Winter is all about being comfortable and eating food that soothes your soul. The Hyatt Regency has put together a menu that does exactly that. Executive Chef N Gopi, who came up with the winter a la carte menu says that winter food isn’t about fine dining but about food that comforts you when you eat it. The winter menu will be available from December 16 to February 15 and you can look forward to a vibrant and colorful menu.   

Sea food chowder

Hearty and warming, chowder is a creamy soup that really helps fight off the winter chill. From the very first spoonful, you feel calm and warm. The taste of tuna hits your mouth before anything else and the creaminess of the chowder with a hint of black pepper makes this dish a perfect for winter. 

The Prawn, fish, squid and the bell peppers that are used to make the chowder are all sautéed and the sea food stock is prepared separately. The ingredients are then mixed together and the cream is laced through to finish the dish. The bell peppers make the dish colorful and vibrant and when it is put in front of you; you just want to dig in.    

Grilled winter vegetables

The saffron risotto cooked in saffron and cheese with sautéed carrots, broccoli and shredded leeks is a dish that warms your heart when you take a bite. The freshness of the carrots and the broccoli and the creaminess of the risotto work well together to create an explosion of wellbeing and happiness in your mouth. The shredded and fried leeks add an extra crunch to the risotto that adds a little complexity to the dish. 

Being a rice based dish, it is a dish that is very easy to make at home. Just cook the risotto rice until they are almost done and then take it out of heat before mixing the cheesy mixture into the rice. Since the cheese mix is also hot, a well cooked plate of rice may become overcooked and make the dish lose its creaminess.   

Hot chocolate and berry pudding with a crème anglaise

This dish, which was a feast for the eye even as it hit the table, is a warm pudding dish that will leave you saying “mmmmm” for a few minutes after you have taken the first bite. The pudding is soft and the chocolaty gooiness that spills out transports you to a completely different world. The fresh strawberry with the cream cheese beaten together with the whipped cream adds freshness to the rich pudding and it all works very well together. 

German potato salad

A warm potato salad that has bacon, caramelized and pickled onions, this food item is a hearty meal option for winter. The warm potato and the fat from the bacon make it a rich delicacy for winter.

The potatoes are slow cooked until soft and the caramelized onions and bacon are added. The dressing that brings the whole dish together is made with red wine vinegar and mustard which gives the dish a very sharp tangy flavor.    

Ravioli

The corn, spinach and ricotta ravioli with gorgonzola sauce is a vibrant dish which has green ravioli that has been laced with spinach paste. Gorgonzola sauce is a blue cheese sauce that instantly uplifts the dish and adds on to the soft buttery-ness of the dish. The stuffing for the ravioli is made from spinach and ricotta cheese mixed together. The corn that has been sautéed with butter gives a fresh respite from the velvety creaminess of the rich dish. The dish is topped with pesto oil that adds smoothness to the dish.  

Pudding recipe:

10 whole eggs
340 grams breakfast sugar
340 grams melted butter
150 grams flour
340 grams melted chocolate

Beat the egg and sugar till the mixture turns foamy.

Melt the butter and the chocolate separately and mix them together. You can use the microwave to melt the butter and melt the chocolate in a bowl over boiling water. This controls the temperature that the chocolate melts in and reduces the risk of burning the chocolate. 

Slowly add flour to the foamy mixture and mix them together thoroughly before adding the mixture of butter and chocolate.

Apply butter to your cake mould and dust it with flour to make it non sticky after which you can pour in the pudding mixture that you just made.  

You are now ready to bake your pudding. Set the temperature of the oven to 230/150 centigrade and bake it in the Bain-Marie method for 10 minutes. This method is where you place your cake mould in a pan of hot water bath when you put it in the oven. This helps to heat and cook your pudding gently and gradually so that the delicate pudding doesn’t burn. Keep in mind that the baking time varies depending on the size of the mould. Check regularly and serve hot. 

 
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