Home Chefs Of Mumbai – Part 39 – Sneha Senapati

Believe it or not, street food is always delicious.

 Everybody is aware that the food cart parked at the street corner is covered with dust, there may not be clean water to use,  its not even hygienic on many levels, but the taste is really unique that cannot be replicated at the food court in any fancy malls.

And if you thought that this trend of street food is new, then let me tell you that it has been there since 79AD and it has been proven by archeologist, who have made extraordinary find of frescoed hot drink and food shop that served the equivalent of street food (like salty fish, baked cheese, lentils, spicy wine) to poor residents who had no proper cooking facilities in their homes in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii.

So what makes street food so tasty?? Very clearly,  it is authentic, cooked according to the local taste of the city and moreover, the food is made by the owner of the stall or food truck. It is readily available, easy on the pockets, and you can have it anytime on a go. 

During the pandemic, street-food was missed the most. Specially during those first three months, when nobody dared leave their security net to venture out, but many women got busy in their kitchen trying out various dishes to please their family. 

There were many home chefs who excelled in street food, and Sneha Senapati is one of them.

 Sneha Senapati's journey began in 2006 when she came from Bhubaneswar, Odisha to study in TISS in Mumbai. Since then, Mumbai has been home to her. Like anyone living away from home, there were times she would miss home food immensely, but there wasn’t a single restaurant in Mumbai that served food from her hometown. So, as we say, necessity is the mother of all inventions that’s when she started cooking on her own (under the guidance of her mom). She became a chef by passion while managing a full time corporate job. 

Sneha Snehapati specialises in Odiya cuisine. While her aim is to make Odia food popular she has a free style of cooking where she likes to create stuff using less oil.

She has hosted brunches by partnering with restaurants in Andheri West (Versova) under the name of ‘Odiya Bhoji’. So far, She has done about  five pop-ups in the past 2yrs  serving only Oriya Food to a crowd of 120-150 people. She is also empaneled with Authenticook.com where she does home meals.

 "During the lockdown I was doing home deliveries across Mumbai which have been published by CNtraveler, Midday and Mumbai Mirror." she informs.

"Odia Bhoji’ Creates Buzz In Mumbai!  @MyCityLinks - is the link to one of the brunches I did." she continues to talk about the excitement she felt when she read about the mention of her cuisine

Sneha Senapati is fond of good food and likes to explore the local food of the city that she visits. She clearly remembers her visit to Hell’s Kitchen by Gordon Ramsay at Las Vegas, where she enjoyed the set meal, "I specially loved chicken wings." she says.  But of course she still misses her mom’s food the most, whose memories lives with her through her recipes.

Sneha Senapati is happy to share Bhubaneswar style Chaat

Method 

1. Soak 150gms (clean and washed) Chana dal (white peas) in water for 4-5 hours. 

2. Boil the soaked white Peas in Salt and 2 small tsps Garam Masala powder in a pressure cooker 

3. Cook uptil 3-4 whistles on medium flame 

4. Once done keep the pressure cooker on the side turn off the gas and wait till the pressure cooker cools down 

5. Meanwhile, take a pan, heat it on low flame, once heated add 4tbsp oil to the same

6. When oil is heated add 2 chopped Onion and cook till it turns transulent. 

7. Add  2 chopped tomatoes, 7-8 chopped green Chillies, 4tbsp ginger garlc paste and stir well 

8. Add Salt and 3tsp Turmeric powder, 1tsp Garam Masala powder and keep stirring till the mixture starts leaving oil 

9. Add 2tsp red Chilli powder and further mix well. 

10. Remove the boiled white peas and drain them separate from the stock. 

11. Save the stock for later use 

12. Add the boiled white peas, 

13. Add 1 boiled potato to the masala mixture and mix well 

14. Once the white peas and the masala mixture have blended well. add the stock and let it boil on medium flame with covered lid. 

15. Keep cooking for 10-15mins. checking occasionally on the consistency. 

16. The same should be thick gravy and not too runny. 

17. Now garnish with 2tsps roasted cumin powder, coriander leaves 

18. Take some in a serving bowl top it up with chopped onions, tomatoes, green chillies, bhujia sev and julienne ginger, some chaat masala, tamarind pulp, hot n sweet tomato sauce – 

19. The chaat is ready 

Sneha Senapati can be reached on her Watsapp no 75066 43020

Follow her on her insta at @snehasenapati

Home Chefs Of Mumbai – Part 32 – Dhani and Naina Goregoankar

Back then, on a regular normal day, home cooked food was mostly a combination of traditional assorted vegetables, dhal, salad, raita, rice, chappati, papad, pickle, sweet dish and a home-prepared drink. Non-veg would include meat/fish. It was a complete healthy meal of different flavours. Thali is what we know it as in India  

But this  full course meal is common all over the world.  A traditional multi-course dinner in Japan is called Kaiseki which is analogous to Western haute cuisine.  Combinations of cheese with variety of Olives are served as platters  

The multi course meals is all about contrast of flavours and an accumulation of different components — it includes proteins, grains, legumes, vegetables and meat  It is also all about the collection of skills and technique used in such preparation that makes it so interesting  

Sadly, the concept of thali has reduced in many homes with the inclusion of  foreign cuisine and rise of diet conscious people who just stick to no oil, no fries, no spices, no sweets. The food habits have changed to eating small meals every two hours.  Although full course meals are served on special occasions and are enjoyed by everybody, but, it all depends on elders of the family on how they can drift away the family members from easy meals that can be prepared in minutes.  

Dhani and Naina Goregaonkar serve really interesting thalis on their menu. 

Dhani Goregaonkar (of The Paisley Experience fame) has her roots in Alibaug through several generations. Her great grandfather N.K Mhatre (or Anna, as fondly addressed in anecdotes) was a pioneering individual in the poultry industry. She never had a chance to meet him, but his legacy, his evergreen reputation, has had her impressed even as a kid. When she started a business along with her Mom Naina Goregaonkar, a little part of her strive to be like him, in every step. Dhani is at present pursuing her studies at IHM, in Dadar. During this pandemic, she has been very active in cooking(along with her Mom) and delivers food across Mumbai city during week-ends. 

“My love for food, I think, is hereditary. I haven’t come across a single family member who isn’t passionate about food, be it cooking or eating. Growing up, I’d watch my Neeya (grandmom ) and even mom prepare everyday food, but it wasn’t really everyday food. When cooking for a family, as obsessed with food as ours, everyday food just doesn’t cut it. The process of cooking fascinated me. It’s like chemistry, but without the equations that I don’t understand to this day.” 

Dhani specialises in serving traditional food, native to the Pachkalshis of Mumbai and Alibaug. The SKP (Somvanshi Kshatriya Pathare), also referred to as Pachkalshis, share links of history and cuisine with the Pathare Prabhus, although there is some difference in their use of spices and cooking techniques.

“I simply cannot imagine coming to Alibaug and eating any other cuisine.   My vacations in Alibaug were made of playing out in the sun, climbing trees and eating Kalwan or fried fish prepared from the catch the Kolin brought in that day, of course with a side of rice. And this is the nostalgia and experience our menu brings to you.” She says with confidence when she talks about her traditional cooking techniques.   

Naina and Dhani Goregoankar (the mother-daughter duo) see Paisley Experience, in the future as an organisation that gives back as much as it gets from its surroundings; a larger, sustainable business that employs more locals and supports and promotes the local suppliers of Alibaug.    

They are happy to share their traditional recipe Pinapple Curry (Anansaachi Aamti)

1. Heat 2 tbsp ghee. 

2. Tamper 1tsp cumin seeds, 7/8 curry leaves and slit 4/5 green chillies. 

3. Add 2 medium chopped onions and sauté till translucent. 

4. Add fresh pineapple (chopped in triangles). 

5. Add 1 cup jaggery and half cup water. 

6. Cover it for 5 mins to tenderise the pineapple. 

7. Now grind the grated 2 tbsp coconut and 2tbsp rice flour into a fine a paste. 

8. Add ½ tsp turmeric powder, 2/3 tsp pachkalshi special masala, 1tsp coriander-cumin seeds powder and the coconut paste. 

9. Add another cup of water and stir continuously. 

10. Add 1 ½ cups coconut milk and season it with salt. 

11. Squeeze the juice of a whole lemon. 

12. Garnish it with coriander leaves. 

13. Enjoy the hot aamti with roti or rice.

Follow their Insta handle @paisleyexperience

Connect on Watsapp at 9833013015

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 30 – Rachna Prasad

There are too many dieticians today who control our eating patterns

They advocate with warning instructions such as to avoid all whites that includes white sugar, white flour, white rice, white salt. Avoid fried food (that junk food, remember), Avoid red meat (too much cholesterol), Use olive oil in your cooking.(foreign concept), Do lot of exercises to burn calories,(yes, can do), Join gym to keep fit (better than to running aimlessly in the park, no?) . 

The only problem is that we don't know where to draw a line. We go too much to the extreme to follow the dieticians, causing our family members (specially moms) a lot of inconvenience. 

Mothers are expected to read every label of the food packet she buys from supermarket to check out its nutrition values, the ingredients used, the calorie content, the flavours used(artificial or natural), to check veg/non-veg (green/red dot) and whether its baked, fried or roasted. 

Too much time is spent at bread, biscuits and pasta section to hunt for brown colour ingredients..brown bread, Ragi/Millet biscuits, whole wheat pastas. Some of the brown breads are made of white flour disguised with brown colour caramel (but you may not know till u read the label) 

As a result, the life style has changed. Gourmet food is in. More people are turning Vegan, stylish trend is to eat only salads. The grandparents and parents stay at home, cooking the traditional food for themselves because the health conscious youngsters hardly eat at home. 

Home Chef Rachna Prasad, cooks such delicious meal that there is no desire eat anywhere else.

Rachna Prasad (of Ambrosia Kitchen fame) is Food Curator & Consultant, Chef, Recipe Developer, Pop-up Specialist and a founder of Ambrosia Kitchen. 

Rachna, born and raised in Patna, She has been cooking since she was 14. At that time, her mother’s cooking style influenced her a lot. Her first breakfast that she cooked for her family was a Spanish omelet with garlic bread and potato wedges. 

“Everyone loved it and that still holds a special place in my heart. Cooking, for me, is a stress buster. It inspires me and keeps me charged the whole day. It has given me an identity of my own.” She says.

Rachna specialises in Bihari and Indian cuisine. Her clients call her a ‘Biryani Queen’ and a ‘Diva’ of Indian food! One of her specialty dishes is Mutton Goli Kabab. A delightful Bihari recipe, that used to be a must at every get-together party at her grandmother’s home. The recipe was passed on to her mother after her marriage, it made her famous at her in-laws’ place. Everyone looked forward to the Meat Goli whenever there was a party at home. When Rachna got married she too made it for her in-laws and she gets requests for it all the time.

Rachna moved to Delhi later for a course in Fashion Designing from NIFT although she knew cooking was her true calling! She once spotted a newspaper ad placed by Taj Mansingh Hotel for a position in Food & Beverage. She got the job and thus began her culinary journey. 

“I learned a lot under Chef Bhatnagar at Taj Mansingh and he continues to inspire me to-date. Cooking is my first love, In my free time I like to watch food shows on Bihari cuisine or read up on various recipes, although I enjoy painting, driving, writing poems, art & craft, singing, dancing and spending lots of quality time with my two adorable kids and family.”

Rachna is happy to share her Bihari recipe - Mutton Goli Kababs

1. Pressure cook 500gms mutton mince along with 150gms Chana dal, 1 ½ tsp ginger-garlic paste, 1 inch cinnamon, 1tsp cumin, 1tsp green cardamom, 5-6 black peppercorn, ½ tsp fennel seeds and salt for 20 minutes or until the meat is cooked through. 

2. Transfer into a bowl and let it rest for 10 minutes. 

3. Grind the spiced mince into a soft paste. 

4. Do not add any water. 

5. In a large bowl, combine the meat paste with 1tbsp almond, 1tsp cashew nut, ½ tsp poppy seed paste, 12 soaked raisins, 1tsp lemon juice, chopped coriander, 2tbsp fried onion paste, 2 egg and ½ cup bread crumbs and give it a thorough mix. 

6. Heat oil on high flame in a deep frying pan. 

7. Make small, round meat balls (goli) 

8. Deep fry them until golden brown in colour. 

Serve hot with green chutney and onion rings.

Rachna Prasad 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

 

Follow her on her Instagram at rachnakcp

Contact her on her Watsapp at 9820968751

Email ID - ambrosiakitchen11@gmail.com

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 21 – Nupur M. Verma

If you are a foodie, you might probably have one big bookshelf of cookbooks in you kitchen cabinet. (most of us flip through photographs and drool over it). Every trip you make oversees, you will pick up a copy of an authentic cookbook from that city. (You promise yourself that you will learn from that). If you have a friend’s cookbook launch, you will surely collect their autographed copy. (but how many of those books have you read back-to-back?) You will ask for recipes, whenever you taste food at friends house (even though you know the recipe). You will enjoy food related TV reality shows or go to U-tube to understand the procedure in detail. (but how many of those dishes have you tried on your own?)

Nobody became a chef by doing just that. 

Cooking is all about pride and passion. It is about experimenting new dishes and treating each party as a personal challenge. It is about getting your hand dirty, spilling oil, powdering face with flour, slipping on vegetable peels, scrubbing the turmeric stains off your dress. It is the process of actual cooking. To understand the technique, it is important to have a Guru. Some-one who can inspire you, guide you patiently, it could be your granny, or your mom, your dad or even a friend. Or you will need to attend some cooking workshops. Only at the live-demo, can you actually learn the basics methods, it's then you see the food created in front of you,  smell the aroma, feel the texture and can taste it too.

If you have attended Nupur Varma’s cooking workshops, you sure to reach half way there.

Nupur. M. Varma (of TheWoodenSpoonbyNupur fame) is an artist, a baker and a home chef.  She also holds workshops and teaches an array of food and bakes. 

She personalises birthdays/celebrations cakes and also wedding cakes. She is known for desserts like Tiramisu, baked Cheese Cakes and glutton free Chocolate cake.

At the Wooden Spoon, you not only get trained in dishing out the unusual mouth watering delights, but also learn to create the perfect ambience for the evening party by using the right crockery for serving, eating, and making your food visually appetising and so on. It is all about experiences of dining out in your own living room

“The wooden spoon is the manifestation of a dream,” she admits, “a dream that there be the world in every kitchen. Food speaks volumes to me, it has always fascinated me. The exploration of the different parts of the world. Their culture, their heritage, their culinary delights.” 

She pursued this throbbing interest at the Merit Swiss Asian school of management in Ooty for 3 years, consequently, during her training at Oberoi hotel in Mumbai, she felt the need to popularise the world’s cuisine and bring it to people’s home, so after extensive research and endless trials, she developed a collection of simple to use recipes of delicacies of exotic places as far flung as Switzerland, Burma, Vietnam and also grandma’s secret recipes from different parts of India. 

“I have preserved the authenticity and unique flavours of every preparation while keeping in mind the Indian vegetarian palate, the recipes have been improvised where necessary, to suit the needs of the modern kitchen and the time constrained office goers.” She informs

The wooden spoon is now 15years old. Her two beautiful daughters and her spouse love to eat everything that she makes and are her official tasters and also biggest critics. Her specialities in the kitchen are Khow Suey and Thai Curry.

Her frequent trip to Seattle is always about Thai Cuisine.

“So this happened 12 years ago for the first time..... in Seattle we went to a small Thai restaurant and they served us a Thai Peanut Curry with Pumpkin and Potatoes in it and every time I got back to Seattle (which is quite often) I must visit that restaurant.” She adds

Nupur loves travelling and trying the local food,  she loves feeding her family and friends with something always new. Baking and cooking is her prime passion.

She is happy to share her recipe of Amritsari Chole and Amritsari Kulcha 

Amritsari Chole

 1. Soak 1 cup chickpeas overnight. 

2. Make a spice bag of 2” cinnamon stick, 4-5 black cardamom, 2 bay leaves, 2” ginger and tie it up. 

3. Similarly make another bag of 5 tsp tea bag, ot take 3 tea bags.

4. Place the soaked chickpeas in the pressure cooker along with spice bundle and tea bags. 

5. Add 2 tbsp black salt and 3 cups of water. 

6. Pressure cook the chick peas upto 3 whistles. 

7. Strain out the water and reserve it for later use. 

8. Heat 2tbsp oil. 

9. Add 1tsp cumin seeds. 

10. Once it splutters add 1tsp of ginger paste and 1tsp of garlic paste. 

11. Add 4-5 slit green chilies. 

12. Mix and cook for a minute. 

13. Add 2 finely chopped onions and cook till golden brown. 

14. Add 3 finely chopped tomatoes and cook till mushy. 

15. Add 2tsp coriander powder, 2tsp cumin powder, 2tsp pomegranate powder, 2tsp chole masala/ Garam masala. 

16. Add the boiled Chole. 

17. Add reserve water as per how much gravy you wish to have. 

18. Cook the Chole in masala for 15-20 minutes. 

19. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with Amritsari Kulcha.

Amritsari Kulcha

1. Mix 2cups flour, ½ tsp baking soda, 1tsp salt, 2tsp sugar and 2tbsp sour curd. 

2. Make a soft dough adding the required amount of water. 

3. Once the dough is ready, add 2tsp of butter. 

4. Knead the dough until it is soft and smooth. approx 8-10 minutes.  

5. Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes. 

6. Once the dough is rested, spread it out approx 1/2” thickness with the help of your finger tips. 

7. Apply 2 tsp butter and sprinkle some dry flour. 

8. Fold 1/3 of the dough, spread the dough once again to ½” thickness with the help of your fingertips. 

9. Apply 2tsp butter and sprinkle dry flour . 

10. Fold it into half and divide into 6-8 portions.  

11. Roll it in round, shape, flatten it a bit and fill it with stuffing (of yout choice).

12. Gather the sides and mold into round ball.  

13. On the rolling board, dust some flour, place the stuffed round ball and start flattening it with your finger tips, 

14. Apply some water on the surface and sprinkle coriander leaves, mint leaves, kalonji seeds, sesame seeds, etc. 

15. Apply water on the bottom and stick this side on the walls of your pre-heated cooker, 

16. Let it cook on medium heat and once done, place a burning coal in the cooker. 

17. Put few drops of oil for the coal to smoke. 

18. Let the kulcha be in the smoke for couple of minutes and remove. 

19. Apply butter to the hot kulcha and sprinkle some amchoor or chat masala on it. 

20. Crush the kulcha slightly with your hand. 

21. Serve hot with Amritsari Chole, and chutney

Follow her on Instagram  @thewoodenspoonbynupur

Contact her on Watsapp at 9820042978

Home Chefs Of Mumbai- Part 17- Rashmi Ahuja

Back in 70s and before that, most of the people hardly ever went out to a restaurant unless there was an occasion to celebrate. They enjoyed home-cooked food and were happy eating traditional food cooked by their elders at home. They did enjoy food at their friend’s house, (who belonged to another community), but they hardly ever played with ingredients in their own kitchen. Food lovers would pluck out a recipe from magazines and try out a leaf or two, but it was not a regular thing to do. Recipes were passed down within the family members, many of them remained undocumented and were considered as signature cuisine of that community. They never used any measurements, everything was ‘andaaz sey’, pinch of this and a fist of that. They did not taste the food while cooking (because it was first offered to Gods) but could understand the taste by its fragrance. A stew with no salt had different aroma, with less spices, meant it was bland. It was all about experience, they knew the taste of every ingredient and understood the resulting taste. Vegetarian people could cook the tastiest non-vegetarian food because of their experiences of knowing the techniques of cooking.

It was unimaginable for anyone to eat raw beef or raw fish. And then, there came the sophistication at the top end of the food market. Things like Sushi, Rissotto, Cappucino tingled the taste buds. Travelling became easier, people got exposed to strange foods. They shopped for rare ingredients and brought back home. Interest grew, cook-books flooded the market and traditional cooking took a back seat. The new version of food was available, most of them junk version of the real food. 

Indians became adventurous.

But there are still some families,  who have clung to their own traditional cuisine and are discovering the value of home-cooked food, and have realised that our family ate  food that was not only nutritious but also had a scientific reasons for healthy living.

There are some families where three generation of joint family still live in harmony, and all enjoy the food cooked by elders specially like at Rashmi Ahuja’s home.

Rashmi Ahuja was always a home-maker till she entered food reality show at ‘Sanjeev Kapoor ke Kitchen Khiladi’ on Sony TV and was announced as ‘Chef Rashmi Ahuja’ and then she got second chance in life as a participant of ‘India’s Digital Chef’ where she was the finalist. That was the day, at the age of 58 years, she got  her wings to fly. Rashmi believes that cooking is about creating something delicious for someone else. She nourishes the dream of writing a book some day.

Rashmi Ahuja specialises in Vegetarian Sindhi Cuisine and also in Indo-Chinese cuisine. She works only on pre-orders and the rates are fixed according to the availability of the ingredients. A set menu is fixed for Sundays that includes snacks, main course and dessert. Her service spans across western suburbs from Lokhanwalla (Andheri West) to Bandra.

She fondly remembers the taste of Aloo Paratha she had many years ago on her way to Vashnudevi Mata Temple.

“I don't know whether it was the cold season or was it the  taste of that particular Dhaba- that the crispness of Paratha still lingers -and mind you, it was not on a Tava, the half done paratha are roasted in kadai with Amul Butter then flipped on both side till light brown and is served hot with curds, little sugar is added in, it is accompanied by Papad and Achar. That taste I can never bring  it at my home and I still crave for it. “

She also talks about her MIL (now no more) who would prepare ‘Malai Ki Sabji’

“We all used to collect Malai (the cream) from the surface of the milk and make ghee (which we do it no more, because we now use Tetra milk packets). Some times my MIL would make  Malai Ki Sabji instead of preparing ghee. She would take one spoonful of oil.  In a thick bottom pan, sauté 2 or 3 chopped onion for few minutes, add chopped green chilies, chopped ginger, two chopped tomato, salt, turmeric powder, coriander powder, red Chilli powder and lots of coriander leaves. She would then add one big bowl of Malai, keep the kadai on tava, cover it for 5 mins and the delicious ‘Malai Ki Sabji’ was ready to eat with hot hot Sindhi Phulkas.”

She is happy to share her signature dishes Smokey Veg Galouti Kababs

1. In a heavy bottom pan, add 1tbsp of oil or butter. 

2. Add 1tsp Shahi Jeera and 1tbsp ginger, crushed green chilies. 

3. Add 50gms French beans, 50gms carrots, 50gms peas, 50gms capsicum, 50gms cabbage, 50gms Cauliflower. 

4. Add salt, 1tsp red chillies, 1tsp Garam masala, 1/2tsp jeera powder. 

5. Mix well. 

6. Cook till vegetables are tender. 

7. Add 100gms boiled and mashed potatoes. 

8. Add 4/5 tbsp roasted besan,  2tbsp crushed Kasuri Methi and 1tbsp Coriander leaves. 

9. Remove it in a big bowl. 

10. Make a well in the center. 

11. Keep a smaller bowl in the center.  

12. Put hot charcoal and pour oil. 

13. Cover the bigger bowl, so that smoke is trapped inside. 

14. Keep it for 10 minutes. 

15. Remove the smaller bowl of charcoal. 

16. Mix it well. 

17. Shape into round Tikkis. Shallow fry.

Rashmi Ahuja hopes to train youth who can succeed to follow cooking as a career.

You can follow her You Tube channel at RashmiAhuja

Follow her on Facebook

Follow her Instagram handle at rashmikitchenkhazana.rkk

She cooks on request (pre-order only)

Home Chefs Of Mumbai – Part 15- Binal Valand

In good old days, whenever the food was served, the first thing we did was to join our hands in gratitude to ‘Annadhata’ the Goddess of food and thank in our prayers for giving us our daily meals.

Today, what do we do?? We immediately scramble for our cameras.

Whether the food is delicious or bland, it is important that it should be clickable. If it is curry, we capture the right shade of reddish maroon ingredients swimming with glow of oil clinging the sides. If it is salad, then it is the artistically arranged, a balanced combination of colours carefully aligned, if it is a dessert, then we are excited by some drama of molecular gastronomy on the narrow neck of the glass, the props are rightly placed, we search for proper lighting, sometimes, might even want to take it to the balcony to drop a natural look, like a gift from the skies.

Hungry family members don’t understand this passion of a food photographers, they just want you to eat as soon as it is served. Granny is amused to see you bend down to click that rustic vessel (which seems quite ordinary to her) and that dhal and bhakri roti (what is so unusual about it?) She laughs at your foolishness and nags you to hurry up because the food is getting cold. And when you finally settle down to eat, you patiently explain to her about the latest trends of sharing the photographs on social media, and about how the lost traditional recipes are making a come back. She feels happy when you start to curse hamburgers and pizzas, french fries and sausages, and start appreciating her food that is cooked with love and care. You, then continue to follow your own passion because good food photographs really capture the banquet in their most artistic way.

If you have seen the photography-inclined, Home Chef Binal Valand, you are likely to drool.

Binal Valand is an artistic person and there is elegancy in everything that she does. She started off her career as a flight attendant on Lufthansa airways, got interested in food photography and food styling, liked the food that was behind her lens, fell in love with exotic spread, then learnt to bake the sourdough bread/desserts and finally, now a home chef, Wow!   

While growing up, she had never stepped into her home kitchen although her mom is an excellent Indian cook who cooks everything ‘Aandas sey’ the indian way of cooking. Her love affair with food started when, as a flight attendant, she started travelling internationally, she discovered new cultures, collected lot of food stories from the strangers she met on her flights, specially when she had lay-over for some days in strange places, she would go exploring the city on her own. 

She specially remembers the moment , when she was held back at the Paris airport (there is sometimes long wait for attendant to get discounted seats and have to wait at the airport) 

“The sad part is that we are always on wait-list, so I had to change two airports to get the flight that leaves,, I was almost in tears when I finally got a flight. But while I was waiting at the airport, I came across this beautiful ‘Laduree Champs Elysees’, very unique this shop that represents the ‘French Art de Vivre’. Till then. I had only heard of Macarons, never tasted one, This beautiful shop was kind of beckoning me, It was a french luxury bakery. I ordered a ‘Pistachio Macaron’ and a ‘Caramel Macaron’. I clearly remember, it was something I fell in love at the first bite. It was an exclusive experience, that I can say, that was the day I fell in love with French Cuisine.”

As a Home Chef, she specialises in cakes and French desserts that are rich in flavour, have rustic look and are not laden with too much cream and butter. She has got interested in Sourdough Bread. She understands the science and technique behind it, and the sheer joy of seeing it rise in the oven. During this lock-down she has perfected the skill of baking Sourdough bread so much so, that now she is confident of her product and is proud to add it to her menu.

It doesn’t end just there. (remember, she is multi-talented) She has been conducting online workshops on photography and food styling, and has clients from across the seas, as far as Europe and Middle East.  She keeps them engrossed with her tips and tricks of food photography and her experiences on food styling. As a food stylist, she pays special attention to the minute details of the products shown in the ad-videos.

She is happy to share her recipe of Butter Milk Biscuits

1. Cut 140 gms of butter into small cubes, and stick in the freezer till it rock hard. 

2. Chill 1/2 cup butter milk. 

3. Mix 2 cups all purpose flour, 1tsp baking powder, 1tsp castor sugar, 1/4tsp baking soad and 1/2tsp salt. 

4. In a food processor, add the all dry ingredients and chopped cold butter. (step 1+step 3). 

5. Pulse it a few times, till the mixture resembles bread crumbs and the butter is chopped in pea-size. 

6. Add the chilled buttermilk,(of step2) don’t add all at once, reserve a little and add only if needed. 

7. Your mixture will now look a little wet and a lot dry, flour still in dry form. 

8. Bring the mixture on a floured surface, and gently comb till it all comes together, 

9. DO NOT KNEAD  the dough. 

10. Get help from a bench scraper if need be to form a square from the dough. 

11. Touch it as less as possible. 

12. Cut the dough in half, that leaves you two equal parts. 

13. Mount one part on another and roll in a square again, very lightly. 

14. Cut the dough in one inch squares and Lay on a baking tray lined with baking paper. 

15. Stick the tray in the freezer and wait for 20 minutes 

16. Now this is where you can pre-heat your oven to 200 C or 400 F. 

17. Brush the tops with mixture of 1tsp Butter and 2tsp whole milk. 

18. Bake the square for 20-25 mins, or till you see a light golden top.

Binal Valand was awarded Home Chef and Baker's award 2020 for the contribution to India's Home chef & Baking Industry in the category of 1-2 years

Follow her Instagram handle at binal_valand

Watch her Food Styling Videos at

  Light Bulb Motion Pictures.

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 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