Checkered Cravings

I woke up early one morning to find the house unleashed with a flurry of activities. A quirky buzz with a thwack kept resounding over my head which I realized was my 2 year old niece whacking a pillow which was dangerously close to my head with the mosquito buzzer. I was inches away from being mildly electrocuted when I managed to snatch the buzzer away from her and being wide awake, it dawned on me – it was D-Day. It was my sibling’s engagement day and the house was full of my family & extended family, cheerily going about how one should on an occasion-day. The room was of course a mess with me having more cousin sisters than brothers so it was a lot more clothes (pink everywhere), make-up, towels and hair dryers contrary to cigars, empty liquor glasses and bottles and hooka apparatus in case I had more male family members than female.

I managed to wade my way through the sea of pinks to find more pinks in the living room. Pink wrapping paper, pink boxes, pink ribbons and a reel of pink cloth which I later realized was for stringing along a canopy like structure in the lawn where the decorations and activities were full throttle. I managed to swipe someone’s coffee which was being brought out from the kitchen as I knew I would certainly not get any lest I went and made it myself as my house help was running around in a crazed frenzy as though the king was arriving. My dad taunted me with a “late aren’t we?” snide remark and insisted I get dressed and accompany him for a small errand.

Well I had not taken a four day off from work to laze around. So off I went to find that the errand was to check on some decoration supplies and buy a sari for the maid. Now, seriously! This was getting a bit ridiculous; apparently my Mother had forgotten to bring new clothes for the maid who had been sulking since morning as the male house-help had new trimmings on them. She had conveniently badgered dad into visiting a nearby market to pick up a Sari (Not Green, as that’s what I am wearing, she warned) and dad, having not an inkling of sari shopping conveniently roped me into this for moral support. Another house-help accompanied us and we three set off with the agenda being one sari for the maid. It was indeed a sight to have captured with two men (I refused to get down) alighting from a car outside a non-descript sari store to go pick a random sari. Things went a bit too far when both being undecided on which to pick came up to the car armed with six different designs with a look of utter confusion clouding their faces. I was on the verge of losing it, when thought better of it and pointed to the nearest non-green looking one and we were off.

The day itself went by in a whiz, the sibling was a bit undeterred by the fact that he should be relaxing, aiming at looking good and leaving the arrangements to the rest of the family, instead he was on a trip of his own minding the flower guy, trailing a reel of pink cloth and pointedly expressing his disappointment at the decorators that “it was not the way he expected it”. We were hours away from the occasion and welcoming the fiancé side for the first time into our home, so it was but necessary that arrangements should be top notch. The lights were installed, the bouquets and garlands came in, the caterers were shoved to one side and things were unendingly carrying on. I settled down with the caterer a little before I went back up to get fresh, and he happily thrust a piping hot filter coffee glass into my hands. Muthuswamy our trusted caterer since years never failed to fill us up with his excellent cooking. His manager went on to offer me a plate of fresh idlis and a chaat saying “Saar, you will not be able to enjoy my food later on, you will be too busy attending to your guests and will be tired to even eat later on”. His statement was true to the core and I was surprised that he had adjudged me so well. It was a surprise when he said that he knew me since I was a “baccha” and he was the one who used to come to our house every time they catered, going back to 20 years in time.

I crave for Muthuswamy dishes and somehow am never able to enjoy them when hosting. This gesture Coming from him is what true catering is all about, he knew my weakness for his food and he had ensured that I had my fill a little before the party had actually started.

Speaking about cravings, my extended family was in no mood to excuse me for not cooking up some special dishes for them. They all had insisted that one meal would have to be laid out by me and I had ensured that I would. I dubiously got my way around by selecting breakfast as the meal I would cook and got to making fresh batches of waffles and served them with the freshest fruit amongst home made scones, butter and preserves. Well, no one’s complaining as they all left feeling heartily satisfied.

These waffles are easy to make up last minute and a perfect breakfast dish. You will need to invest in a waffle maker, not a very easy task for me as I had been looking for one all these years and was on the verge of importing it when one fine evening my friend and partner-in-photography eyed one at a local electronic store and picked it up without thinking twice, ensuring that I got the best gift of my life.

Ingredients:

For Waffle Batter

2 Large Eggs (Separated)

3/4 Cup Milk

1/4 Cup Melted Butter

3/4 cup White Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

3 tablsp Powdered Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Pinch of Salt

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with milk and butter and keep aside. Ideally chill this mixture.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt in another bowl and stir well. Add the egg yolk-milk mixture and stir evenly to get a thick batter.

Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until well blended but not foamy, fold into the batter till you get a slightly runny batter.

Pour the batter in the waffle iron till it covers the grid area. I like it checkered so I do not fill it all the way till the top, this way I get crispier waffles with checkered holes in them. Close the iron and bake till they are evenly browned while constantly checking the bottom part as that tends to get cooked faster.

Sprinkle over with cinnamon sugar (a little cinnamon powder mixed with superfine sugar), maple syrup or honey and fresh fruits, serve hot. 

You can even add orange zest to the batter to get a zesty kick, or chocolate powder for chocolate waffles (a couple of spoons of cocoa should do the trick). You can even top with with nutella, chocolate sauce or whipped cream with bananas as a quick dessert. 

The engagement went on to be a hit (how could it not) and it is the beginning of a new chapter in my sibling’s and our lives.

Sweeten that "Sour Grape"

... and then contentment set in.

period.

How easy it is to be content? I ask myself this question quite often. Scream your lungs out, but you will still have voices around you saying that "it is" not enough. I instantly shun them aside, all within and say "it is", and that's how its going to be.

Life's too short to worry about the quantum of contentment in others, that's if contentment could be measured. I notice a lot of people who are not yet in their happy zone and it stretches to such an extent that they ensure that those who are content and are within their radar are negatively affected too. A clear cut case of sour grapes. Not attainable hence call it sour and mull over it. No one said life was easy but it's the way you look at things that matter the most. If you call something unreasonable, then it is going to be unreasonable. If you are going to call it sour, its definitely going to remain sour, but only for you.

Reach out to that highest branch to grasp the fruit, smile relentlessly all the way through the climb, ignore the bugs, the pests, the thorns and you will come out victorious. The sour grape story teaches us a lesson, fabled or realistic, it does pay to learn and implement it. A theme well thought out, an ingredient which rules this weeks post, the fruit - A Grape.

Grapes may be astringently acrid and acidic but there's a hint of sweetness in them that enraptures your taste buds. A fantastic fruit which we all enjoy and relish, green or red, they are versatile enough to be used in many ways.

A nice recipe, which I relate to sweetening up the sourness in the grape, it urges you too to look at things in a different way.

Ingredients:

10-12 Green Grapes
10-12 Red Grapes
1 cup Hung Curd
2 tsp Mustard Paste (freshly made, not the French variety)
A small bunch of Fresh Mint
1 tablsp Coriander leaves finely chopped
1 tsp Honey
A pinch of Cumin
Black Salt & Paprika to taste



Wash & slice the grapes into thin roundels and keep aside.

Beat the hung curd till smooth and add the honey, mustard paste and spices. Mix well and add the mint and coriander. Toss in the grapes and mix well. Let it sit for a while and serve chilled.

Incidentally, a lot of contentment is achieved whenever I am invited to meet with like-minded people. The bloggers who are now a part of my little world, give me great joy in preserving my contentment and making it a lot more stronger. This time we were invited over to Olive with a couple of new bloggers in our tribe (it's growing and I am loving it) and the event hosted by United Breweries Group who introduced us to their range of wines branded as Four Seasons coupled with Olives carefully selected four course meal. The event planners, Melissa & Tara from Grey had planned out a wine degustation and it turned out quite a handful.

Pairing food and wines is an art. A lot many of us (probably including me) do not know the finer nuances of the right pair, but yes, if you do make an attempt and of course, someone with a fine nose and sensitive taste guides you through it, its worth the experience and it leaves an overall sense of nirvana to your taste buds.

In India, the norm is usually not to have alcohol with food. A lot of us have the drinks before dinner and then move on to the meal. The west usually associates a drink with the food. A clearly wise habit considering you are keeping your stomach and blood stream content with the effect of alcohol dimmed by the food which you eat with it. I love having a drink while eating, not only is it fulfilling, but every sip of alcohol refreshes your taste buds to a fresh new feel and makes every bite of your food tastes like its first.

The Sauvignon Blanc with Wine Cured Grape & Goat Cheese Salad

This wine was served with the salad, I had a bit of Four Seasons Rose to begin with when we walked in and the sweetness of the rose was cutting into the flavors of the sauvignon blanc, but surprisingly, a bite into peppery arugula in the salad brought out the flavors of the wine. A clear case of sweetening the sour grapes, dont you think? sometimes its the food which matters too when pairing the wine, and it does wonders to your palate. The creamy goat cheese had a nice silky finish to the slightly biting flavors of the wine.

The Viognier with Baked Fillo - Wrapped Brie

The next pairing was The Viogner. A first timer for me and described as an intense perfume of blossom, dried apricots and peaches. The thin crusty layers of the fillo was quite a treat with a plump filling of brie (a little too much actually) with a drizzle of honey at the base, but The Viogner had its way around the full meaty feel of the dish and left the taste lingering on much after I was done with it.

Rushina of A Perfect Bite who invited us over, had the char-grilled prawns. I was not much in a sea-food mood, but I could see it did make an interesting pairing with The Voigner.

The Merlot & Barrique Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon with The Chicken Shish Touk

A double whammy for me, I do have a penchant for Merlot and probably veer more towards this grape variety due to its ripe and deep flavors whereas the Cabernet Sauvignon (Their premium ranged Barrique Reserve) borders with a bit of spice hence I was reduced to alternating between both as they had been served together in front of me. Oddly, the juggle between the two was fun as my Chicken which was marinated with an overwhelming taste of cumin was excellent with the subtle yet dark fruit flavors of the Merlot and the saffron rice with which the chicken came along with went perfectly well with the Cabernet Sauvignon. Alternating between a subtle wine to a fiery dish and a rich full bodied wine with something light, is a good pairing.

The Blush Cocktail with Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee / Wild Berry Cheesecake

Dessert wines are a fledgeling introduction in India, considering we Indians do have a sweet palate to go with, I am quite surprised that dessert wines are not widely advertised or served around here. The Blush Cocktail was a heady concoction of Four Seasons Blush with Cointreau (again my favourite liqueur) and Strawberries and I did catch a piece of melon too?

If all that wine dint leave me content, I think I would be kidding myself into believing that lifes good after all !

Crème de la crème

As I made my way around the perfectly kept home with my Riedel flute sparkling with chilled champagne, the flowers selected to match the walls in each room, the baccarat crystal glistening in the ambient lights in each corner, the hors d'oeuvres magically materialising on platters carried by white gloved hands and the host graciously welcoming the invitees, I heard a sudden loud boisterous noise from the main entrance of the home and a loudly clad couple made its equally loud entrance into the home. For a split second I could virtually taste the tension in the air as the host, bewildered as can be, went up to greet the couple. I stood there quietly observing the scene unfolding before me as I had a feeling there was some sort of un-welcomed invasion taking place here and things were probably going to heat up and turn ugly.

On the contrary, the loud couple got louder as they walked in and the host with his wife welcomed them in with open arms and not a flicker of annoyance showing on their faces. I caught a few words, crass as they sounded - "Ah, so we heard about today's dinner, and thought we'd swing by as we were on our way to another party, thought why not drop in and say hello" - "Sawant, bring us two glasses, dont just stand there" (In the local dialect) - addressing the aged house-help, who was shuffling about at the kitchen entrance while the nattily dressed waiters made a more pronounced appearance. I was curious by now to know who these people were, and I edged my way towards the centre where they were pretty much - the centre of attention. The host realised things were a bit uncomfortable around the room with this inconvenience, and fortunately or unfortunately caught the first person to introduce - "Me".

"This is my sister and her husband" - I greeted them with a polite nod, and before I knew it the lady had already grasped my hand in delight, scrawny fingers glittering with chunky emeralds and uncut diamonds, practically spitting in my face, with a "what are you drinking" - Dachu (addressing her husband), I am feeling like a bubbly now, can we get that, throw your whiskey away, we have same bottle at home" 


This "Dachu" started speaking to me, with the usual conversation starter: "what do you do?" and before I could finish my answer he was on a train ride tirade of his "business" and his "achievements" with a "Oh, Yes and a Oh, No" and a nasty poke from his wife now and again. I was quite bored five minutes into this so called one-sided conversation and the other guests had dispersed into the odd corners of the room, looking quite like a replacement to those baccarat crystals; when the host, sensing my discomfort, swooped in with a couple of other family members, who looked very unlikely to be the ones partaking as my replacements. The night carried on with the only voices in the room - of the new entries.

I was back to my mingling and a couple of champagnes down, when I saw the "louds" still hanging about, making a good deal of noise, still louder as they too were a couple of "bubblies" down. I got myself thinking,what happened to that so called "Party" they were on their way too? class apart, they were nothing short of bumbling, new-moneyed fools who were trying to make their mark amongst the well heeled, cashing in on the brothers life and probably screwing it up with their presence. A sense of pity arose towards the host and the hostess - who were trying their level best to maintain a dignified silence while the unwanted drove all the attention.

We all have the "louds" somewhere, sometimes in our lives. It takes a lot to maintain a dignified style of living, a personality and the total outlook of your life. The people we choose to remain is not imbibed in us but an acquired trait. Of course, upbringing is a key ingredient in being grounded however high you may have flown, but the class trait is a very rare acquisition and this is what sets you apart from the others, or should I say - makes you the Crème de la crème?   

I think I have got a bit carried away here with my post and am duly coming back to food. The crème de la crème of the night was the Crème brûlée at the dessert counter. A divine creation (God bless the French! though the origin of this rich dessert still remains a mystery) which incorporates the best part of cooking I like - Burning. As the name suggests Crème brûlée means burnt cream. This is not some recipe gone wrong but a fantastic dessert having a delicious custard base and the caramelized topping which is a coup de grâce in the good sense, because the combination of soft, mellow and slightly sweet custard with the hard hitting bitter-sweet taste of caramelized sugar is sure to blow your mind away.

You can try this simple version at home, but be sure to indulge in some ramekins before proceeding.

Ingredients:
200ml Heavy Cream
2 Egg Yolks
1/3 cup Milk
3 tablsp Sugar (Granulated)
A drop of Vanilla Essence (optional)

Carmelization:
Powdered Brown Sugar
Butane Torch (Optional)

Pre-heat the oven to 240C with the low rack inside, if baking immediately (read recipe for optional step).

In a non-stick pan, pour the cream and keep on a low flame to simmer, stirring continuously till steaming, but not boiling.

In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the granulated sugar (and vanilla if used) till well incorporated and a runny paste. While still whisking start pouring in the cream with a thin stream. Go on whisking lightly till all the cream is all poured and you have a thick pasty but consistent liquid.

Prepare the ramekins (the one I have used here is the perfect size for the recipe given) by pouring in the cream and egg mix. Cool and cover with a foil and place in the refrigerator overnight. This is an optional step as this gets you best results, but I have tried baking it immediately and it works just fine, except the overnight one turns out to be well set.

Prepare the water basin, by placing the cream filled ramekin in a aluminium pan with tall edges. Pour warm water slowly in the pan till it reaches half way up to the ramekin. Place the pan in the pre heated oven and bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Check for done-ness by simply wobbling the pan lightly, the top of the crème brûlée should be like sponge and the middle should wobble slightly.    

Take out from the oven, remove from water basin and place the ramekin on a rack to cool. Chill for a few hours before the final prep.

For the grande finale:

Sprinkle some fine ground brown sugar like a thin film on the top of the baked crème brûlée and torch with a butane chef's torch till the sugar starts caramelizing. You should have a nice thin and crunchy layer of sugar over the soft custard base. Enjoy it as is.

Alternately, you can spread the sugar and pop under your oven grill (top rack) or your broiler to get the same effect. I have, of course, used a butane chef's torch (which I sneakily use for various other quick fix's) to caramelize the sugar but the caramel in oven turns out as good.

A Plum Role

An observation worth pondering over if identified correctly. We, in the course of our life, will come upon many others who, somehow, stay or leave. A transition which lays its own course and leaves a trail which you follow, be astride or leave aside. There are many who have come and gone since the time I have been in this world and looking back they have involuntarily laid down a lesson or presence which was either absorbed or ejected. These acquaintances, friends, family, lovers, colleagues, all in all, play a plum role in our life.

We choose who we want in our life and who we don’t; sometimes it’s the other way round when you may want to be a part in ones life and it doesn’t work out. But in all this, there is one thing worth grasping – no matter what, there is a definite positive spin in the presence of the other for however brief or lengthy period it has been.

I, for one, have learnt that no matter what the ultimate layers reveal for the current people in my life, somehow they are all there for a reason and its all for my good.

I recently started creating recipes professionally for the camera. In the sense, my photographer, a person who shares my passion for food and who inadvertently kicked me around to complete my book (at-least the photography part) and has encouraged me to create and conquer the art of cooking through the camera lens. After a grueling course of advanced photography in Paris, she decided to come back gung-ho with a fresh perspective on what she’d like to shoot. Of course, being subjected to weekly food shoots before the course, and Paris being no newbie to food and all things connected, she had found her forte in shooting food professionally.

A mutual motivational factor got us working weekends and creating masterpieces for the camera. I love her work and it’s turned out to be more of a mutual admiration society especially when two minds run in the same direction. A certain dish I created out of pure love for the color purple and the camera, dished out for you here complete with the recipe and a visual treat of the finale.

   


4-5 Large Damask Plums (The Californian variety available in stores nowadays)
1 tsp Demerara Sugar
1 tsp White Butter
1½ cup Red Wine (Cabernet Sauvignon)
5 tsp Sugar
1 Star Anise
2-3 Cloves
1” Stick Cinnamon
Pistachios – Peeled and Dry Roasted till fragrant

Wash the plums and slit a cross on the top with a sharp knife, deep enough or till it touches the stone (seed) of the plum. Soak in the wine for about half an hour.

Once soaked well enough remove from wine and place on a tin baking sheet and smear a little butter atop each plum. Sprinkle Demerara sugar on each of the plums and place in the top shelf / rack of the oven. Turn on the grill and grill the plums till the skin withers and the sugar melts and amalgamates with the butter, this should take about 9 minutes.

In a saucepan, pour the wine (in which the plums were soaked) and add the sugar, keep on a low flame to simmer. Add the spices and simmer till the sugar melts. Strain and keep aside. 

To serve, place a plum in a plate or saucer and add a few spoons of the red wine sauce over the slits till the sauce oozes from the sides, sprinkle with toasted pistachios and serve with whipped cream, vanilla ice-cream or crème fraiche.

Just like this dish, make sure the people who are currently in “your” life, appreciated for their plum role. 

Chasing ... Reality

I observed a jolting sight which got me thinking about a lot of things we go through in the course of life. A drive back from lunch today, stuck in traffic, head lolling due to the lack of sleep all because of the blurred life we all live - work, social, personal etc. I suddenly saw a half naked little kid probably about the age of 4 spring out of his hut and in another second his doppelgänger rushing out of the same hut and chasing him. They went round their hut twice, they ran on the footpath still chasing and being chased and ran around again repeating the same thing till they fell back on the side of the road on a small patch of dried grass laughing heartily and started munching on lollipops. The green light came on and the cars accompanied by the inevitable cacophony jolted me from my observation and I was back to reality.

Reality? what reality. I was lost in thought over something quite jarring about life and how we evolve. I re-winded my thoughts to 24 year ago, when I too recollect, running - carefree ! just like these two little kids munching on lollipops.

Think about it, every time, as kids we would be left off to play and we would land up "running"; running to catch a ball, running to chase another person, running to hide, running to throw. The finale would be an exhausted and aching body but with a very surreal satisfied feeling.

They very first game we played in life is "chase". The only difference is, the young chase because they are attuned to breaking free off anything remotely stifling or tying down and as adults we are on a chase and only land up stifling and being tied down.

Why then the first lesson in life we learn, cannot be integrated in the way we lead it. Life as you know, is one big chase or race... but have you ever considered to stop and wonder what or against whom are we racing? As kids we never considered what or whom we raced and chased, we just did it for our satisfaction. It never mattered that we caught the person we chased, nor did it matter that he was faster. In the end, we would fall back with the other and rest it out probably laugh about it and get back to our own little world, till the next time/day when the chase would begin again.

Now, all we do is chase our dreams, chase our career, constantly rushing to catch up with just generally everyone within our purview and ... I wonder, where is that pause button where we just fall back, satisfied and be able to laugh?

I have consciously vowed to integrate this little incident and lesson into my life. Pause, randomly, but pause. You deserve to have that luxury a lot more often than normal and all things materialistic will automatically cease to exist. Try it, and as I quote a term from a friends gtalk status, you'd be experiencing "Mini Moksha" every time you did.

In an anomalous way, this next dish can quite relate to what I experienced in those few moments. I call it Sweet Sago Pops. These are mildly spiced sago kabob's skewered onto sweet sugar-cane sticks to resemble candied lollipops but savoury and deep fried. Instantly, it takes you back to your fun carefree lollipop filled chasing days.

Ingredients:


3 large potatoes boiled, peeled and mashed
1 cup Sago (Sabudana)
1 tablsp Ginger Chilli Paste
1 White Onion - finely chopped
1-2 cloves garlic - mashed
2 tsp Mango Powder
1 tsp Chilli Powder
1 tsp Cumin Powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 cup Arrowroot Powder (or Cornflour)
A Large Sugar-cane Stick
Oil For Frying

While buying the sugar-cane stick, ask the vendor to cut it into foot long pieces and peel it for you. Chop it into long finger chip size pieces when you get back home and keep aside in the refrigerator.

Soak the Sago in a cup of warm water for a few hours. It should be puffed up well and translucent.

Keep aside a handful of sago and add the seasoning's and paste to the rest and being to mash it all up well. Slowly add a little of the mashed potato and continue to mash till all the potatoes and the sago mix are all well incorporated. In a little pan, heat a tsp of oil and stir fry the garlic and onions till translucent. Top it onto the sago-potato mix and stir it up. Check salt and pepper and keep this dough aside.

To proceed add a few spoons of arrowroot or cornflour into the mix. Take one of the finger-chip sized sugar-cane stick in one hand and  a table tennis sized ball of the dough in the other. Proceed to wrap this mixture onto one end of the sugar-cane stick and squeezing it gently with your palm to resemble a kabob. Keep aside on a paper towel and proceed to make the rest of the kabob's till the mix is all used up.

Heat oil in a deep bottomed vessel. Dip the kabob side into the oil either with your hands (if you are comfortable getting so close to the hot oil) or with a pair of tongs. Fry the pops till crisp golden brown and drain on paper towels.

Tip:
If you use a frying pan, try using a smaller but deeper one. Add only enough oil to cover the length of the kabob and place the kabob sticks, kabob side down, with the sugar cane sticks resting on the sides of the pan. This way you need'nt hold onto it or do them one at a time.

Serve with a side of fiery mint chutney and indulge your senses to a spicy starter with a chewable sweet stick you can munch on while you reminisce about your own childhood.