In love with Crepes

November 16, 2011

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

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

October 17, 2011

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:

Thanedar's Mamledar's

December 31, 2010

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

December 29, 2010

"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.