Ginger Fish and Sesame Rice

Fishes are not aware of Covid 19. They continue to swim freely in waters, get caught in nets and finally land on our dining table. 

But I have made fish curry so many times already. Sometimes Maharashtrian style, sometimes Goan style, sometimes Bengali and sometimes South India. There is just slight difference in taste, spicy, bland, sweet, sour.  All the recipes have Indian spices, the only difference is in proportion of the ingredients used and the moods of the chef. that of course! (Just remember  that it is always mood, that plays a major role, if you are not in good mood please don't cook and spoil somebody else's mood)

So, I went Exploring different food channels like food blogs, U– tubes,  even browsed through cook books too (most of the cookbooks in my kitchen have ornamental value, They look good, cuddled together, side by side, in my kitchen showcase behind glass panels, they are useful to start a topic of conversation when I am fumbling for words, sometimes I do read) and of course, sometimes going through those glossy pages does inspire me to cook.  

Anyways back to cooking (I get too distracted sometimes, sorry, I forget that you visit me to read my recipe, not my bak bak)  So, I decided to make fish..unsure of the recipe, totally unplanned, added whatever came to my mind.  

Very soon, it did find its own name… Ginger Fish. 

Lets go step by step

Step one

Wash fish, add salt and cornflour and keep it aside.  

Step two

Make a sauce by mixing 2 tbsp soya sauce, 2 tbsp tomato sauce, 1 tsp vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp chili sauce, 1 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp minced herbs, 1 tsp black sesame seeds,  1 cup water. Stir it well to dissolve sugar. Keep it aside.  

Step three

Chop 2 inches ginger into this strips, fry them in 2tbsp of oil till they are crispy and browned. Remove and keep them aside.  

Step four

In the same oil, fry fish (of step one) till it is brown in colour. Used chop sticks to turn the fish to other side. 

 

Step five

Pour the sauce (of step two) on the browned fish and wait for it to bubble.  

Step six

Add crispy ginger (from step three)  Fish is ready ..

You can have it with rice . but I wanted a flavoured rice too. So make rice in sesame seeds. 

For cooking rice 

1. In a pan, add 1tbsp of sesame seed oil 

2. Add one thinly chopped onions and one inch ginger. 

3. Add 1tsp black sesame seeds, 1 tsp mixed herbs, salt. 

4. Add rice and water and cook till ready.  

Serve it with cucumber and glass of lassi (I don't like wine or any other drink during lunch time). You can drink whatever you wish.  

Some fish is left over...but I don't like to waste...going to make fish cutlets...

You have any recipe for me???? 

ps: If you are vegetarian..you can use Paneer (cottage cheese) instead of fish. 

By the way..you can see the video clip of this recipe at 

Home Chefs Of Mumbai – Part 30 – Rachna Prasad

There are too many dieticians today who control our eating patterns

They advocate with warning instructions such as to avoid all whites that includes white sugar, white flour, white rice, white salt. Avoid fried food (that junk food, remember), Avoid red meat (too much cholesterol), Use olive oil in your cooking.(foreign concept), Do lot of exercises to burn calories,(yes, can do), Join gym to keep fit (better than to running aimlessly in the park, no?) . 

The only problem is that we don't know where to draw a line. We go too much to the extreme to follow the dieticians, causing our family members (specially moms) a lot of inconvenience. 

Mothers are expected to read every label of the food packet she buys from supermarket to check out its nutrition values, the ingredients used, the calorie content, the flavours used(artificial or natural), to check veg/non-veg (green/red dot) and whether its baked, fried or roasted. 

Too much time is spent at bread, biscuits and pasta section to hunt for brown colour ingredients..brown bread, Ragi/Millet biscuits, whole wheat pastas. Some of the brown breads are made of white flour disguised with brown colour caramel (but you may not know till u read the label) 

As a result, the life style has changed. Gourmet food is in. More people are turning Vegan, stylish trend is to eat only salads. The grandparents and parents stay at home, cooking the traditional food for themselves because the health conscious youngsters hardly eat at home. 

Home Chef Rachna Prasad, cooks such delicious meal that there is no desire eat anywhere else.

Rachna Prasad (of Ambrosia Kitchen fame) is Food Curator & Consultant, Chef, Recipe Developer, Pop-up Specialist and a founder of Ambrosia Kitchen. 

Rachna, born and raised in Patna, She has been cooking since she was 14. At that time, her mother’s cooking style influenced her a lot. Her first breakfast that she cooked for her family was a Spanish omelet with garlic bread and potato wedges. 

“Everyone loved it and that still holds a special place in my heart. Cooking, for me, is a stress buster. It inspires me and keeps me charged the whole day. It has given me an identity of my own.” She says.

Rachna specialises in Bihari and Indian cuisine. Her clients call her a ‘Biryani Queen’ and a ‘Diva’ of Indian food! One of her specialty dishes is Mutton Goli Kabab. A delightful Bihari recipe, that used to be a must at every get-together party at her grandmother’s home. The recipe was passed on to her mother after her marriage, it made her famous at her in-laws’ place. Everyone looked forward to the Meat Goli whenever there was a party at home. When Rachna got married she too made it for her in-laws and she gets requests for it all the time.

Rachna moved to Delhi later for a course in Fashion Designing from NIFT although she knew cooking was her true calling! She once spotted a newspaper ad placed by Taj Mansingh Hotel for a position in Food & Beverage. She got the job and thus began her culinary journey. 

“I learned a lot under Chef Bhatnagar at Taj Mansingh and he continues to inspire me to-date. Cooking is my first love, In my free time I like to watch food shows on Bihari cuisine or read up on various recipes, although I enjoy painting, driving, writing poems, art & craft, singing, dancing and spending lots of quality time with my two adorable kids and family.”

Rachna is happy to share her Bihari recipe - Mutton Goli Kababs

1. Pressure cook 500gms mutton mince along with 150gms Chana dal, 1 ½ tsp ginger-garlic paste, 1 inch cinnamon, 1tsp cumin, 1tsp green cardamom, 5-6 black peppercorn, ½ tsp fennel seeds and salt for 20 minutes or until the meat is cooked through. 

2. Transfer into a bowl and let it rest for 10 minutes. 

3. Grind the spiced mince into a soft paste. 

4. Do not add any water. 

5. In a large bowl, combine the meat paste with 1tbsp almond, 1tsp cashew nut, ½ tsp poppy seed paste, 12 soaked raisins, 1tsp lemon juice, chopped coriander, 2tbsp fried onion paste, 2 egg and ½ cup bread crumbs and give it a thorough mix. 

6. Heat oil on high flame in a deep frying pan. 

7. Make small, round meat balls (goli) 

8. Deep fry them until golden brown in colour. 

Serve hot with green chutney and onion rings.

Rachna Prasad was awarded Home Chef and Baker's award 2020 for the contribution to India's Home chef & Baking Industry in the category of 5-8 years

 

Follow her on her Instagram at rachnakcp

Contact her on her Watsapp at 9820968751

Email ID - ambrosiakitchen11@gmail.com

Home Chefs Of Mumbai – Part29 – Purnima Kanojia

Streetfood is the common sight everywhere in the world. 

Everybody will crinkle their nose, shrug shoulders complaining that its unhygienic and unhealthy but still, they all love it. 

Back then, the vendors used to make their rounds in narrow lanes with their Haat ghadi or a heavy basket balanced on their head and would shrill (in a musical tone) to announce their presence. People would speed walk outside their gates (bringing their own plates) and smack on the food which was mainly prepared snack (evening Chaat) that needed only garnishing like sweet and sour chutneys, some mixed masalas, chopped onions, chopped tomatoes (or curds), chillies and coriander leaves and was spicy and tasty.  They had their fixed timings and people would eagerly wait for them.  

Now you find vendors stationed at almost every street corner. They carry water in big (dirty) cans, that they use for rinsing dishes, the food is uncovered, exposed to dust and germs. Different vendor specialise in different chaat like Panipuri/Sevpuri, or Batatawadas/Samosas, or Tava fried exotic Dosas, or Chinese soups/noodles, or  fresh Sugarcane/fruit juices.  

Nevertheless, things are changing a bit (of course) and they are paying attention to hygienic issues too. Panipuri wallah have started wearing gloves, many are using paper plates, there are food courts at the mall, Dabhas at Express highways  have mushroomed everywhere for people making intercity tours and more recently we have seen food-trucks near the promenades/beaches.  

Purnima Kanojia really enjoys food, be it sitting on a car bonnet enjoying Pav Bhaji and Falooda, or travelling intercity and stopping to eat Dal Gatti with gud ka Churma at Jaipur, or Patiala glass Lassi at Punjab, or even Puttu and Kadla curry to Idiyappams in Kerela. 

Purnima Kanojia is adventurous in exploring street foods, both eating and cooking.

Purnima Kanojia (of MyFoodJourney Fame) is Pharma professional with twelve years of industry-experience; she is set all out to make a mark for herself in the culinary world too. She hopes to start a commercial kitchen soon.

Her journey with food started at seven years of age. She discovered the joy of doing a perfectly round roti on a Chulah, (back then it was by fluke). It took years of practice after that to do it perfectly. It was a kind of fun activity she did with her Bhabhi at her Nani’s house in Ghaziabad and it struck a chord.

“Food instills lot of emotion in me. Ever since I have understood the joy of cooking and feeding, its’ novelty has taken me up by surprise every single time.” She says

Purnima Kanojia specialises in Dum Biryani and Indian Cuisine. Anything and everything about food excites her including food photography. Food plating and food styling is another arena she wants to explore.

She believes that if love melts the hearts, Food is it’s glue to join them.

In the past, cooking was a need-based act for her, that included exploring randomly different cuisines. But her food passion took her to another level in October 2019 when she started her blog page _’Myfoodjourney’_, and set out on a trail to explore her talent. 

“My first experience with dishing out Lebanese cuisine was an amazing experience.. It was simply fabulous to realise how flavours and textures enhance your dish. I made Beetroot Fatey in a live, fun-filled cookery show  called ‘Kitchen ka Dangal’ of  Moms’ magic cooking. In this dish, the traditional Pita bread was replaced by Nacho chips from Cornitos. Such amalgamation of flavours, textures, colours in a dish, yet without love nothing taste better. It’s the emotion with which you cook counts and makes your dish stand apart.  I am keen to exploring the world through my taste buds, hence my tagline 'Exploring the zesty flavours of life.” Says Purnima while showing the photographs of her creation.

She is happy to share this recipe of this Lebanese dish called Beetroot Fatteh.

In a classic dish toasted pita bread is used. In this preparation you can replace with Cornitos Sweet chilli nachos. 

1. To prepare seasoned Curd – 

a. Whisk 400 gms Curd till it is creamy

b. Add coarsely ground 2- 3 pods of garlic

c. ¼ teaspoon of  Jeera powder

d. Salt  - ¼ teaspoon

e. Mix all the ingredients well 

2. To prepare seasoned chickpea –

a. Boil 250 gms chickpeas, add salt and cook till soft. 

b. Drain the water add ¼ tsp pepper, salt (a pinch) 

c. Add 1/4 tsp jeera powder 

d. Squeeze l1tsp lemon juice 

e. Mix well

3. Boil 250gms  Beetroot. 

4. Once done, peel, dice.

5. Season with salt, pepper.

6. Saute diced 3 tbsp yellow bell pepper in olive oil. Leave them crunchy

7. To prepare Tahini – 

a. Take 2 table spoon of Sesame seeds. 

b. Dry roast them till slightly brown in colour

c. In a grinding jar, add roasted Sesame seeds, a pinch of salt, and 2 teaspoon of olive oil.

d. Coarsely grind this mixture.

e. Fresh Tahini is ready

8. Now to Assemble the dish – 

a. In a bowl add nacho chips at the bottom

b. Add seasoned chickpea (of step2) 

c. Add seasoned beetroot (of step3)

d. bell pepper, (of step6)

e. 2 tbsps chopped onions

f. Add the seasoned curd mix (of step1)

g. Sprinkle a pinch of Jeera powder

9. Give a Final Nutty finish – 

a. In a small pan, add 1 table spoon of olive oil

b. Warm it, then add 5/6 slivered almonds

c. Put off the flame.

d. Add ¼ teaspoon of Kashmiri chilli powder

e. Immediately pour this over the Fetteh 

f. Drizzle Tahini  (of step7)

g. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander 

Enjoy crunchy, creamy, nutty, flavourful Beetroot fatteh.

Portion size – serves 2 people

Visit her Facebook to read her food stories at MyFoodJourney

Follow her Instahandle at  _my_foodjourney_

Order for Dum Biryani on Watsapp at  96193 13795

 

Home Chefs Of Mumbai – Part 28 – Aruna Shetty

Everybody loves to celebrate their birthday. It is a day of pampering, a day to enjoy, a day to make the person feel special. 

Back then, birthday used to be to just to distribute sweets to class mates, wear pretty clothes, go to a photo studio for a picture with family and then have a small party with close loved ones at home. Menu was Cake, Wafers and Orange juice, sometimes Vanilla ice cream too. 

Now children, very rightfully, want bragging rights for their parties. Planning starts two weeks ahead, invites to be sent, venue to be fixed, menu, guest list, and cakes. 

Research bears out that a child’s earliest memory is often food related. The preparing and sharing of food can be perceived as an act of love, providing nurture, comfort, warm feelings and stability, “a safe place” which is so important in childhood.  

It is a norm now to have theme parties, by the beach, or at the pool, or in a private club.  Every child is invited with an attendant/helper and there is separate menu for attendants too. All children are given equally expensive take-a-way gifts. It has to be a memorable event. Cake is the centre piece of attraction, with lights, action, cameras.  

Aruna Rakesh Shetty make the best theme cakes for such parties, making emotional connection with the memories that will last lifetime.  

Aruna Rakesh Shetty(of kitchenshetty fame) is wrapped in many layers, a multi talented, cooking expert, not just in baking cakes but also in regional cuisine, each layer beautiful, each one innovative, from a fashion designer, to  flight attendant up in the skies with Jet airways and Daminya airlines, then enrolled in IHM and worked for Indigo Delicatessan and then planned to open a cloud kitchen, but Covid (an uninvited guest) visited every home, and the plans got shelved for some time perhaps, and Aruna got busy with baking and cooking. 

Artistic people move on to newer territories and an interesting one.  

Aruna specialises in theme based cakes that not only tastes good but are also visually appealing and children get very thrilled when they see her creations. Imagine a cake that looks like a garden with roses, sunflowers, butterflies..or cake that looks like a newspaper page, or a cake with Disney characters. Thats the kind of cake that not just children love but even adults.  

Aruna is fond of trying local cuisine while travelling. On one of the trips with her family, they landed at Madrid, booked a Eurocar and went city hopping. 

“At Granada, I had the streetfood speciality of Spain. Churro Chocolate. These are normally eaten for breakfast dipped in champurrado(chocolate based mexican beverage), hot chocolate, dulce de leche(sweet milk) or café con leche(coffee with milk). Sugar is often sprinkled on top. I wanted to settle here forever, after I had the churros with the Chocolate dip and coffee."  She said. 

Aruna loves pumpkins, because of its health benefits like it promotes weight loss and also lowers the risk of cancer.

 "I follow my mom’s cooking in an iron wok, because it does wonders to health benefits and the taste very rustic.  Also what I strongly believe is that it is your feelings which transfers in your cooking, so just cook with loads n loads of luvvv " she smiles  

She is happy to share her recipe of Pumpkin.

1. Chop the 200gms Pumpkins after cleaning and put them in water. 

2. In a wok add 3tbsp Ghee add a pinch of asafoetida, 1/2tsp cumin seeds and 1/2tsp Mustard seeds. 

3. They will start crackling. 

4. Add 7/8 curry leaves, then add chopped pumpkin. 

5. Add 1/2tsp Turmeric powder, 1/2tsp Chilly powder and Salt. 

6. Lower the flame, it will shed lot of water. let it cook. 

7. Once the water dries up a bit, add 1tsp Jaggery 

8. Add1/4tsp Pepper powder and 1tsp freshly grated Ginger, 2 finely chopped Tomatoes and 2 Green Chilies. 

9. Stir it for about 5 to 10 minutes. 

10. Finally add 2tbsp freshly grated Coconut and 2tbsp Coriander leaves. 

11. It is ready to serve. 

You can follow her Instagram ar Kitchenshetty

Contact her on her Watsapp no 90046 78289

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