My Interview on sulekha.com

Sulekha.com is a very popular Indian Website in the US. It was one of the first websites to start a Indian Recipe section way back in the late 1990's as far as I remember. While their focus has slowly changed, the food section is still quite prominent and I'm quite kicked about the fact that they wanted to interview me :)

The interview can be read on site  - here


Many of us cannot even think about an Indian delicacy beyond garam masala, ghee or butter. Beauty of the food lies in humble ingredients. “Noodles Vs. Snake meat” is just a cloudy vision about the unique cuisine from North East. Karishma talks about innovating delicious Indian food via North-East cuisine on “jhovaan.blogspot.in”.

Could you please share with us the moment you cooked your first Thevo Choo ?

In October 2010 we were posted in Delhi. In preparation for the Commonwealth Games to be held in the City, there were a lot of folk performances and food stalls from all over India. I smelt some lovely pork being cooked in the Food Stall from Nagaland, so I stopped and picked up a plate. It was delicious, light and spicy and I was hooked. (http://kimeatsnblogs.blogspot.in/2010/10/nagaland-stall-delhi.html) I knew I enjoyed these flavours and I wanted to try to recreate them at home. I bought Hoihnu Hazel's "The Essential North-East Cookbook" and flipped the pages and the Thevo Chu (http://jhovaan.blogspot.in/2010/10/recipe-thevo-chu-pork-with-bamboo-shoot.html) had ingredients in it that seemed very different from any other pork preparation that I had ever cooked before, so that's when I decided to make it and I was hooked on the taste and flavours. In those days I used to use regular chillies.

In May 2011, we were transferred to Guwahati and that’s where I finally got my hands on Bhoot Jholakia's (Naga Chillies) in every form - fresh / dried / pickled / preserved in oil or alcohol. The flavour from using these chillies is phenomenal.

I also got to barely scratch the surface on the 100's of varieties of greens and herbs that are used in North Eastern Cooking. These aren't available anywhere else in the country and you have to make a trip to the North East to really savour these dishes in their original form. It is also heartening to note that there are now regular restaurants in Bangalore and Delhi that only specialise in North Eastern food and I heavily recommend a visit.

When did you discover that cooking is more than a therapy in your eyes?

As a child I spent a lot of time with my maternal grandmother and she loved to cook. But more than she loved to cook, she loved to feed people, guests were always welcomed to share our meals and nobody ever turned down an invitation from her to stay on, because she was a brilliant cook. Basically she supervised the preparations (cleaning, chopping etc) and lent a hand when needed, but the final preparation was always done by her. I was her shadow as a 6 year old child and would be allowed to taste the masalas that were being ground and she would let me help in processes where there were no knives or fire involved. The only thing she hated me doing was sneaking bites of freshly grated coconuts. She always warned me that stealing this grated coconut would ensure that it would rain on the day of my "roce" (a Manglorean Christian equivalent of the "haldi" ceremony) and she had a good laugh when it actually did rain completely out of season on my roce day :)

As soon as I graduated from XLRI in 1999, I moved to my own apartment in Bangalore for a job and this is when I got back to cooking with a bang since I had spent 2 years in a hostel with no opportunity to cook. I was 22 and often had a whole bunch of friends inviting themselves over for a meal or asking me to cook at their kitchens because they too missed "home cooked" food. I never minded, because I actually enjoyed cooking and feeding people and I realised that the genes had passed from my nana to my mum and now to me. I used to wait to return from office, so I could get into the kitchen. No matter how stressful a day, an hour in the kitchen always cheered me up.

A stint in the US in 2000, introduced me to new ingredients and more global cuisines. In Atlanta, I used to often cook for most of the Indians in the office who were also staying in the same complex of apartments. The only sad part was that most of them were vegetarian, so I was forced to brush up on some Vegetarian recipes. I learnt basic Tamilian, Marathi and Kannadiga Vegetarian cooking from the recipes that these guys would get from their mothers and wives back in India. My next stint in Chicago was brilliant. Chicago has such a wonderful array of Global ethnic food stores and restaurants, that it pushed me to learn more whenever I got the opportunity.

In 2001, I was back in India and for the next few years I moved around the country Bangalore-Gurgaon-Hyderabad-Bombay, meeting with friends who would invite me home for a meal cooked by their wives or their mothers and this is when I truly started to appreciate the different styles of cuisine that we have in India.

Later stints in Cairo and Dubai as a trailing spouse, gave me more opportunities to interact with other expats and I also had more time on my hands, since I was no longer working full time. A few Egyptian, British and American friends used to come home to learn "Indian Cooking" and I would try to pick their brains on their kind of food.

Except for a few food taboos in certain regions or religions, food is an extremely binding experience. The minute you share a meal with someone, it brings the relationship closer. I treasure every one of the iftaars that I was invited to in these countries and especially the pot lucks where everyone would bring a home cooked dish.

Cooking and food for me is now more than a hobby, a past time or a relaxation therapy. It is a way to connect - with people, with their cultures, their heritage, their country, their village, their history.

How do you explore the taste of regional cuisines? Where do you get your ideas from?

My husband and I are restless nomads. We relocate often and travel frequently. Food is one of the ways in which we explore a region. Where food is concerned I draw the line at insects and snakes (I classify them extremely unscientifically as "creepy-crawlies"), I have not been able to get past a mental barrier here. The other place I drew the line was at cat and dog meat that was served to us at a feast in Nagaland hosted by the Tourism Minister (I've had over 50 beloved cats and dogs as pets in my lifetime and I was convinced that their ghosts would be back to haunt me that very night if I did :) )

But whether it was frogs legs in a French restaurant or fresh unpasteurized cheese in Lebanon, carpaccio, ceviche or sushi, I will try it all and I really love some of them. I've recently developed a bad allergy to shrimp. But other than shrimp, stinky fruit (durian, jackfruit etc) and the afore mentioned creepy-crawlies, I will eat anything. Whether it is standing with one leg on each side of a dirty naala in Agra, eating the most amazing aloo tikkis from a street side vendor, sitting on the floor of a fisherman’s hut in Goa eating fish curry - rice or eating chicken cooked under the sand, while rice cooked on the fire above in the Bahariyya desert of Egypt, I will eat anything that smells decent and is freshly made (especially with street food). More often than not, it ends up tasting great. I trust my nose completely on whether to eat something or not and which stall to eat from.

I love watching my friends, their mothers and their wives cook. The sad part is that in most of India that job is now relegated to maids and cooks and these maharaj's steadfastly shoo you out of the kitchen. I love talking to grandmothers about what they used to eat as children. We eat out often and we now have a surfeit of food chanels on tv or youtube and food bloggers across the world who are all a source of inspiration. I also keep buying cookbooks (my husband has a standing joke that if I were to cook just one new recipe from each cookbook that I own every day, we would have enough variety to last us a couple of lifetimes)

There are some technical dishes like breads and sushi rice where it is good to be physically present when it is being made by someone who knows what they are doing; this gives me an idea as to the required temperature, texture, consistency etc. But a lot of dishes can be replicated from text recipes and then I use these as a starting point to sometimes push things further.

Could you define the moment, when you tried your first ‘eat-out’? How do you dare to try something new as Chetna Special Chicken?

My dad is in the Merchant Navy, so I started traveling across the globe even before I could walk. I have to credit my mum and dad for making 4 of us siblings open to trying anything new when it came to food. While my dad and mum are both from Mangalore, their families food habits are pretty different. My dad’s family loves dishes made from fish heads, goat heads, intestines etc and my mum's mom would normally just put all these things aside for the dogs. While my mum still can't get herself to eat some of these things that were alien to her, she always encouraged us to try them out before we decided whether we would like to eat them or not. This option was not allowed where vegetables were concerned -these we HAD to eat, no matter what.

When we topped the class we were allowed to decide where we would like to go out for dinner. The main option in those days was Indian-Chinese as this was the one kind of food available in a restaurant that was hardly cooked at home, so that’s where we would end up. But all of this was part of life.

My first "Daring" food experience I would say was when I represented my college at a National Debate Competition in Loyola College Chennai in 1996. The hostel that we were put up at, had some North Eastern students there, who took a shine to me when they realised that I too was a "non-vegetarian" and like them trapped in a "vegetarian" hostel. Since the competition was held over a weekend, some of them had gone fishing and they had cooked the food elsewhere and smuggled it steaming hot into the hostel. There were frogs and tiny fish and pigeon and a lot of stuff that I had never seen before, let alone tasted, but I took the plunge and tried it all. And after that there has been no turning back. I will eat anything other than shrimp, stinky fruit (durian, jackfruit etc) and the afore mentioned creepy-crawlies.

‘Temptation’ is something, we are desperate to deny, but the realm doesn’t let us to! We saw your Stove Top Chicken and Mushrooms! Do you just taste your recipes or do you like indulging them?

I LOVE the food that I cook. I rarely follow a recipe to the "T". I don't know if this makes sense, but when I read a recipe I can kind of figure out what it’s going to taste like (like if you can read music, you look at the score and you know what it will sound like), so I adjust as I cook to suit our tastes, so I've rarely made something that has turned out to be inedible. On the off chance that it doesn't taste good, it ends up getting recycled into a completely different dish. For eg if the Goan choriz sausages don't come out well, they are turned into feijoada.

I was always of medium build, but then in the last decade or so, I was badly overweight. In the last 1 year I have lost 15 kilos, not by any drastic exercise or diet but because I have come to understand my body better. We finish dinner before 8pm, I avoid carbs at night. Sweet stuff is restricted to the afternoons. White flour and deep fried foods have long been out of our home cooked menus. So I've turned towards eating smart and semi-healthy and if I overdo it one day then the next day the food is kept really light and fresh (fresh fruit or salad) to balance it out.

Where do you get your ideas for ‘Dinner party menu’?

Everything I see, smell or taste is an inspiration. When I plan a dinner party, I don't fixate on a menu before I set out to shop. I have a rough plan in my head, more to do with the theme of food - Middle Eastern / Manglorean / Mughlai etc. Then the day before a dinner, I look at what is available in the market and looks freshest and how it would fit in with the theme and take it from there. In Ahmedabad, all the protein that I buy is frozen, so I normally can plan that ahead of time, but in other cities, I would go to the market and see what cuts of meat or what varieties of fish are available before closing in on the final menu.

You share appetite through your food blogs. What would be your ‘signature dish’?

Biryani. No doubt about it. It’s not a signature in terms of the biryani that I make, will always taste the same every time I make it. It’s a signature dish, because no matter which way I make it (completely from scratch or with a masala powder), it will always taste amazing. And this is what my family asks for if I ask them what they would like me to cook.

However, if you ask my friends they would say pork. It’s very difficult to get good hearty pork preparations in a restaurant in India. The South East Asian varieties are much easier to find, but the hearty Manglorean, Goan, North Eastern pork dishes are difficult to find outside of Bombay and Goa. So most of my friends would request me to cook pork for them, when they are invited over for a meal.

How far do the family meals count to you?

Our family is basically me, my husband and our cat. Both of us have crazy travel schedules and even when he is in town his timings are all over the place. Earlier I would faithfully ensure that I would wait for him and we would have dinner together even if it was 2 am in the morning. But once I realised that all this was affecting my weight negatively, I now finish eating before 8pm as far as possible. While we might not eat together, I still sit with him when he is having dinner and we discuss our day.

Our house is also constantly filled with guests - friends and family who come over for an evening or to stay for a while. I love having an open kitchen and normally friends enter our house and head straight for the dining table as I am happier having the kitchen to myself, but I can easily chat with them through the open kitchen.

The cat eats through the day, but when we sit at the table to eat, then she too comes to her food bowls to eat a few bites and when she has her 2 main meals of the day, she loves having my husband standing or sitting next to her while she is eating. She often goes and loudly demands that he come near her food bowls and wait there while she eats.

If you eliminate three ingredients in your recipes, please name them.

It’s not so much an ingredient as a technique - I don't deep fry. It’s been 10 years since I have stopped deep frying anything at home, except for the very rare occasion of some pooja that has to have a deep fried component. My MIL herself is very open and broad-minded. Her mother insists that on any "auspicious" occasion rotis/phulkas will not be made, only puris will do. My MIL realises the health concerns and is ok with us making rotis. There are only a couple of poojas where kadi pakoda or puris or gujiyas HAVE to be offered during pooja that these will get made at home.

I rarely use maida (all purpose flour) at home. Its only now that I hope to make more bread at home, that I need to use maida for binding, but I'm hoping to get my hands on some "vital wheat gluten" and work with that.

My husband has gone off potatoes completely in the last one year. It’s a really tough change for him since potatoes are added in almost everything in the food in UP. In Manglorean Catholic Cooking we rarely use potatoes except fried as garnish in some dishes. Otherwise adding potatoes to a dish meant that there wasn't enough meat to go around the table. But now I've cut them out of our grocery list, except for the rare pork indad or some fry that absolutely needs a little potato in it for the alternate texture.

My recipe and food blog : http://jhovaan.blogspot.com/
My Restaurant Review Blog : http://kimeatsnblogs.blogspot.in/
My Twitter Feed : http://twitter.com/karishmapais
Follow me on facebook : http://on.fb.me/Kims-Recipes-n-Reviews 

My Recipe in the February Issue of Caldron

My Recipe for Manglorean Sweet Pulao / Pilaf has been featured in the in the 'Love Bites' section of the February 2014 issue of Caldron - an online food magazine.

You can view the magazine : http://tinyurl.com/l8kkovg

My recipe is on page 54. Unfortunately, my own photo, is the one I use for general social media, where I don't show my face and the magazine picked that one up  :)

First Runner Up - Delmonte Blogger Recipe Carnival

My recipe for Pasta with Chargrilled Pepper Sauce, won First Runner Up Place at the Delmonte Blogger Recipe Carnival. The entries and the rest of the winners can be seen at the : indiblogger site

Eating out in Delhi

Published on Expat Arrivals for the benefit of expats in Delhi.

Restaurants in Delhi

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It's said that cuisine in India changes every 500 metres (1500 feet). It comes as no surprise then that restaurants in Delhi, one of the nation's cosmopolitan centrepieces, offer an enviable range of both regional Indian and international fare.

People of Delhi take their food seriously and love to eat. There are dining options on every street, some small with mid-range prices and some expensive. While Chinese, Thai, Italian and Japanese are most popular, you can also find Lebanese, Mexican and Mediterranean restaurants in Delhi.

There are plenty of vegetarian choices as well, and vegan selections make common appearances on menus in the city. That being said, chicken and mutton are the meats most often used for cooking, while pork is served only in some establishments.

Some expats may be surprised to find that beef cannot be sold legally in Delhi, and can only be served with the appropriate licences. It follows that beef dishes are largely restricted to five star hotels. If beef dishes are offered in other restaurants, it would likely be buffalo, rather than cow meat that is used.

If you're a newly arrived expat to Delhi, then it would be better for you stick to bottled water and the larger, more mainstream restaurants. These do tend to be more expensive, but they will also be more hygienic and a safer option until your body adjusts to the local conditions.

Once you get rid of the fabled "Delhi Belly" and you're stomach develops a bit of the steel lining that Indians pride themselves on, you can even start enjoying the street food and hole-in-the-wall kebab eateries; some of Delhi's most precious hidden gems.

For up-to-date reviews and comprehensive contact details expats can check out either the Hindustan Times or the Times of India. Both newspapers release annual top 10 rankings, and put together print publications as well. Otherwise, magazines, like Burrp and Time Out also review a smaller selection of restaurants in each issue.

Recommended Indian restaurants in Delhi

[Frontier Food] Bukhara
A favourite of the Clinton's, and a multiple award winning restaurant that has dishes named in honour of the famous presidential couple. Arguably the most famous Indian eatery, it is ranked among the top 50 restaurants in the world and it serves delicious Northwest Frontier Province cuisine.
Tel: 2611 2233

[Mughlai] Karims
Karims' cooks are rumoured to be descendants of the royal cooks of past, and many of the recipes used are hundreds of years old. While there are many outlets spread across the
city, the best is undoubtedly the original - located in the picturesque Chandni Chowk area. This is the place to go if you are craving authentic kebabs.
www.karimhoteldelhi.com
Tel: 2326 9880, 2326 4981

[Punjabi] Moti Mahal
Moti Mahal claims that its originator, invented the famous "butter
chicken". While the bold statement can't be authenticated, their version of the dish is excellent and can be enjoyed with hot rotis and Makhani Dal. There are many branches in the city, expats should be sure to choose Moti Mahal, and not the Moti Mahal Deluxe chain.
Tel: 2327 3011

[Punjabi] Punjabi By Nature
The first restaurant to experiment with Indian flavours, try their drunken
prawns, tandoori quail and vodka golguppas.
www.punjabibynature.in
4151 6666, 4151 6668

[South Indian Vegetarian] Sagar Ratna
This is the place for excellent crispy dosas, hot idlis and sambhar and a host of other vegetarian dishes popularly known as Udupi cuisine. Sagar Ratna also serves some North Indian vegetarian dishes like Chole Bhatura and Rajma Chawal. They also have multiple locations across the city and NCR.
www.sagarratna.in
Tel: 2433 3688

[Indian Fusion] Indian Accent
The chef here does some innovative takes on Indian food using local and seasonal organic ingredients. There's a wonderful Chef's Menu if you want to taste the highlights; a wine pairing option exists as well.
www.themanordelhi.com
Tel: 4323 5151

[Kashmiri] Chor Bizarre
While Chor Bizarre does serve food from across the Northern region, the best option on the menu is the Kashmiri Wazwan cooked by chefs from Kashmir. Both vegetarian and non vegetarian options are available. The a la carte is much better than the buffet.
www.chorbizarrerestaurant.com
Tel: 4366 3600

[Bengali] Oh Calcutta
Bengali food focuses on fish and seafood, so it can be a welcome respite from the chicken and mutton heavy menus found in the rest of the city. Their lunch buffet is excellent value for money.
Tel: 2646 4180

[Gujarathi & Rajasthani] Rajdhani
A Bombay institution that has opened in Delhi and Gurgaon. They serve only unlimited vegetarian thalis. There is no menu, whatever they cook that day is what you get. The range is huge and the servers will keep feeding you until you are about to burst. Be sure to save space for dessert.
www.rajdhani.co.in
Tel: 4374 5577, 4109 6346

[Kerala] Gunpowder
This small eatery requires hungry patrons climb four flights of stairs, but the excellent Kerala food on offer is well-worth the trek. The fare is spicy, but the waiters can guide you towards less potent preparations and the appams and parathas are outstanding. Call for reservations before making the journey.
Tel: 2653 5700

[Anglo Indian] Brown Sahib
When the British were in India, a unique kind of cuisine was born. British staples recreated with Indian ingredients and Indian staples adapted for British palates. Brown Sahib is one of the very few restaurants in the country where you will get to taste this cuisine. They also offer Bengali food.
www.brownsahib.in
Tel: 4082 0027, 4082 0030

[North Indian] The Great Kebab Factory
You have a choice of vegetarian and non vegetarian. The menu for the day will have a limited variety of kebabs but in unlimited quantities. Excellent kebabs. Stick to the kebabs and breads, although the price also includes biryani and dhal. Multiple outlets in Delhi and NCR
www.thegreatkababfactory.com
Tel: 2677 9067

Recommended International restaurants in Delhi

[Japanese] Ai
Ai serves excellent Japanese food including sushi flown in fresh daily. They
have three seating areas. The restaurant, the open air terrace and the lounge
area.
Tel: 4065 4567

[Thai] Ego Thai
The waiters are extremely helpful and will accommodate most requests to
eliminate or change certain ingredients. A lounge cum restaurant
spread across two floors, it offers excellent soups and Thai curries.
Tel: 2633 1181

[Chinese] The China Kitchen
Chinese was one of the first international cuisines that was available in India because Chinese traders came across and settled; opening shoe shops and restaurants along the way. A few years back, what passed as Chinese would actually be Indianised versions of Chinese dishes (called Indian Chinese), but some recent restaurants like The China Kitchen are doing excellent business, serving authentic Chinese Cuisine.
delhi.regency.hyatt.com
Tel: 6677 1334

[Italian] Diva
Chef Ritu Dalmia is well known for her passion for Italian food and she sources a lot of her ingredients from Italy itself. There are some unique pastas other than the standard white and red sauce options.
www.diva-italian.com
Tel: 2921 5673

[Greek] Its Greek to Me
One of the first authentic Greek restaurants to open in India it is heavily frequented by the expat crowd.
Tel: 4101 2240

[Middle Eastern] Shalom
All the standard favourites from the Lebanese and other Levantine and Middle Eastern menus can be found at this eatery.
www.shalomexperience.com
Tel: 4163 2280

[European] Smoke House Grill
They change their menu regularly and have some excellent dishes on offer. There's even a charcuterie on the premises if you want to pick up sandwich stuffers. Their Smoke House Deli in DLF Place in Vasant Kunj is also excellent and has an outdoor seating arrangement too.
Tel: 4143 5530

[Mexican] Rodeo
While expats will find many a familiar Mexican dish on this menu, they may not taste exactly like their original inspirations. Still, the food is quite good.
Tel: 2371 3870

[Café]The Big Chill Café
One of my favourite eat out locations in Delhi. They have two outlets in Khan Market and one at DLF Place in Saket. The décor is Hollywood posters and the food is excellent - from the home made ice cream based milk shakes and malts to their humongous dessert servings. Salads, sandwiches, pasta, grilled meat, pizzas, you can find it all here. Definitely try their baked potatoes with toppings.
Tel: 4175 7533

[American] All American Diner
They serve breakfast all day - sausages and eggs and skillets. Their portions are large, and they have an all you can eat offer until 11am.
Tel: 4122 0000

2 Cookbook Prizes in a Week

Looks like the Diwali season has brought its own foodie blessings upon me. I had entered 2 food contests last week, before I left on my diwali trip to the inlaws place and both results came within 24 hours - since yesterday. I won them both. Yay!

The first contest was hosted by Rushina of A Perfect Bite. She had asked her readers "If you could be a spice, what would you be and why?
Best answer wins a copy of The Mainland China Cookbook! !"

My response was "Cinnamon - I go well with everything (sweet, savoury, drinks) and just add a subtle hint, yet my presence is not unnoticed. Also enjoyable completely undiluted and a bit of me, can be relished for hours leaving behind a fresh feeling."

So thats the Mainland China cookbook in the mail for me. I'm really happy with this one as it was released just a month or so ago and I haven't been able to find it in any of the Delhi bookstores or Flipkart either. Was thinking I would have to trek to Gurgaon to eat at Mainland China and check up if they had any books in stock. Given the high possibility of non availability, I've been postponing that for a bit :)





The Second Contest was held by Pratibha Jain and Jigyasa Giri of Pritya Books, the authors of 2 wonderful collections of Heritage Recipes: Cooking with Pedatha and Sukham Ayu. The Ayurvedic Cookbook - Sukham Ayu stood second in the category of  "Best Health & Nutrition Cookbook in the World" by the Gourmand awards (2009) organization.

The Contest asked "Can you think of a traditional, vegetarian, festival dish which is your favourite? Write a description and your reasons for liking it in 100 words".

Well, I do love to write about food and there are plenty of festive dishes that are so much a part of my memory. The best memories and experiences of cooking festive foods was the assembly line of my mom, her sisters and some of the kids that was set up around the dining table under the eagle eye of my grandma (to whom this blog is dedicated) - who supervised the proceedings and of course the sneaking of bits and bites of the fillings and batter during the processes.

Now to choose just one, a Vegetarian one (all dishes with eggs were out) and to describe it within 100 words, seemed nigh impossible. But this is what I finally sent in: "Kidiyos (khulkhuls) - maida and coconut milk shaped into little worms (kidis) on the back of a fork and then deep fried are my favourite kuswar (Christmas Goodies). As a special treat, one batch would be dipped in sugar syrup and left to crystallise. These treated kidiyos would have the sweet crunch of a layer of frosted sugar, followed by the crisp outer shell that had been deep fried and the soft heart that had not been directly exposed to the boiling oil. A combination of textures and flavors that even today make me miss grandma more than ever.

It won FIRST place. You can take a look at the other entries on The Contest Page. I would love to hear your favourites too, so leave me a comment.

I'm now waiting for my copies of the Mainland China Cookbook and Sukham Ayu.

I'm Cooking on BBC

Just did a food photo shoot with BBC for their program "India Business Report".

It will be aired this Sunday,  4th of July at 11am and 10pm IST.

Its a section on International food in India and I cooked a Thai Glass Noodle Salad. Will be posting the recipe soon on my food blog

Very excited as this is the first time someone other than the husband has recorded me cooking :)


Here are the timings for those countries where we have the most friends, for other countries, please check the timing online at
http://www.bbcworldnews.com/Pages/Schedules.aspx?

India: 11:00 & 22:00 (11am & 10pm)
Egypt: 8:30 & 19:30
USA (Pacific) : 9:30 - repeat (There may be a show on Saturday) and another repeat at 17:30
Canada (Eastern) : 1:30am, 12:30 & 20:30
UAE: 9:30 & 20:30
Germany: 18:30 - repeat (There may be a show on Saturday)
UK: 17:30 - repeat (There may be a show on Saturday)

Obituary: Sabina Sehgal Saikia

Sabina Sehgal Saikia was a food writer who had been with the Times of India group for over 17 years who at the time of her untimely demise had risen to Consulting Editor at the publication. She died in the Terror attacks in Mumbai where she was staying on the 6th floor. She was in Mumbai for the wedding of Bachi Karkaria's son next week.

Sabina could make or break a Delhi restaurant based on her reviews. She initially wrote an extremely popular column called "Main Course" for the Saturday Times, which later moved to the Delhi Times.

I was first introduced to her, when I picked up the Times of India Restaurant Guide for Delhi, 8 years ago. My next 2 years in Delhi were made tolerable by this handy book. I tried out restaurants based on her recommendations and agreed with her judgment over 80% of the time. She was honest and direct.

The Times of India Restaurant Guides to Hyderabad and Bombay could never match up to the standard that Sabina had set. She had spoiled me against other guides with her perfection and accuracy.

I subscribed to the Times of India in Delhi, just to read her column, although the Hindustan Times gave much better news coverage in Delhi.

An excellent cook herself, she soon visited me in my living room on NDTV cooks demonstrating an especially fiery looking Green Chilli Pickle.

I never met her face-to-face, but I felt like I knew a part of her. The part of her that loved good food and in Saif Ali Khan's words "acha khaana khane ke liye, hum kahin pe bhi chalenge" (to eat good food, we will travel anywhere) and in a wierd way, I identified with this part of her.

Sabina will be sorely missed in the food writers world. Our sympathies go out to her husband Shantanu and her two young children who will feel her absence much more than her millions of devoted readers.

Sabina you brought joy into the lives of food lovers: May your Soul, Rest in Peace.

Also published on desicritics.org

Won a Cookery Contest

Rushina from A perfect bite... had a Hot and Spicy Pakora contest! sometime ago.

I submitted a favorite recipe of mine for Prawn Pakodas

I was one of the 3 winners of the contest. So I guess Rushina and her judges (family) liked it :)

Here's the link to the announcement and links to the recipes of other winners and participants.
http://a-perfect-bite.blogspot.com/2008/08/results-of-hot-and-spicy-pakora-contest.html

Oasis - Summer Coolers

Appeared in Summer 2008 Issue.

Summer Coolers

Karishma Pais (Kim)

Now that the temperatures are regularly crossing 40C, maybe most of you like me are more interested in consuming cooling liquids and eating light salads.

While the aerated beverages are easy and seem convenient, they are most definitely not the best thing for your family’s health. There are the easy options available like the fresh orange juice sold at Metro (clean & healthy) and the many bottled fruit juices from Isis. I find the Isis juices a little strong and like to dilute them a bit with water.

Options with a little work involved are milkshakes with Nesquick or Vitrac’s flavored syrups. The almond one is especially yum.

But if you don’t mind putting in a little effort, then there is a vast mouth watering and thirst quenching range of drinks that you can prepare by yourself at home, with ingredients easily available in Egypt. The advantage is that you know that you have prepared them from healthy ingredients without any additives, artificial colors or preservatives. You can easily substitute the sugar in any of these recipes with Stevia or Splenda. Please note that the quantities mentioned are indicative. You can adjust them to your own taste.

Fresh Lime Juice/Lemonade

Squeeze the juice of 5-8 lemons (depending on size) into a pitcher. Discard the seeds. Add sugar and salt to taste. Fill with water. This can be kept chilling in the fridge and consumed over a 24 hour period.

Fresh Orange Juice

Squeeze 2 oranges and strain the juice. Add sugar to taste. Cool in the refrigerator before serving. If you want to drink it really fresh – store the oranges in the refrigerator before squeezing.

Almond Sherbet

Blanch half a kilo of almonds and skin them. Make a thin puree of the nuts in a blender/liquidizer adding a little water if necessary. (You can do this in multiple lots depending on the capacity of your blender)

Make a syrup with quarter kilo sugar (1.25 cups) and one liter water, cooking till it reaches single thread consistency.

Pour the almond puree into the syrup and cook till thickened, taking care to keep stirring.

The syrup should be thick but of pouring consistency.

You can add a teaspoon of rose water at this stage if you like.

Cool and fill into bottles.

It can be refrigerated for 2 weeks.

Serve diluted with water or milk and crushed ice.

Tamarind Juice

Very refreshing in the summers.

Clean 1/4 kg of tamarind, cover it with water (about 1.5 liters) and boil for 5 minutes. Then let it soak in that water for at least 6 hours.

Strain the liquid of any solid pieces. Add 2 cups of sugar.

Bottle & refrigerate.

Dilute with chilled water when you want to drink it.

Home made Karkadih

Rinse ¼ kg dried karkadih. Add one liter water and boil for 5 minutes.

Let it soak in that water for at least 1 hour.

Strain and sweeten with 1 cup sugar.

Bottle and refrigerate.

Dilute with chilled water when you want to drink it.

Lassi

This is a staple in most Indian households during the hot summer months. It cools down the body completely and can be had in sweet or salty versions. There are so many flavors that you can add to the basic lassi. Below are a few versions to get you started.

Whisk together 450ml yoghurt (plain) with 300ml cold water. The consistency should be that of full cream milk. This is your basic lassi.

Flavor with a pinch of ginger or 1 sliced green chilli or cumin powder or a teaspoon of shredded mint or a teaspoon of chopped cilantro. Stir well. You can add salt to taste.

For a sweet version, add sugar to taste (about 1 teaspoon) to the yoghurt and water blend. You can flavor it with a dash of rose essence or orange blossom water.

For a really fancy lassi, garnish the sweet version with a tablespoon of crushed almonds or pistachios.

For a healthy lassi, whisk the mixture with 2 tablespoons of pureed fruit.

Amar al Din- Apricot juice

Get those pressed Apricot sheets from the grocery store (they are normally sold in yellow cellophane paper and are widely available during Ramadan, but even now you can find them)

Cut the Apricot sheets into thin strips and cover with cold water. Soak them until the strips dissolve.

Strain away the solid pieces and sweeten the juice to taste.

Bottle and refrigerate.

Dilute with chilled water when you want to drink it.

Watermelon Cocktail

Cut watermelon into small cubes and deseed.

Sprinkle some lemon juice and sugar on top.

Add a few shredded mint leaves.

Cover and chill.

Serve in cocktail glasses as is or after pureeing the mix.

Garnish with a sprig of mint.

Fresh Juices

There are a wide variety of fruits available in the market. You can prepare fresh juices by pureeing the flesh of these fruits, adding sugar to taste and diluting with water or milk.

Remember : Citrus fruits don’t go very well with milk.

Try out some combinations on your own and maybe next year, you could be writing your recipes for the Oasis J

Kim has a background in HR and freelances as an Intercultural Trainer, Writer and HR Consultant. Currently she is a trailing wife in Egypt and uses her training, counseling and empathy skills to help other expats adjust to the move. She blogs about Egypt at http://whazzupegypt.blogspot.com

Korba Street Festival - Heliopolis

Last Friday was the annual Korba Street festival in Heliopolis - a residential suburb in Cairo.


Baghdad street was closed off to traffic and stalls were put up along the sidewalks. There were stalls from the Asean countries selling native food and some handicrafts.


The Indian stall just had posters urging visitors to visit India. Nothing else. :(


There were tables along the sides for families to relax and grab a bite and the main road was left free for kids to express their creativity on the road with chalk and paints.




Marriott's Bakery, Swiss Inn, Sultana Ice Cream had tables on the road and were serving food there. The Swiss Inn even had a buffet set up on the road. But the more exciting stuff to eat were the street stalls which were selling things like cotton candy,the hummus drink and beans.





I attended in the morning half and left by 1:30pm, before the crowds really started to pour in. This meant I missed out on the musical performances (by Wust el Balad among others) and the puppet show, but what I managed to catch was great anyway.

My friends tell me, there was a short parade later in the noon with flower covered floats and giant coke bottles. More of advertising than Spring flowers was a comment I heard.

What I got to see, kind of reminded me a bit of the Kala Ghoda festival in Bombay, but just a little bit. The concept is similar, but there is so much further that the Korba festival can go. Its a good start though, just to have an open air event in a residential area of Cairo.

I would definitely catch it again next year.

Also published on desicritics.org

Buying and Sourcing Spices in Egypt

Since I obviously can't cover everything in one shot, I'll just do the best that I can.

The best place to buy whole spices in Egypt - cinnamon, cloves, cardamom etc is the Khan el Khalili near Al Azhar Mosque.

There are various shops, some have better quality of some spices than others. So you may need to mix and match a bit. If you are here for the long run, then I would recommend that you keep going back to the same spice seller to build up a relationship with him and his shop. He will then start keeping aside your favourite spices for you and also give you the better quality spices which aren't ever displayed to the transitory tourist shopper.

The Attaba (spice and herbs section) market is also a great place to shop for whole spices. But not recommended to any expat in Egypt who has still not got the hang of navigating Cairo's streets & traffic (human and vehicular) or brushed up on their negotiating (bargaining) skills. Even after a year here, I prefer to accompany an Egyptian friend who does all the talking (I give my shopping list to him/her before time and quietly point to anything I find interesting)

I still get most of my whole spices from home (imported from Kerala - the best & strongest potency) except for cinnamon which I find the quality available in Egypt to be many degrees higher, especially if you like the fancy versions (all rolled up in little curls - called quills)

You can get really long cinnamon quills (1-2 feet long) at the 2 spice markets mentioned above.

Chilli powder - not really found a really spicy brand like the "Everest - tikhalal" that I use from back home. What you get in Egypt as Chilli powder is normally paprika powder and has a slight sweet tinge to it, but its not in the least bit half as hot as "Everest-tikhalal"

Dried Chillies - I have seen the Sudanese dried chillies at some of the supermarkets - they are quite potent and worth buying.

Green chillies - the fresh chillies sold in most markets taste more like bell peppers (capsicum) than chillies to the Indian palate. A couple of shops sell Thai Birds eye chillies like Maadi Fruit paradise and Miriams Market in Maadi. (It seems Alfa in Zamalek used to stock this stuff before, but there's a lot of stuff that's gone AWOL on their inventories)

Turmeric Powder, Cumin (jeera) powder, corriander (dhaniya) powder, onion powder, garlic powder are easily available. I pick up the "Nour" - Small flat round plastic boxes with red tops or the "Spicy Trade" - Tall slim round glass bottles with purple tops.

Do remember that sometimes powder is spelled as "bowder" on the bottles. Its the same thing, not a new spice :)

Spicy trade also offers baking soda (soda bicarbonate / meetha soda) and mono sodium glutamate(ajinomoto) in its range. They also sell whole spices.

The National Brand of masalas from Pakistan has started retailing here, too. They sell spice blends but only in their ultra mild versions (in Egypt). I add My India brought chilli powder to the mix, but the rest of the balance and blend is fine. The blends are very similar to Indian blends. I've seen biryani (kabsa), kheema/queema (mince), Tandoori (barbequed chicken), Broast (roasting or frying chicken), kaleji (liver), kofta, and tikka mixes among others.

They come with recipes printed on their packs. Don't be worried if you only see instructions in arabic on the outside. There will be an English version on the inside of the pack. Else you can always get the recipes online by clicking the links above.

This is what I can think of for the moment. Let me know if you are looking for anything in particular, by writing a comment on this post. I should reply within 24 hours unless I'm out in the desert :)

These spices are available at most of the major supermarkets and the local grocery store too.

Also see Papads & Pickles for more details on Indian foods.

Published on desicritics.org

Street Food: Egypt vs India

When I first considered writing about street food in Cairo, the few people I knew in Cairo had a good laugh and cautioned me that having just arrived in the city I was completely setting myself up for the curse of the Pharaohs. Well, being a desi and with an ability to eat the Pav Bhajis and Paani Puris and Vada Pavs on the streets of India, the streets of Cairo posed no threat at all, so I was all set to explore Cairo by tasting everything it had to offer. (But I did tuck a strip of lomotil into my wallet to be on the safer side.)

There's such a variety of snacks, meals, quick bites and drinks on offer on the streets of Cairo that it would be impossible to try them all in a few days, but I did manage the highlights.

A good day begins with a good breakfast. A fuul or tamiya sandwich is what is considered ideal. I tried these at Arzak in Maadi Grand Mall, from a stall near the Sultan Hassan Mosque and Moqattam courtesy the Pen Temple Pilots and a couple of other street carts. I loved them all. Fuul is paste of cooked fava beans spiced to your liking with maybe a few fresh veggies thrown in too for texture.

The tamiya is a deep fried patty of the same fava beans. But they taste completely different in this form than as fuul. The tamiya is flattened and stuffed into the eish (pita bread) with a little hummus or tahini and more fresh veggies.

My favorite is a little tahini, a little fuul, tamiya and pickled brinjals all stuffed into one sandwich. This makes for a messy eat since the ingredients tend to squish out the sides, but to quote Rachel Ray, it's completely "yum-o!"

These sandwiches can also be stuffed with omelettes, french fries and all kinds of combinations. At 1-2 LE each they are an absolute steal.

It's interesting to watch the sandwich guy stuff the assortment of ingredients into the bread. It reminds me of the anda parathawala outside IIT Delhi who nimbly cracks and throws a raw egg between two layers of a paratha while the paratha is frying on the pan, all in one single flowing movement to produce the most scrumptious anda parathas ever.

I don't think India has a direct comparison in terms of taste for fuul or tamiya. The closest similarity I could think of was boiled and smashed peas which are used as a base in some chaat preparations. Also the tamiya is a bit like a dhalwada.

For lunch in Cairo. I'd go for Koshary. Actually, I can eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner and never get tired of it. It's considered the common man's food, but I've also heard someone say they think it should be named Egypt's National Dish. A combination of pasta, lentils and tomato sauce topped with fried onions. Its light yet filling, nutritious, quick, healthy and ohhh so tasty. The guy who makes the koshary normally has all the ingredients ready and warm. When an order is placed he mixes it all in a jiffy and its mouth watering to see how he deftly assembles the dish. The crunchy onions on top are better than cherries on a cake.

When it comes to Koshary every single person you meet in Cairo will tell you that they know the "best" place to eat it and everyone claims that their place is better than anywhere else. On recommendations, I've tried Arzak in Maadi , Abou Yoosef in Mohandaseen and street stalls all over the city. Although I loved them all, I must confess I'm a little partial to El Omda's Koshary topped with Chicken Shawrma because it gives me my meat fix too.

Although there's no confirmed Number One Koshary in Cairo, what is certain is that a good hot steaming plate of Koshary can warm the cockles of anyone's heart. Koshary is complete soul food and this is what I will crave the most when the time comes for me to leave Egypt.

For mid meal snacking there are umpteen options all over town: baked sweet potatoes, roasted nuts and seeds. A friend of mine said she would rather buy one roasted sweet potato from the street vendor than a kilo & a half from the grocer for the same price.

They are that delicious. For the thirsty there are a variety of juice stalls to try from. The aaseer asab (sugarcane juice/ghanne da ras) works perfectly to counter the dehydrating effects of Cairo's heat. It replenishes body salts, it's tasty and completely refreshing with a strong natural sugar-fix to it.

By dinner time, most Cairenes are more relaxed and have the time and leisure to wait for a good meal to be prepared. If you find yourself with the time to enjoy a meal, then head down to one of the kebab houses, order your hearts fancy and wait for the wonderful steaming dishes to be brought to your make-shift table on the street.

The two most recommended kebab places are Farhat at Khan el Khalili and Mohammed Rifai at Sayeda Zainab. You can order various meat based items here. Kebabs and kofta are the most popular combination. In Egypt, Koftas are rolled and skewered minced meat with spices. Kebabs are roasted marinated chunks of meat. Chops, roasted chickens and grilled hamam (pigeons) are also on the menu at places like these. I'll admit I haven't had the courage to try the pigeon yet, but all the other meat that I've eaten, I've enjoyed.

While the tantalizing smell of your meat grilling in the open oven teases you, you will be served eish (bread) with a choice of salads. Green salad, tahini, hummus or babagannoug. My recommendation: control your hunger pangs and ignore the bread until the meat arrives otherwise you may be full before the main course arrives. Sip on the shorba (served cold and spicy) instead, it will increase your appetite.

India though, has a larger variety of kebabs in all kinds of forms made from all kinds of meat. Kareem's near the Jamma Masjid in Delhi, Tunde Kabab in Lucknow, Chawla's Chick Inn in Chandigarh are just three of my favorites. Tandoori chicken is perhaps the best known export from India but that's just the starting point of Indian kebabs. Tender reshmi kebabs, boti kebabs, gilauti kebabs with ulte tawe ka paratha. Just writing their names down makes my mouth water. The varieties of kebabs available in India are as numerous as the varieties of chaat or parathas or any other dish that you may mention.

If you didn't know yet, India has more cuisines styles than it has states, so there's variety in everything. Other popular street food in India includes Dosas, Idlis, Chole Bhature, Samosas, Vadas, Vada Pav, Missal Pav, Halwas.... At the risk of repeating myself - the varieties are endless.

Although I have broadly categorized Egyptian Street food as breakfast, lunch & dinner items, when you eat these treats can be as flexible as meal times in Egypt.

Is Indian Street Food better than Egyptian Street Food?

Well, Indian food is spicier and more chatpata, but I wouldn't venture to say that either is tastier than the other. They are both almost completely different in flavour but both are excellent.

The only thing I would stress on is that - to eat these street food delicacies, you should be standing on the road, inhaling some diesel fumes, amidst the honking of taxis and the food should have the flavor of the street on it. No five star hotel can ever make these same items taste even half as good. Be brave, ignore the hygiene factors, the occasional fly in the hummus and dig in. It's worth it.

Bon appetit!

Published on desicritics.org

Ego Mag - Street Food Cook Off - Cairo vs Delhi

Cuppa Cafe, Mumbai

I missed the Caferati meet here last Sunday, but decided to check the place out anyways after the Anurag Kashyap workshop because we were kinda fed up of the regular Coffee Day, Barrista coffee.

I'm so glad we went here. It is so different from the coffee shop chains. Its quaint, cute, interesting, different.

The furniture is a jumble of styles. Partly outdoors, partly indoors. Indoors they also sell some knick knacks that are ideal for gifting. Even if you wanna eat outdoors, you have to go in & check out the awesome tables with the marbles in one and the sea shells in the other. Also loved the trail of leaves climbing up the corner. As is mandatory for most joints in this area, there is a bulletin board covered with pics of TV stars who have sipped on a cup on location.

Coffee(Rs.30-80) & the soda pops (Rs.35) were yummy. Paratas (Rs.30)were some of the best I've tried in bombay. Sandwiches are overflowing with cheese(Rs.30-40) There are some lo cal snacks too that can be carried away.

But if diet be damned, then do try their desserts. The brownie is just right. No nuts or gooey butter to make u feel like u r sinning, but still absolutely tasty. Pack a box to munch on while watching TV or reading a book.

Cuppa Cafe,
Crystal Plaza
New Link Road
Opp Fame Adlabs
Bombay 400 058
Free Home Delivery 2674 2371 / 72