Indian Spiced Iced Tea

I opened a jar of cardamom and star anise this morning. I was craving their sweetness and warmth. But I wasn't sure what to do with them.

The fragrant spices reminded me of a warm, generous friend, Roberta. She and her husband paid us a recent surprise visit. They managed to steal time away from their business in Oklahoma City. We gave them a tour of Canada's capital. We ate and laughed, talked politics and travel, traded tales about our children.

Roberta is a finance executive-cum-art history expert. She herself is an artist who specialises in portraits and still life paintings. She has an eye for finding exquisite things and unique gifts. For example:

That's Shakespeare taking a bath in my tea cup. The cup and saucer were from the Van Gogh exhibition at the National Gallery. The Shakespeare cut out came with Voltaire, Dante and Goethe in a set called "Tea Poetics" which Roberta picked up from another gallery in her neck of the woods.
A little chuckle with my herbal tea.

Roberta's artful gifts were the inspiration for my Indian Spiced Iced Tea.

Indian Spiced Iced Tea
3 tea bags
2 cardamom pods, bruised
2 pieces of star anise
1 cinnamon stick 
honey (optional)

Brew the tea and let it steep with the spices for four minutes.
Make sure you put your timer on because a minute longer might make your tea bitter.
Once the tea is ready, pour it into a pitcher full of ice.
Add honey to taste.
Enjoy!

If you like Indian flavours, here's a quick rundown on essential Indian spices.

Spanish Beavertails

What could be more Ottawa than skating along the Rideau Canal with a fresh BeaverTail resting in your wool mitten? Skating is a little risky for me now. But a BeaverTail? Always a welcome treat.

This weekend, I tinkered with my newest kitchen gadget and made a "Spanish BeaverTail." No, not with chorizo and manchego cheese. Although, I could be on to something.

I enlisted the help of a mini-army for my churros marathon. My 11-year-old was in charge of loading the churros maker. His nine-year-old sister sprinkled the cinnamon sugar and struggled hard to keep her fingers out of her mouth. My five year-old looked on, waiting for scraps. Our 18-year-old Filippo piped the dough into the oil. 

My aim was to make a gluten free version that doesn't need to be deep fried. I can hear them now, my Spanish and Latin American friends wagging their fingers in disapproval, "Impostor! Qué sacrilegio."

Churros need to eaten immediately. Ever try a cold churro?  It's a limp grease stick. My baked version can be enjoyed fresh out of the oven, or saved for later and reheated in the toaster oven. And they're still delicious. Just ask the official testers.

The kids said, "These taste kinda like BeaverTails." Best of all, we didn't need to brave the frigid cold (-27 degrees) to get them.
   
The Dough
The basic churro ingredients are hot water, oil, flour, sugar, salt and an egg. For a gluten free version, I use a combination of rice and sorghum flours.


The Device
A churros maker is a metal piping bag. A regular piping bag or a milk bag with the corner snipped off does the job too. A star-shaped tip creates ridges which help the cinnamon sugar and chocolate stick.



The Technique
If you use the deep-fry method, you'll need lots of oil and a deep skillet. Make sure your oil is very hot. I use my tried and true chop stick test. Place a wooden chop stick or tooth pick into the oil to touch the bottom of the pan. If tiny bubbles appear, the oil is hot enough. It's best to pipe out three or four strips  at a time.

Fried Churros dusted with cinnamon sugar. Nutella on the side.

If you prefer the baked method, pipe the dough onto a baking sheet and brush the churros with vegetable oil. Bake in a hot oven (around 425 degrees) for 10 - 15 minutes each side.

Baked Churros

A-K's Churros Dough
Makes about 8 sticks

1 cup fennel tea 
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
pinch salt
1 tablespoon coconut sugar
1 egg


Fennel Tea: 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds in 2 cups hot water. Let steep for five minutes. Discard the seeds. You will have an extra cup for drinking.

In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients and set aside.
In a small sauce pan, add fennel tea and oil. Bring to a gentle boil then turn off heat.

Add dry ingredients to the hot water, stirring constantly.
Keep stirring until ingredients form a ball. Let cool for a minute.
Add egg and combine well.
Let batter rest for 10 minutes.
Transfer batter into a piping bag.
Fry or bake as desired.