Say Hola to Churros

Minutes before boarding her school van, my daughter mouthed a strong request demand - mom, 'why don't we make churros this evening' ? Churros I mumbled ? ; Mexican she drawled ! I was flabbergasted - didn't know my little princess could name dishes outside her pizza and pasta world. I had only a few seconds before I spurted out how she knew churro and the ilk? She looked at me as if I was a Martian and said 'mom if kids my age or less can cook gorgeous dishes why can't I name a few' ? aah - that's all I could muster before she parted with a peck on my cheeks. 
There was a myriad emotions swirling in my mind ! My little angel is growing I reminded myself. Of course I was still stuck in a time warp when at her age all I recognised and digged ito was idlis , dosas  and some assorted tamil dishes. My first foray into Mexican food was back in college. While I was not gung-ho about the dish that got plated before me, my palette got a defenite whiff of the cuisine. However, what had me pining for the enchiladas and the quesadillas was the first romantic dinner my hubby took me out after marriage. It's another matter that all I can remember today was the dim lights of the restaurant (TGIF) , batting eyelids, loads of nervous laughter and a full tummy :D

There on, I was hooked to the cuisine. Once-in-a-while, I make quesadillas and salsas to go with the store bought nacho chips. If dining out in a multi-cuisine restaurant, my tummy shows its unadulterated love for the mex food :P 

So my daughter came home from school and together we set out to make this deep fried delights. Churros though originated in Spain became famous across continents including Mexico. The ridged texture of churros comes from the dough tipped in to the hot oil via a star shaped nozzle/tube Crispy outer and a soft inner, do I say more about this winsome beauties. As I had never attempted before, my prowling the net for a good recipe landed me here.  

Not to be outdone in flauting my knowledge (???) I muttered a 'Provecho" (read enjoy) while handing over the churros to my daughter and pat came the reply Gracias ! My kid is growing (happy sigh !) Did I say that already ????

Here's How :-

Heat oil (sunflower/vegetable/corn) in to a frying pan and let it simmer till the dough is ready to be piped in. In a separate dish mix the sugar and cinnamon for dusting the churros and set aside.

In a deep dished pan add the water, brown sugar, salt, and butter and heat to a good boil. Take off flame and slowly add the flour while continuously stirring the same. Mix until well blended.

Mix the eggs and vanilla together in a separate bowl and then add this mixture to the flour mixture. let the egg & vanilla combo completely blend in to the flour.

Tip in the dough to the piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle. Test the oil by tipping in a small amount of dough in it. The dough should bubble up right away, if not the oil is not hot enough.Once the oil is really hot squeeze some dough into the oil about 4 inches long. I used a greased knife to release the dough from the bag.

Depending on the size of the frying pan, you should be able to cook 6 or 7 churros at a time. Cook them about 1 minute and turn them over with a slotted spoon. Let it now cook for an extra minute or two. Once the churros get a lovely golden brown color take them off flame with the the slotted spoon and place them on a paper tissue to absorb excess grease.

While still warm, roll each churro into the dish with the sugar and cinnamon until coated. We digged in to it with a chocolate dipping sauce.

Useful Pointers :-

1.	Make sure the oil you use for frying is really really hot; else you may end up with soggy churros. And that's a no-no !
2.	The dough can be made sans egg too. Instead tip in a teaspoon of baking powder. Similarly, if butter makes you cry out loud, replace it with 3 to4 tbsp of olive oil. However, if you are indulging in them once-in-a-while, I would recommend to ditch the health quotient :P
3.	You can enjoy churros with assorted accompaniments like hot chocolate sauce and cinnamon sugar.
4.	This delightful fried sticks can be enjoyed as an afternoon snack or a dessert . How about digging in to them for a late brunch on a sunday morning.

The theme for this month in AVC is Mexican. Check what these cookies are dishing out Anusha , PRiya M, Radhika , Jayanthi, Roshni

Linking it to Divya's & Priya's 60 days to Christmas

PROVECHO !