Home Chefs Of Mumbai – Part 27 – Tania Bhel

Somethings we take for granted. Home-cooked meals for example. Its delicious but nothing to rant about till somebody else comes visiting us and appreciates our cooking. 

Back then, cooking was for people who couldn’t score good grades in school. If you are intelligent then pay attention to studies, there is no need to waste time in the kitchen. “Go beta, mamma will cook for you.” Was the common phrase used for children who showed some interest in the kitchen. If you insist that you wanted to help, you would be given few raw vegetables and asked to prepare salads. Children asked too many questions and they had no time for that. “When the time will come, you will learn cooking, right now, there is no need.” They would say. As the results, many women would learn cooking only after they got married.

Cooking is a passion, there is no age for learning. You may learn from your elders, from your friends, or just from U-Tube. But for deeper knowledge and proper techniques, you have to learn from professionals. There are many short term cooking classes and many degree catering colleges too. The more serious one will go to popular culinary schools as distant as to USA, Australia, Italy, Switzerland, London. These school prepare chefs for mental discipline necessary to perform well under extreme pressure and stress. Once you pass out from Le Corde Blue, there is no looking back

Like Tania Behl, an artisanal baker, who custom bakes the most artistic and beautiful cakes for every occasion. 

Tania Behl (of TheDessertsCobyTania fame) used to be a production designer, she has styled and done the set design for several TV shows , her last media project was a feature film . After which she decided to take some time off as she had been working her entire  adult life. (although she was really passionate about her work as a production designer too). 

“Food for me is centre of all emotions. I packed my bags and took off to Le Cordon Bleu London to  do my grand diploma in French cuisine and patisserie . After coming back I’ve settled down to starting my home bakery , which has since been developing.” She said, expressing her desire to pursue her passion for food. 

The DessertsCobyTania specialises in fancy cakes and pastries, although her heart belongs to the good old fashioned pound cake, which she feels is the most versatile cake, can be eaten on its own, with tea or coffee  or drizzled with some chocolate or strawberries to make it fancy. “It never fails to impress.” She confirms.

Her most beautiful memories are of the times she spent with her grandmother, Biji, and the important lessons that she learnt from her during her growing up days. 

“My love affair with food started off when I pretty young, and it wasn’t any particular dish, it was with the process of cooking.  I used to watch my grandmother cook food and would always wonder as to how a vegetarian person like her could make the most amazing non veg dishes . “How do you cook without tasting ??” She told me that ‘You  don’t cook with only one of your senses, you use all your senses, touch  your food, don’t marinate with a spoon, use your fingers, put the spices in your food with a sprinkle of love, never leave your dish unattended, watch for that moment when the masala releases its oils , it will release an aroma, you’ll smell the flavours, you’ll look at your food and  know if putting dhania on it will make it more appealing, if little shreds of ginger would make a difference’ I was in awe !! Of course all of this was told to me in punjabi and it sounded even more poetic !! But it’s a good memory I live  by. Many years later, these exact words were echoed to me by my training chefs at Cordon Bleu and I smiled inside and gave a thanks to my Biji, for starting me out right .”

She is happy to share the recipe of Pound Cake 

1. Line a loaf tin with baking paper. 

2. Pre heat oven to 180 degrees. 

3. Sift 150 gms A.P. flour, 1tsp baking powder, 1/4tsp salt together in a bowl. 

4. Set aside. 

5. Place 3 large eggs(at room temperature), vanilla essence, 2tbsp milk in another bowl. 

6. Lightly whisk with a fork to blend the eggs and milk 

7. In a large mixing bowl , using a hand blender (or the bowl of your stand mixer ) add the 150 gms butter and beat for a 2 mins till a little pale. 

8. Add 150 gms sugar to this and beat for 3-5 mins until its nice ad fluffy . 

9. Slowly add in the egg mixture (from step 6) , in three turns , making sure to scrape down the sides and the eggs are well incorporated each time . 

10. Once all batter is well blended add in the flour and beat only till incorporated (do not beat this for a long time ) 

11. Pour the prepared batter into the loaf tin , using your spatula smooth the top of the cake .

12. Lightly tap the tin on the table surface to remove any air bubbles

13. Place in the pre heated oven and bake for 40-50 mins  or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake come out clean . 

14. Remove the cake from the oven , allow it to cool for 10 mins in the tin and then turn it out on a wire rack

15. Allow it to cool completely before slicing Into it 

16. The cake is best enjoyed at room temperature. (You can dress it with frosting for a special birthday)

17. You can store the cake in an airtight box for a couple day. 

Follow her Instahandle at thedessertcibbytania

Call her at Watsapp 98201 44330

Home Chefs Of Mumbai – Part 26 - Marukh Mogrelia

Food is not just made with ingredients or spices, it doesn’t even depend completely on cooking methods or recipes. It solely depends on person who is cooking, their interest and their moods. The basic ingredient is always love. Have you heard anybody say that they don’t like their mother’s home cooked food? 

Although everybody loves variety in food, who doesn’t like to explore different taste, different cuisine, different culture, specially when they are travelling? In fact, Christopher Columbus made it his quest to collect spices from around the world, deeming it as worthy as gold. Thanks to these early explorers, cultures around the world have created exquisite dishes based on spices/herbs, both homegrown and imported, and its remarkable how often these additions can change the essence of the entire meal.

Spices/herbs have health benefits and everybody understands that. They bring magic flair to the cooking, same spices, but different blends. Indians use Curry powder, Garam Masala, Sambar masala, Panch Poran, Chat masala and the interesting thing is that the blend of masala also varies from region to region, city to city.

The Chinese Five Spice powder has a balanced hit of sweet, sour, bitter and savoury. A heady combination of spicy, bitter and sweet spices of Berbere is used in Ethopia and Somalia.  The seven Spices, Togarishi, that includes chili pepper, Citrus peel, Sesame seeds  is used as Japanese Condiment. Four Spices called Quatre Espices is French blend that includes ground black and/or white pepper, Cloves, Nutmeg and Ginger. Adobo, an all purpose seasoning that contains Garlic, Oregano, Pepper and other spices, is used in Mexican and other Latin American Cuisines. Dukkah is an interesting Egyptian mix of toasted Nuts  and Seeds like Hazelnuts, Sesame seeds, Coriander and Cumin. Adveih is a Persian mix of dried Rose petals and Cinnamon, Cloves, Nutmeg, Cumin, often used in rice and stews. A dry rub from Kansas City has this sweet and smoky barbecue flavour that includes brown Sugar, Paprika and other spices.

The Home Chef Marukh Mogrelia  doesn’t believe in using too much spices. She normally uses seasonal fresh vegetables to her meat/seafood dishes. The fresh seasonal vegetable are mixed with fresh herbs and chillies and made into a paste that she uses in her cuisine. “The beauty of the Parsi cuisine lies in its simplicity and the secret of the magical flavors lies in marination.” She says.

Marukh Mogrelia  (of Marukh Kitchen fame) worked as a beautician all her life until one day, she randomly filled up a form that was circulated by now defunct company that would help to curate home food experiences, citing her interest in cooking regional Parsi food. They encouraged her to start home dining experiences catered towards people who would llke to understand more about her cuisine. She now works closely with a company called ‘Travellingspoon’ where they provide market visits, cooking and dining experiences to foreigh clientele.

Marukh Mogrella is a home chef specialising in Parsi Cuisine and conducts cooking cum dining experiences from her beautiful home in South Mumbai.

The very first meal that she cooked independently was when she was seven years old. The women in the house were either travelling or menstruating (in those days women were not allowed to enter kitchen while on their period) with the  help of her neighbour, she prepared a simple meal of dhal chawal, which her father relished.  “I remember the joy on his face even today. It was his encouragement that motivated me to hone my skill even sharper.” She beamed. Her father has been a great support in encouraging her to cook.  “I remember an incident where I decided to cook sweet doodh poha for my father. I made the entire dish well, but I had forgotten to wash the poha before cooking, as a result the doodh poha had turned greyish brown, but he ate without a single complain.”

Being a foodie, she  enjoys street food during her foreign trips, but her first memory of good food was close home at Snowmans, a pastry parlour at Breach Candy. “As a child, the first time I had Chicken Mayonaise Sandwich was at Snowmen, I was very happy.” she says.

She is happy to share the recipe of Khora nó Patiyo

This is like antidote for monsoon. In rural areas, lots of vine vegetables are grown in the backyard and pumpkin wines are commonly grown as leaves, flowers and Pumplin and are edible.

Prepare fresh Herb Condiment. 

1. Fry 2 green onions in pure ghee. 

2. Add 9 cloves of finely grated garlic, 

3. Add 5tbsp of ginger. 

4. Add 1 chopped chilli. 

5. Add 1 cup finely chopped coriander leaves, 

6. Add 2tsp turmerric powder and salt.  

7. Cook it well.

8. Cool and grind it into a paste. 

9. Store it in the container.

To prepare Khora nó Patiyo

1. Marinate 300gms prawns with green chilies, 

2. Add 2tbsp fresh Herb condiment. 

3. Add salt. 

4. Keep it aside. 

5. Heat 1tsp Oil, 

6. Add 2 onions diced and cook till pink. 

7. Add  2 cloves of finely grated garlic. 

8. Add 1tsp cumin seeds. 

9. Add 1tsp sambar masala. 

10. Fry nicely till aroma arises. 

11. Add 500gms mashed pumpkin and cook till done. 

12. Serve with Khichdi or Jowar roti.

 Follow her on Instagram  Marukhskitchen                             Call or DM on Watsapp no 98925 13577

Home Chefs Of Mumbai – Part 25 - Priyanka Pani

Biryani looks beautiful in photographs because of the rainbow colours in it. Most of the food looks appetising because of the photography skills of the photographer. The angle, the light, the props and the composition is what makes it truly a feast to the eyes. Professional photography involves a team of photographers, food stylists, art directors, prop stylists and their assistants. To take one good shot, hundreds of rehearsals are performed and kilos of food are also wasted.

Back then, camera was a luxury that only rich could afford. People were very careful, kind of stingy on removing pictures, they would click only the important shots (mostly group family pictures on vacation to some place, or at important family functions). They bought film rolls to capture memorable moments and had to go to film studio to get them developed. Normally they clicked B/W photographs. Food products was only done by professionals, mainly for advertisements or for cookbook covers. Very obscure indeed. A round dish with the spokes of grains radiating from the central hub of sliced mixed vegetables/meat in different shades of grey in the bed of darker grey leaves, it was certainly not drool worthy at all. But if you still drooled then you probably had tasted the colourful Biryani at home. It suggests that, as far as everyday food tastes go, the past is a strange place.

Things have changed for the better. Thankfully. Food photography has improved our cooking skills. It offers us curious pleasures. By sharing our photographs on social media on blogs, Facebook, Insta, it inspires us to cook food, style them, it improves our aesthetic standards. Even though in reality, they might have tasted awful but still, our imagination plays wonders. We love colours and art.

But then, there is Home Chef Priyanka Pani, who not only clicks amazing pictures but also churns out colourful tasty food in her kitchen

Priyanka Pani (of MyDidi’sKitchen fame) is a business journalist by profession and an experimental cook during leisure hours. During Pandemic, she got a chance to pursue her passion for cooking. It all started with the new normal of work from home due to Covid lockdown. She started entering the kitchen more often and posting those pictures on social media. She also started doing Insta lives with food bloggers and entrepreneurs. This was when the entrepreneurial bug bit her and she started ‘MyDidi’sKitchen’ to serve clean and hygienic home-cooked meals to people during the pandemic. 

The venture was also created to help her house-help earn some extra bucks during the pandemic. She started on August 11, 2020 and the journey has been quite exciting for her. She has recently quit her job to largely focus on her home kitchen and to build a women-centric tech startup. 

Priyanka Pani specialises in cuisine from her home town Odisha. She also specialises in salads and restaurant style food cooked in a homely manner. She runs a multi-cuisine home-kitchen.

When asked about her first experience with something exotic in food, she is reminded of her food memories in Siberia. “I always thought Siberian food would be bland and would consist of meat, Vodka and Potatoes but I was utterly surprised with the use of plants and fruits in their daily staples! I had some really exotic berry based drinks (strangely not Vodka based). The food is quite flavourful.” She beams. “Most unforgettable dish that I have tried so far is a bear meat, again in Siberia. I wouldn’t eat it ever again but I tried just to gain experience.” She continued. 

Nevertheless, she still misses her mom’s food, who is a specialist in “jugaad” cooking. Her mom can use very simple ingredients and churn out something outstandingly delish. 

Her most unforgettable memory lingers around San Francisco when she was there, few years ago on her work trip. “I was in San Francisco on a work trip and outside my hotel there was a quaint little café, there was a huge rush. So I decided to explore it. The café was run by a Chinese couple and specialised in typical American breakfast. Initially I wasn’t very keen to try but was lured by a signage that said “buy one pancake and get unlimited coffee”. So I decided to sit there for a while and have some coffee. It was pretty chilly outside and I ordered one big portion of pancake, cream and scrambled eggs. Trust me, I have never had such good pancakes ever in my life. I ended by eating two plates and spend some good two hours reading a book!”

She is happy to share the recipe of vibrant Pink Curd Rice

It is a very simple, yet flavourful and colourful dish. Priyanka loves colours in her food and hence tried to give a twist to the plain Curd Rice

1. Blanch 1 medium size beetroot for 2-3 mins. 

2. Keep it aside. 

3. Take 1 cup of curd. 

4. Add grated beetroot to it.  

5. Mix it well.  

6. In a bowl mix 1 cup cooked rice and the pink curd. 

7. Add some salt. 

8. In a pan, heat oil. Add mustard seeds, let it splutter. 

9. Add hing, dry red chilies, curry leaves and some ginger.

10. Saute it nicely. 

11. Pour it over the pink curd rice. 

12. It is ready to serve.

She will soon go live on food delivery platforms.       Follow her on Insta @my_didis_kitchen       or website link mydidiskitchen.in              

Priyanka Pani can be reached on her Watsapp at 96190 66627

Home Chefs Of Mumbai – Part24- Lynn and Jehan Hilloowalla

When we walk down our memory lanes, we encounter many incidents in our life and we ask ourself whether we really did that? 

For instance, we would neatly cut out the recipes from newspapers, file them and save it under our mattress. We would buy women’s magazine just to read few recipes and try them at home. We were star crazy and would get excited when we read about our favourite Bollywood stars and their eating habits. We would be thrilled to read that Rajesh Khanna always ended his dinner with Paan and would personally go to buy at Turner road in Bandra. That Sharmila Tagore liked to cook Bengali food but gorged on mashed potatoes, Salmon and fresh Cucumber.

Today, we hardly ever need to read everything in print, we can peep into everybody’s kitchen through Instagram windows. We giggled a bit when we saw Katrina Kaif’s meal that she cooked with her sister but couldn’t tell what it was. We watched Nina Gupta turn roti into sizzling pizza. Then there was Shilpa Shetty taking her son to kitchen garden and dancing away with the harvest of eggplants.

During lockdown, we have seen our film-stars cook up storm, some are baking, some are cooking and some are creating kitchen disasters. But its okay, Rotis does not always have to be in a perfect circle. They are just foodies, not gourmet cooks who will pay special attention to using fresh herbs and freshly chopped garlic. When they look into the kitchen cabinets they wonder why are there so many different shapes and sizes of knives (knife is only for chopping , right?). They compromise with a simple dhal and rice, a vegetable maybe, or bake a cookie, everything that is easy to cook. Follow a recipe from U-tube or simply ask a friend.

But, there are special treats for all. Even for those who have opted for gourmet food, specially the best cured smoked food that Jehan and Lynn Hilloowala cooks, the super bakes that makes you drool.

Lynn and Jehan Hilloowala (of Smoke by the Sea fame)  work in partnership and both are not professional chefs. Jehan runs a corporate training firm and Lynn works with contemporary art. They have passion for food from all around the world and love to cook. Jehan started smoking and curing meats and cheese a few years ago and started distributing to close family and friends. It was well appreciated.

They specialise in gourmet smoked foods  and  cured meats. 

They do smoked hams, burgers, whole roast chicken, Sous-vide Tenderloin steak, pork ribs as well as smoked cheese and nuts and a lot more! They also have weekly Parsi cuisine. They use a unique blend of wood and hot ovens and cold smokers for maximum smokey deliciousness and depth of flavours.

Lynn grew up eating South East Asian food  and lived in London in her twenties. 

“I loved shopping at farmers markets  a good Sunday roast at the local pub or Sushi and authentic Chinese food, good quality ingredients and simple uncomplicated cooking was the first taste of good food.” She says

Jehan has always loved eating well. “About 10 years ago I had good steak done medium rare , till then I was blissfully eating overcooked meat and not knowing what I was missing out on. On our honeymoon we traveled to remote  Papua and ate freshest fish: Carp and Lobster grilled on open fires with barely any seasoning and  it was possibly the best thing We have ever had!”  

Scones and fresh clotted cream with raspberry jam from Devon is the unforgettable food that Jahan enjoyed and still craves for it, while Rock oysters or Sea urchin (Uni) is Lynn’s favourite.

They are happy to share the recipe of Buttermilk Fried Chicken. 

1. Put chicken pieces in a salt water  brine overnight. 

2. Take pieces out and lightly rinse them. 

3. Soak in buttermilk and leave for another 8 hours. 

4. Make your  batter: flour, crushed garlic, thyme, and smoked paprika or some by the Sea smoked chilli powder, Sea salt and a pinch of baking powder 

5. Take pieces out and roll in batter and deep fry till golden brown.  

6. Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon

Call or WhatsApp at 98201 35406. 

Follow them on Instagram @smokebysea 

Website link www.smokebythesea.com 

Home Chefs Of Mumbai – Part 23 – Sumitra Chowdhury

Back then, there were no refrigerators, vinegar and oils were used to preserve food. People lived in big houses with courtyards inside their gates. On sunny days, there would be something kept for drying on hand woven cots or on straw mats - raw Mangoes, Potato chips, Dhal Vadis (birds/animals were well behaved then, they rarely interfered). Varieties of Achaar would be prepared and stored in huge colourful jars. The amount of pickles that were made, lasted throughout the year. Many people lived in a joint families, although food was cooked in abundance but sometimes, when there were not much left overs,  just pickle with roti or Jowar Bakri would suffice. It was something people ate guilt free. Nobody complained about excess oil or too much salt.

Not that anybody is complaining now.  Pickles are enjoyed all over the world. In Korea, Kimchi of fermented vegetables, is the national dish and eaten with every meal. Sauerkraut was originally invented in China and soon became immensely popular in Germany too. L’hamd Markad, pickle of lemon rinds is popular in Morocco. In France, if you are hosting a party, you must have Cornichon, Isreal’s Torshi Left makes use of rich varieties of vegetables, they are really strong, they slap you around your face. Fukujinzuke is served as garnish on Japanese curry. Giardiniera pickle has travelled from Italy to Chicago and is used over salads and hotdogs. 

The United  States even has a National Pickle day in November.

Although big variety of pickles are available at the supermarkets, home-cooked pickles taste different because they bring essence of the person who makes it, has added the spices that they like it best.

To get the real flavours of pickles made with love, you must try Sumitra Chowdhury’s Creations.

Sumitra Chowdhury (of Su’s Kitchen by Sumitra fame) has done few pop ups, cooked for small parties, has participated in many cooking competition physically as well as virtually, and has won many prizes too.

Sumitra specialises in traditional Bengali Cuisine and in seasonal vegetarian and non-vegetarian pickles, chutneys, jams and masalas on pre orders. On rarer occasions, she also makes tea time cakes and cookies since baking is also one of her passions.  

She started to cook at the age of 12. Those days, she never missed the cooking shows on T.V.  and bonus point was that cooking was also taught in school as an extra curricular activities. There are many beautiful food memories of her childhood that she fondly nourishes.

“As a kid, I remember, during the school lunch break, me and my few friends used to run across to Parsi dairy farm to enjoy the Malai Kulfi, and there was another shop few steps away from Parsi dairy, where they had delicious Ragda Patties. I still remember whenever the shopkeeper saw us coming, he used to remove all the Chutney bowls kept on the tables., because we would to finish off all of the different types of chutneys kept in the bowls,.” 

As she grew up, her passion for cooking different types of dishes extended to making various types of pickles, like combination of vegetarian and non vegetarian pickles, chutneys and jams that she would share with her family and friends. After marriage, she pursued her teaching career for sometime but then resigned to continue her passion for cooking. To preserve the traditional dishes for future generation, she started to blog on the experiments made in kitchen with the easily available ingredients and has more than 890 recipes on her blog.

She talks about the unforgettable food that she ate long ago at R2O but still craves for it.

“I will never forget my experience at Rivers to Oceans  (R2O) where they served sea food from around the world. It was a fine dining experience with molecular gastronomy, but unfortunately the restaurant has shutdown.”   

Apart from food, she loves creative work like painting / crochet, gardening, travelling,  photography, enjoys old classical instruments and fusion music, she loves to spend time with children, teaches them art and is associated with a NGO. 

 She is happy to share recipe of Pepper Plastic Chutney.

As chutney is a part of a Bengali meal, here is an unique type of Bengali chutney which is served at functions and ceremonies with Papad Bhaja. It's very easy and simple to make with two main ingredients - green raw Papaya and Sugar. It's called Plastic Chutney because of its’ looks. The papaya after cooking in sugar syrup turns translucent and looks like plastic

1. Take pot or a pan. 

2. Add 1 ½ water and 2 cups papaya chips. 

3. Let it simmer on low medium flame for 10 minutes. 

4. Add ¼ tsp salt and ¾ cup sugar. Continue to simmer for another 5 minutes. 

5. Add 1tbsp raisins. 

6. Continue to simmer till papaya chips become transculant and syrup thickens. 

7. Add 1tsp lime juice and simmer for another minute. 

8. Switch off the flame. 

9. Its ready to serve, 

10. it can be stored in the fridge for a month

Sumitra Chowdary 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

People can connect with her through her Facebook page  or on her Website.

Follow her on Instagram Su’s Kitchen by Sumitra

 

Contact her on Watsapp at 97691 31674.  

She cooks all the items fresh on orders. * No artificial food colour or preservatives are added.  

For bulk order, seasonal pickles and jams she takes 15 days booking in advance and for the regular items she takes 10 days in advance.  

Orders are taken from all over Mumbai.   

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