All you need is loaf!

Coming from A small city in North India, the only kinds of bread you are exposed to is the normal sandwich loaf or a pre made pizza base; both completely unhealthy. In the city I come from you still don't get brown bread easily. There's not much bread culture there anyway unlike Bombay where you get brun pao, fugias, focacia and what not. Around 15 years ago when my maternal uncle showed me a picture of a French baguette (he had just returned from a trip to France) I was amazed to find out that such varieties existed. I had a similar feeling when I visited The Baker's Dozen earlier this year.

The Baker's Dozen, a bakery owned by Sneh Jain and his wife Aditi Handa, specializes in Artisan breads; breads that are made without any preservative and are hand crafted. The breads that I saw at The Baker's Dozen were completely new to me, maybe except a few like focacia. The best part about these breads were that most of them were made of whole wheat flour thus making them even healthier. This and a bag full of breads at the end of my visit was enough to have me jumping with joy.

Till now I have tasted six of their breads and each has a different taste or as they put it, a character of its own. Pain au levain (Rs 120) or French sourdough has a crusty top and is soft on the inside and comes with filling like walnut+raisin, apricots+cherries and cranberries+blueberries. The bread is ideal to make tartines but I prefer it eating plain with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar drizzled over it.

Pain au cereal (Rs 100) which is quite similar to Pain au levain in look and texture is packed with flaxseeds and sesame and is a little bitter. I had taken this bread to office and everyone happily gobbled it down with spicy haleem. The focacia (Rs 60) is very different from what I've eaten at other places. It's a little dry and I was told that they do not use olive oil to make it. However, the Mediterranean bread is full of olives and is complete on its own.

One bread that you must not ignore is Brioche (Rs 100). This French bread is high on eggs and butter which results into an extremely soft crumb. Since I got a loaf version of this bread I cut it into slices and tried toasting it only to realize that the bread was too sensitive for that. A light toast with butter would be a good way to eat it. I had it with Strawberry butter given to me by Shivani (that deserves a separate blogpost altogether).

Next bread that I tried is Puccia (Rs 30 for two), Italian wheat flour dinner rolls packed with olives. These soft and fluffy breads were eaten with a carrot dip. I made this carrot+yoghurt+olive oil+garlic dip recently and became an instant fan.

After operating from their bakery in Wadala for initial few months, The Baker's Dozen recently opened their first outlet in Prabhadevi. On World Bakers' Day they launched a new Jewish Sabbath bread called Challah (Rs 120). The bread has a long History and religious significance to it. You can read more about it here. Challah has a lovely golden crust and is made with generous amount of eggs. I ate it with garlic n herbed butter, akuri and bruschetta topping and it was perfect with everything.

I'll give a big thumbs up to Sneh and Aditi for introducing us to such great breads. While I write this post I already plan my next order from The Baker's Dozen and pray that they have an outlet in every suburb. More breads for everyone.

Address:
9, Jayant Apartment, Appasaheb Marathe Marg,
Opposite Mercedes Benz showroom,
Prabhadevi, Mumbai
Phone:
022 6743 1313

Twitter: @FreshAtTBD
Facebook: The Baker's Dozen

Soup n Salad Meal

Temperatures are soaring in Bombay and my appetite is going for a toss which is a good thing. Good thing because now I can concentrate on my favourite food, soups and salads and lose some weight in the process. Also, the reason for going the soup n salad way is Citylight Market in Matunga. The elaborate mandi which is on my way to work has every possible ingredient right from exotic vegetables and fruits to spices and seafood. Once in a while I stop at the market to do my weekly shopping. Last week I made a healthy soup and salad combo, Asparagus and apple salad with Celery soup. The recipe for the former came from Sanjeev Kapoor and the latter came from BBC. Obviously, I modified them a little bit according to the ingredients available.

Celery Soup
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Serves: 2

Ingredients:
Celery - 2 stalks
Garlic - 1 clove
Onion - 1 medium
Olive oil - 1 tsp
Maggi chicken cubes - 2
Water - 200 ml
Cream (optional) - 1 tsp

Method:

• Chop onion, celery and crush garlic.

• Heat oil in a pan. Fry onion, garlic and celery till they are tender.

• Add maggi cubes and water and let it boil for 10 mins.

• Let it cool for a bit, transfer it to a blender and liquidify.

• Heat it again and top with cream before serving.

Apple and Asparagus Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Serves: 2

Ingredients:
Asparagus - 6
Apple - 1 medium sized
Red radish - 5 (without leaves)
Pickled gherkin - 2
Iceberg lettuce - 4-5 leaves
Romaine lettuce - 4-5 leaves
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Honey - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Kalonji - 1/2 tsp
Croutons - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste

Method:

• Take asparagus in a pan and pour half olive oil over it. Leave it while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

• Slice apple, radish and gherkin and tear the lettuce leaves.

• Grill the asparagus in a pan till it is tender. Chop it.

• Throw in apple, asparagus, radish, gherkin and lettuce in a bowl.

• Take mustard seeds in a mortar, add salt and crush it. Add the remaining olive oil, honey and lemon juice to it. Add this dressing to the salad and mix well.

• Roast kalonji in a pan and add to the salad.

• Top it with croutons and serve immediately.

Hope you liked the recipe and will try it soon.

A bumpy ride on The Moving Cart, Marine Drive

As soon as we grab our seats our restaurant starts to move with a roar of the engine. Yes, we are inside Mumbai's first moving restaurant in a double-decker bus. The bus takes a u turn from Nariman Point and our glass of Pink panther cocktail clutches to the anti skid mats on the tables. We sip on the pink coloured sprite and enjoy the attention of the gawking passersby on Marine Drive.

The Moving Cart has two sections, the lower deck with air conditioner and the open air upper deck with live music. After being given a show of the tacky blue and red LEDs in the lower deck we move to the upper one for some fresh air. We hear a faint voice singing a Kishore Kumar number on our way up and secretly wish that this is not the live music we were promised. Alas! it is. A bored looking guy sits in a corner reluctantly holding a guitar.

Starters from our pre-decided order start coming in; 3 sorry looking chicken pieces on toothpick, some frail attempt to fish fingers from the Continental menu, chicken kebabs and ajwain flavoured fish fry from the Indian menu. Till now the Indian menu looks like the saving grace. after a second round of starters we move on to soups. Two bowls appear in front of us with very unappetizing liquid; a minestrone residue and a Thai curry gone wrong. After choking on a spoonful we decide to let it pass and move on to the next course.

By now we've had only two courses of our promised 10 course meal and the bus has already reached its extreme end which is Wilson College and will drive back towards Marine Plaza from here. We realize that the 10 course might mean 10 dishes.

A waiter walks in carrying pre-packed plastic plates which supposedly is our main course. As

the live singer murders Md. Rafi's khoya khoya chand in the background, a last nail is hammered on our appetite's coffin. The veg plate consists of Dal makhani, a Paneer sabzi, rubbery Chicken curry, rice, chapati, salad and Gulabjamun which gets lost in an identity crisis of being a sweet or savory by the end of the meal. The spinach stuffed grilled chicken in the Continental plate looks like the only edible item and we try to satiate our hunger with it while throwing sad glances at people eating at Crystal. The rest of the dishes in the Continental plate are unmentionable and we would like to erase every memory of ever eating them. 

As we duck to avoid branches brushing against our faces we reach where we started from. With tacky decor, horrid food which surprisingly come from Marine Plaza and steep pricing, The Moving Cart is a very bumpy ride. This Chennai based restaurant on wheels has to really gear up if it wants to park itself in a Mumbaikar's heart and mind.

Price: Rs 1200 per person for vegetarian meal, Rs 1400 per person for non-vegetarian meal

Address:
The Moving Cart starts from Marine Plaza on Marine Lines and take a one hand a half hour tour to Wilson College and back.

Reservations can be made through their website http://www.themovingcart.com

Restaurant Review - The Pier, Colaba

The new restaurant in the sea-facing Colaba restaurant is best enjoyed if you go with nothing but food in mind.

There was a time when eating out was all about food and not decor or ambiance, when going to a Food Inn or a Cafe Royal was saved for once a month family outing. But times have changed now and we want an extra touch to our meal be it the decor, the music or the location of the restaurant. Stepping inside The Pier, the perfectly located sea facing restaurant in Colaba, I felt that something was amiss. The 3000 sq. ft. area looks impersonal with no art to fill in the empty walls and no divisions to create some private spaces. However, a brass diving helmet kept at the entrance and blue leather seating give a hint of the marine theme. Given that the decor is still being done, I'd save my verdict on that for later.

A well stocked bar stretched along the left wall of the restaurant is a point of interest and so is the bar menu; with a 12 year old whisky available for just Rs 225 I or rather the husband can’t find a reason why it shouldn't be. A not so crowded Friday night had me thinking that word about the food here; which is delicious, needs to be spread. The limited menu serves dishes with a touch of European and Asian flavours and offers enough variety including beef, pork, seafood and enough to keep the vegetarians interested too. 

Giving the soups a miss we (husband and me) jumped straight to the appetizers and ordered

their highly recommended Beef tartare with slow poached egg yolk (Rs 450). We finished the very last morsel of this very tender tartare made with local buffalo meat, topped with poached yolk and served with red wine mousse, the runny yolk didn't add much to the taste though. The Beer battered fried calamari (Rs 450) had a juicy squid inside the crispy batter but the lacked any hint of beer. Highly recommend the crunchy snack especially when you have Black Dog (Rs 225) for company. The vegetarians can try the Edamame beans and gruyere cheese stuffed ravioli (Rs 375) which comes coated in a creamy tarragon sauce and a side of seared spinach. However, not being a fan of the edamame beans I would give it a miss the next time I am there.

If you are not one of those who would go to a bar and order their regular I'd suggest you try The pier Flip (Rs 350). The mocktail has dark rum as its base with Triple Sec, cream, sugar syrup and egg yolk; the not so sweet drink with a thick creamy texture certainly calls for a second round. 

The mains have a good mix of pastas,

risottos, red snapper, pork belly and beef burger. The Potato gnocchi in citrus herb butter (Rs 500) served with shaved parmesan is a must try, even if your roving eyes keep going back to the non-vegetarian section. The small portion of steeply priced Braised pork belly with apple cinnamon jus (Rs 2000) might give you a minor setback especially if you don’t enjoy digging in the fat, like me. However, the perfectly cooked pork, loaded with fat made the husband almost tumble out of the restaurant, sleepily. The dish comes with pancetta green pea risotto and braised brussel sprouts. This I washed down with the Pier beauty (Rs 275), a pretty pink drink with strawberry liquor, fresh strawberry and sparkling wine. 

I generally don’t prefer alcohol with the dessert but the in-house cream (Rs 300) and coffee liquors (Rs 280) were reasons enough to call for a shot of each. With our heads buzzing with the shots we lapped up the Vanilla panacotta (Rs 325) custard and cream served with chilled berries soup and a wafery thin layer of caramel.

With great food and hospitable staff, I feel that there’s a lot going in The Pier’s favour if only they work a bit more on one of the most important elements; ambiance.







Must try: Beef tartare, The Pier flip
Meal for two: Rs 3500 + taxes (without alcohol)

Address:
The Pier,
41/42, Dr. Minoo Desai Marg, 
Colaba, Mumbai
Phone:
022 6606 0037, 022 6606 0036

Facebook: The Pier Restaurant
Twitter: @thepiermumbai

Wine, Wazwan and conversations at Taj Lands End + Mutton Roganjosh Recipe

Wazwan is one of the most famous and still untouched cuisines of India. Very few restaurants foray into this rich food culture and those who do, do not go beyond Roganjosh or Kashmiri Pulao. Well, there's a lot more to this cuisine which is influenced by Kashmiri Pandits, Muslims from Samarkand and surprisingly Buddhist Monks who migrated to Kashmir from Laddakh. My interest in Wazwan was generated when I read Salman Rushdie's Shalimar The Clown several years ago and that's what took me to Kong Poush, a now shuttered Kashmiri restaurant in Oshiwara which was my real introduction to Wazwan. Given the extreme unavailability of Wazwan food in Mumbai it was tough to say no when an invitation to taste the Kashmiri food came my way. 

Masala Bay at Taj Lands End in Bandra is celebrating the elaborate cuisine till the 31st of March and has flown down Chef Sewa Singh from Vivanta by Taj in Srinagar to prepare the delicacies. Apart from the bloggers and the people from media the Executive Chef of Taj Lands End, Chef Anirudha Roy also joined us for dinner. It was an extremely fruitful evening with good food, good wine and conversations about the history of Wazwan, the food culture in Kashmir and books. The normally media shy Chef spoke to us at length on various topics. 

As far as the food is concerned I am in love with the subtle flavours used in Wazwan dishes. The spices never overpower the principal ingredient. Wazwan, which is mainly a celebratory cuisine comprises of 36 dishes. Well actually the original cuisine had 105 dishes but most of them are lost in history. The menu at Masala Bay has included at-least 15 dishes out of the 36. They also serve a Peach mocktail garnished with kesar which gels well with the food. 

Although soup or shorba - very mildly spiced lamb broth, is not really a part of Wazwan it has been included in the menu and was a pretty good start to the meal.

The Kashmiri sheek kebabs were succulent, moist and full of spices unlike the dry sheek available at Mumbai's most famous joints. Try them with the Apricot chutney served on the side.

Nadir or lotus stem is probably the most important part of Kashmiri cuisine and after eating the Nadir kebabs you won't be wondering why. The soft and crunchy kebabs are made with a mix of lotus stem and dryfruits.

While the vegetarian options are limited the Paneer ki tikki is something that'll keep you happy. Made with fresh cottage cheese, anardana and dryfruits the tikki is a fabulous blend of sweet and spicy flavours.

The main course has dishes like Rista which is served at the beginning of the meal. Rista is made with pounded meatballs (there's a long process to prepare this meat where it is pounded till the red meat turns white and then it's made into balls) cooked in a Kashmiri gravy made with moval extract, asofoetida, fennel and other spices. Gushtaba which is served at the end of the meal is the same meatballs cooked in a tangy yogurt gravy. We were blown over by both the dishes. The Mutton roganjosh was cooked with no onion or garlic in just ginger, asofoetida and fennel gravy and had meat falling off the bone. This with Kashmiri zafarani naan was a combination made in heaven, and with the food coming straight from the heaven on Earth I wouldn't question that.

The rich Rajma made with small kidney beans and the Morel pulao was again something that had subtle flavours. Chef Anirudha told us that the technique to make the morel pulao is again very long and complimented which is one reason we don't see it on a restaurant's menu.

Another special addition to our meal was the small grained Kashmiri rice which the Chef had brought from the land itself. Now here's an interesting fact that rice is actually the staple diet of a Kashmiri. A lot of their agriculture is based on rice. Bread on the other hand is mostly eaten for breakfast with Nun chai or salted tea. Rice or baatha is so important that during a Kashmiri wedding there's a special function which involves cleaning of rice for the wedding. Only the closest female members of the family are invited to clean the rice. You can read more about it here. We were served this rice with Tilapia, Kashmiri fish cooked in red chilli gravy, another pair made in heaven.

The dessert wasn't the usual Phirni, surprisingly, but was Suji ka halwa instead. The mildly sweetened semolina halwa had bigger grains instead of the regular small and fine ones.

The meal ended with a flavourful Kahwa, a Kashmiri tea which doesn't have any tea and is made of cinnamon, cardamom, clove and fennel. 

It's a pity that we are not aware of a cuisine which is so vast and is a culture in itself. I wouldn't be exaggerating if i say that Wazwan is not just food, it's a way of life.

The Wazwan Food Festival is on till the 30th of March.

Chef Sewa Singh

Post our meal we met the man behind all the goodness that we had just devoured, Chef Sewa Singh. The Chef might be a bit camera and people shy but he is the master of the art of cooking. Very graciously he shared his recipe of Mutton Roganjosh with me and here it is for you all to try.

Ingredients:

Lamb cubes (with bone)                1 kg

Desi ghee                                           110 gms

Turmeric powder                             10 gms

Kashmiri chilli powder                   25 gms

Dried Kashmiri chillies                  30 gms

Lamb stock                                       1 ltr

Dry ginger powder                           50 gms

Fennel powder                                 25 gms

Green cardamom                            5 nos.

Cinnamon stick                               4-5 nos.

Dry mint powder                             10 gms

Lamb fat                                            30 gms

Salt to taste

Method:

·         Blanch the lamb and wash to clean off all impurities.

·         Boil the whole chillies until soft, wash and make a fine paste with water.

·         Take ghee and lamb fat in a vessel, add cardamom and cinnamon, allow it to crackle.

·         Add salt, turmeric, red chilli powder, and red chilli paste and lamb stock.

·         Now add lamb, and cook until tender.

·         Remove lamb, strain the gravy and cook further till desired consistency.

·         Check for seasoning, finish with ginger powder, fennel powder and mint powder & serve hot.

Spicy mutton curry Maharashtrian style

I have always been amazed by the people who cook the best non-vegetarian food but are pure vegetarian themselves. How can you cook something without knowing how it tastes like or how it should taste like? My mother is one of those people. She cooks the best non-vegetarian food I've ever had. Another such person I know is the Husband's grandmother (for some reason the whole world calls her Mami). So Mami has been a vegetarian all her life but started cooking for her husband cause he just loved eating. She is famous for her Gavran Mutton and Chicken curries which are known to burn a whole in your sole. She visited us recently and knowing of my low tolerance to chilies she made the less spicier version of it. I stood next to her observing the recipe and here it is for all of you to try. Make it, eat it and let me know how it turned out.

Ingredients
Mutton - 600 gms
Onions - 2 medium sized
Garlic - 5-6 cloves
Ginger - An inch long piece
Cinnamon - An inch long stick
Black cardamom - 2
Green cardamom - 2
Bay leaf - 1
Grated coconut (dry or fresh) - 4 tbsp
Chana dal - 2 tbsp
Rice - 2 tbsp
Almonds - 2
Cashewnuts - 4
Dry coriander powder - 2 tsp
Red chili powder - 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Refined oil - 4 tbsp
Fresh coriander for garnish

Method

• Wash mutton properly and keep aside.
• Roughly slice onions, heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and fry the onions till they are golden brown. Remove and keep aside.
• In the same pan roast the grated coconut, remove and add to the fried onions.
• Roast the dal and rice too in the pan and add to the onion and coconut mix. Adding dal and rice to the preparation balances out the flavour of the spices and you don't end up eating mutton which tastes more of garlic and cinnamon.
• In a blender take fried onions, garlic, ginger, coconut, rice, dal, cinnamon, black and green cardamom, almonds and cashewnuts, add water and blitz them to a fine paste.
• Heat rest of the oil in a heavy bottomed pressure cooker and fry the paste for 5 minutes.
• Add mutton pieces, coriander and chilli powder and fry for atleast 10-15 minutes before pressure cooking it.
• Add 5 cups of water, salt and put the lid on. 5-6 whistles and your mutton will be ready.

Garnish it with fresh coriander and serve with hot rotis or rice. I prefer rotis slathered with ghee.

So, this was cooking in Bandra - Singkong Review

Months after the quiet exit of The Tasty Tangles, a new restaurant Singkong has settled itself at the same place. Owned by Dish Hospitality (they also own Aurus and Sancho’s) Singkong serves Pan Asian cuisine and has a wide range of dimsum and sushis on the menu followed by soups and mains. A small fleet of stairs took me to the restaurant with glass wall to the left and an open kitchen to the right. There’s a small sushi bar too on the right as soon as you enter. The decor is casual with mostly browns, greys and a bit of red thrown in.

I plopped my hungry self at the table reserved for media and bloggers. Our meal at Singkong started with a mix of dimsum, sushis, starters and a Thai basil martini (Rs 375), highly recommended by the staff, to go with it. If you love a dash of coconut in your drink, this one is a must try; a concoction of vodka, fresh basil leaves, coconut syrup and pineapple juice. For starters we were served Oriental shrimp nest (Rs 395), Wasabi prawns (Rs 395), Grilled lemon grass chilli basa (Rs 345), Pandan leaf wrapped spiced cottage cheese (Rs 275), and Rock corn (Rs 225). The shrimp nest was crispy deep fried prawn skewered on a sugarcane stick served in a shot glass with ginger soy sauce and chilli dipping sauce, I don’t know if it was the presentation or the taste that impressed me more but I loved the preparation. The second favourite was the wasabi prawn – deep fried prawns coated with wasabi mayo and topped with a sweet and spicy mango salsa, while the description said strong wasabi mayo it was actually pretty mild but whi is complaining? The vegetarians should definitely try the melt-in-mouth cottage cheese cooked in chilli soy and coriander and wrapped in pandan leaf. We also tried the Steamed bun with honey Hunan roasted pork slice (Rs 225). The dish had a strange presentation; it came on a heavy stone platter with two buns resting on a huge black stone which somehow reminded us of a Shivling, a flat Shivling. The sweet buns and sweeter sauce didn’t impress me much.

A round of dimsum and sushi platter called for another drink and we ordered the Singkong signature martini (Rs 375) – Old Monk, espresso vodka and a dash of cream dusted with cinnamon powder. If you can tell your prawns from the cottage cheese after this drink, well hats off to you. From the sushi section I recommend the California uramaki (Rs 445) – crabstick, avocado and sesame seed sushi coated with Tobiko or fish roe and Crispy Philadelphia uramaki (Rs 445) – smoked salmon, cream cheese, avocado & cucumber. Frankly I would prefer the sushis at Aoi over the ones at Singkong especially the tomato-cheese and beef one. 

The dimsum lovers might be a little disappointed because despite the variety I couldn’t put my money on a single one except for the Steamed prawns which came wrapped in a fresh looking spinach roll (Rs 245). The edamame and water chestnut dimsum was too sticky and without any flavour, avoid.

Within an hour of our entering the restaurant it was packed to the brim with a mix of couples, young group and families walking in to dine. Good news for the families is that the restaurant is kid friendly and has high chairs for the little ones.

If you manage to get past the starters, dimsum and sushi and manage to order the mains (because you will be full by that time) then go for the Chilli beef with red onion (Rs 395) – tender chunks of beef cooked in dark soy and Stir fry king prawns in Sambal Oelek (Rs 495) – prawns cooked in a sauce made with bird eye chillies with Celery and garlic rice (Rs 225). The main course preparations were a bit too salty for some reason so if you like your food less salty you might need to tell the Chef in advance.

I didn't wait till the dessert arrived but have heard that they have pretty good Carrot cake so please try and let me know how it was. Will I go back to Singkong? Yes, for the starters and martinis if nothing else.

Must Try: Singkong martini, Oriental shrimp nest

Price: Rs 2500 + taxes (with alcohol)

Address:
Pinnacle House, 1st Floor, 
PD Hinduja Junction & 15th Road, 
Khar West, Mumbai
Landmark - Above Sancho's
Phone: 
022 6709 4455

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Singkong.Restaurant
Twitter: @SingkongMumbai