21 November 2020

Cashew Macaroons | Mangalorean Cashew-Meringue Cookies

The mid 80’s and the 90’s, the analog age as I like to call it, when the world wasn’t at our fingertips and certainly no super-markets in every neighbourhood. The Saturday afternoon ritual every fortnight was to accompany mom in our trusty HM Ambassador to the city centre for the grocery shopping at Ganesh Bazaar, pick up the latest issue of Tinkle, followed by a visit to Ideal’s where I would indulge in my love for ice-creams and then stop by to pick up some edible delights from City Bakery for evening tea. Most often than not, that edible delight would be the Cashew Macaroons, fondly known as “Makrum”

The Cashew Macaroons

The simplest definition of the Mangalorean Cashew Macaroons is, they are cashew-nut loaded meringue cookies. Classic Meringue cookies are made of four-ingredients viz. the egg whites, stabilizing agent, sugar and flavouring (usually vanilla). The Mangalorean Cashew macaroons require two more ingredients. No prizes for guessing them though. As the name suggests, the first ingredient is cashew-nuts and cardamom powder to impart an authentic aromatic Indian undertone to it.

Meringue cookies are light, airy and crispy. The Mangalorean cashew macaroons are no different but come added with the chunky richness of the cashew-nuts. These are super simple to make but easy to mess up too. Follow my guidelines and you will be able to nail these in a jiffy.

The Process of making the Cashew Macaroons

Like I said earlier, super simple to make but easy to mess up if you are not careful! Egg-whites need the utmost care while handling them. Ensure that when you separate the whites, there are no traces of yolk in it and also the bowl in which you will whisk them in, is clean and free of any foreign particles or any grease or moisture. To ensure a hassle-free experience in separating the egg whites, please do the following:

1. Use a glass/ metal bowl for whisking. To ensure it is clean and devoid of any stray particles/ grease and moisture, wipe it clean with a paper towel dipped in little vinegar.

2. Colder eggs separate easily and hence preferably do not have the eggs at room temperature. keep them in the fridge until ready to use.

3. Separate the egg-whites one by one in another bowl and not directly in the main mixing bowl. This way if the yolk breaks when separating, it won’t contaminate the rest of the whites in the main bowl. Before separating the whites, ensure this bowl too is wiped with vinegar.

Once, the egg whites are collected in the mixing bowl, add the stabilising agent to it. Usually cream of tartar is used but it can be easily substituted with vinegar or lime juice. I have used vinegar in this recipe. Egg whites can swell-up to 8 times its initial volume. The acidity of the stabilising agent helps the egg whites to reach their maximum volume potential. You can visit this link for more information on this.

Next, the egg whites are whisked with an electric whisk on low speed until the soft peak stage. Once you attain soft peak stage, add the sugar 1 tbsp at a time and beat until it is well incorporated after each addition. The mixture will turn thicker and appear glossy and will hold its shape, without the peaks folding back. This is the stiff-peak stage. The sugar needs to be completely dissolved and mixture shouldn’t feel grainy. Hence, it is recommended to use icing sugar. Beat the mixture only till you get stiff peaks. Do not beat beyond that stage.

Once stiff peak stage is achieved, fold in the vanilla (I used vanilla sugar) and cardamom and very gently fold it in with a spatula until the flavours are well combined. Gently fold in the cashewnuts.

Spoon this mixture onto a parchment paper lined baking tray and pop into the oven. Upon completion of the baking time, it is important to leave the macaroons to cool in the oven for another couple of hours. This helps them crisp up instead of turning gooey.

Please do have a look at the images below for the step by step process. These macaroons stay well in an air-tight container. And if you are wondering what to do with the left-over egg yolks, may I suggest a Creme Brulee?