Mountain Berries & Desert Spice By Sumayya Usmani
Mountain Berries And desert Spice is Sumayya Usmani’s second book, following on from her hugely successful Summers Under The Tamarind Tree. This book is all about desserts, a modern take on the supersweet treats you occasionally find in a good restaurant but will always find in a Pakistani home, the more elaborate the greater the occasion.
Sumayya Usmani Photograph by Nassima Rothacker
Sumayya Usmani lives in Scotland but was brought up travelling with her mother and ship’s Captain father, watching her mother cook in a narrow galley space and experimenting with the spices they picked up on shore leave. Mountain Berries And Desert Spice takes the reader on a journey from the borders of China and India to the shores of the Arabian Sea. From Berries and fruits to rose water and orange blossom, cardamom and cinnamon to saffron and pistachios.
Dishes From Mountain Berries & Desert Spice Photographs by Nassima Rothacker
After an introduction and key ingredients the recipes are split by region under poetic, evocative chapter headings. Sour Morning Berries, where you’ll find Blackberry Doughnuts and Whipped Semolina Halva with pomegranate and raspberry – delightfully pink with shards of coconut and bright pomegranate seeds. Sugar Almonds And Buffalo Milk offers recipes for Badam Ki Jali- cardamom and rose water marzipan lace and luxurious Bejewelled Parsi Wedding Custard, rich and unctuous scattered with cashews, almonds, pistachios, and rose petals.
Bejewelled Parsi Wedding Custard All images in the recipe book by Nassima Rothacker
Kites, Kingdoms and Cardamom Samosas – flavours from Lahore and the Mughal Empire invites you to “feast like a king” with Dahi Ki Kheer baked saffron yogurt and brightly studded Sohan Saffron Honey Caramels with rose water, pistachio and almonds, a golden dollop of delicious caramel, perfect with a cup of coffee. Through Mulberry Valley – summer fruits in harsh winters offers Spiced Apple Samosas, the pastry nipped and fried and Mulberry And Blackberry Stew served with thick whipped cream and crushed walnuts – dark and delicious.
Khanfaroush Spiced saffron crumpets with honey All images in the recipe book by Nassima Rothacker
The final three chapters, A Saffron Blaze, Festive Spice And Roses and Chilli Mangoes And Ocean Breeze tempt you with Khanfaroush – saffron spiced crumpets, Peshwari Pistachio Ice Cream, Rose Lab-e-Shireen Pakistani trifle with lychee, mango, cardamom milk and vermicelli and my favourite, Shahi Tukra Brioche Bread Pudding with saffron, ricotta, cranberries and chopped nuts. A heady mix of condensed milk, saffron, cardamom and brioche topped with pistachios, pine nuts, almonds and cranberries. Try this – the recipe is below.
Shahi Tukra Brioche Bread Pudding Photography by Nassima Rothacker
Whatever your cooking ability you can discover a wonderful dessert here, something different, both traditional and modern. Sumayya has adapted the recipes for a western sense of sweetness and created gems to enjoy whether you’re baking, making ice cream or just making a few tempting sweetmeats. As Felicity Cloake says, “Wonderfully evocative and ridiculously tempting.”
Recipe from Mountain Berries & Desert Spice by Sumayya Usmani
Mountain Berries & Desert Spice by Sumayya Usmani is published by Frances Lincoln, £20.00
Photography By Nassima Rothacker
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THE LUCKY WINNER IS EM CLARK
I have one copy of Mountain Berries And desert Spice to give away. Enter via the raffle copter and blow your friends away with these original, fragrant and delicious desserts.
This giveaway is open to entrants with a UK address only
To enter this Giveaway, all you have to do is the following:
1. Complete the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries – ONE mandatory question will appear, which you need to answer by leaving a comment to the question at the bottom of the post, before going back to the Rafflecopter form and hitting “Enter”. (After this, you can complete the bonus entries as explained on the form to increase your odds of winning – you can also return daily to tweet this for more bonus entries)
2. Entries are by blog comment, Twitter, Facebook etc
3. Closing Date: 25 April 2017
For more information on how to enter blog giveaways using Rafflecopter please see this short video
You can win more bonus entries by tweeting on a daily basis.
It’s EASY! Rafflecopter will tweet, like and follow on your behalf. For information on finding the URL of your tweet please see this
This competition is open to entrants with a UK address only. You must be over 18yrs old to enter. The closing date for this competition is 25 April 2017. The winner will be selected at random from all correct entries received. The prize is as stated: no cash alternatives are available. The winner will be selected at random by the Rafflecopter widget and you can enter via Twitter on a daily basis to have more chances of winning. The winner will be notified within 7 days of the closing date by email and must respond within 3 days to claim the prize.
I would make a Summer berry pavlova!
I would bake a apple surprise pie & no I’m not telling you what the surprise is! 🙂 x
This book looks absolutely lovely – wish I were in the UK to enter the contest! I would love to just flip through the book and learn about all these new (to me) desserts.
What fun! This looks like a beautiful cookbook!
I love cooking with spices and using them in desserts is such a delicious idea. This is a wonderful book and will look for it the next time I’m home visiting mum.
What a gorgeous looking cookbook!! I wanna try everything!!
Wow this dessert sounds amazing. The flavour profile is very interesting. The cookbook looks fantastic, and would be a welcome to any cookbook collector for sure.
I would love to win this cookbook! Everything looks delicious!
it would have to be parkin cake im getting quite good at that
I would make mango kulfi!!
i would make a baked alaska
Eek! I would make a chocolate coffee cake
My favourite Chocolate mousse cake
i would make banoffee pie with a twist 😀
Cherry clafoutis
I think it would be a creme brulee
I’d make a m’hencha
bread pudding
I would make gajar ka halwa
I would bake a cherry bakewell tart
Well. Sumayya lives in Scotland so it would have to be Cranachan with a twist!
hot and spicy parsnip soup
I think i would make a Nutella Cheekecake. While it is no bake, its just so yummy and easy on the palette after a lovely dinner.
A strawberry cheesecake
Looks like a lovely book! I would make an apple crumble! x
I would make a big chocolate cake
Strawberry cheesecake
After watching Masterchef last night, I’d try making raspberry bread and butter pudding.
I’d make some dainty rose madelines & pistachio ice-crem
French Lemon Tarte
I would make a red velvet cake
Black Forest Gateau
Has to be plain and simple my favourite thing to bake which is chocolate brownies
I would bake a traditional “Engadiner Nusstorte” a nut cake from the region in Switzerland where I am from
I’d make honey biscuits. They’re quite simple, but they have a lovely honey taste which really stays with you.
I would make strawberry cheesecake
This book is absolutely beautiful – I have got a copy too.
I’D TREAT HER TO MY CARAMEL SHORTBREAD CHEESECAKE
A black forest cake
Ooh, that’s difficult! I guess it would have to be a baked cheesecake topped with spiced rhubarb and almonds for a middle Eastern twist!
I’d bake my a steak and ale pie with my father-in-laws home-brewed ale
This sounds like a gorgeous cookbook. I want to eat everything that you’ve mentioned!! 😀
I would make my favourite black forest gateaux and ask how I could make it more exotic.
It would have to be chocolate coffee cake thanks
I would make my family favourite dessert of apple crumble. 🙂
LEMON CHEESECAKE
Banoffee Pie
I would make RAS MALAI
A chocolate cake
Well I make lovely cakes so I would make her a chocolate flake cake!
These recipes look delicious!
i’d make a black forrest gateau
chocolate brownies the best of my talents atm.
What a glorious way to grow up – eating spices sourced from around the world. I’m going to look for this book.