Home Chefs Of Mumbai – Part 31 – Ritika Ahuja

The festival of lights can also be called festival of flavours. Indian food is full of flavours and it varies from region to region.

 On Diwali day, a special traditional food is cooked in every Sindhi homes. It is called Satt Bhajju, a pure combination of seven vegetables cooked in a clear stew with no spices, just salt and black pepper.

Every community have their own traditional food during Diwali festival. 

 It is a long held Bengali tradition to eat ‘Choddo Shaak’, a preparation made of 14 different leafy greens, on the day before Kali Puja or Diwali. (Diwali in Bengal coincides with Kali Puja and it is believed that a hearty meal of the fourteen greens keeps the evil spirits away.). ‘Gajerela’, a runny carrot kheer loaded with slivered almonds, is Diwali dessert pudding eaten mainly in north India. Light and fluffy, with a sour and spicy seasoning of chilli powder and dry mango powder,‘Cholafali’ is melt in the mouth traditional Gujarati snack enjoyed during Diwali.   

  ‘Poha’, or flattened rice, is the star of a traditional Diwali celebration in Goa. Locally known as ‘’Fau’, it is prepared in five different ways on Diwali — Batata Fau (with piquant potatoes), Kalayile Fau (with jaggery and spices), Doodhatlye Fau (with milk), Rosathle Fau (with cardamom-infused coconut) and a simple sweet poha prepared with curd or buttermilk. 

 There is certain kind of festivity in air that brings family and community together. All over the world, we see families of all ages participate in community functions during festivals, (but unfortunately), quite lately, it has been observed that the youngsters (in India specially) show little interest in family functions and prefer hamburgers, pizzas or Chinese cuisine instead of eating traditional food during festivals. Many of them are forced to take part in family customs and culture and to enjoy the traditional food and some of them do start appreciating it too. 

Besides traditional food there are sweets, desserts, farsan and savories specially made during the festivals.

Enjoy this Diwali with Home Chef Ritika Ahuja, She is busy making Diwali hampers of every kind.

 

Home Chef Ritika Ahuja(of foodfahionandmoremumbai fame) started with basic cakes, tea time cakes and gradually moved towards frosted and layered cakes. She attended few classes and upgraded to making chocolates too. Presently, her tea time and travel cakes like dry fruit cake, Parsi Mawa cake, Date and Walnut cake, Almond and Cherry cakes are most popular. Her Indian sweets like Besan Barfi, Sev Barfi and Kalakhand are also loved by most.  

 Ritika Ahuja was also with Authenticook for a couple of years for Sindhi Cuisine and then with TinyOwl as a Chef. She is also a fashion designer.

Her love story with food started at a very early age. She belonged to a small family where her mom used to indulge them with delicacies and great variety of evening snacks.

“In those times eating out was not so frequent but ordering in or picking up food surely was. Chinese food was very popular. I remember “Chinese Room” at Kemp’s Corner. It was our favourite eating destination. Remembering the Chilly Chicken from there still makes my mouth water. It was so good! “ She remembers fondly.

After marriage, her adventure with food continued, but now, it was she, who was preparing it. She experimented with new cuisines for her family to enjoy - Pizzas, Chinese, Butter Chicken, Biryani. Her Sindhi cuisine like Sindhi mutton and Kadi Chawal were the most loved dishes! 

 “Later, I felt the urge to try out dishes that I had heard about but never tried cooking before. Thus began my fascination with bakery and desserts.” She says

She has many good food memories to share. One that she vividly remembers is on her Jaipur trip. “During our trip to Jaipur to explore the textile market, we had an exhausting day and were looking for a decent place to have dinner. We entered this restaurant called HANDI on MI Road and ordered their specialty ‘Laal Maas’. It turned out to be absolutely delicious. It is a traditional Rajasthani mutton delicacy prepared in yoghurt, hot spices and dry red chillies. We had it with Roomali rotis. It was an unforgettable experience. In fact I really would not mind going back to Jaipur just to repeat this experience. I had loved it so much.”

She is happy to share her recipe of Crème Caramel

1. Take ¼ cup of water and ½ cup of sugar in a pan. 

2. Keep on slow heat, do not stir. 

3. Soon golden coloured caramel will be seen. 

4. Remove from heat and pour into your pudding bowl. 

5. Boil 1 lire milk in another sauce pan for half an hour. 

6. Add ½ cup sugar, boil again for another 10 minutes. 

7. Remove from heat. 

8. Let it cool to room temperature. 

9. Add 1.5tsp vanilla essence. 

10. Add  6 eggs. 

11. Beat with a whisk/rotary beater till thoroughly mixed. 

12. Pour this mix into the pudding bowl over the caramel. 

13. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. 

14. Steam or bake the pudding bowl in over with 2 cups of water in a tray. 

15. After 30 minutes, remove from oven and let it cool. 

16. Refrigerate for 4 to 5 hours

17. Remove to serve. 

18. For plating, you over turn the bowl to place the pudding upside down in a dish. 

19. Ready to serve. 

20. Options.Garnish with thinly sliced nuts. 

Follow her Instagram account at foodfashionandmoremumbai 

 Stay connected on her Watsapp at 98205 44070 

Home Chefs Of Mumbai – Part 22 - Richa Dorwani

Many of our food preferences are built during our growing up days. Everybody loves their own home cooked food, specially the one cooked by their mom, or grand-mom. Back then, we hardly ever went travelling to exotic places, going to Nanima’s house during summer vacation was the ultimate destination . Time was spent playing with cousins and enjoying home-cooked food. Normally we copied/aped the taste of our aunts or cousins. If our favourite aunt liked spicy mutton and was enjoying the taste, we liked the expressions on her face, her relishing of the food, we got curious to taste it, we loved it too. The first time we tasted, we cried, sniffed through leaky nose, but then we liked it. our taste buds got conditioned to eat spicy food. 

Then there are many families, who eat completely bland food (even half a chillie is too spicy) but that’s the way they are conditioned to.

People who grow up in a non-vegetarian home will never understand how others can enjoy the food without meat. Many times we are conditioned to hate certain kind of food without ever tasting it (that too is a copied emotion).

Its only when we begin to understand the flavours and their nutritional value, that we finally start to develop our own taste buds and decide what is best for us. We get exposed to new food on our travels abroad, or at pop-up meetings or at social parties. We experiment  different cuisine at friend’s homes, in restaurants, and even on the streets. Our food journey begins.

But desserts are mostly enjoyed by all, and Richa Dorwani’s cakes are artistically prepared and truly amazing.

Richa Dorwani (Of Desserts Dreams N More fame) is a cake artist.

She specialises in baked goodies like tea cakes, cream cake. Healthy cookies are some of the other items she specialises in. Few of her hot selling items also include evening snacks like Ragda Pattice, Chole, Dahi Vadas.

Her love for good food grew at a very early age watching both, her maternal and paternal grandmothers, cook up yummy finger smacking dishes. She enjoyed entertaining people and loved spending time in the kitchen. Having lived in a joint family most of her life, a large part of her childhood was spent in the company of her cousins. Being surrounded by many people brought about the fun, chaos and a multitude of flavours to taste. 

Her family is located in Mumbai and Pune. So every summer vacation was spent with her family in Pune. Along with her family and cousins, they would try all the eating place around the city and experiment with all kinds of food. She fondly remembers one quaint little Iranian café that they loved to frequent.  

“One such experiment was a quaint little Iranian cafe - Marz-o-rin. They had a little sit out area and the beautiful aroma of a fresh bakery. Their wafer thin chicken sandwiches were a sensational hit amongst all of us cousins. The smell of those delicious baking, the familial inspiration of my grandmothers cooking along with the joy of feeding people, drove me to choose being a Pastry chef and inspired me to push my own start up - Dessert Dreams N More.”

She shares her recipe of Eggless Banana Chocolate Walnut Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 160Centigrade. 

2. Blend 3 medium bananas in a mixer or mash nicely with hands. 

3. Mix this pureed banana with1/2 cup milk, ¼ cup brown sugar, 2tbsp yoghurt, 1tsp vanilla essence, 4tsp rice bran oil, and salt. 

4. Keep it aside. 

5. Sift ½ cup wheat flour, ½ cup maida, ¼ cup Ragi flour, 1tsp baking soda and ½ tsp cinnamon powder for even mixing. 

6. Add wet and dry ingredient gently and evenly. 

7. Add 1/4cup chopped walnuts. 

8. Add 1/2cup chopped dark chocolates chips. 

9. Transfer in a baking dish

10. Bake in pre-heated oven for 35-40minutes. 

11. Check with knife or toothpick, if it comes out clean then it is done.

P.S. - Prices may change depending on availability of raw materials. 

A day's notice would be preferable to whip up your order :) 

Customised cakes are available at an additional cost.

Follow her on Instagram @richa_dorwani

Contact her on Watsapp at 83694 63490

Home Chefs Of Mumbai- Part 20 – Manju Mishra

You may enjoy cuisines around the world but the humble classic combination of dhal rice is always a winner. It is a comfort food for everybody. Each region has its’ own traditional way of cooking Desi food. Sweet sour Tuvar dhal of Gujarat, yellow dhal fry- Dhaba style, black dhal of Punjab, Sambar of the south. Hundreds of recipes are churned out in regional kitchens throughout India.

 Western cuisine on the other hand normally mix dhal with meat or chicken. French use lentils as garnish for meat dishes. Cassoulet is the combine of meat with beans. Italians have sausages with lentils. Some will add bacon for infusing lentils with flavour. Ethiopians are known for stewing lentils in various ways to cook thick enough to be eaten with Injera bread. In the US, Chilie con Carne of Tex-Mex cuisine is basically Keema and Rajma and the original Boston baked beans are made with pork. Currently it is common to see lentils in salad in high end restaurants throughout the US. 

Back home, although Parsi and Muslims do have meat combos with dhal, but for Hindus, it remains to be veg comfort food and a simple Khichdi is most satisfying meal on any lazy day. And Dhal is always included in every Indian Thali that comprises of assorted meal of vegetables, curd, chappaties, rice and sweet dish.

If Thali is what you like, then Home Chef Manju Mishra’s  food is not to be missed.

Manju Mishra (Of Hands to Heart Mumbai fame) started the tiffin service at the insistence of her daughter’s friends, who loved her food. Her food reminded the girls of home-cooked meals since they lived far away from their families. Now that her daughter has moved abroad and she is left with ample of free time, she decided to use it to provide affordable daily-meals for people living away from home and for those who’re tired of cooking on a daily-basis during these difficult times of lockdown.

Manju specialises in both, Rajasthan and Odia cuisines since she is born into a traditional Rajasthan family, and married into an Odia one. Her Mathris, Pyaaz ki kachoris, mini-samosas, burgers, cutlets and curries have received lot of appreciation. She is a quick learner and keeps introducing new menus regularly that includes Italian, Chinese, North Indian, among others. 

Like every Indian woman, her journey with food started at her mother’s instructions. She was raised in a middle class household with in house cook, but his sick leave always demanded her presence in the kitchen. On the rare occasions, whenever she cooked, there were always appreciations and she realised that she could train to be a good chef. She decided to develop her skills at cooking during college days and signed into cooking demos to learn a variety of exotic cuisines. 

Her opportunity to cook regularly began after marriage when her presence was required in the kitchen during maximum hours. Cooking took a front stage along with managing a family-life. Her husband’s job resulted into dislocating her home every few years to a new city, from Rourkela to Bairampur to Bhubaneswar to Pune and finally at Mumbai. She has endured long journeys of changing-businesses, uprooting life constantly and finally found stability in Mumbai 

Besides her passion for food, She is also associated with a charity organisation called ‘Giants Group of Mumbai One’ where she regularly donates food to the needy, especially during this pandemic. Manju is full of talents and sings beautifully, you could hear her devotional and Bollywood songs that she regularly uploads at U-Tube channel.

She talks about the memories of the food she had during her school days.

“I just can’t forget the taste of the Nimai ke Samose that we got after school. It was a small street stall, nothing fancy, but I can still recollect its mouth-watering flavours and many times, sub-consciously, I do try to replicate those taste in my creations of Samose.”

She is happy to share her recipe of Baked Vegetables

1. (To prepare white sauce), in an Iron pan, melt 2tbsp of butter, add 2tbsp of white flour, Add 2 cups of milk, stir on low flame till you get saucy consistency. 

2. Add salt, pepper and 1 grated cheese cube. 

3. Mix it well.

4. Keep it aside. 

5. Take1tbsp butter in pan. 

6. Add 1cup peas, 1cup chopped carrots, 1 cup chopped cabbage, 1 cup chopped cauliflower and salt. 

7. Cover and cook for 10 minutes on a slow flame. 

8. Chop 100gms Cottage Cheese and 1 medium potato into small pieces 

9. Deep fry. 

10. Mix the boiled vegetables, white sauce, fried veggies

11. Add 1tbsp tomato sauce. 

12. Transfer to a baking dish. 

13. Grate and spread 50gms cheese on mixed vegetables. 

14. Bake at 180 degree for 10mins or till cheese changes to brownish colour. 

15. Ready to Serve!  

You can contact her at Watsapp 93707 05450

Follow her on Instagram @hands&heartMumbai

Enjoy her devotional song on U-tube 

Home Chefs Of Mumbai - Part12 - Faiziya Soomar

British have really confused everybody by calling every Indian dish ‘Curry’. 

Curry is for adventure because every body has their own own style of cooking with their choice of spices, their selection of vegetables/meat. Its kind of stew, a medley of flavors, rich in taste. 

Curry is for craving. When we are tired of simple meals of Dhal, Chawal, Khichdi, Poha and Bread and we really want to pamper ourself with some rich ingredients like Nuts and Cream, Herbs and Spices, those magical kind of calories does the trick.

Curry is for sharing with our loved one, because it cannot be cooked in small quantities (or rather it should not), it is fun to sit on a large dinning table or even squat on the floor in a circle, and dig out a spoonful for each from the pool.

Curry is for caring, it has feel-good factor, we all know that it is a big part of our diet, it makes us smarter, heathier, happier, sexier.

Prawn curry of Faiziya Soomar is too delicious to miss.

Faiziya Soomar (of Cutchi Memom Table fame) is the pioneer home-chef, first of the kind, when home delivery was not so common. She was born and raised in Bangalore and migrated to Mumbai after marriage. She has been cooking and baking passionately since the last 29 years. She is a very private person, and prefers to let her food do the talking. 

And talking it does, to the food loving Mumbaikars, with its authentic taste and flavours, Meals and Mithais, Mutton Kababs and kheema Samosas, Shahi Tukda and  Sheer Khorma.

She specialises in Cutchi Memom Food.  Her ancestors were from Kutch, Bhuj, Gujarat. As a young girl, she watched her aunt take cooking and baking classes and secretly hoped to teach someday. Her mom is an excellent cook, and fiercely guards her recipes. She was inspired by her mom to cook and got confident in her cooking skills

“So somewhere in between, I started taking orders, on the insistence of neighbours and friends, and there has been no looking back.”

Her greatest memories are of childhood when she spent her weekends at her grandparent’s home, creating chaos with her other cousins. Meal times were always special. Since she was the oldest grandchild, she held a special place in her grandparents hearts, 

“Every time my nani asked me what I want to have on Saturday, I would say "Chicken Biryani". I loved her Chicken Biryani and Mutton Khichda the most. It was delicious to say the least. Over the years I'd forgotten how much I loved these dishes, and it's always what my children and husband want to eat, that holds priority. One day, recently, my dad told me,"Faizi, every time Chicken Biryani is made at home, we miss you.”  It brought tears to my eyes, as I had forgotten, what my preferences were!” she relates, feeling nostalgic 

Mutton khichda is another delicacy, that was finger licking good in her Nanis house. Her Nani would serve it in huge bowls, topped with flavourful oil, removed from the korma, before the dals and wheat, were mixed into the gravy. Then load it with birista, and served with lime.

“It was the best khichda, I've ever eaten.” She continues.

 In mumbai, she is a part of Baker’s Club, where she meets all other bakers once a month. They share their recipes and guide each other with tips and tricks and are always selflessly helping each other.  This has changed her a lot and she has overcome her shyness 

“Its only after I joined The Baker's Club Of India, that I came out of my shell, and interacted with a lot of talented people, which also boosted my confidence in myself.”

Faiziya is happy to share her recipe of Prawns Curry

1. Mix 3 large Tomatoes with 2 tbsp Garlic-Ginger paste, 2 tbsp coarsely ground Kashmiri Chilli Powder, 2 tbsp Coriander Powder, 

2. Grind to a fine paste. 

3. In a vessel, add a tbsp of oil. 

4. Add 4-5 Curry Leaves and 1tbsp of Mustard Seeds, and let it splutter.

5. Add the ground masalas, (prepared in step 2). 

6. Bhuno for at least half an hour, on slow flame. 

7. Add 2 cups of thick coconut milk. 

8. Add 3-4 pieces of kokum. 

9. Let it boil. 

10. Add prawns, cook for a minute. 

11. Take off the flame. 

12. Serve hot with steamed rice or Neer dosas. 

Faiziya Soomar was awarded Home Chef and Baker's award 2020 for the contribution to India's Home chef & Baking Industry in the category of 5-8 years

You can call or message/watsapp her on 9820398922. 

Alternatively you can also place an order on Instagram at TheCutchiMemomTable 

Home Chefs Of Mumbai – Part 11 – Priya Bajaj

Rice. Simplest way we can cook this is to boil it using only water, salt and oil. If we have sedentary life style, eating too much rice may increase the risk of diabetes. But then who doesn’t like rice? Nobody can avoid it all together. But we can be creative and cook it in such a way that it is plain, boring, white no more. Everybody understands that, and they will add colourful vegetables, different meat/seafood, flavoured spices, variety of lentils to make it tastier and healthier. The quantity of rice is reduced and there is more of condiments that you use. Double Mazza.

In Vietnam, they make Rainbow Rice called Xoi Nu Gac , they use natural colours of Panda leaves, Gac fruit, Moong beans, Magenta plant. People around the world have their own creation of rice dishes. There is Paella in Spain, Hokein in China, Tehdig in Iran, Jellof in Africa, Nasi Goreng in Indonesia, Rissotto in Italy. That Champorado rice of Phillipines is chocolate porridge rice, just like you will find Saffron and Cardamom flavoured Tehree in Sindhi Homes. We have Khichdi, we have Pilaf, we have Briyani bursting with flavours. What more? If there is left-over rice in the fridge, it dons a new avatar of fried rice at the  breakfast table.

If you drool over flavourful Prawns Pulao by Priya Bajaj I won’t be surprised.

For the longest time, food has been an intrinsic passion of Priya Bajaj (of HD Food fame). It was something that she was good at and it gave her happiness. Her kitchen was her personal artistic space where she would exalt her creativity, vent out the day’s frustration and was the means of expression of love for her family. But the realisation was not just restricted to the realms of her family.  On the suggession of family, neighbours and friends, who encouraged her to climb on a commercial level, she settled on HD Food (H and D being the initials of her two daughters, Hitasha and Dikshaa, providing the initials for her business nomenclatures.)

“I am most grateful to my daughters and everyone else who thought I can do this, and for believing in me.” She smiles.  

She fondly remembers her Grandma’s house in Kanpur, where she tasted Jalebi Rabdi for the first time.

“The one dish that I will always relish is Jalebi Rabdi. Specially the one I particular ate at my Nani’s house when I visited her. I still remember its’ rich taste, when I devoured it for the first time. My Nana would take me to market every Sunday and feed me. The memory is still fresh in my mind.”

Food is the language of love that surpasses everything else and HD Foods is here to inculcate the language of love into the food that she  prepares.

HD Foods specializss in Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian Sindhi Cuisine that includes Biryanis and Pulavs, Starters like Bhee pakoras, Dhal Kababs, Dhal Pakwan, Pav Bhaji, Sai Bhaji with Bhugal chawal, and many more. Do not miss her in-house preservative-free Pickles and Sherbets.  HD Foods cater to daily meals as well as meals for special occasions.  

Priya Bajaj is happy to share her recipe of Sindhi Prawns Pulao  

 

1. Add 2tbsp oil in a warm pan and allow it to heat a little.  

2. Add 1tbsp Cumin seeds,  2 medium sized Onions (finely chopped/sliced), 2tbsp Ginger, 2tbsp Garlic and 2tbsp Chillies. 

3. Saute on high flame, till Onions turn golden (not dark brown). 

4. Add all dry masalas like 1tbsp Garam Masala powder, 1tbsp Turmeric Powder, 3tbsp Coriander Powder. 

5. Add puree of 2 Tomatoes. 

6. Sauté this till the oil separates. 

7. Add 3cups Basmati Rice (washed and drained). 

8. Mix gently, well enough to coat rice with masala’s.  

9. Add water as required. 

10. When the rice comes to boiling point add 1kg Prawns and 2 tbsps Coriander leaves. 

11. Cover and cook till done. 

12. Heat ½ Ghee in a skillet and add 1tbsp Garam Masala. 

13. Use this to give a tadka at the end.  

14. Serve it  with Laccha Pyaaz and grèen Chutney as sides   

You can place your order with HD Foods via the contact numbers 90826 21574 

You can also send Direct Message on the social media handles  

 

Facebook page HD Foods

Follow them on Instagram HD Foods

  

Home Chefs Of Mumbai- Part 10 – Meeta Kataria

 We have developed a sweet tooth for offshore sweets. We enjoy the tender slices of Italian Tiramisu or sniff out the creamy scent of Hong Kong’s Dan Tats. We love Cendols of Singapore and Tub Tim Krob of Thailand, although they may remind us of taste of Falooda in India (minus Coconut milk and Panda leaves.) We relish Chocolate Chip cookies of USA that taste like Nankatai (without chocolate). We enjoy Baklava of Turkey and Borma from Middle East, although you can find a similar taste in Badam Puri, a typical sweet in Sindhi cuisine

Many have stopped eating Indian sweets, complaining of dripping fat and Desi ghee. Everybody prefers the pastries, cakes and Ice creams instead. In India, the first offering to Gods is always sweets, its never cakes or desserts. Or are they? The sugary treats are always pedas, or Sheera. The sweet fragrance of pure, warm ghee is soothing to the nerves. During all the festivals, we have exchanged Indian sweets and we have a large variety, there are many unique sweet gems that still remain unknown to most.

Sadly, Mithaiwallahs are over shadowed by the Patisserie and Confectionery. But we do have some home chefs who cook excellent Indian sweets in India. 

Meeta Kataria (of Chiselledmealsbymeeta) has a lot of respect for Indian cuisine and firmly believes that one can never get bored of eating a simple meal because there’s variety and diversity of food in India and much to try.  The same spice and vegetables are used in so many different ways across every states of India. 

Meeta worked for a cosmetic dentist ( 2009 ) who was very passionate about travelling , eating and cooking good food. Since she was the only married employee working there at that time, there would be discussions and sharing of food ideas during lunch hours. It was during that time that she learnt about various cuisines and realised there was lot more beyond than the regular food that one cooked at home. She felt that one does not need to always eat at a fancy restaurant, when it can be created at home.

She started the series of experiments in her kitchen to try out different dishes, at least twice a week.

She firmly believes in

1.Healthy food & lifestyle

2.In Yoga as the ultimate form of exercise …

3.Pranayams & Meditation

4.Karma

Meeta remembers going out with her dad to Khao Galli of Zaveri Bazaar and devouring unhygienic but delicious street foods. She also has fond memories of aromas emerging from her Mom’s kitchen. The authentic Sindhi Sweets recipes like ‘Gajaran ji Seero’ and ‘Khaskhas jo Seero have been passed down to her by her mom.

Her first trip to Vaishnodevi temple is still fresh on her mind 

“This happened way back in 1998.  I ate Rajma Chawal from a roadside Dhaba on our climb up to the temple. I was amazed as to how something could taste so good in spite of absence of onion & garlic ?  Those ingredients are not eaten by certain communities due to religious reasons.”

She specialises in Sindhi Cuisine, but she also cooks other foods such as South Indian, Maharashtrian and Gujarati cuisine. She excels in Indian snacks and street food (majorly missed by everyone during this lockdown). As a home chef, she firmly believes in cooking dishes that define Comfort Food , so yes , that is her forte.

 

“Anyone eating my food should experience SATISFACTION !” she says.

She is happy to share her recipe of Rose Kalakand 

1. Reduce 1 litre full fat milk to ½ litre on a slow flame. Stir continuously in a thick-bottomed pan. 

2. Add 300 grams of crumbled Malai Paneer (cottage Cheese) to the milk.

3. Add 180-200 grams of sugar. 

4. Stir continuously. 

5. Continue till all the milk dries up & the mixture has a smooth & soft consistency ( like soft dough ). 

6. Switch off the flame. 

7. Add just 1-2 drops each of rose essence & rose color . 

8. Mix gently. 

9. Transfer it on to a tray greased with ghee. 

10. Let it set at room temperature. 

11. Leave it to cool. 

12. Garnish with finely sliced Almond & Pistachio flakes. 

13. Cut into squares and serve.

Meeta is vegetarian convert since 21 years, nevertheless she does cook non-vegetarian for her family and does take orders for the same

She uploads the fresh menu mainly on Mondays and receives pre-orders for Wednesdays and Saturdays. Dishes that are not listed in the menu can be customised (up to ten persons) with two-days prior notice.

You can place your order on her WatsApp contact no at 9892054520

Follow her Instagram handle : @Chiselledmealsbymeeta

Home Chefs Of Mumbai – Part 9 - Roopa Nabar

Let us face it, everybody gets special thrills when they go to a restaurant that are infested with celebrities. Even if the celebrities may know nothing about food, the restaurants boast about them to increase their clientage and some of them may even become high browed in selecting who enters their premises.  

 You don't have to be rich or poor to know and appreciate the taste in food. A street corner Vada Pav guy will be equally popular as high-end Hyatt for that matter. If they have celebrity tag, their business blooms. Or so they believe.

 

So where are they now? Those celebrities? All those food lovers who puffed away the party hues every night??  Now during this lockdown, all of them have learnt to appreciate the real flavours of food, and have finally realised that the real quality of food is anchored on its nutritional value, the spices used and importance of local products cooked most hygienically. The new mantra is..Locals go Vocals

 

And why not? We will always have some authentic home chefs to bank on.

 

Roopa Nabar (of Kitchen Diva fame) belongs to the Gowda Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) community, who live across the Konkan coast of India. That means that they are Brahmins blessed by Gods and are allowed to eat fish, known as fruit of the sea (Samudra phal)

 

Beside being a good cook, she also is a life of a party, with a wonderful sense of humour, very vibrant and cheerful. If you hear a hearty laughter in a crowd, be sure that Roopa is there. Her cordiality reflects in the food that she serves.

 

When asked about her speciality, she says “Throw a fish to me and I can create wonders.”

 

Which I am sure she does.  She uses lots of coconut in her kitchen which are flavoured with very little spices, just chilies, pepper, kokum, ginger, garlic, coriander, she call them kalvan hooman. She uses lots of backyard vegetable like all the gourds and roots in her vegetarian preparation. She is very good at international cuisine too. When she travels, food is on the top of the list on the itinerary, she returns back with all that countries spices and ingredients and tries to replicate the same in her kitchen.

 

Her OMG Eureka moment was when she visited her Son Gaurang in London where he is a practising architect and is a food enthusiast.

 

“Mind you, when it comes to food we keep the religion aside and eat everything, so went to this place called L’Entrecote at Soho, this is a Restaurant run by a family that serves typical French bistro style steak frites, means steak and fries unlimited with a mind blowing butter sauce. It was the best French dish I had.” She said, talking fondly about those memories.

 

“It’s said that the family has their own secret recipe of the sauce and some say it’s made from chicken liver, fresh thyme, thyme flowers, full cream, Dijon mustard and butter ofcourse. It was a melt in mouth meat experience.” She added.

 
 She is a host in a food channel on u-tube called Coastal Kitchen , she does videos for Sanjeev Kapoor’s  Khana Khazana

 

She willingly shares her spicy, tasty recipe on Mutton Chops Rawa Fry.

 

 

 

1.    Roughly chop 1 cup Coriander Leaves

2.     Add in a grinder jar along with roughly chopped 4-5 green chillies, ½ cup fresh Mint Leaves, ½ inch Ginger and 6-7 Garlic.

3.    Grind into a fine chutney using little water.

4.    Take ½ kg Mutton chops in a bowl.

5.    Add ground Chutney (prepared in step 3).

6.    Mix well.

7.    Add salt, 2tbsp Kolhapuri chutney, 1tsp Turmeric powder and 1 1/2tsp Red Chilli powder.

8.    Mix well and set aside to marinate for 5-10 minutes.

9.    Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pressure cooker.

10. Add chops along with marinate and sauté for 1 minute.

11. Add 1 cup water and stir to mix.

12. Cover and pressure cook for 8-10 minutes.

13. Remove from heat and set aside.

14. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai.

15. Break 2 eggs in a bowl and whisk.

16. Spread 1 cup semolina on a plate.

17. Dip chops one by one in eggs and coat well in the semolina. Dust off excess.

18. Deep fry in hot oil till golden and crisp.

19. Drain on absorbent paper. Serve hot.

 Roopa has her fixed clients who regularly place orders if they want to enjoy a good  thikhad Maharashtrian food.

 

She takes corporate orders too but you can always contact her

WatsApp no 98330 67008.

 

She has made several U-tube videos as she loves to teach. You can find her Coastal Kitchen under Indian Food Network.

 

Find her on Facebook page Kitchen Diva

 

Follow her Instagram handle at roopanabar
 

 

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

Fish Curry

 When I see the red bubbling fish curry, I get hungry. OMG. It only 12:30 afternoon and its not even my lunchtime, but I just can’t wait to eat it.

 

 I am confined at home since six months already, but cooking has been my favorite pastime, in between catching various webinars, zoom meetings and Instalive. Not that I ever went to fish market to buy fish, (I rarely do) its too slippery for me to walk in the market, although fisherwomen are quite clean and they maintain cleanliness but there is always too much water on the floor.

 

Plus I have a fisherwoman who visits me regularly. I have known her for many years, always came to my doorstep, cleaned, washed and salted the seafood before she left. There was a personal touch in buying fish from her. She shared recipes, discussed interesting stories and spent some time chatting at my doorstep. Now that my building is redeveloped and with new rules, fisherwomen are not allowed to come up, vegetarian folks get offended by fishy smell, so she waits downstairs outside the gate and I have to go down to fetch it. Like many other changes, the personal touch is disappearing too.

 

The picture looked so good on my Instagram, that few of my friends asked for a recipes (It was tasty of course, but only I ate alone and enjoyed it) but you can enjoy it too.

 

This is how I made it.

 

Marinated 250gms of fish with 2 green chillies, 1inch ginger(crushed), 5 cloves of garlic, 1tsp of turmeric powder, 1tsp of coriander powder, 1tsp red chili powder, 2tsp of Malwani powder, 1tsp of lime juice and salt to taste.

 

Cover and keep it for 2 hours.

 

In a pan, fry 1 large finely chopped onions in 2tbsp of ghee, add marinated fish, add 1 large tomatoes and let it cook for 5minutes.

 

Mix it slowly then add 1cup water, cover and cook on slow flame for 15 minutes.

 

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with roasted chappatis.

 

PS: Malwani masala is the combination of about 25 spices, that are roasted, mixed, grounded and stored in jars. It is enjoyed in the coastal kitchens of Malvan. You can either make at home (Google it or you can buy from any Indian super store.

Meeting My Foodie Friends During Lockdown On Social Media

 During this pandemic, life would have been very depressing if there were no technology to connect with outer world. I cannot imagine what my life would be? I would read books, yes, or sometimes sit by the window side and watch the skies (and the rains) but what else would I do.?  Luckily, food has been plenty, and cooking has been one activity that has kept all of us occupied and how!!

 Everybody has been innovative in creating dishes, some of them improving on their cooking skills and some learning new skills.

 

My most favourite activityon social media is picking out strands of knowledge from every field. I love watching my friends (on social media) who share their wealth of food knowledge and that has been very rewarding for me. From the comfort of my home, I have been able to catch some Instagram Live broadcast.

 

My foodie friends are really very talented and they have been my companions during this lockdown. I see them everyday, live on Instagram, and catch up on latest trends whenever I have some free moments to spare. On normal days (that is when we lived in a normal confused world) I would meet them only during food events but now, I can meet whenever I wish. I have learnt a lot during these five months in isolation, which actually is not an isolation at all. I am wiser now!

 

Although there are many live events happening everyday on various fields like art, poetry, travel, etc. but today I will talk only about the live broadcast by my foodie friends whom I follow on Instagram.

 

My favourite from this food world is this lovely couple Sam and Saloni Malkani, the founders of TheFBAI  (a social platform for food and everything related to it).. Both are ardent foodies and love to connect with everything food, drink and hospitality. Meeting them is a blessing for me because they have introduced to the inner circle of food industry.

 

 

Sam Malkani has great variety of  discussion on #InstaLive  covering different food topics. Each time I visit his page, there are different kind of topics he is covering, sometimes he is interviewing entrepreneurs, sometimes he is on food quiz shows, sometimes live cooking demos and sometimes a deeper knowledge on products available during pandemic.

 

 

Saloni Malkani is very caring friend and most influential person in food industry. I admire her for her warmth and in cementing everybody together. Last year she created a storm with her partner, Chef Ananya Banerjee by starting Wild Asparagus Table, (a potluck on international cooking) and this got me interested in different cuisines and cultures of the world.

 

Their very latest Newspepper is creating waves on social media.

 

 

ChefAnanya Banerjee  is very glamorous and talented person. Between food and being Chef, she is also a traveller, food curator, food consultant and ex-editor of #BBCGoodFoodIndia  She interviews Homechefs around the globe on #Instalive  (twice a week, Tuesdays and Fridays) giving us the insight on the homechefs’ life in general, their cooking methods, the utensils they use in their kitchen and much more.

 

 

I met Inderpreet Nagpal  at  Wild Asperagus Table, an SriLankan potluck organised at her own home at Vesova and was completely awed by her talents in cooking, art world and gardening. Inderpreet Nagpal of Rummy’s Kitchen is a multi-talented homechef who can develop a recipe with any ingredients.  Twice a week (Mondays and Fridays), she comes #Instalive to chat with foodies, where she discusses one particular ingredient with different participants and then she comes back with most exotic recipes.

 

 

 I met Rushina Munshaw first time at one food demo at Nature’s Basket some ten years ago and there is no looking back. I have learnt a lot from Rushina and she was the one who counselled me to get a food blog (Papadchai) if I was really serious about writing on food.  Rushina is a culinary expert, is very knowledgeable about ingredients, cuisines and history of food. Catch her on #Instalive at 11am everyday on her series on #SpiceChroniclesWithRMG where she is exploring the different spices used in different regions of India.

 

 

During one of events organised by Rushina for Women’s Day, I met Shubra Chatterji,  a very friendly and amiable person. She is an award-winning filmmaker and enjoys travelling and documenting Indian Culture and Heritage and in particular the vast Culinary Cultures of India, via travel-based non-fiction programming, visual essays, articles and curatorial projects. Shubhra, (known as Historywali) currently hosts an Instagram LIVE series, History On A Plate, which started off as a Lockdown passion-project but has gained quite a bit of eyeballs, and media coverage.

 

 

Kurush Dalal  is the most interesting person I have met, He is loaded with food knowledge folded under his charm of humour and stories.  Kurush is an archeologist by profession, also an historian, food anthropologist, culinary expert and a very friendly person. You can watch his #InstaLive everyday and listen to his stories on #Knowyourprotiens. You can also watch his recorded IGTV on A to Z series of ingredients, that he completed some time ago, where he spoke in details about all the ingredients found in the kitchen.

 

 

I met Kalyan Karmakar during one of his organised food trails (around Mohammed Ali road, a place that he calls as cultural unifier) and I had a great conversation on our drive back in his car. Kalyan is very well verse with food culture of Mumbai and is a good conversationalist. He has won the title of best food blogger three years in a row, and is very popular. You can watch his #instalive under the handle of  #Thefinelychopped where he talks to entrepreneurs of food industry about how they started their food biz and how do they go about with their business during these rough times of pandemic. A very interesting talk indeed!!

 

 

Who doesn’t know Amrita? She is Social media celebrity, was known for her OMG Bacon Jam which she stopped making after she turned vegetarian. I have met Amrita Kaur several times during food meetings.  She has wealth of food knowledge, specializes in Ayurveda nutrition. You can watch her #Instalive under handle #Amritaforlife where she discusses different interesting aspects of food, nutrition value, recipes and healthy eating habits.

 

 

There is wealth of knowledge on #Instalive and the best part it that it is possible to see the recorded version at IGTV (if you missed live sessions), which are equally good although you might miss the live conversation of the people who were watching that discussion at that time. I am interested in watching all sessions but sometimes I am unable to watch it live because of my first commitment  towards my #Specialchildren of my SBP, school for PWID. Special children need be kept occupied or else they will have behavior issues, so with the help of my staff and the parents of special children, we have been experimenting different methods to keep children busy too and I am glad that I could help them in some way.

During this pandemic my #SindhiCuisine book also went viral on Watsapp, travelling around the world (where I personally have never visited those places), and I was getting call from most remote places around the globe,  (I am told) many of them felt that my book is the treasure of sindhi cuisine and many have learnt to cook simple food, specially the beginners. Well, I was glad of that.  

 

But whenever I get time, I turn to IGTV to pick the missed sessions of #Instalive. It certainly is more interesting than watching those depressing news on TV or some series on Netflix or on Prime Videos….

 

And why not….Food is my passion too!!