Chetna Makan, The Cardamom Trail: A touch of Indian spice, book review

As part of the Cookbook Confidential, Julia Platt Leonard reviews Chetna Makan's first book The Cardamom Trail as she infuses Indian colour into Western baked favourites

(Mitchell Beazley)

I don’t ask much from a baking book: simply make me look like I’m an exponentially better baker than I am. The truth is I’m not a natural baker. When I’m baking I find myself making mental to-do lists, wondering if my daughter remembered her PE kit or why the dogs have gone mysteriously silent. Then I pause and realise I have no clue if I put the baking powder (or was it baking soda?) in the batter.

But I may have found just the book thanks to Chetna Maken. If the name is familiar it’s because Chetna was a semi-finalist in The Great British Bake Off 2014. Her first book, The Cardamom Trail is a bit of love letter to the spices she grew up with in India and is chock full of recipes – both sweet and savoury – for timid and intrepid baker alike.

Born in Jabalpur in Central India, Chetna studied fashion and later worked as a designer in Mumbai before moving to Kent in 2004. It must have been a bit of a shock. Gone was the bustle of the city and gone too were the spices. But the upside was that Chetna discovered a treasure trove of British classics like Victoria sponge, steamed puddings and hand-raised pies. What she did on Bake Off – and does in The Cardamom Trail – is to infuse traditional Western recipes with Indian flavours.

So imagine a New York style cheesecake made with fragrant rosewater and mint or steamed pudding transformed into her Rhubarb, strawberry and orange pudding with star anise and cinnamon. In Chetna’s hands a classic Tarte au Citron gets a makeover with a heady hit of passionfruit, lime and ginger. There is even a meat-free version of a traditional hand-raised pie filled with a luscious dal filling.

Chetna divides the book into six sections: cakes, pies and tarts, sweet things, savoury small bites, breads and accompaniments. Interspersed are riffs on some of her favourite spices such as cardamom, coriander, fennel, fenugreek, clove and star anise with helpful information on what they are, where they come from, how to use them and flavour combinations that work well. But it’s the personal touches I love like the fact that the mere sight of crimson saffron threads transports Chetna back to the saffron-infused rice pudding her Mum made and her Mum before her.

For the more adventurous or those with a bit of time there are recipes like her luscious Saffron brioche buns with mango cardamom cream or the show-stoppingly gorgeous Sesame, pistachio and rose macaron cake. Conversely, for the short of time or baking challenged there are super quick and simple recipes like Sugar-free fig and nut laddoo or Mango and passion fruit baked yoghurt neither of which call for baking power (or soda).

Chocolate and mango tart

Mango, one of my favourite fruits, is also one of the most popular summer fruits in India. It comes in many varieties, of which Alphonso is probably the best known in the UK. I love the depth of flavour and colour you have with a mango, and in this tart it comes in the form of a creamy filling that contrasts beautifully with a very crunchy chocolate pastry case. Everyone loves a bit of chocolate in their baking, after all! Use any medium-sized fresh ripe mango or, because it is being processed into a pulp, substitute ready-made mango purée.

Serves 10–12

For the chocolate pastry

2 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
100g (31/2oz) golden caster sugar
100g (31/2oz) unsalted butter,softened
165g (53/4oz) plain flour
30g (1oz) cocoa powder
pinch of salt

For the mango filling and decoration

5 large eggs
175g (6oz) golden caster sugar
125ml (4fl oz) double cream
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1 mango, stoned, peeled and
puréed, then sieved (to yield
roughly 150g/ 51/2oz purée)
2 mangoes, stoned, peeled and sliced

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF), Gas Mark 4.

To make the pastry, mix the egg yolks, vanilla extract and sugar together in a bowl. To this, add the butter and mix briefly. Now add the flour, cocoa powder and salt and, with minimum handling, bring the dough together.

Now knead it for a couple of seconds, shape it into a ball and wrap it in clingfilm. Chill for 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough to a thickness of roughly 3mm (⅛in). (For a thin and evenly rolled expanse of dough, try rolling it between 2 sheets of clingfilm.) Place a 23cm (9in) tart tin on a baking tray and line it with the dough, allowing the excess to overhang the edge of the tin. Chill for 15 minutes. Place a large piece of nonstick baking paper in the pastry-lined tin, fill the case with baking beans and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and bake for another 10 minutes or until firm and crispy – because this is a chocolate pastry, you need to keep a close eye on it to avoid burning.

Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then cut away the excess pastry with a sharp knife.

To make the mango filling, whisk the eggs in a bowl until well combined. Now add the sugar, cream, lemon zest and mango purée and mix well. Transfer the filling to a jug and pour it into the cool pastry case. Bake for 25–30 minutes or until the filling is just set with a slight wobble in the centre. Leave to cool in the tin until the filling seems set enough, and then remove from the tin and transfer to a serving plate. Decorate the tart with the slices of mango. This tart will keep, refrigerated, in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Chetna Maken's cookbook inspired by her Indian upbringing (Octopus Publishing)

This recipe was taken from The Cardamon Trail, available from Octopus Books, £20

Julia Platt Leonard is the moderator for Cookbook Confidential, a series of monthly events with top cookbook authors and chefs hosted by Octopus Publishing Group, Foyles and Delicious Magazine. The series kicked off on 4 May with Sabrina Ghayour at Foyles’ flagship Charing Cross Road store in London. Tickets are available from Foyles.