Crispy chicken drumlettes with Mexican mole

I was reading about the tumultuous events in Ivory Coast — where government forces were fighting rebels seeking to oust the old president — when I came across an interesting fact. Ivory Coast was the world’s largest producer of cocoa, I learnt.

Now cocoa, as we all know, is where chocolates come from. And chocolates, as we know even better, are among the finest food products on earth. I am not much of a chocoholic myself but I agree that its taste and flavours are unmatched.

Which is why, I suppose, executive chef Mark Smith of The New Kenilworth Hotel in Calcutta has been experimenting with chocolate for a while now. And while it figures prominently in the desserts section, I like the way he has been using it to enhance the taste of entrées and appetisers.

Braised beef with red wine and dark chocolate

He mostly uses chocolates to prepare sauces to go with things like salmon or chicken. The chef’s crispy chicken drumlettes, for instance, come with a mole, a Mexican sauce prepared with chocolates. And his seafood corn cakes are served with a green chilli chocolate dip.

The concept of chillies in chocolates has always fascinated me. I love the way the sweet taste of chocolates merges with the hot flavours of chillies.

Chef Smith’s green chilli choco dip is a bit like that. For this, he melts 30g butter in a pan and gently stirs in 30g flour. He whisks in heated 200ml fish stock and lets the sauce simmer for about 10 minutes. Then he removes it from the heat and strains it. He melts 60g white chocolate in the sauce and adds to it 3-4 green chillies (deseeded if you want it milder), 1/2tsp lime juice and 2-4 finely sliced spring onions, along with salt.

With so many experiments going on with chocolates, I find that the world of cocoa or cacao beans is a universe in itself. Yet, even a hundred years ago, nobody had eaten chocolates — they had only had it as a drink.

The history of chocolate is almost as interesting as its flavours. The first to plant and use the cacao beans were a tribe called the Olmecs, who lived in central Mexico from 1200 B.C. to 300 B.C. Then came the Mayans who used the beans — by then hailed as a restorative — for special ceremonies. Centuries later, the beans moved to Europe with the explorers who ventured from Europe to Latin America and came back with all kinds of plants they had never seen before. The cacao bean was among them.

Researchers — who generally tend to make or mar your day by coming out with conflicting studies — all agree that dark chocolate is good for you. It has antioxidants and is supposed to be good for the heart. So you could try out chef Smith’s braised beef with red wine and dark chocolate — it has oodles of taste, coupled with health.

Chocolates also have natural chemicals which make you feel good. But don’t forget that you get all these benefits when you eat chocolates in moderation. Anything in excess, as the wise men in the white coats tell us, is dangerous.

If you are cooking with chocolate, be careful when you melt it, for it burns easily. Experts suggest that you chop a bar finely before melting it; that’s one way of ensuring it doesn’t scorch. And remember not to melt chocolate on direct heat. Put it in a heat-proof bowl and then put the bowl in hot water, or use a double boiler. And remember, the better the quality of chocolate — which means higher proportions of cocoa solids — the better your sauce is going to taste.

Ivory Coast, when I last read the news, was trying to find a solution to its civil war. I wish it would. And not just for the cocoa.

Smoked salmon and melon salad with vodka chocolate sauce (serves 6)

Ingredients:

• 360g smoked salmon • 120g mixed lettuce leaves • 1 honeydew melon • 1 cucumber • 2 lemons • 12 black olives • 6 cherry tomatoes • 20g capers

For the sauce:

• 30ml vodka • 50g chocolate ganache • 2g chilli flakes • 20ml chilli oil • 5g mustard paste • zest of 1 lemon • 20ml balsamic vinegar

Method:

Peel and cut the melon into wedges. Cut the cucumber into rough angular shapes. Arrange the melon, lettuce and smoked salmon on a platter with skewers of cucumber, olive and cherry tomatoes. Blend the sauce ingredients together. Spoon the sauce lightly over the salmon and drizzle it on the platter. Serve.