Carved Fruits and Vegetables

carved watermelon

bouquet of carrots and radish

carved pumpkins

bird of carrot and radish

carved watermelon

Vegetarian Noodle Soup

Nothing is more satisfying than the bowl of soup especially on a day when I am too confused to cook anything else

For me, soup is not just ripping off the packet of Maggi, (or any other soup packets like Wai-Wai or Mama), and cooking as instructed on the wrapper.

 Nah! I make it into a full meal, more appetizing and more nutritious.

 On one flame I have water boiling with the ingredients like oil, red chillie powder and dehydrated vegetables, that were included in the noodles packet.

 I have another pan on a high flame where I stir fry garlic, dried red chillies, green/red/yellow pepper, carrots, mushrooms, baby corn, onions, etc

 Just for a minute I stir fry all the fresh vegetables on a high flame till the aroma sizzles me and then off they go, dumped into the clear soup.

 I squeeze out the lime juice, add chilly sauce and mushroom sauce and taste a spoonful to check if it's okay.

 When I am ready to eat, I take a clean bowl, empty the noodles from the packet, pour the hot soup over it and garnish it will basil leaves.

 So while contestants are busy producing innovative dishes on Master Chef, here I am savoring my noodle soup, and not drooling a wee bit while watching that colorful and fancy cuisine.

 Other foodies are also making innovative dishes and sharing their recipes with Master Chef India, should be interesting I am sure!

Dish of the day -1

Stir fried mixed vegetables in black pepper sauce with rice

One evening at 'Le Pain Quotidien'

“Give us today, our daily bread”

While you pray, besides your God, somebody else is also listening…” the best bread maker at ‘Le Pain Quotidien’  at one of coziest Belgian chain, who is baking the most flavorful rustic bread that are crunchy from outside and soft and fresh from inside, which are not only scrumptious on their own but make great base to the delightful Tartines that I would taste later during the meals.

This was one of those places where I could freely click pictures of the food that I ate and nobody seemed to mind, and all this because I was in the company of food bloggers, who care too much about food (as much as I do) and will not let go of their memories, to be invited for such food-bloggers-meet is an opportunity I wouldn’t want to miss.

For that I am grateful to Rushina for extending her invitation and including me in the company of twenty more food blogger to enjoy the meal at 'Le Pain Quotidien'.

Le Pain Quotidien might seem like bakery with a display of big-sized bread on the wall shelf and a tart-studded dessert counter, but enter inside and it’s a new world.

I walked up the spiral wooden steps to join the company of food bloggers with an empty stomach all ready to enjoy the refill.

I was greeted with a glass of mint lemonade, cool and refreshing, a perfect drink to start the evening.

The meeting was all about introduction, getting to know each other, talking about food, clicking pictures and then the best part of the game…eating.

The fun part started with making of our tarts, sweet and savories, using our imaginations. The table was laid with bowls containing assorted boiled vegetables, shredded chicken, burnt garlic,and also assorted fruit marmalade,  chocolates and jars of custard.

I made only one with savories like chicken, mixed vegetables, burnt garlic, soya sauce, olive oil and black pepper. I did not make the sweet one, for which I was to repent later when I feasted on other sweeter tarts.

While bloggers worked on imagination, I started the feast on starters that included Vegetarian Bruschetta and Mediterrian platter.

The enjoyable part of the evening was relishing the Tartines, One by one, they arrived, bite-sized, easy to pop into the mouth, not caring about the calories nor their quantity and loved them all- the big range that included the grilled Asparagus with ricotta cheese, shaved parmesan cheese and diced tomatoes, Buffalo mozzarella with olive spread and marinated tomatoes, roasted chicken&smoked mozzarella with granny Smithe apple, tomatoes and basil pesto, toasted Belgian ham and cheddar with olive and basil, and the most tastiest of all,-the roast Tenderloin tartine with grain mustard, confit onions and cornichons.

We ate and clicked pictures of everything we ate, we listened, we chatted and ate again and clicked more pictures of the food, of the ambiance, of rustic décor, of the shelf containing a big range of exotic food bottles on sale,etc

You would think we should feel full to the brim at this point after having eaten so much but nah!, there was more- main course to select from the options of various dishes on the menu card.

I chose chicken stuffed with spinach and chevre served with herb potatoes and mushroom sauce and we sat down on a long table to share a meal together. I added a bit of soya sauce and lotsa red chillie flakes and enjoyed my portion -The most yummicious chicken that I have tasted.

Everybody had ordered dish to their own taste and preference, those who had Quiche Vegetarienne with roasted leeks, onions and asparagus, were praising that dish a lot. The Vegetable Lasagne with ricotta cheese and mushrooms was a huge portion and many of them couldn’t finish it, later they told me that fish plate, pan seared basa fish with burghul risotto, mushroom, chilli and balsamic sauce was divine but I was too full to try other dishes. There was also Green Asparagus Risotto with Parmesan cheese and quiche Lorraine with ham, gruyere and roasted leeks which was enjoyed by some of them.

Then came the tarts (that we had made earlier) which were placed in front of Rushina to judge and pass her expert comments. Like Matt/George of 'Masterchef Austrailia', she dutifully tasted each dish and expressed her delight. Since I had made tarts of savories, it sat there on the table-neglected (sniff! sniff!) but who would eat savories after meals? so the best ones were the one that contained custards with chocolates, or blueberry sauce and/or combinations of different sweet sauces and winner, Prathibha (The Chef and her Kitchen) got praise, recognition and lotsa claps.

The tarts were yummy and we have our food blogger Nikhil Merchant who shares his recipe for tarts on his blog..

The meals ended with the cup of chocolate milk and it was time to collect a take-away gift of cookies and breads. Lovely evening, will remember till the memory fades with yet another food-bloggers meet.

Do drop by even if you are not a blogger. The staff is friendly and food is absolutely delicious. The average prices: Rs. 250-450 a plate

The place was full, even though it was late evening.

Hop on to tutorials to know more about Le Pain Quotidien
Do visit, at Dhanraj Mahal
C.S.M. Road, Apollo Bunder
Near the Gateway of India
Colaba, Mumbai 400001

Phone: 022 6615 0202

OPENING HOURS
8am – 11:30pm

Paella Making Ritual on the street of Malaga, Spain

In my earlier post I have discussed about the Paella making festival in Spain where a big rice dish is made in the middle of the road for the whole neighborhood. The whole community cooks together and eat with much dancing and merry making. 

My cousin who lives in Malaga was kind enough to share the photographs of this festival that took place this year.

A complete Paella dish contains assorted vegetables, assorted sea food, assorted meat and it is topped with shrimps and clams.

Paella is made in huge paella pan and a big group of chefs contribute their help, it is served with bread and wine

While the paella is simmering, the folk are busy with fiesta of music and dance

Thank you Johnny Shahdadpuri for sharing your pictures with me.

Food Literature- Book review

How The Banana Goes To Heaven (Paperback)
by Ratna Rajaiah

Ratna Rajaiah is good, stylish writer with deep insight towards minute details. Her book is written with meticulously researched information, which she collected during her weekly columns in the Sunday edition of the ‘New Indian Express’, tracing back the history and the nutrition value of each ingredient. This book is like a food bible, where every food item is personified exposing its health and medicinal secrets, its origin, some anecdotes, some facts and finally a recipe.

Take the example of ‘White Pumpkin’ now I am not too fond of this ingredient and wouldn’t even touch it with a yard stick but the author arouses my interest by addressing this vegetable as ‘The Goddess Gourd’ and goes on to say “The white Pumpkin is not only a popular offering to the gods in Hindu ceremonies but is also considered effective in warding off evil spirit and evil eye- the very reason why it is often seen hanging outside newly built houses and buildings” An interesting information which will henceforth make me notice a Pumpkin if I see one.

There are many other secrets revealed in the pages as you go along with her exploring the traditional fare and, BTW, did you know that ‘White Pumpkin’ is used to treat various kinds of nervous disorders and mental illness? I didn’t. She writes: “One well-known Ayurvedic preparation made from it is used for the treatment of epilepsy and even insanity” She goes on to talk about its other medicinal and health benefits and how it is used to cure many other diseases.

Interesting to note: “The ash made from burning the seeds and the peel of white Pumpkin is mixed with coconut oil and is used to promote hair growth and as a treatment for dandruff” hmmmn!

Small wonders roll out from every chapter, unfolding the secrets of different ingredients, as we begin to understand the nutrients of various food items used in our everyday cooking. Every new chapter begins with a food quote on that particular ingredient, tuning your mind in the receptive mood. The book is packed with information on vegetables, grains, oils and also on vitamins, fats, carbohydrates, proteins, etc.

For a food lover like me, this book is a treasure, packed with so much information that I would recommend to everyone to have one copy of their own for regular reference PLUS one more to gift your loved ones whose health and well-being, you really care…..

Also Cross posted my review at flipkart

Around the World with Rice gourmand

During my last trip to Bangkok, on my back to Mumbai, I sat down to eat at the restaurant for the last meal at the Bangkok airport and even packed some more dishes for my cousin back home in Mumbai. Although it was quite tasty and authentic Thai style cooking but nothing compares the taste of khao phat like the one you get at the Bangkok street lanes. There is a different kind of pleasure in sitting on those hard rickety chairs and watching those Thai ladies hit the pan hard (making noise or music perhaps) while stirring in the ingredients into the rice dish with the fumes rising up in the air filling the air with aroma so strong that you can’t wait to take a mouthful.

Khao phat is the fried rice that is made on Bangkok streets and contains basil leaves, pork, shrimps, chicken, eggs and lots of chilies. I drool while I write this but this is one dish which is best enjoyed steaming hot, straight from pan to plate.

Back during the time when I lived in Suriname, my home was next to Indonesian restaurant and all I had to do was to holler from my balcony and the lady would send me a great quantity of Nasi Goreng which would last me all day.(She always gave me extra portion with a smile). Nasi Goreng is bit sweetish in taste since kecap manis (a thick sweet soya sauce) is added and they normally make it from left-over (or cold ) rice, stir frying it with garlic, shrimp paste, shallots and red chilies. It is topped with fried eggs(sunny side fried both sides), shredded cabbage and chopped cucumber, served with fried prawn crackers.

Each country has its own way of making the rice dish. In India, every city has their own style, even from region to region the taste differs, we have nawab style Biryani from Hyderabad to coconut, mustard seeds flavored rice in the south, from pulav to Kanji to methi rice to saffron rice, there is unlimited variation for creating a new dish each time.

During my short stay in Kuwait, (this was before that Iran-Iraq war)I was invited for a dinner to an Afghani’s friend’s house and was too delighted to taste Qabali rice which, besides containing cooked chicken it also had carrots, raisins and pine nuts and made a colorful presentation at the dining tables as she served in a large glass bowl. It has been a long time ago but I can still remember its’ taste.

On my recent trip to Lagos, I ate Jellof rice, an African rice dish at a private club of which my cousin is the member. We went late evening and it was raining quite heavily. We sat facing the rain, with a drizzle splashing our face. The Jellof rice was spicy (maybe he added extra chilies for me). They normally brown the chicken on both the sides before transferring into the large pot to simmer till it is tender. The rice is fried separately with onions, bell pepper, tomatoes and tomato sauce. Chicken and the stock is added and then cooked with vegetables like carrots, green beans, cabbage and spices to make it a colorful dish. It is served with salad and boiled eggs.

And those were the days, when I had overstayed in Hongkong, five months at a stretch, extending visas several times to stay some more time. The stay was so long that I was beginning to feel at home. There were days when I would have sleepless nights and I remember one such night when I was awake all night. At 4am I was hungry but when I went into the kitchen I couldn’t find anything interesting to eat (I am very selective about what I eat, even though I am hungry, I still won’t eat what I don’t like). Everybody was asleep at home, I quickly got dressed up and at 5am went down stairs, took a bus-ride to reach a place where they served the most delicious breakfast- rice congee- a improbable ratio of one cup of rice to 15 cups of water. They would serve in soup bowl topped with finely chopped vegetables and shredded chicken, it was steaming hot which I would garnish with chopped shallots and chilies soaked in vinegar.

But most interesting rice preparation that I have ever witness is in Tenerife, Spain where there is a special festival when a rice-dish called Paella is made in huge fry-pan in the open space and served to the whole community. Although bland in taste (truthfully speaking, because they don’t use chilies at all), it is a very healthy rice dish that contains chicken, fish, prawns, shells and vegetables.

My family is mostly vegetarian and so it becomes mandatory for me to learn the vegetarian version of every dish. My niece, who is also a good chef, cooked the vegetarian paella which was equally good. I had blogged about it while I was in Tenerife.

When I am not travelling I am cooking and many people relish my Chinese fried rice. It’s simple but tasty. The trick is cut all the ingredients that you wish to use in the dish before hand, because my dish takes just five minutes to cook. I used the white boiled rice. I chop all the veggies finely in the size of rice (okay a little bit bigger) the vegetables like carrots, beans, onions, mushrooms, green chilies, garlic and cut the strips of fried egg omelets and long strips of cabbage. On a very high flame, add garlic, chilies and then the veggies, stirring all the time and finally add the boiled rice, mix and garnish with egg strips and strips of cabbage.

Having the different cuisine from different countries is nice but nothing can beat my mom’s cuisine. Mom made soft rice with dhal and would churn it well to make it into porridge and tempered it with mustard seeds, it made a delicious breakfast which we ate regularly with curd and papad.

Oh! BTW have you tried eating just Rice with butter and sugar crystals sprinkled over it?

Source for pics of  Jellof rice, Qabali, Nasi Goreng, Khao Phat