Home Chefs Of Mumbai – Part 5 Lipaa Ritesh Shah

Memories!! 

You may think that you have a good memory, but actually you remember only what is important to you. Unimportant memories fade away with time, superimposed by new experiences that we collect each day.

 But there are certain memories that never fade away, especially food memories. You will always remember that first tingling sensation felt while tasting something sensational. That really spicy dish that had raised the body temperature,  cheeks flush,  lips plump. Or that certain brand of Chocolate from a menu d’amour. But can food really have an aphrodisiac effect on us?

 

Whatever the reason, food that matter, memory clings for a life time.

 

 Home Chef Lipaa Ritesh Shah  (of Food Fiesta fame) remembers the rich flavours of a sweet dish that was prepared by her Grandmom. She was just 12 years old but fondly remembers her grandmom’s traditional Sindhi winter delicacy Khoya made of dates, dry fruits and coriander seeds.

 

She vividly remembers her lunch on a boathouse at Dal lake in Srinagar five years ago..  “I had two lovely Kashmiri dishes. One was baigan(eggplant) in kattha tomato and tamarind gravy and another was Lotus stem in mint curd gravy. Both so different but simply delicious. The Lotus stem was so so crisp and white as snow” she reminisces.

 

Lipaa specialise in Sauces, Pickles, Sindhi cuisine and Kutchhi cuisine.

 

Lipaa started cooking at the age of 12 inspired by her Sindhi Mom and grandmom, and by age18, she was cooking food for kitty parties. Early marriage landed her in a Katchhi home with Mom-in-law equally talented, who taught her Katchhi cuisine as well. Once the children were grown up, she started to write cook book for her daughter, it got published and sold 700 copies in first year itself. In the same year, (in 2015), she got her first smart phone. That opened Pandora box for her.

 

In 2016, she made Choonda (Sweet Mango pickle) for the first time, making 4 times the required quantity. She gifted the excess to her family and friends. They loved it and placed order for more. Out of excitement, she mentioned it on Social media. And Boom!! She was flooded with orders. She got connected to a lot of people from the food industry.

 

She is happy to share her recipe for Schezwan Sticks

 

 

1.     Mix 1 cup of finely chopped Carrots, Cabbage, Spring Onions, Capsicum

2.     Add 1tsp Ginger Garlic paste, 1 tsp Soya Sauce, 3/4 tsp Agnomoto(optional)

3.     Add 4tbsp Corn flour, ¼ cup bread crumbs, pinch of red food colour

4.     Add Schezwan Sauce (Food Fiesta product for best results) .

5.     The mixture should form a soft dough. If required add 1-2 tbsp of corn flour.

6.     Divide into 20 equal portions.

7.     Roll each portion into small finger size sticks.

8.     Deep fry till golden brown.

9.     Serve with chilly sauce and garnish using spring onion greens

Lipaa Shah was awarded Home Chef and Baker's award 2020 for the contribution to India's Home chef & Baking Industry in the category of 2-5years

 

 

Over the years, Food Fiesta has grown and evolved. Now she sells about 75 different products.  Recently, due to the pandemic, she has also ventured into weekly menus.

 

You can follow her on her FaceBook page Food Fiesta

 

Orders can be placed on her Watsapp number 9324195125.

 

Follow her on Instagram handle foodfiestabylipaa