Home Chefs Of Mumbai- Part 40- Smita Verma and Alpana Varma

Pandemic has opened many doors behind the closed doors. 

Social network helped every one to walk virtually in all directions, and so many different avenues have opened up. We have done virtual harvest tour and cook_along with Nancy Silverton sailing through 40 acres of Bledsoc farms watching pistachio harvest, (the tour organised by @foodbloggerai) We walked with @pikturenama and attended the Indonesian food carnival. We have travelled with @rushinamg and explored her stories on spice chronicles. We have visited ethnic kitchens with @historywali to far off rural areas and watched locals cook. We have received deeper knowledge on ingredients from Dr @Kurushdalal, heard food-stories from @thefinelychopped, and many more. The food knowledge during pandemic has been more than we can hold in one plate.

With restaurants receding into dark shadows, home chefs came to rescue, specially for those who had no help at home. The good thing is that the regional cuisines of India have come into focus. Our diet of Pizzas, Hamburgers, French Fries have got replaced with much healthier diet of home-cooked food, more nutritious and tastier. We have finally learnt to appreciate the food that we ate at grandma’s house during our trips in summer holidays. And Gosh! What a variety we have in our country! Same vegetables, same spices, but the cooking methods differ from city to city, region to region, creating plethora of food, tingling our taste buds, craving for more.

Thanks to home chefs, we now have variety of food in Mumbai from all over India, many of them specialising in their own family cuisine. Alpana Verma and Smita are friends who specialise in Bihari Cuisine

After a college reunion in 2016 , Smita and Alpana instantly struck upon the idea of bringing the richness of Bihari food to Mumbai. Both friends have long years of executive grade corporate exposure from HR to Banking and beyond . In 2017 they donned the mantle of 'Self Appointed Ambassadors of Bihar' and have not looked back.

 “By Eureka you mean self discovery. On that note Smita always knew she is a good cook . The pop up cafe initially was my idea and we served 5 course meals from our homes . What set us on this road was the confidence in our Ahuna Mutton Vegetable estews and Rohu Rassedar recipes . They are organic and Bihari in essence.” Says Alpana

Pop up cafes and online delivery have worked like a beauty for them. People from all over Mumbai & Thane have eaten their 50+ types of authentic Behari cuisine . 

“We thank them from the  heart. People from Peddar Road to Bandra, BKC to Thane , Mahim to Powai have eaten our food and every time it’s appreciated” says Smita

 Alpana and Smita specialise in Bihari cuisine and ‘Litti Chokha’ is their signature dish.

Art is another thing they are passionate about, specially Madhubani art from Bihar and now they offer free gifts on order above Rs1000 to all their clients, to make it as popular as Warli art. 

 “The breakfasts from our childhood were fit for kings and remain a cherished memory which we often recreate . We are doing the same for others now. Puri/parautha , Gobi bhujiya , bhuna kaleji, kheer, baingan ka saun maun is there on our menu.” Says Smita

They are happy to share the recipe of Pharul Masala

Pharui masala is a very common evening snack  in Bihar. Its also called Jhal Muri in some parts of Bihar bordering Bengal . It is very easy to make and tasty to eat.

Method

1. Take 2 cups of Pharuhi (also known as Murhi or Kurmure). 

2. Add one medium size finely chopped onions, 2-3 green chillies and half spoon Mirchi achar masala. 

3. Mix all the ingredients. 

4. Add 2tsp Mustard oil and 2-3 spoons of soaked Channa. 

5. Serve crunchy, crispy Pharuhi masala as evening snack

They can be reached on authenticcook.com or on Mytree.com, also on Zomato

Watsapp them at 75440 06053

Follow them at @tbis_thebiharistudio

Cookies For Snack

Ever thought of giving your loved ones cookies ring? Unibic gave me one to make a bond with me

When we talk of biscuits and cookies in India, the brands that come to our mind are old timers like Britannia and Parle G. in foreign brands more common are Oreo, but recently I chanced upon cookies that were crunchy, crispy and tasty, I turned the packet around to see the brand, I found an Australian brand ‘Unibic.’

I was attending the launch of this product in Mumbai. There was a small game played with the audience. Each person was blind folded and given a cookie to taste. The person had to bite and guess the ingredients from its taste. Not many were successful. Although the taste is delicious, the taste of any particular ingredient is not over powering.

The best that I liked was ‘Scotch Finger shortbread’. It reminded me of the taste of ‘Shrew Berry’, the type that I normally pick up from the famous Kayani Bakery during my visits to Poona.

I brought the cookies home for my family to taste. My 3years old nephew and his 62years old granddad sat down, side-by-side, to relish these crunchy bites of Unibic cookies. It seems like this will soon make its entry into their home.

And why not?

There is an apt description on the packet itself that says

“Born in Scotland and loved world over, shortbread is a type of cookie that crumbles delightfully with every single bite. The butter melts magically; leaving an aftertaste you wouldn’t give up for anything. Except, for any set of these delicious shortbreads.”

What more can I say after this description?

Unibic was incorporated in India in August 2004, the company started operations in March 2005 importing two cookie brands Anzac oatmeal and chocolate chips from Unibic, Australia. By late 2005, its manufacturing unit India was producing cookies at costs that were as much as 40% lower than procuring them from Australia.

I almost drooled when they mentioned the fragrance that follows the trail leading to Haskur road in Bangalore, where these cookies are baked. They are a bit costlier as compared to cookies made by other Indian brands but cheaper than foreign brands.

Apart from its current portfolio of ginger nuts, cashew butter, choco chips, Anzac oatmeal cookies, Unibic India is now getting into healthy products like sugar free and digestive oatmeal cookies as well.

Cookies are a bonding snacks, can be enjoyed at any hour of the day and even to kill boredom.

A great snack to go with a cup of coffee or it can be mixed in layers with custard, fruits and nut to incorporate it into delicious dessert.

When in Spain, You Must Eat ‘Churro Chocolaatey’

We live in a better world. There are hardly any secrets left. World Wide Web answers most of our queries from the easy comfort of our home. We have TV, movies, reality shows, visitors that educate us, transporting us to most weird places which we would never dream of going, exposing us to the customs and culture of world beyond our reach.

but....

Many years ago, when there was no Google, no u-tube, no web connection, World was a lonely place. People met only those who lived just few miles away. Adventurous people travelled to new places to explore different regions of the world. When they returned, they brought back stories to share about the different culture, their dressing style and their food habits.

One theory is that once an adventurous Portuguese man travelled to HongKong, Hunger pangs took him for a walk in search of something to eat. He drooled when he followed the smell of frying bread. There was a group of Chinese men sitting in a way-side restaurant, dipping the fried bread in the hot porridge and eating.

Seeing his hungry expressions the Chinese men invited him to share their meal.

"What is this?" he asked holding the crispy fried bread in his hand.

"This is 'You Tiao'" they said.

He loved 'You Tiao' so much that he started visiting this place everyday. 

He thought that it would be nice if he could take back the culinary technique  to Europe so that people in his country could enjoy it too.

But unfortunately, nobody was willing to share the cooking secrets with him.

The Chinese Emperor had made it a crime with capital punishment to share the knowledge with the foreigners. 

Thus although he relished ‘You Tiao’ he could not learn the Chinese skill of ‘pulling’ the dough. 

As a result, when he returned back home, he tried to explain it in the best way to reproduce the same taste.

They modified the dough, introducing a star design through star shaped die.

Thus Churro came to exist in Spain

Churro are often sold by street vendors, who fry them freshly on the street and sell them hot. They are crunchy and are either sprinkled with sugar or served with hot chocolate.

This is the must-have-snack for me when I come to Spain.

A batter of flour, sugar and salt is piped out from large Churrera through a star-shaped nozzle into the pan containing hot oil. This reminded me of the Jalebi hawker on Indian street who pipe out the batter in concentric circles into hot pot of oil. 

 The chef controls the flow of the batter by moderating the valve.

With the help of two steel rods, he controls the flow into spiral motion forming concentric ring.

he stirs it for even frying of the batter on all sides

When they are crisp and browned, he carefully lifts the fritters

Tosses them on a countertop

 cuts them with the scissors into strips

and serves it either with sprinkled sugar granules or with the cup of hot chocolate.

Best time to enjoy this snack is in the cold, winter, early morning, preferably at 5am, if you are awake.....or returning home from late night parties.