Orchata is seen in many other parts of the world and is prevalent in Spain and Latin America where it is called Horchata, and may vary in the ingredients used .
Horchata originated during the Muslim influence on Spain sometime during the medieval period.
Although almonds were used in the original recipe in Goa, they were later replaced with cashew nuts as the costs of almonds became prohibitive.
Ingredients
1 cup raw almonds (with or without skin)3 cardamon pods (removed and crushed)
6 dates (remove seeds)
3 cups of water
Method
Soak the almonds in water the night before . Make sure the water is at least an inch above the almonds in the container.The next day drain the almonds. Using a powerful blender, I used the NutriBullet, add the almonds, dates, cardamon and water and blend for 2 minutes until the almonds are fully ground. I did this in batches because the NutriBullet jug was not big enough.
Line a strainer with coffee filters (or cheese cloth) over a bowl and then pour a little of the liquid at a time to separate the pulp from the milk. This is the tedious part. It takes quite a while to filter so I gathered the filter very carefully around the edges and squeezed the bottom gently. The almond pulp remaining in the filter can be saved for use in other recipes.
When you have strained all the milk, pour it into a sealed container and refrigerate.
I got about 3 1/2 cups of almond milk. If it is too thick you can add more water. The dates add a natural sweetener, but you can add more sugar to taste. Keeps for 2 -3 days in the fridge, but you will drink it all up well before that!
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| Soak the almonds overnight |
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| Line a strainer with the filter. Put this over a bowl. |
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| Add all ingredients to the blender |
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| Mix till completely pulverized and milky |
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| The almond pulp after straining |
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| Cheers! |
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ReplyDeleteOrchat was traditionally served at at wedding receptions in Goa and was meant for the non-alcoholic drinkers. As kids we used to have several of these onsuch occasions
ReplyDeleteWill Definitely try this one out, especially for my vegan friends who don't want to consume alcohol.
ReplyDeleteThere is a Mexican drink called "horchata" which is almond milk with cinnamon which I really love. So maybe I will try with cinnamon instead of cardamom.
What do you do with the leftover paste? Thicken curries?
I use the paste in baking and sweets where ground almonds are called for.I also have an almond ricotta cake recipe in which I use the paste http://goankhana.blogspot.ca/.../04/almond-ricotta-cake.html
ReplyDeletethe left-over-paste is a readily edible enriched gluten-free mix and you can use it in your simple breakfast cereal or in a sophisticated Almond Ricotto cake (recipe given by Lisette Saldanha in this thread), or leave it to your imagination.
ReplyDelete