup, garam masala, coffee liqueur, Irish crème liqueur and enough ice to form a smoothie consistency in the blender. Divide evenly over the avocado mixture.
  5. Garnish with additional chocolate sauce. Serve immediately.

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