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
