Sharpen the Knife

People who have full time live-in maid have one great advantage, that they ask their maid to do all the chopping and cutting for them. But there is risk there. Only the person who cooks knows, in what way a particular vegetable has to be chopped. When chopping for noodles, they have to be chopped in string style, long and thin, when it is for rice dish, it needs to be diced into thin tiny pieces, for veggies to be cooked on high heat, they need to be chopped slant wise and for plain cooking just round circles will do.

It becomes important to chop them yourself rather than giving tutorials to the maid. But then, we will not chop if we don't enjoy it.

There is pleasure in cutting only when we have a sharp knife. No?

Using a sharp knife is as important as using the right kind of knife. With blunt knife there is exertion and too much effort as we struggle to chop, and if we are not careful, the knife may skid and move slantwise chopping a part of our finger too. Ouch!

Over the years, I have used different kinds of sharpeners, metal sharpeners, rough stones or rubbing of two knives in opposite directions.

This is the stone sharpener that I am using nowadays. I had picked this up during my last trip to Bangkok. This has a stone ring in the center that rotates while sharpening the blades.

But the best sharpened knife till date is still those done by professionals who do rounds in narrow streets and sharpen the knife on rotating wheel.

They have a certain knack.

While sharpening the knife the most important thing is consistency. They hold the blade at exactly the same angle for every stroke.

These guys know the correct techniques for sharpening the blades, keeping at certain angle to acquire the correct sharpness.

After every stroke, they check the blades.

The stone wheel is attached to the wheels and while he cycles the wheel, the rotating stone wheel is used for sharpening the knife, sometimes throwing sparkles due to friction.

There are large varieties of knife sharpening stones that are used, and are available in different types, sizes and material compositions.  Carborundrum (Silicon carbide) is the most popular type of material used for knife sharpening stones, the others are made of diamond stones, Arkansas stones, ceramic wet stones and Japanese water stones.  These sharpening materials are quarried of varying grits which are relative to their sharpening function. Smaller grit numbers give the stone a coarse surface which is initially used to get rid of the blade’s imperfections and those with higher grit numbers on the stone gives a finer finish.

Many years ago I had seen a Bollywood film 'Zanjeer' in which Jaya Bacchan plays the role of a lady who sharpens knife and there is a song too...Chakoo churri..tej karalo...

Get the drift??

Power Lunch

Gone are the days when power lunch was all about dining in a restaurant that had buffets tables set with variety of food of every imaginable cuisine. We used to have too much variety and were not able to decide what is good, little portion of each and your tummy is full with mixed flavors that had a war in the tummy starting from mouth. We hopped from our dining table to the food station for every course, meeting friends on the way, chatting with random people and sometimes eating while standing. Many times, we were not able to enjoy the best of dishes because by the time we reached that dessert station, we were too full already and so missed out the best options.

But things are changing for the better perhaps.

Two days ago, I was invited by Verve Magazine for a book reading of ‘The Reluctant detective’  by Kiran Manral at an Italian restaurant, Botticino, named after ‘Petra di Botticino’ the beautifully veined marble, that has been used extensively giving an artistically  shiny look to the hotel at Bandra-Kurla complex called Trident.

After the reading, and familiarizing with each other,  we headed towards the dining room, bright, well lighted with high ceiling that seemed as though it was hanging by the ceiling. The dining table had just fixed number of chairs for confirmed guests that were planned after the personalized invitations were sent and the number of guest confirmed.

There was a fixed menu with the assorted dishes specially prepared by Chef Vikas Vichare. We gave our order according to our preference and sat down to relish each dish as it arrived.

The freshly baked bread, straight from the kitchen is the good way to start any meal.

While we waited for our order to arrive, Chef Vikas Vichare came out to greet us bringing with him his specialty of diced mangoes topped with steamed asparagus.

The hard board menu card had the choice, vegetarian or non-vegetarian, On Saturdays I am strictly non-vegetarian, so wild Mushroom were out of my list...... I chose Pear and Pecorino salad with arugula and balsamic dressing from the list of Soup and Appetizer.

The sweet sour taste of fruits mingled with thinly sliced cheese and rocket leaves, topped with caramelized nuts....it was a happy beginning...

For the Main it was snapper for me....Chilli and Fennel crusted snapper with olives, potatoes and orange juice.

No, this is not Snapper but I am peeping on the side...attracted by the plating..thinking if he learnt the plating from TV program called Master Chef Australia?

The Herb encrusted Snapper swimming in the plate full of orange sauce and the colorful crunchy array of finely chopped fried potatoes, olives and carrots was up for Mains. The sweet and sour taste with crunchy vegetables floating in the orange sauce and the perfectly cooked fish, it was the dish to die for.....

Different stories are shared at the lunch table which is impossible during buffet,  I like the table setting where each person is seated and the dish arrives at regular interval one dish at a time which is tasted and relished slowly, wine glasses are refilled and as the conversation progresses, strangers become friends.....

The hours tick tock faster and the dessert time arrives. I choose Tiramisu with berry sorbet...

We rounded up the meal with a cupful of tiramisu, which has always been my favorite and I was happy to see it served specially for us. I bit into the thin crispy chocolate wafer that melted instantly into my mouth.

Once again I am mesmerized with the plating of this dessert wherein a thin chocolate wafer dips into the cup and a spiral chocolates reaches the berry sorbet making the dish visually appealing...

Also shared this content with the members of GBE2 on prompt "Two days Ago"

Food For All

In my life, I have met many talented people, some of them are so blessed that they never have to worry about themselves at all because the resources that they have will keep them floating in happiness for the rest of their lives. But there are some who are not so fortunate. They are deprived of opportunities mainly because of their ignorance, because they do not know the know-how, the real techniques of making their life worthwhile, of finding a proper guide who can teach them how the natural resources can be used effectively.

Most of the people are very secretive about the methods they use for growing vegetables and for their recipes. True, your own recipe will be your pride and you want it to be your signature recipe. You want to be recognized by your creation of a new dish. But sharing is caring.

There is a story of Chandrani, who lives in the rural area of Sri Lanka. I came across this site which promises future of hunger free for poor. Oxfam is supporting women like Chandrani to start home gardening businesses. With the right seeds, tools and knowledge,Chandrani has created a successful vegetable garden, growing beans, capsicum, beetroot, spinach, radish and more. She’s producing enough food to feed her three children and is earning an income by selling the surplus.

There is also a free cook book to down loadthat has recipes from fresh vegetables.

We can help too, by teaching people how to become self sufficient. In the city like Mumbai where there is hardly any open space left, we don’t have the luxury of owning a kitchen garden. Maybe, we can share the tips on how to plant organic vegetables in our balcony?

Junior Chef Cookery Workshop

My friend, Aanchal, conducts one-day cooking workshopsregularly and most of them are exotic dishes. I am always amazed at the knowledge she has of the latest trends and knows exactly what the people might be interested. Sometimes its dips/pesto and sometimes mock-tails/cocktails, sometimes infused oils and sometimes herbal salad dressing. 

I asked her, “Where do you learn these?” 

She says that she socializes a lot, visits various restaurants and reads latest cooking literature to keep herself updated.

Well, it’s a hard work then.

This week she invited me to attend the children’s workshop that she would be conducting. The menu for the day was Double Chocs-Chip Cupcakes, Mexicans Mini Pizza, Red Cheesy Pasta and  Ferraro Roche shake 

Since I love the company of kids, I was most eager to attend.

I arrived at the venue when the session was on. All children were dressed in cute personalized aprons and a chef’s hat which were especially bought for them. That set the mood and children took cooking quite seriously, willing to learn some basics of cooking. 

All children were given the typed recipes which they could refer to. As the session progressed, some children made separate notes, adding details and their observations.  

There were about 15 children of ages from 4 year-old to 12 years old.

The session started with cupcakes.

The children learnt to identify each ingredient by taste, touch and smell. 


While they mixed the ingredients they licked their finger each time, each one willing to do their part of mixing and setting, getting hungrier each minute, so much so that they could not wait till it was baked and served. 


And yes! They were too hungry to wait for decorating the cup cakes with confetti and cream……

While they waited for the cup cakes to be baked, they were to learn to make Mexican Pizza.

In group of four, children were led to the kitchen to cook the tomato sauce using ingredients such as onions, tomatoes, salt, sugar, basil leaves, oregano, garlic and baked beans. The pizza bread was toasted in the oven and back came the group to the living room to make his/her own pizza according to his/her own taste, adding assorted veggies like red and yellow capsicum, chili flakes, cheese and olives.

While the pizza baked, it was time to make cheesy Pizza. Aanchal, my friend, demonstrated the boiling method of Pasta, informed them about  the right consistency and the duration of time needed to prepare the pasta, then to mix it in the tomato-onion sauce, add herbs and cheese and bake. 

It was interesting to see the children’s focused interest in this activity. Some of them related to me about their interest and their favorite cookery program on TV. All the kids were aware of the TV program ‘Junior Masterchef’ and had their own favorite cook

The impatience was growing and children were eager to taste, Ferrero Rocher milk shake would have to wait, all children were already seated, waiting to eat, and of course, best part of attending cooking demonstration is that there is always food to taste.


After having their fill, children were ready to make Ferroro Rocher milk shake.

In a batch of four they made their milk shake, mixing Ferroro Rocher chocolate with coffee powder, milk, vanilla ice cream, syrup and condense milk with topping of cream and choco-chips.

No children’s workshop is complete without a game and gifts. 


A customized housie ticket with each child’s name printed on the top of the ticket was distributed. But wait, this wasn’t an ordinary ticket; it had the ingredients that were used during the session, very innovative and carefully organized.

There was a gift for every line and two full houses. 


By the time the session ended, children were charged with energy, they shared notes and phone numbers, they even got one cup cake to take-away to share with their family.

A lot of effort was put behind the scene, because planning a children’s workshop is no child’s game……

Liebster Award Nominees

Thank you Anshie for liking my post and passing me the Liebster award..truly honored….Love your recipes on your cooking blog at Spiceroot. I picked up this award from your post of dessertParatha..quite innovative that dish..sweet  with raisins and cheese..hoping to try it some day…..for sure…Thank you for nominating me…..

As to what the Liebster Award is, it is an award for blogs that regularly contain great posts. Of course, the way the Liebster Award works is that once nominated, one nominated five other blogs for the award. Ultimately, it’s a way of recognizing those blogs one really appreciates.

As per tradition: Here are my five nominees:

Love the poetic prose of Sandy, my friend who writes between cups of coffee.

Nisha, my friend, who takes me to places while she travels with a purpose through her blog ‘Le Monde’

Anu, my friend who has ‘A Wandering Mind’ and so much to share about her travel adventures. I am especially awed by her postcards and stamps collection…….

T o my friend, Ramya who blogs honestly as a chronic thinker with ‘The Idea Smithy’ magic, and is always up to date with the latest trends.

To my friend, Aarti, whose pictures are delight to see and whose words flow easy on her blog and now she has a site of her own…..

Here is the Liebster award for you

Okay, I am not going to say that you have to do this, but it would be nice if you do it. Pass it on…….

Eggplant is Actually a Purely Vegetarian Brinjal

Yeah..there is no egg in an eggplant........hehehe

When I was writing recipes for my cook book I was always confused what name should I give, In Sindhi we call it Vaagan, in Hindi we call it beyngan,  but to translate it into English was quite challenging, should I write brinjal, eggplant or aubergine?  Or maybe garden egg?  Or madapple?  This fleshy edible fruit/vegetable is known by different names and as many names that it has, that much more versatile it is and it has found its identity in every country around the world.

During my growing up years I have seen mom cook brinjals in variety of ways. Mom was very creative in her cooking. Even if she cooked the same vegetable every day, it was always cooked differently, so if we had deep fried brinjals with dry masalas sprinkle over it one day then it baigan ka barta the next day, sometimes it was used in the mixed bhajji or in Sindhi curry and sometimes cooked with raddish and tomatoes.

I especially liked the brinjal dip that we have with salads. She would use hung curd for this purpose, roast the brinjal over fire, peel and mash it with hung curd, add chilies, garlic, coriander leaves, salt and mix it in the blender.

This is one vegetable that I never made a fuss because I liked its sweetest pulpy taste.

It was when I had gone through a different cooks book that I was surprised to see it being relished all over the world.

I especially like the way Chinese use it in the most innovative way. The brinjals are peeled, sliced and deep fried and then stir fried with other vegetables to produce a beautiful vegetarian dish. The pulp retains its firmness because it is deep fried and Chinese sauces are easily absorbed by this vegetable.

This vegetable is very nutritious and it has healing powers. 

The peel or skin (deep blue/purple varieties) of aubergine has significant amounts of phenolic flavonoid phyto-chemicals called anthocyanins. Scientific studies have shown that these anti-oxidants have potential health effects against cancer, aging, inflammation, and neurological diseases.(source)

However, it is not recommended for pregnant women......

I am always confused when I see several variety of eggplant in the market. There is green long one, then a purple round one, there is one with light purple stripes, then tiny round ones. Oh! There are so many different types that you need to have a recipe in your head before buying them, Its funny how our brain works, as you eyes scan the vegetables, the recipes flips in our mind with each vegetable, helping us decide what we would like to buy and what recipe you are going to use. 

Strange..isn't it?

But while buying I always make sure that they are shiny, plump, firm, unwrinkled and heavy for its size. They should not have any scars or bruises. If I press a bit, it sinks in but it should spring back quickly to its shape.  Its better to cut it with stainless steel knife because carbon steel causes it to turn black.

I normally cut it and salt it for some time, wash and pat dry before cooking.

This week I made brinjal pickle. This is a very easy recipe and very tasty, It can keep for a week in the fridge and can be enjoyed with all meals. I have with khichri, puri, bakri roti or even just for time-pass.

Step one

I picked up one kilo of small round dark purple brinjals from market. Slit them lengthwise and boiled them in salty water till they were soft.  Discarded the water. (don't want that bitter, salty water with floating nutrients)

Step two

Grind 50 grams of garlic, 1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tbsp crushed mustard seeds, 1 tsp red chilie powder, 1 tsp salt, 50 grams dried red chilies into a smooth paste

Step three

In a sterilized jar, transfer the boiled brinjals, add the paste, add four glasses of water and 1 tbsp of oil. (you are drooling, right? I am too)

Step four

Cover it air-tight and keep it for two days, stirring occasionally, whenever you pass by the jar. Its like saying “hello, you okay?”  As you shake its tummy..er..I mean jar….

After two-three days you will see the color of the pickle change and oil begins to float. Take a spoonful to taste.

If it is spicy, sour and tasty, it’s ready to eat. To boost your ego, share it with friends………

Food Bashing and Gnashing

The other day I was attending a food demonstration, the host used just 20% of the ingredients and the rest he just dumped it aside. One of the persons in the audience was offended and scolded him for wasting food.

In India, we worship food Goddess called ‘Aandata’. From childhood this fact is drilled into our head that one must never waste food and that we must fill our plate with only sufficient amount that we can finish it. Left-over are neatly packed and used for some other day. At every Indian festival, food is served with passion and even in communal kitchens; the food is prepared over the hymn in praise of Lord. People who dine in a restaurant pack a doggy-bag of the food that is left at the table, to pass it to a hungry beggar out on the street or bring it home for their next day breakfast.

So how do we react when we see people waste food?

Or throw the food around just for a thrill?

Image source

 The girl in this picture is not only wasting tomatoes but is somersaulting in tomato sauce!

LaTomatina Festival is celebrated in Bruno, Spain where they have tomato fights for over two hours.  Such festivals will never be allowed in India. Indians, who saw this festival in a Bollywood film ‘Zindagi nah Milagi Dubara’, tried to replicate this festival in places like Delhi. Bangalore and Mysore but were unsuccessful because like I said before ‘We don’t believe in wastage of food in any form’ unless of course if it is wheat grains in Punjab which is allowed to rot because of lack of storage space.

But that’s another story.

In Bruno, Spain, the tomatoes are specially grown for this festival and there is a ritual to be followed. The first event of the Tomatina begins with ‘Palo Jamon’ which is a greasy pole with a ham on the top. While one person tries to reach the ham through greasy pole, the crowd grows frenzy with singing a dancing and showering sprays of water from hose in an effort to drop him off the pole. As soon as someone is able to drop the ham off the pole, the signal for tomato fight is given with tomato squashed and thrown at each other.

And they paint the city red…..

Image source

Another fruit that is found in abundance in Spain is grapes. If you walk in the rural areas of Spain, you are likely to find bunches of grapes peeping over the ledge. You may pluck the grape and chew while you jog or feast your eyes till the grapes rot. In the town of Haro in the La Rioja region of northern Spain is the festival called a ‘Batalla de Vino’ or ‘Battle of Wine’ whereby the buckets and buckets of wine are poured at each other just like we play Holi in India. The goal is to drench everybody in wine from top to bottom.

Now, would we waste so much wine in India?

In another small Italian town called Ivrea, thousands of oranges arrive in the city during the festival called ‘Battle of Oranges’ whereby there is flinging of oranges with great force between teams to celebrate the town’s defiance against the ruling tyrant who was eventually killed by a local miller’s daughter.

Image source

 In Italy this playing with oranges and squashing them during food fight is not considered as waste because these are the leftovers from annual harvest and would have to be destroyed under EU rules.

Maybe they don’t know the recipe of orange squash?….er…or the fact that they can export it to neighboring countries?

Sometimes the waste is not for fun or to celebrate some festival, but waste is the result fight against the law makers.

Image source

During my visit to Boston some years ago, I looked deeply into the Charles river to check the color of the water as I imagined it to be of dark brown color. The tourist guide informed me about the wastage of 342 chest of tea that was dumped into the river in the course of three hours by Americans dressed in Mohawk warrior disguises back in the year 1773. The river was deep brown color for months after this revolution and I wondered what it must have looked like as the river flowed, passing through different surrounding cities. Did the people bend down to taste the waters? Or did they add lime and had green tea?


 The Boston tea party has often been referred in other political protests. When Gandhi met with the British viceroy in 1930 after Indian salt protest campaign, Gandhi took some duty free salt from his shawl and said with a smile, that the salt was “to remind us of the famous Boston Tea party.”

Food is the favorite subject in every home and many of the cuisines can be created or improved upon. There are many food channels on TV which inspires us to cook various recipes. MasterChef is the favorite TV channel which is enjoyed world over but nothing beats the culinary Olympics called ‘Bocuse d’Or’, the two-day, biennial global culinary contest founded by the 84-year-old master, Paul Bocuse, and considered by organizers the Olympics of cooking.

Image source

This is the interesting event where chefs are invited from all parts of the world and throughout the day, the commentators pumped up the crowd, encouraging ear-piercing whistles, hoots, cowbells, chants, shouts and there is a loud playing of recorded songs. Accuracy is not the top priority of the commentary at all, be it in English or in French. Pine nuts become peanuts; beef becomes buffalo. Bread sounds like thread. The fish and meat dishes all get mixed up and I am sure lots of food gets wasted at this event too……although they do lose points if they waste too much…..

The food fight goes on around the world for different reasons, some for entertainments while others for getting even, but if u decide to waste, then just waste on pepper spray to show anger and on cream confetti oozing out of the can for fun….... tried those???