E-Paper
World Chocolate Day: Eww...gross...disgusting... Do not try this!
On World Chocolate Day, July 7, we look at some bizarre chocolate experiments that have appalled experts and chocoholics. Many advise that it’s better to stay away from these!
Mention chocolate, and the mind wanders to droolworthy combinations, such as with strawberries, pancakes, cookies, brownies, and more! But where does one draw the line when it comes to experimenting? Chocolate Sushi, Chocolate Noodles or Chocolate Manchurian — there exist some crazy combinations that have gone viral, leaving many wondering: ‘Just why?!’
This much-loved ingredient might offer several health benefits — lowering cholesterol, reducing the risk of cardiovascular problems and preventing cognitive decline — but that sure isn’t reason enough to create a choco-chaos.
Fish with chocolate: Is that even a thing?
Chef Sanjeev Kapoor says the world is going “crazy with experimentation, but who are we to mind and mend?” He replies with a “strict no-no” to chocolate being paired with fish, mustard, ketchup, fresh onion or garlic, pickle, and leafy vegetables. Chef Vicky Ratnani also advises, “Chocolate doesn’t go well with sushi, prawns, spaghetti aglio olio or bolognese, anything that is sour.”
‘Chocolate coated cockroaches and red ants are better’
“These are some real combinations that people have tried and I have been subjected to their food experimentation through the multiple cooking competitions that I have had to judge. Chocolate coated red ants and chocolate coated cockroaches are better,” says chef Sanjeev Kapoor.
Pizza topped with chocolate? No way!
Chef Radhika Khandelwal says she loves pairing chocolate where it’s least expected — such as a beetroot and chocolate shake or eggs with chocolate. “However, I do draw the line when it comes to pizza topped with chocolate, kimchi mixed with chocolate, prawns with chocolate or meatloaf with chocolate. Sometimes, a small amount of chocolate is added to savoury or meaty dishes to bring out the more suppressed flavours in the dish, but those are usually a chef’s secrets,” she explains.
Noodles with chocolate: Correction needed
“Food has always been entertaining,” says chef Kunal Kapur, adding, “Of late there has been this take on food... where people have posted combinations which normally don’t work. It’s become entertaining for a lot of people to cringe on the sight of things like noodles with chocolate, chocolate on ketchup or pizza. They look at it, and laugh about it. I think if I am correct, nobody is really eating it.”
Sharing pointers, he says one shouldn’t pair chocolate with extreme flavours. “I feel that chocolate doesn’t go very well with any food that has a strong and overpowering taste. It has to have the upper hand, always. It goes well with citrus, sour or nutty flavours like that of roasted almonds and hazelnuts. Anything that is extremely bitter, sour or spicy, chocolate wouldn’t pair well with it,” says Kapur.
Some cringeworthy viral choco combos that ruled social media!
Manchurian made with chocolate?
Yes, you read that right. We all love our fusion of Indo-Chinese recipes such as chilli paneer, chilli potato and Manchurian. A picture surfaced on Twitter last year, featuring a Manchurian dish made with chocolate. Instead of Manchurian balls, the dish had crispy, layered chocolate balls in it. ‘OMG, totally gross, is this a thing?’ a Twitter user reacted. ‘Why would anyone do that to a nice bowl of Manchurian?’ asked another user. Try at your own risk.
A dose of Chocolate Dosa
An Instagram video, shared by blogger Amar Sirohi, showing oodles of chocolate being poured on a dosa with butter and milkmaid got replies like ‘Dosa got insulted’ and ‘Hey Bhagwan pura satyanash kar diya’. Would you ever dare to try this?
Choco entangled noodles
A picture of instant noodles cooked with chocolate evoked strong reactions from people last year. This image showed an electric kettle half-filled with water, noodles, tastemaker, and bars of chocolate. While one Twitter user replied with an ‘eww’, another wrote ‘Who eats this’ and some reacted with ‘Fusion or Confusion’.
Fancy juicy, fried chicken?
How about it being coated with chocolate? Another viral video that shocked netizens in 2020 was chocolate-coated fried chicken. The clip showed chicken drumsticks being dipped into a bowl of what seemed like melted chocolate and deep fried. Disbelieving Twitter users asked if it was a ‘joke’.
Biryani goes blue err brown
Another combination that left foodies fuming was Chocolate Biryani. In June last year, a Facebook page posted a picture of a plate of biryani served with a layer of hazelnut flavoured chocolate spread on top of it. Offensive to biryani lovers? We truly agree!
Author tweets @Nainaarora8
Catch your daily dose of Fashion, Taylor Swift, Health, Festivals, Travel, Relationship, Recipe and all the other Latest Lifestyle News on Hindustan Times Website and APPs.
