Meeting the MasterChef, Gary Mehigan

 Last one year has been really exciting for me as a professional food writer and blogger. One of the reasons is that I got to meet some of the great Chefs, all of International repute. I met Chef Sanjeev Kapoor last year at a food bloggers' meet hosted at his office in Andheri. Had a chance to meet the Executive Chef of Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Chef Hemant Oberoi during the burger festival at Shamiana. Recently, I interviewed Chef Gagan Anand, owner and Chef at Gaggan restaurant in Bangkok. The most recent one and the one that sent me in a fangirl mode was meeting Chef Gary Mehigan, the host of MasterChef Australia. 

Gary Mehigan was in Mumbai last week promoting Tourism Victoria. He held a masterclass for media at Celini in Grand Hyatt where he demonstrated some of his signature dishes. I wouldn't be lying if I say that I was concentrating more on the charming chef than the dishes. The masterclass was followed by a lunch where we got to taste these dishes that Gary had just demonstrated.

Chef Gary Mehigan at work

 The four course menu was comprised of canapes, entree, mains and dessert paired with Yering Station Chardonnay and Yering Station Shiraz Viognier.

 

Crispy French baguette topped with smoked and fresh salmon mixed with sour cream was light and delicious and I could've easily filled my stomach with these bite sized snacks.

Rillettes of smoked and fresh salmon, rosemary and olive biscuit

I was blown away by the display of colours on this plate; a mix of greens, yellow, red made the salad really appetizing. The ingredients were fresh and that goat's curd absolutely creamy and divine.

Salad of new season asparagus, slow cooked egg, goat's curd and green olive tapenade

The main course was one of Gary's favourite dishes - roasted chicken with crispy skin. The carrot custard was wonderful with the perfectly roasted chicken breast.

Roasted breast of free range chicken, truffled boudin blanc, carrot and cardamom custard, baby carrots, hazelnut crumble, jus gras

This was the best part of the meal - dessert. Gary gave a quick demonstration of the chocolate mousse. Anisha (@TheBlackSakura) was the first one to raise her hand when Gary offered this dessert to the guests. Lucky to eat a dessert coming straight from Gary :D. The mousse was creamy, chocolaty with just right amount of sweetness. The Tuscan cake was Matt Preston's recipe and trust me, this was one of the most amazing cakes I've ever had. The olive oil chocolate was a surprise with just a hint of olive oil and cinnamon.

Warm Tuscan chocolate cake with milk chocolate mousse, salty caramel, oat biscuits and olive oil ice cream

 

And finally, this was the moment I will remember all my life, standing next to one of the best chefs in the world.

Chef talk with Chef Gagan Anand

I recently met Chef Gagan Anand who owns the famous Indian restaurant Gaggan in Bangkok known for Molecular Gastronomy. I interviewed him for burrp.com's features section Know Your City. We discussed food, culture and things in general over a cup of coffee at Four Seasons.

Within barely a year and a half of its inception, Gaggan in Bangkok became one of the most sought after Indian restaurants in the world. It now is a staple on Thailand’s ‘must try’ itenerary. We caught up with Chef Gagan Anand, the man behind the radical take on Indian cuisine while he was in Mumbai hosting a private dinner at Four Seasons.

Just back from lunch at Britannia and Co, he raved about the famous Parsi restaurant, though he still prefers his Kolkata style biryani to the berry pulao. We chatted at length with him about our common love, food. Here are the excerpts from the interview. Read more...

Mom's special bread samosas - A mix of fried and healthy

Sometimes I love indulging in some seriously unhealthy breakfasts. Most of them are my Mom's recipes. These bread rolls or like Mom calls them, bread samosas are one of them. The dish tastes the best during winters when there are a lot of fresh vegetables in the market. The digestive system also works better in winters so it's best to make it then.

Ingredients
Potatoes - 4 medium
Carrot - 1 medium (grated)
Cabbage - 1 cup (grated)
Capsicum - 1 medium (chopped)
Green chilies - 2 (chopped)
Green coriander - 1/4 cup (chopped)
Dry mango powder (amchoor powder) - 1 tbsp
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Bread - 8 slices
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Method

1. Boil, peel and mash the potatoes.
2. Add carrot, cabbage, capsicum, green chilies, green coriander, amchoor powder, red chili powder and salt to potatoes and mix well.
3. lightly soak a bread slice in abowl of water. Squeeze out the excess water, take a little potato filling and place it in the centre of the bread slice.
4. Carefully wrap the bread around the potato mix to make a round ball.
5. Repeat the process with rest of the bread slices.
6. Heat oil in a wok and fry the samosas till they turn brown.
7. Serve with sauce, green chutney or any other dip of your choice.

Baby potato and bacon salad + Happy Birthday blog

The blog turns two today, it has been a very delicious ride so far. I started this food blog in 2011 after I started food writing for burrp's features section Know Your City. Initially, the idea was to write restaurant reviews but the blog kept growing and I started posting recipes that I was trying at home. The blog inspired me to bake more often and try out ingredients that I had never used before. Thanks blog and Happy Birthday.

To celebrate the blog's birthday I thought of making something with bacon, my new found love :). I decided to go with this simple Roasted baby potatoes and bacon salad topped with caramelized onions. The dish tastes wonderful with different sort of flavours and textures; the crunchy bacon, sweet onions and pepper roasted potatoes, what's not to like about it. I got the inspiration for the recipe from thecozyapron.com. Here's the recipe with a slight twist.

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Serves: 2

Ingredients:
Baby potatoes - 250 gms
Onion - 1 large
Bacon - 3-4 strips (depends on how much bacon heavu you want it to be)
Black pepper - 8 (lightly crushed)
Maple syrup - 1 tbsp
Parsley - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Kosher Salt - 1 tsp
Olive oil - 2 tsp for potatoes, 2 tsp for caramelizing onions, 1 tsp for frying bacon

Method:

• Preheat the oven at 180 degree celcius.
• Peel and half the potatoes. Take them in baking dish, add salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon juice. Mix well.
• Roast the potatoes in oven for about 30 minutes or till they are brown and crisp.
• Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a pan for caramelized onions, throw in onions and sugar and fry till they turn brown. Remove from the pan and keep aside.
• Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a pan, chop the bacon strips and fry them in the oil. Add maple syrup. Remove from pan and keep aside.
• Once potatoes are roasted move them in the serving bowl. Top them with maple bacon, caramelized onions and chopped parsley. Serve.

Grab a chilled beer too.

My Doodle recipe is a part of Easy Doodle Recipe contest at BlogAdda.com in association with TastyKhana.com

Greek Food Festival @ Renaissance Convention Centre Hotel

It won't be an exaggeration if i say that Renaissance, Powai is my favourite hotel in Mumbai. The location is just perfect; in the midst of greenery, by the lake it's a great place to unwind. Their Italian restaurant is undoubtedly the best in the city and their Executive Chef Jolly probably one of the most charming Chefs. 

I have attended quite a few food festivals, media dinners and bloggers' meets here. After a long gap I visited Renaissance again to try out their Greek Food Festival at the Lake View Cafe. Chef Douskos George from Ledra Marriott, Athens has flown down to share his recipes for this festival. Here's what I liked (and didn't like) from the spread.

Apart from the traditional Greek salad there was one with prunes, bacon and zucchini and a pickled fish salad. Loved both but Greek salad won because of feta, of course. 

Out of hummus, babaghanoush and yogurt dip I liked the yogurt dip best. For some reason I prefer the Lebanese hummus over the Greek one.

Greek version of shawarma or gyro were good. Still, shawarma wins for me. The roast lamb leg in mustard sauce was the dish of the day for me, also the moussaka. Sorry for not taking pictures, I was a little too busy eating.

The dessert section was somewhat generic and the famous baklava was missing. But these Greek yogurt tarts made up for it. The yogurt was mildly sweet and the tart perfectly baked.

Loukoumades or honey puffs were specially recommended by the Chef. The deep fried dough balls were flavoured with cinnamon and topped with honey and crushed dryfruits. The dessert had a crispy and mildly sweet crust but was too dry from the inside. It didn't hit the right note with us sweet loving Indians. However, the Chef served it again topped with a little Nutella which made it taste almost like a doughnut.

And yes, we did break a plate.

The Greek Food Festival at The Lake View Cafe, Renaissance Conventions Centre Hotel is on till Sunday, September 8; 7.30pm onwards.

Jawhar – Paradise near Mumbai

The best part of traveling is when you find paradise in an unexpected place. We weren’t expecting much of Jawhar when a friend recommended it as a weekend getaway. A place in Thane District, around 180 kms from Mumbai, how beautiful or serene can it be, we thought. But a 3 hour drive to a hilly place close by vs the 7 hour tiring one to Mahabaleshwar sounded like a better idea to us. So we packed our bags, checked the map and left for this little village.

How to reach there

There are no tourist buses to Jawhar, train will only take you till Dahanu Rd. station from where it’s difficult to get a public transport. Hence driving or hiring a cab is the best idea. If you are on Western Suburbs drive towards Ghodbunder Road and get on to NH8. Make sure you have a full tank and GPS connection, switch it on and keep following the route.

Where to stay

There are just 3-4 hotels in Jawhar. We stayed at Shanti Sarovar Resort. Located near Jaysagar lake, the hotel is a perfect location. They offer a package with 3 meals. We paid Rs 1700 per head for the non AC room and lunch, dinner and breakfast. The rooms are clean but make sure you take the one facing the lake with a small balcony. The food is decent with dal, sabzi, roti, rice and a non vegetarian dish for lunch and dinner. We had a decent omelette and bread for breakfast. Other than the hotel, the town does not have many options to eat. However, if you go during monsoons eating bhajiyas and pav pakodas at the roadside stalls is a good idea.

What to see

The Jaysagar dam on Jaysagar lake is just 5 miutes away from Shanti Sarovar Resort. It's beautifully peaceful near the lake, even with the sound of the water flowing through the dam. 

Around 18 kms from Jawhar, towards Silvassa, is Dabhosa waterfall. The 300 feet high waterfall on Lendi river is surrounded by thick forest.

The journey more beautiful than the destination

The road to Jawhar is mostly good except for some rough patches. The route is full of beautiful landscapes. I probably saw all shades of green in this trip. There were beautiful farms, paddy fields and small vineyards on the way from Jawhar to Dabhosa. Small streams of river will make you want to jump into them or just dip your feet in the cool river water and sit for hours.

This sleepy Hamlet so close to Mumbai is still untouched by the crowd running towards Lonavla every monsoons. If you are planning to do the same I'd suggest you take a U-turn and head to Jawhar instead.

Dad, dosa and the hunt for the perfect tawa

As a kid making idli - dosa at our home was a monthly ritual. The preparations that went behind it would've easily made us look like a South Indian family. Mom would soak the dal and rice overnight for dosa batter and would grind it into a paste, sil-batta being her weapons of choice till dad gifted her a food processor. Her proportions for the batter were always accurate, consistency always right.

The sambhar that she makes still has the same taste as it had some 20 years ago and I still prefer it over all the Cafe Madras and Cafe Mysores. Her simple chutney made of chana dal, coconut and dahi was the star of the meal, I've not eaten similar chutney anywhere else.

While mom cooked her perfect sambhar, chutney and aloo sabzi for masala dosa, it was dad who donned the Chef's hat to make dosas. His practiced hands poured a bowl of batter on the hot pan, spread it quickly making thin, crisp and even colored dosas while my sisters and I gobbled one after another. Dad's interest in the art and technique of making dosas started in his college days in Lucknow when he and his friends used to go out to eat dosas. He always stood next to the cook observing him, watching his every move keenly.

After starting to make dosa at home dad used the non stick tawa for a very long time. One fine day he went to the market and got a special flat iron tawa made for himself. The tawa that he has is a lot bigger than the one in the video, and heavier too. His dosas got bigger and crispier on the iron tawa eventually, spoiling him for life. Now every time he comes to stay with my sister in Bombay he cribs at the lack of good tawa. Last year he searched the Kharghar market and bought one that sort of fulfilled his need, only for the time being though. He is in town again and planning on getting a heavy iron one for my sis this time. Meanwhile I took a video of him making dosa in his signature style. I don't know how much time it'll take me to make dosas like this but I am in no hurry since the husband is learning.

Sorry for the bad quality and too much noise in the video. I didn't get enough time to edit it.