Indian “crack” granola inspired by Eleven Madison Park

I have a confession: Two years ago, my friends and I ate at Eleven Madison Park, a 3 Michelin star restaurant in New York, and we did not love it. I know it sounds crazy, but none of the dishes stood out and the service was stuffy. Maybe they were having an off night.

But here’s what we did love: the granola they gave us as a take home present. It was like CRACK. It was sweet and salty, buttery, and crispy, like an amazing kettle corn. I couldn’t stop eating it. This stuff is seriously addictive. I finished it in a day and was so relieved when I found the recipe posted on the NY Times Cooking site.

So last year, for Mother’s Day, I made my own, with a little Indian twist. I used dried mango instead of dried sour cherries, almonds instead of pumpkin seeds, coconut oil instead olive oil, gud (jaggery) instead of brown sugar, and kithul syrup (Sri Lankan sweetener) instead of maple syrup.

The end result was so delicious my family fought over the leftovers. I served it with a mango Greek yogurt srikhand, which I’ll cover in another post soon.

Anyway, you should make this immediately. And if you have the self discipline not to eat it all, put it in a jar and give it to friends. It makes a great hostess gift.

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cup shelled pistachios
• 1/2 cup chopped toasted almonds
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut chips, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup jaggery (gud)*
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup kithul treacle syrup (can sub agave)*
• 3/4 cup dried mango, finely chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Spread parchment paper or silpat on baking tray.
3. In a medium bowl, combine oats, pistachios, almonds, coconut, and salt.
4. Place jaggery, treacle syrup, and oil in small saucepan. Break down gud using wooden spoon. Heat over medium heat until jaggery is fully incorporated. Spoon syrup over oats mixture and stir everything together until dry ingredients are evenly coated.
5. Spread mixture evenly over baking tray.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Halfway through, remove tray from oven, careful not to let too much heat escape. Stir granola on tray, using wooden spoon. Put sheet back in oven.
7. Let cool for 20 minutes, then break up / crumble with hands. Stir in chopped mango.

Store in an airtight container for maximum freshness.

Notes on ingredients

• Gud, or jaggery, can be found at most Indian stores or Amazon
• Kithul treacle can be found on Amazon