Strawberry Soft Melting Hearts

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's a mad kind of a day today. I am hosting a couple for lunch. Its a special meal for the lovers, the wife is spoiling her husband silly. I thought I'll make for them, these Strawberry Soft Melting Hearts. Inspired by the Smitten Kitchen.

Sometime ago, a blogger friend and co-IFBMer Anand of Magic Marinade recreated this cake from the Smitten Kitchen and it just set a cascade effect on all other blogger buddies, a movement of sorts, literally! We all made and posted pics for everyone to see on FB and some posted on their blogs too. It was such fun bonding making the same cake in kitchens across the world, take a look here... 

Happy Valentine's to all the people reading this blog, those who take all the trouble of interacting with me. Those who encourage me. I love you all!

Happy Valentine's to those who have found their Valentine, for those who are looking and mostly for those who are too harsh on themselves. Love your special someone and love the people around you and love yourself, for God's sake!

Do you see a heart?

Heart Melt !!!!!

I wear my heart on my sleeve always whether it is my family, a special one or even myself. I have a mushy soft heart and these cup cakes are so me.

Enjoy your day today and everyday!

Tomato Batata Ras Bhaaji

Our food choices are so much about the company we keep. Right now my maternal cousin sister is here with me and we talk mostly about my maternal family, my Mum and her Dad and Mom. Invariably memories of food creep in. Like Ramdas mama getting the oily Sheera from the local hotel in Thal for me when I visited. My Mum would always pass it on to the househelp and never let me eat it. I hated it too. I just cannot eat Sheera made with water! Yes I am a snob when it comes to my favorites. No compromise.

Then another time we were talking about some recipes that are so Mum like. When she knew that this was a dependable bhaaji and will be lapped up with rice and bread without a complaint by the entire household and especially me.

Its such a simple recipe if you ignore the coconut milk extraction part or if you are using canned coconut milk then this ras bhaaji is ready in a jiffy.

I know you can't wait to have your hands on the recipe. So lets jump right to it.

Ingredients

1/2 kg small tomatoes

1/2 kg boiled potatoes

2 green chillies

2-3 cups medium thick coconut milk

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder

few curry leaves

2 teaspoons ghee

salt to taste

Portions : 4 - 5

Preparation: 

Boil and peel potatoes. Cut potatoes into large pieces and mash 1 potato and keep aside.

Cut the tomatoes into halves and save.

Extract and Keep coconut milk ready. I made it myself.

Method :

Heat a kadhai and add 2 teaspoons ghee to it. There is no substitute for ghee in this curry. Its a must. Once hot and molten add cumin and mustard seeds to it. When the cumin is fragrant and mustard seeds pop add the curry leaves. Follow in with the slit green chillies. Then add the tomatoes and potatoes to it. Give it a stir and increase heat to soften the tomatoes and while that's happening the flavors will intensify.

Add the Kashmiri red chilli powder to it and the mashed potato. Mix. Then add the coconut milk. Salt the curry to your taste. Boil the curry on medium heat for 10 mins. Till you get a smooth curry.

Plating and Serving :

Fill a bowl with rice and turn it onto the plate. Ladle out little liquid curry on the rice. Spoon out the tomatoes and potatoes on the sides.  Ladle out more curry to form a pool around the rice. Pick a curry leaf and top it on the rice. Sprinkle some cilantro. 

To finish off plant a roasted rice crisp and your fancy plating is done!

Does it look like a turtle? 

The curry is creamy with coconut milk and tangy due to the tomato. The starchy potato is as comforting as it can get. Use your fingers to mash up the curry with rice and lick your fingers.

My cousin Harshada enjoyed it and smiled as she ate feeling happy and remembering her Vitha attya. That's my Mum, Lata!

Wooden Masher

 

I was in Gondavale for the Punyatithi utsav in Dec. This is the time when the road in front of the Sansthan blooms with local produce and products. While innumerable shops selling Kandi peda are roaring with business, there are small artisans selling their wares on the streets. One has to be able to spot them and my hawk eye for local products ain't going to miss it. I saw a woman selling wood crafted traditional Kitchen tools. On checking what this mace like tool was I bought all 6 available ones back with me to Mumbai. On Facebook when I teased friends with them they were a rage!

Finally I got 100 pieces made.

Even as all those who bought wondered what to do with it. I dug out a little on its origins in the traditional kitchen and its uses in a modern one.

In Satara, this wooden masher is predominantly used to smash fresh green chilies along with garlic and salt and make Thecha which is ubiquitous meal accopaniment in these parts. Besides this garlic is crushed with it and used for seasoning. May be sometimes ginger too is mashed with it and added to the boiling tea. Basically anything can be mashed with it, cardamom, nutmeg. The long handle gives a good grip. The woman told me that it would be great for mashing Pav bhaaji, ofcourse yes!

Then when I brought it home I found it very useful to extract juice and pulp from fruits while I was making the jelly. The wooden masher ensures an unadulterated taste unlike the metal masher that leaches a bit of metal into the food you are processing. 

Yes and it serves as a nutcracker too, nutmegs in shell, walnut, pistas, etc.

Taking care of the wooden masher:

The wooden masher should be washed and oiled after use everyday. Wood stays sturdy and shinny when oiled well. Once you are done with using the masher for the day just dab some oil on your palms and rub into to masher like a massage. This will save it from chipping.

Ever since I brought it home and gave a place to it on my counter, visitors to my kitchen invariably pick it up and admire the craftsmanship and ask me where they can buy it.

This masher is crafted by the artisans in Satara and brought to you by AnnParabrahma at your doorstep. Buy it now on the Eshop.

By patronizing us you are helping small businesses in the villages of India.

Making of Purple Grape Jelly

1 Tall and 1 small jarful made from 1.350 kgs of purple grapes

Mashing the boiled grapes to extract juice

Second simmering and reducing with sugar

The jelly perfectly formed the skin when cooled

Love the color, as perfect as wine

Hope it lasts long...

Our first taste of my homemade Purple Grape Jelly! 

Unmatched deliciousness and capture of the season's freshness of the fruits. 

Now I know why I hate store bought jams n jellies.

Fundas:

Jelly : made from pure juice of a fruit.

Jam : made from pulp of the fruit.

Marmalade : Jam made with skin of the fruit especially citrus.

Conserve: Made with whole fruit and sugar

The Side Effects: Purple Grape And Basil Dip

I am an eternal positive thinker. Sometimes life just sucks out every bit of juice you have but then I with my attitude made a dip out of it and relished it too. Ha ha!

On Sunday I decided to tackle that low feeling and play football with it. Summoned the driver and chalked out the day. Morning shopping at APMC market, an Eshop delivery in a nearby node followed by lunch of Paper Masala at Hotel Navratna at Vashi and then Flamingo watching on the shores of Navi Mumbai. I even managed to catch up with friends in between.

I know you are curious what I shopped for at APMC, lots of green leafies, freshest crunchy veggies, 5 dozen oranges for marmalade making, 4 kgs green grapes, 4 kgs purple grapes, 8 kgs spices for the new Koli masala batch. Now with that kind of a loot who has the time to brood. I started out by making purple grape jelly. Today's recipe is a side effect of it. This recipe uses the Pulp and skins of purple grape after boiling and extracting juice for jelly. 

Ingredients

1 cup Pulp and skins of purple grape left after boiling and juicing 

1 green chili

1 handful fresh Genovese Basil
juice of 1/2 a lime

salt to taste

Grind together to a smooth paste. 

Serve: As a dip along with your favorite bread. I served it up with Palak parathas.

The Genovese basil seeds were a gift from Nupur of One hot stove and its grown beautifully in my Window Grill Box.You can expect a post on how to grow it soon. Thanks Nupur once again.

Taste : It is a lightly sweet lightly sour from the lime juice, savory dip that goes perfectly with spicy breads. Me think it would make a beautiful spread for your morning toast too!

Seviya Kheer Truffles for Mother’s Recipe: Innovative Recipe Challenge

Mother’s Recipe: Innovative Recipe Challenge landed in my mail box and I was not too sure if I wanted to do it as I hate packaged products. This true blue home cook loves to do stuff from scratch. When I checked out their site mothersrecipe.com I was curious about the Instant mixes. They sent me a hamper consisting of Ready to cook, Instant mixes and a preserve. I had tried their Gor Keri before and loved it. I had in mind to make something from the packs using few extra ingredients as possible else why would anyone want to buy these convenience packets.

So I chose the Payasam/ Seviya mix to innovate with. I guarantee that this is not an intimidating twist and is a delicious activity that you can do with your kids. Yes the same kids that turn their nose up at gloppy payasam.

Here is how to do it...

Portions 
Makes 30 marble sized truffles.

Ingredients 

1 pack 100gms Payasam/ Seviya mix

1 litre of milk as directed on the pack
1 handfull of charoli nuts

1 handfull almonds + 1 handfull pistachios ground to powder

Method 

In a deep pan add 1 litre of milk. Empty the contents of the Payasam/ Seviya mix pack. 

Boil and cook on slow until the seviya is thick and the consistency is like a sheera or pudding. Add the charoli nuts and stir to distribute evenly.  Let is cool completely.

Roll out marble sized balls of the cooked Sevayi kheer. In a bowl take the powdered almonds and pistachio mix. Then dredge in the powdered almond pista mix to coat well. 

Plating and Serving

Serve one Truffle in each bowl. I used my green glass bowls for this.

They are delightful dusted nuttiness at first and creamy centered.

With such a simple no sweat recipe show how to do it to your kids and sit back and watch. Quite a few will disappear while making itself, take it from me.

Check out their Fb page here to see the latest updates. 

Eeya Chombu

Many years ago, for the first time I read about Eeya Chombu on this lovely blog called Saffron Hut. I was totally smitten by this special vessel. Also since I was at the time living in southern India, I have seen older people salivate at the mention of rasam made in Eeya Chombu.

I did a bit of research to find out more about this now elusive utensil. It has almost disappeared from today's Tamil households. In Tamil Nadu this vessel was known to be the most prized utensil in homes and catering businesses. Paeans were sung about the Eeya Chombu rasam at many home dinners and wedding dinning halls.

What is Eeya Chombu? 

It is a vessel made of tin. Tin has a low melting point of 232°C. Therefore using this in the kitchen needs dedication. You can never multi task when making rasam in this vessel else if the melting point is achieved you will be left with a mass of shiny silver metal and the burners flooded in rasam. The secret to this rasam is as much the dedication as the metallic sweet taste imparted to it. It is always first filled with the ingredients of the rasam before it goes onto the fire and that includes water too. It is due to the low melting point of the vessel the seasoning is done in a separate utensil and added on top in the vessel filled with boiled rasam.

Tin is a soft metal and dents easily, especially when it is hot. Due to these properties of the vessel it has faded out from the Tamil Kitchens today. Not to mention it is also expensive. It is believed that in the hay days this vessel saw spurious manufacturing, instead of the pure tin an alloy containing lead was used to manufacture it. This lead to many cases of fear mongering that the Eeya Chombu rasam is toxic. When infact many generation of the Dravids have burped on a meal of rasam sadam.

Two years ago I requested a colleague and friend, Ramesh Babu to go looking for it in the Chennai markets. He though a married man of few years had no idea what I was asking him to look for. He asked his wife and then his parents. It is his parents who smiled at the mention of an Eeya Chombu and shared with him their memories of a wonderful rasam. Ramesh then scoured the old markets, checking out many a shop and many a shapes. Then finally we decided that for a small family 1 litre utensil was good enough and he bought two, one to send for me and another for his family. This size is the best as the wedding caterers will never tell you their secret, they immerse a small sized Eeya Chombu to achieve that fantastic taste in huge pots of boiling rasam! That way they don't need an expensive huge vessel for rasam making for large quantities

The Eeya Chombu arrived in the courier and ever since I have been enjoying the occasional Eeya Chombu  rasam but it took me time to show it to you here, better late than never. This post got a push as two products in the Traditional Kitchen tools category on the AnnaParabrahma Eshop are selling like hot cakes. The greasing brushes and the wooden mashers. This is also a reason to start a new label here on the blog for the Traditional Kitchen. Hoping to post about more such old world charms that need revival.

These days we rarely see comments on blogs even though people are reading them. Yes I know the conversations are happening on FB and twitter but nothing like a comment on the blog to tell me you love my work. Drop a line or a question and I will definitely reply to it, promise.

Lakhnawi Baigan Bharta

In the December of 1996 while I was still working as an Environmental Engineer I along with a junior were given the responsibility of a feasibility study for an effluent treatment plant proposed for a popular flashlights company for their Lucknow unit.

I was all of 26 and had just about started making my mark in the Environmental field. My then employer, lead by example and cared like a father. He accompanied us as this was our first ever project that called for a long stay away from home.

I still remember it was winter season, our train travel was exciting and he made sure we ate all the specialties in that journey. There was one place where we ate the gulabjamuns that were piping hot and luscious, my memory fails to recollect the name of the station.

It was early morning when the train chugged into Lucknow station. The red uniformed coolies came scuffling forward to offload our luggage. Mr. H.B. Singh had made friends with them in his frequent travels back and forth to Lucknow from Mumbai. The morning was foggy, the station was littered and packed with people, some sleeping on the platform others scampering around as the announcements were made over the loudspeaker to catch the train. I was becoming conscious about the pure Hindi being spoken, unlike the Bambaiya I was used to. As we stepped out both Ritu, my colleague and me chose the horse driven tonga over the auto-rickshaw, wasn't it an obvious choice for two thrilled Mumbaikars finding horse driven tongas. After a very short ride we were at the hotel. He arranged for us to stay at the Yatri Hotel in Charbagh. 

Initially our plan was to stay in Lucknow for a week to 10 days and finish our work. Every day we drove to work through foggy mornings, taking in the smells of cow dung cakes being burnt and people wrapped in woolens going about sluggishly in the chaotic streets where tongas and auto-rickshaws raced with each other. There was the "Vikram" or the 10 seater rickshaw that plied from point to point and did not follow any traffic discipline. There were piles and piles of groundnut pods on the streets, vendors selling them and piles of peeled empty pods after eating were littered on the streets. HBS had grown up in Lucknow so it frustrated him and led him to exclaim, "Lucknow ki barbaadi Mungphalli or Vikram ne ki hai!" he meant that the groundnut addiction, littering the streets with pods and the 10 seater autos were a hindrance in the growth of Lucknow.

We girls enjoyed the change from Mumbai. It was my first experience of a north Indian winter as Mumbai never sees the real winter. We were well equipped with warm leggings, sweaters and coats that HBS had instructed us to carry. He had informed the hotel staff to keep a big pot of black tea ready at all times for us in the room to keep us warm. I remember it would be very cold even at 2pm in the afternoon and I would enjoy wearing my coat and thought it looked stylish.

At the E.Flashlights we were introduced to the Engineering team and a young Kashmiri engineer, S. Koul was to escort us at all times in the company premises. He unfailingly would feed us a heavy breakfast. It was a revelation for me that at breakfast people ate Puri bhaaji and samosa and kachori at 8 am in the morning! Me a Mumbaikar requested for bread toast instead on the first day. Ritu stared at me annoyed but because she was my junior did not comment. The next day however she coaxed me into eating all the fried stuff and before I knew Koul sent over a plate of hot jalebis! I was totally overwhelmed with this style of breakfast as I knew only bread, khari, battar could be breakfast for this Irani influenced Mumbaikar

The lunch was always amazing is all I remember, I do not recollect the exact dishes now as it is almost two decades. However I remember the food we ate at a tiny hole in the wall eatery every night in Hazratganj. It was not the cleanest place to eat and to enter this 3-4 table place one had to brush against the hot tandoor or almost. The first time HBS took us there we refused to eat there but he being our stubborn boss he insisted we taste the food so we packed takeaways and ate in our hotel room. The next day on we were eating in the eatery itself, the bonus was a piping hot rather scalding hot tandoori rotis. This recipe of baigan bharta is based on that memory. I fondly recreate it in my kitchen to remind myself of that winter in Lucknow and especially make it when it is the coolest in Mumbai.

However before I share the recipe let me complete this story. Coming back to Lucknow capers, we'd spend the entire day in the lab trying to work on a process to remove hexavalent chromiun effectively from the effluent. I had a published paper on "adsorption behavior of Chromium on flyash" to my credit but that was not something cost effective for this industry. So it was hard work for us all over again. The project stretched for another week, however we were well taken care of. There was an old lab technician who came to work just to complete his tenure until retirement, his only job was to get us sweets and pamper us with them. I recollect how we gorged on the Imartis he had got for us wrapped in a newspaper and aam papads.

HBS had returned to Mumbai and was expected to come back to take us back home. Koul literally ordered him to book flight tickets for us to travel back to Mumbai reasoning out that we had been away from home too long and needed to be with family in a day and not spend another 3 days on the train. We were so thrilled because it meant we would fly for the first time in our lives! 

Before we flew back home there was a lunch hosted for us. The entire engineering department came to bid us farewell and Koul had directed the kitchen staff to make a Kashmiri Wazwan for us. The best dishes that day on the menu were Dum aloo and Malai kofta served with long grain basmati rice. It was on this day I learnt that Kashmiris are big rice eaters even though they are from the north. It was strange that we were enjoying a very authentic Kashmiri meal in Uttar Pradesh. My hand smelt of saffron long after it had been washed.

On the final day, HBS was back in Lucknow and so we had breakfast at the hotel and checked out. After loading the bags into the car, we were given a half a day tour of the various monuments, like chota and bada Imambada, the parliament etc. I don't remember much now. Once before we had explored the markets in Lucknow. We had shopped for Chikankari punjabi suits in Gadbadzala. I was told Gadbadzala was the twisted name given to the market because it was chaotic and some Maratha soldier had said "gabadzali" in the narrow streets of the market. Yes yes without fail I was told the story of the Maratha Empire touching Lucknow, I will have to read up history again.

Another thing that left an indelible mark on me is the hospitality and adab of the people I met every where on the streets. We girls were allowed to call our families every night, so instead of paying extra at the hotel we would go to a nearby STD booth, yes it was the pre-mobile era. The STD guy and everywhere we went we were respected. Once I broke my chappal and went looking for a cobbler in the night, it was hardly 8pm but Lucknow shops were almost closing down. The cobbler refused to take money form us because he guessed we were not from Lucknow and we were guests in the city even if we were there for work. I asked him how he knew it? He said girls in Lucknow never went out at that hour without a male family member and we two Mumbai girls were walking the streets enjoying the potato basket chaat in Hazratganj!

The return flight was memorable too as it was a Christmas day and we were gifted Christmas cakes to take home and some other goodies. I remember as I stepped out into the Mumbai heat after chilly Lucknow my body was itching due to the heat, I was back to a warm Mumbai in December.

Lucknow for me stands for wonderful food and even better people, my first flight and my first out posting.

Ingredients

1 large brinjal
2 onions, medium sized
1 tomato
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 green chili
1/2 cup fresh green peas
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoon oil
salt to taste

Roast the brinjal on fire till its smoky and charred on all sides. Refer the first pic in this post. Keep turning to cook through completely. Remove from heat and cover with a vessel. Leave it to sweat a bit and this will loosen the charred skin. Remove the charred skin and collect flesh of the roasted brinjal in a plate. Mash the brinjal a bit. 

In a frying pan heat oil. Add the slit green chili, follow in with the sliced onion, fry for 2 mins. Add chopped tomato, green peas, cilantro and cook down on high heat till the masala leaves the oil. At this point add the roasted brinjal and add the garam masala, turmeric, chili powder and cook covered.

Salt to taste and remove from heat. Let the flavors meld well and then serve with rustic roti or bhakri.

The pics are from 2 different times I made the Baigan bharta. We enjoyed the lipsmacking dish thoroughly.

The Lucknow memories came flooding after I met someone who spells Lakhnawi adab!

Ceremonial Opening of AnnaParabrahma Eshop

The AnnaParabrahma Eshop on the web

A New Year And A New Start!

Dear Readers, Patrons and Friends,

A warm welcome to the AnnaParabrahma Eshop!

We are thrilled to announce the opening of the much awaited Eshop on our own domain 

www.annaparabrahma.com

Explore the Eshop, pick up and order your favorite products now!

*The first 10 orders get a special gift from us*

Enjoy your shopping...

Anjali & The AnnaParabrahma Team

The AnnaParabrahma Eshop on FB

The story :

You have watched the metamorphosis of the blog and the FB page, I am sure you expected some change. It was slow and and over a period of 3 months the Eshop was built. Did you note that the old page was gone? and a new tab 'AnnaParabrahma Eshop' was added, on click it directed to www.annaparabrahma.com

Some features

1. Ease of shopping while browsing from your desktop.

2. Payment gateway with payment options like PayUMoney, Paypal and Bank transfers.

3. Logistic services by FEDEX and Gati.

4. Facebook store to shop while you stay connected with friends.

I take the opportunity to thank the people who made this day possible.

Snigdha Manchanda of Tea Trunk who recommended Zepo (the hosting service) to me on a FB group that we both are part of.

Sudarshan Dheer Kaka (the grandmaster of Corporate communications in India) for all the guidance in branding. The new AnnaParabrahma logo is his creation. Simple and classic.

Reva Hart my dear friend and sister for doing a sincere testing of the new address and functionalities.

And

Deepa Kulkarni for the first order thru www.annaparabrahma.com

The blogger buddies who ordered immediately on Go Live of the site, Madhuli, Deeba and Chandhana. They shared pictures of their buys and talked about their customer experience with friends and family. I appreciate the fraternity's support a lot!

Not for nothing it is said, "It takes a village to make dreams come true!"

Dinner at the Sky Grill

I dressed up for the dinner at the Sky Grill !

Yes I did. Unbelievable for people who know me. We got a call from the restaurant that 8.30 pm was perfect time for dinner. We were welcomed by the ebullient Nisha at the restaurant and offered a table for 2 which was close to the performance platform, which was set for a Ghazal night. 

The dinner began with our choice of juice, watermelon it was, both Dad and me do not enjoy wines so we declined the offer.

After which I took a stroll around the entire swimming pool area which is at a lower level than the dinning deck. I took some pics of Vashi before going down for dinner and some of the ambiance of the Sky Grill. I quite like it. I love open terrace restaurants as we have fewer in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.

The drama at the Sky Grill was just about begining. The high flames roared in the still night. The Kabab chefs geared up the skewers and in they went into a tandoor, filled 1/4 way with red hot charcoal. I could hear the sizzle as it was still quite, of the roasting meat on the skewers and as the drippings fell on to the coal. Just then Nisha waltzed in with two platters, one in the hand and the other on her arm as she declared, "The chef has sent it for you." My reaction was to click pictures immediately and dig in. What you see above in the Paneer hariyali kabab and the Jimikand ke kabab. The Paneer hariyali was okayish but the Jimikand ke kabab were nice light and melt in the mouth with a bite of fresh pomegranates in it. Both were served with spiced onions that I liked.

After enjoying a few ghazals as we ate more kababs served by the waiting staff; I took a look at the buffet. It had green palak dish, veg biryani, Dal makhani and some paneer in red gravy. Nothing looked interesting to me. Yeah the sad thing about buffets is boring food. Then I spotted the Dal aur dhaniye ka shorba. I took a bowlful and grabbed a dinner roll and went back to my table not really expecting too much. One sip and my mouth was filled with a burst of flavours, of nutty chana dal and freshness of cilantro. Delicious! It was an outstanding shorba though it reminded me a lot of our very own Marathi Kata chi aamti except without the coconut paste that we use. 

Then as I was going back to the buffet to pick up the mains, the young lad at the flaming grill asked us for our choice of rotis. We ordered our favorite Butter Garlic naan. I returned with a little bit of the green gloop, the dal makhani and veg biryani on my plate. The desserts were all baked, the usual, cheesecakes, tarts and more whipped cream which I just did not want to touch. The roti basket arrived and I picked some green gloop on it. The Garlic naan was thin, crisp and just the right amount of butter and garlic on it. It was superlative! The real surprise the green palak was laced with kasuri methi, which brought alive my pallete. I did enjoy it finally. I also liked the Dal makhani which was perfectly creamy. So tastewise the food was good but I am really bored with the same menu that haunts restaurants like these so you will understand my initial reaction to the buffet.

To wash down the meal we sipped on sweet lime soda and just then Nisha who had taken on herself to pamper us that night coaxed us into having hot gulabjamuns. Yum they were really lovely, soft and juicy, the syrup soaking right through. 

We were stuffed to the gills and retired to our room to enjoy the night lights of Vashi. 

_________________________________________________________________________________

The next day we had our breakfast and said our bye byes to the wonderful kitchen staff and all those who attended to us in our 2 night/ 3 day stay. There had to be a picture with the Kitchen team. Look at them, aren't they wonderful!

 Thank you Four Points by Sheraton, Vashi!

My First Time In A Commercial Kitchen

and other stories of the second day at the Four Points by Sheraton at Vashi.

Views of Vashi from the Comfort Suite

My second day of stay was planned to be exciting! 

I was informed that my request for an experience in the Commercial Kitchen was accepted by the Executive Chef Mukul Jha and yet another bumper, Four Points was hosting a dinner for us!

I slept like a baby cuddled in the super soft bed and in the perfectly controlled ambient atmosphere through the night. I woke up and drew back the curtains, the suite overlooked Vashi, it was bathed in the morning sun and suddenly it looked better than a mere concrete jungle, we could now see the creek in the clear morning.

I decide to take a luxurious bath in the huge bathroom and soak in the tub much like a Maharani! Oh wasn't the research done for Lyril soap from the yesteryears say that a woman's own place is the bathroom and she even goes off into her own dreamland singing La~La la, la ~La la la~ La ~la ~la. Well the result was good, I stepped out truly rejuvenated!

So much that the bed was inviting me right back to curl up under the warm covers and rest on those soft excessive pillows. But then the hunger pangs got me rushing down for breakfast to the Asian Kitchen. While there Exe. Chef Mukul Jha met up and discussed what I wanted to cook later along with him. I said something quick and enjoyable, something I can share with my beloved readers. We froze on a dish which would be colorful, appetizing, wholesome Italian. Chef Mukul surprised me when he stressed that it would be *veg*. The information about me being a strict vegetarian had been cascaded to the team and they never faltered after the pancake incident.

After lolling around some I got a call that the chef was ready for me to go to the kitchen. We walked past the show kitchen into narrow paths passing several pantries and storerooms. Thru a maze of shiny kitchen counters to our work area for the day. The Chef had got the meze ready and introduced the ingredients that we were to work with. Nisha Saran from the F&B was with us and she arranged for an apron and a toque for me. I was trying to suppress my mounting excitement. 

With Executive Chef Mukul Jha, me adorned an apron and toque !

We began by marinating the slices of cottage cheese. Then seasoned the pan with oil and then seared the slices. As I watched I realized that these guys cooked in flat pans and on very high heat. The high heat acted like a flash in extracting the flavors and aromas of the ingredients. After pan searing the cottage cheese we put it on a greased tray along with marinated beetroot slices and put it in the oven to bake at 150 degrees for 7-8 mins so that the fats from searing evaporated. 

Meanwhile we heated the pan and got frying the onions and garlic. Chef Mukul was moving fast and I meddled in between to stir the seasoning and mostly watch him. I realized that working in a commercial kitchen is intimidating when you try to handle the slightly larger pans and ladles that you are not used to handling but the kind chef was very encouraging and said it was only a matter of practice, which I agree. Once the semolina was cooked we tasted it and kept it aside. Then we made the Ratatouille, the veg were diced to perfection as is expected of a hotel kitchen. When ever Ratatouille is cooked the topic of the movie has to come up and the chef scorned at it! both of us ended up laughing aloud. As we cooked I was absorbing the techniques the chef used and benefited a lot from him. A key thing is we kept tasting through the steps we followed making sure everything was salted right and cooked to perfection. This is something we never do at home as we offer Naivedhya to God.

Finally we were ready with all components of the meal and were ready to plate. Before we did it the chef heated up everything and then carefully showcased his finesse in plating a beautiful meal. Though I was more of a observer I felt equally proud of the way the dish had turned out and how Chef had plated it. While we were at it Nisha was taking countless pictures of us in action and would you believe it just when I was to take the camera in hand to click some shots of the Grand finale, the plated dish; the battery died on us!

The thrill of cooking in the kitchen of Four Points, Vashi

Quickly got the staff to charge up the battery until we went looking for a perfect spot and lighting in the Asian Kitchen to shoot the plated meal.

The final strokes of artistry

So as a reward for reading patiently about my adventure, here is the recipe. Tadah!

What's the Dish?

Herbs and garlic crusted cottage cheese.
Served with Semolina Mash and Ratatouille.
Finished with Beetroot chips, Balsamic reduction & Parmesan crisp

Portions : 4 

Ingredients

600 gms Cottage cheese
110 gms peeled garlic
4 gms Rosemary
4 gms Thyme
4 gms Basil
90 ml Olive oil / EVOO
110 gms Semolina
60 gms Onion
60 gms sliced Olives
10 gms chili flakes
120 gms bell peppers
120 gms zucchini
120 gms brinjals
150 gms Tomato Concasse
60 gms Parmesan cheese
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
1 no Beetroot
6 sprigs of parsley
15 ml Balsamic reduction

Preparation

Cut out 12 pieces of cottage cheese in triangles. Marinate the cottage cheese with 1/4 of the amount of garlic, herbs and keep aside.

The semolina mash : Heat a pan. Add 30 ml of Olive oil. Saute chopped garlic, onions, olives (I used black) till light brown. Add the semolina saute till toasty and follow in with salt, black pepper and chili flakes. Add 250 ml of hot water. Stir till thickened and cooked. Remove the pan from heat and keep aside.

The Ratatouille : In a new pan add 20 ml of Olive oil. When the oil is heated saute the garlic till nicely browned and aromatic along with a little onion. Now add to it brinjal, bell peppers, zucchini and give it a stir. Cook and then add tomato Concasse and seasoning to the mix. Remove from heat when done until soft.

Now pan sear marinated cottage cheese and bake in the oven at 150 degrees celcius for 7 to 8 mins.

Slice the beetroot thinly and season with Olive oil and salt and bake for 3-4 mins.

The oven helps to evaporate the oil from the cottage cheese and gives wonderful browned edges. Once you see those and the beetroot slices are cooked yet crunchy, remove from the oven.

To make the parmesan cheese crisp, grate parmesan cheese and melt it on a non stick pan. Remove from heat and let it cool and firm up. Cut out 4 triangles from the round.

Plating 

In a plate layout the beetroot chips in a circle or semicircle. On top ladle out the semolina mash. Top it with 3 pieces of cottage cheese. Above it layer the Ratatouille mix.

Garnish with parmesan crisp, basil and parsley. I did not have parmesan on hand so I grated just a little bit of cheese over it and stuck in a fried basil leaf.

I recreated that meal in my own kitchen and I think I was able to achieve a very close remake in taste but need to work on my plating skills a bit. Like Chef Mukul said practice makes perfection.

How would you rate me Chef Mukul? and how would you rate me readers?

An enormous thanks to Chef Mukul and the entire Four Points team who made this experience memorable for me!

How was the taste?

Its an Italian meal that Indians will love, a complete balanced meal. It tasted absolutely delicious each morsel different. The semolina mash has olives so it was salty, The cottage cheese beautifully crisp on the edge and garlicky. The Ratatouille was of course with notes of basil, thyme, rosemary and garlic. The beetroot chips like the salad. The balsamic reduction like the chutney or a palette cleanser. I loved it as I ate this portion and felt satiated and did not even crave for a dessert.

My Sky grill story will have to be yet another post...

Vacationing in Vashi at the Four Points by Sheraton

The welcome

I am a traveler at heart but who would have thought I would vacation in my own city. I was the guest of The Starwood hotels at their Four Points, Vashi property recently and had a fantastic time there. This after brushing off the idea several times and you won't believe how memorable it turned out to be!

It was a promise of 2 nights/ 3days. I called up to confirm my stay and right from that moment I received delightful service from everyone of the staff.

I was put up in a Comfort suite that was smart yet cozy all at the same time just like a business hotel should be. The bed tempted me to climb on to it immediately and just cuddle up with a book instead we kicked up our shoes and settled down on the sofas to snack on some cookies and fruit that the hotel had laid out for our welcome and there was Syrah sitting pretty on the table too.

My first need is to connect to the internet, as that is where all my business happens. The Wifi was free and worked well through the stay. I immediately posted a few pics on my FB page for my family, friends and readers to see as this was a much needed vacation for me after my Diwali Hamper season got over. This stay was a reward for blogging and it was just in time to celebrate the 8th anniversary of AnnaParabrahma which was started on 9th October, 2006 in Bangalore. Plus the AnnaParabrahma FB page reached a milestone of 500 Likes just recently, its been a 100% organic growth. What more I drove only 15 mins to reach the hotel. Stayaction it was!

After an hours rest I was met by Arartika Samanta and Monika Tomar from the Sales and Marketing team at the high ceilinged reception. They gave me a tour of the entire property and facilities available. The most impressive was their gym which is very well equipped and run by the holistic living guru, Mickey Mehta. What's nice is it is not just for their inhouse guests but even Navi Mumbai residents can sign up for memberships. I also got a sneak peek of their spa facilities, they have several packages that follow Thai practices and all oils and packs for therapies are made inhouse. There is a salon which is run by a third party which has reasonable rates, should you need a haircut or some pampering.

Since this is a business hotel I took a look around for the business facilities available, there are atleast 4-5 conference rooms with on OHP, network and screen. The Banquet hall was familiar, I had been there for a conference 2 yrs ago. They also have a business center where you can avail facilities just incase you are not carrying your devices or incase you need get work done on the computer when your phone or tablet is inconvenient or need a print out.

We walked in and out thru the restaurant which I was to explore the next day for their cuisines. For a business hotel 4 restaurants are decent options and will talk about their food menu individually. 

I loved the Tipplers lounge, when I visited in the early evening, it had the beautiful setting sun casting rays on this small lounge which has a book case and a bar with high stools and comfortable seating alike. This doubles up as a breakfast area for executives staying the premier suites in the morning.

There is 24X7 restaurant called Wrapped near the reception which I did not get a chance to review but I liked the decor there. Especially in the day time it looked all sunny and bright.

We had our breakfast on both the days at the Asian Kitchen. It is a spacious restaurant with a show kitchen and relaxed seating. There is a huge breakfast buffet which I sampled for everything vegetarian on the menu. The menu is familiar as you would find on any buffet of a business hotel. Worth a mention was the Laadi pav/ Mumbai pao which went with the batata vada for vada pao. The menu may be meant to be comforting in familiarity to the business travelers is what I can say, so there is your standard 2 kinds of idli, uttapam, soups, something chicken, eggs, cheeses, juices, flavored milks, deli meats and what not and bakes that you can expect.

The breakfast

I must mention that we got excellent service from the team. Our favorite pineapple juice was made fresh for us on both days. On one day my Dad who was staycationing with me ordered a masala dosa which was excellent he said. I ordered pancakes and when they were serving realized from the yellowish tinge that I forgot to mention, I did not eat eggs. Chef Vijay was very kind to replace it with made-to-order eggless banana pancakes served with honey but they did provide Maple syrup on request. I quite liked my pancakes for veg pancakes are slightly tricky to make and very easily can reek of soda. But they got them right, fluffy and nice. I enjoyed them on both days.

On the second day the Chef suggested we have a panini and he made lovely ones for both me and Dad. We were delighted with the freshness of the veggies and molten cheese. They were perfectly grilled and the bread felt still soft on bite and not too dried out. Followed by masala chai which we loved. Even on the previous day Nisha Kaur from the F&B team had very sweetly sent masala chai for us to the room especially for my Dad, since he enjoys it more than tea bags.

Since I am a baker myself I was keen on sampling the bakes on display but unfortunately only the breads were eggless. I think I can rate their inhouse bakers good, I enjoyed their breads both the herbed ones as well as the sweet breads even though they are commercial breads and not artisan. I would have been thrilled if I could taste some of their tarts, doughnuts and muffins and that's a suggestion that they should have more of these as an eggless option.

There is a separate egg station which serves you custom made eggs, scrambled or omelette the way you like it. The young man happily flips it up for you.

I also got to look around at their brunch menu but since I was full from breakfast I did not eat anything. Like true Indian hosts since I was not eating they offered me a fresh lime soda which I enjoyed. I did take a sip of a vivid green concoction on the brunch menu which was looking interesting as it was served in a testube. It was supposed to be a welcome drink made of Kiwi which I found cloyingly sweet and reeking of artificial flavor and I don't think even the kids will enjoy anything like it.

 The desserts galore at the brunch

Four Points hosted a dinner for us on the second night and we chose to try the Sky Grill for it. More about it in the upcoming post.

The best thing about my staycation was getting to cook with their Executive Chef Mukul Jha. It was my first experience of working in a commercial kitchen!

And that requires a separate post. Psst, he has shared a recipe with me so I can share it here with you. Come again tomorrow, won't you? You will, sure you will to read about my new adventure, right!