"I am fulfilling" The Yoga House

Quinoa, tofu, wheatgrass, 10 grain breads, oatmeal, fresh juices, porridge, berries, nuts, paneer, sprouts, alfalafa & organic. One word- Powerfoods. I am always skeptical about such foods since I really love my meats and can't fathom most of the time eating out on purely vegetarian and really such healthy sounding food. 

My lovely friend Mark invited me to brunch at the Yoga House. He said its his new favourite place in Bandra. I arrived at this old house with a lovely verandah painted white with a row of tables and benches on either side with pillows. An old door that lead to an all blue azure room with a green chandelier. There were grey mattresses on the floor with orange pillows. Light streaming in from the windows. All the trimmings, doors, windows were white. It was a cheery space, relaxed the kinds you would imagine on a seaside in Greece but we were almost on the seaside in Bandra. Mark sat there relaxed totally fitting in with the space. The smile on his face showed pure satisfaction for finding this beautiful space. I was there with Sangeeta, Anand and Natasha. We ordered everything off the lunch menu- Quinoa burgers, Miknaos toast, Paneer burger, the Yogi's lunch, coffee, juices, and the healthy chocolate mousse. The food was amazing- the raw, colorful salads with sprouts, tomatoes, olives, lettuce, the fulfilling quinoa grain. I had seen quinoa around- but this was the first time I was eating it. The servings were not huge and I was skeptical if I would be full. But I was- not stuffed that I was uncomfortable, just perfectly happy with my meal. In fact I was energetic enough to walk back home with Mark (2 kms) something that does not happen usually after lunch. It was so good that evening I went back to the Yoga house to get some tea and laddoos. This masala tea had lemongrass and ginger. It was subtle and wonderful.

In fact I loved it so much that I went back there a week later with my friend Gopal for breakfast after a photo shoot. This breakfast was stellar as well. Slices of peanut butter on 10 grain bread, scrambled tofu sandwich, and a large healthy looking hash brown with cheese pancake. We ordered this with Caffe Frappe, Cappuccino, and a lovely banana milkshake (the best I have had). This time we sat on the outside patio in a window seat. The sun was still rising, the main blue room had a yoga class in progress. Bandra was slowly stirring and here we were with wonderful breakfast right in the shadow of St. Andrew's cross. White bougainvilleas crawling over the balcony. Gopal took some lovely pictures of me enjoying the morning sun and this delicious breakfast.

Ive been to the Yoga House now several times. Each time it has been a delightful experience. The owners Maud and Ajit are extremely welcoming. Maud teaches yoga there as well. I hope to take a class with her one of these days. There is also a little shop attached where they sell some lovely cotton clothing, pottery from Benares, and some other knick knacks.

Can I say it enough- I love The all vegetarian, very organic, completely fulfilling Yoga House. 

Many of the pictures that follow including some of the lovely portrait shots of me have been taken by MS Gopal the wonderful photographer of Mumbai Paused. He is a self claimed non- foodie but was a complete trooper to try out food outside his comfort zone. He did mention that he felt fulfilled for the rest of the day.

In love with Crepes

I fell in love over crepes many lifetimes ago. I had a

poulet au curry

(chicken curry) served with a mango chutney and he had a

bouef bourguignon

followed by dessert crepe of nutella and bananas cooked in rum. It was at one of my favourite restaurants in Chicago called

Le Creperie

. It was really my first experience with this delightful dosa-like French everyday wholesome goodness. That was many years ago.

I did not think I would find a crepe place so good in Mumbai. My friend Ashraf raved about its hot chocolate and is almost at

Suzette

everyday (lucky bum lives practically next door). A site visit to Nariman Point led me to finally try the crepes at Suzette.  Its located right behind the NCPA. The tiny space was elegant, raw, minimal and earthy. The table mats were brown papers with a stylized line drawing of the Paris skyline (of course with the Eiffel Tower). Simple tall glasses and glass bottles to serve water added to the quaintness of this lovely little cafe. A bookshelf, a row with benches, a few tables with chairs and bar seating at the counter

all gave the space the look of a typical Parisian cafe, warm and welcoming and a place you could spend hours at.

A blackboard menu with all the daily specials handwritten. 

I chatted with the owners Antonia and Jereme about their restaurant. They told me about the hurdles of opening a French restaurant in Mumbai, learning Hindi to get their supplies from their vendors & most of all introducing the traditional Brittany crepes to Mumbaikars. Their menu though mostly crepes- sweet and savory, also has salads and an array of fresh fruit juices and smoothies (spelt as

smoozies

- as one would say in the French accent), teas, coffee and of course the hot chocolates. 

I ordered a salad of the day which was by far one of the best fresh salads I have ever had in Mumbai. Lettuce, beans, bacon and a balsamic vinaigrette which was in the perfect amount coating the salad making the lettuce leaves flavorful and not soggy (hate soggy salad).

Antonia recommended a lovely combination for the crepe- goat cheese, chicken, caramelized onions (OMG I love) and a drizzle of honey. Too sweet- nope it was just right. The saltiness of the chicken and goat cheese was the perfect balance with the onions and honey. The crepe itself was crispy and not stretchy like other crepes I have had. I really enjoyed its texture with the creamy goat cheese. 

And finally the hot chocolate- you would think thicker the better. Well take a sip and then think again. It was not thick, it was just right, flavorful from the depths of the dark chocolate ocean. One sip and I knew I will crave this every time I need a chocolate miracle.

On my second viist (

oui

I went back again), I met the third owner another French gentleman by the name of Pierre. He told me they use buckwheat flour which is traditional to the Brittany crepes. 

I could not quite get the recipe of the crepe batter out of him but I did find one

here

in case you are interested.

Crepe filling is like playing with flavours and textures- spinach, tomatoes and feta; goat

cheese and apples; ham and egg; chicken and mushrooms in a white sauce. The possibilities are endless. Or check out

S

uzette's menu

for more inspiration

Prep

Time:

2 hours, 05 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon buckwheat flour
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 2/3 cup milk
• 3 eggs
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Whisk all the ingredients vigorously until the crepe batter is completely smooth; allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours before making into crepes. Melt a little butter in a crepe pan or large skillet over low-medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of batter to the pan and swirl until the bottom of the pan is covered with batter.

Cook the crepe for 1 minute, or until the crepe is slightly moist on top and golden underneath. Loosen the edges of the crepe, slide the spatula under it, and then gently flip it upside down into the pan. Cook for 1 minute and transfer the cooked crepe to a plate to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter.

My friend Mona sent me this video from when she lived in Germany. This crepe maker is making a banana, nutella cream crepe. It looks absolutely delicious. Danke Mona. 

Top Toppings: Jasuben nu Pizza

I'm not sure what my hang up was before, but in all my years growing up in Ahmedabad I did not eat Gujju Pizza. Maybe I was too much of a snob as a kid, turned my nose up to the idea or maybe I love Pav Bhaji too much. Plus- I grew up on Smokin' Joes when it was only available to us South Bombay kids- or the first Pizza Hut in which the staff got together and did the Macarena. Oya my pizza eating experience was very Americanized even before I made it to the great country. And then Chicago Deep Dish happened. Holy cow! Its amongst the top 5 things Chicago is well known for. Deep dish pizza which has a super buttery crust and filled with sauce and toppings. The heaviest meal ever. 

So when Chandni, my lovely host in Ahmedabad, asked me if I had Jasuben's Pizza she could not believe her ears. As usual I got the - 'What kind of food blogger are you?' look. (I seem to be getting that look a lot more often now). That's it dinner plans were laid. We drove up to the one location near her house on the highway. I insisted on picking up some pav bhaji (old habbits die slow).

We sat on some chairs on the sidewalk with a hundred others loudly chatting and chomping on little quartered pieces of cheesy saucy bites.  There was a little stall with a vertical oven, a sandwich press and a blender. Three boys whipping out a dozen pizzas by the minute, grilled sandwiches, cheese toasts, and cold coffee to go with it all. Serving a hundred people by the minute and this too on a Sunday Night. And they kept on coming.

Ok let me tell you- Jasuben's Pizza is a pilgrimage. Its a tourist destination. Any foolish notion I had of what a real pizza should be and granted pizza is Italian, it all flew out of my mind when I took my first bite. The crust is biscuity, crunchy, buttery almost like a bhakri. The bubbling hot tomato sauce is a close cousin of tomato ketchup just as sweet but quite spicey. The toppings are simple- no fancy pick your own toppings. No fancy mushrooms, corn, olives, jalapenos. Huh? What are you talking about? Stick to simple finely chopped onions and capsicum ok. Top it with loads ( and I mean large amounts) of grated local white cheese. The singular cheese we grew up- the Amul's white cheese. This is way before the cheese and wine revolution hit us. Simple and yummy are the keywords here.

The crust is baked in the vertical makeshift oven, red sauce spread, then back in the oven, then quickly topped with onions and capsicum and then topped with the grated cheese.  

Any Amdavadis reading this do holler and tell me why you love Jasuben's Pizza. I am a convert- Gujju pizza I love you. Whenever I think about this pizza meal I feel like I could have broken into a moves like Jagger, a rock n roll strut, a bit of knee twisting, pelvic thrusting, sliding in a moonwalk across the floor. Oya!

This is how I felt after my very first Jasuben Pizza:

The Mumbai Food Bloggers at the West View Bar & Grill

West view bar & grill

, a set on Flickr

Check out the bloggers and their awesome blogs

Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal -

A Perfect Bite

Nikhil Merchant-

Nonchalant Gourmand

Harini Prakash-

Tongueticklers

Snigdha Manchanda Binjola-

Life on Simmer

Poonam Joshi-

Homemade Happiness

Megha Goyal- Live to Eat

Rithika Ramesh-

The Green Stove

Pranav Kochalia-

Foodie Geek

Vinda Dravid-

Lett'uce eat

Sunayan Shahani -

Luv 4 all things yum

Arina Suchde-

Vegetarina

Vishwas Kasat

Kurush Dalal-

Eats Feeds and Digs

Rhea Mitra Dalal-

Euphorhea

Sanskaran Banerjee-

Lotsa Food

Jyotika Purwar-

Follow My Recipe

My dad made his famous Layya Channa for everyone. He laboured over it for 3 hours and made two large boxes which I packed in little bags and tied with ribbons and gave to everyone. The heeng is from Afghanistan and all masalas dad hand picks and sorts out. Do write back and tell me if you enjoyed it.

The West View bar & Grill - On the Other side

Yup! Last night I stepped into the kitchen of the West View Bar & Grill at the ITC Grand Maratha. I was followed by an enthusiastic bunch of fellow food bloggers who took many fun photos of me along with the chefs in the kitchen grilling up some lamb and pork chops and some Indian Pomfret. I carried with me Papa's Magic Masala and sprinkled it generously on the various assortments of meats and fish and vegetables and one by one placed them on the grill to cook them to slightly charred perfection. It was fun. In the kitchen with chefs- in a white skirt and yellow heals and the funny chefs hat. Not the most practical thing to wear in a professional kitchen but none the less fun.

This was our almost bi- monthly Mumbai Food Bloggers meet. Now a very boisterous and raucous bunch of folks who diligently bring forth beautiful food stories, restaurant reviews, recipes, travel adventures. Each one has his or her take on the food but constantly pushing pixels, little superstars in their own rights with a global fan following. These meets are organized by food blogger and consultant Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal who calls herself the mother hen of the peck. Rushina writes the blog A Perfect Bite and now has column in the Hindustan Times called the Spice Route. This group by far is the most enthusiastic, well organized, most interested in all things food that I have been a part of.

So what was the West View Bar & Grill like? Well as a concept you pick your raw vegetables and meats and fish on a plate and hand it over to the kitchen and they will prepare it for you either in a lemon butter sauce or a red wine reduction on the flame. Chef  Padmaja experiments with spices and sauces and innovates each night. She was one of the most delightful, cheerful chefs I have ever met. Enthusiastically letting me into her kitchen with my own spice mix- Papa's Magic masala, and then setting up a hot stone grill showdown for the rest of the bloggers.

It was a fun and spirited evening. Here is to many more such wonderful evenings with my Merry Band of Mumbai Food Blogger friends. Cheers!

Vegetarians beware- raw meat pictures follow:

Big Thanks to Rushina and the folks at ITC for the lovely evening.

Of Rendezvous, Run-Ins and Sinful Chocolates

The following blog post is more of a memory of one run in after the next in which the food was just incident and celebration of these run ins. The photos were taken by my Iphone which does not do well in low light but definitely attempts to capture the story.

It was a Friday- I was at site in Bandra and done with work early. Somehow going home felt like it would be a let down so I decided to call a few folks and see what they were doing. The first person I got through was Natasha who said she was in the changing room at some fancy wancy place in Paladium with her mum. The next person I got through was a buddy of mine from college Zameer who runs a beautiful design shop called The Busride housed in the incredible Ranwar Village in bandra. The Studio is a small two room house in the 1st floor of one of those gorgeous old Goan homes in the village. Some of the work these guys do is outstanding. Beautiful sites, great briefs and a whole lot of fun. My other friend from college Ipsit also works with Zameer. They had an intern Maulik and it was decided we will all go out for dinner. Soul Fry was the destination everyone seemed to settle on.

An hour later, wrapping up the week's work, we all set out for Soul Fry. When in Bandra walking seems to be the way to do things. The streets are sprinkled with old beautiful homes that one can only dream of even entering. My mind always wanders in to a what if.. I had inherited one of those homes. We walked past the Bandra gym where cricket was being practiced. One fellow in there recognized Zameer and got chatting. His name was Calder Salazer. What an amazing old name. We said goodbye to Calder and marched towards Pali Hill past a streetside chaat wala called Ranjeet. Zameer told us this guy was legendary even the Bollywood Khans ate at his Paani puri. The fact it was called Ranjeet cracked us up (a long lost dearest common friend). A plate of Pani Puri and Bhel Puri it was. As we ate these nice crispy balls stuffed with warm potatoes topped with spicy water, someone came up from behind me and closed my eyes. It was Natasha. We invited her to join us but she declined. So we walked further up Pali Hill to Soul Fry. Aah Soul Fry! Its probably not the best Goan food, because I dont think some nice old Goan aunty actually cooks in the kitchen but it is an honest attempt to make the food as delicious as possible. Seafood is their speciality.

We ordered prawns, clams (teesri dagdabeet) and fried surmai with pao and a pitcher of Beer. For the sweet intern boy it was the first time eating all this seafood and wine. After a bit Natasha messaged me that she is joining. We ordered up some more food and more beer. Soon the table was filled with insane laughter and crass jokes. The teesri- clams is my favourite. The sauce is slightly sweet, warm and rich. It is done in a typical Maharashtrian style which means no coconut only onions and masala. Would explain the sweetness. The fried Surmai was spicy but gentle which is what makes surmai so special.

After dinner it was decided that we must indulge and sin some more. Chocolate seemed the right way to go. San Churros was voted upon and we headed down the hill to this delightful little cafe on Waterfield Road. The place was almost full of Friday night post dinner revelers. It was very loud and mostly felt like people were on a chocolate high. We settled for some churros with white and dark chocolate and two sinful strawberry with brownies and chocolate and custard cup (cannot remember its name). Our very loud and talkative table got silent all of a sudden and in five minutes flat and finished all three desserts. The Churros are a deep fried Mexican treat, crispy on the outside ans slightly warm and gooey inside. Dipped in dark chocolate, they awaken the child inside you. The other dessert was a lovely combination of all the things you love in this world, brownie, strawberries, custard and chocolate. Cannot go wrong.

The conversation was fun border line inane and full of laughter. The food was delicious. The run -ins were unexpected and very delightful. Bandra makes a lovely setting for such Friday evenings. Could this be planned - I dont think so. We all wanted to attribute our evening to Ranjeet Pani Puri walla.
Promise for more such evenings are always made. Will they happen, we can only hope so.

To the Busride

Ranjeet!

The three boys

At soul fry- the clams

Zameer

Maulik and Ipsit

Clams all gone

Prawn curry and rice

Natasha

The entrance of San Churros with a promise of the beyond.

Beautiful pies

The fondue plate

The energy of the people seated at the table behind us was wild.

The Churros and the strawberry brownie chocolate thingy

Disappearing quickly

All gone.

"I have a crush on you"... Happy Valentine's Day!

It all started out with this song and a couple of pictures of her heart shaped macaroons...
"I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes.
Well love is all around me, and so the feeling grows..."

I am a big fan of Le15 Patisserie's macaroons. I have blogged about them before. I know she does not like to share the recipe of the macaroons. But she did not say no either when I asked her if I could photograph her making the heart shaped treats. Pooja Dhingra kindly let me into her kitchen and click her making her beautiful macaroon. So without the recipe a simple visual treat. Enjoy!

Pooja made me a lovely strawberry and pastry cream tart, while we waited for the macaroon shells to be ready. It was delicious. Fresh sweet strawberries, slightly tangy mixed in with creamy not too sweet pastry cream filled in heart shaped tart shells. It was perfect dessert for a hot afternoon.

 

The kitchen and the stocked pantry with delightful goodies.

Coffee with Pooja. While the Macaroons bake.

The beautifully illustrated boxes for Valentine's day!

Thank you for letting me photograph you Pooja,

I always leave her kitchen a bit guilty and thoroughly in love with her baking.

So who do you have a crush on? Or what are you doing with your loved one today? Do leave me a comment with your story.

The Versova Fish Festival- with the Bloggerazzi and the Twitterati

Earlier in December I went to the Fish Festival held at the Bandra Kurla complex. It was organized by the Ministry of Fisheries. I attended that festival on its last day with Rushina of a Perfect Bite and my sis Ms. Cultured Purl. I was surprised how poorly attended the event was. There were many food stalls, many beautifully dressed Koli people but very few visitors. Maybe people don't like fish enough I thought.
I was in two minds to attend the Versova fish festival. After all I had already attended one last month, and I had a pretty hectic week. This excuse that excuse, but I checked in with my fellow blogger Finely Chopped and he said he was going. That was all I needed to sway my decision to attend the Versova Fish Festival.
So finally after an incredibly long adventurous day I met up with Kalyan and Madhumita who was Kalyan's twitter friend at the Costa Coffee at Versova. We drive up Yari Road asking a few Rickshawalas about the wearabouts of this festival and most of them had not heard of it. I was skeptical, it was close to 10pm. Maybe it was over, maybe we were too late. "Sassy Forks pictures from last year's fish festival were taken quite late at night" Kalyan reassured me. By the way, that is how we had all heard of the fish festival.

We arrived at the entrance of the Koli village and drove through this incredibly narrow lane. The houses were charming, a self contained village by the sea. I am definitely going come back to this place in the daytime with my camera. Finally, we arrived at the entrance of the Versova Fish Festival. A large canopy of colorful satin fabric, a huge fish at the entrance welcomed us. We walked in and bumped into the lovely Poonam Joshi of Homemade Happiness. She was on her way out and quickly pointed at some of her favourites. It took me a minute to take it all in. On the far stage there was live music with Koli dancing. The music was upbeat and alive. All around were stalls, fishing nets decorating the signages, goddesses adorning each stall. Sexy Sheila- like Koli girls were the muse of many life size posters. Each stall had a number with the address of the fishing group. The place was packed. All the tables were filled with people- families-  eating , drinking, laughing- lots of fish bones and crab legs, crustacean carcass and beer cans in the bins. We were sort of lost for a minute. Kalyan said- lets try stuff we would not get at the Gajalees and Jaihinds.

We sort of walked a few steps and stopped. It was huge and there were lots of people We randomly chose a starting point. At our first stall there was a man grilling pomfret and large tiger prawns. Huge. Doused in a fiery red sauce. We ordered the prawns. All three of us stood in a corner holding this hot plate of prawns and stared at it. Madhumita took one bite and her eyes grew in wonder. All three of us struggled with our camera as we tried to peel the shell off the prawns. Our fingers and lips were red from the marinade, but our tastebuds were dancing in delight.  We walked down to the next stall and tried the fried bombil. It was so fresh. Absolutely melt in your mouth fresh. Madhumita commented that this is as fresh as it gets, no smell, tastes delicate & beautiful.

Clam Curry

Fish Pakodas

Lip smacking red marinade

Kalyan taking a photograph as he balances the fried bombil plate

Bombil Curry

Yum lobster

Grilled Rawas

The back area

Grandpa and granddaughter.

We walked back and forth in the crowds. Madhumita and I finally settled at a table, while Kalyan was being recognised by people in the crowd. When I first met him, I had huge stars in my eyes.
Here a nice Koli aunty got us this lovely green crab curry and lobster curry. The crab shell disappointingly was all green masala which was delicious but no crab meat. Till we got to the legs and other parts that had to be cracked open. Our table soon piled high with carcass. Finely Chopped wanted his photo taken sucking out of the lobster head. It was so funny. We also had some Fosters and white rice roti (a common Koli preparation) as the perfect accompaniment. Then we ordered some garam garam fish pakodas.

Lovely Koli aunty

Fosters and seafood

The way his momma taught him

Carcass

Madhumita and the crab

Food seduction

Stall no. 10 and 11

Fish Pakoda

The Sonali Bendre Fish pakoda making it on Twitter

The one thing I started enjoying was that Kalyan and Madhumita kept taking pictures with their blackberries and were tweeting as we moved from stall to stall. Power of the twitterati- just the thing #versovafishfestival needed.

Like happy children at a toy fair, we wandered around. The place was alive, any moment a Dimple Kapadia aka Bobby would have appeared danced. Found this frankie wala who made frankies at the rate of 10 frankies a minute. the stuffing was a mashed potato like prawn stuffing with lots of masala. It was good but fiery hot. Tasted more of potatoes than prawns.

Kolkata walas.

Guiness world record of Frankie making

.
We were getting full but we ran into the lovely Ms. Devyani of the Lakshmi group. We ordered fish roe, stuffed squid and tuna pakodas from her stall. We sat with our second beer. Here there were also on display whisky and port wine. Devyani said to us kindly - Cant eat fish without whisky.

The tuna pakoda stole my heart. Now I know why they say its a close substitute to red meat. It was meaty, spicy, tender, delicious and wholesome. The stuffed squid was wonderful. It was perfectly cooked and was not chewy. As we ate our food, and photographed it, Ms. Devyani told us that this festival was 6 years old. She worked for Air India and the rest of the women at her stall owned their fishing boats and sold fish to wholesalers. While in Mumbai- Malwani, Mangolorean, Karnatak and Goan cuisine is popular in restaurants like Gajalee, Jaihind, Soulfry etc. there is not a single Koli restaurant. That the Koli people are the original people of Mumbai- the seven islands. They dont come from any village this is their land. That Koli food differs from Malwani food in its sauce- there is no coconut just onion, garlic and ginger. That she hopes this festival will be the first step towards creating awareness of the Koli food. That maybe soon there will be a Koli restaurant in Mumbai. Kalyan pointed out to her that this event was not publicized by any of the major English newspapers and if it was it was very obscure.
As I finished the last tuna pakoda, I sighed and realized how important it was for us to be there, to participate in these unknown wonders of our city. Thanks Sassy Fork. Thanks Kalyan and Madhumita for live tweeting. I resolved to write a second blog post on the fish festival. I know this is long and there are so many photos but I really hope I sway you to go there tonight (the last night) or at least next year. If you love fish- I urge you to go to the Versova fish festival. Support our Koli communtiy.

Hard Liquor

Behind-the-scene cook

Major celebration mood

Lakshmi group of the Patil Gali Women's Group

Fish Roe

Fish Roe, Squid Curry, Tuna fish pakoda

Twitterati in action

Yummy Squid Curry

Chatting with Ms. Devyani. Photograph courtesy Kalyan Karmakar of Finely Chopped.

 The following photos I took with my I-phone. I love the Instagram App and have been playing with various filters. So summing up the evening. Also do read this beautiful write up by Finely Chopped.

Kalyan

Lobster not Prawn

Lovely Koli lady

The ladies of stall no. 26

Madhumita and Paan

Paan the perfect finish

Amongst the last people out

On our way out

1 am walk out of the Koli Village.

I kind of laughed when I saw this signage above the only icecream stall at the fish festival. But I was also watching 3 Idiots this afternoon on TV as I was writing this post. So this photo is a perfect finish to the lovely Versova Fish Festival.
Well after all this seafood - Aaal Iz Well!

Thanedar's Mamledar's

I love Pav, a popular local bread in Maharashtra and Gujarat that is borrowed from the Portuguese word for bread- Pao. I'm pretty much a fan of how Pav is eaten in Mumbai- Bhaji Pav, Vada Pav, Misal Pav, Usal Pav, Pav chai even love Pav with Goan sausages. I heard of Mamledar's from the folks at the office. The Thane bus folks rave about its Misal Pav. Many claim it to be the best in all of Maharashtra. People apparently come from everywhere for some Misal Pav.
I was intrigued. A hunt for things in the old marketplace led me to the threshold of Mamledar's. So this Misal Pav joint is right outside the Thane Police chowki and the Mamledar's office and hence the name. Who is a Mamledar? Well I think it is the regional district office. This little food place started to cater to the office people and the Thane Police station. But apparently is so famous that everyone comes to. The Misal pav is sold in three degrees of hotness- mild, medium and hot. Apparently the hot is searing and can burn a hole through your tongue.
Whats Misal Pav - well it literally means mixture of a spiced chana curry with all kinds of crunchies, onions, and a dash of lemon. The Misal is eaten by soaking the pav in the crunchy curry mix. Its delicious. So here are some pictures from the adventure of wandering in old Thane and then finding the famous Mamledar's.
The owner of Mamledar's told me he has been running the place for 58 years. The place is busy from the moment it opens at 8 am to 9:30 pm. There is always a line and never a place to eat. Initially he was not very happy that I wanted to take pictures - he kept saying no advertising.  So I pulled up my blog on my phone and showed him the fish post. He smiled and said ok. There was a huge line outside to pack Misal Pav. Every table in the place was packed. A sure sign that a place is super.
Do come and check it out for yourself. We got the Misal Pav to go which we relished at home. Medium spicy was good for me. I am sure I could not take it spicier than that.
Here are a few photos of Thane's marketplace and then Mamledar's. All photos are taken by my phone camera.

Lovely old house

 The Gamdevi water tank

 Bead shop

 Party dresses

The orange wig had me at hello.

 The way to a steel utensil shop

 Finally Mamledar's. A line waiting to get in and a longer line for parceling the Misal.

 The entrance to the offices

 Lassi and chhas

 Line for parcel

 The Misal tadka

 Pav in a drawer near the counter

They are closed on Sundays.

 The Misal mix ready to go on the tables

 Rich man with their onions

 Hot Chai is a great accompaniment to some spicy Misal Pav

 The curry base for the Misal

 At home- Janu's first time with the Misal Pav. Carefully mixed in the right proportions for her to enjoy.

 Janu loved it. The misal was spicy. Perfect tanginess once some lemon is squeezed. Definitely the oil floating on top is scary which I separated. The crunchy bites soaked in with the fresh pav and super spicy curry base is a great blend of textures in the mouth. The Pav was lovely and thick and soft and bouncy. It was superb.

Dear readers- a very happy new year to you all. I have loved bringing my food adventures to you. This year has been quite amazing and its been great sharing it with you. Love to all.

My favourite song at this time of the year. Do listen.

Big Fish Eats Small Fish

"I want to eat fish for every meal of the day" I said during lunch today. To which I got a prompt response if you were from Kerala that would be the norm. Well I'm not and fish in my mind is very exotic. Since I've been back, I've been very excited about trying out all the local seafood. Though I grew up in Mumbai, my exposure to seafood was very limited. Mum is vegetarian and dad only likes chicken. It was a rare occasion once a year maybe at China Garden we would order a crab and I would nibble at the white crab flesh unable to understand what the big deal was.
Chicago definitely changed that for me. I became more adventurous. I started experimenting with fish in different kinds of cuisines - Sushi, Korean anchovies, Mediterranean, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Mexican, Brazilian, Swedish, English, Zambian, Tanzanian, Ivory Coast, French you name it. I was expanding my very very limited knowledge and was even cooking up a storm in my kitchen. Grilled red snapper, buttery poached salmon, fried tilapia, curried prawns, mussel soup, king prawns on the grill, smelt chips, fried anchovies even Sushi. I tried various preparations and really started savoring the taste- fresh water fish as well as my beloved Seafood.
But I still had never tasted the local Mumbai and coastal fish, once a Goan preparation and once in Cochin. Thats it. When I got back I started reading more about it. Malwani, Mangalorean, Kohli, Goan, Karnatak, Kerala. Even in Kerala there 4 or 5 types I've been informed- Malabar Hindu, Malabar Mapplah, Travancore and Travancore Christian. Wow my knowledge in this matter was totally limited and my taste buds were dying in anticipation to try.
I read about the National Matsya Mahotsava (The Great Fish Festival) on Sassy Fork's blog. I was intrigued. This morning a random Facebook message from Rushina of A Perfect Bite swayed me to go attend and see what all this fish was about. So Janu (Ms. Cultured Purl), Rushina and I met up this evening at the Fish Festival- and for anyone who might be interested in this- today was the last day.
We skipped all the information stalls and headed straight for the food. The first food stall was run by a group of gregarious Kohli women who lived in Versova. They were giggly and happy to serve us food. Then they danced for us. I asked what they did otherwise. They were basically fisherwomen who sorted and sold fish to the sellers. They told me I could visit them in Versova after 5pm any day. I sure will. We ate some of their King Prawns, masala clams, masala prawns, fish curry, and a stuffed pomfret with the rice roti. It was delicious. Janu could not believe what she was eating. I loved the pomfret. I love fish- did I say that enough.
We decided to walk around and see all the stalls before we ate again. Stall after stall, interesting preparations. The food cuisines were limited to Konkan, Malwani and Indian Chinese. None the less the variety of fish and the preparations were great. But even better were the people behind these counters, their laughter, their celebration to share their incredible food, their smiles, their eagerness to make sure we like what they made. It was heart warming to be amongst them, they are proud fisher people, they know their fish and know how to make it. It was like chatting with various mums, they loved posing for my camera. They danced to the music, it was a party, the Kohli party. I was surprised not enough people came here. We did return to tasting the food. Tilapia manchurian, chili prawns, fried smelts with a dash of lemon, fried Bangda. We further indulged in two crabs that were stuffed with an incredible corriander chili masala, tandoori surmai and a shark curry. The tandoori surmai was probably the most delicious fish I have eaten. The flesh was buttery sweet. The shark had an after taste almost like that of shark liver oil pills. I did not mind it but no one else seemed to care for it.
Even my friend Slogan of Mumbai Paused joined us for a bit as he photographed the behind- the- scenes cooking which I joined him to see. Can't wait to see his clicks. Rushina bought a Surmai which the gang of fisherwomen are posing with. It was a lovely evening.
Did I say it enough- I LOVE fish.
As usual I had a hard time sorting, but I really wanted to share the spirit of this evening.

Janu is thrilled.

 The fish roe-

 Rushina

 The party begins

 Stuffed pomfret was simply incredible

 The Kohli Dance party

 Crab curry

 Sweet fried banana

 Dried fish, prawns, for chatni

 The stalls

 More dancing

 Dried fish decoration

 Tiger prawn pakoda.

 The space- almost empty for this wonderfulness

 The stage for performance

 There was veg food too

 I actually love dried fish too.

 Making the rice roti

 The Chinese style tilapia and shrimps

 Frying up Bombil

 Frying up some smelt

 Simple masala of turmeric, chili powder and salt

 My favourite little munching snack- smelts

 The bangda was delicious too

 Head first- Janu eating the head of the smelt for the first time.

 Rushina gingerly picked the flesh off the little fins, while I gobbled the whole thing

 I did that to the Bangda. All bones

 The masala crab

 The chef helping us break open the legs

 Janu absolutely loving the crab legs

 The crab graveyard

 Fresh Fish

 Rushina's Surmai

In the kitchen

 From the kitchen

 Chopping up Rushina's Surmai

Finally big fish eats small fish

Melt in your Mouth Macarons

 Macarons have always been a mystery to me. Every food blogger that I love and follow say that macaroons are one of the hardest things to bake. Infact, I have followed Ms. Humble Pie's baking attempts to make atleast 10000 Macarons (making her an expert atleast according to Malcolm Gladwell). In her first attempt she writes
"The first thing that pulls you in is their seductive rainbow of colors. Then you begin to understand the attention required to execute the perfect cookie anatomy: the frilly foot, the delicate egg shell like dome. You get a clear sense of the challenge reading the trials of other bakers and the euphoria of their successes."
Well, I had the pleasure of tasting Macarons tonight at a dinner hosted by Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal of a Perfect Bite. I am going to write about the dinner later as it is almost 1 am and this is the last thing I tasted tonight. I dont want to forget how they taste....
Pooja Dhingra of Le 15 Patisserie kindly brought these colorful, delightful melt in your mouth babies over for dessert. One bite and the surface crackles, bursting in your mouth with a soft creamy meringue like interior. The chocolate cream in the center balanced the lovely fruity dome. As soon as you opened the box a sigh escapes to see these delightful babies. I naturally reached for the yellow one as it is my favourite color. Turned out to be a tangy passionfruit. I died. My first bite it crackled, it almost fell apart. As the knife rightly said "These Macarons are the reason why food is occasionally called Orgasmic."

Feast your eyes....

 The yellow ones are passion fruit, the green are pistachio, the cream are caramel and I think the pink ones are chocolate (I could be mistaken).

 Rushina's nephew loving it!

Craving Caramel!

Look at what I just got in my email. Yes yes - in my email.. not the mail. I subscribe to the Godiva newsletter. But I just thought this image was so beautiful! I guess Fall has arrived. Having recently moved to Mumbai, I miss the change of seasons in Chicago. I was just thinking about the fall setting in when I opened this email. It took me back to the brisk cool air, the yellowing trees, the apple cider, the wafting smell of cinnamon, a shot of caramel in your coffee, leather boots, light fall jacket, the perfect coolness and you desire the winter never comes. The fall is the final preparation of the trees to mature and shine in their utmost beauty before they die in the brutal winter. Its a great time to huddle and cuddle in front of a fire at night. A lovely time to eat vegetables such as pumpkins, sweet potatoes, acorn, butternut squash, brussel sprouts. Oh yum!

Alas here in Mumbai, its just two seasons- hot season and rainy season. The rainy season is just over so now starts hot season again. On the bright side custard apple is here!

55 East at the Grand Hyatt- The Grand Food Bloggers Dinner

Many of you who have been following my blog from the very beginning know that I started it during my couch surfing / homeless (more dramatic sounding) days. I was in transition; I had quit my job, broken my leg, was on intense physical therapy and was trying to decide what next. So I decided to take time out of life and travel across the US thanks to the generous kindness of my friends who let me crash on their couches in exchange for me cooking them delicious meals. Halfway through the process the genesis of this blog happened. I can't say that I documented well that exciting time of my life in this blog but you can read some of the initial posts to see what I was experiencing.

When I finally decided to move back to India, I decided this blog will be a way for me to re-acquaint myself to a city I left 13 years ago. I looked up other Mumbai bloggers. I found many but the two that caught my attention were Finely Chopped and Purple Foodie. One writes food porn and the other creates it. A few weeks into my return I had the pleasure of working with Lulu of Lulu loves Bombay and I knew I was in the right company. Slowly but surely my blogging network grew and I started following up on reviews and places to eat and what to cook.

Then one fine day last week I got invited for dinner by Rushina of A Perfect Bite (thanks to Lulu). The Venue: 55 East at the Grand Hyatt. The guests: 15 Food Bloggers and food critics.

All I could say was OOOOOOOOOOOH YES!

And guess what? The invite list numbered two of my food blog crushes. Yes, they were coming too! I was finally going to meet the Knife of Finely Chopped and The Purple Foodie- 'the size 0 baker'. And there was going to be Vikram Doctor- the food blogger who writes a food column on the Economic Times. But I was also excited to meet the others- hear their stories, know more about blogging- why they blog, where they eat and most importantly where do they find their ingredients. (Remember the ordeal I had finding Parsley). How exciting could a night like this be!?! So many foodlovers at one table, and of course not to mention with a backdrop of dinner at the Fifty Five East restaurant at the Grand Hyatt should be a blast.

So let me take you through the night. I will list all the people I met at the end of the blog. Do visit their blogs. Each one is unique and has a different angle to food. So here is to citizen journalism!

Presenting 55 East at the Grand Hyatt. The interiors are designed by this Japanese firm called Super Potato.

As Anupam, the guy behind making this evening possible explained the walls are laser cut, with light being projected and further reflected with the help of mirrors creating this kaliedescope of light effects. It was quite magical like walking into an Alice in wonderland. It helps you forget about the city outside and you are in the mood for a glamorous night ahead.

The concept behind 55 East is large open kitchens where you can see the chefs prepare your meals for you. You can ask them to customize the dishes according to taste or you can try what they make. There are various cuisines being cooked up in the kitchen, mediterranean, sushi, thai, Indian and continental. Finish it all with a lovely desert selection.

Oh Yes! I am going to walk you through the various kitchens.

The kitchens were beautifully organised with the top of the line cookware. They were clean enough to eat off the floor. 

I started with the Sushi

Freshly made Sushi by a Japanese chef who kindly cut me some fresh salmon and rolled it into lovely rolls. I LOVE Sushi. I was so happy to enjoy these rolls.

Oh yes that is Ocra Sushi. Crunchy ocra with sticky sushi rice.

I love loads of Pickled Ginger on my Sushi. I was in Heaven.

Moving on to my next favourite cuisine- Thai. What I loved about transitioning from one kitchen to the next- there were palate cleansers. Like these fried, crunchy, salty rice crackers. Each kitchen counter was decorated with relevant dinnerware- lovely copper, cast iron utensils and the raw ingredients used essentially in their cuisine- chillies in the case of Thai. Check out the lovely chopsticks. 55 East truly plays with all your senses.

Yummy fish curry with sauteed greens. Served up with some spiced soya sauce and jasmine rice. Also tried some of this lovely spring beans, carrots and mushrooms

Drama in the Kitchen. Oooh exciting- that chef totally did that when he saw me take his pic.. I think we had a connection there. (just kidding)

Moving on to the Indian cuisine- cleansing palette with some Papad. I tried some spicy fried Prawns. The rest I just took pictures of. The ambience was set by piles of tomatoes and lemons and dried red chillies.

Pickled Pumpkin seeds and onions relish

The dishes

Deep Fried Spicy Prawns on banana leaves. 

I was so ready to eat that I rushed through the continental section. Next is a picture of a cut of steak with rosemary and grilled green and yellow squashes. 

I loves this lovely cast iron gravy holder. They also made tenderloin to order and many different kinds of steaks. I was more into the Thai and Sushi so I went back to try that out.

The set up from the other side.

 Ok I know this is a long post. But I have to share with you the dessert counter.

Meringues in jars, chocolate and strawberry sauces, beautiful copper-ware all beckoning you to submit to these sinful pleasures. I love the styling of this place - i wonder who did it. Its a lovely play on your senses.

 I think that is Marshmellows in the jars at the back. Oh why did I not ask them for S'mores.

Making a fresh crust to the creme brulee with some sugar on some velvetty custard. My absolute favourite- a thin crust of crunchy, burnt sugar to break into a soft creamy custard.

yes fresh figs made into this delectable fig pie served with custard or icecream

And they made you crepes as well. Fresh cherry compote and a side of ice cream

And finally the true stars of the evening. The fantastic blogger. Forgive me for the less than wonderful photographs... the lighting was dim, everyone was busy interacting and I was too excited for my own good.

Snigdha, Rushina and Shaheen.

Javed and Simran

Mangal and Anupam

The Knife (kalyan) taking a pic of me taking a pic of him.

Snigdha, Simran, and Mangal

The Lovely Lulu, Rushina and Kalyan

Atish- the Animator

Nitin, Nikhil (hidden), Poonam, Shaheen and The Vikram Doctor

Poonam and Shaheen

Anupam who was our kind host

And finally an incredibly excited me in the presence of the people who I look forward to read.

I unfortunately did not capture everyone there. I missed this amazing blogger that I met that night probably becasue she was also busy taking pictures. Harini- of Tongue Ticklers. She is a working mom, romantic, writer and maker of vegan recipes (a concept that is slowly catching on in India)

I would like to thank Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal-  writer, food consultant. Thanks for including me in this wonderful band of merry bloggers.

A list of the food writers and bloggers. Read up and I promise you won't be disappointed!

Now Cooking - http://nowcooking.blogspot.com (member of APB team)
Vikram Doctor  - http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/onmyplate
Finely Chopped (Kalyan- the Knife) - http://finelychopped-k.blogspot.com/ 
Purple Foodie (Shaheen) - http://purplefoodie.com/
Lotsafood (Shanky) - http://lotsafood.blogspot.com/
Homemade Happiness (Poonam Joshi) - http://home-madehappiness.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html 
Eating out in Bombay - http://eatingoutinbombay.blogspot.com/ 
Lulu loves Bombay (The Lovely Lulu) - http://lululovesbombay.blogspot.com/ 
Sunshinemom of TONGUE TICKLERS (Harini) (http://tumyumtreats.blogspot.com/)
Nonchalant Gourmand (Nikhil Merchant) - www.nonchalantgourmand.blogspot.com
Ifoodee (Nitin Raghani)- www.ifoodee.wordpress.com
Bombay Foodie (Simmi Sareen)- Foodzone Blogspot

Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal- A Perfect Bite

Snigdha Binjola - Life on a Simmer

Street Food named desire- Al Kauser at Malcha Marg

My biggest foodlove is Mughlai kababs. There is nothing like bites of succulent, spice infused pieces of meat that melt in your mouth contrasted with the tangy and crunchy bites of onions. These kebabs are usually very hot with lots of green chilies, coriander, cardamom, cumin, red chilies, and various other spices in which the meat is kept marinading for several hours till the spices soften the meat. Placed on a char grill the meat cooks with a smokey flavor. These delicious babies leave you sweating as you eat but you cannot stop at just one. And before you know it the love affair has begun! So did I say it yet- I heart Kebabs (should make a t-shirt).
As promised in the previous post on Delhi- Al Kauser at Malcha Marg gets its own post. Typically like street food that are famous for their kebabs, Al Kauser is a stand alone joint on  Malcha Marg in South Delhi. You pull up to Al Kauser - a little 10' x10' shack in your car. Place an order for your favourite kebabs- kakori, tandoori, seekh, boti, mutton malai tikki with rotis and parathas. While waiting in the car order up some coca cola as well to help with the heat factor. Enjoy the meal in your car.
I had the pleasure of eating at Al Kauser with my friends Jes, Aman and Shagun. Jes and Aman are regulars and knew exactly what to order. We ordered the famous Kakori rolls, tandoori chicken, the dry fruit paratha and mutton malai tikki and rounded it up with a sweet delicious Firni.

The set up: An open charcoal grill, a concave tawa, the metal barbecue rods, a ceramic pot with ghee.

 

The man behind the grill

We started with their famous Kakori kababs also popularly known as Seekh Kababs.

 The roomali roti to wrap the Kakori in

 Putting together the Kakori roll

Next, we ordered the mutton malai tikki roll in the dry fruit paratha. This was the most interesting combination of sweet and salty nuts such as raisin, cashews, pistachios all ground in the stuffing of the paratha which is used to wrap these incredibly hot mutton malai tikkis. Notice the green chilies in the pic. It was the most tantalising combination of sweet paratha and hot, mouthwatering and moist tikkis.
The mutton tikkis frying-

 The absolutely incredible dry-fruits stuffed paratha

Shagun loving this roll

What fun!!!
Now moving onto the Tandoori chicken. Once again one of the most tender, spicy, melting in your mouth chicken I have ever eaten. Oh! Al Kauser!

 Jes and I watching as our food is being made.

Finally we wrapped up these delicious wraps with a sweet end- creamy, silky, full of almonds and pistachio bowl of firni...

Absolutely loved the experience and the food. And safely my stomach held upto this food.
It was delicious!
Some of my other favourite street kebabs places:
Mumbai- Bade Miyan
Ahmedabad- Bhatiyar Gali (must have strong stomach)
And if you ever are in Chicago - trek up to Devon street and sit down at this little hole-in-the-wall place called Sheesh Mahal Dhaba.

Ssswwwweeeeeeeeettt Temptations!!!

I love taking pictures of desserts. Right now with all the circuit training at the gym that I am doing- I can only look, admire but not eat. I did try many of these and gave into my chocolate cravings whilst I was traveling early this year. It was comforting, satisfying and always exciting to find a new place in a new city.

Here is a collection images of some of my favorite sweet somethings:

Melissa's mini cupcakes, NYC

Sharing a raspberry cheesecake, cappaccinos and hot mulled wine at La Lanternas, NYC with Jae.

One Girl Cookies, Brooklyn - Beautiful cake in the window

Gourmandise- Salt Lake City, Janu's favorite

Bienenstich by Barbara- Salt Lake City (all home made, it took two days till two in the morning). Oh and it tasted just as good as it looks!

German Bakery- Salt Lake City- perfect delights for Saturday morning breakfast.

Cupcake A la Mode- Kansas City, adorable interiors. Who would have thought in Kansas City!

 

The Bella Nutella was delicious.

Pies at the Upper crust- Pryde of Old Westport, Kansas City

And they had adorable cookware:

Sugar Bliss - Chicago (photo from the website)

Now for two of my very favorites:
The chocolate flan at Cafe Iberico 
(photo taken by my friend Jacob)

And Swirlz Cupcakes - In Lincoln Park Chicago, where I had the pleasure of meeting Pastry Chef Beth who showed me how she makes these delicious babies..

Yummy right. Finishing it off with a lovely hot cappaccino always hits the spot.

Satisfied!

So now its Mission Chocolate in Mumbai...
Suggestions anyone?

For cupcake recipes see Foodista.com Filled Chocolate Cupcakes Orange Ooze Cupcakes

Changes changes changes

So... since I last logged in - August 13th. A lot has happened. From being a newly single professional working my life away, I had to take a major break. I broke my leg in a bike fall (don't ask) had my foot in a cast, went through physical therapy and made the decision to quit a dead end job and follow my heart. Sounds exciting right. I hope so. So I wrapped up my life in Chicago and am currently couch surfing- Austin TX, New York NY, Hoboken NJ, Jersey City NJ, Alfred NY, Salt Lake City UT and maybe even home- India.
So what has this done for me - I have cooked a lot for all my gracious hosts and eaten at some fantastic cheap eateries that I am going to try to add to this series of posts.

Recap August 2009 to Jan 2010:

Walk to Indian Dunes- Vanessa's Birthday Nov 16th 2009
It was a slow, cold walk to Lake Michigan
We picnicked outdoor by the beach on this incredibly cold day. We shared squash soup and a sweet potato topped with Kurkure (yes Indian kurkure)
And after our long cold walk while we waited for the train in the warmth of the trainstation we had leftover chocolate bread and butter and hot tea from the thermos.


We came back from our long, cold walk and made a huge birthday dinner for 10 people. Vanessa backed this fantastic cake and I made fresh chicken curry from a chicken she bought at the Farmer's market at the Nature's Museum.
South Congress (SoCo) Austin, TX- Thanksgiving Nov 2009

Barton Springs, Austin TX- Thanksgiving Nov 2009

Drive to San Antonio- Rahul, Meg, Camilo and myself Christmas 2009
Mi Tierra - The Most Fantastic restaurant in San Antonio
http://www.mitierracafe.com/





San Antonio Riverwalk
Leaving Austin Jan 12th 2010