Of Food And Friends

A couple of Sundays ago, A and I had a few friends over for a small do at our place. The guest list was an eclectic mix of people from varied walks of life. There was D, who works for a human rights organization and her husband E, who runs one of the oldest and most popular bakeries in Mumbai city. D and E are expecting their first baby real soon, and are quite expectedly counting the days till the wee one makes its grand entry. Then, there was B and her husband R, both in the field of journalism; she as a features writer for a travel publication and he as a graphic designer for a leading newspaper. And, rounding off our guest list were two lovely ladies, RS and S; the former a theatre enthusiast and patron of the arts, and the latter, visiting from Germany and currently occupied with a project studying contemporary writing on Mumbai. This short but diverse guest list certainly made for an interesting evening, replete with stimulating conversation and enjoyable banter.

The menu was a joint effort by A and me with him doing the salad and entrée and moi, the starter, soup and dessert. Here’s what we dished up that night:

Appetizer : Roasted Bell Pepper Dip with Chips
Soup : Cauliflower and Carrot Soup
Salad : Tossed Corn Salad
Entrée : Fusilli in Cheese Sauce, Mushrooms in Coconut Gravy and Pasta with Zucchini tossed in Italian Herbs
Dessert : Chocolate Mousse

The recipe I’m sharing in this post is the one I used for Chocolate Mousse. Inspired by Baking Bites, it makes short work of what seems an elaborate effort :)

Chocolate Mousse
(serves eight)

Ingredients

Water – 1 cup (boiling)
Gelatin – 2 ½ tsp (powdered)
Cocoa powder – 2 ½ tbsp
Eggs – 5 nos (separated and at room temperature)
Sugar – ½ cup
Chocolate flakes for garnish

Method

1. Combine water and gelatin in a small bowl and whisk till the gelatin has completely dissolved
2. Whisk in cocoa powder and set aside to cool
3. Place the egg whites in a bowl and beat briskly till soft peaks appear
4. Add sugar gradually, working with 1-2 tbsp at a time, while you beat the egg whites
5. Once the egg whites and sugar are well mixed, beat in the egg yolks one at a time
6. Slowly pour in the gelatin mixture and mix until uniform in colour and well combined
7. Evenly distribute the mousse into individual serving cups and refrigerate until set
8. Grate chocolate over the top of each mousse before serving

An earlier post had talked about my recipe for the dip. I pretty much followed this recipe to the T for the soup, except that I pureed the mixture in a blender for a smooth consistency. The rest of the meal, I need to prevail upon A to write out the recipes for me. Hopefully, my blog will play host to a guest columnist real soon :)

Amazing Grace ...

She was full of it. My beloved aunt, Valerine who passed away last week embodied the grace and patience that we come to cherish only to realize that the person is no more in our midst. Aunty Vallie as she was fondly called by all those who knew her, came to Mumbai from Mangalore in 1948. She lived with her neighbour from Mangalore who had come to the big city a few years earlier, and helped her bring up her 6 children. When she got a job and settled a bit, she sent for her younger sister (my mom) and her mother. The three ladies stayed together in a rented place in Mumbai, till my mom met my Dad and they got married in 1967. From then on, they were all a family. My sister and I came along, and with both parents working, Aunty was the one who brought us up.

My sister and I are doubly blessed to have had two mothers. It is difficult to put into words the memories that we are left with. But when I think of Aunty, the images that dance across my mind’s eye include:

· Her ready smile
· Going to school, holding Aunty’s hand
· Her endless patience in teaching me spellings – I still remember stumbling over the spelling of “pieces” and aunty patiently spelling it out to me at least 50 times
· A whiz at math – she always won prizes in school for top marks – she unraveled the mysteries of profit and loss so simply for me
· The fresh snacks she got for us in school during break time, along with a cool flask filled with her refreshingly delicious sweet lime juice (till date, this remains my all time favourite fruit juice)
· The amazing curries she created and dished up
· The goodies that she made at Christmas
· Her exquisite embroidery and crochet creations – she could just look at a design and figure out the pattern of stitches used
· Her penchant for cleanliness – she would painstakingly wipe off furniture surfaces free of dust
· The caring eye she kept on the building kids whose parents were also working
· She might not have had kids of her own, but her generous heart embraced all the children in our building as her own – and their emails cry to us with their loss as much as our own
· Her stoicism and courage in bearing the pain and suffering that came her way, without a murmur. Only when the pain got unbearable, did she allow a silent tear to slip by
· The grace and peace that she conveyed at the time of that final goodbye

Aunty Vallie … pillar of strength … epitome of a giving spirit … you will be fondly remembered … always and forever

Cauliflower Calling

My feelings about cauliflower are rather ambivalent. On the one hand, I think it is a very versatile veggie that lends itself marvelously to both Continental as well as Indian preparations, not to forget the ubiquitous Gobi Manchurian that you will find at virtually every Indian Chinese restaurant worth its MSG. On the other hand, I also find it quite a challenge to retain its delicate flavour and yet mask its strong (though not unpleasant) smell. Tough call indeed! This recipe that I’m sharing here calls for parboiling the cauliflower beforehand and mixing it into the final dish at the very end.


Kadai Cauliflower
(serves 6)

Ingredients

Cauliflower – 350 gms
Onions – 2 nos (finely chopped)
Ginger garlic paste – 2 heaped tbsp
Tomato – 1 no (finely chopped)
Red chilli – 1 no
Curry leaves – 2 sprigs
Mustard seeds – 2 tsp
Cumin seeds – 2 tsp
Hing – 2 pinches
Salt – to taste
Oil – 2 tbsp
Finely chopped coriander – for garnish

Mix to a thick paste (using water)
Turmeric pd – ¼ tsp
Garam masala – 1 tsp
Red chilli pd – 1 tsp
Dhania jeera pd – 1 tsp
Sambhar pd– 1 tsp

Method
1. Cut cauliflower into medium sized florets
2. Sprinkle a little salt and turmeric and boil cauliflower till semi cooked
3. Drain and keep aside. Retain water to adjust consistency of gravy
4. Heat oil, add mustard and jeera seeds
5. When they splutter, add hing and curry leaves
6. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 2-3 mins
7. Put in onions & red chilli and continue to cook till the raw smell disappears
8. Add the masala powder paste and cook till well mixed
9. Finally add tomatoes and salt
10. Add more water, if necessary, to get a thick gravy
11. Add cauliflower and cook till done
12. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves

A Toast To Toffee

I have been meaning, for a long while, to write a piece on what a disaster my attempt at making sweets during Diwali turned out to be. While I will still leave that saga for another day, today’s post features condensed milk as the key ingredient. The reason for this is that I had bought a tin in the hope of making some kind of a barfi * (I don’t even remember which one now) for the festive season. Yesterday, while I was browsing in the fridge, I came across this tin and decided to use it up making milk toffee. This recipe is one of the most common ones to grace the platter of sweets in the vast majority of Indian Catholic homes at Christmas. I remember my mom making these toffees by the dozen and them being wolfed down by the kids in our apartment building. Of course, hers were much prettier to look at as they were moulded into these cute shapes that made them eye candy :) in addition to being a delicious treat!

* The Indian equivalent of fudge

P.S. The title for this piece was inspired by A, who added a touch of whimsy to the picture with the Bailey’s Irish Cream. Maybe the next time around, I’ll try flavouring these sweets with this delightful liqueur.

Condensed Milk Toffee
(makes 25 – 30 pieces)

Ingredients

Butter – 7 tbsp
Sugar – 15 tbsp
Condensed Milk – 1 tin

Method

1. Heat the butter and sugar together on a low flame and stir till melted and well mixed.
2. Pour in the condensed milk and cook on a slow fire, stirring occasionally.
3. Cook till the mixture turns light brown and begins to leave the sides of the pan.
4. Turn onto a greased tray, and mark into squares.
5. Cool till it reaches room temperature and then cut into squares.
6. Store in the refrigerator, wrapped in foil.

Free Wheeling

When I started blogging in January this year, my new year’s resolution was that I will be a serious blogger who regularly posts experiences – both successes and otherwise. I also set myself a lofty standard of 10 posts a month, which sadly, I have not managed to achieve in any month so far. In fact, this month I have come precariously close to having not a single piece posted … ohmigod … that is so not done!!! But in my own defense, I must say that March has been an absolutely crazy month, work wise … loads of meetings and a packed travel schedule. So, now that I have just one day to go, this is my last chance get that post in before March marches away from me.

The other day, when A and I were browsing in a bookstore I wandered over to my favourite section (no prizes for guessing this one) – the Food & Drinks shelves and came across this book by Nita Mehta called Tasty Snacks. One of the recipes that caught my eye was for Bread Pinwheels – reason being – this is something that I make once this a while, but I call them bread rolls. The recipe for the filling is my own version, and this can vary depending on the imagination and creativity of the cook. The method of flattening the bread slices is the same that I use, but I loved Nita’s way of presenting the ultimate result – they looked so deliciously attractive. So here they are

Potato Bread Pinwheels
(makes 06 pieces)

Ingredients

Potatoes – 1 no
Onions – 1 no
Garlic – 2 cloves
Green chilli – 1 no
Lemon juice – 2 tsp
Tomato ketchup – 1 tbsp
Coriander (aka cilantro) – a few sprigs
Bread – 4 slices
All purpose flour – 2 tbsp
Salt – to taste
Oil – for deep frying

Method

1. Boil, peel and mash potato
2. Chop onions, chilli and garlic finely
3. Heat 1 tbsp oil and sauté onions, chilli and garlic till onions are tender
4. Add mashed potato, tomato ketchup and cook for 2-3 minutes
5. Check salt, add lemon juice and sprinkle coriander leaves
6. Keep the mixture aside for cooling
7. Make a thin paste using flour and water
8. Cut off the sides of the bread slices
9. Flatten the slices using a rolling pin, applying pressure so that the slices are stretched thin
10. Take 2 of the bread slices and lay them together letting them overlap by ¼ inch, to get a single long slice. Use a little of the flour paste to seal the joint
11. Spread the potato mixture evenly on the bread slice
12. Roll carefully from end to end, sealing with the flour paste
13. Refrigerate till required
14. Just before serving, heat oil and deep fry the rolls till golden and done
15. Cut each roll into 3 pieces and serve with sauce / chutney

A Time For Lent(ils)

Come February – March, and it’s time for Catholics the world over (the devout ones, that is) to give up something that they hold dear during the period of Lent. Well, when it comes to this party hearty community, that loves its meat and the occasional tipple (um, ok, let’s say the swigging can get a little frequent), one of the most common “sacrifices” that gets made is to give up eating non vegetarian food during these 40 days. This means the meat (and in some cases even the fish) on the table gets substituted with Lentils.

In keeping with the spirit of Lent, I am posting here a simple yet tasty recipe for Masoor (aka black whole lentils / Egyptian lentils), given by my friend and colleague, D. D belongs to that amazing breed of Mumbai women, which braves the long commute in packed local trains to get to work every morning, puts up with a demanding boss and then endures the same trying journey back home to supervise kids’ homework, cook dinner and handle a dozen other household chores with one hand tied behind their back!. Thanks D. I salute you and your ilk. Thinking of your hectic evenings makes mine seem like a cakewalk


Masoor In Gravy
(serves 6)

Ingredients

Masoor (black lentils) – ¼ kg
Onions – 2 nos (finely chopped)
Garlic – 6-7 cloves (peeled and roughly mashed)
Ginger – a small piece (peeled and roughly mashed)
Tomato – 1 no (chopped into big pieces)
Potato – 1 no (chopped into medium sized chunks)
Turmeric pd – ½ tsp
Garam masala – 1 tsp
Red chilli pd – 1 tsp
Salt – to taste
Oil – 2 tbsp
Water – 3 glasses
Finely chopped coriander – for garnish

Grind to a thick paste (using water)
Fresh grated coconut – 3 tbsp
Coriander leaves – a handful
Green chilli – 1 no


Method

1. Soak masoor overnight
2. Zap the potato in the microwave till semi cooked
3. Heat oil, add ginger & garlic and fry till lightly browned
4. Add onions & potato and sauté till soft and tender
5. Add all dry masalas and sauté till the mixture turns reddish gold
6. Now put in the masoor and 2 glasses of water
7. Once the masoor comes to a boil, add the ground paste
8. Stir and let it cook a little
9. Whisk the remaining glass of water in the blender to clean up the masala paste that maybe stuck to the sides
10. Add to the masoor along with the tomato and salt
11. Cook till done (approx another 10 minutes)
12. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves

Love Rocks

in more ways than one!! This week was particularly trying for me. Juggling a packed work schedule crammed with meetings and deadlines, Valentines’ Day glimmered like the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. I wanted to surprise my husband, A with something really special. So I thought of making something rather than buying a gift off the shelf. And what could be better than a gaily wrapped package of home made chocolates … the food of the gods! Having decided what to make, then came the trickier part - how to make it. I always thought that making chocolates was a rather complicated affair (and I was very nearly proved right).

A hurried net search, amidst budget workings and annual planning sessions, yielded a seemingly simple recipe for chocolate truffles. I must say that Nupur’s blog is an absolute treasure trove of deliciously simple sounding recipes beautifully illustrated with the most amazing photographs. Her tea tinged truffles looked easy enough for a novice like me to brave an attempt. So finally on Sunday evening, while A was away at an arts festival, I rolled up my sleeves and got down to serious business. Hacking the cooking chocolate slabs into chips was one tough job, let me tell you (I still have the blisters to prove it). Next came the flavouring – I chose coffee. So far, so good. And then, was the clincher – carefully measuring the cream in just the right proportion. And here is where I messed up! Converting weights and measures has never been my strong suit and the ratio of chocolate : cream that I used went dismally wrong. After that it was downhill all the way! The chocolate simply refused to harden enough to set and get moulded into shapes. As the days rolled by, I used to rush home every night and make a beeline for the refrigerator to check if the chocolate had set. And every night was a study in disappointment :(

Finally, my colleague E suggested that I use the good ol’ double boiler method to melt chocolate and said that it should not take more than 10 minutes to set. Oh joy! That sounded too good to be true (given the fact that it was already 13th Feb by then and I just had that one night to work on my surprise). I dashed home early that evening and followed E’s melting instructions to the T. I then added my own touches by mixing in rice crispies and cashew bits to make a fresh batch of chocolate rocks. And lo and behold, after around 20 minutes in the deep freeze, they moulded beautifully. Arranging them in a decorative gift box and presenting it to A that night … well all I can say is that Love certainly Rocks!


Chocolate Cashew Rocks
(makes 16 pieces)

Ingredients

Cooking chocolate (milk) – 160 gms
Cashew pieces – 50 gms
Rice crispies – 3-4 tsp

Method

1. Chop chocolate into fine pieces and place in a heavy heat proof bowl
2. Chop cashews into small bits
3. Pour about 2-3 inches of water in a pot and place over heat till the water boils
4. Take off from fire and hold the chocolate bowl over the hot water pot
5. Whisk briskly till the chocolate is fully melted
6. Stir in the cashew pieces and rice crispies
7. Leave the chocolate mixture in the freezer till set (approx 20 mins)
8. Take spoonfuls of the set chocolate mixture and mould into desired shapes
9. Store the chocolate rocks in the refrigerator wrapped in foil to preserve the shape

My tips:

1. While whisking the chocolate, take the bowl down from the hot water pot periodically to avoid overheating and / or possible burning

2. Be careful not to let the condensation from the hot water touch the bottom of the chocolate bowl, else the chocolate will seize and not set properly

3. You can also melt the chocolate in the microwave. Do so in short bursts of 5-8 seconds at a time, stirring after each interval

4. You may choose to add in any other chopped nuts / dried fruits of your choice to make chocolate rocks in a variety of flavours

5. You may also choose to use a medley of chocolate chips in varying proportion – milk, semi sweet, bitter – depending on the degree of sweetness you enjoy

6. For those of you living in Mumbai, check out Arif’s at Crawford Market for their range of cooking chocolate. Arif’s is your quintessential one-stop shop for anything to do with chocolate making and baking stuff at very reasonable prices. The Morde brand of cooking chocolate is the most popular. Make sure you buy the pure chocolate slabs, and not the compound

Psssst – I still have the earlier chocolate mess languishing in my freezer. Any thoughts on how to salvage it would be much appreciated