High on Thai

I’m not a big fan of dessert. When fellow foodies ooh and aah over the most decadent chocolate cake, the most luscious berry compote and the creamiest of ice creams, I sigh and ask for the next bowl of pickle.

It’s strange, but it’s true, that even though the people in my family are addicted to sweets (yes my mum, dad and grand dad all have their own stash of chocolate and hide it from each other), I prefer foods that pack in a punch – gimme salty, tangy, bitter, sour, spicy over sweet nothings any day

(Statutory warning: this does not reflect my personality)

That being said, there are a couple of sweet treats that make me go weak in the knees. My love for cheesecake has been professed in a previous post, but I also cannot resist ice-cream cake, butterfingers, peanut butter cups (till the point that they make me sick) and anything jelly or jam filled.

However, if there is one dessert that has me lusting and how, it is a rather funny sounding – Tub Tim Grob. I first had this gorgeous dessert when I went for a meal with the family to Benjarong. After my disastrous escapade in ordering desserts (I always end up asking for the most exotic sounding dish, only to send it away because it tastes miserable), my mum sternly warned me against making a choice. I meekly submitted and asked our politely smiling steward what was the speciality of the house and he suggested - Water Chestnut Rubies in Chilled Sweetened Coconut Milk.   

I figured I had nothing to lose and asked him to bring it on! I kid you not when I say that it was love at first bite. The chilled milk proving to be the perfect foil for the crunchy chestnuts, which was just the right amount of sweet. Determined to make this recipe my own, I met and pestered master chef Regi Mathew, COO, Fine Dine, Oriental Cuisines Private Limited, to part with the recipe.

Tub Tim Grob

Ingredients

·         Water chestnuts diced small                                            ½ cup

·         Tapioca starch                                                                   1 cup

·         Edible food colouring – red                                              10 drops

·         Water                                                                                  4 cups

·         Fresh coconut milk                                                            1 ½ cups

·         Sugar syrup                                                                        1 cup

·         Jasmine essence                                                                 2 drops

Method: Put food colouring in a bowl of water and then throw the water chestnuts in. Let the water chestnuts absorb the water for about 20 minutes. Drain the chestnuts and mix it with the tapioca starch until all the chestnuts are covered completely. Put water to boil and throw in the water chestnuts and let it boil until the starch becomes clear. Now dunk the chestnuts into cold water immediately. Once this is done, put the chestnuts in sugar syrup so that they are evenly coated. Before serving, remove the chestnuts from the sugar syrup and put it in a bowl with the chilled, sweetened fresh coconut milk that has been flavoured with the jasmine essence. Serve Tub Tim Grob chilled with freshly crushed ice cubes.

Don't do the dew!

After much hype and hoopla, a couple of friends and I decided to check out Dewberry's one sunny afternoon. Ravenous, and wanting to vent about office woes, all of us were geared for coffee, cheese steaks and more.

With a vast and extensive menu, what I will give the team at Dewberry's is that they have come up with a menu, which has something for everyone. However, that, sadly, is also their shortcoming. Because not one, and I repeat NOTHING that we tasted on the menu was worth its salt (In my case, I got salt only after I went up to the counter and got it myself).

We ordered a portion of cheesy, garlicky bread, an alternate topping on bruschetta and a portion of fries. Both were extremely small in terms of portion and absolutely lacked ANY taste. In fact, the bruschetta bread was soft and the cheese dry. The banana and oats shake that a friend ordered smacked of absolutely no originality and had a crust of bournvita on top. Determined not to let our initial impression leave a bitter taste in our mouth, we ordered a portion of pesto penne and a chicken steak, which was supposed to be stuffed with something, I don't remember what (but then again, it was not worth remembering either).

My penne was overcooked, the pesto was gooey and runny (quite a feat to achieve both at one go, don't you think) and had exactly three sliced black olives. Even though we did manage to finish it, we were terribly disappointed. Our friend on the other hand got a chicken steak that was uncooked (on asking they said it was poached and hence it had that flavour and colour), insipid and he REFUSED to finish it. We did complain to the manager who merely said 'Ok', did not present us with a comments card, just our cheque. Now that I have vented, I will tell you my basic problem with a place such as Dewberrys.

• Staff that looks absolutely disinterested in serving you and are trained to say just a few words: No, Can't, Not Available.
• A beautiful setting that could have people flocking by the droves, if only the food were palatable.
• Prices that do NOT justify the portions.
  
  I really hope the management does something to improve the quality and standard of the food at a place that I personally believe has the potential to become a success, if only it had something substantial to offer on the plate.
  
  (Note: Pictures are for representative purposes only, and bear no resemblance to any of the food we ate that day)

Eats shoots & leaves

A couple of months back, a friend picked up this book by Lynne Truss about grammar – aptly titled Eats, Shoots & Leaves it spoke about how Important punctuation, among other things was when it came to sentence construction. Read the book, also thought that it was not greatly written as most of us could spot grammatical errors in the book, but I did think bits were cleverly written.

Like the headline I have chosen for today’s post – which I think is befitting considering my topic for the day is vegetarianism. First off, let me tell you that I am not a hardcore vegetarian. I would like to think of myself as a moody/hypocrite non-vegetarian…what is that? Well, I eat meat on a whim – I like KFC & cold cuts, I like galouti kebab & shish tawouk, and I also like the Syrian beef fry that my friend forces his mum to make every time he goes home.

But put a steak in front of me or a completely non-vegetarian meal in front of me and I tend to grimace. No fish head curry for me, no eggs in a basket or trotters (maybe this is the Iyer part of me that kicks in on call), I seem to quite like my veggies. And much to the dismay or ridicule of my carnivorous friends, I thoroughly enjoy the idea of a ‘vegetarian steak,’ yes I know you don’t think such a concept exists and quite happily polish off my chilli cheese burger too!

I would like to make a basic point here – all of us are non-vegetarians. There is no concept such as vegetarianism (yes vegans, get with the programe)…what we can be divided into are herbivores and carnivores. While some people eat plant, others eat animals – all living creatures, only the latter expresses visible emotion, while the former portrays a stoic, dignified exterior.

 I am not taking a moral high ground or stance and condoning one diet over the other, but there are some basic ideas that I just don’t understand:

• How can carnivores love animals but still eat them? (please do not cite the 'food chain theory' to me, that is only your way of consoling yourself)
• How, why and for what practical purpose was veganism founded (yes I have researched and read every possible link on it but it still doesn’t make sense)
• Why would anybody eat soya ham, soya chicken or any soya type fake meat at all? If you so badly want to taste the real thing, eat the REAL thing!

I suspect a lot of irate readers have much to say as they read this post, so please keep the comments flowing. As you can see from my ‘About Me’ section, I do love a good, healthy argument. Till then, I shall continue to chomp away on my order of mashed potato, cheese and mushroom steak, with a portion of salad by the side. Oops, did I forget to mention the portion of bacon strips? Ah, the beauty of irony…

Who moved my cheese?

I’m a sucker for all thing cheese – cheese spread, cheese cubes, cream cheese, goat cheese, yak cheese, smelly blue cheese (yes I know a lot of people feel that they smell and taste like feet)…you name it and I love it.  

My travails with cheese also transports me back to the time when my brother and I would fight over slices of Kraft that ‘affluent’ aunts and uncles would bring down for us.  It was the ultimate status symbol you know – refrigerators stocked with tins of Kraft and bars of Toblerone made you the ‘cool’ kid on the block and boy, didn’t we all want to be flag bearers of that coveted title!

Of course, that being said, it didn’t matter how disgusting the cheese tasted. In fact, Kraft came out with this repulsive range of fruit cheeses – you had a pineapple cheese, a strawberry cheese, heck even a grape cheese!  But to my surprise, even that didn’t deter me from my cheesy exploits.

Recently, after a late night soiree, my equally cheese crazy friend and I ambushed her kitchen in order to find what she claims is the ‘BESTEST’ cheese ever. She then introduced me to an innocuous looking tin, much similar to Kraft, only it read ‘Al Marai.’ Now I have to confess, I was a bit skeptical, but once I bit into the cheddar, it was simply the creamiest cheese ever. These Arabs sure know how to milk their cows for all its worth.

My experiments with cheese notwithstanding, I truly have found favour with the tub of Philadelphia cream cheese that has been lying in my refrigerator for a while now. I had the opportunity and good fortune of meeting with Chef Brainard Colaco, the father of molecular gastronomy in India and the Executive Chef, Bakery & Confectionery for The French Loaf, one of my favourite cafes.

Here is his recipe for the best Lemon Cheesecake ever (*Note to all: this recipe is much easier than it looks)

Traditional Lemon Cheesecake

Serves 10-12 portions     Baking temperature: 160*C

Base:

Digestive Biscuits: 200 gms

Unsalted Butter:  100 gms

Caster Sugar: 75gms

Filling :

Unsalted Butter: 150 gms

Caster Sugar: 170gms

4 large Eggs

Refined Flour:  30 gms

Finely grated lemon zest of one lemon

½ tsp of Vanilla essence
Soft Cream cheese: 675 gms  (room temperature)
Milk: 60 ml

Topping :

Sour Cream: 425ml

Icing Sugar: 1 tbsp’

Lemon juice: Juice of 1 lemon

Method:

To make the crumb base, put the biscuits in a food processor and process until fine crumbs. Alternatively, you could put the biscuits in a large plastic bag and finely crush them with a rolling pin. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over gentle heat, and then stir in the crumbs and sugar. Spread the crumb mixture over the base of the prepared cake tin, pressing down lightly. Stand the tin on a baking sheet and cook in a preheated oven @190*C for 8-10 mins. Remove from the oven and let it cool.

Reduce the temperature of the oven to 160*C.

To make the filling: Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl and using a hand mixer beat until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs. Mix in the flour, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Put the soft cheese in a separate bowl and beat with the hand mixer until smooth .gently beat in the milk, and then gradually beat in the butter and the sugar mixture. Spoon the mixture over the crumb base and level the surface. Bake in a preheated oven for 1 ½ hours in a water bath.

To make the topping, put the sour cream, icing sugar and lemon juice in a large bowl and lightly beat. Chill until required. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and increase the temperature to 190*C. Pour over the cheesecake. Return to the oven for 8-10 min or until set. Chill before serving.

Of wine & wishful thinking!

I love birthdays! And I love them even more so, when it happens to be mine. After a fun-filled New Year vacation in Goa, my friends and I came back, spent, tired and visibly tanned (exactly the opposite of what a vacation is supposed to do for you), and swore off our liquid diet for eternity (ok, who am I kidding?), much to the happiness of my mother and unfortunately, to the dismay of all the watering holes in the city.

Thus, in a bid to get back into shape, all of us have decided to spend the weekends with our aprons and chef hats on, an occasional glass of wine and back-to-back movies. The weekend that went by (Jan 14, 15 &16) saw us do exactly this and more. 

Saturday night started off with some delicious Indian khana in a neighbourhood restaurant (the English Breakfast in Goa had deadened all our taste buds)…replete with platters full of kebabs, dum biryani, pots of creamy , luscious dal, kulfi and more. Ah, bliss!

What then followed was a toast to yours truly as my closest pals ushered in my birthday (I of course acted all melodramatic and surprised as they cut a huge, gargantuan chocolate cake for me as the clock struck twelve). At this point, I have to confess that I am the kind of person who is incapable of people throwing surprises for me – a fact that meets with a lot of ire, yelling and abuse from my friends.

Anyway, night on the terrace with cake, wine and star-gazing over, I then proceeded to spend the day with family and one of my closest friends. My poor mum spent hours slaving in the kitchen cooking a wonderful meal, my aunt made a gorgeous chocolate cake with macerated strawberries and gramps even got me the regular stash of goodies from Grand Sweets. Now isn’t this what birthdays are all about?

Night saw coffee with friends, and then a dreamy, star-gazing night as all of us sat at a rooftop restaurant talking about the value of life (commendable conversation considering we weren’t high!), Mediterranean cruises and the beauty of Goa during the off-season.

Even as the night drew to a close, with my self-proclaimed eventful day coming to an end, I couldn’t help but sing to myself…What a Wonderful World…

Tantalisingly Teppan

It was the middle of the week and a slow day at work. My colleagues suggested that we try out a new eating place and someone said Teppan at the Benjarong.

My first thought; "Why is Japanese cuisine being served at a place that sounds Thai?"

We headed out anyway and since Benjarong is something of a landmark on TTK road. Our entry to the premises was the only confusing aspect of the whole experience. We were welcomed to Benjarong and for an instant we thought we were mistaken. But then on asking for Teppan we were told that it was a separate section upstairs.

I am a huge foodie and pride myself in experimenting with different types of cuisines. That being said, my knowledge of teppanyaki is scarce at best and trust me when I say, I was NOT prepared for the spectacular show that lay ahead. It started off with the chef who was preparing our starters. He explained how he seasoned the skillet. While waiting for the station to get hot we got to see some nifty card tricks. All good so far. The real show started with the second course onwards. Eggs balanced on spatula  edges, vessels flipped, food tossed and all the fancy hand work that one expects or if a first timer, actually surprises.

We started with a round of mocktails which acted as great aperitifs. My ginger-based mocktail acted as palate cleanser for the predominantly chicken dishes that I was having...the scrumptious chicken teriyaki starter being the highlight. What followed was a tenderloin in wasabi butter and succulent chicken breasts, which were cooked just right with the sake blending in delicately with the herbs. The chef even tossed a piece into my mouth from across the plate as a tester! Abhinav Bindra in the making perhaps?

While Teppan does exquisitely well on meat and seafood, one would but naturally think that Japanese cuisine has nothing to offer for the vegetarians. But I would urge you to think again. Because my herbivorous compadres absolutely loved what was served to them. Heck, even a chicken aficionado like  me fell in love with the avocado and tempura maki rolls.

Sufficiently stuffed, we just about thought that the end was near when the deal was sweetened at the end, quite literally at that. The sugar bar is by far one of the best I have seen and I have seen quite a few.  I am a hardcore dessert freak. I eat less so I can have desserts and I absolutely loved what was on offer here. Chocolates and more chocolates; mint flavoured, white and dark; beautiful pastries that just melted away to nothing leaving only the exquisite flavour, cream and jelly shooters, wafer goodies. Yumm!

Simply put, Teppan is one of those places where you go when you have time to savour your meal, enjoy the ambience and watch some exquisite artistry. Highly recommended!

Livin’ La Vida Loca

 

When David Villa and his band of boys took home the Holy Grail of football thanks to some brilliant footwork by Andres Iniesta’s 116th-minute strike, the entire stadium erupted in cheer with the vuvuzelas blowing loud and clear. Yes, it was the night when the Dutch dream was shattered and Holland cried orange tears.

Far far away, in a land littered with clichés of being called ‘the mystical place of snake charmers, Kamasutra, sadhus and slums’, and further down south in seemingly conservative Chennai there was one quaint little place called Zara Tapas Bar which was celebrating the victory of Spain. Why you may ask? Well, though they don’t really need an introduction, Zara is India’s first Tapas bar and probably one of the best pubs in Chennai. 

As I sat at the pub on a muggy evening watching the finals, nestling my tall glass of sangria (that is my way of supporting Spain, apart from drooling over David Villa) a thought suddenly struck me! As a resident of Chennai and now well into my drinking prime, I have probably spent many a night at this pub drinking, talking, dancing and simply ‘sitting’ night after night with friends, strangers and just about every body. Such is the charm of Zara. Not once will you feel out of place, not once will you be asked to leave, unless of course you beat up the manager (I wouldn’t advise this because he has personally spoken at length with me about his fitness routine).

Truth be told though, if there is one reason I keep going back to Zara, It is probably because I personally think they have the best tapas, cocktails and food. Their Spanish sangrias, which come by the pitcher or glass is made with a combination of chunky tropical fruits and wines, dances like a Spanish chica doing the salsa in front of me. The starters range from the ever popular nachos, to interesting dishes like the jalapeno stuffed with cheese, spicy chicken and cheese, cottage cheese and potato nuggets, shredded crispy lamb with peppers, mushrooms and pimentos in a red wine reduction…the list just goes on!

I have said this before, and I’d like to reinstate that for me, if there is a bar in Chennai that really just lets me ‘be’, it would have to be Zara. The place has become a friend in need of sorts- Monday blues, Tuesday musings, Girl’s night on Wednesdays, retro Thursdays, or the Friday-Saturday weekend partying, there is something for everybody at Zara. It’s like a one size fits all…sigh, if only clothes were like that!