Food

From the many things that bother me, migraines are somewhere on top of the list. This, much to my dismay, has resulted in several lifestyle choices. I cannot eat Chinese food with MSG, cannot drink alcohol as much as I want, cannot have too much chocolate, cannot deviate from a strict schedule etc.



Why am I telling you this? Because lately I've realised that the only alcoholic drink that doesn't give me a headache is the good ol' Whiskey Sour. Maybe it's in my head (pun intended), but I'm going to stick to my chubby glass of Whiskey Sour for a while with lime and not orange. Orange is next level yucky.

So I figured I should learn to make this at home for emergencies like... Mondays or Wednesdays or afternoons. Most recipes online involved a sour mix which I don't know where to find in Mumbai, mainly because I haven't tried looking for it #LazyGoose. But this recipe is different. Not only does it not need a sour mix, it also combines utilises one of my favourite spices - Cinnamon.

Recipe for Cinnamon Honey Whiskey Sour 

Ingredients 
3 tbsp whiskey/bourbon of your choice (used an old Johnny Walker mini I found lying around)
2 tbsp of lime juice
2-3 tsp of honey
pinch of cinnamon

Method
1. Fill a cocktail shaker/mason jar/flask with several cubes of ice. Add the whiskey, lime juice, honey and cinnamon. Shake well.

2. In your glass, pour fresh ice and strain the cold whiskey cocktail into it.

3. #DownIt

Food

I remember when I was about seven or eight years old, my ever experimental mom bought an ice cream maker from one of those teleshopping networks. I was forbidden to enter the dining room where she was attempting to make her first batch of homemade ice cream. Mom used to do all sorts of mad things back then. Despite having been given strict instructions to stay out of her way, I slowly crept up the long corridor in our old house and pushed aside the stiff door curtain to the dining room.

I couldn't believe my eyes. Maybe it was because I was so little, but to me it looked like there had been an explosion. White powder, water and ice were all over the place... on the floor, the table and on mumma. She chased me out before I could enter. If my memory serves me right, that was the last time we used that wretched ice cream maker. We still have it though, tucked away on a higher shelf in the kitchen where no one can (and should) reach. I don't really remember the taste of the ice cream but I'll never forget that scene. We still laugh about it.



A few weeks ago Tupperware sent me the Speedy Chef to try out. While I was researching, I came across a recipe for a no churn ice cream that was too easy to be true. Flashbacks to my mumma making ice cream happened and I shuddered with fear. If I make a mess in mum's kitchen now, I'll have to clean up and that's a scenario I'd best avoid.



It went on the back burner and I asked D.R.R TrollKill's mom for her famous yogurt dip recipe (coming soon). The Speedy Chef did a marvellous job with that. I was rather surprised at the power of this non-electric appliance and figured I'd try, for fun, my plan B.

I still cannot believe how simple it all was. This no churn ice cream recipe can be aced with only 3 ingredients. I kid you not. Three simple ingredients that can be found in India and anywhere else in the world. Nothing exotic - just heavy cream, condensed milk and Oreos. Yes, I'm a little obsessed with Oreos right now after making delicious no bake truffles. If you thought that recipe was simple, this one kicks that one's butt.

And making it extra extra easy was the Tupperware Speedy Chef with its many whisk thingies.

Recipe for No Churn 3 Ingredient Cookies & Cream Ice Cream



Ingredients
480 ml of heavy cream
400 gms of condensed milk (I used just 1 can of Nestle's Milkmaid)
1 packet of vanilla Oreos
Hershey's chocolate sauce (optional)

Method

1. I bought a 500 ml pack of heavy whipping cream (unbranded from a random milk shop). Put almost all of it (left a little bit because the recipe said 480 ml) into the Tupperware Speedy Chef. Closed it and turned the lever clockwise a few times.

After the third circle, you'll begin to feel the resistance...which essential means the running heavy cream is getting whipped...whipped good. By the fifth or sixth circle, you'll instinctively know that you're done. Open the Tupperware Speedy Chef to check for stiff peaks. You need that cream to form nice stiff peaks.

2. In another bowl, dump the whole 400 gm can of condensed milk. With a spatula, gentle fold the whipped cream from the Speedy Chef into this bowl. Mix with love till both these ingredients are well combined. Keep mixing till you stop seeing streaks of cream coloured condensed milk.

3. Break vanilla Oreo cookies into 4-5 pieces. I used about 10 cookies for this mixture. Dump that in and mix it up.

4. Pour this into a nice loaf pan and smoothen out the top. Push it into the freezer and leave it overnight.

5. Ta-da! Serve with a drizzle of chocolate sauce if you want to.



So creamy, melt-in-your-mouth and deeeelish... I've already promised a three different sets of groups I'll make this for them. Why? Because it takes only 3 ingredients (all under 400 bucks), 1 awesome non-electric appliance and zero mess. It's that easy!
PS: Special thanks to my pal Bhops for lending me his DSLR camera.

Full disclosure: Tupperware sent me the Speedy Chef in exchange for an honest review. All of the content and opinions in this post are my own. 

Food

Ah, kitchen... we meet again. As much as I love eating, reading recipe books and watching MasterChef, the patience one needs to cook evades me. Up until now. I'd like to think I'm getting better. Maybe it's age, maybe it was a just a slow Saturday. We'd never know.

This isn't so much of a cooking recipe but more of an assembling one. If I can put this together, happily ace it and watch my biggest critic (See: D.R.R. TrollKill) pass out momentarily with glee...anyone can do it. And I mean ANYONE.



What I love about this brilliant recipe is how insanely easy it really is. It's simple enough for kids to make too. Since it requires bare essentials when it comes to utensils or appliances, even young adults and college kids staying by themselves can give it a shot.

Not sure what got into me but for the first time ever, I decided to make something sweet for Christmas. It was 2016, what's the worse that could happen. One of the main reasons I fail miserably at most of my kitchen escapades is, in the words of a wise man, I don't follow the recipe.

You see scrolling through countless recipes on Pinterest makes me giddy and delusional. I start to think I'm invincible in the kitchen, begin throwing  in extra crap that has no business to be in the dish and try all sorts of tricks to finish the process as fast as I can.

Think Bridget Jones' blue string soup minus the cute Colin Firth flirtation process that follows. My own Mr Firth rarely finds my cooking funny... I guess it was cute the first 100 times but the poor guy can't pretend anymore.




So this time, surprisingly, I was calm AF.  I found one easy peasy recipe, converted ounces into grams, researched by products, made a list on my phone and marched out the door to buy me some things. I was back soon since this genius recipe needs only THREE ingredients.

What followed was a calming, almost therapeutic process of assembly. A solo warrior against the odds of kitchen (bad)luck, I quietly and steady did what the recipe told me. I also tried not to read into the worried look on Ma's face who'd come in once in a while to check if I was blowing the house down. Long story short, I bloody nailed it.

Here's how it went down

Ingredients
400 grams or 3 packs of 150 gms of Vanilla Creme Oreos
225 grams or 2 packs of 180 gms of Britannia Cream Cheese
1 giant bar of Cadbury Silk (buy extra to eat while you wait)
2-3 tbsp of Cooking oil (used Safola)

Toppings
1 small bar of MilkyBar (buy extra to eat while you wait)
4-6 Almonds
2 pinches of Cinnamon powder




Method

1. Approximately measure out the Oreos according to the weight on the packet. If you have a kitchen scale, use the damn thing. I bought three regular 150 gram packs and used two full packs and half of the third pack. Break them by hand into pieces, dump them into the mixer grinder/food processor and hit the button. Make sure there are no pieces.

If you don't have one, break them into pieces by hand and put them in a zip lock. Take a balen or wooden spatula and beat away. Don't go too crazy or you might split the bag (been there, done that). Do this in batches, it's faster.



2. Once you have your Oreo mud ready, scoop out one full pack of Britannia Cream Cheese + one big spoonful from the second pack. I don't have a kitchen scale so I approximated. But if you have a kitchen scale, use it and measure out 225 gms.

3. Take a wooden spoon and try to mix it well. Once you realise the spoon isn't that effective, get in there with your hands and mix it up. You don't have to knead it or anything, just make sure the cream cheese and the Oreo mud are mixed well into a nice soft dough.



4. Make medium sized balls out of this mixture and place on a baking sheet in a plate or simply buttered plate. You will make about 28-30 such balls if you follow the measurements. Shove them in the fridge and go watch an hour long episode of Westworld.

5. After you've been blown away by the episode, drag your feet into the kitchen and take out that giant bar of chocolate. Break it into small pieces, put it in a microwave safe bowl, add a swirly line (1-2 tbsp) of cooking oil.

6. Now zap it in the microwave for 15 seconds. Remove and stir with wooden spoon. Continue this process until all the chocolate has melted like a shiny smooth ganache.

7. Turn off the fan and take your melted Cadbury silk to your assembly spot. Try not to drool. Bring out the now frozen Oreo balls and a nice spoon. One by one, dunk each Oreo ball into the bowl of melted Silk and make sure it's nicely coated. Put it back on the baking sheet and into the fridge.

8. Time for the toppings. Bring out the almonds and dump them into the grinder. Blitz away till it's powdery. Then, look through your stuff and find that hidden dabba of cinnamon powder. Finally, melt a small MilkyBar in the microwave with a few drops of oil, just like we melted the Cadbury Silk.

9. Once the toppings are ready (it should take you 10-15 minutes to leisurely do that), take the chocolate coated Oreo balls out of the refrigerator and decorate away. Sprinkle almond dust on some, cinnamon dust on others and drizzle lines of milk chocolate on a few. Pop them back into the fridge.

10. Leave them in for 30-45 minutes to set. And you're done.

I'm making a fresh batch of 60 for D.R.R TrollKill's birthday party this weekend. Look out for pictures on Instastories and Facebook.

Update Jan 7, 2017: Of the three toppings, cinnamon is the best of the lot. Elevates the whole thing...

Food

When Tupperware sent me their Speedy Chef, I remember thinking to myself, "Oh my gondola, I need make THE yogurt dip." So, D.R.R.TrollKill's mom makes an addictive garlicky yogurt dip that I can eat by the bucket.



This supremely easy dip is so creamy and yummy, you'll find yourself piling it on your chips, crackers or veggie sticks. Best part is there isn't a microwave, oven or stove involved... just a cool mechanical kitchen appliance that will blend the ingredients effortlessly. Once you've aced the dip, give this super simple no churn ice cream a go.

For starters, I'll tell you what I love about this recipe. It can be altered to suit you. Like it sweet or your homemade curd is a bit too tart... add a lil extra sugar. Lover of all things garlic... OD on the cloves.



Ingredients
1 cup of thick curd. I used Mother Dairy's (but you can make life easier and get Greek Yogurt too)
2-3 tsp of sugar
2 tbsp of cream cheese. I used Britannia's Cream Cheese
3-5 cloves of garlic

a pinch of salt and pepper

Method
1. If you're using homemade or store bought yogurt, you'll need to hang it to make it thicker. D.R.R TrollKill's mom puts it in a fine mesh colander with a bowl underneath and leaves it overnight in the fridge. Next morning, the water settles into the bowl leaving behind this thick greek yogurt.

Lazy? Pick up a pack of greek yogurt instead. Alternatively, like I did for this recipe, scoop out only the top most thick portion of Mother Dairy's yogurt. Granted it wasn't as thick as hung curd, but it worked perfectly well.

2. Now that we have the main ingredient sorted, time to bring out the Tupperware Speedy Chef. Dunk all the curd you hung or scooped into the red bowl. I like it sweet so I added 3 teaspoons of sugar and 2 tablespoon of cream cheese.

Cream cheese is the secret ingredient. It makes a hellva difference to the consistency of the dip, making it creamy and how. Besides, you can use the leftover cream cheese to make No Bake Oreo Truffles. Do not skip this step. Unless you're a health freak and faint at the thought of carbs.



3. Next up is my favourite ingredient - garlic. I was more than enthusiastic and added about 4 medium size cloves. It made me so happy. I didn't have to add much salt as I was only making 1 cup and Britannia's cream cheese was salty enough. A pinch salt and did the trick.

4. Put all your ingredients into the Speedy Chef bowl, cover it and give the handle on top two clockwise swirls. Taste and alter to suit your ridiculously picky palate.

5. Put it in a box and back in the fridge. Leave it there for a few hours. It'll be tastier once the garlic has infused the yogurt. Serve cold.



Full disclosure: Tupperware sent me the Speedy Chef in exchange for an honest review. All of the content and opinions in this post are my own.

Food

We hit up the newest dessert parlour in Bandra on opening weekend last Sunday. Remember CupCake Factory from McCraig? The mother-son run brand now has their own standalone store near Mehboob Studios, Bandra. I was unwell that day so #theboy was the official taster for this review. Here's what he has to say about about CupCake Factory...

The decor is pretty cool – whisks, ladles etc hanging from the entrance ceiling. There's a stove that's been turn into a light fixture. There's a oven that keeps constantly one and also works like a fun light. The murals are super. The mural is hand painted to look like well...a cupcake factory! It's fun and sweet. To think this little place was created by the owner Aditya and his friends and an posh interior designer...

From their McCraig days, we know CupCake Factory is famous for their centre filled variety. We had the Irish Cream Cupcake because we liked the sound of it. It was giant chocolate cupcake that was super moist and topped with a large-ish irish cream swirl and dusting. The icing was subtle but with a distinct irish cream flavour. Uff...

They innovated which I love. We tried their brand new experiment – cookie cup. We had the Cookie cup with Nutella and ice cream that was topped with a piece of delish fudge. Turns out the cookie cup was baked and an inner lining of chocolate was frozen into it. This prevented the chocolate ice cream from making it soggy and meh. So the crumbliness and texture of the cookie stayed intact till we finished the ice cream and made our way to the cookie cup. The ice cream was like any other chocolate ice cream but the fudge was pretty neat. It's a bit of a messy eat and at the end of it we looked like 4 year olds with chocolate all over our hands and face  - so much fun! To be honest, we didn't use a spoon like normal people and went in face first (haha). 

Loved how both the things we tasted weren't excessive sweet. Price points are super worth it. Most giant cupcakes are for 80 bucks only! Aditya also said they plan on having outdoor seating and will soon serve shakes, smoothies etc. There's that's something to look forward to. 

CupCake Factory is located near Mehboob Studio on Hill Road, Bandra, Mumbai (Zomato)

Food

Energy bars are the bomb. It's a complete energising meal that you can eat in 10 minutes without getting your hands messy. I repeat, energy bars are the bomb. As a writer, the days I'm on the field travelling the lenght of the city for an interview, energy bars and coffee are the only things that keep me from getting "hangry".

So when the folks at MojoBar got in touch with us to try out their brand new energy bar, I couldn't wait. Turns out they have 3 flavours – Choco Almond, Yogurt Berry and Nutty Apricot. The yellow packaged Nutty Apricot bar, like all the rest, is free of preservatives and gluten. The pack says that all of them are made with mixed cereal, nuts and fruits which obviously makes them protein and fibre rich.

The yellow Nutty Apricot one, like the name so clearly suggests, has apricots that makes it extra sweet. The red one is Yogurt Berry with white base (yogurt powder) plus sweet and sour cranberries along with mixed cereal makes this a tangy bar on the go. Our most favourite of the three was the Choco Almond. This one has a chunky chocolate base that's not overtly sweet, which came as a pleasant surprise. The chewy dates add sweetness while the almonds add crunch and the cereal fill you up.

In order of preference, we liked the Choco Almond then Yogurt Berry and finally Nutty Apricot.

You can buy these goodies online at Amazon.in here. 

Food

Eating or ordering out always makes me feel guilty. I find myself cringing at the amount of grease or additives added to "outside food". When 3SqrMeals approached me to review their service, I was struck by the fact that they aim to provide healthy eating options to working folks like me. Since they deliver in my area, I figured it would be nice to know if this new Mumbai based food service hits the spot.

They sent me one of their most popular dishes - the Quinoa Couscous Salad. Priced at Rs 200 for a chicken and Rs 180 for a veg, the salad was tremendous in quantity. I ended up having it for lunch and snack later in the evening. It came with a small box of flavour filled mustard vinaigrette dressing. All the ingredients were ridiculously fresh - the cherry tomatoes, french beans, lettuce and corn. The grilled chicken was well done and moist, in my opinion the hero ingredient of the dish, closely followed by those juicy cherry tomatoes. Overall the salad was mighty filling and refreshing - especially had cold. When I came to the end of the box, I felt rather proud of myself for eating a good high protein meal.

Along with the Quinoa Couscous Salad came half a loaf of brown bread with a spread and a banana. The entire dish comes in a disposable microwave friendly box, which is convenient don't you think?

About 3SqrMeals: Their mission is unburdening busy professionals from the daily activities of planning and organizing balanced healthy meals. They are on a mission to make healthy eating delicious & effortless. Their menus are available online and can be ordered on a click. They also offer subscriptions that can be customized for a delicious wholesome meal to reach you daily. They currently cover all areas between Worli & BKC for Lunch.
Link: https://3sqrmeals.com/

Food

When I got the opportunity to review this Asian restaurant, I didn't have high hopes. To be honest, Asian food doesn't impress me much. The MSG, the Indianization, the excessive condiments....uff big turn off. But felt like giving this one a shot. Here's all about it...

I went there with a friend and took a seat. Chef Chang, the man in-charge of the kitchen, soon came to tell us about the restaurant's newest feature - Japanese Teppanyaki and invited us to join him for a leisurely lunch. On a weekend, way past traditional lunch time, the newly launched restaurant was rather empty (3 occupied tables) which meant full attention on us. What I absolutely loved is the central open kitchen. You got to have a lot of guts and faith in yourself to cook live in front of your diners. Apart from the open kitchen, the general decor of the place is sophisticated without being excessively "Asian" (IYKWIM)

Chef Chang, in all his calmness, whipped up a delicious hot and sour chicken soup for us. He made sure all his dishes were medium spiced to cater to both of our taste buds. Now, I've had my share of hot and sour soup and I can safely say this is rated no.2. Oh, what's no 1? Nothing yet, but I assume it will be something from my trip to the land of hot and sour soup (whenever that will be).

Next on the menu was this Tuna Tattaki. Cured, spiced and seared tuna slices set on a bed of cabbage and sprinkled with roasted garlic and spring onion leaves. Seared to such perfection that it almost melted in my mouth. Yes, I am salivating like a St Bernard, simply writing about it...

Then came one of their signature dishes - Mushroom black pepper. They looked stunning and was cooked beautifully. The savory exterior batter was good but the inside mushroom was low on salt, nothing that a little soy can't fix. 

Once the stove top dishes were out of the way, the big Teppanyaki show was under way. It started with a ceremonial cleaning of the griddle. #NowSinging King of Leon parody - "Yeaah, the stove is on fiiiireee" (Sometimes, I think I'm funny).

Chef Vikas, the resident Teppanyaki expert, steps up to the plate with spatula in hand. His first dish is Tsukune, which essentially is Japanese meatballs made with chicken leg mince, mushrooms, carrots, onion and seasoning, which is first steamed, then skewered and then quickly cooked on the griddle with *fire*.

Just when I thought we were done for the week, he started preparing the main course. Prawn Fried Rice on the griddle with tiny, proportionately cut veggies, soy, pepper, salt, prawns, two eggs and of course *fire*. As I watched him sterilise the eggs and make the fried rice one foot away from me, I couldn't help but marvel at the simplicity of the ingredients. Behind him, another sous chef made a tangy accompaniment to the rice, Kung Pao Chicken. When served, I couldn't decide what was tastier, the fried rice or the gravy. And together...*sigh*. Oh and to think all this was made without a pinch of MSG. The restaurant has a strict no MSG policy. 

After all this, the black hole that some call my stomach was ready to call it quits as my fussy taste buds played examiner long enough. I was on my way out when the staff insisted I stay for a dollop of home-made ice-cream. After a thoroughly enjoyable fare, I couldn't resist tasting, if nothing else, the basil chilli ice cream they offered. What looked like an unassuming scoop of off-white hued ice cream with golden slivers of jack fruit turned out to be a riot of flavours. At the front of the tongue, as soon as you bite into it is an almost savoury but cold basil taste that remains for a few seconds only to be dominated by this unexpected but delightful heat at the back of your throat. And those decorative jackfruit slivers? Well, they add just the best amount of sweetness to the whole dish. 

Now, I couldn't move. Physically, couldn't turn/walk/stand. I think my food coma was plainly evident to a highly attentive service that they so kindly got me some green tea to soothe and left me to my thoughts of Asian food and how disillusioned I had been about it before this meal. 

Rating: 4 on 5
E.A.S.T
Address: Ground Floor,
Hotel Sahara Star
Near Domestic Airport
Santacruz (E)
Tel: (022) 39807166

design Food

She is here and in full swing. Might as well make the best of it, right? Summer with her sunny rays and heat waves is at her tropical best for the next few months. The heat is just incidental when you are comparing it to leisurely holidays, pool parties, easiest excuses for ice cream, TV show marathon, lazing around with a gripping book and quaint picnics. Last Sunday I wanted just that...but with The Boy busy on his Eurotrip, I turn to my second love....Books but with a change in scene. That's when lightning struck! Why not construct a cosy picnic for one? 

Making the most of my apartment building, I decided to rustle up a cosy nook on the terrace. But you know me and how crazy I get with planning things... I really wanted this "me time" picnic to be perfect. 

To start with I turned to a trusted source - Flipkart.com. I've always bought all my books and electronics there but rarely ventured further than that. Until now when I really needed quality home decor items to be delivered to me as soon as possible. Knowing the brand's super efficient delivery service, I decided to explore their Home & Kitchen section for products to complete the setting I pictured in my tiny head. It took me a couple of days to choose my favourite things because I like variety (and I am a typical Libran) and Flipkart.com's Home Store is as various as it gets. From serveware, glasses and curtains to tea sets, bed linen and decoratives, this girl was spoilt for choice! Plus, there’s something for every kind of budget - the affordable “value for money” or the high end kind, the prices are at their very best.

Once I was done making up my scatter brain, the products were delivered to me, with tons of bubble wrap (yay), in a few days. The first breather of week saw me and my little things up on the terrace setting up for a quiet, rustic setup. 

I went for an airy, all white theme. JBG Home Store Cotton Solid Double Bedsheet’s is spread on the concrete floor and peppered with some beauties. For a touch of whimsy a Gifts By Meeta Cage that stands spectator to the beauty while a Importwala Hanging Ball Big Glass Tealight Holder delicately holds a few marigold flowers. A brown Onlineshoppee Wooden Cutting Board is used as an assorted cheese board with crackers and grapes and is placed near the sweet Wink Jute Bread Basket that’s filled with delicious bread sticks. For that extra bit of sprinkle, those Chrome 3 Piece Salt & Pepper Set shaped like adorable Panda heads lay happily around. For a bite of brunchy goodness, some waffle with honey on a Corelle Winter Frost plate.

See in the bargain of being a grown up, we traded in our perfectly fabulous summer vacas for occasional weekends. Let's make the best of those two days that disappear oh-so fast. And what better than to put together an intimate picnic for two...maybe even one. My picnic for one was a roaring hit: I caught up with my reading, drank some vino, had me some cheese and broke some delicious bread while I surrounded myself by pretty things. Give it a go, I bet you will love it!  

 

All the home decor items are from Flipkart.com while all the food is from Foodhall. 

Styling and Photography by Aditi Gaitonde

Food review

If you know anything about me, you will know my two weaknesses: Coffee & Chocolate. I know a lot of people who share my craze for these two sinful elements. And the other day, Magnum took it a step further. They recently launched their newest flavour - Magnum Choco Cappuccino - and I was one of the first few foodies to have the pleasure of tasting it.

If that wasn't good enough, we did it with two of the biggest names the world of chocolate and coffee - Asia's best pastry chef Janice Wong and World Barista Champion Fritz Storm. On the Sunday of 22nd February, Magnum invited a host of Bombay's food bloggers for a super Masterclass 2.0 with this awesome twosome.

Fritz, who has an hilarious sense of humor, spoke to us about the intriguing world of coffee from its production and selection right up to brewing and pairing. If there was one thing that he ingrained in all of us was the importance of flushing the coffee maker before every brew. Janice, who's confidence was contagious, narrated the tale of cocoa and talked about experimenting with her favourite muse. She even went on to create a scrumptious mousse with just 3 ingredients - chocolate, egg whites and water!

The Verdict
When we came to tasting the new Magnum Choco Cappaccino, the first crack of the chocolate coating resonated in the room and it was immediately following by a chorus 'mmmmm'. This new Magnum flavour is available across outlets from March 1, 2015. It came as a surprise but there is one distinct element of the sweet-salty caramel that you cannot miss. I would have loved more coffee in the ice cream but that's just me and my craze for black coffee talking.