Plum's the word

You know that the fruit in question is a visually appealing one if a colour is named after it (or if it is named after a colour?). There’s orange, of course, and then there’s plum. A rich, fine-as-wine shade that adds a hue of elegance to everything.

But aesthetics aside, the fruit promises plenty of health benefits. On this aspect, Chef Sagar S. Bajaj comments, “Plum is rich in antioxidants and it helps maintain a healthy heart by reducing cholesterol level. The skin of plum contains a pigment known as ‘anthocyanin’ that helps fight breast cancer, cavity, and oral cancer, among other things. It also improves bone density and enhances your skin.”

So, this way, be it the 2,000 shades, er, varieties of plum found all over the world, or the fruit’s strong linkages with European and American cultures, there’s nothing glum about plum. More so, Christmas is incomplete without plum cake. Plum sauce is a Chinese food staple, while sloe gin relies on drupes (a relative of the plum) for its flavouring.

Similarly, there are plenty of ways the fruit can be used, across all palates and flavour profiles. On the kind of zing that plum adds to the dish, Sagar says, “it has a distinct sweet and tart flavour and is mostly used to make jams or is fermented to make wine. Also, it is dried to make prunes. Hence, plum is really a rewarding ingredient to use while cooking.”

SAITAMA

Ingredients

• Passion fruit-infused gin    50ml
• Fresh passion fruit purée    10ml
• Yuzu-infused sake    20ml
• Plum liqueur reduction    20ml
• Fresh lemon juice    20ml
• Garnish Shisho leaves

Method

• Take all the abovementioned ingredients in the specified quantities and mix them together, pour the cocktail into a glass, and enjoy your drink.

— Recipe by Raj Negi, mixologist at Dragonfly Experience

Plum Dumpling

Ingredients

• Peeled potatoes    900gms
• Egg    1
• Salt    A pinch
• Oil    3tbsp
• Plain flour
• Fresh plums, plum jam or plum compote

Method

• Take potatoes and cook them for at least an hour, until very soft. Then, take a fork to peel and mash. Add an egg to the mixture, a pinch of salt, three tablespoons of oil, and as much flour you need to make it smooth.
• Then, roll it out into a thin sheet (about five millimetres thick), and cut into squares. Put half a plum or a teaspoon of plum jam on each square. Wrap the dough around the filling and seal the edges. Cook in boiling water for ten to fifteen minutes.
• Serve with bread crumbs fried in butter.

PLUM PANNA COTTA

Ingredients

For panna cotta    6 por.    

• Cream    450gms    
• Plum puree    50gms    
• Sugar    70gms    
• Gelatin sheets    1.5    

For plum puree 5 por.    

• Pitted plum    400gms    
• Sugar    50gms    
• Butter    25gms    
• Vanilla pod    1/4 pod

For muddled plum    1por.    

• Cut up plum    40gms    
• Plum puree     10gms    
• Butter    10gms    

Method (For plum puree)

Heat the butter in the pan and add the cut up plum, followed by water and then sugar.    
Slowly cook it to a mushy stage, take it off the heat, and add the vanilla pod.
Cool the mix down and then blitz it in a food processor.    
Pass through a fine sieve and store.

FOR PANNA COTTA

• Soak gelatin sheets in icy cold water.
• Warm the cream and take it off the heat, adding in the plum puree and sugar, and mixing it well.
• Add in the soaked gelatin sheet and pass the mix through a fine mesh strainer.
• Cool the mix and pour it into a tumble mould.
• Chill the moulds in a fridge to set.

FOR MUDDLED PLUM

• In a pan, add the butter to follow the cut up plum. Lightly with a wooden spatuala, crush it in the pan and add the plum puree and take it off the heat.

ASSEMBLING THE DESSERT

• Pour in the muddled plum in a bowl-plate.    
• Demould the plum panna cotta over the muddled plum.

PRESENTATION

• Garnish with edible plum flower.

SHELF LIFE

• Panna cotta: 3 days

— Recipe by Chef Sagar S. Bajaj, corporate chef, First Fiddle F&B Pvt. Ltd