Gourmet Goodness On Duck-I-Licious - Treats By Chef Varun Inamdar

Back then, when I lived in Surinam, Parimaribo, duck was the regular meat cooked in every local house and it was relished by all. I loved it, specially when It was cooked in an authentic Suriname masala.

Back home in Mumbai, I have eaten only sweet Peking duck wrapped in a pancakes.

This invite by #FBAIUSPoultry @foodbloggerai was a welcome change from eating chicken,  pork or mutton. What makes duck unique is that duck meat can be prepared to a medium temperature and the texture of a properly prepared duck breast resembles beef fillet but juicier and more flavorful than chicken or turkey. Its' rendered fat can also be used to season and flavor other dishes.

I entered the top floor of Foodhall at the cooking studio, greeted to the warmth of Saloni, Sam and my dear foodie friends. Was happy to meet Varun Inamdar, the celebrity chef (no introduction required, hello everybody knows him, if you don't, then clearly you are not a foodie). Varun moved around happily greeting everybody individually, clicking selfies with laughter and fun. The vibrant atmosphere had already set in.

There were drinks and snacks to start with. One of the long tables was occupied by chef for pre-preparations of the ingredients that would be used during live cooking demos. In one pot there were thick slices of potatoes boiling in orange juice infused with salt and sugar, in other pot were the  asparagus for blanching.

One of reasons, I enjoy these events is that I get to know about new products introduced in Indian markets and recently I have learnt about different products introduced by USA Poultry & egg export council, that have included chicken and chicken products, egg products, turkey products and now USA duck products. I am sincerely grateful to @salonim and @sammalkani for inviting me for such events.

After a brief introduction, all of us walked down, 2 levels down for the unveiling of Duck-I-Licous products that includes ready-to-eat like Roast Half Duck, Duck Leg Confit, some cold cuts and more.

Back up at cooking studio, Varun Inamdar's tips and tricks of treating duck were an eye opener. In his vibrant moods, he showed us the creative way of cooking duck to perfection, pointed out the treatment of fat and rendering the duck meat and how it could be used for flavoring other dishes in frying, sauteing,  roasting and baking.

He prepared three dishes using frozen duck packets available at super stores.

I enjoyed the live demos of scorched duck breast

Watch the demo of this recipe @ my u-tube channel at Pushee's Corner 

This was followed by Live demo of Roast Duck Burgers. 

Watch the recipe @ my u-tube channel Pushee's Corner

Finally the Live demo of Bombay Duck Frankie. 

Do watch the recipe @ my u-tube channel (don't forget to subscribe my channel, to boost my ego please)

The excitement was building up, with everybody clicking pictures, some of them (like paparazzi) going live on Insta and facebook. Although we had tasted bits of meat and veggies during the demos, the hunger pangs were mounting. We headed towards the dining room at the basement of foodhall to enjoy the brunch of salad, main course and dessert. Before the event, we had already selected our choice of dishes, and now the wait was done, as we sat along long tables, meeting and greeting till the food made its appearance at our tables.

It was a perfect Sunday afternoon spent with my foodie friends. My sincere thanks to @salonim and @sammalkani for creating this opportunity of learning experience. Also a sincere thanks for a beautiful bag and 2 sharp knives (best gift ever) Loved it.

#FBAIUSPoultry @foodbloggerai @usapeec.in @mapleleafarms @tasteofamerica

Galentines Soirèe With TheWoodenSpoon

 Normally on the Valentine day, I sleep. 

That is the best thing for me to do although I am happy for the people who celebrate love. 

But what I was not aware is that there is special day to show love to your girl friends too... no.. wait.. don't get ideas... this is love for friends whose company we enjoy and this is celebrated on Galentine day

Did you know? I didn't. 

Actually being single, I am always scared to show my love to girls.....although I do like all my friends and they care for me too.

So now that Nupur Varma of @thewoodenspoonbynupur invited me to a  Galantine soirèe, the first thing I did was to google it and I learnt that  Galentine's Day is a "day for women to celebrate their friendships with their lady friends." 

Essentially, the meaning of Galentine's Day is Valentine's Day for your gals" Made famous by Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope in the TV series Parks and Recreation, this fictional holiday has gained a lot of traction in the real world ever since the initial “Galentine's Day” episode aired in 2010.

 I was surpised that this day is celebrated around world since more than 10 years now and I was not even aware of it.

Okay! Better late than never.

So sweet of Nupur Varma of @thewoodenspoonbynupur to include me in this event and she asked me to bring a friend too.


The invitation card was stylish too and it was hand delivered with  a gift hamper that contained hand made sauces, chocolates, and personalized apron and personalized wooden spoon.

That set the mood..now I was sure that it was going to be an event I shoudn't miss

So on 10th february,  (actually it falls on 13th Feb) I reached the venue at Pedder road, Nupur's beautiful home decorated with pink baloons and selfie board.

 There was a great selection of finger food, all tongue tickling...her food was visually appetising. Nupur had paid attention to every detail and everything was done with much love and style, there was a perfect ambience, and there was beautiful crockery for serving and eating.

Nupur M Varma has travelled around the world exploring different culture, heritage and food. She felt the need to popularise the world's cuisine and bring it to people's home. So after endless trials and extensive research, she has developed a collection of simple to use recipes of delicacies from exotic places as far flung as  Switzerland, Burma, Vietnam and also grandma's secret recipes from different parts of India. Her recipes have been improvised where neccessary to suit the needs of the modern kitchen and the time constrained office-goers.

After few sessions of selfies and group pictures, we moved to the section of the room to watch the workshop. Nooper was kind enough to share the detail and useful tips while making Sushis, Salads and Tirmisu. Then it was our turn to try our hands on the recipes and reproduce the same.

 Although it seemed easy when she conducted the workshop, but it was an effort for me..but yes..I did learn something new and even brought back home my creation of Sushi and salad for my family to share with.

It was a wonderful evening, meeting new people, relishing tasty food and then bringing back more gifts neatly packed for us to feast on.

An unforgettable evening indeed

What I learnt
Strawberry feta salad
Spicy avocado sushi
Sushi rice
Spicy mayonaise
Tiramisu

Recipe of Tiramisu( as shared by Nupur Varma

Ingredients

200gms Mascarpone cheese

200gms Fresh Cream

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup strong coffee

250gms Sponge cake

2tbsp Coffee liquer(opt)

Method

1. Whip the cream until it forms peaks

2. Beat the mascarpone and sugar until smooth. Add 1/4 cup coffee and beat until incorporated

3. Mix the coffee liquer and camp coffee into the remaining coffee

4. Fold the cream into the mascarpone mixture

5. Soak the sponge fingers into the xoffee mixture and line the bowl or glass with them

6. Pour the mascarpone mixture over the sponge layer

7. Freeze for 4-6 hours

8. Garnish with coffee powder

9. Serve chilled

Sadak Chaap At Mumbai

Sadak Chaap literally means street-marquee, or an urchin who grows on streets (sometimes it was also used as an abuse term for the person who has nothing to do). Nevertheless it’s an interesting name for a restaurant that serves vegetarian street food.

Till date, it has five outlets spread across Mumbai, and you can enjoy their meals at Khar, Chembur, Malad, Powai and Versova and now it is spreading its tentacles still wider to reach other cities of India finding its new outlet at Ahmedabad.

Sister to Sindhful restaurant at Khar (an authentic Sindhi Food that also includes non-veg), Sadak Chaap started as a pure-veg take_a_away service at Khar, but sit-down outlets at Powai, Chembur, Malad and Versova  gained its popularity because of the crispness of fried food that tastes best when eaten  instantly and also the pleasure of enjoying Gola Sherbet the traditional way at its’ Powai outlet. It has options for Vegan too.

The food that is served at Sadak Chaap is unique, it replicates the taste of the non-vegetarian meat with similar marinates on meat substitutes to give those authentic flavors and there is a huge variety of  vegetarian dishes introduced  periodically on their menu.

On my recent visit to its Versova outlet, I enjoyed an hearty meal. This outlet has interesting ambience, walls adorned with interesting posters and the collage of the kitchen articles used in early 50's. It has self Service counter but you still get help at the tables.

I started with a spiced buttermilk  of mint, chillies and ginger and that set my mood.

This was followed by Chaap of different flavors

Pepper Aghani Chaap

Afghani Chaap

Barra Chaap

Honey Potatoes

KFC Fries

Stuffed Mushrooms

Tandoori Paneer

Pineapple Chaap

This is the perfect venue for vegetarians to feast on. Gone are the days when people at parties enjoyed just Paneer or Potatoes as starters.

Kulcha Chole

Tava Rice Puloa

The food of Sadak Chaap is often enjoyed at grand parties with great variety of exotic finger food that include Mushrooms, tofu, Mock-meat, Paneer and many other veggies disguised into non-veg delight but actually are pure veg.

desserts

Party orders are taken at their Khar outlets, take-away options are available all over Mumbai through Swiggy or Zomato but if you wish to meet your friends at kitty parties, their outlets at Versova or Powai are the best options.

Follow them on their insta handle @sadakchaapmumbai

Follow my U-tube for live interview of visitors at Sadakchaap here