Hummus bi Tahina

The picture of the Middle east flashing on TV is always one of meat being cooked everywhere. It gives the impression they are complete carnivores, even though they eat a lot of vegetables and chickpeas! But here I am presenting a complete veg meal from the Arab cuisine, three dips that a Indian vegetarian can enjoy. Hummus bi tahina or chickpeas with sesame seed paste is the first I show you here.

Hummus is healthy as it has protien and is low in calorie, no wonder we can include it in our foods without worrying about the carb dose. It is rich in fibre, minerals and vitamins. Ok so before you start swallowing capsules of hummus in the near future take some time out to make this really easy peasy dip which if you have preped in advance is ready in a jiffy.

Ingredients 

1 cup chickpeas /Kabuli chana, soaked overnight and cooked soft
juice of 2 lemons
1/8 cup Tahina
6-7 garlic cloves
salt

For the garnish

1 Tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. paprika/ Kashmiri chili powder
few sprigs of parsley or cilantro, finely chopped

Grind the chickpeas in a blender (or food processor) with the lemon juice, tahina, garlic, salt and enough of stock from boiling the chickpeas. It should be a soft creamy consistency easily scoopable on a morsel of pita bread.

Yes and next coming up is a post on how to make Pita bread, you will come back to read how I made them won't you?

Arab Meze: Khubuz, Hummus, Labni and Mint Pesto

L to R: Big bowl of Hummus, Sliced Totapuri Mango, Labni, Mint Pesto and Khubuz

The Middle Eastern culture has a wonderful social leveler in its eating habits. It is probably that brotherhood that has made Islam so popular in that world. In theory it is the culture of eating from a common platter that unites men from different walks of life. This is reflected in the way food is served in the Middle Eastern countries of Turkey, Cyprus, Balkans, Greece etc and most countries under the Osmani Empire. It is common to serve bowls of varieties of relishes, starters, breads and fruits mostly melons, in a single meal. It could be a breakfast, lunch or dinner. This layout of a variety of foods in small bowls and platters is called a Meze. Turkish in origin but included in English now. I am thinking the Hindi word "Maza" which means "to relish" would have been derived from it. Even if it were not. Meze is maza, it is fun to relish different dips in a single meal. It appeals a lot to Indians for we have our own Thali.  Will write on the traditions of a thali and the cultures associated with it in a separate post.

Coming back to Meze, specifically this Arab Meze. I made it mid week when time was lacking. It is very easy to put together with advance prep. I realized this was a balanced meal and so healthy where you can control the amount of oil going into the food and it still tastes awesome. It even includes a fruit that is supposed to be eaten as a dessert but I would recommend beginning the meal with it.

Like you see in the picture I made a big bowl of Hummus, Labni, Mint Pesto, Khubuz and sliced some Totapuri Mango though a Musk melon would have been more authentic when I did have the option. Following this post you will find a series of each of these recipes labelled as Arab Meze.

Will leave you on it, Enjoy the Arab Meze... maza lo Arab Meze ka...

Pista Cake Bake Together

You have looked at the picture and wondered finally did She learn to decorate?

Last weekend we had a virtual bake together. Anshie of  Spiceroots had got us drooling with a beautiful shelled pista studded cake, so we coaxed her into sharing the recipe and then followed this bake together. I was watching all the frantic activity thru the day, as the status updates said, pistas shelled and slivered, cake baking and home filled with aroma, discussions on what creative liberties one can take with the recipe and the dressings et al. One awesome picture was posted first thing in the morning by M, who is a beyond awesome baker and decorator to cheer us on.

I love to bake but you know me I am not too much into decorating or rich cakes, except the last time when I attempted the Moist Chocolate Cake. This time however it is the magic of a lil world of foodies that pushed me into it. In between anecdotes Anshie mentioned about her daughter teasing her why she had tied a diaper around a cake tin? I scampered into my kitchen immediately! Keep reading to know what spurred me on...

The original recipe for Sicilian Pistachio Cake With Golden Neoclassic Buttercream is the point of reference however due to my family's vegetarian choices I decided to adapt it but decorate it just like you see it there, all with the blanched, slivered pistachios that make the cake look so gorgeous.

Here are my adaptations of that classic cake:

Serves: I halved the measures as it is a rich cake to get 6 decent servings. 

Cake: eggless, used flax seed powder. Sour cream replaced with thick curd/ yogurt. No soda increased baking powder. 

Cream: eggless, honey in place of golden syrup, lime zest big pinch instead of pista essence. 

Verdict: Rich creamy all the way a pista celebration. 

Next time: I would make a light pista butter for the frosting.

So putting down the recipe here to look back and use it when I want, for it was a success truly.

Ingredients

For the cake:
1 tablespoon of flax seed powder (soaked in 3 tablespoons of warm water and rested for 10 mins)
1/3 cup, thick yogurt
1/4 cup oil
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup lightly toasted pista
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cups leveled,white flour/ maida
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ghee or butter

In a mixing bowl, measure out yogurt, vanilla extract, butter and beat together till light and fluffy.

Grind pista to a coarse meal. Mix together the pista meal, flour, powder sugar, baking powder and salt to make it airy.

Fold the dry ingredients into the the wet beaten ingredients. Meanwhile keep a greased and flour dusted 5 inch tin ready. Pour the batter into the tin. Level out the batter by tapping it on the counter.

What I unlearnt is, the usual pulling the batter to the edges to level out the batter after it bakes.

No more cutting out the dome to flaten the top of the cake and no more wastage.

Now get ready for a new learning! The original recipe mentions use of cake strips. You can buy those if you are in the US but in India, we are very resourceful. We wet a kitchen napkin. Tie it around the cake tin. This will ensure an even rise. This is the take way for me from the bake together. Doesn't it look just like a diaper on the cake tin?


I baked the cake in a preheated oven at 180 deg Celsius in the convection mode for 45 mins. Till a knife pricked in came out clean. This mode turned out best for the cake. It retained its green color which is so important for this cake. Let the cake cool completely for 1.5 hr. Put it in the fridge for 1/2 hr.

You get a perfectly flat top cake best for decoration. That is what you do next. So get the cream ready now.

For the cream and decoration
1/8 cup icing sugar
1/8 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon lime juice, freshly squeezed
1 big pinch lime zest
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1-2 drops pistachio essence (I skipped it)
1/4 cup blanched pista nuts, slivered

Put butter, vanilla, lime juice in the bowl and whisk. Mix in the honey and the icing sugar whisk till light. You get a beautiful creamy dressing.

Now spread the creamy dressing over the cake and carefully decorate with the pista slivers. There you have the wonderfully studded cake. Drool.

Veg Mayo

Veg Mayo a perfect coat of snow white for a Smörgåstårta and more...

Many of my friends made a request for this recipe when they saw the Smörgåstårta. Rich, creamy, luscious is what you can describe it as. All those who cannot eat egg but love the look of Mayo will be thrilled by this recipe. Now you can enjoy it too. 

Ingredients

1 litre curd

2 tablespoons fresh cream

1 lime, juiced

salt to taste

In a muslin cloth pour out the curd and hang it or place it in a sieve to let the whey drain. It should give a hung curd about 1.5 cups yield.

Remove the hung curd to a bowl. Add the cream to it. Add the lime juice and salt. Now beat the mix at low speed with a hand beater. You will get a light fluffy, creamy texture.

Use this as a spread for your regular sandwiches, as a dip or a dressing to replace Egg Mayo in recipes to make it a pure vegetarian one. It lends itself beautifully to decorate a Smörgåstårta like you see above. Have you seen that post, go check it out.

This is a recipe  for the perfect white Veg Mayo. With varying herbs you will get a whole range of tastes just use your imagination and go go.

Sparkling Strawberry Float

If all the menu for the Birthday Party was fun then this mocktail was super fun, said my family. What you need is...

Ingredients

1.5 litres Sprite or any colorless sweet soda

1 cup Strawberry crush

1/2 litre pack of Vanilla icecream

Take 6 large glasses. Divide equally the strawberry crush into the 6 glasses. Slant the glass and pour in the Sprite slowly, to about less than 3/4 level of the glass. Finally lightly drop a blob of icecream on top. The icecream will float atop. 

Insert a bent straw into the drink. Pass around the drinks. Inform the party that it is a sparkling drink so they must not stir vigorously or else they may be showered by a bubbling fountain.

As you stir and sip the icecream forms a cloud over the liquid. The color is a lovely electric pink with a baby pink couldy float. 

Enjoy the drink and that brings us to the end of the Birthday party menu. Hope you enjoyed following this series as much as I did posting it! Before you go away let me tell you there is another interesting theme that is coming up. So see you again after the 20th.

Blueberry Tall Muffins

The birthday was on Friday and I was at Four Point Sheraton, Vashi for a conference couple of days before that. It was so well timed. After the Conference, I walked straight into the neighboring Inorbit Mall to shop for the celebrations. It had been six months since I bought a new wardrobe. So off I went picked up 4 new sets of clothes, I must have been in a very happy mood for I bought colors like yellow, orange, fuchsia and rust, rare in my wardrobe. The food picks were some Cheddar and Gouda cheeses, of which the Cheddar went into the Cheese Potato balls. The blueberries that have appeared in the market had to be bought. There was only one specific thing on my mind, blueberry muffins!

Now for a birthday if I was making Blueberry muffins they had to be king sized, else what's the fun?

So I made these Tall muffins, the recipe is adapted from Joy of Baking. I have doubled the measure of ingredients mentioned in the original. Omitted baking soda and instead increased the amount of baking powder. I use a half and half combo of oil and butter. The flax seed powder works as egg substitute. Also I have made the muffins sweeter as the blueberries were mildly sweet.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of Flax seed powder

2 cup curd

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup butter 

2 teaspoon vanilla essence

4 cups all-purpose flour

1.5 cup granulated white sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cups Fresh blueberries

Making these muffins is really easy.

Mix the flax seed powder with 1/4 cup water and leave it for 10 mins.

Mix all the wet ingredients and whisk lightly.

In another bowl mix together all the dry ingredients. Dredge the blueberries in the flour, so they don't sink to the bottom of the muffin.

Then fold all the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. This batter is not your foldable batter like your usual cake batter. It is thick and needs to be spooned into the muffin moulds. I got 8 Tall Muffins from this batter.

They were delicious, soft crumb, jammy blueberries. Not your one person muffins, we shared because we had so much on the party menu and the Tall muffin as a single item is as big as a lunch serving!

My Dad loved his with a dribble of fresh cream.

Smörgåstårta, It's A Sandwhich Cake!

We are a family that loves our local sandwich, the club sandwich that you get all over Mumbai. It is while I was in Blr, I had posted about the ubiquitous Mumbai Sandwich. It continues to top my most popular all time posts.

For the Birthday Party I decided to make healthy and pretty open sandwiches. I was looking for ways of decorating open sandwiches when I hit upon this word Smörgåstårta, Scandinavian in origin and following this link it lead me to the world of Sandwich cakes!

Cake? yes Cake in the way it is decorated. You have to just let your creative juices flow to create a beautiful looking sandwich cake. I put together my sandwich cake in just 15 mins with the help of my Dad. He buttered the slices of bread and I arranged the cake. Since we did not have time I did not do an elaborate decoration but even this simple decoration surprised my family so much. No one expects it from a sandwich.

There are ways and endless ways how you can decorate yours but I know you definitely want to know how I did it. You must be cringing at the cream that covers the cake, thinking that much cream! Read on to find out if it really is?

Ingredients for the decoration

2 cups finely chopped cilantro

1-1.5 cups of Homemade Veg Mayo

slice onion, cucumber and beetroot

First choose a serving dish you want to use. It should be large enough to hold 4 regular slices of a loaf.

The bread slices need to be buttered, this will prevent the slices from sogging. If you like spicy ones like us apply green or red chutney. Make tiers of bread slices and vegetables of choice. I used cucumber, beetroot and onion slices between the bread. Keep the edges to let the cake hold shape. If you need a recipe for making the sandwiches use my recipe of the Mumbai Sandwich.

I used five slices to give the cake a height. You will need to make a total of 4 such to get the large square foundation for the cake.

Then slather the veg mayo generously onto the cake foundation, to cover the top and all four sides.

Now take the finely chopped cilantro and shower on the sides. The cilantro will be held by the cream to give it a nice ivy covered wall look.

Last, make 4 rosettes with cucumber slices. On top of the rosettes place a slice of beetroot to make it look like a flower. The veggies used on top for decoration should be the ones that are used inside so people know whats inside before the cake is sliced up. Hey but if you want to surprise people more use decoration that are not used in the layers but go well with the overall taste.

When you cut up the Smörgåstårta, use a sharp knife to be able to cut thru the vegetables all the way into the cake. Make slices and serve the hungry party.

With all the food we had this cake stayed good right upto next day in the fridge, store it above the crisper and it will not get soggy.

Cheese Potato Balls

This birthday falls in the monsoon and what is a Mumbai monsoon without some fried goodies. In the morning before I left for work I had pressure cooked potatoes and left the cooker as is, knowing that it will stay good till I open the lid.

Once I was back from work the first thing I worked on in the Cheese potato balls. They got rolled and put into the fridge for setting, while I was busy with other things.

These Cheese Potato balls are a crowd pleasure and are gone just as they are out of the wok. It is fun to watch the animated eating, some delicately breaking into two, dipping in the sauces and taking a nip. Another greedily popping it in the mouth not realizing how hot it is and then gasping for air to cool the burnt mouth as he fans it with his hand. Another taking a small bite and looking into it curiously searching for an answer why such simple treats are loved by so many and trying to decode the ingredients. I loved feeding them and you will love making these for yours too. So here you go...

Ingredients

6 Potatoes
50 gms Cheddar cheese shredded
1/2 cup bread crumbs
salt as per taste
2 teaspoon Pav bhaaji masala
1 medium onion chopped fine

For the cover
1/4 cup all purpose flour
salt as per taste
1 cups bread crumbs

Oil for frying.

In a large bowl mash together all the ingredients. Roll them into small balls and place on a tray. Keep the tray in the fridge to set for at least 30 mins.

Prepare the batter of all purpose flour and water. It should be slightly thinner than bhajji batter.

Spread out bread crumbs in a plate.

Remove the balls from the fridge just before frying. Dip them in the batter and then roll them in the bread crumbs. 

Heat oil, keep the flame on high. This will fry the balls quickly and to crispness without absorbing too much oil. Drain them on absorbent paper.

Serve piping hot with sauce of your choice. I served with mustard sauce and ketchup, turns out its best with ketchup.

What are you waiting for? Get boiling the potatoes and grating the cheese...

Pumpkin Shorba

Pumpkin is a vegetable that I don't admire. Earlier it was only for some special use we would get it, like in vadas or that Gavar and pumkin combo. I am a little scared to buy those small pumpkins because they are definitely hybrids. The cuteness does not melt my heart. I would rather get a slice of a fresh cut large pumpkin.

Anyways for the birthday party the choice of soup zeroed on Pumpkin due to the color. I wanted different colored dishes. I never like it when all the food  on the plate is in just one color. So tomato soup was out, they would however be used generously in the pasta.

Also the menu was of different origins so a Shorba sounded better than a western soup. Indian in flavor and that would awaken the taste buds to an exciting menu that followed. A shorba is not thick in consistency and its never loaded with cream. It's light and refreshing and warmly spicy, just right for the cold monsoon that we have right now.

Here is how to make it.

Ingredient

1/2 kg pumpkin

1 medium onion

oil 2 teaspoons

2 Taj patta

3-4 cloves

1 small piece cinnamon

7-8 pepper corns

slat to taste.

In a pressure cooker heat oil, 1.5 teaspoon. Fry onions till translucent. Add pumpkin to it. Close the lid and cook for 1 whistle.

Let it cool. Once cooled open the cooker and transfer the cooked vegetable to a blender. Puree it. 

Now heat just a 0.5 spoon of oil. Make the seasoning with tej patta, clove, cinnamon and pepper. Add the puree to the tadka. Add water to thin it. The total soup should be about 2.5 litres. Boil vigorously. Serve in soup cups or deep dish.

Enjoy the warmth! That's how we kick started our party.

A Birthday Party

Last weekend we had a birthday party at home.

The Menu

Soup:
Pumpkin Shorba

Starters : 

Cheese Potato balls with mustard sauce and ketchup

Hummus and Potato chips

Mains :
Smörgåstårta, its a sandwich cake
Pasta in creamy tomato sauce

Mocktail :
Sparkling Strawberry float

Dessert:
Blueberry Tall Muffins

I came back from work and decided 2hrs was enough for me to prepare dinner but I was wrong it took me 3 hrs to make this menu and I had no time to set up the table, so you see some pictures were taken the next day in daylight. Each of this recipe will follow this post. We were just 6 people but this amount of food could have served 10, you don't want the food to fall short when it is a party

My family was so happy and my bros especially showed an appetite like never before. I was so thrilled with all the chatter and sedated smiles that I could not sleep till 2 am that night!

My friend Sangita, kept telling me not to make elaborate menus like these, as she is worried for my health but this is what makes me happy truly!

Lost My Heart To The Stolen Coffee Room

As we stepped out of Bangali Mashi's Kitchen after the bloggers lunch meet on that Saturday afternoon in April, none of us wanted to part immediately. We had broken into fits of laughter and had gone gaga over a picket fence that was in front of a closed shop. When suddenly we spotted this blue facade and went Wow! in unison. We did not know what to expect, curiously we read out the signage, The Stolen Coffee Room and yet again we went on in a muffled chorus, hmmm interesting!

All of us Saee, P and Harini were drawn to it like a magnet and did it amaze us, to find such a charming coffee place in the most unexpected of locations. Ever since I have been wanting to take my friend Kiran there. She loves bazaars, Indian Bazaars and you must check out these interviews she has done in Mumbai's Chor Bazaar and the Bollywood posters that are now considered valued art.

Well I haven't digressed, guess what's the connection? Go over to Kiran's to read about an architect's view on this coffee shop that stole my heart.

I will move on to tell you about their menu instead. The coffee menu is elaborate but the accompaniments are few. Anyways it did not bother us, we  had gone there filled to the brim post lunch at BMK both the times, with the blogger buddies and on this day again. Frankly that makes it a perfect location, eat a Indian meal at BMK and enjoy a relaxed coffee after it at a very Amsterdamish cafe, all in a day. Ain't that reflective of how the Indians in Metros live? Traveling around the world and coming back to India and home and then wanting the world on their platter.

What did we order? It is still hot in Mumbai so an Iced Hazelnut mocha latte for me and Kiran wanted the same thing hot so she went for the Hazelnut latte. I liked hers more, it was indeed refreshing and the temperature right. Through layers of creamy froth the coffee smoothens your nerves as it surprises your palate.

The last time I was there with the blogger buddies I had a Lite Cafe Latte which was quite good, but not really light, it was quite creamy. Harini had a shot of Espresso, and she was kicked about it, while P and Saee had Cappuccino one lite and the other full cream. Saee did mention the full cream made the coffee to cool over time. So when my friend had left her cup half drunk while she busily clicked pictures of the decor, you see she was as smitten as the 4 pioneers, by this coffee shop; we requested for a reheat in the microwave and the staff obliged.

As we not so greedily but out of curiosity checked out the eats and treats we saw, apple pie, blueberry cheesecake in a cup, and some other pastries. I am yet to try any. I asked the staff if they were made inhouse and the answer from accross the counter came "sourced from vendor".

Well this place is about ambiance really, old antique furniture an eclectic collection at that. Old advertisement adorned the wall. The center of attraction is this garage like lighting that highlights the coffee maker at work.

Those bottles of Monin syrup next to a Ganapati idol makes everyone smile.

For the book lovers there is a bookshelf.
Would you find your favorite book there every time you visit?
Would you visit everyday to read the book as you sip your favorite cuppa?

The old world charm in the cafe and a relaxed unhurried pace that Seawoods, Nerul allows you is priceless.

Picture credits(all the inside views): Indian Bazaars

Friendly Neighborhood Bangali Mashi's Kitchen

Is it a rule to do a review of a restaurant on your first visit? If no then you will forgive me for not doing it the first time round as promised. You will agree that a review has more value when you go back again and find consistency in the food, service and a relationship is built with the people at these places.

Since my first visit I had decided that these two places in my neighborhood will be often visited for I simply love both. I need to thank Saee for introducing Bangali Mashi’s Kitchen to us blogger friends when we met in April.  The Stolen Coffee Room is bang opposite and attracted us like a magnet. This means there will be back to back review posts.

Kiran is someone I love to chill out with, we used to spend time together when I was in Blr. So when she said she is visiting Mumbai, I was thrilled. She is an architect with interests in Indian Bazaars and Urban development, she had to see Nerul and its happening places. I promised her that Nerul’s "Lukha raj" is over and finally we have lots for entertainment.  Lukha means pauper in Punjabi-Hindi. Well in the 7years I was away from Mumbai many things have changed in Nerul. I love my neighborhood now for its green cover, population of chirpy birds and consumerist entertainment as Kiran calls it. She loves to hear stories of the changing faces of urban development. I could sense her excitement matching mine when we discussed the plan.

So off we went to Bangali Mashi’s Kitchen, located off Palm beach road, on the street that separates Sector 44A and Sector 46A, in Shreejit Heights Complex, Seawoods, just after the circle. You can also reach there from Nerul East by taking the Seawoods Flyover. A red sign board welcomes you, the mascot on it a happy well rounded old Bengali Mashi draped in red and white saree promises you to be fed well.

As we enter, I wish Sushmita, the owner, a very warm lady and that warmth reflects in her restaurant as well. It is a small place with exactly 6 tables with 4 chairs each. So make sure to book ahead of time when you visit on weekends. The walls lined with bamboo mats and pictures of Belur Math, Dakhineshwar etc. transporting you to Bangal. Though the restaurant is small you observe, it is clean and bright. The high ceiling and full glass front door lets in flooding sunlight in the dining area.

As She looks around to appreciate the little place, she declares she has never tasted Bengali food, this for someone who has spent most of her childhood vacations in Kolkata. Since this was my second visit, I recommended the Vegetarian Thali, Kiran agreed and my Dad loves thalis anyways.

The meal began with a small shot of bhaja masala spiced butter milk and fried papad. As we talked the portly waiter with his friendly smile arrived with the thalis. They serve in typical Bengali brass thalis. This was discussed last time with the food bloggers. It was a learning for us that brass thalis are safe for serving and one need not freak out if they are not lined with tin or Kalai. However for cooking if once kalai is done then you need to keep re-tinning. Else the surface inside becomes reactive to food.

Our thali consisted of a mango relish, mix veg Charchari, Patol Alu Malaikari, Alu poshto, Masurir Dal, Begun Bhaja, steamed rice and luchis with a tongue twister name. A balanced meal like all thalis, a dry veggies, semi thick curry, light dal, rice, a fried item, a sweet and sour relish and wheat component.

The Charchari, was a mix of brinjal, cauliflower, spinach was cooked to softness and laced with mustard paste. The taste had a balance of salty and sweet. The Patol Alu Malaikari was creamy coconut and mustard curry clinging to the vegetables. The alu poshto was superb potatoes cooked to mushiness in smooth poppy seeds paste. The Masurir dal was of medium consistency and light unlike the thick creamy Punjabi dals, it tasted perfect with rice. The bhaja or fried component of the balanced meal was begun bhaja, deep fried batter coated large slice of eggplant. The luchi had a special name and tasted different, it was light spicy puran filled. Sushmita called it Radhaballavi luchi, I had to ask her to repeat the name twice to get it, ignore that the luchi is deep fried, it’s a Bong meal after all!

Though the thali is unlimited none of us asked for more. Finally we ordered Malpua for dessert. Dad recommended we cut it up into bits and let it soak up the syrup before we pick up each piece. Did it, felt like a kid but enjoyed it.

The last time when we bloggers visited it was Poila Baishak so the Thali was more elaborate, there was a paturi – a banana leaf packet wrapped around beautiful young fieldbeans, spinach and other veggies spiced with mustard, cumin and ginger paste which was absolutely memorable.

The pricing is very reasonable considering the meal has a variety and truly satisfying, homely feel. You don’t feel like you ate at a restaurant because of the service, Sushmita and the food. 

I will be going there many times and hope Sushmita does not move to Bangalore where her married son lives now. May be Bangaloreans can coax her instead to start a branch of the lovely Bangali Mashi’s Kitchen.

Kiran rightly captured the experience, "the taste is from an old hand working at it!"

Tricolored Peppers N Paneer Pizza

This was a quick dinner one cold night in Blr in the winter season. I had tricolored bell peppers and a "pizza must be made" urge. No cheese except fresh paneer was in the fridge. Yet when you crave for some pizza who can stop you.

I use Jamie Oliver's recipe to make pizza dough. Those were made ready first and then topped with red chili sauce and then tomato ketchup. 

In a big bowl crumble very fresh paneer, mix in the rough chopped onions, cubed tomatoes, diced red, yellow and green bell peppers that were deseeded.

 

Finally on top the pizza bases with the mixed vegetables and paneer. I used the microwave+grill mode to bake the pizzas. It took 20 mins.

It was such a colorful meal, if there were kids around I am sure they would have been thrilled. They tasted like Paneer tikka and veggie skewer on pizza base. Yummy.

Wonder and Wander

Looking up at the sky the young lady wondered. Then pointing up she said, "Maa, that must be my father". Her mother a pretty women by all standards, held her to her bosom and planted a light kiss on the young woman's cheek.

Less said the better thought the older woman. She let her daughter dream. Holding the secret tight in her tummy, she went into the past. A past so colorful, the images of her dancing with the young soldier. He had just graduated. She did not recollect where she met him. He came from a very humble background and she from the middle class, yet both aspired for a good life, the life of the defence people.

It was a happy marriage most of the time. The initial years just flew as they traveled the world. Then came the daughter, the one constant happiness in her life. While the father loved the child and doted on her, she noticed the differences crop up between the couple. He tried to escape all issues by living far away and the reason being the nature of his work. He convinced the wife and the child they did not have to be living together to have a happy life. He made wandering a habit and "Wonder and Wander" his motto.

That became a norm in their life. The woman, beautiful and desirable even as she crossed 40 was now left wanting. While she was provided everything there was no love in the relationship anymore. After years of being a housewife and now even the child had grown, she wanted to work. She had never done it before.

It was a new arena, she felt confident about herself and the choices it threw at her. Working for a brand in intimate wear, got her in touch with the movers and shakers of the world. Somewhere she met the owner of the company and as they discussed the products, there were sparks flying between them. One thing led to another. She wandered.

The man of the house got the whiff. Wandering and wondering now touched his emotional and family life. The wanderer, he had no friends. Seeking friends on the net became a habit. It did not take much to loose control. Wondering how he had reached there.

Towards the end of his life, there was no home, no family just three wanderers, wondering what happened to their life. They travelled and came back just once in a while to take family pictures to show to the world, what a happy family they were. Life for them was likes and wows in the comments on Facebook.

He wandered the earth and now his soul wanders the universe, thought she. The daughter completely blissful in the ignorance. Will she be able to curb her own wandering?

Roly Poly

I was experimenting with a new recipe. The cake turned out good but when I tried to do the frosting it crumbled into a hopeless mess. A mess however can be delicious, would you believe if you saw the above picture? Or if you have eaten the famed Apple cake balls sold in the Bangalore Iyengar style bakeries. Those Apple cake balls are chocolate cake crumbs sprinkled with sugar syrup and dusted with grated coconut. The first time I tasted them I did not exactly adore them but I guess many who have grown up in Blr. love them.

So here was a mess of some yellow cake and chocolate butter cream, any one with Indian sensibilities would refuse to show the dustbin to food. I just followed my instinct, put every thing on the counter, the cake crumbs and the chocolate butter cream. Mixed well and made these delicious Roly Polys. I had just toasted peanuts and had crushed them for a breakfast of Sabudana khichadi, Dad suggested I snowball the Roly Polys in them. So you see how they gathered some peanut dust.

Then all I had to do was place those 35 pieces in a tray on the table and Lo! they were gone by evening.

Do you think you need a recipe? Nah! come on.

Subz Malaidar

This was a vegetable I made for my friends Alok, Varsha and their kid Aditya. This was long ago while I was still in Blr. They are a family that can take all the cream unlike mine. So this was just for them. I don't think I will ever make it again now with my diet restrictions. However those who love cream will love this recipe.

1/2 kg Mixed veggies chopped fine

50 ml fresh cream (I used Amul)

1 teaspoon besan / chickpea flour

few curry leaves

1 teaspoon oil

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon red chili powder

1/2 teaspoon kitchen king masala

1/2 teaspoon sugar

salt to taste

Whole garam masala ( 4-5 cloves + 2 tamal patra + 5-6 green cardamoms + 2 black cardamom+ 8-10 pepper corns)

Heat oil in a handi. Fry the curry leaves add the washed cleaned vegetables. Tie up a potli of the garam masala in a muslin cloth and drop it in. Add the turmeric, red chili powder and kitchen king masala. Cover and cook till vegetables are done. In a bowl beat the cream add the besan and incorporate it evenly. Pour the creamy mix into the vegetable handi. Top up with water to get a creamy consistency, I needed 2 cups of water. Leave the heat on low and allow the vegetables to simmer for 10 mins. In the end season with salt and sugar. Cover and let it rest for 15 mins before you serve.

I served my friends this Subz Malaidar with Kerala Parathas. You go enjoy it with your most favorite bread. I have a hunch this will be great with a simple pulao.

Strawberry Soft Serves

An easy peasy dessert to serve when you crave for something lovely and yummy.

This was made for family on demand and so no story to share today but come back tomorrow to meet and greet the new member in my Green Balcony.

Ingredients

1 small pack Amul fresh cream

1 cup hung yougurt

1/4 strawberry crush (Mapro)

4 tablespoon sugar

Whip together all the ingredients. Freeze in a airtight box for 2 hrs. Remove, whip to smoothness. Freeze in individual serving bowls, seal each bowl in a ziploc bags to avoid  crystallization.

Fresh strawberries and cream cannot go wrong ever. Not for the heart patients though.

Moist Chocolate Cake

Last weekend we celebrated my nephew Pranav's 13th birthday. It was on a Friday and a school day for him, so we could do the celebrations only on the next day at my home. I asked him what flavor he wanted and like any other kid he said chocolate. My bro Sumeet was on his way to order a cake from the shop saying, "We will have yours too."

Everyone including you know that I have never ever decorated a cake. Neither are my cakes rich.  Yeah but this time since it was for the kid and my family was almost brushing me off as a non decorator, I decided to do it. It was a challenge. The cakes I bake are always liked by the family. But I never make ones like store bought, which meant not rich and decorated. So I took this head on.

It was heartening to watch Master chef last weekend to see Jules Pike win in the ravioli challenge and the cconcluding comments of the judges, "Taste always wins in this kitchen."

That is true in my home too, and any home for that matter. Pushing the limits is about learning and growing. So it was time I began decorating cakes with a cream injection, piping out pretty designs, even if it means at past 40 yrs, so what?

I started my hunt for a moist cake that will make my family swoon and believe me they swooned or what! Joy of Life by Ingrid is a blog so beautiful that I will keep going to it for more, especially the bakes. Thanks Ingrid!

This is an excellent recipe in the original itself but I adapted it to what I had on hand and to my family's preferences

• I had to make it eggless so I used flax seed powder.
• Ghee to make it more flavorful. 
• Instead of the brewed coffee I used instant coffee. 
• I omitted the baking soda and instead increased the baking powder to 2.5 teaspoons.
• I did not have vanilla extract so omitted it. It did not really make a difference as the chocolate and coffee taste rules in this cake.
• She uses store bought dressing and sprinkles, I made my own ghee cream chocolate frosting.
• Added the kiwi for the color and freshness as this is a cake with chocolate dressing on a chocolate cake. You can use frozen cherries too like she did.

Ingredients:

For the Cake

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pans
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup Cadbury's cocoa powder
2.5 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup ghee, molten but at room temperature
2 tablespoons of flax seed powder soaked in 6 tablespoons water.

I used instant coffee, 3 teaspoons in a cup of water

1. Use two mixing bowls. 
2. In one measure out the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Sieve together to aerate it.
3. In the other add sugar, salt and ghee and beat it till frothy.
4. Add the butter milk slowly and keep frothing.
   
5. Now fold into it the flour mix. 
6. Add the instant coffee, should be at room temperature.
7. Finally add the soaked flax seed powder and fold in.
8. Now take a 7 inch round tin,  grease it a bit and dust with flour. Tap off the excess over the basin.
9. Pour the batter into the prepared tin.
10. Preheat oven at 180 deg C for 10 mins.
11. Place the filled tin into the oven. Bake further for 35-40 mins till an inserted knife comes out clean.
12. Cool the tin for 10 mins, then turn it over a plate and place on the rack and let it cool completely. I baked in the morning and kept it to cool thru the day.
13. In the evening. I made the frosting.

For the Frosting 

200 gms of icing sugar
80 gms of molten ghee
80 gms of cocoa powder
2 tablespoons of  instant coffee powder

1. Froth the ghee with a beater. 
2. Fold in the icing sugar little at a time. 
3. Mix in the cocoa and coffee powders. 
4. Keep frothing it till light.
5. Slather 3/4 of the cream on the cooled cake on top and sides.
6. Fill the piping injection and make a design on the cake. I just made some basic swirls on the border.
7. Slice up a Kiwi into rounds to show the pretty cross sections
8. Inside the swirls border. I created a circle of overlapping Kiwi slices.

 

A fresh fruit always lifts up deserts a notch higher in its beauty and flavors I believe. My family literally fell for this cake and I got a new respect for making a cake at home that is better than store bought.

Mango Custard Tart

Has the Mango season gone? If shaken from sleep I would ask; may be my family thought that. Yeah I have eaten that many Mangoes, the Hapoos kind only! Full paisa vasool and like starved people we got back to Hapoos with a vengeance. It was almost like we were back from Hapoos exile, back to Mumbai and as much Hapoos as we want.

So I never really had time to make anything with Mangoes. Who cooks with Hapoos? It has too be bitten into and licked to the core or pulped with hand, no destruction in blender please. At the most it can be cubed for more civil consumption.

Just recently I started following a blog that has the essence of Bangalore though the author lives in Mumbai. Note to self: Am I missing Banglore already? Anushruti got me with that farewell to mango season song, I echoed it instantly. This recipe suited best my criteria of not cooking a fruit so revered. Thanks to her for this inspiration to make a crowd pleasing Tart.

I used her recipe for the Tart shell but I used ghee instead of butter. The custard recipe from the packet of Crown Custard powder and then gave it my spin. Trying to impress people at home with some artistry huh!

Ingredients

For the Tart shell

1 cup plain flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup ghee

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp lime juice

5 to 6 tbsp icy cold water

Mix both the flours together in a bowl. Rub in the ghee and sugar till crumbly.

Sprinkle the lime juice and the water and knead into a ball.

Chill for about 30 minutes in the fridge, the ball wrapped in cling film.

Roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick. With the recipe it was exact dough for the 7 inch Tart pan that I used!

Prick with a fork all over and bake in a preheated oven at about 180 deg C for about 25 minutes or till it leaves the edges of the pan and looks like a golden lace.

Allow to cool completely.

For the Mango Pulp

Wash, peel and pulp a ripe Hapoos Mango. It must be only Hapoos! Yes I am a Hapoos fanatic, accepted.

For the Custard

Follow the recipe on the Custard Powder Pack. I used Vanilla flavor Crown brand.

2 heaped tablespoons in 1/4 litre milk is the proportion that I used. Cook as per instructions and let it cool for 10 mins.

Then pour the custard into the Tart shell. Let it settle and level into the shell.

For the Marble Effect Design

Spoon the Hapoos pulp. Just one spoon for one blotch, onto the custard. Run a knife and swirl around merrily. Feel proud like a great artist, an abstract one. Only you know how easy that was while you let everyone Ooh! Ah!

Leave it to Chill in the fridge for as long as you want. We did not have patience, it chilled for an hour until dinner got made and out it came to please the crowd.

Wipe your drool, pick up that napkin...

A Different Take

What do you think this is? Rosogullas floating in? If you are a bong you haven't seen anything like it or may be you have. Tell me that you have, after reading about my twist to Instant Rasmalai.

My friend Gauri brought me some Nolen Gur, the one made in small round cups. The first thing I did with it was to pop it in the mouth like a chocolate. The next was this Rasmalai, I dissolved a generous amount of Nolen gur in milk and added the canned Rosogullas to it. I squeezed out the sugar syrup from the canned Rosogulla straight into the Nolen gur infused milk and then dunked them in to regain shape and the sweetness of the flavorful Nolen gur. When I use Nolen gur I don't use any aromatic spices, they are not required, I just let the sublime sweetness rule. Oh! but serve them chilled, won't you?

If you don't have canned Rosogullas, no problem just chill the Nolen gur milk and enjoy it served in a tall glass just like a Frappe`.

Most times with my family I try to adjust, if I am unsuccessful at it then I just step aside. With appliances that you are unhappy with, you have an advantage unlike family. You would not like to dump an appliance when you have spent some moolah on it. I was unhappy since day 1 till this brainwave last week, full 3 years or almost, after I bought it. 

I was planning to buy a sandwich maker. I am back in Mumbai and back to eating bread, the only change is now I eat brown. So sandwiches get made a lot for breakfast, dinner or anytime quick bite. That's when it struck that I can salvage the roti maker and convert it into a sandwich toaster. Yeah but the lovers of 'Kadak' still complain. I am ok with a golden on the outside, hot toasted sandwich, it is still a crunchy bite. Pictures are a proof.