The Birthday Food Trail

There is so much to update all you guys on!! Now I know none of you has really been waiting with bated breath for me to get back to my blog (except maybe this really nice girl called Nafisa who actually mailed me asking where in hell's name I was :D). Nevertheless, I will proceed to tell you how exciting my life has been in the past few months... and you will agree that blogging really HAD to take a backseat!

• I discovered this awesome TV series called 'The Vampire Diaries' and watched 3 seasons back to back! That's a total of 66 episodes. And if you are making faces about vampires and equating it to 'Twilight' already, I will personally come and kick your shins. Watch it. Its wicked, funny, crazy and has a breakneck speed to its plot! Not to mention, the sexiest men on Television...

• I have been making multiple trips to Chennai on work, eating a lot of the awesome Chennai sea-food, and along the way, managed to put together our first big South TV event successfully :)

• Attended a full-on Delhi type wedding in the winters and had soooo much fun! The sarees, the clothes, the jewelery, celebrating Karwa Chauth, rehearsing for Sangeet performances... obsessing over hair and make up, matching shoes and bags, and of course - dancing like crazy to Bollywood numbers! Radha on the dance floor, anyone?!

• Went for a friend's rocking birthday party and woke up in her house with very little memory of the previous night :P Hehehe... ok, not all that bad, but trust me when I say it was that kind of a fantastic party. 

• Met up with one of my favorite film bloggers - the wonderfully witty, sweet and namkeen, intelligent, beautiful Dolce and Namak who was in Mumbai on her first Indian trip. And what a great time I had! I had gone with trepidation wondering if one lone desi girl and 4 goras from Canada would have anything common to talk about... But I really shouldn't have feared. Bollywood, Tollywood, Kollywood, food, filmy gossip, we covered everything and there was still so much we could have rambled on about!All aided by a wonderful meal at Zaffran...

• Planned a fantastic Bachelorette trip for a very dear college friend (now colleague) in Goa with 6 other utterly fabulous girls. And what a Hen party it turned out to be! But but but, what happened in Goa, stays in Goa. Sooo... my lips are sealed ;)

• And in the midst of all the above excitement was my husband Sid's birthday.

Now all those who know me personally, know that the husband is a weird creature. Mine in particular. He doesn't drink (not even wine), doesn't smoke, doesn't like meeting people, and warns us every year to not make a big deal about his birthday. Yet, who doesn't like a special birthday? So you can imagine what a tough time I have every year trying to plan something that doesn't involve drinking, people or loud music.

This year, inspiration struck. The hidden genius within me awoke from its sleep and came up with a foolproof plan. Now what's the one vice that Sid has? Its his love for food! Ok, you might say its not a vice really. But hello, we are talking about a man who will finish a full meal of 5 rotis with dal and veggies, and then just because someone is offering hot rotis, will proceed to eat 5 more. Yep. Vice.

So my genius plan - A Birthday Food Trail! The 3 days leading up to Sid's birthday on Monday was to be declared the Birthday Gourmet Weekend. The idea was to research restaurants we have never been to, that serve food that Sid would love, and take him there for a surprise meal.

Sounds simple, right? Nah. Sid is a foodie but his true love is Indian food. So Italian, Chinese, Japanese, everything went right out of the window. The deal was to look for places that serve authentic regional Indian cuisine. AND to keep it a secret. Phew.

SATURDAY LUNCH: So the Food Trail started on a Saturday afternoon with lunch at Purepur Kolhapur in Vile Parle. Yes, authentic, fiery Kolhapuri khaana. As usual, the party consisted of me, Sid and our close-as-family friends G&A. And man, were we in for a treat... Sid was gobsmacked. He had never even heard of the place and kept guessing where we were headed. And even after we arrived at the little, inconspicuous eatery, he didn't know what to expect.

PUREPUR KOLHAPUR

A few of my favorite things...

These are a few of my favorite things...

I know I have been neglecting this space for far too long. The guilt was killing me, frankly :/
So I decided to upload something just to assuage my feelings :D

Here is a collage of some of my favorite things! The food of course is just the same collage that I use for my blog header, but then you already know how lazy I am. So I will not make excuses :P

Movies, TV series, Books, Food - what more can anyone want?!

A peek into my Secret Life with Spicy Sweet Potato Soup

Hello y’all!

*breezily walks in without a care in the world*

What? Don’t look at me like that. I do not like the accusation in your eyes, no sir! Let me tell you (all attempts at breeziness forgotten) that I had a very good reason to disappear. Again. For a month. Ok, more.

Ermm.... I had work.

No, actually it was an emergency.

Ok, ok, writer’s block.

Fine! Have it your way. Don’t blame me if you can’t deal with the truth! Here you go.... brace yourself.

I WAS ON AN EXCHANGE PROGRAM AT HOGWARTS.

Ha. Didn’t think you could handle it. Truth is a dangerous thing my friend...

Sigh... before my handful of readers walk away in disgust, let me tell you what I have really been up to in this last month.

Of Mahindra, Monsters and Miracles

When I saw that Indiblogger was running a Mahindra XUV500 Incredible Stories contest I knew I had to share my own incredible road story about our beloved Mahindra SUV aka 'Monster'.

There is a huge amount of emotion, sentiment and superstition that comes with your first car. Not just the first car your family owned, but the first car that was YOURS. Only and exclusively yours. Bought with your hard-earned money. Or with blood-sucking EMIs as in most cases.

The day the 'Monster' came home...

So our first car was a beautiful, gorgeous black Mahindra Scorpio bought just 6 months after we got married. It was a BIG DEAL. Yup, in capitals! I remember the looooong fights Sid and I had before we actually decided on the Scorpio – coz the EMI of the car was more than the EMI of our 1 bhk home loan and I totally didn’t see the need to buy an SUV at that stage. Our careers were just taking off, we were still doing up our new home slowly and there seemed to be too many expenses and responsibilities. But boys will be boys and Sid’s passion and love for this car left no room for argument. It was a simple case of want over need. And so the Scorpio was welcomed (grudgingly by me) into our lives.

Best of Film and Food - Year#2 at The Weekend Epicurean

2 whole years of blogging! And just over 75 posts to show for it...

My blogging is like me – always lazy, sometimes funny, sometimes angst-y, and rarely without drama! So if I can’t find the drama that goes with a picture or a recipe, that dish will just languish somewhere in my folder without seeing the light of day. And it’s not just a problem with dishes I cook up; on all our trips away from home I click away food pictures like crazy... and then don’t find a way to write about them on the blog without making it sound too much like a travelogue :(

So that is what has happened to the photos of the Bedmi Aloo and Milk cake devoured in Chandni Chowk, the Rajasthani white chicken and Papad ki subzi sampled in Jodhpur, the amazing fine dine enjoyed at some of the most beautiful restaurants in Goa, and the simple Tambda Rassa and Chicken sukka savoured in Kolhapur. Huh. Now that I have actually written that down, they suddenly seem very exciting and full of drama! Damn...

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining at all. Also, it would be rather strange to complain about my own laziness, no? Hmm... Anyway, I just like to think of it as Quality over Quantity. Well, obviously not quality of the recipes, because there are so many food bloggers out there who stump me with their regular qualitative and quantitative output... Ok, so quality of drama then!

So keeping up with the tradition of my First Blogoversary’sdramatic post, here is my Filmy version of the highlights of Year#2 at The Weekend Epicurean... An unhealthy mix of food, film and fantasy! The Best of 2011 if you will:

1.       Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara – Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Muffins! 

What is wholesome, full of yumminess, feels sinfully like a dessert but actually packs a punch of goodness and flavour? Well it is the ZNMD on my blog – Choco-chip muffins! Like the movie, it left me feeling happy, giggly, and satisfied, but not guilty about over-indulging in a ball of fluff. A perfect recipe for a happy meal and a happy me! My personal favourite film and favourite baked goodie of the year.

Moodiness and Muri Mixture

Statutory Warning - Long rambling post follows! Just skip to the recipe below if you are in no mood to be subjected to my ranting... Also to apportion blame where it is due, 2 fellow bloggers - Maria and Lakshmi, inspired me to assault your senses with this overdose of philosophy, verbosity and self-analysis :)

So...What do you do when you feel detached from the world? Ummm… no, I’m not talking about the Buddha’s nirvana kind of detachment, but more of a ‘meh! I-couldn’t-be-bothered-making-small-talk-with-anyone’ kinda detachment. And it’s not just that… It’s like all of a sudden, my threshold for people in general has gone down. People I have earlier thought I was close to – I find I have nothing to say to them anymore. Either I have really outgrown them or I’m in an extreme anti-social mode. 

I even went through my phonebook and deleted all those contacts I can do without now. Quite something, huh? I have always been told that I have way too many friends in way too many places all over the world. And now I believe is the time for pruning… I don’t know why, but it just feels right. So many people in our lives who mean nothing and yet we struggle to keep in touch, be friendly, make polite conversation… Why make so much effort? And then there are those who meant everything at a point and are no longer a part of our lives today...

Back in Action with Mom's Fiery Hot 'Korivi Kaaram'

What is it about Birthday months? I know it’s not just me… there are blogs, groups on Facebook and many gazillion articles/posts dedicated to people who hate their Birthdays. Ok, I just stumbled across a website for people with Schizoaffective Disorder and guess what? A lot of them seem to hate their Birthdays! Hmmm… So without further drama, I just hope this Birthday comes and goes by in a rush without me having the time to sit and sulk and agonize over all that I have and haven’t done in the last year. I do enough agonizing on a daily basis anyway. So please God, cut me some slack here. I don’t want a birthday trip to Goa, or new clothes, or a birthday cake or any expensive gift. I just want to have a good day. A normal, simple, good day. Not an anti-climactic Birthday. I’m not saying this for my sake; oh I positively revel in depression and love wallowing in self-pity and crying copious amounts of tears… Nothing like a good weep to make you feel better. But I so don’t want the people I love trying hard to make this day special and then discovering all their efforts to cheer me up have been in vain… That’s not fair.

So God? One good uneventful day? Please?

And the Award goes to...The Return of the Prodigal Car!

It was a hot, sweaty evening in Mumbai (like most evenings in Mumbai ). I was out shopping on the streets of Lokhandwala when my phone rang and an unnaturally calm voice said, "Listen carefully..." Needless to say I got so psyched, I pressed the phone even closer to my ear. "What happened?" I whispered back. "Listen very carefully 'coz I'm going to say this just once..." the voice said very slowly. I'm sure my eyes were round as saucers and my mobile was sweating in my hands. "Ok, I'm listening. What is it?" I asked equally slowly, my heart thumping wildly.
"It is back", the voice replied with barely suppressed glee.

*************************************************************************************
So our car got stolen last year... right after we moved into our new house and went out to watch a movie and celebrate new beginnings. Yeah. A huge snicker from God if there ever was one! As for insurance, don't even get me started. Suffice to say that we were paying the monthly installments for a non-existent car for the past 9 months. That is, till the cops called us one hot, sweaty early evening and said in their typical charming manner - "Haan aapko insurance nahin mila na? Toh aake gaadi le jao. Aapki gaadi mil gayi hai". (Yeah, you haven't got your insurance right? So come take your car. We have got it back.)

First Anniversary, Fifty Posts and Film Food

I toyed with various beginnings for this blog post...

Do I go with the cliches and say "I cannot believe it's been one year!"?
Or do I start modestly - "I'm so grateful to everyone for all the love and support and encouragement..."?
Maybe I should go for cheeful and chirpy - "Yaaaayyy! 50 posts and 1 year!!! How cool is that??!"

Nuh-uh. Too many problems.
Option 1 - It IS a cliche.
Option 2 - Modesty has never been my thing, I would rather gag and die.
Option 3 - I sound like a teenager on crack... not cool!

So I decided to give in to my inner demon -

"Mere paas naukri nahi hai, gaadi nahin hai, BlackBerry nahin hai, maa bhi nahin hai (oho, you equally filmy person! She is in Maldives)... Lekin mere paas ye Blog hai!"

For the benefit of those unfamiliar with Bollywood, I have just committed blasphemy in the eyes of all Amitabh Bacchan and Deewaar fans:



So... now that I have established my filminess, let me explain myself. For me, this last year has been a roller-coaster ride. More so than the usual pile of shit that life throws at all of us every year, trust me! And The Weekend Epicurean has been my source of sustenance, my sanity in all the insanity, my venting space, my letting-go-of-mad space and my window to a world of possibility. Actually scratch that. My window to a world where doing nothing "worthwhile" and yet being at peace is possible.

Random 'mutter'ing and Methi Malai Mutter - Fenugreek Leaves and Peas in a Creamy Gravy

I always find it a little strange to write "Mutter" when what I really mean is the more humble Matar (Green Peas). Mutter with its silent 'r' and muted 't' just sounds affected. But I think my grouse is very minor when compared to the writer of the menu below who clearly had his own strong opinions on Indian phonetics and spellings!

The 'Chikan' dishes are certainly not Lucknowi, they are just true to the Marathi pronunciation ;) And as for the 'Panner', 'Shejvan Rice' and 'Mashrom Rice', I dread to think what would have ended up on my plate had I had the courage to order them! But the hands-down winner is the subtly ironic 'Chiken Chilly Liquid'! Yes, look for it wedged between the Chicken Chilly Dry (duh!) and the Hakka 'Nudles'... You can't fault the guy's logic at least!

Rootlessness and Alu-Potola Bhaja

When people ask me where I am originally from, I just don't know what to say. As I hem and haw trying to figure out a suitable uncomplicated answer without getting into my unsavoury family history, I usually mumble a vague reply - "From all over", to which the questioner usually comes up with this gem - "Oh, so your dad was in the army?" More hedging around follows. No such simple way out for me. No army, navy, defence background to explain the anchorless-ness of my life :(

Ok, so to cut short the drama I just launch into the complicated explanation. "See, I'm basically Telugu, but born and brought up in Orissa. But left Orissa for good when I was 16, so since then I studied for 2yrs in Vizag, 3 yrs in Chennai, 1 yr in Mumbai, then worked in Chennai & Hyderabad for a year and now been living in Mumbai for 5-6yrs. Pheww!!"
But if you thought the questioning ends there, you are sorely mistaken. Oh, so where are your parents? Ummm... Mom's a single parent (see that's why we left Bhubaneshwar in the first place) working in Muscat (now in Maldives), Dad-I-haven't-seen-in-10yrs-so-don't-know-and-couldn't-care-less, brother another anchorless soul flitting from this city to that and oh please don't even get me started about my husband who is Punjabi but born and brought up in Hyderabad and is definitely more Telugu than I am. Sigh... so much for trying to hide unflattering family drama!

But look at the bright side I tell myself - aren't we the truly integrated Indian family? D-uh. Yeah, if you think confused roots is a sign of cosmopolitan national integration, why not? A-nyway... the point I'm trying to make, as usual, is actually about food.

There are days when I crave for some childhood comfort food... And a lot of my memories of food are intrinsically linked with Bhubaneshwar, the city that I was born in and grew up in. So comfort food for me is a strange mish-mash of South Indian dishes and simple Oriya recipes. Both my parents were born and brought up in Orissa too, so Oriya food is truly as much a part of our family heritage as the traditional Telugu Brahmin diet.

One of the staple vegetables in Orissa is Potola/Parwal otherwise known as Pointed Gourd. And one of the simplest dishes made in every Oriya home is this Potato and Parwal fry. The picture of the Pointed Gourds below is courtesy Shreya of Mom's Cooking.

Pic Courtesy- www. ammascooking.blogspot.com

Ingredients:

Parwal/Pointed Gourd - 250 gms
Potatoes - 2 large
Panch Phoran - 2 tsp (equal parts jeera/cumin seeds, rai/mustard seeds, onion seeds/kalonji, methi/fenugreek seeds and saunf/fennel seeds)
SaltRed Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
Mustard Oil - 1 tbsp

Wash and peel the potatoes and gourds and cut them into long thin slices. The gourds actually do not need to be peeled, but some people don't like to chew on the slightly tough, crunchy skin. Heat the mustard oil in a wok or kadhai and add the panch phoran. Once the seeds start sputtering, lower the flame and add the sliced potatoes and parwal. Combine well, cover and cook for 7-8min till the potatoes are soft and the parwal is cooked but retains its colour. Now add the salt , chilli powder and garam masala and stir well. Let it cook for another couple of minutes, remove from heat and serve.

The way I like it:

This is a great side dish with rotis and a simple moong ki dal or the tradition Oriya Dalma and rice.

Fresh Red Chillies!!

I came across a packet of gorgeous, glistening red chillies at the supermarket and just couldn't resist buying them! But so far, still racking my brain trying to come up with a recipe that will do justice to these beautiful, red peppers that pack a punch :)

Any suggestions anyone?? Below is a picture to give you an idea of their size... they are larger than the palm of my hand! I'm thinking Chinese stir-fry or some pickled red chillies. But would love more ideas! :)

Birthday Blues and Corn Curry

Yup, last week I entered the 3rd decade of my life... I was down and out for quite a while and the run-up to my 30th was anything but fun :( I was experiencing the blues in a bad way and just knew the birthday would be as anti-climactic as ever.

My birthdays since childhood have never really stood out as days to be remembered. I just have memories of snatches of conversations, or fun moments; but nothing that's a memory to cherish forever. I think it all started with my very 1st birthday which, I believe, was a very big deal with "foreign" clothes and toys, a humpty-dumpty confetti bag that showered chocolates, and a really big cake. And what do I have to show for it? Nothing! Yup, nothing. Coz my dad forgot to load the camera with film reel and just kept clicking away into nothingness! So now you know anti-climactic.

In school, there was the tiny excitement of wearing new clothes, the anticipation of gifts and the hope of getting noticed by the boys; but it never really culminated into any birthday worth remembering... (unless you count the one where we were playing dark-rooms hide-n-seek and I spilt an entire bottle of ink on all my books and my new pink jeans... or the one where I got pinched by my mom in the middle of the party for asking everyone how much my gifts cost. yeah, I was right. they don't count.)

I think the best birthdays I actually had were during the 2 years spent in this godforsaken women's hostel ironically called 'Stree Seva Mandir' during my undergrad. I had an amazingly cool and diverse set of friends in Shy, Hemu, Paro and Appu who remain friends for life... All our birthdays here were replete with Enid Blyton style secret midnight parties, birthday bumps, cake-smearing, cheap but thoughtful gift-giving, and crazy dancing!

You can't blame me now if all my birthday celebrations post that seem staid and boring. What's to compare with a bunch of young girls flailing their arms to muffled Bollywood music in a sweaty, cramped, dimly lit 10x10 room and trying to keep it a secret from the cranky old warden??! The fear of getting caught always does add to the adrenaline rush, don't you think? :)

So anyhoo... birthdays are just birthdays and I didn't want this year to be just another one of those. And it wasn't... To break the suspense to you all who are patiently reading through my rant, I got the best gifts ever this year with Sid flying down a human parcel of my best friend from B'lore to Mumbai being the best one of the lot! :) Yes, as my beloved cousin and soul-sister U keeps reminding me, I AM a very lucky girl.... As gifts go, I couldn't be more satiated, happy, overwhelmed... But is it really horrible to say that I still feel a sense of anti-climax? Maybe there is no getting away from it. Or maybe, that's just how a birthday feels, you know. It could be just me who thinks this feeling is that of an anti-climax. Maybe its just the "birthday feeling"....

So D-day was spent catching up with my best friend, loitering at home while being given gifts by the hour by Sid, and me making a light and drool-worthy Corn Curry and slicing the top of my finger off in the process. Yeah, don't ask. But if you must, it was a huge, cool Chefline cheffy knife. Gaah! But the Birthday Corn Curry did turn out well in spite of everything.

Ingredients:

Corn on the cob - 2
Onion - 1 large (chopped)
Green chillies - 4 (sliced)
Grated coconut - 3 tsp OR Coconut milk - 1/4 cup
Milk - 1/4 cup
Salt
Cumin/Jeera - 1 tsp
Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves
Vegetable Oil - 1 tbsp

Boil or pressure cook 2 whole ears of corn in water with a teaspoon of salt. Cool and slice each corn cob latitudinally into 3-4 pieces. In a kadhai or a non stick vessel, heat 1 tbsp of oil and splutter the cumin seeds and curry leaves. Add the chopped onions and sliced green chillies. Once the onions turn golden brown, add a pinch of salt and the jeera powder and mix well. Now add the sliced corn cob pieces, the freshly grated coconut, and the milk.

Pour in some water if necessary. Cover and cook on a low flame for 6-8min till the corn absorbs the flavour of the spices, and its done!

The way I like it:
Serve hot with plain rice. It can be a little difficult to wield the chunky pieces of corn, so the best way is to use your hands :) Or just use a fork to spear it and make a mini meal of the dish by itself. It is a very light and flavorful dish and the coconut is not at all over-powering. Sid hates coconut in food and he slurped up the sauce willingly, so I think that's a good sign !

This Coconut Corn Curry is my entry for Priya's Veggie/Fruit a Month Event: Corn being hosted by Torview Toronto.

Oh, you thought that was the end of the post?! My handful of faithful readers, I'm in a positively rambling mode. So now is the time for you to navigate away from the page!
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Ok, I did issue fair warning. So to continue with my down-in-the-dumps story to those of you still around, after the top of my finger was sliced off, things seemed to improve. (Strange are the ways of birthdays!) So I dressed up and cheered up - almost always interlinked, these two emotions - and off we went for a lovely dinner with our closest friends to a restaurant in Malad called 'The Laughing Cavalier'. Funny name, no?

After some so-good-its-not-funny wood-fired pizza, lasagna, fusion chicken kababs and fettuccine, it was time to blow out the birthday and bring in my 3rd wedding anniversary :) (Yup, I'm one of those freaks who got married the day right after her birthday).
More wonderful gifts ensued :) :) A long night of poetry and poker followed. And that was the climax of the birthday and of this post.

Cheers (*clinks glass*) to turning 30. All of you out there who get despondent on your birthdays, all I can say is - you have company. Lots of it. And as long as you have a loved one trying to make it special, that's all that matters... isn't it?

Though secretly? I was hoping for a surprise party with lots of mad dancing! Hmm... but well, I'm sure to get depressed next year around the same time again ;)

The Nigella Knife!

Can you be a foodie - a food blogger, and not be an avid food-show watcher? Na-ah. I don't think so. I love watching cookery shows and cooking reality shows. From Top Chef to Kylie Kwong, from Hell's Kitchen to Nigella Lawson. I am, what you would call, a food-show fanatic. I get a warm glow in my tummy watching Nigella eat, Kylie shop, and Bobby Chin travel all over Asia sampling exotic food. And I love the excitement of Gordon Ramsay's challenges, watching the exquisitely plated Top Chef dishes and rooting for my favorite Chef-testants.

But my all-time favorite is definitely the gorgeous Nigella Lawson. What I love about her is the way she is unapologetic about her passion for eating! Don't you think that's the first sign of a good cook? You have to appreciate the taste of great-tasting food before you start cooking anything that tastes as good. And Nigella's uninhibited pleasure in the smells, flavours, and colours of food is what sets her apart. Instead of that perfectly poised and politically correct TV host, here is a woman who is not ashamed to lick her gravy spoon or wipe her soup bowl clean on national television! Her impatience, her lazy short cuts, her sounds of contentment while devouring something she has just cooked - its all reminiscent of just how I am in the kitchen! And I'm sure many others like me... None of that clinical precision and spotless white aprons and chef hats for me, thankyouverymuch! I would much rather have decadent good food made and finished in a jiffy!

Ok, now that this post has turned into a Nigella Lawson eulogy (!) let me get to the point. Me and my crazy friend SM can spend hours discussing Nigella's recipes and slobbering over the phone (yuck! but unfortunately true... do not judge us pls). And the one thing we covet more than her well-stocked larder and her amazing cookware is her signature knife. She uses it to chop all kinds of greens, coriander, chillies, garlic and stuff. Its this amazing crescent-shaped knife with handles on both sides, and Nigella apparently got it on a holiday in Italy. So how the hell were we going to ever lay our hands on such a cool knife? :(

And then I discovered Crawford Market. If you don't know about this amazing maze of roadside shopping in South Mumbai, you have no idea what you are missing out on! If I have to do justice to the wondrous fares on sale there, I will have to write another long post on it. Suffice to say that on my very first visit, I just walked towards the market and the very first stall had on display this amazing knife that me and SM have now officially christened the Nigella Knife! And all for the princely amount of Rs. 200/-

(Pics courtesy - SM)

Unfortunately, there was just one piece available. And so, the generous soul that I am, I decided to gift it to SM for introducing me to the joys of Crawford Market. Of course this was under condition that she immediately chop something with it and mail me pics for this very post :)