Des(s)ert Sky

It's going to be 5 years since I watched U2 live for the first time. It was The Joshua Tree anniversary tour. First time in the Asian subcontinent.

A dream with a lot of hits and misses since I was barely 18. Besides the band I have always connected with most things Irish. Feels more like a past life connection. Maybe because I was born in a 'Rotunda' hospital (do some research if interested). Coming to the band, It would be a dream to create / cook something for them. But since another dream did come true 5 years ago. That too, twice in 15 days (Singapore & home-town Mumbai). I thought of whipping something inspired by the Irish from a recipe book I had bought in 2001.

Mystically, a good friend sent some chocolates for trial. It's a new brand called Bon Fiction (Check the link for details on their various products)

So whipped up some Irish whiskey chocolate mousse. It has whiskey which is a favorite with The Irish and us Sindhis. The first dessert is with Irish coffee syrup. But then, me being me, I wanted to try out what more I can do with the mousse. So added another Sindhi favorite, chai. So now we have 2 desserts. One for each concert. One for my home-town venue.

But first the star of these desserts.

Irish whiskey chocolate mousse

200 gm dark coverture chocolate, chopped or callets (as mentioned I have used Bon Fiction)

200 gm cream

200 gm whipping cream

60 ml Irish whiskey (use local if you want)

Heat the cream in a heavy bottom pan and bring to boil. Add the chocolate , simmer the gas and keep stirring till the chocolate has melted and starts to bubble. Keep aside to cool.

Whip the whipping cream till stiff peaks. Make sure the temprature is cool throughout. You can place the whipping cream bowl on a bowl of ice during the process. Fold in the chocolate mix in the whipping cream. Finally fold in the whiskey and keep it to chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Dessert No 1. With Irish coffee sauce.

This one is straight out of the recipe book. It was a topping for chocolate carragheen, but we're no Irish here. The closest substitute to carragheen moss is gelatine. So I stuck to the mousse.

90 ml water

250 ml strong brewed coffee

200 gm sugar

15 ml (Irish) whiskey

Grated chocolate for garnish

(I have used half a portion of the above ingredients)

The Mousse

Pour water and sugar in a heavy bottom pan. Heat gently, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove the spoon and continue to heat the syrup until it turns pale in colour. Pour in the coffee and stir over gentle heat until smooth. Remove from the heat and cool. Stir in the whiskey. Leave it to cool.

Spoon in the mousse in small glasses or bowls. Pour some sauce on each portion. Garnish with grated / chopped chocolate and serve.

Dessert no 2. Chocolate whiskey chai.

This dessert has been inspired by an accidental concotion made by a friend many years ago. We were partying at a friend's farm house. And who would have thought this would cure a hangover when we were to return to reality. (While we were young).

So. This friend dropped a piece of Dairymilk in a cutting chai glass, followed by a nip of whiskey and topped it with masala chai. It was. Uff. Fantastic. Taking some elements from here, made a nice dessert. And it turned out decent. Can do some more work on it for sure.

1 cup masala chai

few rusk biscuits

The Mousse

Grated / chopped chocolate to garnish

Whiskey, as required

Soak pieces of the rusk in the chai and place at the bottom of the serving bowl, glass. Pour over a few drops of whiskey. Spoon in the mousse. Garnish with chololate and serve chilled.

About Bon Fiction

I recieved 55% dark covertures and 55% dark milk chocolates. There were easy to use and at par in flavours, aroma, texture and finish in comparision to the imported callets I use. Very happy with the final product. I like that it's produced from Indian cacao. And definately will use more of it. I personally want to try the orange haze as I love this combination in a brownie.

The U2 experience

Singapore

Pre concert day.

What a day. I had got in a day before. Walked around the beautiful Singapore which was celebrating everything.

They're on my highlights on Instagram (in case you want to see a dinosaur running a marathon).

After spending the whole day walking around, got to the hostel only to find out that I'm in a capsule instead of a room. A big phobia for me, so just hung out all night at the lobby. No sleep.

But here's the good part. Thanks to my dearest Rana, I got into a fan group on Facebook where they informed us about the gate number to get to for early bird bands. I was up. Group message with gate number was announced at 6 am. Was at the stadium at 6:45. Got my early bird number by 8 am. 177/ 50,000. I'M HAPP.

Cut to out looking for a new place to stay, which is not a capsule. Defeated and back to the original hostel, where one good soul of a staff heard me out and got me a dorm with windows all around. Bless her. Can't belive the memories are still so fresh. Unable to sleep with the excitement I headed to China town. Got lots of cold coffee and fresh air. Got a call from one of my besties to check on me. The sweetest thing to happen. He encouraged me to stay positive and just enjoy the big day. Headed to the concert less nervous.

Bollywood is everywhere.

Met this really sweet chap in the security check lines waiting to get in. He had a cameo in the SRK Don. Showed me a video of his fight scene with the legend. What fun. I'm not sure if I remember his name correctly. Greg?

One: Desi U2 connect

Pre concert, in the stadium. Made some friends. Now Facebook friends too. The Indian origin sisters from UK. Pakistani origin gentle man from HK. We're One with U2. Got some good concert gyan and tips from them. Helped me big time in the Mumbai concert. Thanks guys.

The Concert

Less said is better. I was almost in the front. And cried happy tears.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/e88516_9ec8945603cc4a11b379dae9e2e52724/720p/mp4/file.mp4

That was Singapore. And the network there was amazing. Had gone live in every platform.

This was also misleading to folks in Mumbai who were waiting for me to go live from the concert here. Jammed networks at Nerul guys.

Post Concert

The journey from the underground metro to...

The Southbridge Hotel Restaurant and Whiskey Bar.

It's was a U2 after party with folks singing U2 songs throughout the journey till this bar, and beyond. This Jim Beam cocktail was super. Grapefruits and whiskey. You never know.

The day after

I was surprised by my own energy. Woke up fresh, happy and left straight to go to Singapore Soka Association.

Post that met a friend and explored Singapore. Mainly food and the music scene. Overall a happy trip, which ended with a phonecall which I didn't forsee to be life changing.

Mumbai

Same routine. 6 am Facebook update on early bird gates. 27 and 29. Not bad. With my oldest and closest friend Sid. Back at Eli's home for a nap. Pre concert beers at Doollaly, dropped by Eli Raja to the concert. Right up front. Made new friends met old friends...

And there was a surprise.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/e88516_8802c1a25ebf41b29b361642e63e0a76/720p/mp4/file.mp4

Eli Raja

Front benchers

New U2 friends

The big surprise.

The surprise. Noel Gallagher on 'Desire' with the band.

Some more from the concert.

With AR Rahman & daughters for the songs 'Ahimsa' & 'One'.

Happy faces who spoke with Anton Corbijn (who I have been following since years) before the show and only realised who we spoke to later. Because. Too much excitement.

While we all were tripping on the show, Sid was tripping over The Edge's Rhinestone Converse shoes. So much that he found an Indian brand which comes close to what he wants. https://www.instagram.com/bling.it.on.india/

(Not a sponsored post)

I'm not being biased as a U2 fan. But this was definately one of the best concerts I have been to. Singapore was a training session on how to be right in front of the band. Yes I did have a sweet interaction with Bono. The band is so tight which spells in their music and performances too. Not many noticed the guitar string breaking in the second or third song. How Bono smoothly covered The Edge till a replacement come by. Without a glitch.

If I didn't connect with the song 'With or Without You' earlier. I did after these concerts 5 years ago. With or Without U2. (I love this mix)

Here's hoping they tour with Achtung baby soon.

This one's for you Kush. You were to be with us for this one. Little did I know the intensity behind the call I got in Singapore. And the follow up conversations.

Love you KP. We will be at another concert. In another lifetime. Peace.