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A Review: Copper Chimney - The Kebab Festival

December 19, 2012, 3:32 am
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Everything grows with time - an idea, a baby, a relationship, a concept. All you need to do is nurture it with tender, loving care. The same goes for this blog. It's been about 8 months since I started it and 6 since I vigorously worked on it trying out new recipes, tasting different ingredients, meeting my fears, etc. And, it's growing now. As I meet new people, new opportunities come up and my blog gets a new vertical. One of them is reviewing. I started off with Serafina, then went on to the 5-course French meal by Michelin Star Chef Baptiste Fournier and more recently reviewed Cafe Pico's new tasting menu. But, never have I reviewed a restaurant that is so established and synonymous with the cuisine it serves, till I got an invitation from Copper Chimney to review their ongoing Kebab Festival, and boy, was I excited! So, off went Ishaaq and I for a lovely meal at the Khar branch of the restaurant.

Copper Chimney at Khar is located in a quiet bylane just above the Toyota Showroom. The interiors are woody, warm, ethnic, yet contemporary in their choice of materials. I love the glass partition with the bells. We were ushered in by the restaurant manager and assistant restaurant manager and seated in a quiet spot near a window overlooking the street. The space was beautifully partitioned with lattice screens lending a sense of privacy. A wooden lantern above bathed the table in a warm glow.

Copper Chimney's Kebab Festival has a wide range to choose from: 4 in the chicken category, 3 in the lamb category, 6 in the vegetarian category, and 2 in the seafood category. They also have 4 different kinds of tandoor breads that one can try out. We left it up to Captain Nitin Mahamunkar to serve us his choice of dishes and the meal began.

On the side
The chutneys
First, we were served a colourful platter of four chutneys. Now, both Ishaaq and I love chutneys, and the variety here was amazing. You have the regular hara chutney (coriander and green chillies with a hint of coconut), a sweet and sour date chutney, one made of dried figs and a tomato chutney with a generous touch of saunf (aniseed). These complemented the various kebabs we tried through the evening.

Captain Nitin also served us the tandoori breads to sample. Each one was unique in its own way. The Kabuli Roomali Roti, enhanced with rose water and rose petals was a revelation. Its subtle rose sweetness went perfectly with any of the starters served. A word of caution: eat it before it gets cold (as you would any Roomali Roti) otherwise it gets too dry. 

The Gilafi Kulcha was one of my favourites of the evening. A double-layer kulcha, typical of Awadhi cuisine, it was crispy on the top and perfectly pillowy in the centre, having retained the moistness of the dough. The Tawa Warki Paratha was flaky as promised (wark in arabic means paper) and had a smooth consistency. The same could be said of the Fatehpuri Paratha, which was flavourful with ghee. 
Tandoori breads
Meaty moments
We started off with the Tawa Macchi. This was a Basa fish fillet marinated in aromatic spices that complemented the taste of fish without overpowering it. Perfectly cooked, the basa was melt-in-your-mouth delicious and juicy. If I could find some fault, it would be that I didn't taste a hint of lemongrass as the description on the menu promised! Nevertheless, delicious.

Tawa Macchi
Next came the Dahi Lasooni Murgh. Now, this would sound like the usual tikka served at every Indian cuisine restaurant, but it's not. The very scent of curd and garlic that wafted across the table left us salivating. The chicken was tender and juicy, and the tangy flavour of the fragrant garlic-tempered curd on top was just right. The surprise element, though, was the cheese stuffing. Its saltiness complimented the curd's tartness in perfect synchrony. A must-try!

Dahi Lasooni Murgh
Pind Tawa Murgh was next on the list. Chicken breast on the bone coated with cracked mustard and roasted on the tawa! Could you ask for more? The spice of the mustard blended seamlessly with the rest of the spices neither overpowering the taste of the chicken nor getting overpowered itself. The chicken could have been more tender, but given that it's the breast, it worked out rather well! 
Pind Tawa Murgh
The last part of the meal was certainly the best! Angoor ke Chaap are delectable, falling-of-the-bone lamb chops coated generously with spices and honey. Tender mutton complemented beautifully by the caramelisation of honey simply begged to be taken off the bone and consumed! Hats off to the recipe creator and the cook! A must-try!

Angoor ke Chaap
Off the garden patch
The vegetarian selection was a feast. For all you carnivores out there who believe that vegetarian tandoori dishes suck, here's a revelation; they don't! The Arbi Ke Tuk was a lovely rendition of the dry arbi that Sindhis cook. It was crusted with coarse spices like coriander and saunf (aniseed), and the starch interior complemented the crisp exterior going perfectly with the date and fig chutneys.

Arbi ke Tuk
The husband fell in love with the Aloo Methi. I love Aloo Methi in general, but this was simply mind blowing. The baby potatoes had been marinaded from the outside with curd and other spices and stuffed with a methi filling. And, just as you cut into the tender potato and take a bite, the sharp bitterness of the methi simply melts away with the natural sweetness of the potato. Lip smacking! Don't miss this one! 

Next came the Paneer Tulsi Tikka. In one bite, soft paneer crumbles in the mouth leaving a lovely, refreshing aftertaste of tulsi (holy basil). My only complaint was that the roasted walnuts weren't there (as promised on the menu). Their crunchy texture would have gone well with the paneer. Still, I'd recommend it for the unique flavour combination. 
Aloo Methi

Paneer Tulsi Tikka
The Nawabi Kumbh and Broccoli Makhmali were nothing to rave about. I thought both concepts were excellent but lacking. The kumbh/mushroom promised a stuffing of dry fruits and mawa. But, I couldn't find the dry fruits. I was expecting raisins, cashews, almonds and the likes. But, all I could taste was mawa. The mushroom had a perfect bite though, fresh and just right in texture. The broccoli I thought was a little less intense. It could have been so much more flavourful, since broccoli is a great carrier of flavour. This was marinated in almond paste and sour yoghurt. Something more intense could have made it stand out!

Refreshments
Captain Nitin was a joy to interact with. He gave us the right recommendations and insisted that we have drinks. So, we ordered the Fruit Punch, a refreshing cocktail of fruits and icecream, and the Peach Iced Tea that lifted our spirits.



Nawabi Kumbh

Broccoli Makhmali
But, toward the end of the meal, he suggested the ideal drink, Masala Chaas and Lassi. I love Masala Chaas with Indian food. It cleanses the entire system, and the masala (usually rock salt, jeera and coriander) is a great digestive! I wasn't about to give this up. The chaas here was perfectly balanced in flavour. The Lassi was a little too thick and grainy. I'm not great on Lassis, but the husband is and he wouldn't recommend this one for its texture. The taste was perfect though!
Peach Iced Tea and Fruit Punch
Masala Chaas
What with this amazing spread, we couldn't move an inch in the end. The food was scrumptious, and it was a delight to interact with Captain Nitin and Sous Chef Ramesh Singh. Credit must also go to the Assistant Restaurant Manager on duty who organised everything so perfectly, and whose name I forgot to note down. 
Thank you for a lovely meal!

All images courtesy Ishaaq Petiwala (www.facebook.com/ishaaqpetiwala)
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Mulberry Crumble Pie - winter comfort

January 9, 2013, 3:19 am
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Happy New Year! I know its late – 9 days of 2013 have already passed – and I haven’t posted in almost a month. But, it’s just been 2 months filled with weddings and just weddings. Winter has set in and Mumbai too is freezing up with temperatures having gone below 15 degrees! And, all I could think of ever since I made the Apple Pie, was pies and tarts. So, when Ishaaq brought home some lovely fresh mulberries, I HAD to make a mulberry pie. After sifting through a hundred blogs, I found the perfect one.



Natasha from Butter Baking loves pies, tarts and cakes, and I was literally drooling over my keyboard looking at the photos of her strawberry crumble pie, and I knew that all I had to do was replicate it with mulberries. I liked this pastry dough better, too. It was much easier to knead and the result was as flaky as I know pie crusts should be.  Next time, Im going to make it with strawberries, and that’s going to be very soon.
In the meanwhile, here’s how my pie looked. It tasted even better, sweet and tangy and I loved the layers.



This is what you need:
Adapted from Butter Baking
Pastry dough
  • 1.5 cups plain flour
  • ¼ cup caster sugar
  • 125 g cold unsalted butter (cut into cubes)
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tbsp cold water
Mix the flour, sugar and salt together. Add the cold cubes of butter and crumble it with your fingers till the mixture resembles coarse sand. Make a well in the middle and add the egg yolk and mix lightly. Finally, add the cold water, and knead well. In case you feel that the dough is moist enough without the water, then go ahead without it. Its all about the feel of it. Bring the dough together – do NOT knead – wrap into a glad wrap and put in the fridge for minimum 15 minutes or till your filling is ready.

Mulberry filling
  • 1kg mulberries
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 5 tbsp cornflour
  • Pinch of salt
Preheat the oven to 180 C. Take off the stem of the mulberries, and mix together with the sugar, the corn flour and salt. And set aside for 15 minutes.

Now, take out the dough and with the help of a little flour roll it out till it is a little larger than the pie tin. To place it on the pie tin, roll the pie onto the rolling pin and roll out onto the pie tin. Press it into the corners and trim by passing the rolling pin over the tin. Return the prepared tin to the fridge.

Crumble topping
  • 1.5 cups plain flour
  • 125 g cold unsalted butter (cut into cubes)
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar (I used Demerara)
  • Pinch of salt
Just like the pie dough, bring together all the ingredients till they resemble wet coarse sand.

Now spoon the mulberry mixture into the pie crust from the fridge, crumble the crumble mixture evenly from top and pop into the oven and cook for an hour till the crumble browns and the mulberry mixture is bubbling.


Serve with whipped cream or icecream or just eat warm. 
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Pasta in a Roasted Bell Pepper Sauce

January 25, 2013, 3:05 am
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I love pasta; if I could eat it in different forms everyday, I think I would. I don't even remember the first time I ate pasta, but I remember Amma's macaroni bakes and casseroles. The taste of the baked cheese and white sauce on my tongue was incomparable. When I started discovering food, I discovered pasta sauces. But, till now, my repertoire comprised just the usual Arrabbiata, Bechamel and Pesto (in various combinations). I wanted to try something different this time. So, I found a recipe using roasted bell peppers as the base for the sauce and I combined that with roasted tomatoes to make a fragrant and chunky sauce. Ishaaq wanted a smoother consistency, but I'd suggest leaving it chunky. I added a few veggies, herbs and cheese, and the pasta was ready to devour. 


This is what you need:
  • 250 gms pasta - al dente 
  • 2 bell peppers (red/yellow, deseeded and cut into half)
  • 3 ripe tomatoes (deseeded and cut into half)
  • 3 tbsp oil (preferably olive oil)
  • 1 tbsp chilli flakes
  • 4-5 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
  • 1 tsp dried herbs
  • 1/2 tsp freshly crushed black pepper corns 
  • 4-5 fresh basil leaves (or 1 tsp dried basil)
  • Salt to taste 
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 180 C. Now in a tray lined with foil or baking paper, mix together all the ingredients and place in the oven for around 30 minutes or till browned and the skin of the peppers peel away. Once that's done, take it out and leave to cool. 

In the meanwhile, cook the pasta. I used penne; you can take your pick (spaghetti is my favourite). Once the veggies cool down, peel away the skin and finely chop the flesh so that it is almost like a sauce but still chunky. Add the basil, adjust the salt and set on a low flame in a vessel. Now, put in the pasta and mix till the pasta is coated well with the sauce. Add some grated cheese and garnish with some more basil. Serve hot with some garlic bread on the side. 

Here's how it looked: 
Photo courtesy: Ishaaq Petiwala 

Note: If you want to add vegetables or chicken, when the pasta is cooking and the peppers are cooling, chop up some beans, mushrooms, broccoli, corn, etc (or chicken) and saute in 1 tbsp of oil with some pepper and salt till just cooked. Add this to the chunky sauce before adding the pasta. Follow the rest of the instructions as are.   
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Food Bloggers' Meet and Cafe Mangii

February 6, 2013, 11:24 pm
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Its been some time since I posted here, as usual. But, I miss doing so. Now, life's back to being a little normal and routine-like. Such a relief! And, I'm enjoying myself thoroughly in the food world! 

Early last month, I got the chance to attend my first ever Food Bloggers' Meet organised by Food Blogger's Association of India and Foodpanda India at Cafe Mangii in Bandra. And, boy was it an eye-opener and experience worth accounting! Foodpanda is an online restaurant home delivery website based in Delhi but spread across India in no time of being launched. It's the easiest possible way to get food delivered. All you have to do is visit their website http://www.foodpanda.in/ enter your city and area and select the restaurant you want to eat from. Then, pick the items you want from the menu and voila they get added to your bill, which you pay on delivery, which is done at your doorstep. Pretty cool, huh? The website also includes minimum order value, delivery hours, pickup time, delivery fees (if any), etc, to give you a holistic idea of the restaurant you are choosing. 

At the meet, we were given one laptop per table to order from via the website and you could just go click-crazy with it. Haven't really ordered from here personally, but the experience at the restaurant was good! So, we were a table of six. I was sitting with some of the bloggers I admire and some new people I've come to admire! We ordered Ravioli Armellino, Quattro Formaggi Pizza, Regina Pizza, Cheese Fondue with sundried tomatoes and Jalapenos; we also had an Agnelo Pizza served at our table and ended the meal with an array of desserts that came as part of the dessert challenge, where I and my team mate won a Jabong voucher! Exciting!!!

Here are a few images of the food, that I've clicked and edited. I'm in the learning phase, coz the husband cant come with me everywhere, so pardon the quality!

The Ravioli Armellino was one thing I forgot to click, asked a fellow blogger to send it to me, and then promptly deleted it with the rest of my images -- I know, I know! But it was really tasty. The Regina had smoked meat, fresh mushrooms, and artichokes with rucola (which is an amazing salad leaf variety). 


The Quattro Formaggi, simply translated is Four Cheese Pizza, was divine! It had mozzarella, gorgonzola, gruyere and parmesan. It was sweet and salty, dry and moist all at the same time!



The Agnelo was even tastier than the Regina. It had spiced minced lamb that was flavourful and moist, jalapeno and rucola, again.

And, of course, how could I forget the Cheese Fondue! It was the most delicious thing ever! The texture, warmth, saltiness of cheese were perfect with the jalapenos, herbed pesto bread, sundried tomatoes, et al.

In all, the meal was sumptuous; we couldn't move after desserts were served, and Foodpanda had certainly made an impact. Can't wait to use the website (http://www.foodpanda.in/) and also visit Cafe Mangii again! Maybe for the Anniversary Dinner that's coming up!   
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Banana-Cinnamon Cupcakes and some news

February 7, 2013, 12:07 am
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I had a dessert disaster last week. It was such a disaster that it shook my confidence in baking, even though this was a no bake recipe. Ishaaq's friends were coming over for dinner and I was responsible for an eggless dessert since one of his friends is Jain.

So I did this entire post on Facebook asking people for options and finally decided to go with a Banofee Pie - a combination of Banana and Toffee. I'd heard of it, never eaten it and am not a great fan of the individual ingredients. But, nonetheless, I decided to try it out, hoping that it would turn out well. Little did I know, that things, would not turn out as I was hoping them to.


All went well; Ishaaq made an excellent biscuit base, the bananas were fresh, I'd decided to use fresh cream instead of heavy, to reduce the sweetness. But, this was my first experience making toffee. You have to boil the condensed milk with butter and sugar till its dark brown. But, maybe since I used demerara instead of brown, my mixture just wasn't browning and I feel I heated it a tad too much. The result: stone hard toffee, which when set in the fridge just refused to get cut! It was a disaster! 

Anyway, I had leftover bananas from that day, and today is a mini anniversary celebrating one year since Ishaaq and I got married (the first of our many events). So, I decided to make something sweet and found a recipe for banana cupcakes by Martha Stewart. I don't like bananas too much, but this recipe is now one of my favourites! The directions were fairly simple and once I reached home from work, I set about preparing for it. 

Here's how it looked; need I say more?
Just look at that honey dripping!
This is what you need: 
I halved the recipe, since I had only 3/4 cup bananas. That yielded 9 cupcakes. 

· 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
· 3/4 cup sugar minus 1 tbsp (I used castor)
· 1 teaspoon baking powder
· 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
· 1/4 teaspoon salt
· 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
· 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas 
· 2 large eggs
· Few drops vanilla essence
· 1 tsp cinnamon (the original recipe didnt have this, its just because I love it)
· Honey, Nutella, or any other frosting to glaze (I think itd be heavenly with Nutella)

Preheat the oven at 180 C and line your muffin tray with cupcake liners. In a bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, salt). Make a well in the middle and add the mashed bananas, eggs, vanilla essence, butter and cinnamon. Mix well till just incorporated. Fill the cupcake liners till half full and pop into the oven for 25 to 30 minutes till a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on your wire rack, glaze with your favourite frosting and devour! 

PS. I've recently been going Twitter crazy with contests and finally won a contest with The Dessert Cart for her workshop on Valentine's Day goodies at Khar on Saturday, Feb 9th! I just have to pay 50% of the original rate, and I'm so excited! Wait for a post on it once its done...I'll have loads to tell....

Another glimpse (through the iPhone): 



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Strawberry Pie -- a glimpse

February 10, 2013, 9:54 am
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Today was a lazy day! But, I made a strawberry pie. Its the same recipe from the mulberry pie Id made in December. Check it out. And here's my pic of the strawberry one. Sorry, the favourite photographer wasn't available for a shoot :D


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Meeting Pooja Dhingra of Le15 Patisserie

February 11, 2013, 4:14 am
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It was an awesome Saturday, this weekend. As mentioned in my Banana Cupcakes post, I won the Twitter Contest to attend The Dessert Cart (By Shradha Agarwalla) Valentine baking workshop, which was
amazing! Plus, I helped the Food Blogger's Association of India with a coverage of the Le15 Patisserie Masterclass by Pooja Dhingra and an interview of the "macaron queen." While I couldn't really take any pictures at the dessert workshop, I had Ishaaq shoot some moments of the masterclass for the coverage.


Here's my article and interview and a few shots by Ishaaq:

Meeting Chef Pooja Dhingra

The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival is an annual event that was instituted in Mumbai 15 years ago and is still running strong. The recently completed festival this year boasted a larger crowd and several new and innovative aspects to keep Mumbaikars engaged and arriving in hordes.

One such event was the Appetite For Change, where a number of celebrated chefs from across the city's restaurants showcased their famous recipes and enthralled the crowd with their delicacies. Pooja Dhingra, Chef and Owner of one of Mumbai's favourite patisseries, Le 15 Patisserie, too gave a short masterclass on how to make cupcakes and truffles. On her menu were cardamom cupcakes with a buttercream frosting and saffron and chocolate truffles. 

The small cafe at Westside in Kalaghoda was packed as soon as the event started. Dhingra, demonstrated to a whopping 145 people, how to make the cupcake batter and the buttercream and held an interactive class on how to pipe out buttercream. Several participants from the audience went up to her table to learn the art of piping. Apart from that, she showed the audience how to make truffles and at the end, distributed a load of these delicacies to her fans! 

Some pics: 

Chef explaining the mechanisms of buttercream frosting

Teaching the art of piping

Some amazing cardamom mini cupcakes

Just look at the crowd at the back; 145 people!

The workstation

Pretty food!

The mixes

Candid shot of the Chef herself. 

Tell us about Le15 Patisserie. When did it start?
Le15 Patisserie was started three years ago. We currently have branches in Raghuvanshi Mills and The Palladium, Lower Parel.

What goodies can one avail at the store? 
Apart from macarons, which are our specialty, we offer customers cupcakes (which are as popular as the macarons), tea cakes and tarts. We also hold classes/workshops on baking. 

Till you came in, Indians weren't really aware of macarons. What made you decide to make a business out of them?
I didn't know about macarons myself when I was in Paris. My extent of pastry was still just brownies and cheesecakes. But, when I tasted a macaron for the very first time, it was so delicious. I wondered why no one had told me about this earlier and why it wasn't available in India. I came back and tried out the recipe, but realised that it wouldn't work, given our tropical weather conditions. It took me six months to modify and adapt the recipe to what we use today. 

What are the popular flavours? 
My personal favourite is the passion fruit macaron. We are also going to introduce a green tea and chocolate tart. Apart from that, we have macarons in wasabi and vanilla, lavender, rose and pistachio. Other more innovative flavours are paan and chai. 

How has the public responded to your concept and offerings?
In terms of demand, I think Indians have reached a point where our palate wants different things to experiment with. Moreover, exposure to shows like Masterchef Australia makes us want to create and try out new things. The time is pretty apt for innovative food.  

What plans for the future? 
Currently, we are looking to branch out, and at the same time, have plans for a cook book in the pipeline. Apart from that, I will be present at the upcoming Taste of Mumbai Festival, where I'll have a masterclass on how to make macarons. 

PS. While I have finally met and interviewed Pooja, I'm yet to taste her macarons! Fingers crossed, Ill get to do so soon! 
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Food Trail and Berry Custard: Mahabaleshwar

March 7, 2013, 11:05 pm
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Time flies so fast! It seems like New Years was just yesterday, but then we are already heading towards April. The past one year has been a dream come true. Sure, we've had our ups and downs, but I guess marrying the one person you've been in love with since so long is pretty much as awesome as it gets.

This year also seems to be all about trips. Ishaaq is currently in Dubai and I'm chilling in Mumbai, but I haven't been inspired to make anything special. So, I am going to be putting up a few pending posts till I do make something awesome (just FYI, I have panna cotta on my mind).


A few weekends ago, a few friends and we decided to do a road trip all the way to Mahabaleshwar. And, I was so excited at the prospect of getting more strawberries at dirt cheap rates. Here's a short glimpse at the kind of stuff you can get and eat at Mahabaleshwar at this time of the year. 

We were staying closer to Panchgani. So, the first place we visited was a place called JK Dhaba which serves regular Punjabi fare. The food was quite good, the tawa paratha was something I could eat forever. Then, we went to have something that this beautiful hill station is most famous for -- Strawberries and Cream. There's a place on the way to Mahabaleshwar called Garden restaurant. The managers of this place also have a strawberry farm and as we entered, I saw these men with what seems like kilos of strawberries that they were packing. I just wanted to dive in and carry the whole lot back home! Then, we each had a glass full of Strawberry cream. So, this is a beautiful concoction of freshly cut strawberries, strawberry preserve, strawberry ice cream and loads of whipped cream. You can see what I'm talking about below!


Strawberry cream in a glass
A view from the top
Then, we went up to Mahabaleshwar market and hogged on a lot more! There were these melt-in-the-mouth corn on the cobs (or bhutta) roasted on coal with just the right amount of lime, salt and chilli powder. Some of the others had boiled corn with butter. We had more of strawberry cream at another stall and then went back to Garden to hog on snacks. They prepare an amazing array of snacks. The Mushroom Baby Corn Chilly (chinese style) was really good, as were the corn pakodas and lots more.

The next morning, we went to a place called Rustam's Strawberry Inn on the way to Panchgani for some brekkie. And, to say that we hogged was an understatement. We had the works, omelette-bread, akuri on toast, kheema-pav, kheema with half-fry, tea, and simply buttered toast. It was heaven! I just took a pic of the kheema with half fry because it was too damn tasty!

Delectable kheema half fry marke :)
Later on, we went to Panchgani Table Land for a horse ride and then to an Amusement Park on this awesome Merry go Round. Can't resist putting up the pic because I just love my frame!

The merry go round :) 

That evening, we went back to Mahabaleshwar for some beautiful boating at the Venna Lake and the glimpses just before reaching the lake were amazing! Fresh red radish (or turnips, I'm not sure), carrots, and loads and loads of strawberries arranged like luscious red flowers amongst loads of green leaves.

Red radish with carrots
Luscious red strawberries decorated to look like flowers

Boating was loads of fun, but resulted in all of us getting splashed with water and traveling on bikes, all soaking wet, in Mahabaleshwar would be the bravest and stupidest thing one could do. So we went back to the hotel to dry off and then set out for dinner. (yes, my friends are foodies, too!)

And, we headed up to the Mapro Distribution Centre, like a fellow foodie had recommended to me. This is where the Chocolate Factory is (for those of you familiar with Mahabaleshwar). The moment you enter the space, you are hit with this mouth water aroma of mozzarella cheese combined with veggies and you dont need to search for the dining space. Just follow the aroma! This place is like a gem in the midst of this hill station. It serves up vegetarian wood-fired pizzas, massive cheese filled sandwiches and even massiver glasses of strawberry cream. The pictures say it all.
Spicy Italian pizza -- it's left me craving for it everyday!
A must have
A very filling sandwich with loads of cheese and veggies
To say that they were delectable, is again an understatement. This is a place one cannot miss at Mahabaleshwar. Pizzas (12") come for approx Rs 400, Strawberry Cream at Rs 200, and the Sandwiches for Rs 99.

The next day, as we left, we bought almost 11 kilos of farm fresh strawberries at Rs 60 per kilo from a farmer selling them on the road. I got around 4 kilos! And finally, my favourite pic of the strawberries decorated and arranged at the stall. These were the sweetest I'd ever tasted. I'd recommend a trip there every winter to buy loads of strawberries. Also, for all the berry lovers, blueberry season in Mahabaleshwar starts in March. Anyone going, please pick up some for me :)

Sweet juicy strawberries decorated on a nearby cart being sold at Rs 80 -- we bargained! 
I gave away most of the strawberries. I pureed most of them. I leave you with an easy-peasy recipe for a berry baked custard (or pudding, if you like) using some of the not-so-firm strawberries left in my boxes.

Strawberry Custard
Adapted from Simply Reem's blog

Here's what you need: 
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (maida)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 1 1/2 cups strawberries (or any other kind of berries)
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter (melted)
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp sugar
Preheat your oven to 200 C. In a blender, combine the milk, eggs, sugar (except for the 1 tbsp), vanilla essence and blend well till incorporated. Then add the melted butter and blend till smooth. In your casserole dish, distribute the strawberries evenly and pour the batter over them. Sprinkle the mixture with the left over sugar and bake till golden brown, slightly puffed in the middle and baked in the centre. Serve this warm. Goes well with vanilla icecream. 

This is a glimpse of how it looked: 


PS: Ishaaq gifted me a new phone, a Samsung Galaxy Grand! It's superb and the camera is 8MP. All these pics were shot by me through the phone.
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Red Velvet Cupcakes and a Wish

March 14, 2013, 9:38 am
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My utopia would be to leave my job, sit at home, blog all day, try out new recipes, visit restaurants, go for cook ups and workshops and completely soak up the food world. But, then that's why its utopic and not real life. Shift back to my usual day and I'm at home, working at office for 9 hours, coming back and cooking and just sometimes, when I'm in the mood to try out something innovative it appears on this blog -- but, rarely at the time it should. I wish I could just set aside some time every week to put up at least 2 blog posts for you all before your interest peters out. 


Anyway, Valentine's Day was of course a month ago and Ishaaq was on a wedding shoot, but I was home and in the mood to bake something Valentiney. So I did what more than half the baking world was doing -- I made Red Velvet Cupcakes (with cream cheese frosting, of course), except that it was my very first time. 

I researched quite a few blogs and finally settled down on Purple Foodie's recipe. It seemed simple and easy and quick. So I went about preparing for these little cupcakes and was so glad I did. 

Here's how they looked: 
Photo courtesy: Ishaaq Petiwala
This is what you need: 
Adapted from Purple Foodie


Cupcakes
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2.5 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tbsp red food colouring
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk or well beaten yoghurt (I used the yoghurt)
  • 1 cup plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp teaspoon baking soda
Preheat the oven to 170°C. Whisk the flour and baking soda together. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy and then slowly add the egg and beat everything well. In a third bowl, combine the cocoa powder, red food colouring, vanilla extract into a dark, thick paste. Add this to the butter-sugar mixture and mix well to combine. Now, on slow speed, alternatively add the yoghurt and flour+baking soda to the entire mixture starting and ending with the flour (I read somewhere that this trick ensures that cakes with more dry ingredients turns out moist). Use a spoon to fill cupcake liners with this mixture and bake of 20-25 minutes till a tooth pick comes out clean. Let the cakes cool before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
  • 300 g icing sugar, sifted
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 125g cream cheese, cold
In a bowl, beat the sugar and butter together till it is well combined and then add the cream cheese all at once and beat well till the frosting is light and fluffy. Do not over mix or the cream cheese can split. Put this into a piping bag (if you have one; I don’t so I used a spoon) and frost the cooled down cupcakes. 
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Honey and Lime Roast Chicken

March 16, 2013, 7:25 am
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I wouldn’t say I'm a pure carnivore. I have been known to have carnivorous cravings and also have stopped having non veg for at least a week. It just depends on how much I have at a go. I love chicken drumsticks. That’s probably because I've grown up eating and making any chicken dish using just the drumsticks (we used to get them frozen in Salalah). In India, it was quite difficult for me to deal with the scrawny chickens we get here and that too the whole curry pieces (with the spare parts/offal!). Took me some time to get used to using these pieces, but I’ve learnt.


I recently ordered some drumsticks home with no idea whatsoever as to what to make with them. So the day before yesterday I knew I wanted to use these but wasn’t sure whether I wanted to make a curry or simply roast them. I finally decided to roast them and settled for a recipe Id created out of the blue one day for a friend. A simple sealing off in a pan and then roasting for 30 minutes and voila, sticky gooey honey and lime chicken ready to devour.

This is how it looked as I was sealing it off:


Here’s what you need:
  • 6 chicken drumsticks (approx 500 g)
  • 8-10 garlic cloves
  • 1.5 inch ginger
  • 3 green chillies (adjust according to your heat quotient)
  • 1.5 tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp freshly crushed black pepper
  • 3 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves 
  • 1 tsp chilli powder 
  • Juice from ½ a lime cheek
  • Rind of one lime
  • 2 tbsp oil
Preheat the oven to 180 C. Clean the chicken and score well down to the bone. Make a paste using the garlic, ginger, green chillies, honey, pepper, and chilli powder and marinate the chicken well with this. Add the lime rind, lime juice and chopped coriander and keep aside for at least 30 minutes. Now, put the oil in a frying pan and heat. Once it is hot enough, put in the chicken and seal it off till it is golden brown on all sides. Transfer into a baking tray covered in aluminium foil and cook for around 30-45 minutes. Turn the pieces over at half time. The chicken will be ready once the meat starts falling off the bone, and if you look closely the bone and meat should not remain pink. Remove (don't forget the sauce) and serve hot. Goes well as a starter or just with some simple dal and rice.

Note: Alternatively, you can continue to fry it in the oil till it is cooked on medium heat. 

This is the final result: 

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Lime and Yoghurt Cake with a Lime and Mint Syrup

March 19, 2013, 5:11 am
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Last week was not such a good week - what with being ill and having several other issues to sort out - not to mention that my office computer crashed and I've lost all my data. No, it wasn't a nice week at all! So over the weekend, I was lying down watching TV all alone at home depressed about life when I found my self watching Rachel Allen Bake on TLC. She was making a lime and yoghurt cake, and I knew that if I wanted my weekend to be better than my week, baking therapy was the key. So all inspired, I got the ingredients together and set about baking the cake. I also had some fresh mint in the fridge, so I used that in the lime syrup and it added a whole new dimension to the cake. The cake has some almond meal in it, which tends to make it dense. But it is so moist and soft, especially when eaten warm, that density is hardly an issue.  


Here are some pics I clicked: 
The cake all syruped and cooling on the rack 
This is what you need
Adapted from Rachel Allen's recipe
  • 225 gms maida
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 75 g ground almonds (I had unsalted almonds in the fridge, so I roasted those and ground them fine with the skin on)
  • 100 g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 generous tbsp honey
  • 250 ml curds/yoghurt
  • 150 ml non-flavoured oil
  • Zest of 1 lime
For the syrup
  • 150 ml water
  • 100 g caster sugar
  • The juice of 1 lime
  • 15 fresh mint leaves
Preheat the oven to 180 C. In the main mixing bowl, sift together the sugar, maida, almond meal, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs together with the honey, yoghurt, oil and lime zest. Whisk at each stage to ensure that there are no lumps. The mixture should be like a smooth batter. Now, make a well in the dry mixture and add the wet mixture in. Fold the wet into the dry till just incorporated. Now, pour the combined mixture in a greased and lined cake tin and put into the oven and bake for around 40-50 minutes at 180 C till a skewer comes out clean. Let it cool on the rack for at least 10 minutes before unmoulding. 

Mint leaves boiling away in the syrup
Make the syrup while the cake is in the oven. For this, put the sugar and water in a saucepan and stir till the sugar melts. Bring this to the boil till the mixture is reduced to half. Then add the juice of one lime and the mint leaves and boil again for two minutes. Strain and let the syrup cool down. As it cools, it will continue to thicken. Once the cake is unmoulded, use a skewer or toothpick to make small holes in the cake and spoon the syrup slowly over the cake. Ensure that it is completely coated in the syrup, till you are satisfied. Let the cake cool for some more time till it has soaked in all the syrup and then cut and serve with some vanilla icecream. 

Here's the final product!
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Out of the Blue - A Review

March 20, 2013, 5:33 am
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Ever since I'd heard of Out of the Blue some years ago, I've been wanting to visit. But the time’s never been right so we didn’t end up going there till yesterday. I wanted to eat pasta and the likes so I looked up a few places on Zomato and was just a bit confused between Mia Cucina and Out of the Blue – both in Powai. We finally decided on going to the latter.

Now, the décor of Out of the Blue in Powai is like none other. Bowler hat lamps over the bar, backlit umbrellas as part of the ceiling in the courtyard and bird-in-cage lights in its periphery all made for a wonderful setting with the low light. What I also liked was that since it was Karaoke night, the lady who received us at the entrance asked us if we wanted to be away from the karaoke din and when we affirmed that we did, led us to the courtyard where the sound was muted, despite the fact that it was a bit too loud whenever the door was opened.


The menu is quite extensive and I love the variety of dishes on offer. We called for a crumb fried chicken with blue cheese dip, a penne paprika, and the special of the day lamb shanks in a sizzler. The crumb fried chicken was served first. The chicken was fried to perfection, just the right amount of crunch, no oily aftertaste and a decent portion. Then came the Penne Paprika with Chicken. This was heaven. I could’ve eaten bowlfuls of this! Penne pasta was lightly tossed in a cheesy paprika laden sauce with loads of garlic and chilli flakes. I died, went to heaven and came back wanting more. Talk about food pornography!

Delectable crumb fried chicken and blue cheese dip
Die-and-go-to heaven Penne Paprika
The lamb shanks sizzler was delivered immediately after the pasta, and we proceeded to attack it with all the vigour of hungry souls. The sauce was slightly sweet and intense, and the lamb was served with rice, steamed beans and carrot, creamy mashed potatoes and a jammy onion chutney. So, what went wrong, you ask? Well, the lamb. Midway into the meal we realized that the some of the lamb was undercooked. It was stringy, stretchy and was too raw to consume. We called the waiter and told him so. He in turn called the maitre d at the restaurant, who then called the restaurant manager who promptly took the dish and promised to return it saying that he would get it “well done.” Any foodie would know that lamb shanks cant be rare, medium or well done. The meat just needs to fall off the bone and its cooked. 

The undercooked lambshanks
Anyway it took them ten minutes to return to us the same portions they left with, and we proceeded, albeit a bit put off with the experience. Turned out that the lamb was still undercooked. Without even bothering to complain again, we simply put it aside and finished off the sides and left. Even sadder was the fact that we were charged a whopping Rs 600 odd for the meal that was undercooked twice, without even an apology.

No matter how good the pasta was, undercooked meat is just NOT acceptable! Sadly, I don’t think I would want to eat here again for a while.

So we didnt have dessert here and went to Cocoberry on the other side of the road for a quick and tasty finish to our meal.

Blueberry yoghurt with kitkat, granola and pomegranate  
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Taste of Mumbai

April 2, 2013, 7:18 am
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India has a lot of concepts that cater to allowing food lovers to sample and dine at fine dine restaurants at a much more reasonable cost. The Taste Festivals go one step ahead with live demos, bucket loads of food and lots of fun. 2012 saw Taste Festivals in 16 cities; and this year Mumbai was added to the list. The festival hit off with a preview to the restaurants that would be showcasing their delicacies and signature dishes at the fest. So media persons were taken on a 'Taste Safari' one evening in early February and yours truly was a part of it (from my magazine, of course)! We visited Arola at JW Marriot for entrees, Kofuku at Bandra for some sumptuous sushi and Japanese cuisine, China House at the Grand Hyatt for the main course and Prego at Westin Goregaon for dessert. We got to meet with the chefs and sample the food. A similar troupe set off to restaurants from South Mumbai, which included Koh at The Intercontinental Marine Drive, Smokehouse Deli, Olive Bar and Kitchen, etc. It was so cool! The Taste of Mumbai was to take place later that month but was postponed to the same dates in March due to the labour strike. Nonetheless, the buzz had been created and people were left literally salivating for the festival to start.

The festival was divided into 3 parts for the public. After paying quite a hefty fee, one had to buy a prepaid American Express gift card (the main sponsor) to be able to spend on the reasonably priced food made freshly available by the restaurants. The 'Taste Theatre' was a hub filled with live demo sessions by top chefs of the industry and the Social Kitchen was a fun centre with Masterchef cookoffs and the likes. There was a Farmer's Market with great organic and regular produce, an artisanal bakery (The Baker's Dozen) and some pottery.

L-R: (top) Pooja Dhingraa,Le15 Patisserie; Saby Gorai, Olive Bar and Kitchen; Manuel Oliviera, Arola; below that Ajay Chopra, Westin  (bottom) Ivan Musoni, The Hyatt Abu Dhabi; his dish of sweet potato mash with fish in a date honey sauce; Ajay Chopra's dish of Maharastrian vadapav and bhareli baingan chicken; Saby Gorai's daulat ki chaat with amazing wasabi-honey choux pastry; Chopra's fruit chaat with a twist; and above that, Vivek Singh from Cinnamon Club in London 
The food served at the restaurants at the periphery of all the activity was simply amazing. I had some perfectly cooked Lamb Osso Buco from Olive Bar and Kitchen with the most amazing saffron risotto; Prego's Garetto de Agnello -- lamb shanks with saffron risotto -- only beat it on tenderness. Prego also dished up the most flavourful Spaghetti Aglio Olio in a vegetarian (with cherry tomatoes) or seafood (with clams and prawns) version. I loved both and happily ate it all! Their tiramisu too was a rave. I'm not big on coffee or alcohol, but this one was simply divine. Smokehouse Deli's Citrus Prawn Tempura and Spinach Ricotta Ravioli were flavourful, with the former having the perfect crunch and citrusy-chilli flavour.

I've never had Spanish food, but Arola (from JW Marriot) opened my eyes with the Patatas Bravas (just warms your insides) made from confit potato cylinders and then filled with a special tomato sauce and garlic aioli, garlic prawns and chicken salsifies (I'm in love with balsamic vinegar!).

But, all this is pretty normal fare when we compare it to what came next. Graffiti is a restaurant in New York run by a Mumbaiya Parsi Chef Jehangir Mehta -- a runner up of the Next Iron Chef 2009. His signature dish was a Goat's Cheese pizza that was just divine. Mumbaiya Khari (or puff pastry) generously lathered with soft goat's cheese, sauteed mushrooms, and truffle was, well (pun intended) a riot of flavours, and textures, in  my mouth. Compare the crustiness of the pastry with the soft cheese and chewy mushrooms and voila, while it isn't authentically a pizza, who'd want to be a purist when this concoction is in front of them. 

L-R: (top) Spaghetti Aglio Olio, Prego;Chicken Salsifies, Arola; Garlic Prawns, Arola;
(middle) Lamb Osso Buco, Olive Bar and Kitchen; Assorted Spherification, Caperberry; Tiramisu, Prego;
(bottom) Lamb Shanks, Prego; Citrus Prawns, Smokehouse Deli; Patatas Bravas, Arola; Goat's Cheese Pizza, Graffiti. 

If it was possible, something else completely overshadowed Mehta's pizza. And, that was Abhijeet Saha's, pioneer of molecular gastronomy in India, offerings at Caperberry. I never had much respect for the slivers of  molecular gastronomy that I'd seen on Masterchef Australia. But, then, I'd never really experienced it, so who was I to judge? Caperberry was a revelation. On the menu were three seemingly simple dishes -- Assorted Spherification, Caluflower Espuma, and The Stuffed Morel. I wasn't excited by the name of the first, so simply ordered the stuffed morel. But, then I saw three spoons holding egg yolk like things in soup spoons and was promptly intrigued enough to order it. So, while the morel and espuma were simply amazing in terms of science, flavour and texture, I'm just going to talk about the spherification. The three spoons had three flavours -- tamarind and spice, mango and feta, and a mozzarella and balsamic reduction. I was asked to eat it in the reverse order according to the density of flavours, and, wow! As soon as you take a spoonful, what enters your mouth is a slimyish substance with a membrane. But then as you apply a little pressure with your tongue, the whole thing simply explodes in your mouth filling it with myriad flavours before you know what hit you! And, there, just then, is when I fell in love with molecular gastronomy. 

Oh! I also won a cookbook my Italian 'Diva' chef Ritu Dalmia from HT Cafe, duly signed by the chef herself, and can't wait to try it out. 

Overall, I think the Taste Festivals are a great platform to bring fine dining and good food into the fore front. Moreover, the unsung heroes of restaurants and kitchens -- the chefs -- get some spotlight and are celebrated for their sheer talent and skills. Unfortunately, this post will be too long if I go into anymore detail. But all I can say is visit the next one and experience the magic for yourself. I, for one, can't wait! 
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The Baker's Dozen & French Toast with a Twist

April 3, 2013, 6:56 am
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I love bread. And it is only recently that I discovered the various kinds of breads (read: brioche, french loaf, foccaccia, etc.) but haven't really had the opportunity to get into the world of breads. I've also been wanting to bake bread at home, but I'm not so sure about how it would turn out. Have the ingredients ready and raring to go but I'm just not there yet. Anyway, so, I was quite excited that The Baker's Dozen came to town (literally). And, their smart marketing strategy ensured that people were dying to get into the store even before it opened up -- I was one of them.

The Baker's Dozen is a bakery that sells 13 kinds of breads. It's run by a threesome -- Aditi Handa, the baker, her husband, Sneh Jain, and brother, Siddharth Handa. Aditi bakes artisanal breads with her team and sells them at her outlet at Prabhadevi, Mumbai. While yours truly was lusting after her rustic offerings on fellow food bloggers' Twitter list and blogs, I wasn't able to travel till Prabhadevi just for that. Hence, I was really excited to meet Aditi, Sneh and Siddharth at the Farmer's Market at the Taste of Mumbai Festival last month. And, what did I see? Loaves and loaves of fresh bread sitting pretty waiting to be picked up. By the time I reached there, they had but one loaf left -- the Pain Au Levain with walnuts and raisins. I grabbed it before it could go anywhere. On the way out, I asked Siddharth what it would go best with and he said, "maybe cheese." But when I looked at it the next day, I just took a bite and it was so divine just without any other condiment.

A picture of half the loaf and all the contact details...

Just check out the abundance of walnuts and raisins in there! 
Once the three-day shelf period in the fridge was up, I knew I had to do something with it! It couldn't go to waste - no! So I decided to make french toast with strawberry preserve and cinnamon with honey.

Here's how it looked:

French toast stack with strawberries, cinnamon and honey... 
This is what you need: 
  • 10-15 slices of old bread (the 'French'er the better! you can use regular slice bread too)
  • 1/2 cup milk 
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp strawberry preserve (I'm pretty sure you can use the Mapro one)
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder 
  • 1 tbsp honey 
  • 2 tbsp oil (I think butter is used traditionally, but I'm on a diet, so...)
Whisk together the egg and milk till well combined. Then, add the preserve and cinnamon powder and whisk again till frothy. In a pan, heat the oil on a medium flame. Now, dip the bread slices, one by one, for a few seconds, into the mixture and place on the hot pan. Let it remain on the pan till the side down becomes golden brown and then flip over till both sides are done. Once the stack is ready, pour honey over it and serve warm.

Note: I've experienced the bread getting a bit dry from the top once in the pan. So, what I do is, just before turning them over, I pour a little mixture on the top and then flip. This ensures that both sides remain moist. 

This is a perfect brekkie. Try it and let me know how you liked it. And, do visit The Baker's Dozen.
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Fresh Mango and Roasted Corn Salad

April 17, 2013, 3:35 am
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Mangoes are here! As a child, every time we visited India in the summers, I was subjected to mangoes all the time. Green mangoes (kairi) with chilli powder and salt (lip smacking) or simple aamras with pooris (which soon became a staple for a few birthdays to come) or just the fruit -- simple and sweet.
 Unlike many of my friends and cousins brought up in India, mangoes were never my favourite fruit. Watermelons, lychee, black grapes, pomegranate would top my list. But, ever since I've taken up cooking vigorously, I've taken a fancy to this luscious, golden king of fruits. Its simple versatility in food, whether in desserts, drinks or even savoury dishes, is simply exciting. Till now, I've already made a mango pavlova, mango chilli cupcakes (yes!) and now, a roasted corn and mango salad. The salad is simple, something you can rustle up in 15 minutes flat.



This is what you need:
  • 1 cup fresh corn kernels
  • 2 tsp basil (dried or fresh; I used dried)
  • 1 tsp oil 
  • 1 spring onion (chopped)
  • 1 ripe mango (peeled and cubed)
  • salt and pepper to taste 
  • Juice of half a lime
  • 3 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp honey


In a pan, put 1 tsp oil and the corn kernels and roast till slightly golden brown. If you are using dried basil, add this into the pan. Take the corn off the heat and transfer into the salad bowl. Add the chopped spring onion and mango. Add the basil (if you are using fresh basil) at this point. Put in the salt and pepper and toss the salad well and keep in the fridge. To make the dressing, put the lime juice in a small bowl and pour the oil a tablespoon at a time while stirring continuously. Add the honey and mix well. When you are ready to serve simply pour the dressing over the salad and ensure that it is well coated and serve chilled. 
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Eating Out: Global Fusion and Yauatcha

April 18, 2013, 12:05 am
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There was a time when I didn't have the time to blog about where I was eating or what I was making simply because I just didn't get the time. But that doesn't mean that I didn't record it. I tried out two new places. Here's a glimpse of what I had and how the food was. I'll start with Global Fusion, which recently opened up in Marol. Ishaaq and I finally completed a year in February and to celebrate, we visited Global Fusion, which we had heard a lot about. The restaurant rests on the unique concept of pan-Asian food in a buffet style. The decor is mind blowing, with the interiors resembling the underbelly of the sea. As you enter, an aquarium under your feet leads you into the restaurant. So the concept is fixed. You choose your starters from an underlight table displaying all the possible starters. Then you have a separate space for dimsums (both veg and non-veg), a sushi bar (again, both veg and non-veg), and the main course, with dessert. Frankly, the main course and dessert weren't very impressive. The main course seemed a little confused -- with Indian and Asian flavours mixed. And, the desserts were just okay. But, the dimsums, sushi and appetizers were mind blowing. 


Here's a glimpse of how they looked. 


We had (L-R) some roasted chicken, beef teriyaki, paneer shanghai (just because it looked so good) and cheese baked prawns. The prawns were something like I'd never tasted before. Never thought prawns and cheese would be a perfect marriage -- it was seriously made in heaven! Then (lower row) we had veg and chicken dimsums, which were perfectly cooked and soft unlike the usually tough dimsums. The barbecue lamb shanks were fall-off-the-bone. I loved the appearance of the fruit flavoured sushi and the regular sushi - turkey, chicken and fish - was good too! 

Sometime later, I visited Yauatcha with some friends. It was an experience. After all it comes from the family of Hakkasan, which is a Michelin star restaurant. Located at Bandra-Kurla Complex, the place is huge! The lighting is dim and warm. 

Here's some of the stuff we had: 


The first pic is of the chutney, which we gorged on! I just love the chilli and garlic hotness! We also had a vegetarian amongst us, so we ordered the vegetable chive dumpling (the green one with pomegranate on the top), the vegetable crystal dumplings (they were really tasty), the crispy prawn cheung fun, which was by far the best of the whole lot. We also called for the crumb fried squid, which I was not impressed with in the least. The crunchy oats were too oily, the batter rather tasteless and they had curry leaves in the mix -- not sure how that fit in. Finally, we ordered the crispy duck roll, which was quite tasty, expect that the duck was slightly dry. 

Overall, I would love to revisit Global fusion, not so much Yauatcha, because while the food was really tasty, I didn't find it to be value for money. Maybe a one-time visit is enough.  

I also have some news. I've started a new Facebook Page just for my blog. You can 'like' it at http://www.facebook.com/RiotOfFlavours. You can also follow me on Twitter at @RiotOfFlavours 
Hope to see you all there! 
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Food Trail: Goa

April 18, 2013, 8:27 am
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Sunset at Colva Beach
Goa. The word conjures up images and experiences of beaches, sand, saltwater, cheap booze, seafood, partying, lots of seafood, Goan pao, coconut trees, serene landscapes, and lots and lots of seafood. The first time I visited this small state nestled between Maharastra and Karnataka on the Konkan Coast was 2010 with a couple of friends, and it was the time of my life. We spent a week there and explored a number of places -- mostly touristy. By the time I completed my third trip, I was done with anything touristy and wanted to explore the real Goa -- the tiny beaches, the undiscovered coves, the small villages -- and I did. Along with that I would continuously look out for new food haunts, constantly asking fellow Goa lovers for their suggestions. Some are commonly known and others are new discoveries. Here, I'm going to tell you about the ones I've been to and have loved eating at every time I've been to Goa. 

All restaurants in Goa serve authentic fare along with Indian, Chinese and what we call 'Continental' food. While some places are well-known for serving local cuisine, at others, you'd rather have other cuisines. I personally love sampling the local cuisine of any place, so a lot of these restaurants would possibly concentrate more on that.  

Viva Panjim
Panjim or Panaji is a lovely combination of the Indian and Portuguese settlements. The architecture is so quaintly European, the colours are vibrant and even the naala that runs across the capital of Goa is picturesque. Viva Panjim, located behind Mary Immaculate Girls High School at Fontainhas, is a family run restaurant that has won the Times Food Award for the Best Goan Food almost every year consecutively -- and this year, too. The restaurant is known for its authentic Goan food. One of the best dishes I ever had here was on my first trip -- Calamari in Recheado masala, Chilli Prawns and the best Chicken Vindaloo with Goan Pao. You can also go for the Kingfish fried in Recheado masala and the butter garlic prawns. Viva Panjim has always been full of people every time I've gone, but there's always place for more. The price is reasonable and service is okay -- but then the general service in Goa is nothing to rave about really.


The exterior and interiors of Viva Panjim -- now you know why it's quaint. 


(L-R) Butter garlic prawns, Kingfish in Recheado, Chicken Vindaloo


(L-R) Chilli prawns, chicken vindaloo, calamari in recheado and Goan pao
Curlies
One of the northern most beaches in Goa is Anjuna, where the Wednesday flea market takes place every week. Just near the location for the flea market is an extended part of the beach where you can find the ever popular shack Curlies. Famous for its parties, Curlies is a more serene space in the day, which is what I love about it. The upper portion of the shack has floor seating with long tables overlooking the beach and the sea - simply idyllic. One of the best things there is the barbecue pizza and the tempura prawns with a sweet chilli sauce. Other stuff you can try is the lasagne (looks a bit weird, but tasty nonetheless), the fish fingers and chilli prawns. 


(L-R) Fish fingers in tartar sauce, tempura prawns, chicken shashlik, and the barbecue chicken pizza


Souza Lobo and Martin's Corner
Both these places are known for their live music and authentic Goan fare. While Souza's is more reasonably priced, Martin's is quite expensive but worth the experience. 

Souza Lobo is located at the edge of Calangute beach, which is the most crowded and tourist infested beach in Goa along with Baga and Anjuna. The food is good, and the music in the evenings is even better. Go there for a glimpse into the locals' life, where they love to drink and take to the dance floor with their loved ones. Here, I'd suggest the authentic fare -- either the fish curry and rice, the gassi, chicken xacuti/cafreal, etc.

Martin's is located at Benaulim in South Goa. The interiors are beautiful. As you enter the space, you can't help but notice the freezer with colourful lobster, fish and prawns proudly put on display. Dishes to note are the Tandoori Tiger Prawns (priced at a whopping Rs 800) and the tender coconut pudding (not too sweet and melt-in-your-mouth). The butter garlic prawns are good, too. A one-time-visit is a must. 

SOUZA LOBO'S (L-R) Potato skins in butter garlic sauce and kingfish in red goan masala 

MARTIN'S CORNER (L-R) The display of seafood and tandoori tiger prawns

Cafe Del Mar
I love South Goa more than the North simply because its more untouched, there are fewer tourists and the beaches are cleaner. During my third trip to Goa, we stayed at Palolem beach, which has the most sophisticated restaurants and shacks. There were many that we wanted to try out and Cafe Del Mar was one of them. Turns out, it had received the Times Food Award for the Best Nightlife Place a year or so ago. The continental food over here is delicious. I'd recommend the Roasted Chicken Pizza, Pasta Alfredo, Onion Rings, Calamari in Butter Garlic, and definitely, the Mint and Lemon Coolade. The prices are quite reasonable and the view is breathtaking. Cafe Del Mar also offers rooms to stay in. I think, I'm going to stay there the next time I visit Goa. 

(L-R) Chicken sizzler in a pepper sauce, mint and lemon coolade, onion rings, and the roasted chicken pizza
There are many other places to visit here -- Infantaria on Calangute-Baga Road, Brittos on Baga Beach, Thallasaria on Anjuna, Fipleys in Madgaon, Hotel Mandovi and Mum's Kitchen in Panaji. I'll be reviewing Mum's Kitchen in my next post. Till then, I'll leave you with a few of my prized photos of Goa. Hope you enjoy them and do give me a lowdown on the eateries you like to visit in Goa.


Sunset at Calangute Beach

Colourful flowers in Madgaon Market 


Concentric corridors at St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral


An early morning picture of a boat at Coco Beach


Proud as a peacock near Fort Aguada


Pretty yellow home in Panaji
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Inspired - Mango Pavlova

April 24, 2013, 11:31 pm
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The mango season is here, and I've been going crazy trying out new things with this luscious fruit. One of them was the Roasted Corn and Mango Salad, which is so simple and easy. Another one was a dessert. I made a mango pavlova inspired by Bombay Chowparty's strawberry, chocolate and meringue stack. I've made a chocolate and strawberry pavlova before; you can read about it here. So I wanted to try it again, out of a glass and in a beautiful stack.

In her post, Reshmy who owns the blog gives you a lowdown on the various kinds of meringues one can make -- some chewy, some crispy. The more the sugar, the crispier it is; honestly, I prefer the less sugar-more chewy variety. I followed Reshmy's recipe for the meringues to the T; I just replaced the cream of tartar with double the amount of vinegar (white) and my whipped cream was already sweetened. And during assembly, I simply cut up pieces of fresh mango and placed them on the top of the whipped cream between the meringue disks.

I'd describe the entire process here, but then, I think Reshmy has described it so beautifully, I needn't say more. Go check her post here.

I leave you with a picture or two of the lovely pavlova.

A top view: I broke the last meringue disk into pieces and topped the pavlova with it

Drool...
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Mango-Chilli Cupcakes - the obsession continues

April 25, 2013, 12:12 am
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The food world is filled with classic flavour combinations: apple-cinnamon, lamb-rosemary, garlic-almost anything, steak-onions, chocolate-hazelnut (read nutella), chicken-cherry tomatoes, tomato-basil-mozzarella and much more. Now, I love all these combinations, but then sometimes, the mind aspires for the unique; something you haven't tried before.

So, while I'd decided to make mango cupcakes (as part of my recent obsession with mangoes), I wanted them to be different. I love spice, but I love chillis too. I've been toying with the idea of a chocolate chilli something since quite sometime but haven't got around to doing it. So, with some brainstorming with my sister, I decided to use the chilli in my mango cupcakes and boy, was it delicious.


This cupcake recipe is the same I'd used to make the Banana-Cinnamon cupcakes, earlier. The mango adds the required moistness and sweetness to the cupcake and the heat from the chilli takes some time to hit you, which is the magic of this combination. Don't worry about the heat, it's not too much.

I wasn't able to take good pics of these, but here's whatever I have.

Here's how they looked:


This is what you need: 
  • 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup sugar minus 1 tbsp (I used castor sugar)
  • 1 tsp baking powder 
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (if you are using regular Amul butter, it is salted. So skip the prev ingredient)
  • 1.5 cup mashed mango
  • 2 large eggs
  • Few drops vanilla essence
  • 2 tsp chilli powder (I used two teaspoons because I find my chilli powder too mild. Use with discretion. Keep tasting the batter as you go along.)
Preheat the oven at 180 C and line the muffin tray with cupcake liners. In a bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, baking powder, chilli powder, soda and salt). Make a well in the middle and add the wet ingredients (mashed mango, eggs, vanilla essence and butter). Mix well till just incorporated and fill the cupcake liners till half full and pop it into the oven for 25 to 30 minutes till a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack, glaze with your favourite frosting or eat plain. Enjoy!

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Soam - An Experience

May 1, 2013, 7:10 am
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Riot of Flavours is not just about recipes, restaurant reviews and food trails. It's also about experiences. So while I may eat at a restaurant, I may not review it as such but just talk about the experience.

When I first came to Bombay, I lived at a small hostel in Gamdevi near Grant Road West. This area has been home since then. Soon, I went on to living in a rented house in the area, till I got married and came to Andheri East (can I hear you say oh!?). I still miss it. Everything about Gamdevi makes me so nostalgic. 

Some of my favourite eateries are there too. Nothing fine dine. We have this Bhelwala who serves up scrumptious bhel puri, sev puri and aloo bomb (chutney, sev and onions sandwiched between two halves of boiled potato. The sandwich guy there is the best, too. His sandwiches are a hit with the college students around and even a stray dog that refuses to have bread without butter! Then, we have a dosa guy  near Hughes Road. He's been in the area for donkey's years now and serves up the most amazing dosas. If you go there, make sure you try every dosa on his menu. Other places a little far away from Gamdevi but frequent haunts are Crystal at Chowpatty, Sardar Pav Bhaji and Chinese Palace in Tardeo, Mama Mia at Opera House, Karma between Hughes Road and Opera House, and Under the Banyan Tree at Peddar Road.
Staying all the way here, I rarely visit Gamdevi, if at all. But everytime Amma comes down to Bombay, a visit there is a must. So last weekend, when she had come down for a wedding, we had to pay a visit to Gamdevi. Wondering what we could eat, I remembered Soam in Babulnath. Many of you would probably have eaten there already, but quite surprisingly, in my 9 years in the area, I never visited the place even once! So, this was my chance, while I had a few inhibitions about how expensive it would be, I still decided to risk it -- and I'm glad I did.

Soam is located at Babulnath. The interiors are warm and the staff is friendly. As you enter, you can't help but notice the awards wall on the left filled with Times Food Awards, Burrp Certificates, etc. Amma and I sat at a small four-seater table and were flummoxed looking at the menu; there was so much on offer that we couldn't decide what to order. The waiter was most helpful. Since it was, and is, so unbearably hot, we weren't in the mood for a heavy lunch. So we called for a farsan platter, a gatte ki sabzi and satpadi roti and Surti chaas. Service was quick and the food was tasty.

The award wall
The table was adorned with leaf table mats in a perfect round. Five-metal thaalis added to the aunthentic touch. The farsan platter was the first to be served. The khaman was soft and pillowy, but what took my breath away was the cheese and palak samosa, the outer pastry was perfectly flaky and the fillings authentic in taste. The vatana wadi (something like the very Maharashtrian kothmir vadi) was very tasty too. 

The 5-metal plate and leaf mat

Farsan platter
Main course was the masala satpadi and gatte ki sabzi. While the satpadi (traditionally made of seven (sat) flours (padi) was very tasty, the gatte ki sabzi was a little disappointing. I've had this traditional Marwari dish made my one of my friend's mothers who is a Marwari and it is definitely more masaledaar. However, it still won my appreciation simply because the balance of flavours was really good. This was served with a capsicum and cabbage salad that had been lightly tossed in oil tempered with cumin seeds.

Masala satpadi with gatte ki sabzi
To wash off the meal, we had a variety of options, of which aam panna was one. But, I wanted something more, so we called for the Surti chaas, which is a little spicier than the regular one.

Wash down a meal with surti chaas
Not wanting to eat anymore, we decided to call for the check, which seemed quite reasonably priced at around Rs 525 with taxes.

I will definitely visit Soam the next time I'm in the area. The variety is interesting and something I would love to sample.  If you've been there do let me know your experiences. 

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