The art of food photography is to allow the viewer to explore the tastes, smells and textures of something using only their eyes. And within those tastes and smells, powerful memories rise from within our subconscious. Alpha Female + Grant Winner Dolphia Nandi’s project over the past month has been to create a series of images for an e-book of traditional Bengali sweets that her mother made when Dolphia lived in India.
This time of year we all think of home, whatever and wherever that is. Dolphia has made her home in the United States, but today we’re featuring some of the images she’s made over the last month that take her back to India and her mother’s kitchen as well as one of the recipes, Coconut Laddoo, from the up-coming e-book. "I asked my mom to teach me these classic Bengali sweets recipes slowly over time,” says Dolphia. “Surprisingly, these sweets are super simple to make and the ingredients are readily available. I'm continuing to learn new recipes from my mom every day and honing the ones I already knew."
Coconut Laddoo
Yields 8
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Preparation : 10 minutes
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons organic whole milk
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1 1/2 cups frozen grated Coconut (easily available at Indian stores here)
2 tablespoons milk powder
1 tablespoon ghee
6 small cardamom, seeded and crushed (alternative: cardamom powder) A few tablespoons desiccated coconut (optional)
Procedure:
In a thick bottom non-stick pan, over medium heat, heat sugar & milk for 3 -4 minutes or until sugar melts. Add frozen grated coconut and continue stirring and breaking large frozen lumps for 3-4 minutes. Add milk powder and continue stirring for 2-3 minutes. Add ghee and continue stirring for 5-6 minutes. Make sure the coconut is not getting reddish due to heat. Adjust the heat if needed. Lower the heat and add crushed cardamom. Give it one final stir and take it off the flame. Continue stirring for 4-5 minutes more or until it cools down to handle.
Start forming round shapes ball when it’s a bit warm. You should be able to form 7-8 balls. Roll it in dried coconut. They will store well in room temperature for a week but these are addictive!
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