The French Cuisine On #WildAsparagusTable- Version One

I have lost count of a number of years that I have been associated with Food Bloggers Community  We have attended potlucks, new culinary book launches, at new restaurants meet ups, new products entering the market and many such food events, 

A new chapter started this week ( an idea initiated by Salloni Malkani 

 and Chef AnanyaBanerjee, to meet up every month, and explore the world cuisine), starting with the mother of European Gastronomy – French Cuisine..it was to bring the food bloggers together, to share the history and geography of a dish, which means that not just make any dish that bloggers are good at, but take an opportunity to cook something new ..but of course that would require research. Luckily, we live in times that we have no longer to go to city libraries to research..we can do so at the comfort of our home just by going online.

So, to make long story short..this month #Frenchcuisine was on radar and we were required to bring a french cuisine solely prepared by us.

Now I have not been to France except in transit during my Europe trips and I have just munched on quichès n macaroons.. To understand the local cuisine, I went on virtual tour exploring their eating culture. The trail of French potluck had me walk down the corridors of google for my research on cuisine, culture, names of the dishes and their pronunciation, and I stumbled upon a great chef Julia Child  who had me enthralled with her priceless videos and tips. I was completely bowled over. I watched more than twenty TV episodes of 'The French Chef ‘ saw the movie Julian and Julia and also read about her life history and her cooking career spanning around 40 years of her life.. Of course I was fascinated by such an interesting person but was more interested in learning the techniques she used in her cooking. Julia Child uses lots of unsalted butter and cheese in her cooking but her style of cooking is very simple. She talks continuously during her live cooking show and her humour is what makes her show so interesting. there are common mistakes she makes ( like we do) making us realise that accidents do happen in the kitchen but you can correct it.

So I decided to follow her technique to make a vegetarian dish of carrots, Asparagus and mushrooms, the dish is called ‘Au Gratin’ in French I didn’t even know how to pronounce  the word but then Mr.Google is there, always ready to help.

A new Watsapp group was created, a format for the menu was made and there was continuous activity and interaction, whereby people were discussing about the dish they would be making. Every time I read a new name of the dish, I went to google to learn about the preparation and the technique used for making . (Luckily Google is quite intelligent, more than my family and friends, who sometimes don’t cooperate with some informations.. )  This was to be a small group of only 15 invites (since the venue was a small cook studio – actually a launch of Ananya Banerjee’s cook studio), although the Watsapp group had more than 50 members. The selection of the invites was on fastest finger first, (like Kaun Banega Crorepati)so I was quick to accept the invite and was able to attend this very first chapter of wild Asparagus Table. I am sure many more will be invited next time, if they find a bigger venue, but if everybody has to cook one dish each, then there will be too many dishes to try. If you wish to enjoy them all, then maybe you should skip at least two meals before the event.

Different logos were prepared and we proudly posted the logos on social media announcing our coming event that created lot of curiosity in our food community of Mumbai.

The day finally arrived, but skies were angry on that day, it roared behind pregnant clouds, poured gustily all day, streets were flooded, there was traffic jam. But this did not deter food bloggers and most of them managed to reach the venue against all odds, some were delayed and sadly, three persons could not make it. It was quite a trip for everyone to get there .

The table was set for 17 people with beautiful cutlery on the table and piece of art in the centre. The wine and water were kept on the side table. A big thank you for FBAI’s wine Partner Barton & Guestier from (Aspri Spirits) and Sucres Des Terres for the delicious Camembert ice creams.  and Veen waters

One wall had the menu designed in calligraphy with food doodles. Ananya’s cook studio is tastefully decorated with beautiful art pieces and it had one dark orange wall, that served as a back drop for most of our photography session. And yes, one more thing, French women are very fond of hats, so I had decided to make one for this occasion. I designed and hand-crafted a hat with a lace and it was much appreciated by my friends. So, at the end of the evening session, we donned a hat and had a photo-shoot against the back-drop of orange wall.  The enjoyment was profound.

We were asked to get ready dishes, that could only be heated in microwave, It was a sit-down dinner, with proper menu and order of the dish that would appear at the table, one by one, so that we could enjoy all the courses. Everybody was expected to serve their own dish after having discussed the idea behind the dish.

We started with soups, followed by bread and salad, starters, mains and desserts. This was the interesting part, as we learnt so many new things, first hand knowledge. All the dishes were cooked with much love and interest and I enjoyed them all. Everybody was dressed in style, and it was sit down dinner with every blogger serving her own dish after having shared their bit of research on #FrenchCuisine. I loved each and every dish that was cooked on that day. Even though we ate in moderation, there were so much variety that I could not finish the desserts.

We had a menu rolled up, with the name of the dish against the name of person making that dish, so it was easy to understand as to what we were being served. The food was absolutely awesome. It is commendable that the way everybody stuck to the theme and went out of their way to bring the best they could at the table.

Me, what did I make?

Au Gratin, a pure vegetarian dish of stuffed Mushroom, Asparagus and Carrot. I wanted to try my hand on carving a carrot into a bird that would sit on a Asparagus branch, chirping on mushroom and celery.

 

I enjoyed cooking this one and am happy to share the recipe.

Ingredients

For Mushrooms

2 packets of Mushrooms

1tbsp unsalted butter

2 Shallots

1tsp flour

½ cream

salt and pepper to taste

Parsley for garnishing

For Carrots

200gms baby carrots

2 finely chopped shallots

1 tsp unsalted butter

salt and pepper to taste

For Asparagus

100gms asparagus

1tbsp butter

1tsp lemon juice

salt and pepper for taste

For White Sauce

 1 tsp unsalted butter

1 cup finely chopped cabbage

2 cloves of finely chopped garlic

2tbsp cream

½ cup milk

4tbsp Gueyere cheese

Prepare Mushrooms, if you wear chef’s hat and apron during cooking then do it now before you start….

Separate the stems of the mushrooms slowly so as not to break. finely chop the stems and squeeze the juice out. (It seemed impossible to squeeze out water from mushroom ends, -like Julia Child instructed- but when I had finished chopping the mushroom stems and squeezed, half cup of water was extracted)

Heat 1 tsp of unsalted butter and add the squeezed stems..

Add finely chopped shallots..cook till stems separate.

Add 1tsp of flour and mix to roast  

Add 1/2 cup cream

Add salt and pepper

Add parsley.

cook the sauce   

Fill the mushrooms with the sauce (butter the.mushroom b4 filling them with sauce..)

Add little grated cheese on the top and bake them for 20 minutes

Prepare Asparagus separately, they taste good even when raw, you can munch it while you prepare…

In large skillet over medium heat add unsalted butter.

Add asparagus and cook until tender about 7 minutes.

Season with salt, pepper, parsley and lemon

Prepare Carrots, don’t just admire their fresh orange looks (I have used baby carrots)

Cut the carrots in french fries style pieces.

Put in the pot and add 1 cup water

Add 1 tsp unsalted butter

Add 1/2tsp salt and finely chopped shallots.

Cook till water dries up

Prepare White Sauce, I know u are tired (can sip a wine before you start…..Okay now?..

In a pan add 1tsp unsalted butter

Add cup finely chopped cabbage

Add 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic.

Add 1tbp flour

Mix to roast

Add 2tbsp cream

Add ½ cup milk,

Mix it well

Add 4tbsp Gruyere cheese.

Melt to make creamy sauce

Now you are ready for action. Hold your breath you are finally there….

Arrange carrots, mushrooms and asparagus in a greased baking dish, top it with white sauce and bake for 10 minutes, till the top  sauce layer is browned

Tra..la..la..the dish is ready….. taste it..if you like it then its fine…

I am grateful to Salloni, who lovingly brings all foodbloggers together with her charming smile. A sincere thanks to Ananya for hosting the event in her lovely cook-studio. A special thanks to Sameer Malkani for capturing all our moods in his camera and his bubbling humour.

Lots of knowledge sharing , bonhomie and good food !!

Until next time..know not which country will we visit next time…

Launch of Cadbury Dairy Milk Spready

Interesting afternoon at Courtyard by Marriot Mumbai hosted by The FBAI, Mondelez India and Zeba Kohli..

 There was a dramatic launch of Cadbury Cookbook with music, lights and claps. The book promises chocolate to life and it covers everything. Seventy recipes are created and curated  by chocolatier Zeba Kohli for Cadbury’s 70 years of joy in India.

"Chocolate gives a moment of Love" says Zeba Koli, a science student who went on to join the 70years old family business of chocolates.

Pieces of chocolate cake were distributed to few people in the audience and they were asked to identify the product used in the cake.

But wait a minute..Zeba narrated a proper way to eating chocolates...

"You don't just dump the pieces of chocolate in your mouth for a quick bite...it has firstly to be held at arms-length, look at it, bring it closer till you squint and take in its fragrance..inhale..take a small bite- slowly- do not rush chocolates, let it go down the throat, let it roll around your palate, savour its taste, let it hit you and then you exhale with a sound and thats when you taste  the ingredient."...of course the product that was used was chocolate Spready

The event was about  a product launch of chocolate Spready

Spready is one of the fastest growing snacking segment in India. Anil Vishwanathan, marketing director of Mondelez said that he believes that this format enables them to enter consumer’s homes and their kitchens and be part of their in-home consumption experience.  It is a growing trend so naturally there is curiosity of using it innovational to make some interesting snacks. There is opportunity to experiment new recipes with this product.

This was followed by live cook-off  by four participants using Cadbury spready, nuts, ice cream, bread, etc. Participants were quite creative, using the ingredients to make sandwiches, rolls, multi-layered cakes. The winner MsPooja was awarded with Chocolate Cookbook on the cliteria of presentation of the dish, balance of the ingredients used and the taste.

In question-answer session, people wanted to know when they will come out with diabetic-friendly chocolates (very soon they said) and how much chocolate is moderate for children (limited) and whether it is already on market shelves

Yes it is..at Rs200... the Cadbury Spready is there on the food shelf...go grab it and get creative...or..may be.. just dip your thumb into Spready and enjoy the taste..!!

Pani Puri Is The Favourite #StreetFood of India

Pani Puri is the favourite snack of Mumbaites. It is a fried hollow and round puri filled with sweet and spicy water along with tamarind chutney, potato, chickpeas and chaat masala. in Mumbai, you get to see ragda (the mashed white beans) stuffing with sweet tamarind chutney.

Many people will complain of bad stomach but still they cannot resist it. It is actually favoured all over India although it is know by different names in different cities.

In North India it is known as Gol Gappa and is made from a mixture of potato, chickpea, chutney and served with tangy water. The puris have the extra crunch that will leave you wanting for more.

In the Eastern states of India like Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal it is known as Puchka. A Puchka is made with a mixture of boiled gram and mashed potatoes as filling, the chutney is tangy and the water is spicy. It is slightly bigger as compared to our normal puris. It is made of wheat flour.

 In the interior parts of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh it is known as Pakodi. Green chillies and lot of mint is added to the water and sev is an interesting addition to it in some places.

 In Aligarh, UP it is known as Padaka.

In Odisha, parts of Bihar, Jharkhand Chhattisgarh, Hyderabad, and Telangana they are called GupChup. White peas or chickpea is added as a stuffing along with spicy-tangy water and boiled potatoes.

In Uttar Pradesh it is called Pani key Patashe

 In Central India, including parts of UP and Rajasthan it is called Paani key Batashe or Patashi. It is the regular Golgappa with essential potato filling.

In Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh pani puri is referred to as Tikki though it has no relation with a tikki. The puris of Hoshangabad's tikkis are slightly smaller.

In Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Nepal it refers as 'Phulki'. There's no difference in the preparation and it is only the name that differs.

During the years when I lived in Canary Islands, I would spend hours making small size crispy puris that would take just minutes to finish. I would make at least 100 puris in one sitting, shaping each puri with a small round steel bowl. It was a fun activity although it would take too much time..sometimes all afternoon. Family enjoyed it so it was worth an effort.

In India there is really no need to spend so much time in the kitchen because it is available at every street corner. But my family who live abroad still don’t have this luxury of eating this snack on the roadside, although at many private meetings and family gathering, it is a common snack. So it’s a blessing if you can find somebody to get a packed version

Therefore I was very happy to see this product in the market.

This is very well packed container and it includes puris, fried bhoondi, tamarind chutney and a packet of spices that can mixed in the water to make pani puri water.

I immediately opened the packet. Everybody made their own serving of breaking each hollow puri, stuff the pocket with bhoondi, tamarind chutney and filled it to the rim with pani puri water and immediately pop the whole puri in one go into the mouth.

The puri breaks apart flooding the mouth with spicy, sweet and sour water, for a minute you might  even look like a monkey as you begin to swallow, you might even choke at small crisp pieces of puri, tears fill up the eyes but overall effect is pure pleasure. We all loved it.

This product is available in Pune. I have placed an order, waiting for it to arrive, I am planning to send this box to Spain for my family who love this a lot,

There is legend associated with the origin of pani puris. This is how it goes:

In the epic Mahabharata, a newly-wedded Draupadi returns home to be given a task by her mother-in-law Kunti. The Pandavas were on exile and Kunti wanted to test if her new daughter-in-law would be able to manage with the scarce resources. So she gave Draupadi some leftover potato sabzi and just enough wheat dough to make one puri, instructing her to make food that would satisfy the hunger of all five of her sons. It is believed that this was when the new bride invented pani puri. Impressed with her daughter-in-law’s ingenuity, Kunti blessed the dish with immortality.

Source: The Better India

November 2018- California Walnut Month

November was quite a busy month for me. With Diwali season in tow and lot of commitments with relatives and friends, my social media interaction was at a pause. There were many events happening in my city but I was not able to attend any. .

November has also been observed as #Californiawalnutmonth by our food community The FBAI. There were many events held in different parts of Mumbai.

There were some 50+restaurants, bars, home chefs, delivery/cloud kitchens, home bakers that served fabulous California Walnut creations and The FBAI has played the bigger role in organising all the events.

At the launch at #CaliforniaWalnutMonth, a Sunday brunch was organised at St.Regis Mumbai, that was attended in large number by most of our foodie community.  There was a delicious cold spread- including cold cuts salads and small bites by Paul Kinny.

You can see the live coverage of the event at this link. 

I was not able to attend any events due to some reason or other, (I cannot even remember how the time passed me by) but finally at the end of the month, it was my friend's birthday and I got an opportunity to try some creations of California walnuts (how could I miss it?) at Indigo Deli in Bandra. I went with my close circle of friends to Indigo Deli to celebrate my friend s birthday and included Kale Salad with brittle California Walnuts on our choice of dishes. Walnut is normally used as toppings in salads for its crunchiness and it tasted good in kale salad that I had at Indigo Deli at Bandra.

The birthday cake was replaced by a pumpkin pie with California walnut in the centre that was beautifully personalised by the chef with birthday message

We really had a good time at the restaurant and it was memorable one too.

All my foodies  friends of Mumbai celebrated #CaliforniaWalnutMonth by getting together and enjoying different pop up and masterclasses held in different parts of the city. The basic purpose of this campaign was to incorporate the healthy California walnuts in daily diet. Various dishes were created by home-chefs and restaurants. The whole program was well planned and there was so much to learn.

Most interesting was the Diwali party hosted by Shital Kakad. She celebrated her Diwali in walnut way with her table full of delicacy made of California walnuts.

Visit her link to see her beautiful table 

There was a master class on chocolate brownies, red pepper and walnut dip, walnut and banana smoothie by Samir and Hemali, and another masterclass hosted by Rachna Shah Sony who made vegan banana walnut muffins and toasted basil walnut  pesto. Yet another masterclass hosted by Poonam Shahani was an interesting one whereby she taught her creation of lotus stem and lotus seeds in walnut gravy. chicken korma with walnuts and vegetarian puloa with walnuts.

Anjali Thadani masterclass was about mushroom leek soup in walnut milk while Nidhi Joshi had a great turnout at her masterclass where she demonstrated her creation of walnut butter and snack walnut balls.

During this #CalifornaiWalnutMonth we learnt different creations from walnuts that included banana and walnut smoothies, walnut brownie, biryani with cashew and walnut sauce, mushroom leek soup with walnuts, walnut butter, modaks with walnuts, and many more varieties of dishes. 

I saw all live demos from the links on their page ‘The Fbai’ at FB. You can see it too.....