Mumbai Food: Former boxer-turned-chef gives French desserts a desi twist

Vanshika Puri sprinkles gold dust on a tart PicsAtulacircu00c2u0080u00c2u0088KambleLast year after graduating from the famous Paris culinary school Le Cordon Bleu Vanshika Puri found herself in a dilemma ldquoWhen I returned to Mumbai I realised authentic French desserts might not work with the Indian palate because theyrsquore eggy and people here donrsquot like thatrdquo says the Juhu resident who was only familiar with entremes back then which in chefrsquos lingo is a multilayered dessert using different textures mdash cakey creamy crunchy jelly and mousseySo one winter morning the 24yearold bought all the Indian sweetmeats she could think of and lined them up in her kitchen ldquoI have a weakness for mithais So I thought why not create something using the best of both French and Indian dessertsrdquo Like a scientist in a laboratory Puri began experimenting by infusing cream cheese in gulab jamun and a custard cream filling in gajar ka halwa ldquoI had no recipe in mind I would concoct the method in my head and then try it It was entirely trial and errorrdquo says Puri who recently clinched the first prize for the Mocha Truffle at the recent Mumbai Dessert FestivalGulab jamun tartToday Purirsquos patisserie The French Affair which she operates from her Juhu home boasts of desserts like paan gulkand tart gajar ka halwa tart and kesar pista tart besides the regular pastry items In fact when we meet the former national level boxer one evening she has kept ready the gulab jamun tart and thandai pannacotta for us While the tart base is an authentic French recipe made of ground almonds the gulab jamuns sliced in half are placed on it The sweetness and warmth of the Indian dessert smoothly blends with the cream cheese filling the sweetness not overpowering either ldquoI didnrsquot want to create something where people canrsquot have more than a biterdquo she saysWhat takes the cake literally is the thandai panna cotta in which the flavour of almonds cardamom fennel seeds magaztari seeds watermelon kernel and rose petals soaked well in the light and creamy panna cotta However there were a few hiccups too in some of her experiments ldquoThe motichoor tart turned out to be a disaster I couldnrsquot put it on the menurdquo she says with a chuckle The lack of authentic French ingredients made her job more challenging Thatrsquos when she decided to import a few ingredients So now the gelatin sheets Cocoa Berry chocolate and the purees come from France It took her about a month to put it all together and then she held a tasting for family and friends ldquoMy mother who had some serious doubts about my culinary skills was quite amazedrdquo she laughs Her sprawling kitchen contains baking equipment only and her fridge stores just the dessert raw materials ldquoI have warned everybody at home to not use this fridge because when you put any vegetable or condiment the flavour tends to rub off on the dessertrdquo she saysPurirsquos next step however is to familiarise her clientele with authentic French recipes As of now the only classic French dessert on the menu is The French Opera that has layers of sponge with a twist of dark chocolate and coffee ldquoIrsquoll also add healthier options like glutenfree sugarfree and flourless recipes because people are conscious of calorie counts And after all the sweets that I end up eating myself while preparing this could be a good ideardquo she smiles