If you haven’t yet become familiar with the word “Dalgona” then this is something we would like to introduce you to. If on the other hand ,you have been seeing the various Dalgona posts and updates ,we have some trivia for you too !
Cold coffee as we know it will never be the same again after the new Dalgona hit ! Funnily enough with so much of excitement surrounding this challenge, the actual Dalgona might just end up being forgotten! Dalgona or ppopgi is actually the name given to a honey comb like toffee which is popular in Korea. Known for it’s buttery taste, caramel colour and light sponge-like texture, it is a favourite candy for people who grew up in the 70s and 80s and still carries retro appeal much like our thaen mittai , orange mittai etc.
So how the name ended up being equated with a coffee drink is rather interesting to say the least. The story goes that a South Korean movie star was served this frothy drink which he then presented on a South Korean T V channel.One led to another and it soon went viral on tik tok ( an app used to lip sync and create fun videos)
Since the world began going into self isolation measures , the community at large has taken to social networking platforms to post fun challenges and videos to keep in touch with one another and to create a sense of camaraderie during this very trying time.
Why the Dalgona coffee challenge in particular became so quick to be emulated is very simple. It consists of 4 basic ingredients available in most households. It is extremely easy to execute , looks fantastic and tastes even better. What else does one need ? And if that wasn’t enough , the milk which makes up for half of this drink can be had either hot or cold. Now this will entice even non-coffee drinkers because that’s how beautiful it looks.
Cold coffee has always been a much favoured treat for me ever since I was in college.(I wasn’t allowed to drink coffee before turning 19!) I did not understand it then like many other rules, but today it is something which I continue to be grateful for. Anyway ,I was getting messages from people asking me to try out the Dalgona coffee challenge. Honestly with so much to handle each day,I did not apply my mind to this when it was suggested to me 2 weeks ago.
Thankfully I have persistent folks in my life who won’t let me off so easily and before I knew it I was prepping to take on my part of the Dalgona coffee experience. What struck me about this challenge is that usually when we are doing fancy kitchen experiments one needs to source special ingredients with attention paid to detail. But all this particular test needed was instant coffee , sugar ,warm water and milk. Now I have nothing against instant coffee, considering that we had been drinking it for years before becoming filter coffee snobs with coffee beans being bought from the estates of Chikmagalur !
All of that coffee snobbery has to be cast aside for the Dalgona coffee fun. I must confess that I did not expect the results to be so instant and as incredible. Honestly , images like these are the stuff of expert chefs and well trained culinary hands. Each picture of the Dalgona coffee on social media,looked as appetising and as delicious as the next.
Well, we went ahead and made the Dalgona coffee and used cold milk, which seemed better suited to this hot weather. Sometimes being a little behind in trying out a challenge also has its advantages ; Because, the Dalgona coffee has now taken on many variations. That is bound to happen when creative minds are in lockdown.
So now we have hot milk , oreo cookies, cinnamon powder, caramel , cold milk , flavoured ice cubes and so much more. The one change we made was to use un-refined sugar. There are people who whisked the coffee, water and sugar mixture (equal proportions) ,by hand but please save yourself that and just use a hand held blender. It’s so much more fun to watch that coffee ,water and sugar,fluff up into a satiny cloud-like mousse. It has the deep bitterness of coffee with a sweet after taste from the sugar. Looking at it , I almost wanted to tuck into it right away and not bother with the milk. My companion at home commented that it looked like coffee icecream. There’s a thought!
Maybe we should try freezing this coffee fluff and come out with a Dalgona coffee icecream.
Just like how we find a way to connect everything good happening elsewhere, to India , apparently this way of making smooth coffee foam too has its origins in India. It is apparently known as ‘phenti hui’ coffee and the ITC chain of hotels even sell their own brand of Sunbean coffee paste (at select stores) which looks and tastes exactly like this famous Korean named coffee topping. Imagine that !
Going back to the coffee whipping, it is most satisfying. Then comes the dolloping over the cold milk where the soft coffee peaks sit exactly like they should and behave as if they were instructed to be at a particular angle. It is a photographer’s delight. To add to that joyous moment we had to add a local topping which set our Dalgona coffee slightly apart .We have our very own local chocolate brand (Soklet), who also make roasted cacao nibs which were just perfect to sprinkle on top.
The taste of the cold milk, luscious whipped coffee and the dark ,devilishly good crackle of the roasted cacao nibs made every minute spent on this challenge worthwhile. One could be forgiven, for forgetting about the lockdown during those few minutes of barely containable delight.
To make the Dalgona Coffee (recipe) –serves 2
Sugar (powdered palm candy or regular white sugar)-2 Tbsps
Warm water-2 Tbsps
Instant coffee granules-2 Tbsps
Milk (warm or cold)-500 ml
Toppings or add on ,grated chocolate, cinnamon powder, roasted cacao nibs, cocoa powder, oreo cookies etc
Using a hand blender, whisk the coffee, water and sugar until it is thick and creamy.
Pour the milk into the prepared glasses.
Add the whisked coffee generously to sit over the milk and spoon it so that it stays in small peaks.
Sprinkle with topping of choice or leave it plain.
Give it a little mix to encourage the coffee to stain the milk and drink it while savouring every sip.
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