Spanish Pop –Up at The Wild Asparagus Table

This month, our regular monthly Wild Asparagus Table was  transported to Spain for music, song, dance, poetry and of course food. 

It was extra special because it was organised by Reetha Balsawar and Shivani Vakil Savant along with their friend Dilshad Edibam Khuran who actually run 'MoonlightCafe' where people from the theatre and other fields celebrate their talents through workshops, performances, selling their creations etc.

Five years ago, a motley group of actors, producers, drama teachers got together to collaborate on their other shared passion - food. Each had their own brands and moonlit as home chefs and bakers. All of them had worked on plays, been associated with the same theatre groups or just enjoyed time together off stage over the past 15 years. So it was very natural that working together in the kitchen would be easy! Besides they had a great time hanging out and doing what they loved to do. And so, Moonlight Café was born! 

So Moonlight Cafè it was, all set behind the kitchen for an elaborate Spanish meal. 

The venue was an artistic bungalow with a spacious living room separated from dining room by five wooden steps. 

While we waited for people to arrive,  we familiarised with other guests over a cup of Sangria. 

The room was filled with food lovers and performers that included Avantika Ganguly @gangulytikka (the singer,) Diggie Savant @diggie.savant  @di999ie (the actor, director visual story teller,) Arya Lalka @aryanlalka, (the musician ) and Shubha Pachigar @shubhapachigar, (the dancer.) 

The party started with a warm welcome by the three hostesses Dilshad Edibam Khurana @dilshade.k @doughremi.homebakery, Reetha Balsavar @reethabalsavar  @tossed_and_dressed Shivani Vakil Savant @shivani_vakilsavant   @theoddhourkitchen followed by  introduction of Wine of Mia brand by Ms Saloni Malkani @sallonim2 

Two tables (6seater and 8 seater) were set in the dining area with beautifully arranged cutlery and tapas. On the tables were Pimiento padrones, stuffed dates, marinated olives, mojo picante and sour bread

But first, we must get hungry to eat. 

So, everybody turned towards Shubha Pachigar to learn the basic steps of 'La Cucaracha dance' (a typical Mexican ballroom and nightclub dance) dance video The dancing sessions went on for next 20 minutes, during which everybody learnt the basic dance steps and then danced to rhythmic Spanish music. Everybody was having fun, moving freely and gracefully across the room, enjoying the music and the rhythm of their free style movements. With sweaty body, everybody climbed 5 wooden steps to seat at the tables in the dining area, ready to nibble on tapas. 

One by One, the food appeared at our tables from the large kitchen behind the large collapsible glass doors. 

And the feast began Empañadas, Garlic Prawns, Mushrooms, Eggplant rolls with feta cheese, clams with white beans, Spinach &Chickpeas, Spanish Meatballs, Vegetable stew, Patatas bravas, Paella, Cider glazed Chorizo, sweet pepper &Ricotta. 

The servings were evenly spaced out, with enough time to relish each dish. During the meals, poetry on food of different poets was recited by Dilshad Edibam Khurana. I too was inspired to share my own poem on food during the session. 

The food was very satisfying and was actually transported to Spanish café. It is difficult to find such food in any restaurant in Mumbai. It was so meticulously cooked by our friends. 

My sincere compliments to the whole team. 

After dinner, we moved back to living room to enjoy the rest of evening of music and song over dessert of Tres Leches with Mango and Churro with hot Chocolate.

 It was very relaxing to listen to melodious lyrics by Avantika Ganguly and Arya Lalka. 

Thank you so much for the lovely evening.. I enjoyed it a lot. 

My sincere thanks to FBAI and Wild Asparagus Table team for creating this opportunity of enjoying different cuisines from around the world.

Do watch the video for the visual moments of the evening….

HomeChefs Of Mumbai – Part45- Reetha Balsavar

Visuals play an important role in food service, especially when we are dining out. But everyday food is hardly beautiful. Our daily cooking is normally dhal, vegetables or meat, rice and chappatis. At the most, the colors might vary from orange to red to brown. So what is visually appetising to show?  We may use an attractive cutlery for plating to give an aesthetic presentation but there is nothing impressive unless we add colors and styles to the plates, which of course is possible when making salads on the side.

Besides having their nutritious value, salad add artistic look on our dining tables, and we can get as creative as we wish. Salads are the complimentary addition to our food. Raw vegetables have such attractive colors, and using vegetables of contrast colors like red, blue, purple, orange, adds beauty to the dish.

For salads to look beautiful, we make patterns arranging veggies, horizontally, diagonally or in haphazard manner. We add borders using chips or vegetable of same color, chop or slice finely the vegetables in different shapes to make designs, use fancy plates for presentation and so on

But we need taste too, just adding salt and black pepper is not enough, we like drama, dressing, herbs, flavors, textures, etc. 

Reetha Balsavar specialises in creative and nutritious salads.

Salads has always been her go to food. Reetha worked in the IT industry, so she had very little free time but whenever her friends had pot luck parties, she was always asked to bring a salad.

She recalls of the time, some 25 years ago, friends who she grew up with, asked her, to show them, how to make interesting salads. They normally would slice some tomatoes, cucumbers and onions sprinkle it with lemon juice and salt and call it a salad. So she invited a group of them for dinner.

 “I remember I had made 20 different salads with about 10 different dressings. One of my friends had smuggled some biryani – thinking “how can salads fill you up”. And though I say so myself, the dinner was a huge success, no one was hungry after, and no one ate the biryani !”  she reminisces, “All my friends took down the recipes, but I don’t think they bothered trying them out, it was easier asking me to send them a salad whenever they needed one.”

After retiring from IT in 2006, she started volunteering with Navdanya, an India-based non-governmental organisation which promotes organic farming, the rights of farmers, and the process of seed saving. Reetha has good knowledge of indoor and outdoor plants and often uses home grown herbs in her salads,

One day, her friend suggested that she could cater to office goers and send them salads for lunch. She was apprehensive, but thought, she could give it a go. The first week she received orders from very close friends and relatives, but the second week on, she was making 200 salads a week, and has never looked back since.

Reetha Balsavar specialises in making healthy, seasonal salads, as an alternate to a complete meal for lunch or dinner. She has a fortnightly menu of 3 vegetarian salads and 3 non vegetarian salads. She purposely changes it, every 15 days, because then she can use locally sourced seasonal produce. For example in January she made salads with tender jowar – (ponk) and in February when strawberries were abundant many of her salads featured that. In May it is mangoes both ripe and raw.  

 She also cooks complete non-Indian meals for parties like Italian, Thai, Parsi, German, French, British, Mexican, Lebanese, Greek, Moroccan, Spanish, Hungarian, and American to name but a few.

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

“I went to a Parsi school in Bandra, it is a school for both day scholar and borders. So I used to eat in the dining hall. Once a month we would get a Vaal Papdi, (flat green beans), vegetable served with Brun pav (crusty bread) and fried dried Bombil (Bombay duck). It is almost 50 years since I graduated from school, but that meal is something I will never forget. Luckily my classmate is now the administrator for the borders at my school. And just last Sunday a bunch of us classmates went to visit her, and she had arranged for us to have lunch in our dining hall, and she had made, the same Papdi vegetable with pav. A more than 50 year old memory came flooding back, and I was that little girl in my school uniform having lunch with my classmates.” A happy memory indeed.

Growing up in Mumbai, Reetha’s father worked in aviation industry, so travelling extensively was the part of her childhood. Everybody has one memorable eureka moment of the first taste of good food, Reetha talks about her holiday at Tuscany, Italy with her family.

‘We had hired a car and were driving through beautiful Italian villages. Our route was plotted by restaurants recommended by the Michelin Guide. But this one day it was raining heavily and our progress was slow. We would not have reached the restaurant we had picked in time for lunch. As we were driving along, we saw many cars parked outside a small place, with a “Food served here”, sign outside. As we were hungry we decided to stop and have lunch there. The place turned out to be an old railway station now converted to a restaurant. The tables there were long and every one sat around them, in a communal manner. The meal of the day was Pasta e Fagioli Soup, which was a pasta, pork, beans and vegetable soup served with freshly baked bread. I have never forgotten that meal and have tried to replicate it many times. In fact my family remember that meal more than any of the other Michelin recommended ones.”

Reetha is happy to share an easy Chicken Salad Recipe

Chicken Salad With Green Apple and Pomogranate

1. Boil 100gms boneless chicken without salt

2. Shred the chicken.

3. Chop 100gms Granny Smith apples

4. Mix shredded chicken, chopped apples and 100gms pomegranate seeds

5. In another bowl mix 2tbsp Mayoniase, 2tsp mustard, salt and white pepper

6. If the mixture is too thick, you may add little milk

7. Mix the dressing with apple, chicken, Pomegrante mixture

8. Serve chilled

Follow her Insta handle at tossed_and_dressed

Italian Pop Up At The Wild Asparagus Table

 The Wild Asparagus Table has been initiated by Saloni Malkani and Ananya Banerjee, and it gives opportunity to home chefs to host a pop up on international cuisine. This month, the pop up was organised by Inderpreet Nagpal of RummysKitchen at Versova . 

Although the time was fixed at 7:30pm, we reached late due to long snail ride from Bandra to Versova. But I was sharing Uber with three more friends, so the gupshup started during travelling itself braving all the traffic jam.

The party has already begun with a glass of red or white Reveilo wine in every hand. We had missed the photo sessions and lots of chatter and glimmer, but vibrant ambience still surrounded all the cheerful ladies.  

A long narrow table was set in the centre of the room to seat 17 of us. It was a comfy set up with smaller conversation groups on either side of the table. 

The party started with the welcome introductory note by Rummy on her Italian cuisine with Kerala twist and Saloni on her introduction of Reveilo wines. 

It was 10-course meal fabulously hosted by Rummy and her two pretty daughters who served us course-by-course, meticulously changing plates and cutlery. The service was better than what you would find in a five star hotel, and so much comfort. 

For those who could not attend, they missed this.

Everything was home cooked including the pasta for Ravioli and breads. The portions were served in medium size plates sufficient for one serving, and we were able to enjoy all the ten courses that appeared on our table at regular intervals. If you are drooling, I don't blame you.

The dinner went on for over two hours, enjoyable all the way. All of us were asked to wear dangling ear-rings that added excitement during photo session. 

Enjoy the video of the event here

enjoyed in the company of 

#WildAsparagusTable

#fbai 

#riveilowines 

The FBAI 

@sallonim2

@revielowines

@papadchai

@thecutchimemontable

@astraldelights

@ShitalKakad

@roopanabar

@anjbhargava

@chefshilpasethbhambri

@suskitchenbysumitra

@poojavarsshapunjabi

@sharoongidwani

@tossed_and_dressed

French Pop Up At The Wild Asparagus Table

 We met again after a long time for The Wild Asparagus Table in Bandra at Ketaki's beautiful home. The first 30 minutes were spent on the wide terrace beyond her living room overlooking the Arabian sea, with soft drinks on our palms and sweet nothings on our lips, warming up to each other.

The party started when the quorum of 10 foodie members zeroed in. We moved to dining area for a sit-down dinner. The wine bottles were popped open. Red and White wine from @asprispirits and @bartonguestier_france graced the tables

The food was meticulously prepared, tastefully done. As the food appeared, course by course, we relished the flavours, textures and the presentation of each dish. 

Would I get a similar menu in any restaurant? 

Certainly Not!!  That is the beauty of attending a pop up in a private home.

We started with freshly baked Sourdough bread with honey herb butter, Goat's cheese and grape and olive Tapnade

Amouche Bouche Avaocade Tartlets..loved these creamy Avocade mousee on crispy short pastry

This was followed by Potatoes and Pipedare that had crispy potatoes with Bosque style bell pepper-tomato sauce

I am vegetarian on Tuesday so was served Almond and herb crushed vegetable & Grueyere cheese Quenelles with honey-orange carrots and Dijion Mustard Grand Marinier Sauce.

But Ketaki was kind to parcel me the non-veg too for me to feast the next day. It had melt-in-mouth almond&herb flavoured chicken with honey-orange carrots and dijion mustard grand Marinier sauce.

and finally the dessert of Tarte Tartine caramelised apple tarte tartine with vanilla bean creme anglaise

Simply delicious!!

And the company was equally lovely, each sharing their personal story from different walks of life, sharing their common passion for food.

Next one hour was spent in the living room having some fun over wine.

Such a great meet up..My sincere thanks to 

Ketaki(@whiskandvanilla) the perfect hostess, 

Saloni (@sallonim2) and 

Ananya (@chefananyabanerjee) 

for this this beautiful platform of WAT,(@foodbloggerai) 

I appreciate the help of my dear friend 

Reetha,(@reethabalsavar) for a comfortable car ride to and fro 

Dr. Deepti Chavan 

Rummy, (@rummyskitchen) 

Shilpa (@chefshilpasethbhambri), 

Sonal (@astraldelight), 

Pooja (@poojavarsshapunjabi), 

Tasneen (@zeesdawat) 

Thank you all for being there to add the glitter to the party

Do visit my Utube to get the visual gist of the party at

until next time.......

HomeChefs Of Mumbai - Part 44 - Bimba Nayak

 As a chef, one needs experience and imagination to be creative. Passion is the main ingredient used in every task to make it successful. Be it cooking, painting, or art or any other thing. You have to love it to develop interest.

Cooking offers a big range of interests and rewards are huge. Not only do the flavours and the taste matter, even the food styling counts.  The food has to be visually tempting even before you can taste it. Temptation grows when we see designer cakes, oddly shaped cookies in innovative regional and International cuisine

Initially only the professional food photographers could click tempting pictures of food, using props, light, colours and styling, but now with smart phones and photo edits, everybody can be artistic. With technology, people are inspired to try new restaurant, new recipes and blogging is the order of the day. Gone are the days, when people just ate home cooked food, now everybody needs variety. Besides Dal and rice, and a side dish of vegetables or meat, one is always fascinated by the dessert after the meals. 

It’s the desserts that make food more interesting.

The high level of practice and the quality of the pedagogical content are the key strength of Bimba Nayak, a great pastry artist.

Bimba Nayak specialises in exclusive chocolates, cakes, cookies, cupcakes and personalised custom wedding cakes, orders for sugar craft is also taken.

Bimba Nayak worked in the royal kitchens in Kuwait for 15 years before she returned to the city.  During her stay, she gained international culinary experience with practical technical expertise in both fields. She fondly talks about the dish called Djaj Meshwi that she had at Lebanon.

“ When I was working in Lebanon I had Djaj Meshwi.” she says “That is Lebanese grilled chicken, also I loved Manaish, Shish Tavouq and Felafels, i just enjoyed it. I did a lot of research on these recipes and finally found someone who could actually teach me from scratch. First, mainly I learnt the main authentic spices, finally I was able to produce it in front of royal tables. It was beyond perfection. Till date I make it with passion and it's one of my best signature dishes that I sell as a platter in India. I mastered the art of traditional Lebanese food in Lebanon and Kuwait."  She admits.

She launched her home chef venture ‘Cooking Concepts’ along with her son and daughter-in-law during the pandemic. Nayak holds lessons in sugar-craft and baking for everyone, from seasoned pastry chefs and home bakers to baking enthusiasts. 

“My forte lies in baking fine French and English cakes. Home bakers are looking at honing skills that will help them start their own business in the long run,” she informs.

With 50 years of experience, Bimba Nayak has lot to share. She also specialises in Pathare Prabhu cuisine. Bimba Nayak plans to take Cooking Concepts beyond India. So far she is the supplier to the Taj group of hotels, Marriott group, ITC Maratha, Reliance (Antilia) and many more bakers as well. She has received many awards and recognition for her work, including lifetime achievement award. She has also been teaching sugar art in colleges in Mumbai and now wants to take her brand to the international market.

Bimba Nayak is happy to share her recipe of 

Mushroom and Vegetables Jalfrezi

1. Heat 4tbsp mustard oil.

2. Add 1tsp cumin seeds, 1tsp coriander seeds, 1tsp mustard seeds, 1tsp fennel seeds, 1tsp peppercorn crushed, 2 bay leaves. 

3. Fry for 2 minutes. 

4. Add 1cup baby onions, halved. 

5. Sauté till pink, 

6. Add 3/4 cup French beans, trim and diced. 

7. Add 3/4 cup cubed green capsicum. 

8. Cook for 5 minutes. 

9. Add 1 1/2 cup blanched and cut into halves button mushrooms. 

10. Add 3/4 cup blanched broccoli, 3/4 cup diced and blanched potatoes, 1/2 cup carrot wedges blanched. 

11. Mix and stir well. 

12. Add 1/2tsp red chilly powder, 1/2tsp cumin powder, 1/2tsp Garam masala, 1tsp kasturi methi, 1tbsp lemon juice, 1tbsp vinegar, 1/4tsp turmeric powder, salt and pepper to taste. 

13. Cook for 5 minutes cover and let it simmer. 

14. Add 1/2cup hung curd, sauté on high flame until curd coats the veggies and water dries. 

15. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with green chillies and tomato wedges. 

16. Serve hot with roti or rice.

Follow her Insta handle at

  Bimba Nayak 

and 

Cooking Concepts

Home Chefs Of Mumbai – Part 43 – Hemangi Nakwe

As a food writer, one has to taste every dish spread on the table to be able to write about it and if she is not watching her diet, she might put on extra weight. But many of them are slim because they understand the nutrition value of the food, its’ reaction and its’ usefulness to their body. 

Eating a satisfying meal gives immense happiness to the soul and our grandmothers understood that. They specified on eating freshly cooked, seasonal food, that contained all the nutrients that our body needed. If we protested at lunch table, she would quietly nod her head, be innovative and churn out a creative, tastier dish that we could not refuse. Family ate together, making relationship ties stronger.

In today’s world, we look for answers for any myth that has been passed down the centuries, and we will believe only if it is confirmed by western philosophy.  We love street food, fast food, Pizzas, Burgers. 

Hemangi Nakwe believes that our traditional recipes have enough healthy options to replace the junk food that is monopolising the market. During Pandemic, she launched ‘Hema’s Veg Rasoi’, Maharashtra’s Super-food with millennial makeover, purely to promote healthy eating habits. She specialises in traditional Maharashtra cuisine.

“Unfortunately the obesity ratio in India is rising alarmingly. We are the third country in the world behind US and China with highest number of obese people, and more worrying fact is that the children are affected more. The junk food, inactive lifestyle are the few reasons.” Says Hemangi Nakwe. 

Hemangi is passionate about travelling, observes food habits of the people, regional dishes and the preparations. 

“You never know from whom and where you will get to new ideas.” Says she.  “For me, learning about food is a constant process that started at the age five. My mother, grandmother, aunt are my biggest inspiration.” She learnt to knead the dough under supervision at very young age.

She fondly remembers the simple, tasty ‘Varan Bhat’ made by her mom. Also she still craves for those Uttappam, Dosa that she had with her dad at Shetty’s Hotel when she was just 7years old. She has always been fond of good and tasty food. The most unforgettable memory she has is of the Aloo Paratha she had in chilling 2 degrees temperature at Tijugi Narayan, located on the hill parallel of Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand. 

“The old chacha made for me with such love while waiting for my photo-journalist husband, who had gone with polling officers to Toshi, the last village on India-China border to document their hardship during General elections in 2014.” She remembers

Her husband, Prashant Nawke is a great support to her, and has played an important role in promoting and updating her services on social media. 

Hemangi is happy to share the recipe of Palak Khandvi

“The number of recipes that can be made with gram flour is simply amazing.  Khandvi is really interesting and easy to make. It’s like a traditional khandvi recipe, to make it more romantic and healthy, I added green leafy veggie Spinach to it. As you all know spinach is rich in vitamins A, C, and K, magnesium, iron, and manganese. Khandvi is also known as “Surali chya Vadya” in Marathi because of its cylindrical form.” She concludes.

Gujarati Spinach Khandvi

1. Add 1 cup gram flour, 1 cup curd, 100 gms Spinach leaves and 1tsp Ginger paste in the blender and blend it until you get a smooth puree.

2. Pour the mixture in a bowl add 1/2tsp turmeric powder, 1/2tsp chilly powder, and salt to taste.

3. Cook this mixture in a pan on a medium flame, stirring continuously till it thickens

4. Turn off the heat.

5. Spread the warm mixture in a thin , wafer layer on a greased plate.

6. Let it cool

7. Cut into strips of 2 inches wide.

8. Sprinkle 4tbsp of freshly grated coconut and coriander leaves.

9. Roll the strips tightly

10. For tempering, heat 3tsp oil in the pan, add 3/4tsp mustard seeds, 1tsp sesame seeds, 1sprig curry leaves. Let it splutter. Add 1/4tsp Asafetida, 2 green chilies, and salt to taste and pour this tampering over khandvi.

11. Serve hot.

Follow her on her Insta handle at

HemaVegRasoi.

Home Chefs Of Mumbai. Part 42 - Moumita S

 Slowly but surely, life is creeping back to normalcy. Although people are still behind their mask, washing their hands with soap and water, several times a day, they have started going to malls, theatres and restaurants. There is fear behind the walls but life must go on. 

Restaurants have suffered the most during pandemic. Those who had innovative ideas, started home deliveries in attractive packing, fit enough to entertain few guests within four walls of their home. The food industry went through intense restructuring to adapt to the challenges posed by Covid. There has been surge of cloud kitchen in major cities and many home chefs came to rescue of their neighbors, especially senior citizens who depended on cooks for their daily meals.

Moumita S has been a savior for many such neighbors. Not having enough space in her current home, she couldn’t do anything in a big way. She formed a home-chef group in her society and started a small cafeteria. Every weekend, various home-chefs prepared breakfast, snacks and sold at particular fixed time. During festivals, they posted their menu and took orders in advance.

Being Bong, (forefathers from Dhaka Bangladesh), Moumita S has grown up around food since childhood days in South Kolkatta, Bhowanipur.

“My father was a great foodie, since childhood along with home cooked Bengali dishes at home (hardcore non-vegetarian), he used to take us often to Mughlai, Chinese cuisine outlets. Street food is an integral part of growing up days. Egg chicken kathi rolls, jhal muri, phuchka are like daily dose of happiness. We used to visit some popular South Indian cuisine outlets too, in South Indian dominated areas of Kolkata.” Says Moumita

Moumita S is a self-taught Home-Chef. 

Having lived in 17 cities of the country, she has learnt several specialties from locals of the city she lived in. 

“My life journey, traveling, living in many states has given me opportunity to learn and adopt from various cultures and traditions. Those have enriched me. My creative mind and soul - I believe in making own identity.” She adds

She specialises in simple Bengali traditional curries and pulav, traditional Bengali freshly prepared cottage cheese sweets, 

“For last three decades, I am following healthy lifestyle and food habits (except the reviews) I develop, cook, share recipes, deliver to the people who want to have traditional food with more healthy way.” She informs. “I use Jowar, Bajra, Nachni, lentils, quinoa, oatmeal a lot in my daily cooking. Oatmeal eggs veggies savoury pancakes Jowar Bajra Nachni dosa, uttappam with veggies, served with sesame seeds and dahi dip.”

Baking is her passion. She experiments with healthy ingredients to make chocolates at home. Her freshly prepared sugar-free smoothies are quite popular

She has dined in numerous restaurants and has many unforgettable food memories, so it’s difficult for her to pinpoint any particular favorite dish. However she did mention about ‘Chicken Kobirali’ at Onadi restaurant, of Anadi Cabin, Esplanade, Kolkata.

“It's an iconic, nostalgic small restaurant, nothing fancy there, except people are waiting to enjoy hot Kobiraji. It's basically a flat chicken cutlet, deep-fried with a Crispy covering of well-beaten eggs-whites. Till date, I couldn't prepare it like Onadi's.” she admits

Food photography and trying out various restaurant food of different cuisines is her passion. You may visit her instagram to browse her art work

Moumita is happy to share her recipe of

“MilkKanten with Juku Shita Mango “

This is a popular traditional Japanese dessert. She has followed the authentic recipe step by step.. 

1. Cut cubes of fresh sweet ripe mango   (you can use any other sweet fruit - fresh or canned) 

2. Boil full fat 2 litres milk on a low flame for a long time, till it becomes almost half & gets a light pink colour. 

3. Mix 2 spoons of Agar -Agar powder to milk 

4. Keep on mixing, till milk thickens 

5. Add 200 ml of condensed milk, sugar or sugar-free concentrate as much sweetness you want in the vessel in which you want to set the Milk Kanten

6. First put a layer of chopped mango pieces 

7. Pour one thick layer of milk, which was prepared 

8. Add another layer of mango pieces 

9. Pour thick milk layer as much thick as you want the milk Kanten

10. Repeat the same process 

11. Freeze it for an hour

12.Cut into pieces and serve with fresh sweet homemade mango puree... 

you can follow her Insta account link - http://instagram.com/moumita0904