Chew on this - The Bread to my butter and breath to my life (with apologies to Paul Child)

I have been in Dehra Dun these last weeks, so the kids could get their summer holidays with their grandmother. And in between all the summer fun, I have been working on my book, specifically the first two sections that deal with a lot of family memories and are high on emotion. It has been a vulnerable phase, with extreme highs when things go well and horrible lows when you know what you want to wrtie but it just will not come out. And then when I was at my crochety worst Shekhar, my husband brought me a copy of Julie and Julia. He'd watched it on a flight recently and wanted me to watch it because it reminded him of me.

I saw why immediately, of course. While the movie is a celebration of Julia Child and her legendary influence on the culinary world it is also a celebration of food bloggers and aspiring writers and I drew a lot of parallels with myself as I watched. For example, when Julie (Adams) says to Eric (Messina) late in the film, “I’m going to be a writer,” he responds, without missing a beat, “You are a writer.” (the food blogger in me was cheering at this point!) I began as a blogger like Julie albeit without the challenge she had set herself, but just commiting to blogging regularly is a challenge in itself. I know I drive Shekhar nuts cooking all  sorts of exotic things, getting frustrated when they go wrong and even today I struggle to juggle everything I do so I can get that post out on the blog on schedule. And I am also a book author like Julia, I have made it my life's work to bring fun and creativity back to everyday traditional cooking plus I am also writing a book (two actually) that are taking their time to be born. Of course I was starving within moments! And there were so many moments that were like deja Vu, Meryl Streep was phenomenal playing Julia Child. And Amy Adams was so endearing.

But I digress this post is not about me, neither is it about the movie, (which by the way was everyhing I expected and more!) More than the women, I was watching the men and specifically both the marriages.  Both  women had wonderful, supportive husbands. Both husbands were really involved in whatever their wives were doing, just being in the kitchen with them as they cooked, being close to them & sharing their joy in the cooking process, eating the food when it was ready or offering shoulders to cry on after culinary disasters.

Most of those who know me, know that I am utterly, passionately and hopelessly in love with my husband but I seldom talk about my family in public spaces so people that meet him are often surprised at how much of a food lover he is. In fact at the pork party I hosted recently, I was accused of keeping him out of the limelight! I don't, really. It is just that Shekhar is a very private person. But he loves his food. He loves my cooking and most importantly he is the wing beneath my wings, the flame under my cooking pots, the olivo oil in my pesto, the chilli in my chutney.... (ok. ok I'll stop!)

Shekhar is back in Mumbai, (he has a steady job he needs to keep so I can travel the food fantastic). But lo and behold this lovely email I recieved yesterday, rounding up how he spent his solitary Sunday! I have been asking him to write here for a long time, sharing his humorous insights on being married to me and cooking experiances and although this is not a blog post, I was thrilled to read it. I thought I would give you a little glimpse of him through this lovely email I recieved yesterday, under protest from him. Please read it and do leave comments to encourage him to write more....

"Hey,


I made burgers again! The aim was to conjure up some of those 'juicy' burgers commonly found at Pubs in the US and UK, to be had with a chilled pint of beer, to beat the heat!


This time I chose to experiment with Lamb-mince instead of the Chicken that we did last time. The switch was not because I like Lamb better than Chicken, but because like any gullible novice, I used logic! I thought that red meat would result in a more authentic (read red) looking burger patty than my earlier (pale) Chicken burger. Needless to say, the results were not as expected, and the lamb a slightly darker pale version of the chicken. So much for color matching!


Why do I try this experiment time and again despite:


a) no access to authentic ingredients (beef, bar-b-que sauce etc.);
b) a handicap of a grilling pan (as against a charcoal grill); and
c) absolutely no experience in making anything with meat?

Let me see. The anticipation of sinking my teeth into a deliciously cheesy, crunchy, meaty burger goaded me into manufacturing one for myself. But honestly, after the last experiment, I would have been happy with anything edible.

So how did it go? Let me bore you with the details.


First let me tell you about the bread.


You know that my overconfidence in my abilities to make bread knows no bound. Despite repeated failed attempts at baking a good loaf, I still did not use standard measures. This was because I was sure that all the earlier disasters were because of the yeast. Yeah. I know what you're thinking. There has to be a fall guy in this somewhere, and the yeast is it. But seriously, the yeast we picked up from Crawford market is almost expired and that was probably why my bread was so dense. So this time, I added double the amount of yeast into the same quantity of bread.


I put the dough to rise for a couple of hours while we went to see Prince of Persia. Upon returning, I found that while the bread appeared to have risen like a dream, it had finally flattened out on the tray. This was probably due to the weight of the atta I had used in lieu of the maida.


Note to self. Stick to maida next time.


I fixed it up once again and then put it up for baking. You can see the results (attached images). The bread has risen beautifully, is lighter than any bread I have baked so far, and looks great. Unfortunately, it tastes quite bland. My sugar and salt proportions are the main culprits this time.


To summarize, my habit of not measuring has done me in once again. I now have two loaves of bland bread to finish in 3 days before I leave to return to you.


The burgers on the other hand were quite a success. But I had to do a bit of improvisations to make it work.


My earlier apprenticeship with Chachaji had given be sufficent confidence to deal with mince. So when I picked up 3 packets of Lamb mince from Nature's Basket, I thought I knew exactly what I had to do. But by the time I got back home, after a fairly elaborate lunch of Chole-Bhature from Gulati's, the plot was a bit muddled in the head.


All I recall is that the mince was prepared in stages. As and when I saw or remembered an ingredient, I added it, mixed it and then waited for the next inspiration. I think I put eggs, onions, garlic, salt, pepper sauce, green chillies, coriander, and chicken tikka masala into it. The last ingredient was pepper, which I'm sure would have been waiting patiently on the shelf for its turn.


So far so good.


The frying was a bit of a challenge as the patty started oozing some sort of creamy liquid which I wasn't sure came from the egg, the fat of the lamb, or the pepper sauce that I had added. But it was gooey, and it did not allow my burger patty to brown! So my burgers came out pale once again.
Unlike the bread, they tasted quite decent, but did not look like any burgers I had eaten.
So I sought the help of your Cookery Encyclopaedia (you know how often I end up with it?). And what a brilliant solution it gave me.


Caramelized onions!


The vinegar and honey helped create a nice brown layer on the pan with the onions. Upon putting the patty back on the pan after finishing the onions, they got a nice brown coating that improved the taste of the patty and gave it the look I wanted.


Since I had not managed to make any burger buns, and I did not have to appetite for anything heavy, I decided to improvise on the serving by using some of your ideas.
A bed of bright green lettuce for the nicely browned patties, with a center of caramelized onions!

Voila!

Not bad for an amateur, huh :-).
Love,


Shekhar

Eat Pray Love

Dear Rushina,

One of the best things about coming home is eating with my family. My parents are firm believers of that commonly quoted proverb – “A family that prays together stays together”. My father has extended this to a family eating together. He credits the strong bond he has with his siblings to the meals they have shared together while growing up. So our two daily meals (in the morning and evening) are as important as our daily family devotion. And before each meal, we pray together to give thanks.

As a fellow foodie, you will perhaps understand me when I say eating (good food) can be a spiritual experience. This is particularly true for me when smoked pork cooked in axone is laid out before me. The combined sense of gratitude and awe that something could look, feel and taste this scrumptious has more than once led me to declare that partaking of this dish is an act of worship for me. Even as my devout mother prudently counseled me to “search my heart” to see if it was God or Food I worshipped.
But it is much more than a personal experience. There is something about praying together before eating that consecrates both the food on the table as well as the moment of eating. By praying together, you have entered into some more profound union with the people with whom you share the meal. And this has always made meal times with friends and family more meaningful.
So much so that I often long to say a quick prayer with friends for whom this practice is entirely alien. Few attempts have been hilarious, with one friend sincerely saying amen after each word, all of us ended up laughing by the end of my “prayer”. But with many new friends from different cultures, I can only truly experience this when I come home to our little dining table and my family of five. It is where I learnt that food is a gift from God and where I learnt to thank Him for it. It is where the foodie in me can be truly spiritual and where I can worship one bite at a time.

Mad About Meat - Beef

Beef Momos

I’ve always wondered about foodies who love to eat but can’t cook. How much they must suffer. Especially when restaurants do not serve the kind of food that you crave. That dreadful allegory of Hell being a place where people cook delicious food using spoons with such long handles that they can’t bring the food to their lips comes to mind (Shudder!!!) Such was my predicament when I landed in Mumbai and discovered that there were no Momos to be found. The obvious solution was to simply learn to make them (Rushina suggested when she saw my suffering).
So imagine my delight when my sister-in-law Azung invited me and my sisters over to her place for a Momo-making party! Ani Azung had invited her Tibetan tenant to come teach us how to make momos. Here’s what I learnt.

Momo Dough
500 g of Maida flour
100 ml of Water
1 egg (Optional)

Mix ingredients, knead until dough is smooth and consistent. The egg apparently makes the dough less likely to tear when you’re wrapping the meat in it.



Stuffing
1kg of Beef, Choose a portion with meat and bones so that the bones can be boiled for the soup
4 large onions, finely chopped
6 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp Salt

Mince the beef and mix with the other ingredients.



To make the Wrapper
Roll the dough into a sausage about 2 inches in diameter. Cut into cross sections about an inch wide. Use a rolling pin to flatten and roll the dough until it is about 4 inches in diameter.

Wrapping Momos
Place a tablespoon of the mince meat in the middle of the wrapper


Gently pinch together one edge of the wrapper and fold the edges of the wrapper toward you until the stuffing is completely enclosed.






Thanks to the expert guidance we had, we learnt some different wrapping styles.







Steaming
Place Momos in the steamer and cook for forty minutes.




Momo Soup
Take bones of the beef, add 3ltrs of water, place lid and cook for 30-40mins.


Add coriander, onion grass or spring onion leaves as garnish and serve hot with the Momos.

Rushina's Recipes - Confetti Salad

I have always loved salads and regularly make a meal of them. Research has proven that just adding a single salad to you diet daily can significantly improve your nutritional status and also protect against disease and weight gain, in fact those who eat raw vegetables daily show and higher levels of folic acid, vitamins C and E, lycopene and alpha- and beta-carotene. So add a bowlful of goodness to your day… use every excuse to Toss! One of my favourite salads is this simple Confetti Salad. Ideal for hot summer days like we are having and perfect to toss up using whatever you have to hand. Just remember keep it fresh colorful and finely chopped!

Serves: 4-6
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cooked small size pasta (macaroni, orzo, fussili, tiny alphabet pasta)
1/2 cup mixed coloured peppers, finely chopped
1/2 cup boiled sweet corn
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 cup broccoli, cut in tiny florets
Juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
A few leaves ice berg lettuce, shredded
Salt to taste

Method:

Combine everything in a large glass bowl and mix well. Can be served immediately or chill for a while and serve cold.

Variation:

Add finely diced cooked chicken or or small prawns.

Down Momo'ry Lane

Dear Rushina,

I have always taken Tibetan food for granted. Not surprising considering the fact that I grew up in Mussoorie, home to the famous Rice Bowl restaurant and other lesser known but equally fabulous Tibetan food joints. One that immediately comes to mind is Momo’s named after the owner whom we called, well, Momo. It was run by his wife who made the most divine mutton Momos EVER! It was on many a happy binge at Momos that I discovered the deep fried variety and experimented with my friends on how best (and quickly) to eat as many Momos as our monthly allowances would allow. I finally settled on cutting the sizzling hot Momo into half and letting the steam out for a bit. Then I would take each half and stuff it with a generous helping of red hot, slightly fermented chilli paste and anoint it with a drop of soy sauce before I popped it in my mouth. As the hot fatty meat mixed with the fiery chilli in my mouth, I would take a sip of hot bland Momo soup.



In a moment of exquisite pain and pleasure, I would savour the heat of the soup battling the burn of the chilli, feel fire in my mouth die and begin all over again when I took my next mouthful.
At the Rice Bowl, my regular order was their chicken Thukpa. I’ve often heard Thukpa being impatiently explained off as ‘soup chow’ and thought how this does not do it justice. Thukpa soup is thin and clear with a delicate flavour. It is the perfect medium for the noodles, vegetables, meat and egg as it allows each to retain its distinct flavour and texture. The experience of eating thukpa is one of cleansing. I always feel purged, invigorated, light (strange given the fact that thukpa is usually served generously in a big bowl) after a bowl of thukpa.
Contrary to what many people think, Momos or thukpa are not part of Naga cuisine. Tibetan food is as foreign to me as Italian cuisine. Thanks to a large Tibetan community in Kohima however, I have had the privilege of enjoying Tibetan food even when I came home for the holidays. Having been deprived of good Tibetan food in Mumbai (Sernyaa was a phenomenal disappointment but that’s another story), visiting a good Tibetan restaurant in Kohima was on top of my to-do list.

Tashi Delek is renowned in Kohima for serving good Tibetan fare. So off I went with my sisters to try my favourite Tibetan classics, Momos and Thukpa.



Though not the best I’ve had, starved as I was, my Mumbai returned palate joyously reacquainted itself with the steamed Momos (too much onion) and clear Momo soup.


The Thukpa however did not disappoint!


An impressive concoction of pork, fried eggs, fresh (still crunchy) vegetables, noodles and that deliciously flavoured soup, many a declaration to return just for the Thukpa was made between slurps and satiated silence.

Chew on this - Pork on the plate...

I had my pork party planned well before I went to Singapore. I was so pleased with myself for thinking up the idea! It had all the elements of my idea of a perfect evening. Fabulous food at ehe centre, with Theyie giving us our first taste of a Naga style pork meal and me providing the rest of the courses with ingredients - culinary souviners I picked up from a recent trip to Singapore. Factor in an interesting mix of foodie friends united by their love for pork, music by the OH and Rum and coke to wash it all down with and were set!

For those of you who love pork and wish to rediscover and relish this surprisingly lean red meat take a pork pilgrimage to Singapore, a promised land for food lovers and home to some of the most delectable pork dishes conjured by Asians.

 

 

A bowl of Bak Kut The for instance. An utterly mouth-watering Chinese soup whose name literally translates to mean ‘meat bone tea’. Bak Kut The has become immensely popular in Singapore. So much so that this soup even has its own district, the Balestier area which is packed with stalls that specialize solely in bak kut teh. A dish of pork ribs simmered in herbs and spices such as cinnamon, cloves, dang gui, garlic and star anise Bak kut the was brought to south east asia by migrant Chinese, but different stories alternately credit the Hokkien and the Teochews (different Chinese linguistic groups) for introducing it. Singapore with its myriad Chinese communities offers three main versions of Bak kut the. Teochew, the most common, is a lighly coloured and strongly peppered version. Holko or the Hokkien version is saltier and darker because more soy sauce is added and then there is the Cantonese version that includes medicinal herbs and is therefore more strongly flavoured. Usually eaten with rice, it is washed down with Chinese tea because it is believed that the tea dilutes the substantial amount of fat consumed in this pork-laden dish.

For many years now, a highlight of visitng Singapore for me was the prpect of tucking into some delectable Pork dishes. With Pork suffering so much bad press lately, what with swine flu snd all, Singapore with its high standards of hygiene offered a safe place to eat this much maligned meat! Untill I met Theyie, A Perfect Bite's resident Mad about Meat member! Through her I discovered that one could eat buy and eat fabulous Pork here in Mumbai as well. From Theyie I also learned that Pork goes beyond Vindaloo and Sorpotel in India. Good news for those who can’t take the trip to Singapore!

As Theyie cooked the Pork with Bamboo shoot for our Pork Party she regaled me with other Pork dishes from the North East. "The Khasis of Meghalaya have an extraordinarily delicious cold pork salad called ‘Dohkklieh’. Best when the portions are hocks and trotters, the pork is boiled then tossed with onions and chillies. The Sikkimese also make a lovely pork leg pickle or Khuta ko achar. And anyone who prefers to choose their pork directly from the butcher must visit the meat market at Bara Bazaar in Shillong once in their lives. One thing that is universally acknowledged among pork lovers in the North East is that Shillong pork is clean and that the butchers can carve the desired cuts exquisitely. ‘Dohneiiong’ is another Khasi pork dish, this time served hot in a gravy of black sesame seeds that gives the pork a rich, nutty flavour.

And then she came to her home state of Nagaland, and there was a gleam in her eye as she continued "Nagaland can also proudly stake a claim to the title of India’s Pork Capital. The amount of pork consumed in this state is astounding; the numbers unfortunately not available because people are too busy eating to count. The Sema dish, Awoshi kitiki eno Axone, a thick stew of smoked pork in fermented soya bean is on its way to becoming an iconic Naga dish. Other close contenders are the Lotha tribe’s pork with fermented bamboo shoot and the Ao tribe’s Pongsen or pork cooked in bamboo.

In fact I know for a fact that the Southern part of india also has some fabulous pork dishes. I remember eating the fabulous Pandhi Curry with Kaddumbuttu on a trip to Coorg a long time ago. Pork lovers out there please throw light on more Pork dishes and where to find them so that the next time, all of us pork lovers are tired of all the bad press pork gets, we can defend our favourite lean red meat by digging in! If not by traveling to Singapore, than by visiting our very own North East or failing that, by getting some mouth-watering vindaloo right here in Mumbai. As Theyie says "Nutritious and utterly scrumptious, this meat can survive bad press. The proof is in the pork!."

Links and GYAN

Fellow food blogger The Knife, blogs about the pristinely porcine evening we had on Friday night over on his blog.... Finely Chopped: 'A Perfect Bite' of pork and a magical evening at Rushina's

Rushina's recipes - Essential Ingredient – Yoghurt

Today’s post was inspired by my friend the Knife musing aloud for light summer recipes on Facebook.
Whether you call it thayir or dahi or doi or mosiru or any other regional name, wether it makes its presence felt as a side dish, an ingredient or impromptu dessert with a bit of sugar stirred in, there is no doubt that Curd or yoghurt is an indispensible part of Indian cuisine. Nowhere in the world is yoghurt as indispensible at the table as it is in India.

Yoghurt is the one omnipresent ingredient that is part of any Indian kitchen from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. As a side dish in its natural form it holds its own on the thali across india, but it also balances the spicy flavours of Biryanis and Curries in the form of raitas, is drunk as a cooling drink in the summeras chaas in Gujarat, ginger-spiked majjige in Karnataka or thick, sweetened lassi in Punjab.

As an ingredient it makes itself useful in a myriad ways from tenderizing mutton for succulent dishes such as the Kashmiri yakhni or enveloping slices of fish in the delicate Bengali doi machch, it also, brings piquancy to the palate in the form of the slightly sour-mostly sweet shrikhand in Gujarat and Maharashtra, or the vegetable rich Avial in Kerela and signifies the end of a fabulous traditional Tamil meal as thayir saadam or curd rice.

But it does not stop at being an ingredient added to a dish, dishes that are made from yoghurt alone are also many like the savoury karhi and chaawal that comes to the plate in a variety of ways as you travel through India, or those dahi vadas we all love. Even the royal kitchens of yore used yoghurt in a myriad ways, from shaping hung curd into the meltingly soft dahi kebabs flavoured with Saffron to Burhani a digestive, drink of curds spiced with garlic and chilli prescribed by the royal hakim, or doctor.

Or so I thought until a trip to Turkey last year.

We were dining at a fabulous restaurant called Ciya that specializes in regional Turkish food, particularly that of south-eastern Anatolia that is justly famous in Istanbul. My local food guide and I were having a delicious dialogue on the many similarities between Turkish and Indian food words (peynir/panir, corba/shorba) when I was offered Ayran, a drink made by mixing yoghurt with water, and salt. In other words namkeen lassi! I was just about to comment on that similarity when we are served siveydiz, a soup of lamb, yogurt, and green garlic shoots. So unfolded another fascinating aspect of similarity between Turkish and Indian cuisine; the importance of yoghurt at the table!

For thousands of years, yogurt has been an important part of the Turkish meal. In Turkey like in India, a dish yogurt is a must on any traditional Turkish table – either accompanying another dish or in a dish as the main ingredient. Yogurt is also used to make soups and even sweets. Another reason why Turks hold yogurt dearly is that all over the world it is consumed and known as “yogurt,” which is a word of Turkish origin. The word derives from Turkish yoğurt,[2] and is related to yoğurmak 'to knead' and yoğun 'dense' or 'thick
It is not possible to pin down where yoghurt originated, possible it was discovered in different places simultaneously. But discovering its importance at the Turkish table, brought home to me the fact that there is so much you can do with yoghurt that it is tough to fit into the space of one post. That said however, a bit of yoghurt can make life in the kitchen easier and allow you to add immense variety to the meals you serve.

Yoghurt and sesame gratinated Potatoes
This recipe is a sexed up version of a traditional Garhwali recipe – Khatte Aloo. It was a big hit at my health special workshops at nature’s basket recently. Do it as a summer casserole, add a salad on the side some sweet wine and you are set…

Time taken: 30 mins. Serves: 1

Ingredients
2 potatoes, boiled with very little water
1 c yoghurt, hung for ½ hour
½ c toasted sesame seeds (or 3 tbsp Tahini)
1-2 green chilies
1 tsp oil
Salt

Directions
Place toasted Sesame in a blender and process to a paste. Add green chilies and process until incorporated. Add yoghurt and process again until incorporated completely (You should end up with a batter the consistency of dosa batter so add a little milk if it is too thick). Set aside. Place a non stick frying an on a medium flame and brush with oil. Slice the boiled potatoes into ½ inch thick rounds, arrange in a single layer in the frying pan as you slice. Pour the Yoghurt over the potato layer spreading with a spatula so everything is evenly covered. Raise flame to high and allow cook until the moisture has completely evaporated (about 10 minutes).

Yayla Chorba
Yayla means ‘mountain pastures’, which is where this popular yoghurt soup originates from. Since milk spoilt easy during summer, the nomadic herdsmen and the earliest settler’s of Anatolia (Asia Minor) converted the milk into yoghurt and prepared this dish. Chorba is Turkish for ‘soup’, a corruption of the Persian word ‘shuraba’, which is derived from shur (salty) and aba (food). In Arabic, ‘shuraba’ means ‘meat broth’. And in India, the Mughlai cuisine calls soup ‘shorba’!

Recipe courtesy Selin Rozanes of Turkish Flavours1 litre/ 4 cups beef stock (substitute: chicken/ vegetable stock)
1/2 cup rice, rinsed and drained
2 cups yoghurt
2 tbsp flour
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
Salt to taste
4 tbsp black pepper, freshly ground
4 tbsp butter
4 tsp dried mint
Paprika flakes to serve (optional)
Place rice in saucepan with stock; simmer for 25 to 30 minutes or until rice is tender and has released its starch to thicken soup. In a bowl, combine yoghurt, flour and egg yolk; mix well. Stir in boiling soup, a little at a time, mixing thoroughly. Slowly, add this mixture to rice, stirring constantly. Taste; adjust seasoning. Simmer gently for 10 minutes. To serve, melt butter in skillet, add crushed mint, stir and drizzle over soup. Serve hot, garnished with a sprinkling of paprika flakes.





ADDITIONAL WAYS WITH YOGHURT
Here are some ways in which I use yoghurt in my kitchen.
Hang yoghurt for a while and then combine with finely chopped green garlic, spring onion or coriander, salt and crushed peppercorns and serve as a dip, salad dressing or topping for crackers.
The Tzatziki is a middle Eastern version of the Cucumber raita. To make it slice a couple of Cucumbers in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds and slice white flesh into ¼ inch crescents. Combine with a cup of yoghurt, a handful of fresh Dill (Sowa) and a crushed clove of Raw Garlic. You can serve this with toothpicks as a starter, in a bowl as a side dish to grilled paneer or chicken with naan.
Shred ½ a cabbage and steam or blanche lightly. Strain and squeeze gently. Combine with a couple of sliced onions and tomatoes and a cup of yoghurt and salt. Temper with garlic and red chillies and eat as is or as a side dish.
Combine 1 cup yoghurt with ½ cup fruit chunks (grapes, bananas or strawberries), add a sprinkle of cardamom powder, a tsp or two of fresh cream and a little sugar. Have over Meusli as a filling breakfast or by itself for a quick snack or light dessert

Around Town with Arina - Summer Break

With heat and humidity at their peak, I took a break from going around town and spent time indoors in the comfort of home. Summer brings cravings for cool, light meals or snacks that make one feel good in summer especially in Mumbai. And the best accompaniment to the delicious eats would be refreshing tall drinks packed with ice to combat the heat. In fact with summer vacations on, cooking at home can be a great activity for parents to spend time with their kids. Kids love tossing a salad, assembling a sandwich or mixing juices and sherbets to create their own concoctions.

The most ideal summer snacks, in terms of purchase, ease of preparation; taste and texture have to be dips. If you are up to it you could make a batch of your favourite dip like Hummus, Pesto, Chimichurri, flavoured cream cheese, herby hung yogurt, mayonnaise, tapenades, salsas or even pates the options are endless. Just serve up with wafers, fries, potato wedges, crackers, savoury biscuits, bread, bread sticks, and even crudités of veggies like cucumber, carrot, bell peppers. And if you are lazy (like me) or just busy, you have the option of picking up delicious ready options from tried and tested stores such as Nature’s Basket, Theobromas (Colaba & Bandra), and 210 Bakery (Churchgate & Nepean Sea Road).

After dips, the next choice of a summer snack is sandwiches. I think just like eggs and tea each one has their own personal style of eating a sandwich, some like it in white bread some in whole wheat and some in multi grain, be it sliced, flat breads, foccacia, Panini or a sub, plain, toasted or grilled. Light options filled with fresh veggies and greens like lettuce and watercress are easy to prepare at home but in case you are out and feel like bringing one home, there are a lot of places around town that do scrumptious sandwiches, you could opt to have one assembled to your choice or select from a wide range of vegetarian or non-vegetarian fillings. Try Mocha, Candies, Just around the corner, Theobromas, Which Latte or just stop by your local sandwich wala for the most satisfying desi option true Bombay (Mumbai) Style!

But I am always impressed most by the Salad; this is one dish that has come a long way from being just diet food to a light summer meal. Easy and quick to make, healthy and tasty to eat, light on the stomach in the scorching heat and yet filling enough to keep you going till your next meal. Salads offer endless variety, but summer usually calls for fresh salads full of as many greens as possible in light non creamy dressings. A salad plate or salad buffet has become a meal that is increasingly popular. Salad bars at restaurants around the city are full of salad converts. With so much variety one can never get bored there’s always something new that can be tried. And for those in the mood for something sweet, fresh fruits come at the top of the list. Had on their own or chopped up and mixed with yogurt or for the sinners with whipped cream on top. Look for salad counters at all the major hotels as part of the lunch or dinner buffets, but look out for restaurants like Candies, Just Round the Corner and Pizza Hut, they have lovely salad bars as well. And Nature’s Basket our favourite foodie haunt has ready to eat salads as well as a great stock of fresh veggies and greens and a huge range of ready to use dressings to toss up yummy bowlfuls with.

And Wash it all down with Indian delights like nimbu pani, aam panna, kokum sherbet, nariyal paani, sugarcane juice, jal jeera and fresh fruit juices. Try adding herbs to fresh fruit juices for a whole new dimension; fresh mint and/or ginger in watermelon juice, basil leaves in pineapple juice with a squeeze of lime or try mixing orange juice and nimbu paani for a delightful refresher. And if these don’t appeal cold coffees, thick shakes, iced teas, granitas and coolers offer other cool options on offer at cafes or at home.

Do tell us what are your favourite summer meals, drinks and activities by leaving comments here or on the APB Facebook Fanpage

The Size of My Eyes

Dear Rushina,
So I went to the farmer’s market in Bandra with my friend Faiza. It was a sweltering 1:30 pm and the crowd had thinned. Some stalls were even unattended. Hungry as I was, we headed straight to the food area and disappointingly, there were only four stalls in total. The only non-veg one was a sushi stall that to be honest was charging too much (Rs.300 – 350 for a plate). But the stalls inspired me nevertheless. I got to thinking how great it would be to set up a Naga food stall and introduce people to the joys of pork and bamboo shoot. So we went to meet the woman who organises this market and I asked her if she’d allow a stall that serves pork and beef. She gently said no, and asked me, “You want to make momos?”
A Laugh Out Loud moment, if ever there was one! It reminds me of my sister’s experience, when she had just joined work. As the senior doctors ordered lunch for everyone, they paused briefly when they got to her and without asking promptly decided that she would have chowmein. Or the time I went to a friend’s place to eat chicken curry, dal and pulao and instead was proffered a huge feast of Chinese food. For the record, I don’t like Chinese food. I can eat it, but having grown up in North India, nothing beats a good dal makhni and butter chicken. And of course, part of me likes to resist the stereotype.
Another stereotype which is harder to resist is that Nagas eat dogs. Many of them do, it isn’t a myth. I have. One of my most cherished and traumatic memories from childhood is relishing a dog brain curry at my maternal grandmother’s home. Being slightly incontinent as a child, I stepped out in the middle of my meal to answer the call of nature and on returning, discovered that my plate had been taken away. As my tantrum masterfully approached its crescendo, it was cruelly cut short when the cook scolded and asked how one could eat and do ‘other’ things at the same time. (Glutton that I was, my incontinence never surfaced while I was eating after that day) That was also the last time I ate dog meat.
Dog meat is believed to be very healthy and is recommended to athletes, the sick and the aged. And for some young men and students, killing and partaking of dog meat has become almost a rite of passage, a masculine bonding ritual, much to the horror and devastation of bereaved dog owners.
Many Nagas do eat dog meat, and like chowmein or Chinese, and even make and eat momos. But not all. That’s the thing with stereotypes and having your food habits decided for you by the size of your eyes or nose. Sometimes it makes for a good laugh. Sometimes...

Theyie

A recipe from my Mother's Mother for Mother's day

Apologies, i do not have a picture for this recipe because I just got this recipe. In one of those timely occaisions that life throws our way, I happen to be with my mother and grandmother today on the eve of mother's day working on the chapters on them for my book.

My book, which some of you may know about and others might not is a memoir that explores the things that shaped me as a cook. If you observe a weeks worth of meals cooked in my home, they are a blend of cuisines, ingredients and cooking styles that have come from various places. My book was concieved as a result of one of my biggest regrets. I kept telling myself I would spend time with my paternal grandmother to write down her recipes and never did. And this book has been a journey of discovery. Many instance in its writing have made me stop short to thank my stars for all the good things I have inherited. But today was one of those goose bump inducing experiences - having two generations of my family sharing my living culinary heritage with me.

So as Nani told me about coming to Mumbai as a new bride and learning to use a sewing machine and drive a car, mom told me about not knowing the first thing about cooking when she was married at 18. Mom suddnely threw this recipe at me, that she learnt from her mother. Called Mandarin Cream pudding, she says her mother concocted it to serve as an eggless subsitute for Mouses and it was her fool proof fallback for dessert when she was coping with being a new bride and novice cook. It seemed appropriate to share it with all of you today, make it for your mothers tomorrow celebrate them and remember me to them.

Mom's Mom's Mandarin cream pudding
1 pkt orange jelly
1 large can Pineapple slices
1 small pkt vanilla ice cream

Leave Ice cream at room temprature to soften up. Chop pineapples fine, reserving a few slices for decoration. Use the syrup from the canned pineapples to make jelly and cool. Too cooled jelly add chooped pineapples and melted ice cream and fold together untill well combined. Transfer to serving dish, decorate with reserved pineapple slices and leave some for decoration and refrigerate/

First ever cooking video on Mint Lounge, featuring Rushina cooking with one of her favourite ingredient - Glass Noodles.

My first ever cooking video went live on Mint lounge online, Chck it out! Citrusy Glass Noodle Salad.

Rushina

Facebook fanpage Gourmet goodie giveaway!

The Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal facebook fanpage officially reached 290 two days ago. I asked you to help me reach 200 (or more) by 1 May and each member that had signed up by 12 midnight on 1 May would get a signature creation handmade by me, something yummy and made with lots of love :-). Well that time has come, my little helpers and I have been hard at work packing little goodie bottles. Now the logistics of sending out 290 botles is a little challenging but we are working on it and even have a cute foodie mailable keepsake for the non Mumbai foodie. But we can't send anything if we do not have addresses to send it to. So please write in to a.perfect.bite@gmail.com with the following details by 20 May. Or register on the fanpage here http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rushina-Munshaw-Ghildiyal/178099380752 (New registrations will also get a gift if the sighn up untill this date but only if we get the details for mailing!)

Name,

contact number,

address,

favourite ingredient

favourite cuisine.

Do you like spicy or sweet?

What more would you like to see on this page?
I would like to thank each of you that have shown your support. "THANK YOU!" Look forward to lots of foodie adventures going forward!

Rushina

Gujarati Weekend Breakfast

“Jalebi-Fafda”, the only thing that comes to mind on hearing this phrase is Sunday breakfast. When I was in school every Sunday my sister and I woke up to fresh hot Jalebi-Fafda ready on the table. My parents would go out early morning to our usual haunt and pick up some for breakfast. That was the only time when I could eat something sweet first thing in the morning.

The classic combination of Jalebi-Fafda is like makke di roti and sarson da saag, pork and beans, gin and tonic; one feels incomplete without the other. Both compliment and balance out each other perfectly, one sweet and the other savoury accompanied by a fresh pickle made with green chillies and grated raw papaya to add the missing spice and tang. All in all a perfect meal to start the day and give some consolation for the weekend coming to an end.

Being brought up in South Mumbai, I’m not too aware of places in the suburbs which serve good jalebi-fafda. But I know quite a few places on my side of town that dish out fabulous jalebi-fafda through the day starting early morning, all week. There’s, the famous Panchratna Jalebi House at Opera house, right behind Roxy cinema and a shop in Prathna Samaj, in the vegetable market lane. There are also a lot of member clubs that serve jalebi-fafda for breakfast on Sundays, like Mafatlal Bath, BCA, and Hindu Gymkhana at Marine Drive, WIAA at Malabar Hill, CCI at Churchgate and Radio club at Colaba.

This weekly tradition at home had somewhat faded out as I grew up and got busy with college and then work but once in a while my parents still surprise me not particularly on a Sunday but on any day in the week. Just reminiscing about it has brought water to my mouth and I can’t wait for tomorrow morning where for a change I will surprise my parents with fresh hot jalebi-fafda at the table when they wake up.

I would love to explore new places in the suburbs or even in south Mumbai that serve this iconic Gujarati breakfast duo, so do leave comments here or on the APB facebook page about your jalebi-fafda memories, recipes and restaurants or shops.