Master Class on Dim Sum

I know Rushina M Ghildiyal for quite some years now. She is gentle, friendly and very inspiring cook. Food is always on her mind. She is always on look out for new recipes and new restaurants and is the main person in bringing all the food bloggers together. I remember some years ago, I had met her at a supermarket and she excitingly told me about the food studio that she was furnishing. There was glitter in her eyes when she talked about her new venture of having a cook studio of her own, where there would be workshops and product launch of food and recipes., where new dishes would be tried out, where new recipes would pop out.

That was long time ago. This month Rushina celebrates five years of her APB Cook Studio. How time flies! But like always, she celebrates with a style while whole food industry watches her moves. There were great many events organised at her cook studio to celebrate her five years of success. Last Sunday I was invited for hands-on Dim sum workshop .

Chef Cham of the Emperor’s court restaurant of Renaissance Hotel and Convention centre was to host the fabulous Dim Sum Class.

When I reached her APB Cook Studio, there was lot of activity and preparations. All the vegetables, meat and sea food (that would be used for filling) were being finely chopped. Chopping is lot of work (mind you)

After a short introduction, the class began with making of the dough for 'yeast based Bao'.

300gms of refined flour was sieved into mixing bowl,

30gms sugar, and salt was added to the flour

8.5gms of dry yeast was mixed with warm water and left to activate. Once there was froth, he added to the flour mixture, 120ml of water was added to make a smooth dough, kneading it for more than 10 minutes till it became very soft and smooth. It was covered and kept in the warm place for 45 minutes till it became double the size.

After an hour, the dough was divided into 12 equal balls. They were rolled into thick circles. A spoonful of the filling was placed into circle and by bringing ends together, the filling was sealed inside the dough. They were then kept on a greasy plate and left it for another 30 minutes. Once it had risen, it was transferred into the top half of a steamer with boiling water and cooked for 25 minutes till tender.

Chicken filling for Boa was already prepared. but chef did make vegetarian filling for boa during the session.

In a large pot, water was boiled and chopped carrots and pakchoy was blanched, removed from water with a strainer and kept aside..

20gms of finely chopped garlic was fried till light brown. He added 40gms of Hoisin sauce, 1tsp of chili bean sauce, 1tsp of honey and mixed it well. Then he added the finely chopped vegetables that included Chinese cabbage, Pakchoy, yellow and green Zucchini, carrots and water chestnuts. Seasoning like five spice powder, and vegetable aromatic powder was added, 2tbsp of corn starch was added to bind the mixture. Finely chopped spring onions and few drops of truffle oil was added. This filling was then used for filling the Boa.

I tried making flour based gyoza

It was simple really. 

Just mix 250gms refined flour and salt and knead it with plain water. The trick is to knead the dough well, making it smooth and soft. Cover it with cloth and set aside. Rolling the circle with the normal rolling pin (that tapers on both sides) might not be apt. a pipe or a bamboo roller pin of equal diameter would be better. You have to flatten the ball and roll it with the pipe in such a way that ends become thinner while the centre is thicker for holding the filling. Only thumb and one finger is used for binding the edges to seal the ends. You can be creative and shape it artistically too.

 The toughest was to work with starch based crystal dough.

Remember the transparent dim sums that we get in the restaurants? I think these are the tastiest of all but toughest to make, because the dough is so rubbery that it was shaped not with rolling pin, but pressed under broad blade knife. Even making the dough is tricky.

Set a pot of water on high flame and let it come to a rolling boil. Sieve 160gms of potato starch and 200gms of wheat starch. Add one ladle of cold water to the bowl and stir till starch dissolves. Then add one ladle of hot water to the bowl and stir till it becomes a smooth, medium soft dough. Transfer the dough on a clean flat surface and knead it with little potato starch and oil, till it is very smooth. (knead at least for ten minutes) cover and set it aside.

Enjoyed making the dim sum and eating it of course. 

The dip was delicious too

We can make it by blanching 2 tomatoes in a pot of boiling water till skin begins to peel off. Take it out from water and peel off the skin and place in mixer grinder. Add 2red chilies, 6garlic cloves(peeled) 1/4tsp black peppercorn crushed and salt to taste.

Grind to a smooth paste and enjoy with dim sum

It was a fun afternoon. Came back with food hamper of goodies from Nordic Kandie, Bonne Maman and Kolln.

Celebrating #PulaoBiryaniDay with Family

“So who decides that today is Biryani Day?” asked my family.

 I had cooked two pots of Biryanis (one veg and other non-veg) as a special treat. The morning paper had screamed that there are 87 different varieties of Biryanis. I told them that I had an invite to Trident for biryani trail of 12 biryani’s but couldn’t go because I had committed to making one for the family.

“Why suddenly so much fuss over Biryani?” they asked.

Well , why not? Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal, a food connoisseur and my food blogger friend had send me a message few days ago, asking me and many other food bloggers to observe June25th as #PuloaBiryaniDay. She felt that there were special observance days around the globe dedicated to food like World Macaron Day, World Nutella Day and more, but though India is home to rich culinary tradition, we had none. Her idea was well received in the food blogger’s community. Some more food bloggers from other parts of India also joined her in this plan of observing this day in their city. The word spread wild through social media, and lo behold! Whole of India did celebrate June25th as Puloa Biryani day.

Facebook, blogs, Instagram, Twitter, all were flooded with biryani pictures and recipes and many people took part and had potluck or feast at home.

I spent the whole morning cooking and enjoyed every moment of it. Actually my cooking drill started a day earlier when I stood in the kitchen to deep fry chopped onions on low flame till they were dark brown and crispy. I had liked the caramalised taste of it. Also I had marinated chicken in curd, garlic, ginger, chilies and spices.

Since I was alone in the kitchen with music  in the background playing latest Bollywood music, I was in good mood and very attentive. I worked deligently, watching each step and was quite pleased with the results. It was raining heavily so I asked my nephew to come and pick me up. I was to take biryani to my sister’s house (where I spend most of my Sundays)

My sister had cooked mutton too (in case there was not enough biryani, but nobody touched it) she had also made raita and had bought potato wafers. I waited as the family sat down to enjoy the meal and was greatly pleased when the family compliments started to pour in. They all loved it and said that it was better than what they order from restaurants. Well, I am glad. But unfortunately, if I am asked to repeat the same taste, I am not sure if I will be able to make the same taste once more. (I am creative, you see)

Cooking for me is an art that cannot be reproduced, so I jot down the recipe to remember what ingredients I used. Both the Biryanis were made side-by-side, so the taste differ  was only because of meat.

Ingredients

2 cups Basmati rice (wash and soak in water for half an hour)

3 large onions chopped lenghtwise (for deep frying)

2 medium onions peeled and burnt on open flame

8-9 Cardamoms

8-9 Cloves

4-5 star shaped Anise

8-9 Bay leaves

4-5 strands of saffron dissolved in 1/2cup warm milk

½ kg chicken randomly chopped

2 medium size potatoes, chopped and deep fried

200gms Cauliflower deep fried

2 medium Carrots chopped and deep fried

2 inch ginger

6cloves of garlic

4 green chilies

1tsp Cumin seeds

1 tsp aniseeds

1 cup Curds

4 medium Tomatoes

50 grams chopped walnuts

50grams chopped almonds

50grams chopped pistachio

50grams chopped dates

1 cup milk

1 tsp lime juice

1 cup chopped corainder leaves

2 tbsp Briyani masala

salt to taste

Method

1.     Marinate chicken with one inch ginger, 3pods of garlic, 1cup of curds, salt, 1tsp turmeric power and keep it over night.

2.     Deep fry onions on low flame till they are dark brown and crispy.

3.     Boil rice till it is half done, strain and spread in a large plate

4.     Add cloves, bay leaves, star anis, cardamons, ghee, and saffron dissolved in hot milk to the cooked rice. Mix and keep it aside.

5.     Start to prepare vegetables for veg briyani..deep fry chopped potatoes, chopped carrots, and cauliflower.

6.     In a separate pan, heat 1tbsp oil. Add cumin seeds, aniseeds, chopped onions. Add mushroom and corn. Add fried potatoes, fried cauliflower and fried carrots. Add the mixture of curd and tomatoes. Add salt and briyani masala. Mix and cook for 2 minutes. Keep the cooked vegetables aside.

7.     In a pressure cooker pan, heat 1tbp oil. Add cunin seed, aniseeds, chopped onions. Add the marinated chicken (as mentioned above in method one). Add mixture of curds and tomatoes. Add salt and briyani masala. Mix and cook till oil floats on the top. Add 1/2cup water and pressure cook for 2 whistles.

8.     Take a deep pan for vegetable briyani. Coat it with ghee. Spread deep fried onions.(as mentioned above in method 2) add 1 cup cooked spice rice (as mentioned in above method 4) add the cooked vegetables (as mentioned in method 6) cover it with ½ cup spiced rice (as mentioned in method4). Garnish with deep fried onions, chopped almonds, pistachio, walnuts, dates. Sprinkle ½ milk over it. Squeeze ½ lemon juice. Add chopped coriander leaves. cover the pot tightly and seal it with wheat dough and steam it on low flame for 45 minutes.

9.     Take a deep pan for chicken briyani. Coat it with ghee. Spread deep fried onions.(as mentioned above in method 2) add 1 cup cooked spice rice (as mentioned in above method 4) add the cooked chicken (as mentioned in method 7) cover it with ½ cup spiced rice (as mentioned in method4). Garnish with deep fried onions, chopped almonds, pistachio, walnuts, dates. Sprinkle ½ milk over it. Squeeze ½ lemon juice. Add chopped coriander leaves. cover the pot tightly and seal it with wheat dough and steam it on low flame for 45 minutes.

10.  Serve with onion raita and potato chips

Restaurant Review: Hopscotch Bar & Brasserie

It was my sister’s 40^th wedding anniversary and my nephew was all excited about this new place ‘Hopscotch-Bar and Brasserie’ that has been launched in the month of May on S.V.Road, Bandra. His enthusiasm had aroused my curiosity and I was equally eager to visit it.

The entrance to this restaurant is interesting, as the name suggest Hopscotch, the floor game takes you back to your childhood memories when you would spend hours in building compound, hopping on one foot, picking up a coin or a tile. You enter the restaurant and you are tempted to hop, only the game rules change here, you may be blindfolded with a drink on your head, gyrate over the numbered squares, taking a dance step over the latest raps till you hop on number four-five or seven-eight where you land on two feet and twist. The idea is to have pure fun.

The mood is already set with the foot tapping music as you look for a place to sit. On the wall, LEGO blocks stare back at you, while another wall  exhibits Tic Tac Toe with wooden Xs and Os planted on it.

For selfie lovers, there are emoji cushions all over the place, that bring a smile and comfort.

Two room (inner and outer rooms) are separated by a bar. While my family enjoyed a private party in the inner room, the other side of the bar was bustling with vibrant  youngsters. Late evenings, lot of drama happens at the bar with drinks jugglers and liquor shots drained down the throat in seconds (I missed that but the family had enjoyed it)

The menu was carefully chosen by my nephew before the party. Endless cocktails and mock-tails, four vegetarian and four non-vegetarian finger foods and one veg and one non-veg for the mains.

Of the selected Malaysian Paneer, Mushroom Tacos, Dilwali Nacho dal Makhani and Pesto slider, the Dilwali Nacho dal makhani was very innovate and tastes better than its traditional Mexican cousin of baked beans, the lone disadvantage being that nachos tend to get soggy under the weight of dal, so should be consumed as soon as they arrive. (not a good idea to serve at a party where people come to eat only during their breaks in dancing, when the music pauses.)

On non-vegetarian front, Chipotle Prawns was the winner, the melt-in-the mouth delight, I simply loved it, although Galouti kabab lamb, Serani Fish and Korean Chicken are equally good too.

The Thai vegetarian curry in the mains tasted very good and I would love to visit this place just to have this meal the second time.

The brainchild of first-time restauranteurs Roshan Sachdeva, wife Neha and her brother Gaurav Khetwani, with Suved Lohia as its managing partner, the prospects of this place looks good. With many Bars and Brasseries mushrooming all over Mumbai, the restaurant has tough competition and if it maintains its same standard of providing good music and good service, its popularity is sure to rise to higher decibels.