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Recently,few of us got together for a ‘pickle exhange’. Each one of us made our favourite pickles, tasted and shared them with each other. I made this kharik – manuka pickle. In exchange I got amla-fresh turmeric, jackfruit, tondli (ivy gourd), mango ginger (ambe halad), kothimbir (coriander) pickles, chunda & takku Not just pickles but the exchange of ideas, tips & knowledge also made this experience so, so precious 

The post Dried dates (kharik) and Black Raisin (Manuka) pickle appeared first on My Foodcourt.

Making flower shaped Champakali is a bit tedious, it requires some practice and lots of patience. Once you get a hang of it though the end result is very rewarding – gives you a sense of achievement. If you are looking for a unique, savoury snack for Diwali, this deep fried drip is for you

The post Flower shaped Champakali- Diwali special appeared first on My Foodcourt.

Masoor Dal Khichdi- A quick one pot rice recipe that has been our comfort food since my childhood. For some reason my mom called this as ‘Punjabi Khichdi’, maybe because she learnt it from a Punjabi neighbour. 
There is no tadka (tempering), masala etc involved in the recipe. Just add all the ingredients and pressure cook them. As the whistle blows, the typical aroma of cooked Masoor dal takes me right back to my childhood, in my mom’s happy kitchen Now my kids love it too

One of my recent assignments involved making a food video.Many back breaking video editing tutorials later, I got a decent outcome  
I was so charged up and wanted to try my editing skills again before I forgot everything and hence this Masoor dal khichdi video.I know I have a long..long way to go but I had to start somewhere right? The diva helped me in some shots ,she was my hand model for this.Posting a basic recipe here but you can adjust the amount of ingredients according to taste. You can also add vegetables like carrot,peas,beans to enrich the taste and nutrition quotient. 

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Abha : 

I came across this book few months ago in the cookbook club which I am a part of since last 3 years. When I was going through the pages I was taken aback because of a picture, suddenly the image of Italy (Sicily to be specific) splashed in front of my eyes which I had after reading Mario Puzo. I randomly picked up a recipe and kept the book away immediately. The recipe (rotolo di zucca e ricotta) and other recipes too from the book came out well. It was something beyond the conventional pastas and pizzas that I knew of.

So this month, when this book was announced for the virtual cookbook, I thought of giving myself a chance again. I decided to be very methodical this time reading almost all the pages & trying few recipes if not all. Gradually I found myself in Italy. This book is not a mere collection of recipes and photographs; it tells you about ‘the unique sense of tradition and village spirit’ of Italy.

What I liked the most is the fact that the Italians still use the barter system i.e. they swap food items as and when necessary (not regularly). I think this is because almost everyone in Italy let it be the kids or the local market stall holder, have intricate knowledge about the food and the ingredients going in a specific recipe. E.g. a 7 year old asking for a specific part of the meat and instructing Jamie to use Rosemary in the prep, the girl and her old grandmother accompanying & instructing the author. The Italians start working in the kitchen at a very young age. Jamie narrates a very interesting story of an old man & the sea water he asks for to boil his noodles.

There are similar stories & lively people whom we meet in this book. The book and of course the author gives us abundant minor details like cooking tips, what to buy, from where to buy, which place to visit if you are in Italy, various websites (this I liked more as most of the times we don’t give due credit to the deserving person). The recipes of course (few simple, few intricate- categorized course-wise) are piquant & engaging.

Did I tell you it is his sixth book about Italy & the 7th one recently published? So it won’t be wrong if I call it Culinary Chronicle of Italy.

P.S. Please check pg.208 meat section intro, for the image, read Jamie’s explanation why he decided to put it there, his reasoning about why should we ask the source of our meat, what it had been fed upon. I changed my perception after reading that.

Shaila: Prawns and Parsley frittatas.
Made for Sunday’s breakfast with really fresh prawns . Basic flavours come from parsley and lemon rinds . I suppose the lemon rinds , which I used,were not very flavourful so …Overall not very impressed.

Fichi Secchi ( dried figs)
I tried this recipe using my slow cooker .It was a super hit. Juicy-chewy-Sweet & Sour. Yummy.Second time I used OTG at very low temperature. Works equally well.Great addition in your breakfast or “cheese + figs “with wine.

Lakshmi : The recipes in this book are very doable. I have tried the pizza recipe a number of times. The proofing time is very less but it works very well.
The rice tart is different and interesting. The tart shell recipe is perfect.

Priya : Spice stuffed potato cakes
Wanted to try this specially to see how the tamarind filing tastes. To my delight the mint, tamarind and chili filing brings about a great mix of flavors.

I know it is very late for the announcement of the next cookbook but we have chosen The Bangala Table (on popular demand) for September. If you would like to join us please mail/message me or comment on this post or post your review on your social media platforms and tag me. I shall post a review in the 1st week of October (promise )

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Every once in a while you meet someone and you develop an instant connect with them. I met Sonali a while back and we bonded immediately over a common interest –Photography. She is an avid wildlife photographer and a very inspiring person (more about that sometime later). Her son Rohan is currently studying culinary arts and she suggested I should meet him since we share a common interest-Food! and so we met over a breakfast of piping hot Idlis It is so refreshing to speak to the younger generation about their dreams and ambitions, to know how their young minds tick. Rohan Joshi, a confident young man, spoke to me at length about his culinary course. He shared some anecdotes and his experience so far. The long and unusual hours that he has to put in, some highlights and some challenging tasks.What was supposed to be a brief interaction turned out to be a 3 hour long chat and so I thought he deserves a special feature on the blog. He has also generously shared a recipe (vegetarian on my request) which I shall post towards the end.The most striking feature for me throughout the conversation was, how sorted and focused he was! Whether it was helping his mom (and dad) in the kitchen as a kid or doing quick internships in restaurants (to gauge his interest) or preparing for the culinary college interview instead of bothering about his 12^th grade marks, he could easily chart the map of his journey so far.This young chef loves experimenting with different cuisines but craves for a simple home cooked meal at the end of a long day. His favourite ingredient to cook is Fish-since it easily takes up the other flavours and yet stands out, needs skill and technique to cook but is available and enjoyed all over the world. Having lived in different countries, Rohan was introduced to various cuisines very early.Recently he was selected to undergo a course in Danish pastries at the prestigious Zealand business Institute, Denmark. He couldn’t stop raving about the state of the art equipment that he got a chance to lay his hands on and the freshest of exotic ingredients he got to work with. I got to sample some of the exotic chocolates that he created during the course.Rohan is a fan of chef Grant Achatz, the American chef and restaurateur (Alenia, Chicago) often recognized for his contributions to molecular gastronomy. He is inspired not just by his cooking style but also by how Chef Grant overcame cancer against all odds.When I asked Rohan what keeps him going he said ‘happiness of making a dish from scratch and putting a smile on someone’s face with my creations’ – as simple and heart warming as that!

Here’s wishing this talented budding chef loads of success on this special journey. Shine on Rohan!As I promised earlier here’s Rohan’s recipe for Exotic stuffed potatoes.(All images courtesy-Rohan Joshi)

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This month (August) let’s travel around Italy with chef Jamie Oliver in Jamie’s Italy and find the food of ‘real’ Italy. The book is available on Flipkart or on Amazon.  About his Italian experiences, Jamie writes in his book  ‘ I wanted to find the food of of the ‘real’ Italy-not the place that conjures up images of olive groves and lemons- and to celebrate the recipes from the people I met along the way, from fishermen to family bakers, from the street full of mammas making fresh pasta to all those taking part in the local pasta competition in the town square’.

We will review Jamie’s Italy through August and I shall post a round up of the reviews in the first week of September. Add your review (recipes optional but not necessary) on your blog/facebook page/other online social media sources by 25th August 2018 and tag us.If you are not active on any of the social media platforms, you can post your review/feedback in the comments below this post. You can use #virtualcookbookclub .

To know more about our Virtual CookBook Club post please read this post 

To join Mail us at:  m.foodcourt@gmail.com

                                 pandit.saksi@gmail.com

or message us on Twitter https://twitter.com/madhuliajay or

                                               https://twitter.com/_a_muse

or leave a comment on this post with your name.

The post Virtual Cookbook Club- Cookbook of the month (August 2018) appeared first on My Foodcourt.

 Today, My Foodcourt turns 12 and I have a special surprise for you. A guest post by a special friend! Medha is a fantastic cake artist, a magician and creates mind boggling pieces of art in the form of cakes and desserts. Her creativity just blows me away each time. Her labour of love PieceO’Cake is a gourmet home bakery specializing in customized cakes and desserts. If you haven’t seen her work please do see it here and here. I have to warn you, you are in for an addictive visual treat! Most of the times I am overwhelmed just reading the description of her artistic creations!To celebrate the blog anniversary, Medha is sharing her recipe for this stunning Swiss roll – Hurricane Swiss roll. Simple and stunning that’s how I like it J Thank you tons Medha for the recipe, beautiful photos and yet another stunning treat! Over to Medha When I got a call recently from my friend Madhuli,  I was both excited and terrified at the same time. Excited because she wanted me to write a guest post for her blog anniversary…terrified because she wanted me to write! I mean i can make as many desserts for you if you ask …but asking me to “write” a blog post is quite worrisome… for me! But then you can’t refuse good friends and you can manage to overcome your fears for them…. so here I am …writing a blog post! 
Madhuli specially requested that the recipe be simple yet look good at the same time.Here is a Hurricane Swiss Roll that has become the latest Instagram challenge/ trend of sorts. It is nothing but a chiffon sponge roll comprising of contrasting layers of swirls that look like a hurricane and hence the name. This is achieved with a small technique applied at the final stage before baking to give it the hurricane effect. Mind you it is a very easy recipe but your first attempt may not end up looking so perfect…I too needed a second attempt at getting a more prominent hurricane effect. But irrespective of the optics the cake turns out moist and oh so tender…a perfect accompaniment to your evening cuppa!

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The recipe is pretty simple and uses easily available spices. The roasting needs some patience and time. We make this masala in bulk and use as required. You can proportionality scale down the amount to make a smaller batch

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The Maharashtrian specialty Thalipeeth (recipe coming soon)makes for a quick wholesome breakfast or is handy when you run out of options for lunch or dinner. Apart from making Thalipeeth, this Bhajani can also be used to make to snacks like Kothimbir Vadi, Alu vadi, baked multigrain crackers etc.                                                                          There are a lot of variations to the Thalipeeth Bhajani recipe too. The proportion of the grains may vary from region to region or even from household to household. I use my Mom’s recipe which includes most Indian whole grains and is nutritious,easy to make.

Make the Tahlipeeth bhajani in batches of 1-1.5 kg, store in an airtight container & use as required. Refrigerate the flour mix if you need to store it for a longer time.

The post Thalipeeth Bhajani recipe appeared first on My Foodcourt.

                         As I said earlier, I make pickles very rarely. I eat them occasionally and I get my yearly  stash from my mom or some generous friends. When my friend Ruta mentioned Jackfruit- Mango pickle I was intrigued. This is her mother’s mavshi’s (aunt) recipe. She learnt it from her mother which she now has generously shared with us. Isn’t that the beauty of food ?  It helps to preserve traditions & creates memories.  Sharing food/recipes connects us to people from different cultures & backgrounds. This traditional jackfruit-mango pickle connected us to Ruta’s mavshi somewhere in Nagpur through her mother as Ruta nostalgically recounted her memories of making it!A few of us got together to learn to make the jackfruit-mango pickle, just like they used to in the older times . The mission of finding unripe jackfruit apt for the pickle was accomplished on a Saturday morning (I persuaded A to go with me :)) at the local Market yard- a wholesale vegetable market. Even though I was a novice jackfruit buyer, I was armed with the necessary instructions. Most important instruction given to me was that the skin around the seeds should be tender. Though the seller refused to cut the jackfruit, she assured me that it would be perfect for cooking, I had no choice but to trust her judgement. I bought a giant 4 kg unripe jackfruit but it was perfect for pickling!

The tedious process of cutting the jackfruit was left to the expert. With some assistance from her house help, Ruta managed to cut it into pieces. You need to oil your hands & knife to avoid the sap from sticking all over and making a mess.                    It was so much fun to make this pickle together with my enthusiast friends. I enjoyed the entire process of making it and it tastes fantastic too. The pickle is quite spicy and needs lots of mustard oil for preservation. This pickle is not for the fainthearted but this labour of love is well worth the effort!

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‘Align with nature…. magic happens’ John Friend

We had a gokarna (butterfly pea/blue pea/Clitoria ternatea) creeper at my parents place when I was a kid. I used to love the gorgeous blue flowers, but that was it …I just admired them and forgot about them.Very recently I learnt that these are edible flowers and the dried flowers make an exotic tea – blue tea. It has been all the rage recently and seems to be gaining popularity world over owing to its gorgeous hue and extensive health benefits. I was not aware that the flowers are edible though they have been used for centuries in the south east Asian countries to make herbal infusions and natural food dyes.

Suddenly I was searching for gokarna flowers all over the town. Found the creeper at a friend’s place and she was kind enough to share some seeds. From sowing the seeds to the flowers blooming, it took just 2-21/2 months! I collected 3-4 dried flowers and made this magical tea today. I steeped the dried flowers in some hot water to make the blue tea infusion. Cooled it completely, diluted with water and topped it with ices cubes. The basic tea infusion tasted earthy, more like green tea. Squeezed some lime juice in it and watched the magic unfold! The lovely blue tea changed to a beautiful violet/purple hue. The kids were excited to see the color change. Tucked in a sprig or rosemary for flavour. Lime and rosemary overpower the original flavour but the tea looks stunning! Blue tea can be served hot or cold. You can add honey or any other sweetener of choice. Will update as I try & explore more ways to use these magical beauties. Stay tuned.

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I have made this cake many times after that and it is always received with lots of oohs and aahs! All the flavours mingle so well and it looks as if I have spent hours slogging over it in the kitchen This Valentine’s day gift your loved ones a bouquet of exquisite handmade apple roses, arranged on a bed of a rich almond sponge cake, topped with cointreau flavored Mascarpone Cheese.

The post Apple Rose Bouquet Cake appeared first on My Foodcourt.

What would Indian meals be without its most beloved condiment-Aachar! Most households in India have dedicated sections of the pantry shelves, lined with large ceramic jars filled with all sorts of pickles. My mom always takes out a small portion from the main pickle stocks and fills small glass jars for day-to-day consumption. Many times pickles are the main or the only accompaniment to my roti, rice or paratha.Annual pickle making (usually summer) was a ritual at my mom’s place. Selecting green mangoes, getting them cut, making the spice mix, cleaning the jars I was her helper to do it all. Green mangoes, limes, vegetables, meat everything is acharified (:)) in India. I love also love the sweet lime pickle my mom makes. I have grown up eating (we all have!) a variety of sweet, hot, spicy, tangy pickles that provide a burst of flavour and have jazzed up some of my most mundane meals.Apart from the oil based pickles that need aging, instant (refrigerator) pickles, using seasonal vegetables, are made especially in the winters. Almost any vegetable or fruit gets pickled.I usually don’t venture into pickle making. I get my stash of yearly pickles from my mom or some generous friends. My friend Ruta, shared a bottle of this instant mixed vegetable pickle that everyone loved. The crunchy, tangy, sweet pickle was so.. so that I was compelled to make it! Also I loved the fact that it had vegetables like gavar (cluster beans) and tondli (tindora/ivy gourd). The recipe is super simple- the only laborious step in the whole process is chopping the vegetables finely, which is well worth the effort. Seasonal fresh vegetables are marinated in salt and then tempered with a couple of spices to make this delicious quick pickle that goes very well with roti, rice, bhakri bread etc. You can use a combination of any crunchy vegetables of your choice. Make it before the fresh vegetables disappear from the market

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This month (October) let’s travel around Italy with chef Jamie Oliver in Jamie’s Italy and find the food of ‘real’ Italy. The book is available on Flipkart or on Amazon.  I have been meaning to try the recipes from this book ever since I won it as a prize from Better Butter

About his Italian experiences, Jamie writes in his book  ‘ I wanted to find the food of of the ‘real’ Italy-not the place that conjures up images of olive groves and lemons- and to celebrate the recipes from the people I met along the way, from fishermen to family bakers. from the street full of mammas making fresh pasta to all those taking part in the local pasta competition in the town square’.

We will review Jamie’s Italy through October and I shall post a round up of the reviews in the first week of November. Add your review (recipes optional but not necessary) on your blog/facebook page/other online social media sources and tag us.If you are not active on any of the social media platforms, you can post your review/feedback in the comments below this post. You can use #virtualcookbookclub .

To know more about our Virtual CookBook Club post please read this post 

To join Mail us at:  m.foodcourt@gmail.com

                                 pandit.saksi@gmail.com

or message us on Twitter https://twitter.com/madhuliajay or

                                               https://twitter.com/_a_muse

or leave a comment on this post with your name.

The post Virtual CookBook Club- CookBook of the month appeared first on My Foodcourt.

I confess to being a book addict, specifically cookbooks. I buy a cookbook but never thoroughly explore one before another one catches my fancy – leading to piles of cookbooks just lying there on my bookshelf.

Does this resonate with you? If the answer is YES! ……read on

In this day and age when recipes are easily available with a single click, we are getting back to the Basics! A few of us have got together to form a Virtual CookBook Club -to revive the good old tradition of cooking from books.

You can join in too!

Let’s whip up recipes from those ignored cookbooks sitting prettily on our bookshelves, one book at a time!Join like-minded cookbook addicts in our Virtual CookBook Club.

To join Mail us at:  m.foodcourt@gmail.com/ pandit.saksi@gmail.com

or message us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/madhuliajay or https://twitter.com/_a_muse to let us know you are interested.

Few FAQs to get you started:                                        

How to go about it?

We will choose a cookbook for the Month. You can choose a recipe/s from the “Cookbook of the month” and leave a comment about it here.

Who can join?

CookBook addicts around the world!

When and Where?

This will be a Monthly event .You get a month to try recipes from the book. Add your review (recipes optional but not necessary) on your blog/facebook page/other online social media sources.

If you are not active on any of the social media platforms, you can post your review/feedback on our blog post for ‘Cookbook of the month’. Tag us (on twitter) or leave comment on that month’s page. You can use #virtualcookbookclub .We will do a round up at the end of the month. 

Requirements?

1. Time set aside – you will need to cook 1 (or more if you so choose) recipe/s from the book as is and then give your detailed review about the book, recipe, etc. preferably with a Feedback of changes that you implemented/improvisations that were needed to improve the author’s recipe.
2. You will have to beg, borrow, buy, steal (ok not steal ) the cookbook/ obtain from library or other sources. Book chosen will be readily available on amazon/flipkart/bookshop). Photocopies of the recipes will not be shared online.

                                                          That’s it!

____________________________________________________________________

                                     CookBook of the Month (August)   

To kick start the Virtual Book Club, let’s explore the vibrant, Mediterranean flavours with Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi

It is available on Amazon  or  Flipkart 

To joinMail us at:  m.foodcourt@gmail.com

                                 pandit.saksi@gmail.com

or message us on Twitter https://twitter.com/madhuliajay or

                                     https://twitter.com/_a_muse

or leave a comment on this post with your name.

The post Virtual CookBook Club appeared first on My Foodcourt.

The most enjoyable part of religious festivities for me is celebrating the ceremonious food traditionally passed on from generation to generation. Food connects us to our past and is the best way to create happy memories for the future, no matter what the occasion.Seasons and seasonal produce play an important role in preparing delicacies for these special occasions. Narali Poornima & Rakhi Poornima is a festival celebrated all over Maharashtra. While the coastal fishing community celebrates this festival by offering coconuts to the sea, this day also celebrates the bond of love between a brother and sister.

Our creative Diva has made these gorgeous Rakhis (from scraps and waste material) this year for her beloved brothers Traditionally Narali Bhaat (sweet coconut rice) is made to celebrate this festival where rice is cooked with fresh coconut, jaggery and some spices. I especially love the flavour of cloves in this earthy sweet dish. Quick and easy to prepare, I think the Rice tastes even better the next day, once the flavours mingle.

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This recipe for Millet Idli combines my love for millets and Idli (steamed rice and lentil cake).  More than often I crave for a breakfast that includes soft, pillowy idlis dunked in piping hot sambar served with chutney on the side. Our Diva shares my love for idlis and loves the ones that the honking Idliwala sells from door to door. Funny but that’s her benchmark for ‘good idlis’ and I am glad this millet idli surpassed those :).They were a super hit with both the kids.

       The growing awareness about including millets in the diet has brought about a revolution of sorts and new everything from grains to groats to flour is available at many local stores. This makes life so easy, especially for a millet lover like me. I have bought both the Ragi & Jowar rava from a local store but both are easily available online.

The Ragi (Nagli) and Jowar rava is so handy. I use them regularly to make upma & porridge. I  made pongal with it earlier. This Millet idli recipe, made from scratch partly uses boiled rice. I have  also tried a version substituting the rice completely with millet rava and it works well. You can also use any other millet or a combination of millets.Fenugreek seeds apart from lending their nutritional benefits aid fermentation. Red poha helps to make the idli soft. You can use normal white poha. Making idli from scratch requires a bit of planning, but the batter can be made in advance and stored in the freezer. Thaw and use whenever you crave for fresh idlis. Millet Idlis can be served with sambar and/or chutney of choice.

  I also made a batch of mini idlis for the kids lunchbox. Leftover Idlis can also be tossed in a tadka (tempering) of curry leaves,onion,hing & topped with some chutney podi for a quick snack.                    (Leftover Spinach mini-idlis tossed in spices and topped with chutney podi)

The post Millet Idli appeared first on My Foodcourt.

                              The amount of ingredients is mentioned in grams or kg to get the exact proportion. You can make a stock and store in an airtight box or scale down the recipe to suit your requirement. I usually refrigerate the stock and have a small portion of the Amti masala in my spice rack handy.                            The list of ingredients looks a bit daunting, but most spices will be easily available at your local grocer. Measuring, individually roasting the ingredients, cooling & grinding takes up a lot of time and patience (well worth the effort, I promise! ) Make this masala at leisure, when you are not pressed for time.

The post Amti Masala appeared first on My Foodcourt.

                            Planning for a fresh, healthy as well as tempting breakfast everyday can be a daunting task. With the kids still on vacation, I have lost count of the number of meals/snacks I cook for the day. Both the kids have diametrically opposite tastes and pleasing both of them can be tricky. I have to confess (again!) I can’t wait for the school to re-open 

                                    I am not a smoothie or cereal kind of person. I like to have a proper breakfast, Idli-sambar and bread-omelette top the list of my favourites. I also love millet porridge especially in the summer. Millet flours are a pantry staple in my house and I regularly use it to make porridge, bhakri, Dosa, appe etc. Some of the local grocery shops stock Nagli & Jowar rava (two of my favourite millets) which is very handy to make quick upma or khichdi.

                                        A couple of days ago I made a savoury pongal using the millet rava,which was a big hit with everyone including the kids. Served with some green chutney, fresh fruits from the garden (we are enjoying a good harvest of starfruits & some mulberries) and a glass of chaas (buttermilk) it made for a scrumptious brunch.

The recipe for Millet Pongal is pretty simple. You can cook it in a pan on the stove top or pressure cooker or even in an electric rice cooker.

Enjoy the goodness of millets & start your day off right with this wholesome,healthy Millet Pongal for breakfast.

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