Saturday, February 27, 2016

Book Launch- 25 of India's Biggest Chefs By Dr.Saagarika Ghoshal powered by Metro Cash & Carry


Recently I have been to the book launch event of '25 of India's Biggest Chef's; Their stories and recipes' authored by Dr. Saagarika Ghoshal and powered Metro Cash & Carry India at Le Meridian, Bengaluru. Metro unveils 25 of India's biggest celebrated Chefs who made India proud by their culinary skills. One of the much awaited book of 2016 by Dr.Saagarika Ghoshal who is a Director - Human Resources at Metro Cash and Carry India.

About the book

This book will take its reader through a gastronomical journey with a collection of delectable recipes from the 25 of India's famous Chefs. Our Indian food culture is known for its diversity and also for the unique recipes which is being transferred from one generation to the next generation. If you look at any household, every house will have their own signature dish. Selecting 25 Chefs for the book and getting 25 of their signature dishes was not an easy task for the author.




At the book launch Author Dr Saagarika Ghoshal felicitated all the Chefs who has featured in this book. Chefs who were present at the book launch were Chef Abhijit Saha, Chef Naren Thimmaiah, Chef Nimish Bhatia, Chef Ramaswamy Selvaraju, Chef Sabyasachi Gorai, Chef Soundararaju P, and Chef Vijaya Bhaskaran.




From Chef Sanjeev Kapoor's Shaam Savera to Chef Vikas Khanna's Star Anise and Bay Leaf-infused Lamb chops and then Chefs from Namma ooru- Chef Abhijit Saha's Smoked Salmon Hummus, Chef Shaun Kenworthy's Sticky Jaggery Banana Pudding, Chef Naren Thimmaiah's Tiger Prawn Roast and Chef Nimish Bhatia's Smoked Red Chilli Dusted Prawn Makhani; everything is listed in one book.


Chef Sabyasachi Gorai demonstrated two quick recipes that we can make at home very easily. Dishes he prepared were so heavenly especially the Prawns with Quinoa :)






Food Bloggers with the celebrity Chef Abhijit Saha

About Metro Cash and Carry
Metro Cash & Carry is one of the popular wholesaler brands in the world. Head quartered in Dusseldorf, Germany; they are in 26 countries with over 750 wholesale stores. Metro Cash & Carry started their operations in India in 2003 and they have 100000+ employees all over the world.


Being a Home Chef I was so happy to meet some of my favorite Chefs and grab a copy of this book.

Monday, February 22, 2016

Masala Lavash with smoked Baingan ka Bharta


Recently I was hanging out in FoodHall,1MG mall and I saw different flavors of Lavash. I didn't think too much and picked up one packet of masala Lavash. Lavash is basically a thin Armenian flat bread. Though its origin is from Armenia, its widely used in Middle Eastern countries. I thought of giving a modern twist to our simple 'Baingan ka Bharta by pairing it with Lavash and the combo was heavenly. I prepared smoked Baingan ka bharta for the first time and it came out well. Thanks to my maid, Bhanu Didhi who gave me this awesome recipe. She learned it from a Punjabi family. So here is the recipe for a Smoked Baingan ka Bharta.

Serves - 3 people
Cooking Time - 25 mins

Ingredients

Eggplant                          - 1, Big
Onion                              - 2, small (finely chopped)
Tomato                            - 3 small (finely chopped)
Green chilies                   - 3 no's (finely chopped)
Garlic                               - 3 no's (finely chopped)
Cumin seeds                   - 3/4 tsp
Turmeric powder             - 1/2 tsp
Kashmiri red chilly powder - 2 tsp 
Garam masala                 - 1/2 tsp 
Oil                                     - 2 1/2 tbsp
Salt
Corriander leaves             - Chopped, for garnishing (optional)

Preparation

  •  Wash and pat dry eggplant with a paper towel or a clean cloth.


  •  Apply oil on eggplant.
  • In a medium flame, fry the eggplant in a grill pan or place directly on a gas stove till it get roasted and skin starts peeling from all the sides.
 
  •  Remove from the flame and peel the skin (if required, wash it). 
  • Chop the eggplant and keep it aside.

  • Heat oil in a kadai and add cumin seeds, garlic and let it splutter.
  • To this add chopped onion and green chilies and saute till it becomes slightly brown in color.
  • Add all the masalas- Turmeric powder, Kashmiri chilly powder, garam masala and salt. Stir for 1 min.
  • Add the chopped tomatoes and fry till it becomes mushy and oil starts appearing from the sides.
  • Add the chopped eggplant and fry for another 3mins. Switch off the flame.
Now for the extra smoky flavor:
  • Transfer the Bharta to a deep bottomed vessel (Preferably Borosil glass bowl or a steel bowl).
  • Heat two pieces of charcoal and place it in a small steel bowl/katori.
  • Make a small gap in the center of bharta and place the small bowl with charcoal in it. 
  • Pour 1/2 tsp of ghee on charcoal and immediately close it with a lid. 
  • Make sure smoke is coming out well from the charcoal. Keep it aside for few mins.
  • Take out the lid and remove the bowl with charcoal.
 
  • Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves or basil leaves and serve hot with Lavash or Indian bread.
If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment :) 
 
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Tuesday, February 16, 2016

A quintessential Dim sum experience at Yauatcha, Bangalore


I am a foodie and according to me, for a grand weekend Friday night's dinner should be a splendid one. So when I got the invite for a food tasting session at Yauatcha, for the 21st Food Bloggers Association, Bangalore (FBAB) meetup , I didn't have to think twice as Yauatcha was always there in my wishlist. FBAB meetups are always interesting with fun, food and fellow foodies. Yauatcha is celebrating the Chinese New year with an interesting limited edition menu till 23rd Feb 2016.  Yauatcha, London has been awarded a Michelin star for 10 consecutive years. Isn't it interesting?  This is one place, which should not be missed, when it comes to fine dining.




Situated in 5th floor of 1 MG Mall, Yauatcha has got very good ambience with urban,classy and minimalistic decor . Yauatcha is the modern portrayal for a traditional Chinese tea-house. When you enter restaurant you will spot an Origami monkey. According to Chinese Zodiac, 2016 is the year of Monkey; the 9th animal out of 12 in the Chinese Zodiac cycle. Monkey signifies confidence, innovation and enthusiasm. As Chinese New Year celebration is very popular, Yauatcha's limited edition menu offers amazing dim sums, main course, dessert and cocktail.

After taking couple of pictures, I was eagerly waiting to try out the new dishes from their menu. I opted for a drink to start with and within no time I got a wonderful cocktail from their specially crafted menu - Cherry Chaser which was Gin based cocktail with Mandarin and Cointreau. Cocktail was very refreshing one. 


Dumplings from the new menu:

Dim sum is one of my favorite food which I love to have anytime in a day. Whether its steamed dumpling or pan fried one, I never get bored with this. If it is steamed dumpling, usually it is served in piping hot bamboo basket. Dumplings can be made in different shapes and sizes as well. Some of the dumplings we tasted at Yauatcha were:

Truffle and English Carrot dumpling:
This pretty dumpling was soft and succulent with its smooth paste of carrot and truffle filling like a custard. This one tasted very unique and with the accompaniments it was delicious to the core.

Kiwi and Black Olive dumpling:
I couldn't try this dumpling as it just vanished soon after we clicked it. All were curious about the kiwi and black olives combination in a dumpling. My fellow foodie friends who tasted it were so happy with this dumpling. They said perfect dumpling to start a meal.

Corn, Carrot and Curry dumpling:
Pic courtesy: Madraasi Deepa
 
Next in front of us was the thin transparent crystal dumpling with colorful carrots,corn and curry filling. Corn, carrot and curry dumpling was enjoyed by both vegetarians and non vegetarians.

Seafood Shui Mai:

Dim sum which took me to heaven for a while. This cute juicy dim sum was rich in seafood taste with shrimp, crab meat, squid and sea bass filling. Perfect dim sum for the seafood lovers.

Lobster ho fun roll with black pepper sauce:

Fresh taste of rolled lobster dim sum in a sweet, tangy and a bit spicy black bean sauce was yet another favorite which tickled my taste buds. 

Chicken and Coriander dumpling:
As a die-hard chicken lover, this dumpling was one of my favorite.  Small pieces of colorful dumplings with chicken and coriander filling and pleated one sided, will surely make you happy and go ga ga. By the end of the starters most of us mastered in using the chopstick. It was so much fun to use a chopstick.


Main course: 

For the main course we had Mahlak Udon noodles, Stir fried mock chicken in Hunan style spicy sauce, Taban fried rice,
Wok fried lobster in Hunan style spicy sauce, and Braised pork belly in spicy yellow bean sauce with cigar mantou roll. Every dish from the main course was absolutely scrumptious.

Mahlak Udon Noodles:
Udon noodles covered with vegetables prepared in Mahlak sauce which was prepared with Szechuan pepper and dry red chilies.

Stir fried mock Chicken in Hunan style spicy sauce

Mock chicken? Are you serious? This was the first thing came to my mind. But true to its name it was purely a pleasure indulgence for the vegetarians and non vegetarians, both. Chunks of spicy stir fried soya along with vegetables prepared in Hunan sauce. Perfect dish to have with fried rice.

Taban fried rice
Taban rice was flavorful fried rice with cubes of carrots and corn which was perfect fried rice for me. A mild spicy rice with crunchy vegetables and to give an extra dose I tried it with wok fried lobster dish wish. Just loved it :)

Wok fried Lobster in Hunan style spicy sauce 

Wok fried succulent pieces of lobster in Hunan style spicy sauce is definitely a must try dish along with other main dishes. 
Braised Pork belly in spicy yellow bean sauce with cigar mantou roll
Even a non pork eater like me could not resist by seeing the gorgeous looking stacked pieces of braised pork belly. I tried this and it gave me an immense pleasure of having pork belly for the first time, which was a super dooper hit.

Dessert

Crunchy Caramel with Honeycomb ice cream
From the pic itself one can make out how divine this dessert was :) According to me the show-stopper. Crunchy sticky Caramel with a scoop of honeycomb ice cream. OMG! this was sinfully delicious. We congratulated the Chef who created this marvelous dessert and was stunned to hear that he took 5 hours to create this beauty. Must try dessert for sure.

Bar counter at Yauatcha


Yauatcha has an amazing bar counter which is simply  loaded with premium liqueurs and pretty glasswares. Though there were enough mocktails and cocktails to spoil us, we opted for Passion fruit mocktail and the limited edition cocktail, Cherry Chaser. Both were made of fresh ingredients and tasted so good. Overall my experience at Yauatcha is not going to be a one time experience. Next time when I crave for dim sum I know which place to hit first.

Yauatacha's a la carte menu price is bit pricey  and make a hole in your pocket. But who cares when you get a wonderful Cantonese treat in the form of dim sums and desserts. Chinese New Year celebrations at Yauatcha will continue till 23rd Feb, 2016. So book your seats and join for their Chinese New year celebrations at Yauatcha.

Address:
Level 5, 1 MG Mall
MG Road
Bangalore
Phone no:  +91 9222222800 

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Thursday, February 11, 2016

Whooppeezz - Review

When it comes to pizza, I know which place to visit first. Whooppeezz is already a popular name in town for fresh and crunchy pizzas. Few days back, I had been to Whooppeezz for the 16th FBAB meetup for bloggers. Situated in the prime location of Koramangala 7th Block, Whooppeezz is very easy to locate. Funky interiors, quick service, courteous staffs, creative menu, and more than anything else, the highlight of this place is their heavenly pizza. Oh Boy! They have got some incredible and irresistible stuff in their menu which is true to their motto, 'In crust, we trust'.


Whether it's the New York style (thin crust), or the double layer pizza with cheese filling, or even the regular pizza with exotic toppings; they have everything in their menu.

Some of my favorites were -

Eggizza -  A pizza with countless egg slices topped with black olives, parsley, and in-house cocktail sauce. This pizza was a pure indulgence. 
Merlin's Rosemary Pizza - Rosemary flavored pizza with chicken topping, tomato sauce and few other ingredients.
Tandoori Paneer (cottage cheese) Pizza - Crunchy pizza with tandoori sauce, fresh veggies, and tandoori paneer.

Veg Explotica pizza - An exotic pizza with bell peppers, green olives, sun dried tomatoes, and with in-house barbecue sauce.



And the best one of all,
Whooppeezzoo - Pizza with oozy cheese filling in between two big crunchy pizza bases and with choice of veg or chicken toppings. This one was heavenly. One of the best pizzas I had, till date.


The side eats menu had garlic bread (with or without toppings), Nachos with Cheese sauce and salsa, and many pasta options.

I had Nachos and Arrabiata pasta, which were good. I didn't have to give any suggestions for any of the items I had at Whooppeezz. Everything was just superb.



For a person like me, who has sweet tooth, there was some interesting desserts like Tre Leche, Chocolate pizza with almonds flakes/ gems chocolate, and Chocolate bomb. Can anyone imagine a melt-in-mouth Tre Leche with full of white chocolate or a pizza in the form of dessert? Truly, Whooppeezza's desserts can give you a foodgasm.




Overall my experience at this place was delightful. This definitely a VFM place in my list. An average cost for two people will be about Rs.500 (excluding taxes). They also have home-delivery option in and around Koramangala area. A must try place for finger-licking pizza.
Disclaimer:  Every dish on their menu is interesting. So if you are going with kids, kids may go crazy and may burn a hole in your pocket.

Whooppeezz address:
#113, Prestige Pinnacle (Opp Raheja Arcade)
Near Forum Mall
Koramangala 7th Block
Bangalore
Phone No:  080 46559999


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