Meet the Bakers - Ayeesha Riaz

As the Showcase nears, here's a post from the pearl city, Tuticorin!

A little tête-à-tête with Ayeesha:

D: Pearl CDC?
A: Yeah, I hail from Tuticorin. Hence the name Pearl and CDC denotes cakes, desserts and cookies :)

D: So how did baking happen?
A: I got married right after graduation (BE EEE) and moved to UK. That's where the culinary journey began. Along with the basic cooking like rice and curries, I also had some interest towards baking.  I always enjoyed the cooking shows in UK, watching Celebrity Chef's, the way they cook, mix, using different kitchen gadgets, their techniques just wowed me.  That's how my interest towards baking started.  As long as I lived in UK I didn't try to make that a business, it was always for friends and family.  I have also baked for charity.

D: There are some amazing photographs on your blog!
A: Taste Of Pearl City is my own blog in which I blog about food, food, food so it's about food only.  I started that blog only for my passion for cooking, which opened up so many new windows for me like food photography and now this home baking too.

D: What is your favorite when it comes to cakes?
A: If there is any special occasion,  Chocolate fudge cake is a must there, it's nothing but moist chocolate cake layered with rich chocolate cream and topped with ganache.  With tea, it's always been carrot cake.  My husband's favourite would be Cappuccino Slices.  Something which I liked the most from my baked goodies would be Japanese Cotton Cheesecake and I always love the smell of freshly baked bread especially when it has garlic and cinnamon.  Oh My! That aroma is magical.

D: Your thoughts on HBG?
A:  I have to say it's a great platform for bakers with a wealth of thoughts and ideas.  I always enjoyed the discussion in HBG, like the doubts they get in baking or how to deal with the customers. Simple conversations like these would help beginners in home baking.  HBG has created a space and a recognition for home bakers.  I'm glad to be part of this lovely group.

Watch out for Ayeesha's specials only at the Baker Showcase!

Darios - Cook with Love!

A vegetarian's delight - and when I say that, I mean a vegetarian who wouldn't even touch egg! To start with, none of their dishes have egg - not the pasta, not the desserts. And, they can customize your dishes to not include garlic.

This 130-seater restaurant located in one of the poshest localities of Chennai, boasts of a Sicilian cuisine and already has 2 outlets in Pune.

We were seated outside and surprisingly there were no mosquitoes.

The menu that Suresh, CEO, Darios, had put up for this showcase was quite extensive. I was the first one from the group to reach the place, and got a quick view of the rooms and the open kitchen. Suresh promised a kitchen tour but I guess we were too busy eating :-)

While at this, I must say that the Moroccan Mint tea was absolutely stunning. This simple clear hot liquid not only cleansed the palate but also soothed the stomach. Please make this your must order when you visit this place! Highly recommended.

I go on to mention the dishes, in no particular order (as at this point, I don't quite remember in which order they came)

Starters:

Funghi Darios: Whole Roasted Mushrooms with lemon, garlic, parsley and extra virgin olive oil. This one was brilliant, but I really couldn't quite catch the citrus flavor as the garlic overpowered everything.

Polpette Di Spinaci E Formaggio: Spinach and fresh cheese balls served with a spinach cheese dip. If you love spinach and if you love cheese, go for this one! However the oil smelt a little funny today. (May be just a one off?)

Antipasto Siciliano: Sicilian platter with cheese, olives, sundried tomatoes, roasted peppers, pickled onions, roasted aubergines and home made bread. The chilli stuffed olives are a spice lovers delight. The gorgonzola cheese (an acquired taste perhaps) was a tad salty but hey, it was just too good to be eaten on its own! The bread was soft and fresh, and made for a perfect accompaniment.

Assorted bruschetta: My pick was the goat cheese and roasted zucchini. The sun dried tomato pate was a tad strong and spicy for my liking.

Salad:

Aranciazola: Mixed salad leaves, fresh orange, gorgonzola, olives and herbs - A fresh salad with a hint of citrus from the orange but what makes this a killer salad is the gorgonzola.

Verdure Grigalate: Warm mixed vegetables (potatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, onions and carrots) - This was yum on its own but again, a hint of gorgonzola and it just elevated the flavor of the vegetables.


Pizza:

Carduni: Mozarella, artichokes, mushrooms, garlic, olives, broccoli and sun dried tomatoes.I absolutely loved it, more for the fact that it had a good amount of those bright green broccoli pieces :D

Stromboli: Mozarella, red chilli, spinach and tomatoes: What I really loved about these thin crust pizzas were that they didn't stoop or sag or become soggy. They held their head high and were crunchy till the last bite.

Risotto and Pasta: 

Risottoragli Asparagi: Asparagus, cream and cheese - By far the best risotto I've eaten. It was slightly high on garlic but if you love a good risotto, then this is the one!

Risotto Siciliana: Tomato sauce based risotto with aubergines, red chilli, oregano, capers and cheese - Not my favorite!

Risotto Al Funghi Porcini: Mushrooms & garlic cream cheese - If you love a good mushroom, this is one to pick!

Ravioli Kamarina: Home made ravioli stuffed with spinach & cheese, served with tomatoes, chickpeas, rosemary, smashed peas and cream. By this time, we were stuffed and could only take spoonfuls to taste.

The other dishes in this category included Fussili Vitale (Fresh tomato, garlic, sun dried tomato and mushrooms), Tortellini formaggi and funghi (pasta parcels stuffed with mushrooms and cheese), crespelle al funghi (baked pancakes with mushrooms, garlic, tomatoes, cheese and peas). The baked pancakes were good but attempting to taste the sauce alone didn't do too much good. It has to be eaten along with the pancake.

And finally, it was time for dessert. How much ever you eat, there's always space for dessert and I mean always!

Desserts

Eggless tiramisu - very low on alcohol and coffee - not exactly a tiramisu but let's say a decent variation of the actual!

Pannacotta - Typical :) The crunchy slices of apple on the side added a nice texture to the dish!

Lemon cheese cake: My pick of the lot - The mild tang of the lemon and the soft cheese cake, when eaten along with the lemon rind - is a different experience altogether.

Erupting chocolate and chocolate brownie served with chocolate ice cream - Now I thought that would be a chocolate overdose but surprisingly it was quite pleasing on the palate!

As we stood up, completing a wonderful meal, I sure gained a few pounds! The love in their cooking certainly shows :)

** This meal is part of CFG Showcase. 

** A meal for two would cost you around INR 1200.

** Darios is off Kasturi Ranga Road, Near Aswini Soundra Nursing Home, Poes Garden.  - http://www.darios.in

Please follow Food and all - https://www.facebook.com/Foodandall to keep yourself updated

Meet the Bakers - Girija Menon

A mother of 2 wonderful daughters, one a star baker herself (Nanditha Sashidharan), I am very pleased to introduce to you all - the lady that completes the trio of The Soul Food Sisters - Girija Menon.

Before we read on, a quick note on The Soul Food Sisters - Tasneem Ayub, Sara Koshy and Girija Menon comprise this trio of Hot Mommas (Oh that was the initial name). They are also called KP's Angels ;-) But my favorite name for these three talented bakers / chefs is the name put forth by Sandesh Reddy - Bake Maamis. Why, Oh Why, isn't this name the official one! *grins devilishly*

In conversation with Girija Menon:

D: A star baker for a daughter :-)
G: Quite happy to rest on her laurels.  Yes, this time it is more of a challenge as I cannot piggyback onto Sugar Hut :D

D: So, what are you bringing to the showcase?
G: Quiches, both the classic and a mushroom one, date cream cheese pie, apple strudel muffins, a Mediterranean roasted vegetable lasagna, etc.

D: So, how did baking come into being?
G: After I got married I moved to Ras Al Khaimah, a sleepy emirate (UAE).  It was history repeating itself as there were no proper restaurants or bakeries.So, following family tradition I decided to make my own cakes as the ones that were available constituted a gateau of sorts with the famous 'Dream Whip' and some tinned fruit. So, began my tryst with baking.  My girls used to come up with these impossible demands -castle, train, Disney land, farm , etc. I remember Nanditha crying to me as her friend said that the Dennis the Menace cake didn't look like him. Haha! Planning birthday parties for over 50 people was quite a challenge and since I had to do it all by myself, I had to have a complete schedule. I have to say it was enjoyable as it gave me a chance to try out different things. After the girls stopped having birthday parties , it was more of tarts, pies, etc. But I loved trying crazy things like make my own sun dried (oven) tomatoes, harvested from my garden and making pesto. My idea of unwinding on a weekend was to try different kinds of cuisines, Italian being my most favourite. The taste of olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, basil.... has my senses reeling.

D: So, other than baking what do you do?
G: Gardening, reading, amateur dramatics, tennis, and my latest one is dabbling in aromatherapy.

That's the pretty momma with her prettier daughters. Can you believe Girija Menon, in her first attempt at baking, forgot to add baking powder to the cake mix? :) And, she loves watching movies - top of her list being The King's Speech and Barfi!

Please follow Food and All - https://www.facebook.com/Foodandall - page on Facebook and stay tuned for updates

Meet the Bakers - Sara Koshy

I should perhaps title this post - Meet the Expert (or MasterChef) :-). I've been part of a couple of her cooking classes (Desserts Delight and a trial class) and she made some of the complicated desserts seemingly very simple.

So I shot her some questions and here they are!

D: A little bit about your family?
S: Engineer husband but he now works in an university. My son is in the hospitality industry but no, not cooking. They are not just my guinea pigs but also my harshest critics.

D: Cooking / Baking - The how and why?
S: It was the cookery classes in school that got me interested, my mother is a fabulous cook and I learnt a lot from her. The interest in baking was because of a young man with magic in his fingers who taught me the basics and got me interested in chocolate work. I learnt cake decorating from Shyamala Sivaraman and also did a few courses in Singapore.

D: Do you remember the first class you conducted?
S: Yes I do and was so nervous, that I was relieved when it was over!

D: What's your favorite dessert?
S: I love mousse cakes and pralet. And I love to conduct dimsum and Chinese classes.

D: Hobbies (and no, not cooking / baking)?
S: In my past life, I was an English teacher and then a copy editor. Mindless, unlimited TV viewing if I could. I used to be a voracious reader but not anymore. I'm one of those people who can't put down a book until I've finished reading it. Not good for business so now it's only the newspapers.

D: What's your advice for budding bakers?
S: Follow recipes, use the best ingredients and always keep your workspace and kitchen clean.

D: Your shot glass classes are quite famous! 
S: Yes, it took me a year to come up with that class. I needed recipes that could be made round the year. So much trial and error went into this one course. And the tasting- ugh- all that sugar! But I guess the result was sweet.

D: A few words on HBG?
S: One day I found that my nephew had signed me on. My day now begins and ends with HBG. It's resource-centric and absolutely amazing to see the wealth of talent on it.

If you want your wish to come true, don't miss Sara's Christmas Bake classes. One of the recipes, the Christmas pudding, requires everyone in the house to stir the pudding and make a wish. Few months later, two of them called Sara to tell her that their wish had come true! Incredible, isn't it? :)

Sara's blog is at http://www.baketales.com/.

To keep yourself updated, please follow the Food and All - https://www.facebook.com/Foodandall page on Facebook.

Meet the Bakers - Divya Ninan-Eapen

Tonight's episode features another favorite baker of mine - the pretty-eyed ever-smiling Divya Ninan-Eapen of Tangerine's Kitchen

In conversation with Divya

DI: Tangerine - a name that I really love! Why did you pick out this name?
DN: I have had a food blog since 2007 that goes by the name Tangerine's Kitchen. That was my space where I had all the freedom to express my views regarding recipes handed to me, recipes from books and the web that have been tried and tested in my kitchen. I have also done book reviews which publishers have sent me. Along came baking on a commercial scale and I stuck on with the name. Tangerine because I love the colour.

DI: Your daughter also helps you in the kitchen?
DN: Yes, she is my little helper when I bake. She helps me with lining my cupcake trays when I get these bulk orders,counting the numbers and the little jobs that come with baking commercially.

DI: I've seen some of the sarees you've painted. Is that a hobby?
DN: Oh no! That's full time. I have a studio called "Rachel", based at my home. We design Indian textiles. Handpainting on sarees and dupattas is just one of the many work that we do on textiles. Ever since I got done with my Masters in Fine Arts, I have been a Textile Designer freelancing for handloom companies.

DI: Wow! So when does baking happen?
DN:  I find time for baking amidst my work. Baking keeps my work stress at bay. I knead bread to vent out all the frustrations that come with work.

DI: I met you first at the "Bake for Sandys" event. You stole our hearts & palates. :)
DN: Ah yes! It was an event that I read on the guild. It was a should I or shouldn't I thing considering the number of talented home bakers we have in Chennai. A dear person in my life told me, opportunity seldom knocks twice! But even when I reached Sandys the cakes that the other bakers had brought - all frosted and dressed well gave me the assurance I had no hope. But I won. Two of my bakes, Lemon blueberry yoghurt cake and the Lamingtons of the three I took were chosen and the rest is history.

DI: How has HBG inspired you in creating new recipes?
DN: A lot. Rather than recipes, I would say a source of inspiration for ideas and help. I always twist a recipe to suit my palate. Because I know that recipes you find in books and on the web always have that secret ingredient that is not revealed.

DI: What do you specialize in?
DN:  Homemade bread, quiches, pies, cookies and cakes or to sum it up, simple homely comfort food! Dips, sauces and preserves too.

Divya  wants to someday have a store that resmebles the British cottages something like those at her hometown - Nilgiris. A store for her textiles with a dainty little cafe for her homebaked goodness.

Psst: she still gets calls asking if this is Tangerine restaurant! Wonder how she handles them with all the patience in the world! :)

For updates follow the Food and All - https://www.facebook.com/Foodandall page on Facebook.

Meet the Bakers - Tasneem Ayub

Wasn't I waiting for this opportunity! To write about one of my favorite people, an amazing cook, a very warm and humble person, eager to learn even at this age, a wonderful human being who has no airs despite what she has achieved; I've been one of the fortunate recipients of her love and affection (and chiding too at times), not to mention the yummy food each time I dropped by announced / unannounced.

Oh! did I mention her amazing sense of fashion? You have to see her closet to believe it!

In conversation with Tasneem Aunty (as she's fondly called)

D: A little bit about your family, Aunty?
T: My father was a businessman and my mother was the HOD (Eng Literature) and later the principal of Ethiraj College. I am the youngest of 7 :)

D: So when did your initiation into cooking happen?
T: I perhaps learnt to hold a ladle even before I learnt to read / write :). The 11 am meal used to be my favorite; I used to cook up a storm making lamb chops in a mud pot and all this was made on firewood.

D: Your inspiration?
T: My mother, most definitely; She would ensure that we always ate healthy with the choicest fresh ingredients; She'd sometimes source the products herself and prepare the best food for us. Then, my brother who was a big foodie and a great cook himself, was a big influence on my cooking. My brothers and sisters who always used to bully me around and make me do all the work ;-) . And of course, my husband and son who are the guinea pigs for all my recipe trials. Not to mention, Sandhesh Reddy, Chef and entrepreneur!

D: Wow! That's some inspiration. So what are your passions other than cooking?
T: I love gardening and love to potter around. (Psst: She's crazy about collecting some lovely cutlery and crockery. The collection is so huge that you could almost display them in a museum)

D: Your husband - Ayub uncle and your son Feroze are racers, national champions! What's the dinner table conversation like?
T: Ha ha! Do you even need to ask! Of course, it's CARS.

D: Oh! But I remember uncle said in an interview on Star Sports, that you always talk about food at the dinner table! 
T: Haha! It's always cars and it annoys me to no end! My yelling falls on deaf ears :-(

D: What's your forte as far as cooking is concerned?
T: My forte has been biriyanis and the typical muslim sweets / desserts. This Ramzan I'd made 12 different varieties!

D: How has HBG inspired you?
T: If not for KP who nudged me into this, this would have never happened! :)

Tasneem Aunty is also a big fan of organic food and AMC cookware. She'd applied for catering college, but the conservative family background made her mother hide the acceptance form! ;-) 

She also blogs at http://ammeeskitchen.blogspot.in and http://theeffervescentcook.blogspot.in

To taste the amazing badam sweet and khajur made by Tasneem Aunty, please come to the Baker Showcase on Feb 2nd.

Please follow the Food and All - https://www.facebook.com/Foodandall page to keep yourself updated!

Meet the Bakers - Cheshta Malik

The next episode of Meet the Bakers features Choco-lately yours - Cheshta Malik. Well, that's how she signs off her emails :) I had the opportunity to meet this warm and vivacious baker over a food walk last weekend!

In conversation with Cheshta Malik

D: Sweet Story?
C: The Sweet Story was born out of our passion n love for food by the bonfire on a holiday. We started in December 2012.. So we're fairly young. Travel follows closely behind food in our list of passions in life. On our journeys we love to experiment with food and get our hands on exotic ingredients. To be able to use these ingredients and present our versions of various foods to the world was also one of the pushes for the sweet story's birth! ;)

D: What do you specialize in?
C: We specialize in hand crafted customized gourmet chocolates,flavored and filled. Themed chocolates with toppers is our USP! Our menu also includes desserts, cupcakes n a few savory goodies. We love to dabble in untried waters, hence you'll find some quirky but nonetheless delicious combinations on our menu.

D: You did a soft launch at Pizza Republic sometime last month.
C: Oh yes! The launch itself was a great opportunity where we got amazing response from CFGians and PR walk-in customers. Orders started coming in n we had our hands full over Christmas.

D: You went on air with RJ Sano. How was the experience?
C: Though I was a little concerned since there was no briefing about the show, it actually turned about to be exciting and a lot of fun as it allowed me to speak naturally and just enjoy the whole experience.

D: How has HBG and the showcase helped you with the sweet story?
C: HBG has been absolutely great - an inspiration, a place to learn and connect with others in the trade. It totally rocks!

D: A hotelier for a husband. What does it feel like, especially with your baking? ;-) (Abhijit works with Hilton and I had the opportunity to meet him as well! )
C: He is my full-time taster, my sound board, my motivation and my strength. :-)

D: And how about the little one? How do you manage the baking?
C: My son is now two years old and the hardest part about the job is to keep his hands off the goodies! Though it sometimes is a challenge to work, but I manage to find my way around, working when he's sleeping or keeping him occupied otherwise when I'm busy.

Am ex-banker, a MBA in HR and Marketing, Cheshta also writes about food and travel for travel magazines. She enjoys cooking, eating, painting and loves anything creative. 

Come and be a part of the sweet story, at the baker showcase, on Feb 2, 2013. See below for a small sample on what you can expect at the showcase!

To keep yourself updated, please follow us on Food and all - https://www.facebook.com/Foodandall, on Facebook

Meet the Bakers - Karthika Shravanthi

As we move into the next season of the Baker Showcase, we bring you a scoop on each of the most talented and creative bakers who are taking part in this showcase. We continue the tradition and today's blog post will feature perhaps the youngest baker in this showcase - Bakeman aka Karthika Shravanthi.

In conversation with Karthika, who graduated last year from SSN College of Engineering

D: Bakeman - A big batman fan? :)
K: I started learning baking during the time when The Dark Knight Rises movie released! Plus I am a Nolan fan :D When I posted the pictures on FB , I named the album Bakeman Begins , which eventually became the name of my home baked goodies :)

D: You are open only on weekends and Mondays. What's the funda?
K:  I work as a Software Engineer in Bangalore. I travel to Chennai every weekend. More like a weekend entrepreneur. So Bakeman Begins is my weekend work :) Like most of them, I am also a midnight baker. I make use of that 48 hrs(weekend) to the fullest ! I start baking as early as 4 30 am just after reaching Chennai from Bangalore :P

D: How has Home Bakers Guild and this showcase helped you in your baking / promoting your business?
K: Home Bakers Guild is all the reason I am on Facebook. I always say, I log in to FB to check out HBG more than my profile :D. HBG is a wealth of knowledge and experience. Tons of thanks to KP for that. Because of HBG , my learning curve that taken a steep rise. It is such an inspiration.

I am also extremely thankful to 2 people at this point. Marina Charles (My first Baking Instructor ) and Joonie Tan for making me who I am today.

D: A  bit about your dancing?
K: I started learning Bharatnatyam at the age of 9. I did my Arangetram when I was 13. Regular performer in Natyanjali Dance festival ,Chidambaram till I graduated. I was expecting to have a career in dance, but later my focus shifted to work in Bangalore.

D: And your first commercial order would be?
K: This Diwali was the first time when I decided I would put up a menu and take bulk orders from friends, family & colleagues. Trust me I had no idea how much effort it required single-handedly finishing up all the promised orders. I applied for a couple of days off from work and traveled to Chennai (carrying all the necessary ingredients) that I usually buy from Bangalore. When I consolidated all the orders, I realized that except for 2-3 orders all of them were for my colleagues in Bangalore. I burnt my midnight oil and managed to whip up about 80 muffins, 50 cake pops , a hundred cookies, tartlets and kilos of sponges. I still cant believe I brought them all to Bangalore all by myself. Many thanks to the SRM bus driver who helped me with it ! :)

A huge Dexter and Nolan fan, from my alma mater, I am super happy to know that Karthika and I have quite a bit in common :)

Look foward to your yummilicious goodies very soon - at The Baker Showcase!









And if you want to grab some of those mouth watering delicacies, please drop in to Asan Memorial School on Feb 2nd between 2 and 6 pm!

Stay tuned to Food and All - https://www.facebook.com/Foodandall - for more updates.

The Baker Showcase Chennai - Season 3

The Baker Showcase is back - in a bigger and better avatar. 14 bakers, some who have wowed us already and some who'll make us swoon this time will be part of 2013's first showcase.

This is the 3rd showcase in Chennai, and 4th overall. For details please check out the following posts

Chennai Season 1
Bangalore Season 1
Chennai Season 2

The showcase is on the 2nd of Feb 2013, at Asan Memorial School Grounds, Egmore. Don't miss it!

The event page is here - https://www.facebook.com/events/387203381372565/?fref=ts

And directions to the venue here


View Larger Map


And keep watching this space for the Meet the Baker series!

Adyar-Tiruvanmiyur Food Walk - Epic!

After the Mylapore Food Walk last week, I was quite eager for the next edition - Adyar-Tiruvanmiyur. An impressive lunch at a friend's place left me thinking if I'd ever be able to eat anything at this food walk. Fortunately, the long walk ensured that I didn't have to worry too much and I was careful to not eat everything that I saw. I had miniscule portions and my intention was to interact with the people who turned up.

Stop 1: Thirumala cutlet stall - right next to Adyar Bakery on Sardar Patel Road. (Lifestyle, Shakes and Creams). For a group of 24, 15 cutlets, 300 gm pakoda and about 10 bajjis - the bill totalled to 199. The cutlets were soft on the inside, and crunchy on the outside, the pakoda fresh and crisp. 

Stop 2: Coronet Juice Center - right at the corner. The Sharjah milk shake is supposed to be killer here - with frozen milk, dates and bananas - it's supposed to cause a momentary brain freeze. I quite didn't like the taste of this or the strawberry flavored one but the falooda was excellent with fresh fruits and mild sweetness. Cost about 480 for a group of 24 - with about 4 sharjah shakes, a couple of faloodas and 2 strawberry shakes.

Stop 3: This entailed a long round about walk to the Adyar Telephone Exchange - via Ramkay agencies. Sri Lakshmi Sagar Hotel. This place is quite old and one of the places that let patrons dunk their idlis in a sea of sambar and eat with much relish. For our table, 4 plates of idli sambar and 2 coffees - Rs 120.

From there, it was an adventure of sorts as 11 of us suddenly decided to hop into a 47A that stopped at the signal and head to Tiruvanmiyur while the rest of them broke their heads on how to reach there! :P

Stop 4: Sri Krishna Tiffin Center at the end of Chitrakulam Street, Near Marundeeswarar Temple. This place is famous for their vadai and getti chutney (thick coconut chutney). And they were surprised to see a bunch of girls and guys walking in with huge cameras and appetites. Food started flowing in. Parottas, set dosais + vadacurry, vadai chutney, chapati kurma, podi dosai - burrppppp! This is by far the best eatery in all these years of my street food eating. The vada curry was top class and the parotta was super soft and required no side dish! An overall bill for god knows how many of all those mentioned above would have touched Rs 500.

Stop 5:  Juice Tree near Marundeeswarar Temple. The guys ordered some juice to refresh while some of us just stretched our legs. This has been an excellent day. I sampled some kiwi juice and an eight fruit zinger - I loved both! 

An overall average of INR 100 per person, on this lovely Food Walk. Don't miss it next time! 

To keep yourself updated, please follow the Food and All page on Facebook. 

Evergreen Bhindi - Bhindi masala

If there's one vegetable that I can eat salted and roasted with minimal oil, no other spice added, it's bhindi. My fondness for bhindi (or okra or vendakka) does NOT stem from the childhood gyan of mooLai valarum (sharper brains). I love the color, the vibrancy and it's texture (which is most often that not, grossly mis-cooked)

Here's what I made for lunch today. Quick, simple and tastes divine.

Ingredients:

Bhindi - washed and cut into 1" pieces - 200 gm
Cashewnuts - 4 -5 - ground coarse
Shallots (Madras sambar onion) - 5 - 6 - peeled
Onion - 1 small - chopped
Tomato - 1 - pureed
Green chili - 2
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

1/4 tsp each of the below
Turmeric powder
Cumin powder
coriander powder
garam masala
Red chilli powder (adjust per taste)

Curd - 1 tbsp

Recipe:

In 1 tsp oil, shallow fry the bhindi (and sprinkle some salt), until they transform into a rich green color. Do not cover the pan at this point. - This would take about 10 minutes - when you alternate between high heat and low. Set this aside.

In 1 tsp oil, add the onions and shallots, and cook until soft. The shallots take a little longer (and mine was crunchy at the end, so you might want to let this cook a little longer). To this add ginger garlic paste, saute for a minute, add pureed tomato and salt and let cook until the oil separates.

At that stage, add the powdered spices and let cook for a few minutes. Add curd and ground cashew and mix well. Add the bhindi. Cook covered for a couple of minutes.

Serve hot with phulkas / roti / naan.

Food and Social Media

It was yet another dinner with CFG; but for the first time it wasn't so much about the food (partly because I was fasting today and couldn't eat out despite the choice of venue being Crimson Chakra).

We had the opportunity to meet and interact with Rebecca Subbiah, registered dietician in the UK and US, an avid food blogger and most importantly a social media coach. She loves interacting with people and making new friends through the most important medium - food. She has also developed a recipe application for the iPhone.

The group bombarded Rebecca with questions and she was patient enough to talk and interact with everyone, amidst the excellent dinner (I was told the food was great today, and we can't expect anything less at Crimson).

There aren't any pictures on this blog; for once I didn't want to shoot.

Meeting Rebecca today has given me a spark on the what-next in terms of this hobby of mine. :-)

Stay tuned to this space for more updates.

Mylai Food Walk

As part of the Mylapore Fest, the CFG group decided to do a Mylapore Food Walk. I have eaten in all of these places that we visited today; yet this was special because of this gang!

We all assembled near Karpagambal mess (and we decided we wouldn't go in there - the quality has terribly gone down) and walked down to Kalathi News Paper Mart. This place is known for their rose milk and has been in existence ever since time immemorial. This is at the corner of East Mada Street and South Mada Street. At Rs 12 per glass, this is the best thirst quencher in this little corner of the world.

From there, we headed to Rayars Mess. This tiny non-descript mess is tucked away amidst a row of houses and apartments in Arundale Street, off Kutchery Road, Mylapore. It can seat a maximum of 8 people at a time and their adai aviyals and onion rava dosais are to die for. As a gang of 20 people descended into this tiny lane, there were people looking down upon us from their balconies and wondered if they should dump their garbage on us for ruffling the feathers of this quiet locality.

At Rs 800 for 20 people, for a massive order of rava dosais, adais, potato bondas, coffees, gulabjamuns, this place is total value for money. Please note that this can get super crowded and on Sunday mornings, typically, there are people waiting outside by the dozens.

As the taste buds craved for more, we hit Mamis mess, a little mess that works on self service model, on Pichu Pillai Street, Off East Mada Street. This is diagonally opposite Kalathi News Paper Mart. We raided this place amidst all the honking autos and yelling vendors, picking our way between the gypsy maalais and earrings! The order here included piping hot vazhakai bajji and molaga bajji, and strong filter coffee.

It was time up, as the Mylapore Fest would start shortly and we wouldn't be able to take our bikes and cars out. So we had to miss jannal kadai. Jannal Kadai is a small little shop, opp the West Entrance of Kapaleeswarar Temple, which hands out bajjis and bondas through a window and hence the name :)

We wound up in Mylapore and headed towards Kotturpuram to meet the regulars at Kalakkal Cafe. Kalakkal Cafe is a brilliant initiative as part of Vidya Sagar, which promotes the cause of wheel chairs and helps connect people who use wheel chairs. It was a great experience to meet people who are totally independent despite being on wheel chairs. Karthik runs his own library - Sri Chakra Lending Library and if you'd like to donate books, please feel free to do so! UmmulKhair has finished her law course and now works with a law firm. Kalakkal Cafe operates every 2nd and 4th Saturday. Please lend your support! It need not be monetary, just spending some time with these people makes life colorful for all of us!

And that marks the beginning a great weekend!

Cheers!