From sweet to savory: the churros are now undergoing a delicious transformation

Crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, churros are what fried food dreams are made of. Typically fair food, they have their moment in the sun with Mike Faist’s Art and Josh O’Connor’s Patrick churro scene, which is charged with sexual tension, from Challengers and is hailed as memorable. This well-traveled Spanish fried dough may confuse food historians as to its origins, but it is now universally accepted as a Mexican dessert, as the Spanish brought it over during the Inquisition of the 1950s. This is appropriate for the Mexican celebration of Cinco De Mayo (May 5).

Churros come in different shapes and sizes, filled or with a dip. To make this sweet treat, first make a choux pastry, by boiling maida in vanilla flavored buttery water. The pasta is then placed in a piping bag and long pieces of dough are fried. While sauces such as Dulce de leche, milk or dark chocolate, fruit compote or ice cream can be served with the churros rolled in a cinnamon-sugar mixture.

A delicious sweet treat

Chef Beena Noronha, who runs Lyla, BKC, serves up a giant churro at her Mexican-California-inspired restaurant. The Monstruo Churro is combined with a dark chocolate sauce, hazelnut cream and salted caramel ice cream. She says, “The churro is crispy on the outside and doughy and gooey on the inside. It is our signature dish and the perfect way to end a meal.”

Another popular dessert combination is the churro ice cream sandwich. A scoop of ice cream sandwiched between two warm round churros provides a satisfying contrast of textures. The warm and crispy outside of the churro complements the cold, smooth ice cream inside.

At Bombay Sweet Shop, the well-known flavors of gulab jamun are served with a unique twist: in a churro. “With our latest creation, the Gulab Jamun Churro, we have reimagined the beloved Indian dessert into a dessert you never knew could exist. Our eggless dough, made with mawa, is fried until golden brown and lightly soaked in saffron sugar syrup, just like traditional gulab jamuns. To give it a contemporary twist, we finish it with a pinch of sea salt,” says chef Mithaiwala Girish Nayak. It is served with It’s perfect with a side dish of pistachio white chocolate sauce, vanilla cream sauce or Malabar pepper dark chocolate sauce.

A savory connotation

Although we may know it is a dessert, the churro originated in ancient China as a savory, fried snack called a youtiao. It is said that to make it their own, the Portuguese traders covered it with sugar instead of salt. It became a popular snack for Spanish shepherds, who then called it churro, after the horns of the churra sheep they tended. So it’s no surprise that chefs are inspired to make this golden fried dough savory.

MasterChef India season 6 contestant Chef Natasha Gandhi Grover experimented with a dal baati churma-inspired churro. “The MasterChef part of my brain keeps imagining and finding ways to innovate a traditional recipe. For churros, dal baati churma ticked all the boxes. It is crispy, packed with ghee and is a great combination of sweet and savory,” she says, explaining how she baked the churro, made from dal baati dough. The churma base is also made with the same fried churro. “I made the dal and pureed it. The churros are served with the dal as a dipping sauce, along with a smoked ghee quenelle,” she adds.

At Lyla, Chef Noronha serves an Aji Lima churros that offers “a blend of tangy, spicy and savory flavors.” The churros are seasoned with chili powder, lime zest and a touch of salt and provide a spicy and slightly spicy kick. She says, “This flavor combination complements the richness of the fried dough. The addition of herbs and seasonings creates a complex and unique taste compared to traditional sweet churros.” This appetizer, with its tempting blend of spicy and citrus, makes for an unforgettable snack.