Fooderati Arabia

Shahi Tukre (sinful Indian dessert)

2013-05-24T00:37:00.001+04:00

My way of making shahi tukre is a bit different, I just avoid soaking the fried bread slices in the reduced milk mixture ,the bread stays a bit crispy and soft in some places and some how I like the texture when it does not get mushy.

Of course you can try both ways and see what you like !

Here's what you need for 4 slices :

2 cups full fat milk

1 tsp rose water

1/2 cup sugar or more to your taste

4 slices bread

Ghee for frying the bread

Finely cut almond and pistachios

Silver foil to decorate

There are 3 steps to make Shahi Tukre

Step 1 - Making the reduced milk or rabri

Start by boiling the milk on very low heat till the milk is reduced, use a saute pan and not a sauce pan for this. Adding a tsp of ghee before adding the milk helps coat the pan and the reduced milk wont stick at bottom.

Once the milk if reduced to half add the sugar, cardamom powder and the rose water.

Cook till thick and creamy for more 5/7 min or leave it in to a thick pouring constancy.

Keep covered until you use it.

Step 2 - Frying the bread

Now trim the bread from all four sides. You can cut them in squares or in a triangle shape.

If you are planning to serve them for a large group of people you can also cut the half cut triangle into mini triangles, they look so much cuter like that.

After trimming and cutting the bread slices fry them in ghee, I would suggest you stick to ghee and not oil for best results.

Fry till golden brown.

Step 3 - Assembling everything

Allow the bread to cool for 2/3 then spread the milk rabri on top.
If you want the bread to soaked then simply arrange the fried bread in a serving dish then pour the milk mixture on top and garnish with dry fruits and silver foil.
Chill a bit before serving.

Another way of making it is by adding condensed milk instead of sugar and also by dipping the fried bread slices in sugar syrup then pouring the rabdi on top. Both ways are equally delicious.

So if you have never tried this sinful Indian dessert try making it soon, you will love it.

Yummy homemade Shahi Tukre is ready to serve! Enjoy guys !

What's in a name? Chardonnay

2013-05-23T10:23:00.001+04:00

What’s your reaction to the word Chardonnay? Drink it often? Won’t touch it with a barge-pole? Indifferent? Well, today is international Chardonnay day (read more about varietal days and their hashtags here). I’m going to take you on a little trip down memory lane (especially if you are British and over a certain age, like me).

Come and read the full story (and celebrate #Chardonnayday) on My Custard Pie...

Shrimp Beignets

2013-05-20T18:58:00.000+04:00

Shrimp Beignets

Beignets are one of the most popular starters in Creole cuisine. Brought to Mauritius by the French, they made their way into the creole cuisine and became a staple starter that you are offered in almost every restaurant and house.

Not only are Beignets an excellent way to start a meal, but they are also a fabulous option for pass around cocktail parties. Line them up on a ....

Read the full article on Dima Sharif Blog...

Steam, blend, chop and whisk with Jamie Oliver, well kind of – presented by Philips

2013-05-20T13:56:00.004+04:00

Dubai; We know how much you love competitions, so here’s the second in a series from the Philips and Jamie Oliver kitchen collection, where we’re giving away one steamer and one hand blender to two lucky winners.

So what are they both about?

The steamer comes kitted out with a large bain marie and vent holes to stop any finger burning, an egg steaming rack, plus three stackable baskets. Unclip the bottom of each basket and you can even squeeze in...

Click here for more from FooDiva.

Feteer Meshaltet | Talking To Celebrity Chef Joe Barza @Helio_Lounge

2013-05-19T17:46:00.000+04:00

Feteer Meshaltet, Fetir or Fateer is the Egyptian layered pastry meaning ‘cushion-like pie’ – the stuffing or the filling coming in the form of chicken and cheese, sausage and cheese, tomatoes and olives, cream and honey or traditionally the simple Kraft Cheese! Had as a sweet or a salty savoury, the making of Feteer is an art in itself – a dramatic, action packed act in an opera. The video shows Chef Takrori making Feteers in the recently opened Helio Lounge in Dubai Marina. He is an expert hailing from a family where 3 generations have engaged themselves making Feteer. These Feteers are a modern day, but a fine adaptation of the traditional Egyptian Feteers under the guidance of Celebrity chef Joe Barza, who is one of the top chefs in the Arab world and the creator of the menu of Helio – an Egyptian fusion menu with an international twist.

I made a video on the Feteer making, the link of which can be found here {video link}, while you can read the interview with Chef Joe Barza on IshitaUnblogged...}

The 7 Tastiest Fast Feasts Of Dubai for Chowzter | Introducing @Chowzter7

2013-05-19T17:36:00.000+04:00

A recent development in my bloglife is that I am joining the Chowzter blogger community to identify the tastiest food items in Dubai so that they can be presented in a simple location based APP that diners can use. There are only two rules: no “chandeliers”(Fine Dining) and no chains. Firstly, I have to identify The King (my current favourite item in the city for now) and The sacred 6 (six more tasty items from a variety of categories). All these can change any time I find a tastier dish – so the king better watch out too!

What is Chowzter?

Chowzter is dedicated to identifying the world’s tastiest fast feasts and is working with food bloggers from around the globe to find the best items in each city. The APP lists all the best local dishes at all the best local restaurants that won’t leave you bankrupt! Available on both the Apple Store for iPhones (here) and Google Play for Android phones (here), the Chowzter APP lets you to 1) keep a journal of everything that you have eaten as well as create a wish list for the things you would like to try; 2) rate each dish and create your own top 7 favourite dishes in every Chowzter-represented city across the globe. However, it doesn’t stop you from becoming the true international foodie by compiling your own Global list of the WORLD’S greatest 7 dishes. These lists and ratings as well as user uploaded photos and comments can be shared with all your family and friends who use the APP.

Very recently, in April 28 in London, Chowzter revealed the world’s seven tastiest food items in a gala Chowzter Awards evening, as well as the top seven foodie cities. Dubai better be there soon. Join me, as you download the Chowzter Application for Dubai - for free!

{To read the list of my 7 favourite current fast feasts of Dubai, starting with the KING… visit IshitaUnblogged}

Bengali New year Celebration with #Shiraz Golden Restaurant

2013-05-19T17:28:00.000+04:00

Poila Baishakh with Shiraz | Celebrating Festivals in Dubai – Episode 4

Poila Baishakh with home delivery from Shiraz followed by a Bengali Buffet in the restaurant thereafter!

This is not my first post on Shiraz. And it’ s not going to be the last post either. But this is definitely the last episode of a series of posts on last month’s festive restaurant hopping. The series…

The series…
• Nowruz Buffet At Ezi Dzi | Celebrating Festivals in Dubai – Episode 1
• Songkran Splash At Westin and A Dinner At Sukhothai | Celebrating Festivals in Dubai – Episode 2
• Baisakhi Celebration in Patiala and Options By Sanjeev Kapoor | Celebrating Festivals in Dubai – Episode 3

No, I don’t own the restaurant. Neither do I have a friend who owns it. It’s just that my Kolkata nostalgia pulls me towards Shiraz. In the absence of a Bengali restaurant in Dubai, what do we do? If not a Bengali restaurant, here’s atleast one restaurant that hails from Kolkata. Hence – dive in or ask them to deliver! Shiraz has it’s origins in Kolkata and does tempt us with posters of a Bengali Buffet now and then on special festive occasions like Durga Pujo and Poila Baishakh or the Bengali New year. We fall for it, even at the expense of my friends in Kolkata scoffing at us – Shiraz cooking Bong food! What does a Mughlai cook know anything about Bengali cooking? Not much, but a good cook is a good cook – I argue. Not a very authentic or extraordinary Bengali Buffet, but yes, a few dishes here and there touch the Bong heart. But then, Shiraz has never promised to feed the Bengalis in Dubai, Bong food. It delivers where it promises – it serves brilliant Awadhi food. The Biryani and the other Awadhi dishes, touch the heart always. Most of the Bengalis that I have met, associate Biryani and the Mughlai food with the Lucknowy or the Awadhi style of cooking. Hence, as much as we love the various kinds of Biriyani – the Hyderabadi, the Sindhi and the Pakistani Biryanis, the Bong taste-buds still search for Shiraz’s Biryani. There is no dearth of mid-range Indian restaurants in Dubai, but Shiraz is the only Indian restaurant which can satiate the Mughlai food nostalgia for those who grew up in Kolkata.

{Read more on IshitaUnblogged... }

Baisakhi Celebration in @PatialaDubai and then @OptionsBySK

2013-05-19T17:18:00.000+04:00

Baisakhi Celebration in Patiala and Options By Sanjeev Kapoor | Celebrating Festivals in Dubai – Episode 3

Baisakhi celebration for this foodie was an absolute double bonanza – visiting the two restaurants – the newly opened Patiala as well as the much visited Options by Sanjeev Kapoor in DWTC. As Baisakhi celebrates the harvest, the cute little paddy field grown inside the Options restaurant (above) bowled me over. I wasn’t visiting any of them for the first time – so the visits were like home-coming – a warm welcome accompanied by even warmer food!

{Read more on IshitaUnblogged...}

Songkran Splash @WestinDXBMina and a dinner at Sukhothai in @LeMeridienDXB

2013-05-19T17:04:00.000+04:00

Songkran Splash At Westin and A Dinner At Sukhothai | Celebrating Festivals in Dubai – Episode 2

The Songkran festival is celebrated in Thailand from 13th April to 15th April. This is to mark the celebration of the Thai New Year and has been adapted from the Holi, the Indian festival of colours. The people roam about in the streets with containers of waters and throw water upon each others.

Our first glimpse into Thai culture even before we landed in Thailand, was actually in Dubai with a Songkran Splash dinner hosted by TAT Dubai {Tourism Authorities of Thailand Middle East} at the Westin Dubai. Held at the hotel’s lawns by the waterfront, this was definitely a very tempting prelude to the Thailand trip with special Songkran dance performances, traditional hand painted Thai parasols.

{Read more on IshitaUnblogged...}

Nowruz Buffet At @EziDzi

2013-05-19T16:54:00.000+04:00

Nowruz Buffet At Ezi Dzi | Celebrating Festivals in Dubai – Episode 1

I heard that Ezi Dzi (pronounced ee-zee dee-zee), a new Persian restaurant in JLT, was celebrating Nowruz, the Iranian New Year with a traditional Iranian Buffet in an outdoor setting. It was a busy Wednesday and I called the restaurant thrice to inform that we were going to be delayed. At 10:30pm, when I was about to cancel my reservation(S said that he was so caught up that he wouldn’t make it before 11:30pm), Gelare, who co-owns the restaurant, managed to convince me that people would still be coming in late and yes, food will still be there (in plenty, that is!) even if we reached around midnight. I’m glad that we did manage to visit Ezi Dizi – the entire place looked so festive and thronged with Iranians who had come to dine with their families and friends in order to usher in their Nowruz. The table settings were done up in the way it is done traditionally to celebrate Nowruz (above) – with the Haft Sîn or the seven ‘S’s – that is with the seven items starting with the letter ‘S’ or Sīn in the Persian alphabet. Books of Hafis, the 14th-century Persian mystic and poet lay on the table – creating a very elegant ambiance.

{More on IshitaUnblogged…}

A global toast

2013-05-19T10:16:00.001+04:00

Have you ever been to the cinema on your own? It’s quite nice to sit there undisturbed, in the dark; a guilty pleasure. After the film is over you want to discuss what you’ve just seen. Share opinions. Perhaps you spot someone you know coming out of the cinema; you start to compare notes. You decide to go on for a drink together and at the bar there’s a group discussing the same film. Somehow you join the conversation and there’s a debate about the storyline and whether it was a good or bad experience for you.
This is what I like about Twitter; it unites you in a topline discussion about a topic among people with whom you share an interest. Before Twitter you are sitting in the dark alone with no one to talk to; on Twitter you are in the bar swapping one-liners.
One of the first community events I joined on Twitter was the inaugural Chardonnay day in May 2010 initiated by Rick Bakas.

For the full story including social media wine varietal events and a great new daily cheese and wine event in Dubai, please visit My Custard Pie...

Beef Masterclass at Gaucho

2013-05-19T08:04:00.001+04:00

Life in the Food Lane: Beef Masterclass at Gaucho:

From lomo to ancho, trimming to grilling, this post takes you into the Gaucho kitchen: a masterclass with London-based Gaucho executive chef Michael Read.

How do YOU like your steak?

Gauchos Grill Restaurant originated in the Netherlands in 1976. The first restaurant was called Los Gauchos Argentinian Grill Restaurant and was opened in Amsterdam. The concept proved a success and soon after more Gauchos Grill Restaurants opened throughout the Netherlands, before making the jump to the UK. To finance the expansion, Gauchos was listed on the London Stock Exchange for a brief period of time. Soon after, Gauchos split into the Dutch Gauchos Grill and UK Gaucho.

READ MORE

Tomato Poached Eggs

2013-05-18T17:36:00.005+04:00

Eggs are one of my favourite ingredients - they're versatile, cheap, and quick to prepare. This mediterranean style poached egg recipe uses every-day ingredients and is a winning breakfast option!

Read more >>

Bolognese, Zucchini Pasta

2013-05-18T17:33:00.003+04:00

A true comfort food that brings me right back to my childhood - my mother would cook home made spaghetti bolognese at least once a week. Using lamb is my twist on a traditional a Bolognese - usually made with beef and pancetta - it's deliciously meaty and slightly sweet.

Read more >>

Hazelnut Chocolate Truffles

2013-05-18T17:30:00.003+04:00

These “Better than Nutella Chocolate Truffles” are so easy to make! They melt in your mouth and are amazingly addictive… delicious served with coffee, or even to give away as a gift!

Read more >>

Baked Spinach, Feta, and Sundried Tomato Quinoa Cakes with Roasted Pepper Sauce

2013-05-17T10:40:00.003+04:00

Quinoa started as a food trend but looks like it is here to stay. I was never a quinoa fan but just can't get away from it. After many attempts, I finally found a dish that was both delicious and nutritious. For more information on a delicious vegetarian quinoa recipe from Khana Mama click here.

G is for.... GOURMET!

2013-05-14T08:19:00.001+04:00

Life in the Food Lane: G is for.... GOURMET!

What do heirloom beets, Balqees honey and artisan goat cheese have in common? They found their way into my shopping basket at Lafayette Gourmet. My favorite gourmet shop in Dubai* ran a 5-day food festival, with tastings galore. In this post, I focus on some of the things I got for a fine dinner at home.

Beautiful beets, fresh laurel, topinambour, raw Yemeni wildflower honey, veal chops, unifrutti fruits, and a mighty fine farmer's raw milk goat cheese from Burgundy, and here's what I did with these ingredients READ MORE

A damn good dining deal in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and globally

2013-05-13T14:16:00.001+04:00

Set menus for business lunches are aplenty here in Dubai, but when it comes to dinner, we have to pay full whack for à la carte or an umpteen-course degustation menu. Why can’t we have prix fixe menus à la the Parisians, day AND night? Well we can for a few days only, thanks to the folks at Jumeirah who are running their hugely popular Restaurant Week promo for the second consecutive year in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and for the first time across their international hotels - starting next week. Modelled on the long-standing New York Restaurant Week, 50 plus restaurants will offer three-course set menus with a choice I should add, for dinner and/ or lunch every day – and that includes signature dishes.

Click here for more from FooDiva.

Australian country pubs - your ultimate guide

2013-05-12T18:06:00.000+04:00

When I put the words “travelling in Australia” in my mind and shake them up to conjure an image, I end up with a quarter-acre stretch of lawn leading up to a slouching weatherboard homestead with a thick verandah shading wooden tables and chairs. My kids are running on the lawn with pot-glasses full of raspberry lemonade, only leaving the green sea to scramble into the bushes and hunt for lizards. I’m nursing a cloudy ale, the glass frosty and dewed. Magpies and bellbirds duet in the gum trees. It’s only the lunch stop on a long journey, and yet it’s the part of the day that always returns afterwards. Aussie pubs will always find a place in your mind and your heart.

A journey around Australia MUST involve several pubs. Ignoring them is dodging our culture, and even teetotallers should get themselves in for a lemon lime and bitters and a pie and chips. The style of the pub is a reflection on the community that surrounds it. They are often well over a hundred years old, and besides the Police Station and the Post Office, probably the only continually running business in most country towns. They support local business and produce, and they are filled with the locals after a hard day’s work. Talk to the publican, eat the local grub (that’s Aussie for food, not a worm), and before you know it, you’ve got a true taste of the region.

Rustic Chicken & Organic Vegetable Pizza

2013-05-09T10:20:00.001+04:00

As the weekend approaches, my fingers crave the touch of a knife or the stir of a wooden spoon while a concoction of ingredients creates a whiff of an aroma that brings back childhood memories.

Dubai of recent has graced us with a number of gourmet and authentic pizzerias, all of which were lacking when growing up in this cosmopolitan city back in the 90s. The only access to a pizza experience at the time was that from a famous franchise whose pizza dough seeped oil at the slightest touch. As a growing kid, I did not mind oil seeping dough but as I graced into my teens, I was reluctant and refused to indulge which

lead me to discover the joy of making and baking my own homemade pizza. Luckily, the recipe from the famous franchise may have changed from a recent taste but I will always be thankful for the recipe that shed light on the joy of a baking a homemade pizza...

Read more on Pear Tree Diaries | Rustic Chicken & Organic Vegetable Pizza

The Top 5 Restaurants in Dubai - Part 1

2013-05-08T15:19:00.003+04:00

Well, you asked for it, and here it is. It's not the Time Out Dubai Restaurant Awards, but it's a little bit like it. It's not the What's On Black Hat guide. It's a very different list to Ahlan's top 100 restaurants. It's definitely not Michelin.

My top five restaurants come in categories that I consistently get asked to recommend in. I must stress they are my picks, not anyone elses. So - if you're not a middle-aged Australian expat with some restaurant experience behind her, two kids and a dog, and a desire to have a glass of wine with almost every meal, then you may find my picks a little different to what you would select. Saying that, they have all been selected carefully, and these are the restaurants I find myself returning to time and again.

Top five restaurants to show off Dubai.

You've got visitors staying for 48 hours, and you need to show them what Dubai is all about. You want to paint your city in gold or stun them into submission. The below do one or the other, sometimes both.

Read the entire list here...

Dining differently in Dubai…at a chef’s table

2013-05-07T15:54:00.002+04:00

Dubai; I dine out a lot, in restaurants that is. But I don’t often dine INSIDE the kitchen. Not my kitchen, even though on occasion I do, but a restaurant’s. Otherwise known as the chef’s table, smack bang in the kitchen or in some cases just outside but with a full view. You can either order à la carte with any special requests, or indulge in a tasting menu – with the chef jotting down your order and even serving you. A sommelier usually takes care of the vino. And there’s no extra charge. Whether you’re after an intimate dinner à deux, or a raucous group celebration, it certainly makes for a different dining experience. Well in Dubai we have quite a few chef’s tables, so allow me to give you the low-down…

Click here for FooDiva's round-up.

Noma's Nordic Food Lab

2013-05-07T13:51:00.001+04:00

Life in the Food Lane: The Nordic Food Lab

Last October, I attended a taste workshop by the Nordic Food Lab at Slow Food's Salone del Gusto. The Nordic Food Lab is the research lab associated with Copenhagen's top-ranked Noma restaurant. Noma was the number one on the list of the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants but this year had to make way for El Celler de Can Roca. The new number one restaurant resides just a little further south from where El Bulli held that number one position for years on end.

North to the lands of long dark winters and midnight summer sun, the Nordic Food Lab has its focus on the Nordic region.

Established in 2008 by Noma's head chef Rene Redzepi and gastronomic entrepeneur Claus Meyer, the Nordic Food Lab was set up to explore "the building blocks of Nordic cuisine". In pursuit of new flavors and textures, Redzepi calls it the science of deliciousness.

TO THE POST

What happens in a smokehouse and making blinis

2013-05-04T09:39:00.000+04:00

Having a tour of a smokehouse might not be everyone’s cup of tea but I’d been badgering Jason of Salmontini for a visit since last November. Partly because of the story behind it – his Dad had started the business in Beirut smoking five fish a week on their balcony in a home-made smoker made out of a cupboard due to the introduction of a huge tax on smoked goods (which he was then importing). Partly also in awe that someone could actually be bothered to fly fresh Scottish salmon to Dubai and smoke it here and make it taste absolutely sublime. Finally because I was refused entry to a kipper smokehouse in Craster – “against rules and regulations you know. We supply Waitrose.” Yes the inner rebellious teenager in me is alive and kicking; if someone says I can’t do something it makes it even more compelling.
So here I was on an industrial estate, not improved in any way by being in a place called ‘the Green Community’, meeting the next generation of Bassili salmon smokers. I had some vague romantic vision in my head of wooden sheds with large dangling creatures suspended in the smoky gloom. Of course it was nothing like that, gleaming white surfaces and modern machinery, but even more impressive when you get down to it.

For the full story, including how some of the best smoked salmon in the world is hand-produced and smoked using 100 year old artisan methods here in Dubai....and about making blinis... please visit My Custard Pie...

Mauritius - The sweet culinary adventure and the very definition of Mother Earth

2013-05-02T09:22:00.000+04:00

The View from the Volcanic Crater - Mauritius

Mark Twain visited Mauritius in 1896 and eventually wrote his 'Following the Equator' book in which he describes: "From one citizen you gather the idea that Mauritius was made first, and then heaven; and that heaven was copied after Mauritius..." then goes on describing the Mauritius of 1896. I have just got back from Mauritius and I can only describe it as: You gather the idea that Mauritius was made first, then heaven; heaven definitely being copied from Mauritius! The island is so breathtakingly beautiful, you have no choice but to think: This is in fact Heaven!

I had first visited Mauritius 10 years ago. One thing that stuck in my mind was that Mauritius is stunningly beautiful. But the most outstanding characteristic I took home 10 years ago was that Mauritius has such deep relationship with produce. In fact, its whole history and culture was defined by produce (sugar cane at most, tea, rum and others to follow). I had to go back! This time around with an objective to be less enchanted with its beauty and more focused on its culinary heritage and culture. I had managed to cover its full and most culinary aspect, despite the irresistible distractions of its gorgeousness, which I also got to indulge in.

Thinking of Exploring Mauritius as a Culinary Destination? Click here for the introduction on Dima's Culinary Travel blog....