Our parents and grandparent hardly ever went on diet, they ate everything, Ghee, Mithai, Malai, Samosas, Bhajiyas, Briyanis, Badam Puris, Kulfis. Kheer and celebrated every festival with a rich variety of food. No fuss, no guilt nor shame in choice of food, no restrictive food rules. And yet they were quite healthy, their skin glowing with happiness of life lived well.
Now these diet fad! So what is the difference?
It’s the sedentary lifestyle we live today. We have 24 hours live-in helper at home. All the bills are paid online, we get home deliveries at the dwindling of the thumb, and we always use lift to go upstairs. We tire easily because we have lay-back attitude, we are always on phone, checking endless messages and forwarding the silly ones, crouched on couch like a potato, ordering junk-food, watching endless TV serials AND we give big head ache to our parents, with continuous jargon of words like ‘can’t eat this’ ‘don’t want that’ ‘I am watching my diet’, ‘this is too fattening.’ and the endless ramble of the latest trends.
Poor parents, they love us too much, so they tolerate all our NaatakBaazi
But luckily, we have home-chefs, who care for our health and create healthy cakes/Ice-creams that everybody can eat guilt free. Bindass!
Shilpa Seth Bhambri is the home chef who understands it all.
Shilpa Seth Bhambri is baker and trained chef practicing her expertise over 28 years. She has mastered the craft of baking and cake decorating by learning from some of the best International and local culinary artists. She is founder of ‘The Cakeline,’ a customised cakerie with extension to all things sweet. The recipes have been curated and developed with lot of research by her. She has added a healthy range of confections and desserts that are endorsed by her own philosophy of nutritionally enhanced eating. She also works as a culinary advisor to ‘Baskin Robbins India’ and has created a line of products in their range. (Remember the Icecream cake at Baskinrobbins?..Her creation!) She also works as a food photographer, stylist and recipe developer.
She specialises in cakes and desserts with a focus on egg-free, low calorie products. During lockdown2020, she is personally baking a limited range to offer all a safe and risk free menu, taking utmost care to prepare clean and hygienic bakes.
She is always fascinated by her Mom’s style of cooking ‘Andaaz Sey’-the Indian way of weighing by sight method of cooking. Her Mom is a pure vegetarian, cleans meat/seafood with tongs but cooks wonderful dishes for the family. Her Mom’s hearty wholesome cooking forms the base and her large part of her food memories that include Doodhwalla Mutton, Pishori Cholle with Aloo Puri, being her classic favourites till now.
The best eureka food memories are from the corridors and kitchens of the Taj Mahal hotel, Mumbai.
“When I trained in its banquets and kitchens, I tasted some of the best culinary creations made by its senior chefs. From Pate de Fois, to Caviar on Blinis, hand churned Ice creams, Devils on Horseback, Baklava to the finest chocolate creations, Duck l'orange, Peking Duck with pancakes. Always encouraged by my mentor to taste what was cooked and served. My fine sensory palate was formulated in these initial years of my culinary school training.”
She is happy to share the recipe of Ragi Banana Cake
(This is one of her oldest signature recipes which is “Maida free, Sugar free, Egg free”. She has replaced refined sugar with Jaggery and made this delicious ‘anytime healthy tea-cake’.
1. Sift both flours (100gms Ragi/Nachni flour) and (100gms whole wheat flour) with ½ tsp baking powder, 1 ½ tsp baking soda and pinch of salt.
2. In the warm/melted 100gms butter, add 150gms Jaggery powder.
3. Mix well with a spatula. This will help the jaggery to dissolve.
4. Add 150gms whisked yoghurt and 120gms banana pulp(about 2 ½ bananas).
5. Mix well.
6. Mix the sifted flours into the butter mixture (of step 2).
7. Add 1tsp Cinnamon powder and 1tsp Vanilla extract.
8. Do not over mix.
9. Pour batter into a greased and lined 7x7inch tin.
10. Bake at 170 degrees Celsius for about 35-45 minutes.
11. Cool cake completely before cutting into slices to serve.
Shilpa Seth Bhambri was awarded Home Chef and Baker's award 2020 for the contribution to India's Home chef & Baking Industry in the category of 10 years+
Other than that she is also an avid food photographer and food stylist. Her new venture curates an expression of all her learning in the food world that is passionately expressed in the series of food tales in the form of mini video stories featuring home chefs, foodies and passionate cooks. You can view them all on her U-tube Channel at foodtaleswithShilpa.
You can order her signature items on preorder; DM or call at 9930987989
Follow her at Instagram at Shilpasethbhambri
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