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.

The Baker Showcase - Chennai - Grand Finale - 2

All those weeks leading up to this day - this very day, and finally those few hours were all that decided what we call a successful event!! I'd decided I wouldn't eat anything here today (Shhh.. I'm on a diet) and told my friends as much.

But.. but... who can resist those yummy macaroons or the cheesecakes or the pannacotta or the cup cakes - Boy.. we bought, ate, bought, ate and did nothing else!

Preethika and I landed at Crimson Chakra (venue partner) at 3 pm sharp. Some tables were ready to go, and a few diners were mulling over their lunch, wondering why these mad folks (Oh that would be KP, Nikhil, Preethika, Nanditha and myself) were running around like crazy!

The bakers started coming in, and we started helping them set up the tables. Uma and Preethika helped set the tables, Aarti was the bouncer (not letting anyone in before 4 pm), and Nanditha and I were running around to check if anyone needed anything. The 2 bald gentlemen (no offence) Nikhil and KP were at hand getting things organized.

I quickly stepped out to get some air, and I witnessed this. The crowd, patiently waiting, had actually formed a line (almost gave me a feel of Vaikunda Ekadhasi Sorga Vaasal and all we had to do was a "jerugandi" :P :P)

3 hours flew and we were running pillar to post to find out if the bakers and customers needed anything - from getting change for Rs 100 (Rashmee, I hope that helped) to reuniting a crying baby with her mom who almost forgot her daughter in a desperate attempt to buy the goodies before they were sold out ;-)

The bakers had whipped up a storm - lots of exotica and sinful delights - I think I am going to have run that marathon to burn off all that calories (Good luck Rashmee and Sangeetha for the Dec 2 marathon)

It was a fantastic team effort and a wonderful show yet again by KP Balakumar and Nanditha Sashidharan - keeping their sanity intact amidst a lot of insanity and craziness. Equally amazing was the enthusiastic show put up by the bakers and some absolutely organized & disciplined crowd.

A big thanks to Crimson Chakra and Nikhil - The Owner, The Man, for being the venue partner.

A sizeable amount was contributed to the NGOs - Deepam and Sahaayika. All the bakers contributed 10% of their sale, and thank you Ekta for contributing your entire sale amount today. That was super generous!

Obviously, there's lots more that went behind the scenes - today and all other days leading up to this event, and to that, a big toast to KP and Nanditha - Here's to lots more of these super successes! Cheers!

That just about sums up the entire event and the evening! (It goes without saying that some of us had dinner at Crimson Chakra :D)

PS: All photographs will be uploaded to the Guild. 

Girls, Gossip, Dinner - CC on KNK

After a very successful gossip session at Rajdhani, EA, earlier this week, the girls decided to have some more fun. And a dinner marked the beginning. (Oh, there are many more to come; Shall be revealed when the time is right)

Many of them had not been to the KNK branch of Crimson Chakra, so decided to head out there after checking out the By Hand, From the Heart sale at Isphani Center. (I couldn't make it to the sale)

Kamalika and Preethika had to drop out but the rest of us decided to go ahead. Aarti, Tasneem Aunty, Jenny and Nigar (And yes, this group, including KK and Gans, is called Drama Queens :P)

Jenny had never tasted the famous elaneer souffle and her main intention on this trip dinner was to eat that.

OK, so here goes the order (and we confused ourselves and the waiter)

a. Curried Mushroom and Corn Sacks (and we thought it was a gravy! :O )
b. Fried Baby Corn in curry leaf batter
c. One Potato salad that came with some huge banana flower leaf (vaazhapoo)
d. Mushroom soup (by 2) (Nikhil / Naveen  - where is the tortilla soup that's available in the Adyar outlet? :O)
e.Smoked rice (Aswin Rao - everyone was talking about you when ordering this; am sure you'd have porai erified so much today)
f. panneer paranthas
g. lasagne
h. cheese stuffed ratatouille basilica (!? and this came super cold - so had to send it back to be re-heated)
i. elaneer souffle (by the boat loads)

Now, what can I say. Everything was perfect - food, service, ambiance! Except for that slight problem with the basilica thing and a pretty sour salad, every other dish was CC trademark. The potato salad had sour cream but it did feel a tad too tangy!

After a hearty meal and a decent bill, we walked out with a heavy tummy and some heavy bags with loads of tomatoes (courtesy Tasneem Aunty). Now I am looking for tomato recipes! Anyone?

And Naveen - Thank you. We had a great time and I hope you have a fun vacation in Colombo!

Dieter's Delight - Dal Kichdi

Yes I am on a diet, notwithstanding the fact that I dined at Crimson Chakra tonight. I had soup and dessert (the elaneer souffle, of course; too bad I couldn't resist this one) and I didn't miss my workout. (And I stepped into Gormei Market to say hello to Sriram and he goes - 'I thought you were on a diet?')

This is one of my all time favorite one-pot dish. Absolutely easy to make and tastes pretty good. The below recipe is a variation of the Gujarati Kichdi (served usually with kadhi, achar and roasted papad). Kichdi is a comfort casserole, more like our paruppu sadham or pongal, but loaded with the goodness of dal and vegetables.

This recipe serves 1.5 people ;-)

Wash and soak half cup of moong dal, about 2 tsp rice and a few tsp of masoor dal (red lentils).

Chop vegetables of your choice - typically onion, potato, cabbage, beans, carrot & peas. Saute them in a teeny bit of oil, along with some cumin, one bay leaf (optional), some cloves (optional), salt, 1 chopped green chilli, a pinch of red chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder and some turmeric. I also added the left over sprouts & mushroom mixture from last night's dinner.

Now, add all this to one big pot, add about 2 1/4 cups of water, some salt and pressure cook for about 7 - 8 whistles or more. I keep in the electric cooker for 30 mins. Let it rest for a while. Mix (or should I say mash) well and garnish with finely chopped coriander.

Can be served as is, or with raita or achar / papad / vegetables.

Suggested serving: Add a tsp of ghee over the kichdi and watch it melt away into the gaps and make the dish yummier by leaps and bounds ;-) And that's my lunch box in the picture! 

Crimson Chakra + Home Bakers' Meet = Heaven

A gloomy Saturday and a full day power cut and yet am grinning ear to ear - All thanks to an amazing lunch at Crimson Chakra (yeah twice in 2 weeks now). A great initiative by KP, to get the bakers and enthusiasts meet offline and put faces to the names that we have all been interacting with only on Facebook. And of course, the Chennai Chapter partner, Nikhil Moturi for extending his support as always!

A big thanks to Ali and Nishanth for dropping by and inviting everyone for CFG's 8th anniversary on Sep 29th.

Some interesting conversations revolved around baking, fondants, gelatin and the proportion of ulundu to rice for Idli - Oh yes, I am not joking. Sangeetha says 1.5:7 for a wet grinder and 1.5:4 for mixie ;-) - Tip of the day :D :D

Too bad some of us were far apart and couldn't really catch up much. But then, good in a way that the veggies were seated in front of the table, so we got our food fresh and hot. (Ha! Effect of constant complaining to Nikhil ;-) ) And yay - the all time favorite - elaneer souffle - perfect way to end a meal, always and forever.

Absolutely loved every minute of the lunch - the food, the gossip, the chatter - a Saturday afternoon well spent. And here are the pics

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 - Part 1

Cup cakes, Cakes, Muffins, Brownies anyone? Various flavors, shapes, sizes ? Sweet tooth? OK, I can see a lot of hands go up. All you need to do is to haul yourself up to Crimson Chakra on the 30th of this month, at 1530 hours. Come and watch 14 home bakers show case their goodies, and who knows, your next birthday party would have the yummies baked by one of these talented ladies !

And, a big thanks to KP Balakumar, for asking me to cover this event. :-) I'm so honored. :D

I'll be doing a series of posts on this event, covering as much info as possible.

This event is hosted by Home Bakers Guild. HBG is founded by KP Balakumar and Nanditha Sashidharan of The Sugar Hut fame.

KPB is a stock market trader by profession. Stock markets, food and sport are his three biggest interests. He's been playing tennis ever since he walked in diapers, was a top state ranked tennis player, captained the Madras university tennis team and continue to play tennis. His passion for food has taken him to two different avenues, a food blogger through his website www.thefoodiediaries.in and now, through the Home Bakers Guild. And KPB hopes to do his bit in helping these bakers in any way he can.

I'm missing a couple of my favorite bakers in this event, and I do hope you can make it next time. Marsha - are you listening? :)

I'm starting off this series with a few questions I bombarded KPB with and he was kind enough to respond.

Excerpts below:

D: Idea of starting HBG?
KPB: forum that connected home bakers from anywhere so that there was a lot of exchange of information and ideas. The larger objective was to connect these home bakers with the ultimate customer using the power of social media. Rather than have each baker try and promote herself/himself through their own pages, a forum like the Home Bakers Guild would be a common platform through which customers would come to know about the wide variety on offer so that they needn't go back to the same retail chains for their orders for birthdays and parties.

D: Where do want to take HBG to?
KPB: The potential of the Home Bakers Guild is amazing. I hope it becomes a forum for Home Bakers not just in India but around the world. We are just a month old and we already have over 30-35 bakers from around the country as members and 100's of baking fanatics/just want to drool over the pictures kind of folks. Our membership as of today stands at nearly 700.

D: Future plans for HBG?
KPB: well, if anyone thought that they got the best desserts at the star hotels or the french loaf's of the world, they are terribly mistaken. The wealth of talent these home bakers possess and the vastness of their repertoire has to be seen to be believed. I want the forum to be rich from the experiences of the bakers and economically beneficial to the many talented ladies that are trying to make a career out of it. The Showcase events are towards accomplishing that objective for the home bakers, to open up new markets and customers to the home bakers. We will have 3-4 such showcase events through the year and also organize workshops like food photography so that bakers can take their business to the next level.  We want all the bakers to ultimately be that way, hands full with orders..and hopefully open their own stores at some point.

Poster Design  - Nanditha Sashidharan


Coming up: Interviews with Nanditha and the 14 lovely ladies who are going to bake(!!) our evening on the 30th !

Crimson Chakra - Magic

Nikhil Moturi - Just wanted to take a moment to say a few things (all good) about Crimson Chakra. For the nth time, I ordered the Elaneer Souffle. Pray tell me what it is that makes me disregard all the exotic chocolate desserts on the menu ( I am such a chocolate fanatic) and go for this plain Jane. (I didn't click a picture of the souffle, because I was so intent on eating it. Could you perhaps please send me a pic, so I can post it here?)

Update at 3 pm: fellow twitter @smilinggambler (http://saapaturaman.wordpress.com) graciously let me use his image here. Thanks Pravin

Like every other time, the dinner couldn't have been more perfect.

And I want to put in a  few good words here for Mohan, who serviced our table. Not only did he recognize me from my last visit, but ensured our order was perfectly timed and brought to the table. He was able to customize our order, as R and I haggled over what we liked best.  He's efficiency personified. I am amazed at how he doesn't write the order down, but remembers every customization and who ordered what !

These are the kind of people that make the dining experience more worthwhile.

A big Thanks from me and R, to Mohan and to Crimson.

Crimson Chakra - Encore

First off, there are no pictures to this post, as I was more intent on eating and having fun. This post is an after thought. :)

The whole gang was meeting after ages and catching up for dinner was the best option. Ever since we decided it would be dinner, I was chanting "Crimson", "Crimson". Couple of them from the group had been there only last month and wanted to check out some other place. But yay, Crimson prevails.

We were given an entire corner to ourselves, with what 7 adults and 2 little ones in the group. There was no need to look at the menu card as I knew what I wanted. Glancing at the menu was a mere formality. All of us love Crimson and we quickly decided what we wanted.

The courses were well paced, the staff unobtrusive and quiet. We had plenty time to feed the babies, take them for a walk, click a few pictures and gossip around.

The little ones were just interested in the cooler rack that housed the soft drinks. Colorful and cool that it was, they just wanted to be near it and rub their cheeks against the cool glass :) It was a cute sight.

The soup was perfect and so was the lasagne. The kaikari urundai and nachos were yum. I couldn't wait to finish my main course so I could lay my hands on the elaneer souffle. I swear by this one dessert. After chocolate desserts, the next favorite is this. (S, you would love this. And Nikhil, Thanks for making this on-the-house)

It's unusual that little ones enjoy an atmosphere like this, and towards the end of the dinner, one kid became sleepy and restless, broke a pepper vial and had some in her eyes too. She was wailing away to glory; and the efficient staff was sensible enough to switch off the fan and clean up the pepper. Her mom and dad took her out, while K settled the bill because we all blessed him (that he would enjoy his singledom and wouldn't get married anytime soon).

A yummy end to a Sunday and satisfied souls and tummies all around. :-)