Bombay Foodie

A couple of months back, I was watching Masterchef Australia. It was an immunity pin challenge, where a contestant fights off a big name chef. The theme was cheese and while this contestant was busy fiddling with soufflés and what not, the chef announced he was making a salad. Rarely am I so impressed with a dish but the complexity of his carrot and manchego salad totally zapped me. So much so that I have been going back to the masterchef website and hoping they will put up a recipe. Which they didn't so I decided to recreate the salad all on my own. Matt Stone's version was beautifully plated with carrot coins poached in whey, sweet carrot syrup, manchego cheese and burnt leeks. I got hold of some baby carrots so I created a slightly different spin on it. Here is a layer by layer description of my 'shot glass' salad. A day before: To poach carrots in whey, you need to get some whey. So the night before or the morning of the day you are going to make this salad,...

This year, for the very first time in my life, I decided to make homemade gifts for Diwali. I've baked cakes for friends' birthdays and stuff but never before have I made pretty looking packages of sweet goodies. And it truly made a difference, seeing how happy it made my friends to get something that wasn't store bought. I hope you are having a happy Diwali too and just in case I couldn't get one of these over to you, here are the recipes to help you make your Diwali a little bit sweeter. Because it was my first time making a gift, I chose something super simple. Two bottles of sweet sauces - one salted caramel, one chocolate. I also used this as an excuse to make a trip to South Bombay's Crawford Market. What a place that is! Full of stores that sell all kinds of beautiful packaging and boxes. I asked for a place to buy glass jars and got guided down to another market, just opposite the bustling Crawford building, and into a store that had pretty much everyt...

I have an almost automatic reaction to the word eggplant. Blame it on mushy baingan curries I saw growing up, but ask me if I want to eat a dish with eggplant and I won't even think a minute before I say no. The only exception to this rule, thus far, is the baingan bhartha. The smoky mashed eggplant curry filled with fried onions and tomatoes and garam masala has always been the solitary eggplant favourite of mine. Now, it is time to add a second. I think it has got to do with smoking the eggplant but I instantly fell in love with baba ghanoush. Well, not maybe not instantly - I can remember many a middle eastern mezze platters where I inhaled all the hummus and tzatziki and let my friends finish the baba ghanoush. But I tried making it at home for the first time last week and I totally loved it. I think it helps that the recipe, texture and flavours are so close to my other favourite dip: hummus. So whether you are an old baba ghanoush fan or have never tried it before, he...

For the past month, I have been forced to take a hard look at my lifestyle choices. It's not that I haven't been keeping an eye on my sugar and fat intake all these years. But being the foodie that I am, it is easy to get distracted by a new restaurant, or yet another fabulous dessert. Alas, those options are starting to look like a distant pipedream. But instead of giving up on eating out and exciting foods, here's what I am doing - being sensible! Yes, I order fewer milkshakes and lots more glasses of sparkling water with lime. But I am also creating some exciting new salads and soups and healthy dishes. This is one of those new experiments that make me almost excited about eating healthy. The base of this salad is pearl couscous (also called Israeli couscous). Now that I am counting calories, I measured out 2 tbsp. of dried pasta and cooked it as per package directions. To the cooked, drained and now fluffy couscous grains, I added a handful of cooked chickpeas. ...

Now that I have perfected the art of making an espresso at home, I've been dabbling in fancier drinks. Starting with the one drink I always order at Starbucks - a caramel macchiato. At Starbucks, this is a layered drink that starts with a shot of vanilla syrup. They then fill the mug with hot steamed milk, add a shot of espresso and top with a drizzle of caramel. The starting point of making this drink at home is the caramel drizzle . I used to be scared of making caramel but with this super easy sauce, I can make caramel in my sleep, with no thermometer whatsoever. You can make the drizzle as much as a week in advance but if you are anything like me, you will go back and eat it all by the spoonful so make it the same day or the day before at the earliest. If you want a professional drizzle, put the caramel sauce in a squeeze bottle while it's still warm. You can also forget all of the above and buy a bottle of caramel if burning sugar at home scares you. Next step is t...

A few years back, I successfully recreated Domino's garlic bread at home. Since then, several people have written to me saying they tried baking the bread and loved it. So when Domino's launched a new version that has become my favourite, I felt it's about time to recreate that one too. The stuffed garlic bread at Domino's comes filled with cheese, corn and jalapenos (and that's why I made these pickled jalapenos ). But the basic bread recipes remains the same. So first off, heat 1/2 cup water until it's warm but not hot. You can do it on the stovetop or microwave it for 15-20 seconds. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp of active dry yeast and let proof for 5 minutes. By this time, the yeast will be bubbling. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and a cup of plain flour. Stir everything together until the flour is all blended in, then cover and let rise until doubled. Once the dough has doubled in volume, add another 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Knead for aroun...

Even though I am not a big fan of chilli, I like the mildly spicy, tangy flavour of pickled jalapeños. But have you ever tried buying a jar of those. The last couple of jars I bought, the jalapeños were several months old and kinda mushy. Plus every commercial pickle out there has some added sugar and I was looking for something with just salt and vinegar so I decided to make my own. Most recipes I found on the net had sugar, but I finally settled on this quick and easy recipe by Valerie . As this happens to be my first pickling experiment, I started with only 3 jalapenos. The first step is to cut these chillis. Wash and wipe the jalapenos. Then chop the stem off and slice into thin rings. Make sure to wash the knife and your hands right after. And whatever you do, don't touch your face or eyes while you are chopping. Put the jalapenos aside and mix up your pickling liquid. Mix 1/2 cup water with 1/4 cup vinegar. I used normal white vinegar but you can use rice vinegar or w...

Fifteen years back, when the first chain of coffee shops opened in India, customers were understandably puzzled by the espresso that showed up on the menus. Until then, expresso (notice the different spelling) referred to a small, drum like machine that spewed out foamy, milky Nescafe coffees. Expresso stalls were de rigueur at weddings and in winters in Northern India, you could pick a styrofoam cup of steaming coffee in neighbourhood markets. Espresso on the other hand is everything that's good with Italian coffee. By forcing a small amount of water with a lot of pressure through ground coffee beans, you get deep, dark coffee flavours crowned with a lighter foam called crema. Making good espresso requires a combination of sophisticated equipment and barista skills, which means that it remains a drink more suited for cafes than home brewing. I am firmly in the sweet, milky coffee camp so while I don't relish espresso per se, I am a big fan of cappuccinos and lattes th...

Goa is a funny place. With so many beaches and resorts, you would think it would be all calm and serene. But every time I head out there, I find myself in the middle of one big party. Now I'm usually the one to tag along with the group to whichever nightlife spot they are headed to, but I find it much harder to find food I can enjoy. After all, all the beach shacks are equipped to cook and sell seafood and a vegetarian dish is a rarity in Goan cuisine. So on one of the trips to Goa, I found myself in an Italian restaurant called Italie, just down the road from Baga Beach (it's now closed and has been replaced with a Russian restaurant). The hour was late, I was hungry and a tomato risotto seemed like a logical choice. It was the kind of comfort food that lingers in your memory long after you are back from the trip and finally, last night, I decided to recreate it. The starting point was the tomato sauce I made a few days back. In addition to measuring out half a cup of ...

There is a new trend in Mumbai restaurants. Everyone is reinventing street food, putting their own twists and turns on age old favourites. "The Spare Kitchen" serves a Chowpatty platter that has some beautifully presented vada pao, bhelpuri and pani puri shots. "Masala Library" is putting a molecular twist on sev puri. My favourite reinventions so far are in the Juhu open air pub - Copa. Their ragda pattice redux is delicious and I have become a big fan of their pao bhaji toasties. But delicious as they are, these toasties come slathered with a huge quantity of butter so I tried making a healthier, yet equally delicious version at home. First, you make pao bhaji . Next, you take two slices of whole wheat or multi grain bread. I am using a ciabatta here. Apply ghee or butter on one side of both slices of bread, as sparsely as you can. Spread a layer of pao bhaji on the unbuttered side of one of the bread slices. Next, grab a handful of arugula and cut it into t...