9 ideas on what to gift a food lover

Festive season is upon us and it's that time of the year when everyone goes crazy thinking about what to gift their loved ones. Dryfruit dabbas filled with raisins, cashews and almonds are passé and probably the most unimaginative gifts around. Chocolates are done to death. Laddoos, erm... the less said about them, the better. Unless you want to send a gift to Chhota Bheem. 

“The excellence of a gift lies in its appropriateness rather than in its value.” ― Charles Dudley Warner

While I don't have much of a clue on what everybody likes, I think I have a fair idea on what's a good gift for a food-lover. Most of my finds are online, for everyone's convenience of course. This post is not sponsored by any stores / brands, just a collection of things I've found beautiful and useful.

Gorgeous Cake Stand

Source: Zansaar.com

Whether you like baking or whether you like buying cute cupcakes, this two tiered Price Kensington vintage looking cake stand is the perfect way to display cupcakes, muffins or cake slices. It's fun to serve sandwiches or even dried fruits to visitors on this stand. Anyone who loves to bake is going to be super thrilled to get this as a gift. INR 1295. Check out some of the small kitchen appliances, such as milk frother, hand mixers etc. on this website, Severin brand from Germany, brilliant designs at reasonable prices, you're sure to find a gift in your budget.
Where: zansaar.com

Utilitarian- Chic Mason Jars

Source: Urbandazzle.com

If there's one thing in my kitchen that I guard fiercely from breakage, it's my set of 12 mason jars in which I store spices, lentils etc. It's the classiest kitchen storage ever. It's also turning very fashionable to serve drinks in these bottles with a straw tucked in. Whether it's for storing preserves, pickles or anything else you fancy, these are a much welcome addition to any kitchen. A perfect gift for a kitchen proud person. At INR1480 for six 500 ml bottles, it's pretty reasonable too! 
Where: urbandazzle.com

Luxury Tea Hampers
I find a lot of people who are serious tea connoisseurs. They wouldn't take a sip of a tea whose origins / flush / estate they don't have knowledge of. If you have friends like these, there is a potential to wow/ woo them with specialty tea hampers. The online gourmet foods site, Gourmet Company has a tea crate containing 3 kinds of gourmet teas, honey, cookies and more. At INR 3500, I do find it a bit steep, but you can check the website and make your own hampers too. 
Godrej Nature's Basket also has a tea hamper that contains an assortment of gourmet teas, honey, biscuits and snacks at INR 2997. 
A lot of other gourmet foodstores like Foodhall, Nature's Basket have put together interesting hampers. You could choose from them depending on the cuisine your friends like. 
Where: Gourmetco.in | Godrej Nature's Basket

Oil Mister for the healthy cook

Source: Fabfurnish.com

If you are looking for a gift for a health food freak, take a look at this oil dispenser. You can fill in any oil of your choice and spray on the pan before cooking / baking for greasing the pan with minimal oil. At INR 417, it is a healthy deal.
Where: Fabfurnish.com

Curvy Whiskey Decanter

Source: urbandazzle.com

Have a friend who loves her/his scotch? This elegant looking decanter is just what you are looking for. The Italian brand Luigi Bormioli Spirits Decander with a capacity of 700ml (INR 990) is sure to make that expensive single malt look even better. My personal favourite on this site which I intend to gift myself are these very vintage oilers.

Where: Urbandazzle.com

Wine Gift Box

Image source: IWL

The good fellows at Indian Wine List have put together an exclusive box of 3 wines - an Italian bubbly from Veneto, a small production of Rose from Piedmont (Italy) specially made for the Indian market and a rich, smooth Syrah from Languedoc-Roussilion, France. All this for just INR 4199 for delivery in Mumbai & INR 4700 for delivery in Bangalore & Delhi, I must say it is an irresistible offer. There are only 20 boxes up for grabs, so needless to say, you gotta hurry!

Where: Indian Wine List

Breakfast in Bed

Source: Urbanladder.com

This elegant mahogany breakfast tray is the perfect way to start a lazy morning. It's a long lasting gift and the receiver will remember you fondly each time he has his morning tea and newspaper served on this tray. That it's someone else's responsibility to fill up that tray each morning, is a concern, but that shouldn't worry you. This is one gift that will be truly appreciated. At INR 2499, it's real VFM. 
Where: Urbanladder.com

Cooking Lessons

For those who love to cook, check out the websites of cooking classes, cooking studios in your city, and see if you can gift them a cooking class or an experience. Or you could allow your friend to choose a class of their choice, which is prepaid for. Classes are usually priced INR 1500 upwards.
Where: Studio Fifteen, Mumbai  | APB Cook Studio, Mumbai | Something's Cooking, Bangalore

Homemade Gourmet Gifts
What do you give someone who has everything? Put together a handmade hamper. Your special spice mix, a selection of dried herbs from your garden, a bottle of homemade pesto, 
home baked biscottis, homemade vanilla extract, liquors or preserves, a little bottle of each makes a pretty package and shows the time and effort you have gone through to put together something special. Something that comes close to homemade are these FoodTribe Binge Boxes. Put together your own Food Tribe box for INR 299/399/499.

So, what's your favourite kind of gift to receive? Spotted any interesting food related gift online? Do share!

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Khamang Kakdi : The best cucumber salad ever

I'm a Bombay girl, born, brought up and spent all my years in that city. In fact, my maternal family has been in Bombay for three generations before me, so our attachment to that cuty is deep rooted.

I've been out of my home city for some 4 years now and while I surely don't miss the burgeoning crowds, the crazy way my heart would stay in my mouth until I boarded that local train and got inside the compartment or the fear of a bike running over my feet the second I stepped out of my building, I do miss the other things about the city. The beautiful open air markets is surely one of them. And the other is the food. Vile Parle, where I spent my last 4 years in Bombay was a veritable Mecca of street food and  it's generally amazing how that city has something for everybody. 

Now, Maharashtrian cuisine, is quite different from the Bombay street food. It is divided into several regions such as coastal, Kolhapuri, Puneri etc. While i'm not the best person to be talking about all the regional variations, I can tell you what my top favourites are - there's Kanda Pohe (Onion Poha) which with chai is the best breakfast I can think of. There's Misal Pav which is that perfect 4 pm snack, where you get a small deep dish filled with spicy peas with a little gravy, that's perfectly mopped up by a piece of bread (pav). Also, the Maharashtrian style of making rotis, or Tel PoLi as it is called, is simply a most amazingly soft, muslin handkerchief like Indian bread, made of whole wheat flour. I was quite thrilled to hear about a Maharashtrian home style restaurant opening near my place and I'm happy to report that their 'poLi' hits the spot. You could eat 3 of them and still feel there's space for more.

All that said, the ultimate delicious thing in Marathi cuisine for me, is this simple cucumber salad called 'Khamang Kakdi'. I tried this for the first time in the Marathi restaurant 'Diva Maharashtracha' in Mahim (Bombay) and fell head over heels in love with its taste & texture. While cucumber is a fairly palatable veggie as it is, in it's raw form, adding some condiments, some herbs and some spices to this, gives it a whole new personality. It goes as the perfect side dish to your regular roti and subzi. Try it and you'll not settle for any other random cucumber salad. I'm sure there are various ways to make this and many recipes, but this is how I make it.

Recipe for Khamang Kakdi (Maharashrian / Indian cucumber salad)

Serves 4

Time taken - Under 15 mins

Ingredients

2 large cucumbers, peeled and diced

1 tbsp freshly scraped coconut

2 tsp peanut oil or any other cooking oil

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 sprig curry leaves

2 green chillies, finely sliced

pinch of asafoetida powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp chopped coriander

juice of 1/2 lemon or 2 tbsp yogurt (optional)

1/4 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely pound

Directions

In a big bowl, place the diced cucumber and coconut.

Heat the oil in a small pan. Temper the mustard and cumin seeds, curry leaves, chillies and add the asafoetida towards the end, just after you switch off the flame. Transfer this tempering over the cucumbers.

Add the salt, coriander and toss well, adding the lemon or yogurt if using.

Serve immediately or refrigerate, adding the peanuts and tossing well just before serving, so that they remain crunchy.

Serve with poLi/roti and vegetable curry or eat as it is as a snack time salad.

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Apple Pie Pancakes: Kid in the kitchen

Bear with me. More kiddie recipes coming your way. It's holiday time and I'm trying to combine my love for cooking, my son's gourmet palate and his endless two week long vacation to do something productive. I keep buying a kilo of apples each time, with intentions of making an apple pie. As the days progress, with my decreasing pie-making resolve, the apples start going into salads, with peanut butter for my snack or just hang around in the fruit basket until they die a slow death. 

Today, son and me, came up with this idea. So what if we don't make pie, we can make pie like pancakes. And that's how this came about. He helped chop the apples, measure out the ingredients and we made these together to the endless patter of "mummy, I will FLIP the pancakes. I love flipping."

It was so delicious and we nearly had a fork fight towards the end for the last bit. This makes a perfect holiday breakfast or an after school snack. Just keep the apples prepped and the batter prepared before they're back from school and two minutes is all it takes. I've made this a tad healthier by replacing part of the refined flour by whole wheat flour. Orange zest is entirely optional, but I believe it adds a lot of flavour to the mix. Use a fine grater to grate the skin of the orange, but not until you reach the white bitter part.

Apple Pie Pancakes
Makes 4 6" pancakes

Ingredients
1/2 cup refined flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1 pinch salt
1 cup milk
2 tsp white vinegar
2 large apples
1 tsp butter + some more to cook pancakes
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp orange zest (optional)
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

Directions
In a bowl, mix the flours, baking powder, sugar, salt, cinnamon powder with a whisk. Make a well, add the milk and vinegar. Gently mix together with a fork. Let this batter rest for 10 minutes.
Scrub the apples under running water. Core the apples and dice them into small pieces with skin. Heat 1 tsp butter in non stick pan. Add the diced apples, sugar, cinnamon powder, orange zest and toss them under low flame for 5 minutes or so, until apples are slightly soft and nicely golden.
Wipe the non stick skillet dry and place on medium heat, grease with some butter and pour a ladle full of batter. Don't spread it thin. Dot some butter around the pancake. When you see bubbles around the edges, it is time to flip over. Each side takes around 2 mins to cook and get golden, this depends on the thickness of your pancakes though.
Once done, remove on a plate and top with a layer of prepared apples. Fold over or serve as it is. Best eaten hot.

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A memorable Restaurant Week India preview at Like That Only

Restaurant Week India (RWI) is on from 23rd September to 2nd October, 2013

Website: www.restaurantweekindia.com

Twitter: @restweekindia

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RestaurantWeekIndia 

Are you one of those Bangaloreans who forever crib about how far Whitefield is from the rest of civilization? Well, I have one reason for you to stop cribbing and make that trip already! Like That Only and their amazing RWI menu -you get to experience the quirky yet warm ambience, the genius of Chef Manu Chandra at RWI prices - you can't miss this!

The RWI Menu

Our meal started with some minced vegetable dimsums with accompanying sauces. I loved the fact that the filling was full of flavour and the dimsum cover light and translucent, and just enough to hold the filling together instead of a big doughy mouthful that masks the flavour of any filling. From the 'Appetizers' I'd highly recommend the Tempura Brie with pickled grapes, orange, almonds and plum sauce. It is a unique dish where a chunk of Brie cheese is lightly coated and fried making a crisp outside and a melting inside - I loved the play of textures and delicate flavours here. The husband had the Chilli, soy and grape glazed Pork Ribs with raw papaya salad. You'll find his comments on the meal here.

The chef also sent across some vegetarian sushi- asparagus tempura and cream cheese stuffed rolls, the crispy bite of the asparagus and the slight tartness from the cream cheese made the rolls a treat- topped with pickled ginger and dipped in the sauce, these were an absolute treat.

From the main course, if you are a vegetarian, I'd totally recommend the pan seared tofu with black bean sauce and rice cake. The portions of tofu steaks are quite generous and the tofu was silky soft and well flavoured with the black bean sauce. I didn't care for the rice cake too much though, but just the two pieces of tofu and the sautéed vegetables made it a satisfying main course. 

We got a tasting portion of the Murtabak with seasonal vegetables, curry sauce and pickles, but compared to the Asian stuff on the menu, I found this a little heavy, oily and low on flavour, which is why for vegetarians, the pan seared tofu is a better choice. The fish loving partner had the Pan seared sea bass with seasonal vegetables, mashed potato and a lemongrass broth and he was in foodie-heaven with the perfectly cooked fish and the intense flavours of the broth.

From the three desserts on the RWI menu, we tried two. The Kaffir Lime Creme brûlée with cinnamon crumble and lime gel made me tick all the boxes - creativity, flavours, texture and lightness - highly recommended. 

The other dessert was the Apple Streusel Cheesecake tart with Creme Anglaise - the name itself suggests that it is a richer dessert, regular flavours and heavier. It was decadent alright, but I loved the creme brûlée much more.

If you live in and around Whitefield, do not miss this beautiful culinary experience. If you live elsewhere in Bangalore, this is your best excuse to drive down to Whitefield. 

Citibank Restaurant Week India is amongst the most popular pan-India culinary events and gives discerning food enthusiasts the opportunity to dine at some of India’s finest restaurants at a fraction of a la carte rates. Citibank  cardholders  will  have  the  exclusive  privilege  of  making  reservations  starting  September  16, 2013,  through  the Restaurant Week India website  (www.restaurantweekindia.com),  while  general reservations will  commence  online  from  September  18,  2013.  At  participating  restaurants, customers will be offered a three-course prix fixe menu (with an option of vegetarian or non-vegetarian) in Mumbai and  Delhi  at  INR  1,000  for  lunch  and  INR  1,200  for  dinner,  and  in  Bangalore  at  INR  750  for  lunch  or dinner. The price, per individual, is exclusive of state and central taxes, service charges as well as dishes ordered outside of the special Citibank Restaurant Week menu.

List of restaurants in Bangalore participating in the RWI - Sep 2013 

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Eating out in Bangalore: Karavalli - A trip down the West Coast

"Karavalli has been around in Bangalore for the last 23 years with 80% of the menu remaining the same from the times the restaurant started"says Executive Chef Naren Thimmaiah. He has every reason to be proud. Any restaurant staying around a city's food scene for so long speaks volumes about its good food and service.

Chef Thimmaiah

Some of us were invited to sample the new additions to the Karavalli menu. The new menu aims to cover a few more regions along the West coast of India, which weren't represented adequately in their menu earlier. They've also added an outdoors grilling section where there's a variety of fresh fish & seafood along with a selection of marinades which you can choose from, making it a seafood lover's delight.

There's a slight modification to the lunch menu too, the number of dishes have been reduced to the regularly ordered popular ones and there's a typical South Indian lunch box 'set' in which lunch is served.

Captivating colours of the chutneys

The evening started with some of the bloggers getting behind the burners under the chef's guidance and grilling the marinated fish two ways, one of them being the black pomfret grilled in banana leaf pockets. I love this technique of grilling food wrapped in banana leaves. It makes sure the food doesn't get over grilled, and the leaves impart a delicate flavour to the food wrapped in it.

The vegetarians were served three kinds of starters. The Kaju Kothimbir Vadi (cashew and coriander seeds dipped in batter and deep fried until crunchy and golden) was seriously addictive. My favourite was the Pachakai Varuthathu (Plantain slices coated in spices and deep fried). It was seasoned just right and when paired with the three chutneys on the table, it tasted even better. The other dish was Oggaraneda Aritha Pundi, which I'm told is a Tulu community specialty. This tongue twister of a name is nothing but steamed rice dumplings tossed with a tempering of cumin, mustard seeds and spiced with curry powder and topped with coconut. We usually make these with the left overs of the rice dough used to make 'kozhakattai' or modaks. Personally, I prefer the Tambrahm version better, plus this is more of a tiffin item than a starter.

The mains

The mains were dedicated to wood fired dishes cooked in clay pots. There was a spicy seerfish curry and a South Canara lamb curry. Us vegetarians had a Kadala Gassi, which is the black chana cooked in South Canara style, where the gravy is made from roasted spices and coconut. My favourite here was the 'Havyaka' style Preserved Mango Curry, this was similar to the Mango Moar Kozhambu we make, but using preserved mango instead of fresh. [Read more about Havyaka cuisine here] I prefer the fresh mangoes in this preparation, but the curry flavours were really mouthwatering. The curries were served with a choice of Malabar Paratha, Aapam, Idiappam or Kuttanad Boiled rice, which is the red rice from Kerala.

Desserts

The desserts were a unique mix of flavours, perfectly paired with each other. The sharp, tanginess of the tamarind ice cream, to the rich yolky - nutmeg intense taste of the Bebinca and the burst of sweetness from the jaggery of the Ada Pradhaman. The tamarind ice cream is the chef's own creation. After tasting the black sesame ice cream in Hong Kong, the wasabi ice cream at a local Asian restaurant, it was lovely to try out an ice cream made using a very Indian ingredient like Tamarind. The bebinca is a multi-layered 'cake' made in Goa and Ada Pradhaman, of course is a Kerala sweet-dish made for all festive occasions.

It was a lovely evening, sitting outdoors, aromas of food wafting around us and sated with some good food and conversations. Chef Thimmaiah was a pleasure to interact with and discuss all things food with us foodbloggers. The only thing missing was a warm shawl around my shoulders as the even turned really chilly.

The outdoor section, softly lit is quite perfect for a romantic evening. Even better if you are a seafood lover.

Karavalli
66, Ground floor, The Gateway Hotel, Residency Road.
Phone: 080-66604545


[Pictures courtesy: Saina Jayapal - Pixel Platters]

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Making a healthier Idli using Foxtail Millet

Idli and dosai are two dishes which can be easily experimented with, with a variety of whole grains. If you are a regular reader of my blog, then you'll know that my whole-grain find of this year is Foxtail Millet- you'll find a couple of recipes featuring them already. It's thanks to our online grocery store that stocks a lot of these ancient grains and greens that you won't find in supermarkets that they end up finding their way in many new dishes I experiment with. While I've been using the millet grain in salads, patties, upma etc, this time I bought the foxtail millet idli rava to try making idlis. It turned out reasonably soft, definitely denser than white rice idlis- but that's the whole grain effect- the end products always turn out denser. The advantage of this being you can't eat as many idlis as you can of the regular ones. Initially you could try substituting 50% of the rice / idli rava with this millet rava and then go to a 100%. 

In India: Tinai, chamai, kavalai, kambankorai are some of the names for millet in Tamil. Nuvanam is millet flour. The gruel made from millet, the staple of Ancient Tamils, is called kali, moddak kali, kuul, and sangati. Korralu (Telugu), Navane (Kannada) [Source: Wikipedia]

An idli is a healthy dish as it is, being a combination of a rice and lentil (udad dal), makes a complete set of amino acids, resulting in a good quality protein. So you can alternate between regular idlis and those made using millets, to get more fiber and a variety of nutrients.

A healthier version of Idli

Foxtail Millet Idli
Makes roughly 32 or more idlis, depending on the size, you could use this batter over 3-4 days for a variety of dishes such as dosai, uthapam, kuzhi paniyaram etc.

1 cup whole or split udad dal (without skin)
1 tsp fenugreek seeds (optional)
2 cups foxtail millet rava (or use 1 cup millet rava and 1 cup rice)
2 tsp salt
Optional
finely chopped veggies to add to idlis
1/2 tsp Grated ginger, mustard seeds, chana dal, red chillies tempered in oil to add to batter before steaming

Soak the udad dal + fenugreek seeds in plenty of water. In another bowl, soak the rava in water that covers it completely.
After 3 hours- drain water from udad dal and grind to a fine paste in the mixer or wet grinder. Remove in a big bowl.
Squeeze all the water from the millet rava and grind this to a fine paste too. Add to the udad dal paste and mix well, adding salt. Add upto 1/2 cup water if batter is very thick. 
Place in a large container with a fitting lid. This will expand to nearly double volume over 8-10 hours, so keep accordingly in a sizable container.
Once fermented, you can either use this immediately to make idlis / dosa or place in refrigerator immediately and use when required (within next 3-4days).

Remove the required quantity of batter 
To make idlis, lightly grease the idli moulds with oil, pour batter into each mould (not more than half capacity), top with any chopped veggies if required, close the pressure cooker lid but remove the weight so that this steams and doesn't pressure cook. If you have a special idli maker, then use that. Keep the flame on high and then reduce to medium once the steam is in full flow. Steam for around 12 minutes on medium flame. Open the cooker after 10 minutes or so, removing the idli stand. Sprinkle some cold water on top of each mould and with a sharp edged steel spatula or a knife, unmould each idli cleanly.

Serve with any chutney or your choice, or molagapodi or ketchup for the kids. 

Other recipes using Foxtail Millet
Salad with nutrition facts included
Millet-Basil Patties

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Easy recipe for a simple, all-purpose chocolate cake

What's the connection between a little black dress, a good pair of blue jeans and a chocolate cake recipe? Like the importance of a good pair of jeans or a little black dress (okay, may be not) in the wardrobe, everyone needs a good, reliable chocolate cake recipe in their cooking repertoire. A chocolate cake that is soft and springy, with nothing fancy-schmancy about it, something that tastes good just as it is with a cup of coffee or tea - that's the kind I'm talking about. While I have complete respect for the creativity and patience of bakers who make these epic cakes that look like masterpieces, I must confess that my love for all things simple & minimalistic extends to cake. Serve me a simple, no-frills cake and I'm a happy girl. Just one small confession here- I HATE cakes that reek of baking powder. That's the one thing that completely murders a cake for me.

I often love to add carrots, beets, zucchini, pumpkin, lots of citrus zest to my cakes to give them body, flavour and colour. But sometimes I stick to a plain vanilla or chocolate cake. Of course, you always have the option of adding walnuts, cherries, roasted almonds into this batter, dressing it up with fresh cream and berries or splitting it in half and turning this into a black forest kinda cake. This recipe has a lot of potential. But if you are like me, or simply a new baking enthusiast, a slice of this cake as a treat in your kid's lunchbox or in a hamper for your friends will make them a happy camper.

I've made this cake entirely with powdered jaggery, which is simply jaggery sold in powdered form. If you get big chunks of jaggery, run it in a food processor / mixer to powder and then weigh it for the recipe. If you don't have access to jaggery, feel free to use caster sugar. Jaggery gives this a deeper colour and of course there is the advantage of using an ingredient in a less refined form. I've used this recipe quite a few times and the result is an absolutely soft, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate cake AND it doesn't reek of baking powder. 


I've adapted from a recipe I found in BBC Food, halved it, because I didn't want a two layer cake. It's usually better to weigh out ingredients like flour, sugar etc. because it gives a more accurate quantity than measuring out using cups which have a wider margin of error. In case you don't have kitchen scales, then by all means use the metric measurement I have given alongside the weights. It is completely a beginner friendly cake as it uses oil, no creaming of butter required. It's a one bowl cake so no washing up of too many pots and pans. You don't need any fancy electric beaters or stand mixers. A wooden spoon will do. So I hope you are sold out on this recipe!

Easy chocolate cake

Makes one 8" round cake

Less than 45 minutes (just the cake minus ganache / any decorations)

Ingredients

• 112g plain flour (maida) (~1 cup minus 1 tbsp)
• 150g powdered jaggery (~3/4 cup)
• 42g cocoa powder (~1/2 cup)
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 egg
• 125 ml milk (~1/2 cup)
• 60 ml vegetable oil (~1/4 cup)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

    125 ml boiling water (may not need all of this)

Directions

Preheat the oven at 180C.

Grease and line the bottom and sides of an 8" round cake tin with aluminium foil or parchment paper.

Weigh out all the ingredients or measure them out and add everything to a large bowl except the boiling water. Mix with a wooden spoon for 3-4 minutes, until well combined.

Add the boiling water to this mixture little by little with repeated stirring. The batter will get considerably thin. If you find it getting too watery, then no need to add all of the water.

Scrape this batter into the greased and lined cake tin. Push some of the batter from the center to the sides so that it is a little indented in the center. This will ensure your cake rises uniformly and not doming up in the center.

Place in the center rack of the oven and bake for around 25-35 minutes. After 25 minutes, remove the tin out and insert a skewer / dry spaghetti into the cake to see if it comes out clean. If not, bake for another 5-10 minutes until the cake is thoroughly baked.

Remove from oven, cool for 10-15 minutes. Remove from the tin carefully and cool on a wire rack thoroughly before slicing

Plain chocolate cake not fancy enough?

If you want to do a little bit extra for this cake like for an occasion, you can make an easy chocolate ganache by heating up 100 ml cream and 100g of plain chocolate bar broken into pieces. Keep stirring with a wooden spatula on medium heat until glossy and chocolate is fully dissolved. Let this cool outside for 2 hours during which it will become thicker and spreadable. Once the cake has completely cooled, pour ganache all over the cake and smoothen out with a palette knife all around and on top of the cake. 

You can fill this same batter into cupcake moulds and use the above ganache similarly to top the cupcakes. Add some colourful sprinkles on the top and you have a soft delicious cupcake that could even be better than store-bought ones!

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My grandaunt's recipe for Mango Moar Kuzhambu : Tamil style Ripe Mango Kadhi

Last week I was in Chennai, I had the good fortune to eat at my grandaunt's place. She is my father's Maami, around 75 years of age and she is one of the best cooks in our family and even a simple weekday meal at her place will pretty much end up being a feast because of the number of dishes on the table.

I remember when as a newly married girl, I went for lunch at her place with my husband, he nearly fell asleep on the table after that grand lunch. Last week, the menu at her place was Maambazham (ripe mango) moar kuzhambu, beans usili, yellow pumpkin olan, pumpkin peel thogayal, keerai masiyal along with rice. Among all the dishes, the mango moar kozhambu was a surprise for me and such a delight for the taste buds. Big chunks of ripe Banganapalli mango steeped in buttermilk mixed with freshly ground spices, mixed with rice was a new kind of high for me. I immediately asked her how she made it and Maami was generous enough to share the recipe with me. Of course she didn't give me exact quantities because they don't measure out ingredients using spoons in our homes. I assumed it would be a handful of this and a bit of that and it turned out beautifully for today's lunch. See that big mango slice intact on my lunch plate below? That's how it should turn out in the end - cooked but intact :-)

Lunch is served

A couple of weeks ago, I made another kadhi using ripe mangoes. That one was Fajeto, a Gujarati style kadhi where ripe mango is ground to a puree and added to buttermilk thickened with chick pea flour. But this recipe keeps the whole mango slice intact and it absorbs the flavours of the curry so beautifully that I'd happily cast my vote for the Moar Kuzhambu over the Fajeto. You must try this recipe while the mangoes are in season. This keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days, so you could make in advance and keep refrigerated for week night dinners as well. 

Mango Moar Kuzhambu (Ripe mango - yogurt curry)
Serves 4
Takes less than 30 minutes

Ingredients
4 dried red chillies
2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
2 tbsp dry tur dal
1/4 cup coconut scrapings
3 large Banganapalli mangoes roughly 500 grams each
2 cups water
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
2 cups sour yogurt whisked with 1 cup water

For tempering
2 tsp coconut oil or vegetable oil
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds (methi / vendhayam)
2 sprigs curry leaves
2 dried red chillies broken into halves
1/2 tsp mustard seeds 

Soak the 4 red chillies, cumin seeds, tur dal in some warm water for 30 mins-1 hour and grind to a fine paste along with the coconut, using up to half cup of water or so.

In a wide pan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Cut each mango into two halves, very close to the stone. No need to peel the fruit. Place all 6 mango chunks in the boiling water gently, adding the ground masala to this along with the salt. Bring to a simmer and let this cook for roughly 10 minutes, until mango flesh is soft and cooked but not falling apart.
Add the thinned yogurt to this. Stir gently and bring to a simmer on medium to low flame. Remove from flame and keep aside.

For tempering, heat the coconut oil in a tempering ladle or small kadai. Add the fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, red chillies, mustard seeds. Once mustard seeds start spluttering, transfer this over the moar kozhambu. Serve hot with rice.


Notes:
I'm sure you can do this with any ripe mango, but banganapalli being a variety with generous flesh suits this dish well. Also, it holds it shape well and does not turn into mush on simmering in the curry.


What people who tried this have to say!

@saffrontrail made and ate this:D romba super! The proportions u've told is just perfect... :)
— sowmya (@vishalsowmya) May 30, 2013

Other varieties of Moar Kuzhambu / Mor Kozhambu
The regular one
Morkeerai - a variety with spinach in it

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SaffronTrail Food Times Edition-01

This is the first edition of the SaffronTrail Food Times, where I'll try and share food news in and around Bangalore- be it new restaurants in the city, food workshops that enthusiasts can participate in, food festivals hosted by restaurants and so on. I'm thinking of having this a fortnightly or monthly column. If you have anything interesting for me to share here (Bangalore based), do mail me at saffrontrail [at] gmail. Please understand that I shall use your information at my discretion and cannot promise to post everything that comes my way.

SAFFRONTRAIL FOOD TIMES EDITION-01

Weekend Breakfasts in Bangalore

We found two breakfast places which couldn't be more different from each other. 

One serves up the Full English Breakfast, cocktails you can feel less guilty about over drinking in the morning, absolutely sinful Red Velvet waffles and thick French toasts. I don't know if you've guessed, we're talking about the 'Breakfirst' at Monkey Bar. Apart from eggs, waffles and toasts, vegetarians have a few other choices like the Handwo, Chilli Cheese Vada Pao and a really big croissant called the Mobar Maxi Croissant. There's a Big Bang breakfast specially for vegetarians called the Garden City which comprises of gratinated vegetable crepe, feta stuffed mushrooms, hash browns, grilled tomato, baked beans and jumbo toast. Mobar has tied up with theindianbean.com to serve up a specially formulated single estate coffee blend, so you can be sure that you're in for some good coffee.

Expect to be put behind by INR1500 for two people. There's good music and the company of breakfast loving enthusiastic morning crowd and one must give them points for innovation (Red Velvet Waffles, Pita with Pandi etc.). The good part is you can skip lunch altogether and have a long snooze after filling up here.

Monkey Bar, 14/1 Krishna Manere, Wood Street, Richmond Road, Ashok Nagar, Bengaluru - 560025. Phone: 080 41116878/ 79 | www.mobar.in

Weekends 9 am-12 noon

The other breakfast we loved was the all you can eat spread at Kamat Yatri Nivas (Hoodi). The  South Indian breakfast serves all the usuals. The Masala dosa, vada, kuzhi paniyarams are freshly made in small batches. The other items served are masala idli, puri-chana, khara-baath, bisi bele baath, mangalore buns, akki rotti, watermelon juice, fruits, rosogulla, coffee/tea. They also had bread, butter, jam and some other things I may have missed. The buns were delicious, and our friend said that the kuzhi paniyarams were as good as the ones he had eaten at a small eatery in Coimbatore. I don't think there's any other breakfast in Bangalore that can beat the 'VFM-ness' of this one. If you live in and around Whitefield, don't miss this. It is a steal at INR 125/adult, 75/child. 

Kamat Yatri Niwas, Graphite Road, Hoodi Circle, Whitefield. Phone: 080-28459075 | kamatyatri.in - Weekends 7am-10am, no reservations required.

CBTL celebrates 50 years with a new menu

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has introduced a new menu with more focus on healthy and gourmet options. 

We liked their Japanese Cherry Green Tea and Swedish Berries Tea, both made using loose leaf tea bags. These are a perfect choice for those who want to spend time in a cafe without loading up on calories. For those who like their high calorie drinks, they also have a Hot Double Chocolate  with Caramel Swirl and whipped cream :)

Among their healthy eating options, I liked their Roast Vegetable with Hummus. Their Greek salad however was a disappointment because of tons of fake feta. Even if it was paneer, it was a stale one. Their muffins are the giant American size, I'd recommend it be shared between 3 people! Their Chocolate Chunk muffin was loaded with chocolate chips. Try their signature Ice Blended coffee in your favourite flavour. 

http://www.facebook.com/TheCoffeeBeanIndia

Branches: Koramangala, 1MG Rd Mall, Inorbit Mall (Whitefield), Phoenix Market City

A cozy cafe inside a mall- Plus 91

Photo courtesy: Aravind Balakrishnan

Newly opened at the buzzing Phoenix Market City mall at Whitefield, they are the modern upmarket version of a multicuisine restaurant with a bar. From chaats to steaks, they have it all on their menu, along with an extensive alcohol and drinks menu. Theirs is a cozy ambience of a street corner cafe, with a little outdoor section. The indoors nearly makes you forget you are in a mall. The fact that they have a jukebox gives them extra points from my side. We were invited for their pre-launch Sunday lunch and they were playing vintage disco for which I'll give them two thumbs up. We tried the radga patties, a modified version of sev puri (using baby papads instead of puri), paani puri, frankie, paneer tikkas and the sizzler. While the penne pasta in tomato sauce was perfectly made, the chaats needed some help from the roadside chaatwala in terms of textures and flavour. The feedback was passed on and I hope they'll get better in that department. As they have an extensive appetisers menu, I think this will be a good place for a couple of after work drinks and small bites, for those working in and around ITPL. Their dessert menu is limited to three items. In case you're wondering about the origin of their name, it indicates India's phone code :)

Plus 91, Phoenix Market City, 1st Floor, Mahadevpura, Whitefield Road, Bangalore-48.

Phone- 80-65995666 | https://www.facebook.com/Plus91India

Hours: 12 noon-11.30pm, walk-ins welcome

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