Monday Musings

Monday Musings (sounds so much better than roundup no?)

A roundup of all things foodie (and some things not), that caught my eye last week and things to look forward to next week.

It's been a busy week.

Busy because my head is like a can of worms! The ideas just wont stop coming! And wherever I look, there is a new trigger! I need blinkers. With the book, blogs, website work and the usual duties of mom, wife, homemaker, I am multitasking so much, I start one thing but finish another!

Ideas of note....Lemon olive oil cake from One Perfect Ingredient with Chinese toasted sesame oil, an expensive but oh so indulgent proposition and cheese straws two ways ie. two flavours of cheese on the same cheese straw- ambitious and foolhardy but what fun if I manage it! 

Being a Virgo I have this tendency to make lists so I keep things in order with notebooks. In multiples! Each new project must have a new diary.My long suffering husband (who had the onerous task of cleaning up my desk or drowning in my stuff this weekend) exasperatedly  counted 6. 1 each for My Mumbai cookbook and my Pahari food book, 1 each for 2 future book projects, the latest - a notebook dedicated to sorting out the meals in my home and a task book with a list of things I need to take care of in general.

This obsession with lists occasionally back fires on me, but I'll come back to that.

I didn't get around to baking his week, but I DID keep my commitment to doing a healthy tiffin stuffer for my son. It was a simple old fashioned vegetable cutlet in which I rather cunningly camoflaged grated carrot and mashed peas. Or at least I thought so... the carrots worked but the peas unfortunately didn't. They came home in a neat little pile of debris on one side of the box thanks to a 6 year old's anathema to anything green!

I also managed to cook most of the stuff I picked up on my marketing trip with Vikram, I had a lot of fennel, two big bulbs, so I pickled it with orange according to a recipe from Joy of pickles. The sweet potato leaves I stir-fried with garlic and a touch of chilli. The thai chillies are drying as we speak - to go into a spicy seasoning I will use round the year. The Kantolas - which incidentally I was correct in assuming were the Meethe Karele of Uttarakhandi cuisine - were delicious in the ubiquitous onion tomato preparation that I resort to too much these days. The water chestnuts became a spicy curry of green masalla and coconut.

But thanks to Vikram, Moras Bhaji was the theme of the week. I started with a raita, then I did a Pithla and lastly a salad with the sorrel, lettuce, fresh pomegranate and sweet provolone cheese. Yet to try the papadi (a tiny nut I have never seen) but the Aam papad (mago fruit leather) was wiped out, it was just delicious.  And Aman equates it with treats so I am happy - much rather that then candy.

The onion flakes are destined for my patented herb seasoning -  the one some of you have been asking me to make more of. I am going to be making that next week so do book your bottle now. (I will courier/deliver to addresses in India only).

Thursday I bestirred myself to leave the kids and to drive to the Grand Central hotel. Discovery Travel and Living had an event to kick off their new lineup. Will Studd whose program Cheese Slices airs Tuesday was in town to promote his show with a cheese tasting session - a first around these parts and one reason I made it a point to go (a point the organisers made five too often times). The session itself was really good. The show promises to be food porn to beat all food porn - amazing locales of pastures stretching as far as the eye can see, idyllic places where owners of artisnal cheese factories cycle to work, hammer at huge wheels of cheese to check if they are cracked and some eye candy of another kind with italian cheese- makers getting physical (in an entirely kosher way) with cheese in all its forms - but most of all it what is goint to get me to wathch is the presenter, Will Studd who has me sold on Cheese. He's Obviously, stark raving bonkers about artisnal cheese and makes no apologies for it, having dedicated a lifetime to the subject. He has written a cheese bible called Chalk and cheese and travelled the world in an effort to document and preserve artisnal cheese - making. I have a date with my telly on Tuesday and dinner will revolve round cheese!

Perhaps cheese pakoras to wind up my Pakora contest, those who've been meaning to send in their entries, it 30 July. On the subject of he cheese tasting, the whole thing as very slickly put together, down to the slickly packaged giveaways we were sent home with. I have just one itsy bitsy peeve, why are banquets (meals/buttets et all) that follow up food events such as this so badly executed. The high note struck with the event itself instantly comes down a few notches with limp salads that have discolored lettuce and oxidised apples, soggy baby corn and woody asparagus. The soup and grilled red Snapper were excellent although the servers were being extremely frugal in their portions. Had to run so had no time to try the pasta station and definitely didn't need dessert after all that cheese and wine so no comments there. Its lamentable when this happens with any event but when it follows up a food related event, it's inexcusable!

Coming back to my latest notebook, Friday, my friend, Sharvari, sent me the link to this article, on planning meals. Called Save time money and health - plan your menu ahead, in it David B. Bohl advises " Create a chart with 7 columns for each day of the week and 6 rows for 3 meals and 3 snacks. Vary this to fit your particular needs, then make 4 copies for one month. Before the last week of the month, make 4 copies for the next month. This is easy to do if you create the chart on your computer in Ms Word or Excel." It stayed with me through the rest of that day and the night. (Sleep comes slow to me so waking up to get my baby her night feeds usually gets those worms going.)

So Saturday morning I snuck a new notebook out from behind my husband and inaugurated it. I actually got the first week done upto Thursday, factoring in health, budgets, seasonal produce, stuff in stock, person cooking (housekeeper/husband/me), my diet constraints AND picky kids preferances (cos although I REFUSE to cook seperate meals, its easier to have one thing they like (or can be ground to baby food as opposed to delaying their dinner to make something because everything is Boring or Yuck! I suspect by now you can see how lists backfire on me... Anyways at this point I had to go get dressed for the baby shower I was hosting for my sister in law so I put this on hold and rushed off. And then my darling husband being his usual thoughtful self went and did the vegetable shopping for the week while I was gone.

I gave him a big thank you hug, ripped out those two pages and decided to let the chaos reign untill next weekend when I shall try again.

By the by, if you are in Mumbai and if you need to plan a baby shower here are two contacts that you will thank me for (you can buy me a cup of coffee after). Delicie did the most adorable cake - a baby bed with a tiny pillow and blanket, quilting, patchwork, ruffles  and all and Rupali of Sentiments did SUCH cute chocolate hampers that the games were an absolute success because EVERYONE wanted one.

Sunday dawned with me being lazy but having to shake off the laziness because I had given my housekeeper the day off. Lunch became a potluck with my sister in law from up the road bringing her mattar paneer (one thing out kids Lap up after ejecting all the peas) and me embarking on a kitchen marathon to make tamatar-tadka dal, pyazwali bhindi and a cucumber raita for which I lovingly sliced the cucumbers paper thin on my LATEST gadget, a almond slicer (that I have yet to slie almonds on) from Chef's aid. I also made sambhar, my best yet, and the aforementioned cutlets.
 
I also managed to line up a few things on the Mumbai Cookbook blog, for those interested.

Food writing this week,
Vikram's latest column on Olive oil has reminded me of something that as been bugging me for a while - the dissemination of WRONG information with regards to diet. I read the same meadvise from Nita Mehta he writes about with reference to Pomace oil and I was a little concerned too. Incidentally that link to all his stories that I blogged about last Monday, unfortunately does NOT renew itself. (Ambitious expectations from the ET website on my part I suspect...)

Pursuing the Indian Foodwriters roundup I unintentionally embarked upon last week, I forgot to mention Reshmi R Dasgupta considering she also writes for ET and I read the section every week.

I'd also like to add Antoine Lewis who turned Savvy Cookbook into a magazine I waited for every month (not so since he left however - its good in parts wanting too) he's moved to Paprika Media (of Timeout Mumbai and Delhi fame) so the already informative food section of Timeout has just gotten better. There's an illuminating piece on tipping this fortnight thats definitely worth a read ...And no mention of the TOM food section would be complete without a mention of Roshni Bajaj Sanghvi whose written this latest piece as well. I'd also like to add Lesley Estevez to the list. She was a real discovery, Marryam pointed me in her direction, and I managed to find her blog online.

GYAN and Links....

Here is a link to the article on planning menus, Timeout Mumbai online, Lesley E blogs on Diva Italian restaurant Delhi CHEESE SLICES, a 10-episode series, will air on Discovery Travel & Living every Tuesday at 8 pm starting July 22nd. Contact Rupali of sentiments at 65521595/26055316 (she does a whole lot of other events in addition to baby showers.

Monday Roundup The week gone by and the week to come.

A roundup of all things foodie (and some things not), that caught my eye last week and things to look forward to next week.

Last week ended on a sour note,

Why?

Well, when food permeates your life to the extent it does mine, reading about it is quite important in the scheme of things. The morning papers usually prove disappointing on the food related articles front, because we just don't get the kind of food writing we deserve in India. This Sunday added to the dreaeyness of the foodreading week, because the one meaty bit of food writing that I get via Vir Sanghvi's legendary Rude food column was also denied me (he wrote on travel as he occasionally does). I read anything by the Grand Fromage of HT but with my predeliction for food, I look forward to his erudite writing on food most.

But Monday brought good portents for foodwriting, first of all I went to the ET website to see Vikram's (Vikram Doctor) latest column and was thrilled. As of today, us Vikdoc fans need not (hopefully anyways) brave the ponderous ET website in search of his columns anymore! The powers that be have FINALLY added a feature that allows one to access all his recent stories!

And then I followed a google alert to the Mint website and found a cornucopia of writing by Vir Sanghvi. Don't know why I never thought of  checking on the Mint website, its very navigable as well and they have lots of food coverage besides VirMr. Sanghvi's column.

And while we are at it, I also like to go read Marryam Reshi's column every alternate Saturday. She also writes for the Asian Age online which is where I was very excited to find a story by hr that detailed Kashmiri pickles. I love pickles and have always been curious about Kashmiri ones so this made illumintating reading. I love the enthusiasm with which Marryam approaches food and her determination to ferret out the littlest detail. I am really glad I met her because in her I have found a like mind (at the risk of projecting myself as more than I am).
 
Note to self, On a roll here, do a roundup of foodie reading in India for later in the week.

Food writing might have been a let down but cookbooks more than made up for it. I splurged on bought a couple of new cookbooks - Eat Smart and One Perfect Ingredient and also received a couple of cookbooks for review (I'm bonkers about cookbooks for those who don't know, LOVE them collect them like ppl collect stamps).

I cooked from One perfect ingredient last week and will blog about it this week. But the highlight of the week on this front was receiving a review copy of Italian Khana. (I had asked for the PDF but I am glad that they sent me a hard copy because it would have lost impact in soft copy).

I was looking at two current favourite cookbooks "Exploring taste and flavour" by Chef Tom Kime and One Perfect Ingredient by Chef Marcus Wareing and Italian Khanna by Ritu Dalmia arrived. I have to tell you I was EXCITED. Because in every way, perhaps more so in some Italian Khanna was at par with the aforementioned two books. I was excited because this is an Indian book. I have lamented often at the dismal standard of cookbooks that come out of India, but Italian Khana has raised the bar really really high. At the risk of sounding a tad over the top, this really is an exceptional book that I am proud to have on my shelf! 

I am going to review it in A perfect bite style next week but I love it because Ritu's love for Italian food comes through in this book, as she writes about her love for soup, completely disregards protocol to celebrate baigans - one of the most reviled vegetables and the spicy aspect of Italian food in the chapter on chillies. Chillies are a subject I love so anyone who loves them has my vote!

In fact the Chillihead in me wants to try the Bollywood Burner, the fiery curry created by Vivek Singh at the Cinnamon club. They're aiming to get it into The Guinness Book of World Records as the 'hottest' thing you ever ate. It incorporates  two of the 'hottest' chillies in the world and Vivek Singh, recommends "lots of plain yoghurt, steamed rice, a bucket of ice-cold water and possibly a fire extinguisher" as accompaniments in and HT article on the Bollywood Burner. It reminds me of the time I went to an Indian restaurant in Melbourne. I was asked the scale of hotness I would like and I said 5, they recommended 2. Thank God because even the "2" blew me away! But it was an unforgettable experience.

Last week I baked after ages and it was a total success. I  want to bake some more this week. I was motivated enough to pick up some baking accessories from Arif while on my foodie walkabout through a couple of markets with Vikram for My Mumbai Cookbook on Saturday.  Some muffins are definitely on the cards for my sons tiffin in the silcone muffin tray I picked up from Arif.

That was a good trip, am looking forward to cooking with all the stuff I picked up, fresh fennel, sorrel and sweet potato leaves, thai chillies, water chestnuts, Moras bhajji and Kantolas. Yeast, Gluten, Dried onion flakes, papadi (a tiny nut I have never seen) Aam papad, chiki.

And then, it was also a weekend of foodie gifts, Vikram got me Manuka honey from New Zealand  Mom;s friend was in town from Turkey and brought the customary box of Baklava for my son (she knows he loves it), mom gave me a packet of Apricots from South Africa, that my son and I both love, Nani (my grandmom) dropped of some Ganthia.

The foodie theme continued into Sunday, we had company for lunch so I did a Malvani fish curry and a kebab curry for lunch that we had with rice bhakris and I found a treasure of Kitchen Gadjets in my own backyard. Was window shopping in Hiranandani market when I found the local gallery had an exhibition of kitchen stuff happening. Spent a pleasant half hour browsing and fighting with myself over buying /not buying about 10 different things. Finally settled for a nifty Oil pouring thing with a measuring cup attached and a lemon zester which I really needed in my kitchen (though the hubby will disagree). 

What I am REALLY looking forward to is Ritu Dalmia's show Italian Khana launching on NDTV this week, am cooking a meal from the book to accompany it, look forward to it. I do hope that the show does justice to the book.

GYAN and Links....

Vikram Doctor's column is here. Bookmark it, I suspect it will update itself every Saturday (which is when his column appears). Here is a link to a whole lot of Vir Sanghvi's writing, food included and here is Marryam Reshi's column every alternate Saturday (there are links to previous columns at the end of the article.

Another Indian restaurant that has made the news... Check out this post on Kamla Bhatt's blog about Mint & Mustard (M &M) Restaurant located in Cardiff, Wales that won this year's Tiffin Cup award.

Here is the HT article on the Bollywood Burner I mentioned above.
Web trailer for Italian Khana the show on NDTV - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Oa_AXnG69c

Pez - reaserch roundup

A story on Pez written by me was published in the Saturday (29 June) edition of Times of India, Goa.

In it I comment on how I found my perfect bowl of pez masquerading as porridge on the distant island of Singapore a few years ago!

Researching this article was fun. I already knew that Pez/ Kanji/ Rice porridge is a part of many cuisines around India as well as the world, but to verify that I sent out a mail to friends asking for a little help.

"I am working on an article on rice gruel/porridge, that is available in a variety of cuisines Indian as well at international. Called Pez/pej/ Kanji/Porrige it is a dish in which rice is cooked in lots of water and can be served with a variety of condiments. Does this sound like something you have come across in your cuisine? Would love any and all info. Recipes would be awesome!"

Friends were more than generous with their replies and my 750 word limit ould not encompass them all but here is a roundup.

Apolina Fos "We in Bassein have a rice porridge called 'kaneri'. It is had every morning as a mid-morning drink around 10am. Those working in the fields have their quota delivered. Rice is coarsely ground (even coarser than semolina). The rice is of course ground in the flour mill. Water is boiled, salted and the rice meal added to the boiling water. A little sugar is added and a little milk is stirred in after the kaneri has cooked. Kaneri like a thin soup and is served in a plate, on its own or with pickles..."

Deccanheffalump of the awesome Pune based blog "The Cooks Cottage" too time out to tell me about the medicinal pez her guru tuned her into, "When I was in Amritsar I was given a recipe by my music master (hindustani zlassical) and a local astrologer for a rice gruel recipe for dysentery/diarhhoea. In a teaspoon of ghee ( yes ghee!) fry some jeera. Add soaked rice and fry for a bit. Now add plenty of water i.e. for a tablespoon of rice about 2 cups of water. Let it cook till thick and soft. Serve. You can also add 1/2 tsp anar dana to this while cooking. I suppose this might be a punjabi recipe? The thing is it works! I gave it everyday to a guest who had viral gastro enteritis and who could keep nothing down. Well this stuck. Tastes good too."

My friend Clarajoy Alookaran of Mediascope, wrote in to share the recipe for the version, generally made for the infirm, in Kerela.

"Wash rice and dry it under the fan/sun. Dry roast the rice on low flame stirring all the while until the rice changes its colour or until you get a fragrance of the roasted rice. Allow to cool. Grind to a coarse powder in the mixer. Take 2 to 3 heaped table spoons of the rice powder, add a lot of water and keep it on low flame, stirring occasionally to a pouring consistency until the rice is soft, add salt and grated coconut mix well. Serve hot with a teaspoon of pure ghee & roasted papad."

Ammini Ramchandran, author of the stellar book "Grains greens and grated coconuts "I published an article on the topic in 2002 in the magazine Flavor & Fortune.
I have it on web site also. Here is a link to the article Hope it will be
of some help.

My food writer friend Marryam wrote " In goa, pez was the farmer's meal between breakfast and lunch, eaten with either water pickle (preserved raw mango in brine) or a piece of fried/dried fish. In Kashmir, a similar thing is called dodh vegra and is a kind of kindergarten pap eaten when someone is ill. It has none of the additions that you have asked about in the Muslim tradition: it is the opposite end of the spectrum from a gourmet dish, so by definition, is eaten when you are too ill to put down meat, spices etc.

Susan Ji young Park wrote to say that the The Book Of Rai forum has a thread on this subject.

I also caught up with a few people on Gmail chat and here is a summary of that exercise:

Mitali Kar checked with her mom and reverted that there is lei or leyee which is what in which rice and water are over boiled and created into a mishmash. This is popular in villages and the the dish is rich because the water gets absorbed by the rice. It can be had during lunch or dinner as it is highly nutritious. For additional flavour one you can add carrots, cauliflowers, beans, potatoes, turmeric and salt.



While I was working on the story, I had rice porridge every way possible. Not because I was trying recipes, but because I was assailed with cravings for the stuff every time I sat down to write! And it's usually the case, when I am engrossed in writing on a subject, I just have to eat what I am writing about which can get complicated at times. The picture above is of a concoction that turned out particularly well. It had a beaten egg added like with Chinese soups, sliced sausages and I ate it with some of the green pepper pickle I had made last year.