Preena
Since releasing Arvinda’s Artisanal Indian Spice Blends in 2005 I’ve always loved the dark chocolate and garam masala combo. There is something great about the pairing of sweet with savoury, similar to a caramel with sea salt. Since then I’m always sneaking a hit of Arvinda’s Garam Masala into my hot chocolate – I think I have this every day!
Being a sweet lover, a steamy cup of hot chocolate is as much comfort for me as a warm blanket. Therefore, my garam masala hot chocolate ritual gives me both a sweet fix and like I said, comfort from the warming Indian spices, especially needed for our snowy days like today.
After a few years, I’m still super-loving this recipe and haven’t found anything to displace my daily indulgence, so I’m excited to share this with you!
Here is a short video clip on Making Preena’s Signature Garam Masala Hot Chocolate with Arvinda’s and the recipe that goes along with it:
A few weeks ago, trend-spotter and food blogger Dana McCauley, asked her audience about culinary collections. Yes, that would be me, a collector of cocoas and hot chocolates amongst my other food collectibles. Here are some of my favourites…
A selection of my favourites
Although I have many different hot chocolates in my collection, I prefer making hot chocolate from scratch using pure cocoa, to avoid any additives or preservatives. My absolute favourite is Cadbury’s Bournville Cocoa (Fair Trade certified), and Guittard’s Cocoa Rouge is also delicious with its fudge-like bittersweet qualities. Green & Black’s Organic Cocoa is also a great choice, as is Canadian Cocoa Camino cooperative’s organic and Fair Trade cocoa.
My top pure cocoa pics
Each cocoa does indeed have a unique flavour and characteristic, lending differences in taste, texture and full-bodiness.
Hint: I switch up the recipe from time to time and swap out the garam masala for Arvinda’s Chai Masala to give that quintessential chai flavour. Hope you enjoy this as much as I do!
A teaspoon of: Snow Patrol. Listening to: Chocolate.
