50 Best Masterclass: try making Gaggan Anand’s signature dish Lick it Up at home

In the final 50 Best Masterclass held at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore as part of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2019 programme, Indian chef Gaggan Anand brought the fun with some of his signature dishes and a side-serve of wit. Here’s how to Lick it Up at home

There is arguably no dish in the world of gastronomy that better defines a chef and their style of restaurant than Gaggan Anand’s Lick it Up. Arriving at the midway point on the emoji-led tasting menu at Gaggan in Bangkok – the modern Indian restaurant that has achieved the No.1 spot a record four times in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list – it is a dish that speaks to its creator’s sense of fun and whimsy, simultaneously hitting all the right notes on the palate. With Gaggan set to close for good in June 2020, save this recipe down as a taste of the chef's food that will live on in the memory long after the restaurant has shuttered.
 
Ostensibly the essence of a good curry with sweet, sour, spice and savoury notes, it is a clever mix of subtly difference textures, with a gel, jam, chutney and purée spread on a plate and designed to be eaten without cutlery, as its name suggests. Here’s how to make Gaggan’s emblematic dish at home. Accompanying Kiss soundtrack, optional.

Lick it Up

Once you’ve made the purées below, spread them onto a plate with a spatula, leave to set for 10 minutes, serve and invite your guests ‘Lick it Up’. This recipe serves 10.

For the mango yuzu gel
Ingredients

50g Yuzu juice
50g Mango purée
20g Sugar
0.5% of total weight Agar


Method
1)     Mix all the ingredients in a pot with a hand blender
2)     Once blended, bring it to a boil
3)     Let it set into a jelly
4)     Transfer to a blender into a fine purée and strain

For the onion jam
Ingredients

100g Red onions (sliced)
50g Red wine
50g Sugar
50g Cherry balsamic vinegar
1 stick Cinnamon
1pc Bay leaves

Method
1)     Sauté the onions until caramelised
2)     Add red wine, sugar, cinnamon and bay leaves
3)     Bring it to a boil and let it simmer
4)     Let it simmer until it forms a sticky caramelised onions[GS3] 
5)     Add in cherry balsamic vinegar and further caramelise
6)     Transfer to a blender and blend into a fine purée

For the green pea puree
Ingredients

100g Frozen New Zealand green peas
5g White miso
15g Red onions
2pcs Fresh curry leaf
5g Ginger
1g Garlic
15g Dry white wine
200ml Cooking cream
3% of total weight Agar
Salt to taste

Method
1)     Caramelise the peas, onions, curry leafs, ginger, and garlic. Deglaze pan with white wine
2)     Add white miso and mix everything together
3)     Simmer the mixture until everything is cooked
4)     Add cream and bring it once to a boil
5)     Transfer it to a blender into a fine purée
6)     Weigh the purée and add 3% of Japanese agar
7)     Bring it to boil again to activate the agar. Cool and let it set. Blend it one more time and strain

For the chili chutney
Ingredients

20g Glucose
100g Plum tomatoes (cut into jardinière)
100g Red chili paste
50g Red onions (sliced julienne)
10g Garlic (minced)
10g Ginger (minced)
20g Sugar
20g Distilled vinegar
Salt to taste

Method
1)     Caramelise the onions, ginger, and garlic. Add in the tomatoes
2)     Let it simmer until the juice from the tomatoes starts to release
3)     Add in chili paste, glucose, sugar and distilled vinegar
4)     Simmer the mixture until everything is cooked
5)     Transfer to a blender into a fine purée to activate the agar. Cool and let it set. Blend it one more time and strain.

Now watch the highlights from the 50 Best Masterclass series in Signapore: