Anjum Anand’s Pomegranate soufflé with rose and raspberry cream: a recipe for Curry For Change

Many people love Indian food, but find it daunting to cook at home. Anjum Anand has been gently coaxing people that Indian cooking can be light, healthy and easy for several successful TV series and books. Her approach has been fresh and contemporary, which is the secret to her success. So I was really excited to learn how to make a dish at the Curry For Change cooking masterclass organised by Find Your Feet with Anjum as my teacher. I wrote about the Masterclass in my recent blog post which you can find here: http://snigskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/curry-for-change-indian-cooking.html

Anjum Anand's dessert was an Indian inspired souffle, using pomegranate and rose as an eastern twists. Her reinvention of classic British desserts as 'Indianised' version are inspired, and I have heard all about her delicious Indianised Eton Mess in her recent book. 

The souffle is flavoured with a light pomegranate syrup/coulis. You can use any commercially available pomegranate juice, since pomegranates are pretty difficult to juice. Anjum recommends Pomegreat, although I have been able to find small bottles in my local Turkish supermarket. The rose and raspberry cream is prepared separately and poured onto the souffle after serving as a final touch. 

Anjum has assured me (a complete baking-phobe) that these souffles are easy to make and will work. She has made them all over the world, including the humidity of south east Asia, where some baked pudding recipes do not work because of the climate. It was a pleasure to meet her and an honour to be able to learn from her.

I hope that if you decide to hold a Curry For Change fundraising Dinner party (you can request a Curry For Change fundraiser's pack here if you are: http://find-your-feet.org/curryforchange/cook-curry/), you give this dessert a try. It was wonderfully light, delicate and luxurious. 

Anjum Anand’s Pomegranate soufflé with rose and raspberry cream

Serves 4

Ingredients: 

Souffles

250ml pomegranate juice

2 x teaspoons (slightly rounded) corn flour 

30g sugar plus 1½ tablespoons extra for meringue and some to line the ramekins (my ramekins hold 150ml)

2 x egg whites

Soft butter to brush ramekins

Rose and raspberry cream

120g single cream

20g sugar

2 teaspoons of rose water or to taste

150g raspberries, 100g kept whole and the rest mashed and pushed through a sieve to extract all the juices

Method: 

1. Start with the soufflé. Whisk 25ml of the pomegranate juice into the corn flour until well amalgamated. Bring the remaining pomegranate juice to a boil and reduce to 125 ml, around 4 minutes; you will need to pour it back into the measuring jug to check (don’t  worry if it slightly over-reduces). 

2. Add 30g of sugar and once it has dissolved, whisk in the corn flour slurry (it will start to thicken almost immediately). Bring to a boil, whisking all the while; boil for 1-1½ minutes. Scrape into a container you can blend in (I use the same measuring jug and my stick blender). Set aside to cool.  

3. Meanwhile, butter the ramekins well and dust the inside with sugar so it is well coated. Also, this is a good time to make the cream. Take 50g of the berries, mash well and push through a sieve so you have a seed-free juice. Stir into the cream along with the sugar and rose water. Fold in the whole raspberries, taste and adjust sugar and rose water to taste.  

4. Heat the oven to 180C. Whisk the egg whites until they reach soft peaks, sprinkle in the extra 1½ tablespoons of sugar and continue whisking until the meringue is glossy and firm.

5. Blend the jelly so that it is smooth again. Place in a large bowl and whisk in around ¼ of the meringue mix. Then using a large spoon, carefully fold in the rest, trying to keep the lightness as you incorporate all the little lumps but do not over mix. Spoon equally into the ramekins and flatten the tops with a palette knife or other knife. Run the tip of your thumb around the inner rim of the ramekins and place in the oven.

6. Bake on the middle shelf for 8-9 minutes or until well risen and slightly golden on the top. Serve immediately with the rose and raspberry cream.

I would like to thank Find Your Feet for allowing me to share Anjum Anand's recipe with you.