Bake For Sandys - Season 1

First off, I'm hoping there are many more seasons of this. :-) Absolutely brilliant - Kudos to KP Balakumar and the bakers and of course, Sandesh Reddy for playing a big role in this. And no, the results are not available until tomorrow morning. So hold your breath and read on.. Sigh...

Update: In all the enthu to put up this post, I forgot to mention a few things. First, this event is mainly to provide a platform for the home bakers to work with professionals like Sandy. The winning baker(s) will supply desserts to Sandys for a whole month. Secondly, this will be a monthly event, conducted in association with Home Bakers Guild and undeniably the best platform for the home bakers to make it big. 

The event was scheduled for 330 pm this evening. The little room next to the cafe was all set - 1 table for setting up the cakes, one for the judges. Sangeetha was the first one to arrive, the kids having been packed off with hubby dear to watch Madagascar.(I hope your son didn't cry ;-) and I was pleasantly surprised to know that Sangeetha's husband and I have a common friend, whom both of us know for more than 10 years now).

Sangeetha was followed by Anusha, Prerna, Divya and Shivangi. They started setting up their goodies and my eyes just popped out. God - what an array of delectable cakes !

Psst: Divya is a professional saree designer; she sources the sarees from Kerala and Kanjeevaram and designs them. And Shivangi's cup cake tray was designed by her. She used the vaccum cleaner rod and foam to set up the shelf. Awesome creativity. 

The judges sent all of us out and we all piled up at Sandy's Cafe next door. RoseAnne dropped by with her little one Hannah, who slept most of the time, and then was grumpy because mommy woke her up. Boy, wasn't she all smiles after the event looking at the cakes and bakes that were lined up ;-) Sangeetha and I were talking, and as we talked we got closer to the counter. OK Stop. Yes, we stopped talking, and started staring at the cakes lined up and were super tempted to order something. The guys at the counter were of no help in easing our temptation; Instead they only helped us gain pounds. Finally we ordered the hot dark chocolate (and yes, it was on the house - which I didn't know until much later. I forgot to pay up, and ran back inside and the guy very sweetly smiled and said - ma'am it's on the house!).

As we were sipping the hot chocolate, I got into a very enlightening discussion with Anusha (no, I'm not telling what it is ;-) - girl - we need to talk more I say - I still want to know the how and why :-P) and later Meghana & Sangeetha joined us outside. We talked about this and that, cakes, events and life in general. There was a lot of discussion involving the little ones and how they order their moms around. Oh yes, RoseAnne told us her son told her to stop Facebooking. How's that? And Sangeetha's son has broken almost everything at home, except the television. He's careful not to touch the hot oven though! Smart kid!


Linu Paul - you were sorely missed.

Each baker was called inside, one by one, to explain what ingredients had gone into their cakes and the pricing points. It was like a Viva Voce in school / college, where the rest of the students gather around the one who just got back from the lab to ask "what did they ask you?" ;-)

Finally, as the event ended, we all went back inside to eat what the bakers had brought, along with what Sandy's team had setup. Quiches, Antipasti sandwich, hummus, pita and falafel!

And this is how every Sunday should end - on a high, happy note!

Here's a list of what each baker brought:

Anusha Kaushik 
Caramello Paradise
Fudge Off
Bitter truth Tart

Divya Ninan:
Lamingtons
Choco Truffle Tart
Lemon Blueberry Yoghurt Cake

Meghana Karthik  (all eggless)
Truffle trifle  (it's 3 layers of truffle (dark chocolate + milk chocolate + white chocolate) on a brownie base topped with coffee and chocolate! - Meghana is looking for a more fancy name for this. So if any of you have any ideas, please feel free to PM her.)
Oreo cheesecake
Chocolate cake with Chocolate and Caramel Ganache!

Prerna
Her famous rum balls
Lemon and Blueberry Tarts
Blueberry Cheesecake


Sangeetha Potty
White Chocolate Yoghurt Tart
Cheese cake
Ferraro Rocher Cake


Shivangi Daga (all eggless)
After 8 
Salted caramel tart (there was a variation with praline too)
Ganache Brownie
Zesty Lemon Cup cake
Vanilla Choco-lava
Peppermint Popsicle

Sunanditha Gr
Vanilla custard cupcakes
Chocolate Malt cupcakes
Chocolate Ganache Tart with strawberry Coulie
Lemon Curd Tart
Strawberry Cheese cakes

And now for the photographs, in no particular order! Have fun ladies (and gentlemen) :-)

Ara puli kozhambu - Typically Tambrahm

There was some yam left over from yesterday's fry and mom is over-enthu now to make ara puli kozhambu. Now, I have no clue why this is named such - it doesn't have half the amount of tamarind. In fact, this is half sambar and half vethakozhambu (hence perhaps - ara - puli kozhambu - wonder why they didn't term is as ara-sambar :-P)

Recipe:

Ingredients:

Tamarind - 1 lemon size (Soaked and pureed)
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Tur dal - 2 tsp (soaked and boiled)
Vegetables - typically yam (senakizhangu), bitter gourd (pagarkai) or sundakkai.
Salt - to taste
Asafoetida - to sprinkle
Curry leaves
Sambar powder - your usual quantity
Red Chilli - 2 -3 (optional)
Coconut - 3 tsp (most important in ara puli kozhambu)
Gingelly oil - 1tbsp
mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Method:

1: Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan; temper mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves.
2: Add urad dal, red chilli and saute until golden brown. 
3: Add the coconut and yam; Saute for a few minutes.
4. Add the sambar powder and roast until a rich dark brown. (Ensure it doesn't become black)
5. Pour the tamarind puree and add salt.
6. Add the boiled tur dal.
7. Let boil until thick. (I'd prefer to keep the stove in simmer, so I don't have to stand next to it all day)
8. If it's thin, add some rice flour mixed with water, to thicken the gravy!

Serve hot with rice and sutta appalam.

ID - Idlicious

A couple of my friends and I decided to see a movie this evening. The obvious choice of cinema was Satyam Cinemas. For some reason, this friend was badgering me to get the tickets for Maalai Pozhudin Mayakathile.  And, our fates were sealed inside Six Degrees. (Terribly mokka movie - don't venture anywhere near it. The songs aren't bad though)

But what made this worst-movie experience slightly better was ID. Their coffee is amazing. Perfect blend. Hot. In a nice white mug. Once S and I reached Satyam Cinemas super early for Prometheus; we spent time at ID sipping this mug of coffee (which was super divine, after having consumed some hot-water-turned-coffee at Karpagambal Mess).

I am a big fan of the Rava Idli at ID. By far, one of the best I've had. Served with 4 side dishes, this plate is priced at Rs 40. The idlis were soft and hot. The sambar was spicy and the mint chutney was perfect. I ended up eating the side dishes separately not just because I didn't want to waste it but also because they were yummy enough to be eaten on their own. 

Sadly, the lassi was a let down. It was sour and a little too sweet. Somehow, ID has never perfected this and it's not the first time that someone was dissatisfied with the lassi. 

ID will always remain a good choice for South Indian tiffin varieties, if you are anywhere around that area. Prompt, quick service and tasty food!

Amadora - A Gift of Love

So yes, after a hearty meal at Crimson, someone suddenly yelled ice-cream. We were stuffed so much that we couldn't even get off our seats but the mere word ice-cream and the word that followed "Amadora" made us all grin. We slowly pushed ourselves up (from the chair) and down (the stairs).

Amadora is located in the quaint quiet Wallace Garden, 3rd Street, Off KNK Road. Maaria was already drooling at the thought of the PB&J ice-cream. We walked the little walk and found ourselves staring at the myriad display of ice-creams. Rich flavors, different themes and then my favorite tables. Shaped in the form of a jigsaw puzzle, you can just stuff yourself in the gap and not fall off ;-)

Deepak Suresh, owner of Amadora, greeted us all. He scooped a bit of the flavor that we wanted to taste in little pink colored sticks and we lined up to collect them from him - nothing short of kindergarten kids, if you will.

I so wanted the waffle cone and was pleasantly surprised that Amadora had them. Deepak was tempting me into getting one but I knew I had to share (for the first and last time ever - I ain't sharing this delicious thing anymore) my ice-cream with the rest of the folks, so decided to cup-i-fy the saffron ice cream with slivered almonds. I don't remember who ordered what - but these were some of the flavors that I'd tasted - PB&J (peanut butter and jelly), Saffron with slivered almonds, Mami's filter kaapi, caramelized white chocolate (I simply loved this one).

If you are looking for some amazing flavors, and if you love a quaint little place, then Amadora it is, for you. And no, I don't have pictures for this one as well. Check out their FB page and drool all you want.

And yes, I am going back there for more! :-D

Crimson Chakra - The Love Affair Continues

What happened last night? Crimson Chakra and Amadora - that's what happened ! High on food, fun and ice creams.

Casa Piccola on KNK Road, Nungambakkam, used to be a favorite and now, that location houses yet another favorite - CC. This time, I'd decided I wanted to concentrate more on the food and less on shooting the dishes. So, I carried my Sony P&S, just in case the urge to shoot was overwhelming.

We were about 10 of us; the usual group. I was meeting Maaria of Adoniya for the first time and we hit it off instantly. It was as if I knew her for ages. The rest of the group consisted of an unusual veggie - Nishanth, fellow veggie and Bellaria owner Avanti, omnivore Aswin Rao, and the hard core carnivores - KP, Doc Waz, Shadir, Karthik, Karthi, Divyan and Sathish.

Naveen Radha, who'll be managing the KNK branch and Sam Paul (erstwhile Casa Piccola) who has franchised this outlet were around too. Yes, Of course, Nikhil was there too. These CFG dinners are always lots of fun and then, there's lots of discussion around food, restaurants, new ventures and tips and tricks.

We've already gone on and on about how awesome Crimson is, but let me re-iterate it once again. Crimson is awesome. Many of us have always related Crimson Chakra to actor Suresh Menon. I still get questions asking if this is the same place owned by Suresh. And so clarify to all those souls, the building that houses Crimson Chakra (in Adyar), was built by Nikhil Moturi's grandfather. It's over 60 years old. Suresh rented the place and also had his studio there. He envisioned Crimson Chakra, no doubt, but being a visionary is perhaps not enough. Business acumen, especially in the food industry, is a must. And therefore the transition from Suresh to Nikhil. After Nikhil scripted the success story in the Adyar branch, it was a natural progression to move to the high end food street of Chennai, KNK Road.

The ambiance of the 72-seater KNK Road outlet differs vastly from the Adyar outlet. This is brightly lit and is very modern in terms of the decor. Honestly, I prefer the colonial set up of the Adyar branch. That feels like HOME. (Okay, it was someone's home at some point, but it still feels home despite being a restaurant. I don't know if I make sense here, but I suppose you get the drift). As Maaria said (and I concur), this outlet should also have the Crimson touch. The roof top was the highlight when Casa Piccola was around. Now, with Crimson, it will be used mainly to host private parties.This will soon become an all day dining and will be open till midnight.


The menu is identical to the Adyar outlet. Tomato soup was thick and hot. The veg starters comprised of paneer balls, mushroom balls, crostini and paneer tikka. I was stuffed with eating just this. I began to wonder how I was going to manage the rest of the course. (On that note, the peanut chutney was yum)


The main course had smoked rice, aapam + stew, aloo parantha, paneer parantha and kadai veg. Nothing to complain, I've eaten all of these at the Adyar outlet. The taste and texture is pretty much the same. There was a chicken pasta on the table. (Wonder why there was no veg pasta? :P - late realization - too high on food last night). How do you get the smokiness in the rice - I simply love that!


And finally the much awaited elaneer souffle arrived in mini ramekins. Nikhil still fails to understand what it is that we rave so much about this souffle. The souffle at the Adyar outlet is smooth but the one here has a crunchy texture - A chef's variation perhaps - but I like the smoother souffle. 


The panchamirtham souffle opened to mixed reviews. Avanti and Maaria loved it. I thought it was a little too sweet for my liking. It was like the panchamirtham made at home during festivals. And I'm not sure from which angle (!!) it felt like a souffle. I am not changing my loyalty - Elaneer souffle - you rock ! 


Mango cheese cake - totally perfect. And the apple pie, again, was too sweet for my liking. 


We were stuffed - Maaria said something about a stuffed turkey. I couldn't agree more. My suit was bursting at the seams. And suddenly, someone said Amadora. Now who can resist ice creams? But that's going to be a separate post, because Amadora deserves one on its own. 

Nikhil - you call me by so many other names and you forgot my crostinis :P but that's not going to stop me from giving a big thumbs up to Crimson. :-) It was an awesome experience last night. I look forward to dining at Crimson for years to come ! 


Psst: Haagen Dazs' restaurant is on its way on KNK Road - waffles, crepes and what not! 

Meet the Bakers - Vaishnavi Reddy

A full time mommy to two pretty girls - today we meet Vaishnavi Reddy.

Excerpts:

D: Where do you showcase all your stuff? Is there a page or website?
VR: I don't showcase my stuff anywhere..I've just started taking a few orders and we'll see where that takes me...

D: How long have you been baking for? Have you had formal training?
VR: I have been baking for a little over a year now( started May of last year to be precise). I've never really had formal training as such..pretty much learnt baking on my own through books and Internet blogs:)

D: What is your specialty?
VR: Well, I specialise in cupcakes, cookies and bar desserts..(OK.. bar desserts ! :-) nicee ! )

D: How do you think, as a home baker - this showcase and HBG is helping you?
VR: HBG and the showcase has definately given me and the other bakers a fantastic platform to display our array of delicious desserts and a host of other stuff...Thank you Bala and Nanditha,once again :)

D: Do you have some future plans in baking? like may be opening a store? 
VR: I would love to open a little bakery in the future but as of now I plan to bake only from home..

D: What do you plan to bring to the showcase?
VR: I'm planning on bringing my cupcakes , cookies ,pecan bars & oatmeal fudge bars to name a few:))

Presenting the Sugar Goddess - Vaishnavi Reddy, who, if not a baker, would have been a fitness trainer ! (What a contrast ! :-) )

Meet the Bakers - Monika Manchanda

Today we meet Monika Manchanda of sin-a-mon - yet another multi-talented baker. She loves to eat, read, stand up for women and child rights, dance, play with her son and fight with her husband (not necessarily in that order).

Excerpts:

D: I've been going through your website - sin-a-mon. Is that a twist of cinnamon or is there a reason behind this name? (perhaps Mon for Monika? :-) )
MM: Yes it is, Cinnamon is one of my favorite sweet spices and also something widely used in baking dishes. We tweaked the term a bit and named my start-up Sin-a-mon. Sin for sinning and Mon for the initial letters for my name. 

D: I also see that you have bake sales - saw this from a friend's Facebook page. Can you tell us more about it ?
MM: We did our first bake sale last week and it was really well received. It was basically a two day limited stock sale. There were about 300+ pieces up for sale in four-five variety of goodies. I put up pictures around 3pm and took orders online and within hours of putting it up we were 80% sold out and by next day 11am we were completely sold out. It was really heartwarming to see people putting so much confidence in Sin-A-Mon and me. We intend to have it may be once every 2-3 months. 

D: What got you into baking Monika? Have you been wanting to do this all along in your life? 
MM: While I was growing up I remember my mom making those tutty fruity cakes for us by baking it in the cooker and how excited we would be seeing those cakes. I think the interest in baking was really sparked at that time. As I grew up the interest grew with me but I really explored baking fully once I took a break from my work which was 3.5 years ago to take care of my now 4.5 yr old son, I started baking something almost every week which soon became almost daily and it soon came to point where I would  be looking for people to give my baked goodies to :-) and with that the experiments started getting recorded on the blog, the appreciation and my own passion slowly reiterated my belief that this is what I want to do.

D: What are your specialties? I love the fact that you have some savories on your website. When usually baking always relates to something sweet, it's a refreshing change to see those savory muffins and quiches and pies ! I saw the cheesy muffins. What else do you have from the savory menu?
MM: Sin-A-Mon’s heart warmers as we call them or Sin-A-Mon ‘s most selling items are – Cinnamon Rolls, Garlic Pull Apart Buns, Red Velvet Cupcakes, rum brownies and also those liqueur filled cupcakes and desserts. We also do a lot of artisan breads and frankly those are what give me maximum satisfaction because of multiple reasons - one is what you mentioned…baking is most commonly mistaken to be synonymous with desserts whereas there is so much savory stuff you can do - tarts, breads, pies and muffins to just name a few. In my opinion bread-baking is most rewarding.

D: What's your theme for the showcase?
MM: We are toying with the idea of having the theme as “Monsoon” in the showcase, that would mean a little bit of freshness with the seasonal fruits, some spicy stuff for the monsoon cravings and the some things which make you feel warm – in a nutshell the food that represents monsoon but all baked.

D: Where do you source your ingredients from? 
MM: Most of my ingredients are sourced locally from General Food additives, Spar and Natures Basket but there are some things I still ask my friends to get from outside. Food colors for example, there are just no good quality colors available in India. 


D: How do you think HBG and The Showcase event will help home bakers?
MM: I think the fact that home bakers have a place to showcase their goodies is a great. A medium which can get them to wider audience is a great help to everyone and HBG is more like a community a support where we know we are all there for each other.

D: I also see that you have regular baking workshops. But the site isn't updated later than March? :) When's the next workshop?
MM: Yes we do workshops, infact we just did one on breads on the15th and there is a Baking Basic workshop on 21-22nd July which is overbooked.  Conducting workshops helps me spread the happiness that baking brings. I think I am happiest when I am teaching people how to bake.  You will get regular updates on workshop dates at this link - http://sinamontales.wordpress.com/bake-with-me/ though I must update the website soon too.

That's the multi-talented Monika for you. I ask you, along with the rest of the world - Just how many hours is your day? :-)

Meet the Bakers - Lavanya Lakshmanan

An auditor during the week and a maniac baker during the weekends - Meet Lavanya Lakshmanan - juggling multiple things - and doing each of them absolutely brilliantly. Jack of all trades, master of none - doesn't fit her. Oh yeah - master of all trades she is !

Excerpts:


D: Is there a page where you showcase your creations? an FB page or a website? 
LL: My creations are showcased on my FB profile alone. As I am an amateur baker, I am looking to widen my portfolio first before I give people a taste of what to look forward to from me.

D: When and how did you start baking?
LL: I took a break from work just before marriage. In between jobs, I tried my hand at various interests - right from candle making to gardening. It was then that I chanced upon an old oven belonging to my mother-in-law. This jump-started my interest in baking and the rest, as they say, is history. 

D: What do you specialize in?
LL: I've dabbled in a variety of cakes but I regard themed cupcakes and Cranberry Cookies as my forte.

D: I love the cranberry cookies & cinnamon rolls that you have posted. What do you think about baking being targeted mostly for cakes and sweets? What about savories?
LL: Thanks! And I'm sure you'd love to bite into them too :) I'm not a person who has too much of a sweet tooth and thus, my penchant for trying out cookies and savories. I also experiment on lots of diverse flavors while baking to cater to people with different taste preferences.


D: How do you think HBG and the showcase helps the home bakers?
LL: Meeting up with like minded bake-a-holics would aid in free exchange of ideas and mutual encouragement. As an amateur baker, the opportunity to showcase one's talents does wonders for your confidence. This platform provided by HBG and people like you would definitely help promote my as yet fledgling business and provide wings to reach great heights. (KP, Nanditha - please note this point your honor. Hats off to you guys. I, Deepa, on behalf of all the bakers, bow to thee :-) )

D. What's your theme for the baker showcase? What do you plan to bring?
LL: I intend to bring in a variety of food ranging from cinnamon rolls to tarts. Cupcakes, muffins and cookies would complete this eclectic ensemble. As you see, this does not adhere to any particular theme. I do intend to bring my A-game to the showcase and have something for everyone

Presenting Lavanya Lakshmanan, also a shutterbug and yoga practitioner. Signs off Lavanya, Photography was my first love, now replaced by baking. This tryst with baking has turned my lens away from street photography towards food photography.

Meet the Bakers - Ashwini Radhakrishnan

Meet child psychologist-and-student counselor-turned-baker, the Chennai-Bangalore chica - Ashwini Radhakrishnan. After helping people with their problems all day long, this pretty lady's therapy for herself was Baking. Getting detached from work and doing something completely different, is perhaps the best therapy. I have to agree. 

Excerpts:

D: Having been in Chennai all along, what difference do you see between the 2 cities, in terms of the baking scene, ingredients, market?
AR: Well, I moved to Bangalore only a year ago and with the help of a friend I started gathering info about where I could pick up ingredients. Am still yet to explore a few more markets before I really give my opinion on this aspect.

My favorite place to shop for ingredients is still Waltax Rd, Chennai. They keep upgrading their selection and give you suggestions, which I feel is great.

From the little that I’ve seen, I feel there is not much of a difference in terms of availability of ingredients between the two cities.

D: Do you have a day job or is baking full time?
AR: This is more or less my full time job. I enjoy being a homemaker and baking being my hobby and passion has motivated me to pursue this commercially as well.

D: Do you have a FB page or a website where you showcase your goodies to the public? 
AR: I have not advertised as yet, but FB is definitely on the charts. 

D: How do you think, HBG and the showcase, will help the home baker in you?
AR: I believe the Home Bakers Guild is a good platform to promote home bakers like myself who are just starting off. In a new city it's definitely a huge catalyst to exchange ideas with other bakers and meeting prospective clients.

D: What's your theme for this showcase? What do you plan to bring to appease us sweet toothies?

AR: To be very honest I have not really worked on a theme. I love trying out new recipes and also challenge myself to create something new. So, guess you sweet toothies can definitely look forward to something different. Come see!!

When she's not baking, she does some sketching and also accompanies her husband, Conan Dumenil, on nature tours and camps. Conan's company aims at creating awareness on nature conservation.

(Psst: She first sent me a picture of herself and later decided to change it, because she wanted to be seen along with her cakes :P )

Meet the bakers - Vaishali Maniar

I'm kick starting the Bangalore Chapter of "Meet the bakers" with the one who has initiated this event in namma Bengaluru. Meet Vaishali Maniar of Crumbs, the Bombay girl, who still hasn't surrendered her Mumbai cell phone number, because she is still clutching the last straw (says her husband - Prithivi Rajaram, a Tamilian,  from whom she claims she's getting all her Tamil accent!)

Excerpts:

D: You've been baking since you were a teenager. What are the memories of your first cake?
VM: My grand mom is a super awesome cook and makes the most amazing moong dal sheera. Her birthday was around the corner and I wanted to do something very special for her.  Being a Jain, she would not eat a cake from an outside bakery.I used to bake brownies then, however had never tried my hand at baking a cake. Hence, my very first cake was ‘born’!

D: What do you miss most about Mumbai?
VM: Oh, I miss everything about Bombay (yes, I still call it Bombay), my family,the liveliness, the buzz, the spirit, street shopping at Colaba Causeway, the chaos, the fact that you could walk on the street at 11 pm and not feel insecure… the list is endless. I am and will always be a Bombay girl :-) (I have to agree with Vaishali on that score, having lived in Mumbai for an year, I still miss that crazy city)

D: How do you find the dessert / baking scene in Bangalore?
VM: Baking is a great stress buster!  It is amazing how simple ingredients such as butter, flour and sugar can result in some amazing creations. The fact that we have 15 home bakers plus others who are wait listed to be a part of the Showcase, shows how popular the home baking scene is in Bangalore. The other day when I met all the participants, there was a feeling of bonhomie. We spoke about how we dreamed about dessert recipes and very often, find ourselves waiting for any occasion which will serve as an excuse to bake!

D: Where do you source your ingredients from?
VM: I source most of my ingredients locally from Nilgiris, IBCA, General Additives and Spar.

D: What's your specialty in baking?
VM: My specialties are the gooey fudgy brownies and the zesty orange cake. The zesty orange cake made without any preservatives, oozes of fresh orange flavour-  it is a must have, if I may say so myself :) (OK, I have started drooling now and the picture Bala posted isn't helping my case - Aug 4th - where art thou - sigh! )

D: What's your theme for this showcase?
VM: I have decided to go with fruit flavours and of course I will be bringing along my famous gooey fudgy brownies (you can never go wrong with chocolate).

Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting Vaishali Maniar - Look at her, proudly drooling at her own cakes! Oh yeah, she hits the gym trying to shed the weight she gains by sampling all her creations. She also dabbles in content writing in her free time. 

Meet the Bakers - Bangalore

Close on the heels of the roaring success of the Chennai edition of The Baker Showcase, Home Bakers Guild presents to you the Bangalore Edition of this event. With 15 participants and less than a month to go, all we can do at this moment is drool over the photographs of these divine-awesome-lovely-yummy goodies.

Follow the event here - https://www.facebook.com/events/444591822227990/


If you are in Chennai, pack your bags and bring your sweet tooth to the Garden City of India, namma Bengaluru. Trust me, it will be a weekend worth its weight in cakes. 


If you are already in Bengaluru, you'd still need to beat the traffic to reach here on time. From my past experience with the Chennai event, it's perfectly alright to say that the early bird gets the cakes. If I were you, I'd be at the venue an hour earlier ! ;-)


Keep watching this space for interviews on our bakers and the exotic goodies they are going to bring to the showcase !


August 4 it is, at Atta Galatta, Koramangala. Map below ! See you soon !


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Azzuri Bay - Romancing the food !

The diners club, CFG met for yet another brilliant dinner - loads of food, laughter and goodies.

What started off with some delicious super spicy thai soup, with coconut milk, galangal and lemongrass and sent everyone spluttering and gasping, ended on a sweet note, with some fried ice cream, banana toffee and of course, the brandy cream with fresh fruits - which got the ladies slightly tipsy - oh how much we laughed.

And let's see what happened in between.

Note: This post is not going to have any photographs, my camera battery konked off, and Aswin, as usual, forgot his. Jai did lend us his Sony digital camera, but then we were all more intent on eating than shooting. 


Update: I did manage to get Aswin to do some photographs of the goodie bag and the menu card. And no, I am not giving him any credits here (only because he didn't want me to)

Jai Punjabi, gracious host, doesn't fail to appreciate other restaurants' good food. Now that's a sign of a true restaurateur. (Too bad Junior Kuppanna is predominantly non-veg :-( ) As we all went through a round of introductions, settled in our seats and rolling our eyes at the huge menu card placed in front of us, I was delighted because this custom menu put together for the Diners Club, was an equal opportunity treat ! There were as many dishes in the vegetarian menu, as in the non-vegetarian category. This always makes me grin ear to ear. (Ganesh Jayaraman - take note :-) )

3 starters - veg gold bag, steamed momos, and vegetable murtabak - every dish had unique flavors; Personally I loved the momo (because it's steamed and not fried - health conscious you see) - with the three sauces - peanut, sweet chilli and a mango. My mint sauce never turned up though. I wanted to have my momos with mint sauce (or chutney)


A head count for welcome drink was on - Pina Colada or Thai Iced Tea - Bala started counting - the count went - Thai Iced Tea to Pina Colada - 4-2, 5-2, 6-2, and Avanti suddenly yelled - me too ! ROFL moment !

A few words on the Thai Iced Tea - condensed milk, infused with tea, with loads of lemon grass and a stalk peeping out like a straw - excellent. I am not too fond of pineapple and generally find anything to do with pineapple too sweet for my liking. So no comment there.

Conversation ranged from Nigella's antics on screen (the queen of food porn), Seema delighting us with her performance of Nigella, (and so did Ali), and Erica's witty comments, CFG 8th anniversary plans, to rice stuffed in dogs (*puke puke*)

Bala skipped some main courses to attack the dessert, but I was intent on tasting all the items on the menu.

The salad was a combination of tofu and cucumber and cabbage, and it was warm - funny in a way - I've never had warm salad. Let's say - I am not a big fan of this.

The main course started off with roti-canai (yes that's one dish), sort of like a parotta, nan and roti combined and rolled into one, served with basil tofu (fresh tofu tossed in thai basil, garlic, onions).  It felt like I was eating chapati with dry cabbage sabzi. Though I loved the flavors of basil, I didn't think it made a good combination with the roti-canai. Usually, as Ali said, we like rotis with a nice gravy :D :D (talk of tastebuds :P)


The next one was Singapore Chilli noodles with Beijing Machurian - I had 2 helpings - loved it. The vegetable balls were tender, well soaked in the gravy. 


The main course ended with herb rice served with penang curry (combination of cinnamon and cloves with coconut milk, galangal, onions and lime). We did think it was raw and needed a little more tempering. (On that note, Thank you Jai for the penang curry paste as part of goodie bag) The penang curry was served quite late, by which time, I'd eaten the herb rice with the Beijing Manchurian.

We decided to take walk before dessert, as the food was too heavy and we needed to jazz up some space in the tummy. As we headed down, it started raining, and we ran back inside. And surprise surprise, it stopped raining ! HUH So much for deciding to take a walk.

The dessert platter came on - 3 items on the menu - fresh fruits with brandy cream, banana tossed in caramel and served with ice cream, garnished with sesame seeds and fried ice cream. Pick of the lot,  was the fresh fruits with brandy cream. I didn't quite like the banana tossed in caramel - I mean, it's me, not the dish. The fried ice-cream was good but perhaps it had melted by the time they plated up 10 plates.

We were all stuffed. It was a happy evening for the heart, soul and tummy. What a way to spend an evening - Totally delighted.

Jai handed out the goodie bags, and we were kicked like little kids receiving prizes. It had a nice statue of Buddha, a jar of penang curry paste and a gift voucher (Jai - sneaky you - you made sure we'll come back again :P )

A big thumbs up ! I only wish I really could see the sea (instead of having someone tell me - can you see there - that's the beach - it sort of felt like a Tambrahm wedding where the bride has to step on the ammi kallu and then she'll be asked to see the "Arundathi" star which obviously one cannot see in the day time, and they'd show it from some random window, and you won't even know which direction to look at! :P :P You just nod your head, so as to not be embarrassed ;-) )


Good show Jai Punjabi. Take a bow. I did hear a lot of good feedback from many friends, and some not-so-good from a few others but honestly, I truly enjoyed the evening and will come back again, perhaps armed with my camera to do some lovely shots of your place and the food !

Dum-a-Dum Mast Kalandar !

Yet another CFG Showcase, this time at Mast Kalandar, Besant Nagar. I've been to Mast Kalandar in Velachery a million times; R and I love this place. So when CFG decided to do a showcase here, I couldn't say no ! (Ever since Nishanth said Mast Kalandar, I'd been humming this Runa Laila number - Dum-a-dum mast kalandar, ali dum dum de andar)

It was the usual gang - Aswin, Sathish, Bharani, Ganesh, Roshan and Karthi. (Kamalika I hope you are alright girl. You were missed.)


MastK (on twitter) is an authentic North Indian restaurant serving combo meals. They have 4 branches and intend to open 15 more in Chennai. There are 34 branches all over India. 


Steve is the manager in charge of all Chennai branches and we discussed everything under the sun related to restaurants - why home deliveries are getting affected, staffing, salary for the staff, why unions aren't possible here. We'd already planned in advance as to what needs to be served. We decided, since the menu is exhaustive, the CFGians would be given a little of everything.  And Steve also had a brilliant brainwave. He said he'd set up a separate table for the photo shoot. So we could eat first and then shoot later. Knowing this gang, I said we'd better shoot first and eat later ;-) (Aswin - stealing your caption on my photo here).  This went well with all of us because usually the table is a chaos with cameras flashing around, while some of them would want to eat. 


As people slowly trickled in, Steve explained what we were going to eat, and the dishes were brought to the table. There was a little bit of every item on the menu, and yet, the tummy was delighted. The food here not only tingles your taste buds, but is easy on the stomach and wallet. 


The combo meals and free home delivery (around a radius of 3 km) is the highlight. Also, the USP of this place is that there are no additives, preservatives, artificial coloring, soda or any such thing that'll upset the stomach. The masala comes from specific places


Lassi, and Chaas (Aswin - note - there's nothing called Chassi :P) made way to the table. This was followed by hara bhara kebab, veg sheekh kebab and paneer tikka. The hara bhara kebab was luscious, and truly delicious. Surprisingly the mint chutney was super spicy.

On the chaat platter (All - please note - it's not chat it's chaat) was dahi papdi chaat and hot and spicy tikki platter. I wonder why it was called hot and spicy because at some point, I did taste a bit of sweetness. 

That done, the main course - and this was huge - paraded on the table. Aloo paranthas, Aloo do pyaza, lachcha paranthas, Missi roti, jowari roti, palak matar, mix veg sabzi, raita, salad, pulao and biriyani. (Whew, I'm full just by reciting what was on the customized menu for us). In general, I thought the dishes were a little too salty (perhaps the kala namak?). BTW, the pulao was perfect, it doesn't need to be cooked more - Steve & Aswin - that's how it's served :)

Everything went through a few rounds on our taste buds, and we were ready for dessert.

Ganesh ordered the masala cola, and I was all too curious to look at the fizz. It's a childish fascination to watch the cola fizz up when the chaat masala gets added. And when I tried to take a sip, I started sneezing badly, for I had inhaled the masala ! DUH !

Ever since I knew it was Mast kalandar, my taste buds were screaming malpua. And MastK didn't fail on that score. It was as perfect as it should be. The rabdi was absolutely delicious, not too sweet , and the malpua just melted in the mouth. The gulab jamun was slightly on the sweeter side but the carrot halwa (off the menu) was just perfect.

As we wound up for the usual group photograph, there was a total sense of contentment among the group. They were purring like well fed kittens. (and that reminds me - Aswin - did you buy whiskas and feed the kittens?)

As the class dispersed with cheer claps, Cycle Jackson (aka Bharani) was explaining all his biking expeditions and home work was assigned to everyone.

Boys, I am done with my homework. Please don't copy, else I will tell to Nishanth and Ali ! :P