Bombay Foodie

Life is like a box of macarons

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 05:18:00 +0000

You never know what the next flavor is going to be.
And you will never find out until you take a risk and take that first bite.

Life's just handed me a box of macarons.

Next week, I will give up my job and move to London as a full time student. You will see a little less of me at Bombay Foodie in the coming months, but you can follow my adventures all of next year, as A Student in London.

Come join me as I explore a new lifestyle in my favorite city!

Strawberries and Cream

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 15:52:00 +0000

Panacotta - for isn't that just another name for cooked cream - as the new friend for first strawberries of this season.

David Lebovitz said that you are doing something wrong if you need more than 5 minutes to make panacotta. It actually took me less than the allotted five minutes to get the panacotta ready, pour it into shot glasses and put it in the fridge to set.

Topping the panacotta is a balsamic strawberry coulis. Start with one cup of sliced strawberries. This goes into a blender with a tbsp of balsamic vinegar, 2 tbsp basil leaves and a tbsp of caster sugar (more if you like your strawberries sweeter). Blend into a puree.

Once the panacotta has set 2-4 hours later, carefully pour the coulis into the glass. Chill some more, then enjoy the newfangled strawberries and cream.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 06:42:00 +0000

The setting is Edgecombe St. Mary, a sleepy little village in the English countryside. The unlikely hero is Major Pettigrew - old retired Major who sticks to tradition and honor above all else. When he decides to turn tradition on its head and falls in love with a Pakistani widow running the only store in the village, chaos ensues. Helen Simonson's first book - our book club's pick for the month - is thoroughly enjoyable for its quirky characters and funny, almost absurd situations. I ended up being charmed by the Major.

To celebrate one of the best books I've read in a while, I thought up a rather elaborate dessert. It had to be British, and what's more English than a trifle.

The bottom layer is an apple jelly. I knew my other layers will be super sweet so I kept this one fresh and simple. I soaked one gelatin sheet in cold water. Next, I heated 50 ml apple juice. Squeezed out water from the gelatin and added it to the now warm juice. Stirred it around until the gelatin was completely dissolved, then added another 100 ml of apple juice to the mix and gave it a minute or so on the stove so everything was heated. I poured this jelly into three glasses, let it cool, then put it in the fridge for a couple of hours to set.

In the meantime, I made the next layer - the sponge cake. I've had limited luck making sponge in the past but Deeba said her recipe works like a charm. And it does! The sponge cake had a perfect texture. I still think it tastes a little eggy but it wont matter in this trifle. Once the sponge was cooled, I cut rounds with my cookie cutter to fit the glass and dropped them on top of the jelly.

Next comes caramel apple, the star of the show. I peeled two golden apples (you can use granny smith) and cut them into 1 cm cubes. In a thick bottomed pan, I mixed apples with 3 tbsp sugar and heated them until the sugar started to caramalize. Added a tbsp of butter, mixed everything in and kept cooking until the sugar had turned into a rich amber caramel and the apples were cooked through. I let them cool and then added them on top of the sponge.

Are you thinking that there's something off in this dish...that it's so English. And where, then you say, is Mrs. Ali. She comes forth in the last layer, the custard that isn't your creme anglaise but is in fact the way pouring custard is made in India and Pakistan. This is the custard that comes in a packet and all you need to do is mix it with milk and sugar, then boil until thick. Let it cool a bit too before you pour it as the final layer on the trifle. Put the assembled dessert in the fridge for a few hours and it will taste a lot better.

Balsamic Stuffed Mushrooms

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 07:44:00 +0000

This is one of those perfect appetizers for lazy afternoons or weekend evenings. Start with a packet of button mushrooms. Mine had 15-16 mushrooms. Wash the mushrooms thoroughly, then take off the stems to leave some space in the caps for you to stuff. You can use the stems in a stock if you like (don't be like me and throw them away - they make a great stock).

In a bowl big enough to fit all mushrooms, mix 2 tbsp olive oil, a tbsp of balsamic vinegar and plenty of salt and fresh ground pepper. Whisk until you have an emulsion. Add mushrooms and toss to coat well. Leave these in the fridge until you are ready to cook them, but at least for half an hour.

In the meantime, make the stuffing. Start with 50 grams of paneer (or ricotta if that's what you have). Mash well. Add 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese and 8-10 basil leaves that you have chopped finely. I find that cutting the herbs with scissors is usually much quicker and neater than using any knives. Also add salt to taste but go easy here because there's salt already in mushrooms and in parmesan.

When you are ready to eat the mushrooms, preheat the oven to as high as it will go. Mine goes up to 270C. Fill each mushroom with the stuffing and arrange on a baking tray. Bake on the top rack of the oven until the mushrooms are cooked through and the stuffing gets a little browned on top.

Looks familiar?

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 17:11:00 +0000

This is the ultimate quandary. I like pizzas from Pizza Hut but can't stand their garlic bread. And it's just the reverse for Domino's - LOVE their garlic bread but would rather pass on their pizzas. If only it was that simple.

Domino's steadfastly refuses to deliver anything unless you order a pizza first. And tired of ordering a pizza which I give away the next morning, I decided to make my own garlic bread.

It's a basic focaccia recipe, altered to fit the bill. First off, heat 1/2 cup water until it's warm but not hot. 20 seconds in the microwave usually does it. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp of active dry yeast and let proof for 5 minutes.

To the now bubbling yeast, add 1 tbsp olive oil and a cup of plain flour. Mix until the flour is all blended in, then cover and let rise until doubled. Took about half an hour in Mumbai weather.

Now that you have a sponge, add another 1/2 cup flour, salt to taste and (this is most critical) 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Knead for around 5 minutes until you have a smooth dough. It will still be very wet. Let it rise again until doubled.

At this stage, preheat your oven to as high as it goes. Lightly flour your counter and roll out the dough to a rough rectangle. Transfer it to a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush olive oil on top and open up a few packets of Domino's seasoning you saved from the last order to sprinkle on top (or oregano if you must). Cut into strips with a pizza cutter and bake until browned on top, about 10-12 minutes.

The bread looked and tasted "almost" like Domino's. Almost but not quite because my courage failed me at the last minute and I simply could not pour as much oil on top as Domino's does. But go ahead and do that if you like and you will never have to order extra pizzas again.

Sunday Night Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 15:53:00 +0000

I don't know about you, but I usually start thinking about making a salad by the time sunday evening rolls in. Sort of a compensation for pizza and chocolate excesses of the past two days.

Usually made with whatever I can find in the fridge, this sunday night salad can be a hit or miss affair. Today's was a hit. The salad is a mix of steamed corn, alfalfa sprouts, feta cheese and basil. Dressed simply with salt, pepper and lime juice. Then surrounded by my latest find this season - black cherry tomatoes.

The Beach Cafe

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 09:08:00 +0000

Sometimes we get the best gifts and don't even realize how big they are. In the Beach Cafe, the book our club read this month, this happens to Evie, our heroine. Evie is one of those people who muddle alongside a highly successful family. They know Evie's not in their league and never fail to remind her. Everyone except for her aunt, who dies in a car crash and leaves her cafe set by a Cornwall beach to Evie.

Even then, Evie doesn't realize the gift she's been given. After a series of mishaps involving her trying to remotely run the cafe, dealing with some sticky staff situations, Evie comes over to this little Cornish town to live. And to enjoy her legacy. The book is all about this ugly duckling turning into a swan. There is also some romance thrown in and while the story is utterly predictable, this is a great sunday afternoon read.

What else is great on sunday afternoons? Cakes, specially since cakes were what made Evie's aunt so popular. And cakes were what put Evie back on track in running the cafe (well, Cornish pasties did too, but Sweatha already made some). And for this book, I decided to spend my sunday afternoon baking the ultimate vanilla cupcakes. Stef over at cupcake project nominated test bloggers for this one...I wrote in but she didn't pick me so I had to wait until she made the recipe public a few days back.

To make the cupcakes, leave 30 grams butter and an egg out of the fridge until they come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 175 C. Scrape the seeds off a vanilla bean and add them to 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, mixing to break any clumps of seeds and to infuse the sugar with vanilla. Mix 7/8 cup (or 90 grams) plain flour with 3/4 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp baking soda. Add vanilla sugar and mix to combine. Now add butter and mix until you get a fine crumb like texture. In another bowl, combine the egg, 1/6 cup yogurt, 30 ml (2 tbsp) canola oil and 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract. Add this to the flour and mix until just combined. Finally, add 1/3 cup milk and mix until everything's blended in. Don't worry that the batter's too liquid, that's how it's meant to be. Fill 8 muffin tins a little more than halfway with the batter. Don't be like me and try to fit everything in 7 cups (and dont even dare think about 6) - you need to get 8 muffin tins filled!

Bake for 15 minutes, test with a toothpick to see if it comes with any crumbs attached. If it does, continue to bake, checking every 2 minutes, until the cupcakes are done. So are these the ultimate vanilla cupcakes? Sure, they are. With a much lighter crumb and sponge like texture, these cupcakes displace the currently reigning French Yogurt Cake as my default go-to cake. There isn't a picture because they look quite ordinary. So you will just have to bake them yourself to find out how special they are.

And if you would like to find out what our next book is and read along with the club, just write in!

How can something this simple be this hard!

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:54:00 +0000

Brownies are one of those recipes bakers are supposed to whip up in a jiffy. Grandmas make brownies. Why, even 5 year olds bake brownies. And yet, I've been disappointed with recipe after recipe.

Finally, I turned to the most trusted baking gurus of all. And finally, in Dorie Greenspan's classic brownies, I have a winner.

I halved the recipe and got six of these gorgeous creations. And let me tell you that this is the stuff brownie legends are made of. Fudgy but not overly so, gooey but not excessively, and not even too sweet. There's also a hint of coffee in there that somehow makes it more chocolate-y. I've finally found a keeper!

Update: Since so many of you asked, here's the recipe. Line a 7 X 4 inch dish with foil or parchment paper. Or use an 8 inch square dish and double the recipe to give you Dorie's original measures. Preheat the oven to 160 C or 325 F.

Measure out 35 grams butter and 85 grams chocolate (I used 70% dark, but even something lighter is fine). Heat for 30 seconds in the microwave, stir and continue to heat in 10-20 second increments until chocolate is fully melted. Add 3/8 cup powdered sugar. Wait until the mixture cools a bit, then whisk in one egg. Once its mixed in, add 1/2 tsp vanilla essence and 1/4 tsp instant coffee granules. Mix well, then fold in 1/6 cup flour. Don't be heavy handed here, only stir until the flour in just mixed in. Finally, mix in 1/3 cup chopped walnuts.

Pour into the prepared baking dish and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the top is dry and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the dish comes out with only a few crumbs. If you get a clean toothpick, you overcooked your brownies so don't go too far. Wait for the brownies to cool before you unmold them. I cut mine into 6 brownies and Dorie says her original recipe will give you 16 pieces so I guess it depends on how big you make each piece.

Like Water for Chocolate

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Laura Esquivels' first novel could have been a simple love story of two star crossed lovers. Instead, Tita and Pedro become characters in something that's part fable and part fantasy. Set in Mexico, and published in monthly instalments, the novel has a chapter for each month of the year.

Because so much in Tita's life in linked to the kitchen and the food she cooks, every chapter starts with a recipe. The dishes may look ordinary at first glance but their effect on the book's cast is nothing short of magical. With every passing month, the book's magic draws you to Mexico and its strange ancient traditions.

So much in the book is linked to weddings that I decided to bake Mexican wedding cookies in honor of the book.

Also called snowballs, these are really gorgeous cookies. The recipe comes straight from Lottie & Doof, although I replaced pecans with walnuts. As a quick recap, toast 1/2 cup walnuts and chill them. Measure out 1/3 cup icing sugar and use 2 tbsp of that to mix with walnuts. Grind the walnuts+sugar finely in a processor.

Beat 100 grams softened butter with the remaining sugar. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla essence and mix it in. Add the ground walnuts, mix well and then add a cup of plain flour. Mix everything until thoroughly combined. Roll into 1-inch balls, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake in an oven preheated to 170C for 15-20 minutes (or until the cookies get to light golden).

Let cool completely, then sift icing sugar all over the cookies.

If you'd like to see more Mexican treats, head over to the book club for other members' take on the book.

The only pizza topping recipe you will ever need

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 04:48:00 +0000

Specially if, like me, you are always clamoring to order Pizza Hut's Kadhai Paneer or one of those tandoori pizza. I used a store bought pizza base for this one, but the topping is really the topic of discussion here. Think of it as a new and improved version of veg jhalfrazee, the mixed vegetable dish that inevitably shows up on any restaurant menu.

My pizza topping has mushrooms, babycorn, paneer and spinach but you can really pick any combination of vegetables you like. Cut everything into small pieces, say the size of the pea. So, for my pizza, I diced 4-5 mushrooms. Then sliced 4 babycorns into thin round slices. Took a handful of spinach leaves, rolled them up and cut into thin strips. And yes, cut paneer into little dices.

In addition to the vegetables you have picked, you need to finely chop a small onion, tear a handful of basil leaves into little pieces and get yourself a pack of tomato puree. You would also need some dried oregano, although I just used those leftover seasoning packets from Pizza Hut.

Let's get to cooking the topping. Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan. Add the onion and let it cook until it starts to brown. Add 3 tbsp of tomato puree and stir for a minute of so. Now add the mushrooms and babycorn and cook, stirring on a low heat, for 5-7 minutes until they are just about cooked. Add spinach now because it needs just a minute. Finally, mix in the paneer and basil. Add a couple of packets of Pizza Hut seasoning (or a tsp of oregano), then taste the sauce and add as much salt as you think it needs. Also some fresh ground pepper and you are done making your pizza topping.

An Apple A Day

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 15:55:00 +0000

It was in fact a lot of apples at Brown Paper Bag's Forbidden Fruit Workshop at JW Marriott this afternoon. Now I am generally a self taught kind of cook/baker. But I've been to BPB's workshops in the past and they are generally good fun. Plus tarts and pies have been a source of contention within me - I like the ones I bake but know they are not perfect - so this was just the chance to learn from a pro.

Chef Savio Fernandes is the presiding pastry chef at Marriott and he promised to spill some secrets in the three hours we spent baking. We started with the classic shortcrust. That's been my nemesis so far. So I watched the chef like a hawk, and I fully intend to copy his movements and get the consistency of the pastry where he got it the next time I bake tarts. We put the pastry to rest in the fridge and the chef moved to tarte tatin.

A French feast of caramized apples over puff pastry, the recipe starts with - horror of horrors - a dry caramel. I've burnt my hands, literally, trying to make this caramel without any water so that was the second scoop of the day. Chef Savio showed a technique that certainly falls in the realm of "interesting" and again, it's something that makes to my to-try list. There was, alas, no recipe for an easy puff as the chef suggested we save our sanity and use the store bought version.

The next two hours were quickly lost in baking a classic apple pie and two tarts. The rabdi and caramelized apple tart showed the fusion techniques of our pastry chef. The second tart is the one I would squarely put down as whimsical. You will have to wait for details on that one though as I am working on a variation myself.

Once the tarts were all in the oven, the folks at the restaurant brought out sandwiches and icecream. Coffee was on the table already and then trays after trays of the goodies came out. And we ate, well, a lot! My only regret is that the workshop was not very hands on. But some top secret baking tips, 15-20 amateur foodies and a whole afternoon spent in the middle of sugar and butter has left me very happy indeed!

The Lost Traditions

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 04:12:00 +0000

Challi Aboo je.... a loud voice rings out in front of my house in Amritsar. And then this man rolls in with a cart. On top of the cart, a beige box filled with sand. And packed in this sand is that wonder called aboo challi, or roasted corn on the cob. Yet, it's not what you think of when you first hear corn on the cob.

Let me explain. Aboo challi is a rare breed. Unlike the charred, grilled corn on the cob, there is no open fire. The cart guy fills the beige wood box with red hot sand and then buries raw corn cobs deep into the hot pit. Several hours later, the corn slowly cooks into a flavor that's quite unlike the boiled or the roasted versions. The sand is still smoldering when the cart rolls into our neighborhood in the afternoon. The cart guy dips his hand in and brings out a perfectly cooked piece, brushes off the sand and then proceeds to brush rock salt and lime juice all over the corn.

Alas! aboo challi is a dying breed. My dad tells me that it takes too long to roast corn cobs the traditional way so the vendors have resorted to a shortcut. The boil the corn, then put it in lukewarm sand to create the same atmosphere but not the same flavor. No wonder the aboo challi I bought on the trip home last week did not bring back any memories.

And then I realized, Punjab (like indeed, any other place) is full of food traditions no google search will bring up. Food traditions that my parents and uncles and aunts grew up with, but traditions that are now just memories. So I'm going to sit these people down, get their stories and write them here. Just so someone remembers!

Enid Blyton strikes again!

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 15:44:00 +0000

Now you may not remember because this was such a long time ago, but my book club - This Book Makes Me Cook - actually started with an event that Bhags ran. Read a book, and bring back the story and a recipe is what she said. Eventually, more than half the participants brought in their memories of food read from the pages of Enid Blytons.

This month, it's once again back to the memories Enid Blyton put into our young minds way back in school. The book club is reading the Malory Towers. There are six books in the series, chronicling the life of Darrell Rivers, as she goes through six years of education at this Cornish boarding school.

We could have read any one of the books. But once I started, I couldn't stop and ended up reading all six. The camaraderie of young girls living together, the bonding over books and games and the various little things that bring excitement to their otherwise dull lives - Malory Towers is something you can enjoy at any age.

Now food at Malory Towers can tend to be boring. Specially the supper. But not on the first day of the term. When the girls return for another term at school, the cooks put up a feast to welcome them. There are always cakes and pies at this term and I like to think Darrell would have been welcomed to her favorite Easter term by this cherry crumb pie at least once.

I adapted the recipe for the pie crust from something I saw at Masterchef recently. It was not an unqualified success so I'd suggest you go with your favorite crust. But the filling and crumb topping is so gorgeous, its something you absolutely must try.

Or just go see what other book clubbers got to this month.

Perfect Pancakes

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 06:00:00 +0000

This recipe is typical Pioneer Woman. She takes what you and I do when making pancakes - mix flour, sugar, baking powder and add milk and eggs and butter. But she adds her little touches. Like the flour is cake flour so its much, much lighter. And she adds melted butter at the very end and I think that makes this pancakes extra soft.

If that wasn't a good enough start to the sunday, I topped the stack of pancakes with caramalized bananas. First, you cut the bananas in thick slices. Then you roll them in caster sugar. Now heat a non stick pan and add the bananas in a single layer. Wait a couple of minutes to them to brown, then flip and brown the other side too. All this should not take more than 3 minutes. Slide the bananas off the pan right on to the pancakes. NOT on the plate. It's sugar and it will stick.

For that last finishing touch, add chocolate syrup. Or honey, or maple syrup. Just add a lot of something sweet. It makes weekends sweeter.

Before there was McDonalds

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 17:52:00 +0000

And even before there was any kind of burger shop in Amritsar, there were street carts selling band tikki or aloo tikki in a bun. It's a dinner that brings back memories from decades ago.

For the tikki or the potato croquette, I boiled two medium sized potatoes. Peeled them when they were still warm and mashed them. Next, I cut off the sides of a slide of white bread, soaked the slice in water and squeezed it dry. I added the bread to the mashed potatoes along with salt and black pepper. Go easy on the spices here because we are going to add some zing later.

I divided the potatoes into four parts and shaped each into a round flat-ish tikki. Heated some oil in a non-stick pan and pan fried the tikkis till they were golden brown on both sides.

This takes 4-5 minutes so while the tikkis were cooking, I split two burger buns in half and toasted them. Also thinly sliced a small onion. The recipe assumes that you have tamarind chutney and green (cilantro) chutney tucked away in the fridge already but write in if you would like my recipes.

To assemble, spread tamarind chutney on the bun. Arrange two tikkis on top, add some sliced onions and sprinkle the fiery green chutney. Top with the other half of the bun, squish it closed and time travel to your ten year old self.

The Wrong Book

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 04:35:00 +0000

Last month, our book club read A Moveable Feast, a collection of food stories published by Lonely Planet. When I went to buy it on flipkart like I do every month, the first book to show up was in fact another book by the same name. The “other” Moveable feast turned out be Ernest Hemingway’s memoirs, written as a young man living in Paris in the 1920s. This is the time before “For Whom The Bell Tolls”. And way before “The Old Man and the Sea”. No wonder I ended up ordering this book of memoirs instead of what the club had planned.

And what a feast this book is. This is Paris is 1920s, a haunt of American artists. Hemingway has not yet made it as a writer so he is as poor as a church mouse. But you can’t say the same of the people he hobnobs with. His friends and associates – Gertrude Stein, Erza Pound, Scott Fitzgerald – famous yet eccentric all of them, feature more prominently than the author himself.

In between these friendships and conversations, there are a lot of Parisian cafes. But there is mostly drinking and very little eating. Oh! what a life these footloose Americans had! The book had me in stitches with its humorous bent.

And wrong book it might be, it still prompted me to cook. Parisian bistro fare is what I wanted to make and my brain just screamed one dish – croque monsieur. It’s originally a ham and cheese sandwich but I made it in a vegetarian version. There are quite a few components to the dish:

Bread: Nothing too soft, crusty baguettes work but day old white bread is classic and that’s what I used.

Instead of ham: I have sautéed mushrooms. Sliced 5-6 mushrooms thinly. Heated a tsp of olive oil in a pan, added mushrooms and stirred until they started to exude some water. Then let them cook until the moisture all evaporated and the mushrooms were cooked through. Seasoned lightly with salt and dried oregano.

Bechamel Sauce (trust me, you will need it soon!): Warm ½ cup milk. Heat ½ tbsp butter in a pan. Reduce the heat to low and add ½ tbsp flour. Cook, stirring constantly, for about a minute. It should not brown. Add the milk slowly, stirring all the while so you get no lumps. Let cook for another minute or two until the sauce thickens a bit. I usually have to stir it all the time to get rid of any lumps. Add salt and pepper.

The Sandwich: Set your oven to preheat to 250C (or your broiler or grill, whatever works for you – I only have this one oven!). Butter one side of two slices of bread. Take one of the slices and dab some mustard on the unbuttered side. Arrange mushrooms in a single layer and add a layer of gruyere cheese. Top with the second slice and pan fry the sandwich until both sides are lightly browned.

Spread a thin layer of béchamel sauce on top of the sandwich. Its traditional to add more gruyere cheese on top but I varied the routine and decided on parmesan instead. Pop this under the grill for a couple of minutes until the cheese melts and starts to brown.

Contemporary Indian

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 16:37:00 +0000

My problem with Oberoi's Ziya is not that it takes familiar Indian dishes and whacks them out of shape to create continental style plated food. My problem is that the food that emerges at the end of this transformation is mere "meh" and not worthy of the Michelin stars its chef holds. We are seated for lunch at a fabulous table by the window, facing the sea. And the server shows up with two shot glasses of chaas. Totally ordinary, everyday buttermilk.

From the menu, we pick mushroom galouti as starters. I thought it will be interesting and it was delicious for sure, but not a hint of mushroom in there. By now, my dining partner was clamoring for mushrooms so for mains, we picked paneer lifafa with mushroom khichdi. What showed up was a very pretty plate but in the end, it was paneer bhurji in puff pastry. One of the best puff pastries I've eaten, mind you, but just a puff all the same. And mushroom khichdi? Well, there was really only two spoonfuls of it so not sure what to say.

What bugs me even more is that the server asked us what breads we will want, and totally failed to mention that there will be nothing to dunk my black olive naan in. To be fair, he did bring us some kaali daal after the fact but still...

Dessert was a chocolate platter. Served on a faux color palette, and very, very pretty. Wish it were flavorful...the brownie was dry. The white chocolate kulfi just not worth it, neither were the chocolate samosas. The paan flavored white chocolate mousse was nice and refreshing. And I am glad I discovered at least one redeeming fact about Ziya...the chocolate mousse with praline was yummy but that was the only one in everything that day to be so!

Chaat Street

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 18:14:00 +0000

I once tried explaining chaat to an American friend. It's not an entree or a main dish, I told her. For chaat's never eaten at meals. It's for snacking.

So it's finger food, she asked. Or a canape?

Neither, I said. Chaat comes on a plate because its dunked in sauces and its messy. And it's so spicy it makes your eyes water. But it's the best food there is.

By now, my friend sported such a bewildered look that I gave up. You don't explain chaat. You experience it. And preferably, because a little plate of food requires so much work, you don't cook it at home. In fact, chaat always tastes better when eaten off a street cart.

My favorite chaat experiences are dunking puffed golgappas in chilli and tamarind water. And eating that plate of coin sized papdis and dahi vadas drowning in chutneys and yogurt, aptly called bhalla papdi chaat back home.

Then in Mumbai, I made a new favorite. The Dahi Puri - the puffed golgappa filled with spicy mashed potatoes, some sprouted lentils and topped with tamarind chutney that's sweet and savory and spicy at the same time. Also with the extremely spicy cilantro and chilli chutney. Laced with yogurt. And finally garnished with fried gramflour strings as thin as rice vermicelli. Some fresh cilantro too, just for effect. You can't explain the dish, you have to experience it!

Mystery Fruit

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 18:03:00 +0000

This only happened a few times every year, just when the rainy season kicked in. A street hawker will come by, straw basket on head. He will yell "kaul chapni" and I will run out to buy a bundle of these. Stuck together like flowers, they looked like a bouquet. Every hole contains a little fruit. You break out the package, peel the tiny fruit that pops out and eat it. Done slowly, it can take you an hour to eat an head. Or did, when I was about 12 years old.

That was the last time I saw this fruit. I've never seen it again, didn't even know what it was called or where it came from. Three weeks back, Vikram Doctor wrote about a store in Khar that sells Sindhi foods. He described this fruit and I knew it came from my vivid childhood memories. And finally, I knew we were talking about lotus fruit.

Now talk about coincidences. Last weekend, I was passing by a lane in Bandra and for the first time in many, many years I saw the straw basket filled with my mytery fruit. It was like meeting an old friend. I wish I could say that the fruit was as sweet as my memories. The bag I bought was overripe and tough. But now I know where to look for it. Will be back with an update next weekend!

And Vikram Doctor, please write about falsas next. It's a tiny purple berry and again, I don't know what the world calls it outside Punjab. Maybe you'd be the lucky omen and I'd find that one too.

Savory Cookies for ICC

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 17:41:00 +0000

You must have noticed that I haven't been participating in many events lately. No taste & create, and no daring bakers challenges for months now. It's not that I don't want to - I just seem to have a to-do list so long I never get around to doing any challenge in time.

But I do snap out of this laziness for some special ones. Like last month's Indian Cooking Challenge. Srivalli picked khara biscuits or savory cookies from Karnataka's famous Iyengar bakery. I told her there was no way I was staying away from ICC's first baking challenge.

There's another reason too. I am still searching for a good savory cookie or a cracker recipe. Nothing I've baked so far comes anywhere near my concept of what these cookies should be.

So it might be ten days late, but I finally have the khara biscuits for you. Instead of the chillies and herbs in the original recipe, I made my cookies with cumin seeds and some fresh ground pepper.

Interesting flavors, but still not the crunchy cookie I am looking for. The search continues...

Crepes

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 12:55:00 +0000

I'm putting my crepe class at Suzette to good use. Two weeks on, and this is the second time I've made crepes at home. It's really that easy.

If you plan to have crepes for breakfast, you better make the batter the night before. It's okay if you don't but crepes just taste better if the batter gets time to rest.

So the batter...take 250 grams plain flour and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Make a well in the center and add two eggs. Whisk to mix them in, then slowly add 500 ml of milk. Whisk until you get a smooth, lump free batter. Let rest for at least an hour.

Heat a nonstick pan. Your dosa tava is your best bet here. Put a few drops of oil on a tissue paper and use that to wipe your pan. Pour a ladleful of batter in the center of the pan and spread it out as thin as you can. Let brown, then flip and cook the other side.

You can fill these crepes with literally anything you like. I put a tbsp of apricot compote in the middle of mine then folded them up and topped with strawberry coulis.

The Best Vanilla Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:38:00 +0000

The shortest book review in the history of our book club:
The book was My Life from Scratch by Gesine Bullock-Prado. I didn't like it.

Despite the lackluster storyline, the book did have some interesting recipes. I chose to bake Gesine's all purpose vanilla cake. Her cafe sells this as golden eggs - egg shaped cake drenched in butter and sugar. I baked regular muffins, adding some pitted cherries for flavor.

The cherries all sunk to the bottom though so what you see up tops is cherry jam, also homemade, circa yesterday.

So is this the best vanilla cake? If the top was a bit less moist, which it could get to with adjustments in baking time, it well may be.

The Cherry Season is Now On

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 17:39:00 +0000

Bombay Foodie celebrates the start of the cherry season with a parfait. It's a layer of granola, then one of pitted cherries tossed with sugar and lime juice. Finally, some plain yogurt topped with strawberry coulis.

Pretty, isn't it!

Apricot Frangipane Tart

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Tue, 31 May 2011 17:37:00 +0000

Partly baked sweet pie crust courtesy Dorie's Baking Bible

A layer of Dorie's almond cream

And a layer of poached apricots

A gorgeous, sinful tart!

Living the French Life

noreply@blogger.com (Simran) — Sun, 29 May 2011 16:14:00 +0000

Antonia, Jeremie and Pierre grew up eating crepes in France. Then they learnt to make crepes properly in Brittany. Luckily for Mumbai, their next step was to land up here and set up a downtown creperie called Suzette. Even more luckily for me, I was one of the first few to read the mail when Brown Paper Bag announced a crepe making class at Suzette. Looks like hundreds of people wrote in and I was one of the first 16 to sign up!

So 16 of us descended on Suzette this afternoon to be greeted by the three owners and the ever charming Mansi from BPB. Once we'd met the other "strangers" and had our first round of coffees, we were introduced to bilig - the cast iron griddle they use to make crepes. Antonia also showed up the wooden tool they use to spread the crepe batter. All of that requires tons of practice though so they had set up non-stick mini crepe making stations for us instead.

The class began with a lesson on making the crepe batter. They use the plain flour and egg batter for sweet crepes in Suzette and an eggless buckwheat flour batter for savory crepes. Since the flour batter is versatile and can be used for both sweet and savory versions, that's the one we set to make. A few minutes of frantic mixing and whipping later, three pristine bowls of batter were put aside to rest.

In the meantime, we made cream of tuna - one of the four crepe fillings we were to try. Then crepe making started in earnest. The crepe pan was wiped with a little bit of oil and the batter was poured in, spread out thin and cooked on both sides. My first crepe turned out to be a bit too thick, and others had too thin crepes but once we'd tried a few, most of us could proudly made perfect crepes.

And we did end up trying more than a few. First there was the one with cream of tuna. Then, another one with olive tapenade. The sweet versions came out next. The suggested combination was thinly sliced bananas with nutella and coconut. But I know I overdosed on nutella and forgot the rest of the plan. Then, because we were being so nice, Jeremie and Antonia brought us some dark chocolate ganache and a heavenly salted caramel sauce.

Finally, Antonia showed us her favorite. The simplest crepe, yet the best - sprinkled with caster sugar, topped with a squeeze of lime juice and left to caramelize on the griddle. All this while, the room was filled with chatter of people getting to know each other, but mainly getting to know each other's interest in food.

All in all, one of the most enjoyable afternoons I've had in a while.