PAIRING COCKTAILS WITH INDIAN FOOD

At a private cookery event recently where I was teaching Chicken Biryani to a fab lot of foodies from SPIRAL CELLARS (who specialise in creating premium wine cellars) I was introduced to this Indian inspired cocktail which happens to be a great accompaniment to Biryani’s and other Indian dishes that have complex spice blends. Their cocktail maestro ‘Mark’ is publishing a book that will have a collection of his iconic cocktail recipes including some like this one that are perfect with Indian food! I wanted to help Mark come up with a name for this fabulous drink and thanks to all you lovely people on Instagram for some great suggestions. The most popular entries were: Tropical heat, Island Sting, Cross-country Star or Infusion Star! I’ve passed these on to Mark and let’s see what he decides to call this fabulous cocktail!

RECIPE

Ingredients

• 2 measures vodka
• 1/8 measure Chambourd
• 1/4 measure cinnamon liqueur
• 1 measure pineapple juice
• 11/2 measures cranberry juice
• Squeeze lime juice
• 1 drop of Cardamom essence
• 1 drop of Cinnamon essence

Preparation method

Combine ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker and shake rigorously with ice for a minimum of 30 seconds.

• Strain into a coupette glass including the foam to give a crema top.
• Garnish with strands of saffron and finish with a star anise.

*(Cardamom and Cinnamon essences are easily available in supermarkets)