Home Chefs Of Mumbai – Part 19 – Karishma Nanavaty

Lockdown.  Had it occurred 40years ago? What then? 

Most of us lived in joint families, cooking food was a regular thing to do but who cooked cheese-cakes or chocolate walnut fudge, or cakes with dripping sauces? Or ordered food from home chefs, to try out different cuisines. Machar Jhol of Bengal, Korma Biryani from the land of Nawabs, Kababs and Aadab, or fermented Bamboo shoots of Nagaland or any such food comas? Yes, work was of equal magnitude, no live-in helpers, people rarely went out unless there were festivals or family gathering. They consumed normal traditional food, but experimenting on strange recipes was never an option. Why would they? There was no social media to share their food creations, no Selfies for clicking different expressions, no artistic desserts, they ate quietly and moved on.

Today, although we live in a prison of fear, leave our home only if it is important, but most of us are adventurous in our kitchen, churning out new recipes, exploring the food stories of foodies. Look at the brighter side, we have adjusted after few claps, whistles and clanging of utensils from our balconies in chorus, and have used our time honing our talent, exploring and nurturing whatever we are good at - music, art or cooking.

And many professional have hung their regular career on a hook of anticipation and are concentrating more on their traditional food and sharing their cuisine with city folk. It is a win-win situation.

And why not? If you share your passion with your Mom and have her support, you make a great team and Karishma Nanavaty is at her best.

Karishma Nanavaty (of Karrylicious Kitchen fame) is a full-time psychologist by profession, now specialises in traditional iconic and authentic Parsi cuisines and as well as continental cuisines. 

Her recipes are passed down from generations which are handmade with lots of love and hence in every bite you feel the authenticity of flavour and taste. Some of their well known Parsi dishes are lamb chops, Salli chicken, prawn Patia, chicken minced pattice.  

The mother-daughter food journey started just recently in June 2020. Their main purpose of starting Karrylicious Kitchen was only to sell chocolate walnut fudge, because Karishma’s friends and colleagues used to relish on it. Then within two weeks, they started getting orders for Parsi cuisines and that's how it all began. 

Now it's been 3 months and they are very delighted to serve all the communities with their cuisines, which is so rare and all the personal appreciations keep motivating them, especially during these difficult times when safety and personal hygiene is of the prime importance.  

The best traditional food that one can enjoy is at the wedding and Karishma talks about the food that she enjoys.  

“The food spread was lavish with all authentic Parsi dishes and the memories do not fade even after years. Yes. There were three different types of chicken dishes, dry and gravy based, two different types of fishes, flavourful prawns, Mutton biryani, two types of mutton gravy and loads of starters and varieties of desserts. I felt as if I was in heaven. This was twelve years back and it was such a great feast.”

She is happy to share the recipe of her delicious Lamb Chops

1. Wash and clean 500grams lamb chops thoroughly. 

2. Marinate the Lamb chops with 1tsp Ginger Garlic paste 2 tsp red Chilli paste 1 tbsp Coriander and Dhana-Jeera powder  3 tsp Kashmiri red chilli, 1.5 tsp Turmeric powder  1 tsp Biryani masala.  

3. Let it rest for 2-3 hrs.  

4. In a pan, fry 2 large onions and some khada masalas . 

5. Add in all the marinated chops. 

6. Add salt to taste. 

7. Let it simmer for sometime. 

8. Add some water and pressure cook for 15-20 mins. 

Customers can place an order 48 hours prior, as they always buy fresh stock. All the dishes are hygienically prepared and packed.  Delivery is all across Mumbai. Delivery charge is as per actuals. No minimum order is required

you can contact her at 88791 32817

You can order food through Instagram handle at Karrylicious_kitchen

Home Chefs Of Mumbai – Part 18 – Manaswee Sahoo

Vegetarians go through lot of torture when they go travelling abroad, unless they are carrying their own tiffin of home-cooked food, or vegetarian soup packets that can be boiled in an electric kettle in the hotel room. Although much has changed over the years and you do find exotic salads or stir fries, but the safest vegetarian meal you may get is french fries or a block of cheese.  You learn to explain your dilemma in multiple languages, stressing the fact that you need food that contains no fish, no egg, no bacon, no meat, no chicken, just vegetables cooked in pure seed/vegetable oils. You explain that vegetables colonise your taste buds and are careful not to attract attention of meat eaters.

Luckily, if you are travelling in India, you have no such complications, there is vast variety of vegetarian cuisine available all over India, even in the remote places. Lentils, vegetables, milk products, innovation is plenty and cooking methods differ from region to region, the masalas, the sauces, the stew, you don’t have to question the chef. Only in India, you can safely enjoy pure veg diet.

Manaswee Sahoo makes some interesting vegetarian bakes, such that you will not miss non-veg at all

Manaswee Sahoo loves baking tea cakes and brownies along with breads. 

Her most loved baked dish would be New York style Baked Cheesecake with Mixed Berry Compote. She prefers her bakes to be moderately sweet. She is also planning to develop a Healthy treats menu which would use alternate flours, no refined sugar etc. All her baked treats do not contain any preservatives or artificial ingredients. She  feels it’s important to use best quality ingredients to ensure the end product is of good quality. 

Until 2019, she was working as a Management Consultant in Financial services sector. She always found baking as a way to reduce her stress, even though throughout her childhood she has been a foodie and was always fond of experimenting with new cuisine. She was never a person to help her mother in the kitchen. She learnt to cook only after she had to live in a shared apartment during her MBA days since she didn’t have a cook at home. After starting her corporate career, she used to bake for her family, friends and colleagues on any of the festive occasion following recipes from baking books and food blogs. Post her wedding, she moved to Mumbai and ever since she has been experimenting more in the kitchen cooking and baking. 

She started her blog “Meraki Delights” in July 2018 to share her kitchen experiences with the world. In 2019, she got an opportunity to turn her dream into reality by enrolling into Diploma in Baking and Pastry and life has taken a complete turn post completion of the course. She got a chance to work with her Mentors at SEP until the pandemic set it’s foot in the country. 

She has recently started taking orders from her home bakery “Meraki Delights Patisserie”. 

She has good knowledge about different cuisines from having travelled widely.

“My father was a banker and had a transferable job. As I result I had the opportunity of exploring food of different states. During our stay at different places  we interacted with people of different cultural backgrounds and got to share their traditional food items. This is how I got to eat food from Garhwali cuisine, Bengali Cuisine, Rajasthani cuisine apart from Odia food (I belong Odisha). I really feel my food style is immensely inspired by my exposure to different cuisines found in India. Maybe, for this reason everyone in my family and friends prefer me ordering food for everyone when we are dining out.”

She still craves for Ghevar, that her father used to get specially for her.

“Even though now I am a pastry chef, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth. I eat sweets very rarely and selectively. I have stayed on northern part of India most of my childhood. I clearly remember during the Shravan month, my father used to buy  Ghevar only for me as it’s availability is restricted to that month only during our stay in Rishikesh, Dehradun and New Delhi. Even though ghevar is plentily available in Rajasthan, but other states it’s not found easily. It’s the only thing which I haven’t eaten in the past 3 years ever since I moved to Mumbai after my wedding.”

She is happy to share her recipe of Quick Mushroom Broccoli Filo Pie

1. Thaw the frozen 12 Spring roll Sheets for at least 20-30minutes. 

2. Once they are at room temperature, separate the sheets from one another and keep them covered with a damp kitchen towel. 

3. In a pan, add 2 tbsp butter and let it heat. 

4. Ensure that the butter doesn’t burn.  

5. Add 1tbsp minced garlic and sauté till the raw smell goes away. 

6. Add 200gms finely chopped Mushroom and 200gms Broccoli and sauté in high heat. 

7. Season it with Salt and 1tsp Black Pepper.  

8. Once the veggies are cooked, add the f1tsp all purpose flour and sauté well. 

9. Add 2tbsp milk and stir continuously to form smooth sauce without any lumps. 

10. Add the 1tsp mixed herbs, 1tsp tandoori mayonnaise (optional) and 2tbps of processed cheese. 

11. Mix until the cheese melts. 

12. Take off the heat and let the mushroom and broccoli filling cool down to room temperature. 

13. While the filling is cooling, pre heat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.  

14. Cut the Springroll sheet into 4 squares equally. 

15. Grease the muffin tray or moulds lightly with oil or melted butter.  

16. For the pie, arrange the cut Spring roll Sheets one on the top of other diagonally  up till 4 layers by brushing the top side with little oil. 

17. This implies each pie will have 4 layers of small Spring roll sheets placed diagonally. 

18. Add this layered Spring roll Sheets in each of the muffin mould. 

19. Add 1 tbsp of mushroom and broccoli filling and top it with some grated cheese. 

20. Bake the Creamy Mushroom & Broccoli Filo Pie at 180 degrees Celsius for 12-15 mins until it crisps and the cheese melts. 

21. Once baked, serve it with your favourite dips or sauce. 

22. You may eat it alone as well.

She is  currently doing her research and recipe trials for diet foods

Contact her on Instagram, 

Or on her watsapp  9540362224.  

She also has a virtual storefront on ChefBuddy app which is clickable link wherein anyone can order themselves online. 

Home Chefs Of Mumbai – Part16 – Kalpana Talpade

Kitchen Garden thrives under care of the people who have green thumb. The plants dance on their palms and can even sing for them on gloomy days. How easy it is for them to just borrow few Basil leaves off the stems and use it in their Pesto sauce or as a topping on a baked dish. Its nice to see their garden bloom with Cherry Tomatoes, Micro greens, Chillie Pepper grow side by side with Lemon grass, Mint, Bay leaves . When she throws off few of Coriander/Fenugreek seeds, soon will see those nutritious leaves, a carrot or spring onions or even a Radish, such joy it is to see fresh veggies cooked and served during  daily meals.  

Talented home chef  will just pluck off the Maghai leaves, crush with Rose petals and Fennel seeds  and prepare Paan Shots and serve for easy digestion after dinner, she is the one who can fold the Colocasia leaves to prepare Aloo wadi, or wrap it around Bombay Duck to prepare Bombil Pathwad. Or wrap it around Prawns and call it Kolambi Pathwad. 

Miracles happen everyday.! A new joy each day! 

Such is the luxury of delicious meal, warmth and love at the pop-up with Home Chef Kalpana Talpade. 

Kalpana Talpade cooks, shoots, edits and uploads her food video regularly and has popularised her cuisine through her U-tube channel called Kalpana’s Kitchen, which was initially started by uploading authentic community food for her daughter who craved for home-cooked food when she went for higher studies to Netherlands. Four years ago, when she participated in Master’s Chef as a contestant, people recognised her from her u-tube videos.

Kalpana Talpade specialises in Pathare Prabhu’s cuisine. She belongs to a small Maharashtrian community called Pathare Prabhus, who were among the initial settlers of Mumbai. Their cuisine is different from others in the state.  The main ingredient in their food is the secret Sambar Masala that is shared within the family. There are no restaurants in Mumbai that serves this cuisine, therefore you have to be invited to her house to experience that. However, she did train two chefs some time ago, so that restaurant could have it on their menu for two weeks.

She regularly hosts Pop-up at her home with a capacity for 12 persons. 

The menu that you are likely to enjoy is mind blowing. It is Authentic Pathare Prabhu cuisine and you are likely to get transported to another world  (as far as 13th Century) where earlier settlers enjoyed their meal.

 

It begins with a Sanskrit prayer loosely translated as "May this food be a blessing for all of us "  you are served Welcome drink Kokum Sherbat: This drink is prepared from fresh Kokum fruit.  

This is followed by Starters  of Cauliflower che Bhanavle. Baked dish with shrimps or prawns, An authentic dish which is shared by Lufthansa Airlines in their Indian Cookbook on flight. 

And you settle down to enjoy the meal, the food appears on your table one by one with Main dishes : 

1. Chimbori che Khadkhadle Crabs cooked in spicy garlic gravy. 

2. Rawas / Bangda / Pomfret Fry Subject to availability of fish. The fish is fried with minimum spices.

 3. Tomato chi Sheer with fresh prawns. This is a tomatoes & coconut based dish, yummy and light. Chef’s favourite! 

4. Bombil/Prawns Methkut Fresh bombil/prawns cooked in pickle masala. An all time favourite with the previous guests. 

5. Bhujane (Ghol fish) An authentic everyday fish curry prepared in every pathare prabhu household. 

6. Smoked Javla Kismur A typical Maharashtrian recipe of dried shrimps. 

7. Phulkas 

8. Varan, bhaat and Toop. Tur Dal, Ambe Mor Rice and homemade ghee. 

9. Koshimbir - Khoman Kakdi Fresh salad prepared with crushed peanuts. 

10. Spicy Green Chutney 

11. Chunda prepared with jaggery.  

Still hungry? there is more. Yes Desserts  to follow 

12. Pathare Prabhu Sweet dish 

13. Kharwas : Milk Pudding . And finally

14. Paan Shots Home grown Maghai paan crushed with rose petals, fennel seeds, cloves, etc. to help you digest your meal.

You can chat while you eat and learn about the history of early settlers of 13th century. They seem to have travelled from one location to another, trying to protect their tradition and rituals. They moved from Rajasthan, going to Gujarat, then Maharashtra and finally settled in Mumbai.

Kalpana Talpade shares the food memory that she clearly remembers the time she visited Jejuri, a holy place near Pune.

“I am a city girl and had not visited any villages before marriage.  Soon after we got married, we had to go to Jejuri, a holy place near Pune.  My experience of sitting on the floor to have lunch was fun.  And to add to it, they served puran poli, which I had never tasted anywhere else before.  They were perfect!  The chutneys served were also tasty.  I did get the recipes from them later on.” She said

She is happy to share her recipe of Kelyachi Poli.

This is the sweet dish prepared during Shravani Somvar. It is sweet rotis made with banana stuffing, hence known as Kelyachi Poli.  

1. Pressure cook 3ripe Rajeli bananas. 

2. Mash the cooked bananas. 

3. In a pan, take 3tbsp Ghee, 2cups Sugar and mashed Bananas. 

4. Keep them on fire and keep stirring the mix. 

5. When the mixture starts to leave the sides of the pan, put off the fire. 

6. It takes 20 to 25 minutes to get the brown colored Halwa. 

7. Do not cook the mixture for too long or else it will be difficult to roll. 

8. Make dough with water and 3cups of Maida. 

9. Divide it into 12 portions. 

10. Form a cup of the dough (like we make of Modaks). 

11. Place the banana Halwa into it.  

12. Seal it. 

13. Roll it lightly to 6 inch diameter, using flour to powder it. 

14. Pick the Poli with rolling pin and place it gently on hot plate to roast. 

15. Apply ghee on both sides and roast Keylachi Poli.

The good news is that Kalpana Talpade's book "Kalpana's Kitchen is soon to be launched, in which she has tried to cover 99% of her Pathare Prabhu recipes, some of them more than 100 years old, that was passed down to her by her mom and her grand mom. This book will be linked by QR code, so people can go on you tube and watch the recipes for more clarity. She has been sharing her recipes since 2011. watch out for her edition!  

Like I said before, there is no restaurant in Mumbai that serves Pathare Prabhu Cuisine, but to enjoy the meal, you have to be invited to her house.

However, you can watch her recipes on her You tube Channel. 

Hop on to - Kalpana’s Kitchen

You can contact her by sending her a private message on her instagram.

Follow her Instagram handle at Kalpanatalpade

Home Chefs Of Mumbai – Part14- Shilpa Seth Bhambri

Our parents and grandparent hardly ever went on diet, they ate everything, Ghee, Mithai, Malai, Samosas, Bhajiyas, Briyanis, Badam Puris, Kulfis. Kheer and celebrated every festival with a rich variety of food. No fuss, no guilt nor shame in choice of food, no restrictive food rules. And yet they were quite healthy, their skin glowing with happiness of life lived well.

Now these diet fad! So what is the difference?

It’s the sedentary lifestyle we live today. We have 24 hours live-in helper at home. All the bills are paid online, we get home deliveries at the dwindling of the thumb, and we always use lift to go upstairs. We tire easily because we have lay-back attitude, we are always on phone, checking endless messages and forwarding the silly ones, crouched on couch like a potato, ordering junk-food, watching endless TV serials AND we give big head ache to our parents, with continuous jargon of words like ‘can’t eat this’ ‘don’t want that’ ‘I am watching my diet’, ‘this is too fattening.’ and the endless ramble of the latest trends.

Poor parents, they love us too much, so they tolerate all our NaatakBaazi

But luckily, we have home-chefs, who care for our health and create healthy cakes/Ice-creams that everybody can eat guilt free. Bindass!

Shilpa Seth Bhambri is the home chef who understands it all.

Shilpa Seth Bhambri is baker and trained chef practicing her expertise over 28 years. She has mastered the craft of baking and cake decorating by learning from some of the best International and local culinary artists. She is founder of  ‘The Cakeline,’ a customised cakerie with extension to all things sweet. The recipes have been curated and developed with lot of research by her. She has added a healthy range of confections and desserts that are endorsed by her own philosophy of nutritionally enhanced eating. She also works as a culinary advisor to ‘Baskin Robbins India’ and has created a line of products in their range. (Remember the Icecream cake at Baskinrobbins?..Her creation!) She also works as a food photographer, stylist and recipe developer.

She specialises in cakes and desserts with a focus on egg-free, low calorie products. During lockdown2020, she is personally baking a limited range to offer all a safe and risk free menu, taking utmost care to prepare  clean and hygienic bakes.

She is always fascinated by her Mom’s style of cooking ‘Andaaz Sey’-the Indian way of weighing by sight method of cooking. Her Mom is a pure vegetarian, cleans meat/seafood with tongs but cooks wonderful dishes for the family. Her Mom’s hearty wholesome cooking forms the base and her large part of her food memories that include Doodhwalla Mutton, Pishori Cholle with Aloo Puri, being her classic favourites till now.

The best eureka food memories are from the corridors and kitchens of the Taj Mahal hotel, Mumbai.

“When I trained in its banquets and kitchens, I tasted some of the best culinary creations made by its senior chefs. From Pate de Fois, to Caviar on Blinis, hand churned Ice creams, Devils on Horseback, Baklava to the finest chocolate creations, Duck l'orange, Peking Duck with pancakes. Always encouraged by my mentor to taste what was cooked and served. My fine sensory palate was formulated in these initial years of my culinary school training.”

She is happy to share the recipe of Ragi Banana Cake 

(This is one of her oldest signature recipes which is “Maida free, Sugar free, Egg free”. She has replaced refined sugar with Jaggery and made this delicious ‘anytime healthy tea-cake’.

1. Sift both flours (100gms Ragi/Nachni flour) and (100gms whole wheat flour) with ½ tsp baking powder, 1 ½ tsp baking soda and pinch of salt. 

2. In the warm/melted 100gms butter, add 150gms Jaggery powder. 

3. Mix well with a spatula. This will help the jaggery to dissolve. 

4. Add 150gms whisked yoghurt and 120gms banana pulp(about 2 ½ bananas). 

5. Mix well. 

6. Mix the sifted flours into the butter mixture (of step 2).

7. Add 1tsp Cinnamon powder and 1tsp Vanilla extract. 

8. Do not over mix. 

9. Pour batter into a greased and lined 7x7inch tin. 

10. Bake at 170 degrees Celsius for about 35-45 minutes. 

11. Cool cake completely before cutting into slices to serve.

Shilpa Seth Bhambri was awarded Home Chef and Baker's award 2020 for the contribution to India's Home chef & Baking Industry in the category of 10 years+

Other than that she is also an avid food photographer and food stylist. Her new venture curates an expression of all her learning in the food world that is passionately expressed in the series of food tales in the form of mini video stories featuring home chefs, foodies and passionate cooks. You can view them all on her U-tube Channel at foodtaleswithShilpa.

 

 You can order her signature items on preorder; DM or call at 9930987989

Follow her at Instagram at Shilpasethbhambri

Home Chefs Of Mumbai - Part 13 – Shanti Petiwala

Sometimes food can be boring if we have to eat the same thing day-in, day-out. Everybody likes change and being creative in the kitchen is the best adventure one can have. You don’t need any talent to think out of box, you just need imagination and courage to try something new.

Have you tried sea food with pork? Or served mince Karela inside the pasta shell and coat it with sour cream? The idea might repel you. Imaginations can turn wild. Sometimes they just stay in our mind, refuse to emerge, but sometimes, you pick up your courage and try something weird.

The creativity sets in.

You start playing with ingredients, whipping them, curdling them, tossing them and the result is strange tasting sauces and dips. Sometimes experiments fail, but a successful one becomes your signature dish. Only you know the trick. You start using un-usual appliances and utensils for cooking, bake a soup with a loaf of bread in an egg shell, prepare spicy utappam in a waffle maker, or make seafood pies in muffin cones. The ideas are endless, some silly, some weird. But you are excused if you are able to conceptualise at least one original recipe of your own.

Creativity is having fun with intelligence.

And I love food creations of Shanti Petiwala.

Shanti Petiwala wears many hats. She is writer, editor, home cook, culinary blogger. Riot of Flavours is her canvas, and she celebrates food in all its glory. Food is very personal to her, so every dish that she cooks is made as though she would eat it all by herself.

On a regular basis, she shuttles between Mumbai and Dubai, writer and editor for business magazine in Dubai and home chef in Mumbai. The lockdown has kept her rooted inside her home and she is having the best of the time, planning, prepping and delivering meals since past two months.

Shanti specialises in home cooked Bohri food, Chitrapur Saraswat food and many of her own creative dishes.

Tomato Saar and Bhindi Bhaji, are the earliest memories of good food she remembers that was prepared by her mom, and continues to be her favourite.

She talks about many ‘first time’ memories of food

“The first time I had a real Italian pizza was in Verona. It was a mushroom pizza and it ruined all pizzas for me thereafter, after that no other pizza I had ever came close.”

She fondly remembers Surnoli, a sweet Indian pancake, known to be Saraswat Brahmin dish, it has puffy textures with holes and is traditionally eaten for breakfast “I vividly remember where I was and how amazed I was the first time I ate this Konkani sweet Dosa preparation way back in 2000.”

Being creative in kitchen, she loves to experiment with different ingredients. In one of her experiments, she used eggplant and Labneh (a smooth creamy yoghurt with no whey) and baked this amazing dish.

Shanti is happy to share her recipe of Roasted Eggplant with Labneh and Pistachio

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Cut the 1 large eggplant into two halves, lengthwise.

3. Score them with a knife and rub some salt into them and keep aside.

4. In the meanwhile, in a pan, put in 1 tbsp oil.

5. Add 2 clove garlic (minced) and 1 onion (minced).

6. Mix it well.

7. Once the eggplant releases some water, wash it and pat it dry.

8. Marinate in a little oil and salt (adjust according to taste).

9. Put it into the oven for 20 minutes or till just done but it holds its shape.

10. Scoop out some of the meat from the middle (take care to not tear the skin at the bottom).

11. Cut up the pulp and mix it with the onion-garlic mixture.

12. Stuff the whole mixture back into the eggplant.

13. Put it back into the warm oven. Grill it.

14. Whip 1cup labneh well. Spoon gently over the grilled eggplant.

15. Sprinkle 2tbsp of slivered pistachios and 3tbsp of extra virgin olive oil.

She announces her menu every week and deliver over the weekends.

You can follow her on @riotofflavours for new menu updates Call on her WhatsApp no 9152292940 

Follow her on her Instagram handle @riotofflavours

 

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 8 – Sonal Saket Soni

Six months now and we are still stuck at home, with no clue as to when this pandemic is likely to perish. Family dinners, lunches and breakfast, are resurgent. Families have come together, closer  knit now, spending quality time, children more secure at home, happily embracing undivided attention. It’s kind of joyful amid all sorrows.

 It’s not that we are not relishing this togetherness, a purpose of sustenance, a purpose of literal communion, yes, we are - but that is not enough. We really miss our friends. Meetings on Zoom or Google-Meet was fun, initially, watching Insta-live has also raise the curve of our culinary skills, learning everything from the comfort of our home is the brownie point. But now, that’s become routine! Bored! We need change. We have begun to fantasize the other side of pandemic, when we can finally host a huge potluck at a private resort, may be out of Mumbai. An ideal post-Coronavirus feast maybe? What would that be? A huge bonfire with roasted meat sizzling away? Crackling, hissing, surrounded by smoke and wrapped in spicy fragrance?

 

I hope this pandemic ends before we forget what enjoyment really meant to us.

 

 

Sonal Saket Soni (of Astradelights fame) recounts about the celebrations in her childhood home at Ujjain. One huge hall was reserved for the cooking where 3/4 Maharajas prepared food stretched over 3 to 4 days and whole four-storied apartment would buzz with guests and relatives. Being a Marwadi by birth and that too in a huge joint family, her interest in cooking was developed watching them(maharajas) cook Gulab Jamun, Jalebis, Kaju Katlis and other Indian delicacies.

 

 

Sonal Saket Soni is passionate about baking. Her specialisation is sugar art and Eggfree/Eggless baking which includes Macarons, customised cakes, Brownies, healthy baked savoury  Cookies, Quiches and also does couverture Chocolates. She conducts hands on workshops teaching sugar flower and also Indian and International cuisines. She plans to launch an online workshops as well.

 

Sonal’s most cherished memory is of first Continental good food she had during her Honeymoon in '99 at  Manali at Hotel Ambassador, then and now Manuallaya, where they had stayed for a week.

 

“It was beautifully done, this Chinese Restaurant. It was my first taste of the most authentic and delicious Chinese food, truly enjoyed it as everything was simply delicious, from the hot and sour soup, to Dimsums, Noodles and Spring rolls. Breads consumption was considered a sin then.

 

Sonal fondly talks about her mother’s cooking skills, specially Matar (peas) Kachories, that was appreciated by whosoever tasted it. Her mom is her mentor and she has learnt to make Marwari and Malwa cuisine from her.

 

She is happy to share Eggless Pancakes Recipe.

 

 

1.     In a bowl, take 1½ cups of refined flour (Maida).

2.     Add ¼ tsp. Baking powder, 1tsp Baking soda, a pinch of Salt, ½ cup Sugar.

3.     Mix together using a whisk to combine all dry ingredients well.

4.     Add 1tsp Vanilla extract, 2tbsp Ghee/Butter, half cup Milk and mix well with the balloon whisk.

5.     Once combined, add another half cup of Milk and mix well.

6.     Then add the remaining ½ cup milk ( you may want to keep 2tbsp aside and add if the consistency is thick) to the batter.

7.     The consistency should not be very fluid.

8.     Pour the batter on the preheated Pancake griddle.

9.     Let it cook from one side on low flame.

10.  Flip after a minute.

11.  Cover and cook for another half a minute.

12.  Remove the lid and let it cook for 20 seconds till golden brown.

13.  Enjoy at teatime, preferably with friends.

 

 

You can place your order for cakes, macaroons and other baked specialities via direct chat on social media

 

Follow her on her Instagram handle at astraldelights

Facebook : Astraldelights 

Twitter : @astraldelights

Home Chefs Of Mumbai - Part 7 – Shital Kakad

Have you noticed that the longest time we fritter away at the shopping mall is by the kitchen appliance section to check the latest gadgets? 

Sometimes, it can be hard to shop when we already have stocked our kitchen with latest and greatest appliances.  But still, nothing compares with the utensils and the tools that our moms and Grandmoms used in their kitchen. Maybe, that was one of the reasons that their food was tastier, healthier, sustainable, because they used their muscle power for everything. Kitchen was also their gym where all workouts were done while cooking - grinding, lifting, bending, squatting, cleaning, washing, churning, steaming, the list goes on.

 Luckily the retro is in. People have started using clay, copper and iron utensils. A lot of Indian homes have mortar and pestle in their kitchen, which not just personifies their rustic charm, but it also helps crush the ingredients, releasing essential oils and full-bodied flavours. Crushing is anytime better than grinding in a machine.

 

I am sure that one of the secrets to Shital Kakad’s cooking is in her use of Silbatta.

 

Shital Kakad is the multi-talented home chef. She has always loved to paint, embroider, crochet & reading was/is almost her shadow. She owned a Fashion Studio before she started food blogging. Her love for food brought her closer to foodie friends and she was encouraged to open ‘Shital's Food Cottage’ (her dream project) that has taken shape beautifully. It is her haven for creating new recipes, has some amazing ‘Food Events’ and she also conducts ‘Workshops’. ‘Shital's Food Cottage’ has a special Chai Masala, loved by many and is highest saleable masala!!! (This can be almost called her Heirloom recipe.) She has created signature Egg-free recipes and she takes orders for the same.

 

 She specialises in Indian Global Vegetarian food that has been highly influenced by her travels but her Forte is definitely her Traditional Authentic Gujarati Food like Gujarati Thali, Street Food specials, Mithai Jars, and also Teatime Cakes, Cookies, Dips & Appetizers

 

She keeps thinking about the food she had on her trip to Zurich.

“I can never forget Surat no locho, Amritsar Lassi & the handmade Pizza I had at a small café in Zurich which was owned by an Italian & who allowed me in his kitchen to show me how he makes it.”  She smiles.

 

But her First Eureka moment definitely is her Mom's food. She loved the special Batata nu Shaak that her Mom would make for her to take on school picnics, that till today she calls it as her picnic Shaak. Her mom has been her teacher in a true sense.

 

“The first thing my Mom taught me was making Gujarati Rotlis which are really thin Phulkas & I was only in the sixth grade when I used to make perfect Rotlis. I loved Cooking since I was child as my family on both sides are big foodies.”

 

She is happy to share Green Sprouts Curry that has the healthy Buttermilk & fresh Fenugreek leaves which makes it highly Beneficial as well as Delicious.

 

 

1.    Heat 2tsp oil in a kadai.

2.    Add  one onion (chopped length wise) & brown it a little.

3.    Add 1 tbsp garlic paste.

4.    Add 1 cup finely chopped fenugreek leaves(use less if preferred).

5.    Add ½ tsp turmeric & 1 tsp red chilli powder along with the salt.

6.    Add 1 cup green beans sprout.

7.    Add 2 tbsp of water.

8.    Cook for 5 minutes till they become slightly soft.

9.    Lastly add 1 cup buttermilk & bring to a boil ( if the buttermilk is curdling, just add in a teaspoon of besan / chickpea flour & mix).

10. The Delicious Green Sprouts Curry is ready to be served along with some piping hot Rotis or Rice or with some Jowar Rotis.

 

Lockdown gave her an idea to start her E MAGAZINE called Chai Shai Aur Baatein (She hosts a WatsApp group under the same name). Since she could not meet her group friends during these times, she launched the e-magazine so that they could share some amazing recipes as well as lifestyle articles.

 

 

You can order her food on 9821876249

Or by messaging her on Facebook page- Shital Food Cottage

You could follow her Instagram handle at ShitalKakad

 

You could visit her blog for more of her authentic regional recipes

Home Chefs Of Mumbai – Part 6 Ananya Banerjee

Meetings are always about people and our association with them. People who say that they have got used to sitting at home and don’t really miss going out, don’t believe them. Even if we have grown roots beneath the sands during this lockdown, we are still anxiously waiting to uproot our stance once this pandemic ends. Everybody wants to go out for different reasons, some for music and dance, some for food, some for ambience of the restaurants, the service, the view and some for just sitting by the seaside, watching the waves roar while they munch on eight varieties of olives.

 

We also miss those street hawkers selling that ‘Cutting Chai’, those Batawadas sandwiched between Pav and spicy, fried green chilies, those kabab grills at roadside food trucks and the aroma of roasted meat down the Khao Galli. We also miss those regular potlucks and pop-ups where we met our friends. And we miss our friends who organised such meetings, specially those who love food like we do.

Ananya Banerjee is one such friend, the most glamorous home chef, she is also food stylist, cooking consultant and an expert food advisor. 

 

 

She is into many things but few things that she loves doing are curating menus for restaurants and exploring unexplored cuisines from all across the country and around the world. During this pandemic, she has been hosting Instalive talk show for FBAI,    where there is lots of knowledge sharing and food stories of chefs and home chefs around the globe. You can catch her live on Tuesdays and Fridays at 11am, or watch IGTV at leisure.

 

She specialises in Bengali Cuisine. As a Bengali born and brought up in West Bengal, she considers herself as an ambassador of the Bengali cuisine and the many unexplored cuisines from the Eastern part of India. She has created many recipe videos of the east India cuisines for her Youtube channel Chef Ananya Banerjee so you can always check and try it out at home.

 

 She grew up surrounded by food which she thinks its part of being born in a Bengali household. She still clearly remember her mother and grandmother cooking traditional Bengali food at their ancestral home using heirloom crockeries.

 

“I am pretty sure that the first taste of good food I had was at home and made by my grandmother however I think I was too small to remember exactly when. Traditional food has always played an important role in my life and it still continues to define who I am.  I think as a passionate chef I have many memorable moments whenever I step in the kitchen to cook something because I love exploring with food all the time.” She admits when asked about her food memories. 

 

She is happy to share her favourite, flavoursome vegetarian Bhapa Alu

 

 

1.     Par boil 250 gms baby potatoes and skin them

2.     Heat oil in a pan, add the ½ tsp Panch Phoron powder(blended 5spice powder).

3.     Add 2 dry Red chilies and stir the till they splutter

4.     Add boiled baby Potatoes and mix well. Keep aside.

5.     Take ½ tsp Mustard paste, 1 tbsp Curd, 1tbsp grated Coconut, finely chopped Green Chillies and ½ tsp Turmeric powder in a bowl,

6.     Mix it well.

7.     Gently mix the potatoes in the prepared paste.

8.     Add the salt to taste and lime juice, mix well.

9.     Heat the banana leaves to make it pliable. Add the potato mixture in the middle close from all sides, secure it with a wooden toothpick.

10.  Place it in a steamer and steam for 6-7 minutes or Microwave it for 3-4 minute

 

 

She has many favourite recipes/dishes. Both local and global. She has even started doing a special menu service on one of the week days every month where she makes selected authentic dishes in her kitchen and delivers it with utmost care and precautionary measures. This month (September 2020) is all about ‘Local and Global’ dishes.

 

To order popular Bengali and global dishes cooked in the most authentic way in her well sanitised kitchen, you can choose your pick from the menus she shares on her social channel, call the number and pre-book it and it will delivered to your doorstep safely following all the precautionary guidelines.

 

You can follow her on her Instahandle at thesareechef