Almond and Cardamom Polvorons for Kulinarya Cooking Club - April 2010

Polvoron

You know what I love about being part of the Kulinarya Cooking Club? I mean, aside from the lovely people and the yummy food, ofcourse! It's that every month, so far, it has redefined something for me - a memory (Leche Flan), a healthier technique (Empanada) and this time .. a kitchen instrument! "Eh? What?!", you say?! Haha, read on ...

This month's Filipino item to show case was the Polvoron. During my search for a recipe for this sweet dish, I came to realise that this is one of Filipinos' most loved sweet! :-). Interestingly, it was very close in taste to an Indian sweet as well (revealed later in the post!). Isn't all this cultural inter-mingling fascinating? What better way to learn of them than through their cuisines!

murukku maker and polvoron

So, anyway, the Polvoron is a shortbread like sweet made by pulverising a sweet powder into compact shapes. As you must have guessed, you need a "molder" for the purpose. I definitely don't have a Polvoron Molder. I racked my brains a bit on how to approach this obstacle short of buying one and then a light went on. Guess what I used?! My humble Murukku Maker (the same I used to make Murukkus here)!! It was the perfect solution; I made perfect discs of sweet candy with my work-around moulder!!

Today, there are many variations of the original recipe available in the market including chocolate covered versions of this candy. For my flavors, I went with cardamom and almonds and then just for fun (I was still on a high from having devised that solution.. hehe), I drew fun shapes on the cookies with milk chocolate.. haha.. Aren't they a riot?! :D

happy scrawls on polvoron 1

Wrapped in little cellophane bags they look so cute and make for a nice party favor too! I shared some of my cookies with friends we met for brunch yesterday. I will be meeting Trissa (YAY!!) later today and look forward to getting her (the true Filipino!) opinion about my creation. Hmm... I hope it passes the authenticity test!

BTW, remember, I mentioned cultural cross-overs and stuff up above? Well, the polvoron tastes very similar to Besan Laddoo and Rava Laddoo, very typical Indian sweets!!! I don't know how, but it does! :-)

Pretty in package - polvoron


Almond and Cardamom Polvoron

** Note: I eyeballed a lot of stuff, based on taste. The recipe below is close to the amounts I used but feel free to tweak as per your taste :-) **

3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup + 2 T milk powder
1/4 cup + bit more sugar
3/4 tsp fresh ground cardamom (if you are using packaged powder, you'll need more)
handful of almonds, dry roasted and coarsely ground
1 stick butter, melted

In a heavy bottomed wide pan, roast the flour over low heat until it turns golden in color. Meanwhile, mix together the milk powder, sugar and cardamom powder. Add the cooked flour into the mix and pour in the butter. Mix well with a spoon or your hands. You'll end up with a crumbly mix.

Now, using a polvoron molder, or other alternate solutions, press a bit of the sweet powder into a compact disc. Freeze for atleast 30 minutes to let the butter harden and sweet to set.

When it doesn't look like it is going to crumble again, you can paint using chocolate, set to cool and wrap into pretty parcels.

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Kulinarya was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and its colourful cuisine.

Each month we will showcase a new dish. By sharing these recipes, we hope you find the same passion and love for Filipino Food as we do.

If you’re interested in joining our Kulinarya Cooking Club, please feel free to drop by our foodblogs and leave a comment – we would love to hear from you!

Kath - http://www.acupcakeortwo.com/