caldron magazine, january 2015

CaLDRON MAGAZINE, JANUARY 2015 | 1

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reviews: delhi, bangalore, Mumbai

keep your new year resolutions

awesome party cocktails!

say hello to polish food

careers in hospitality

cooking with bourbon

gifts for coffee lovers

learn about reversing diabetes

healthy recipes for the new year

eat healthy this year!

page 24

19recipes

2 | CaLDRON MAGAZINE, JANUARY 2015

Contentsreviews08 supper at sandy's gurgaon

10 something new this season delhi

12 streat kitchen food festival bangalore

14 tiffin's got a new menu bangalore

16 license to brew mumbai

18 skyy is not the limit mumbai

20 pantry cafe: artless sophistication dubai

22 casa de tapas: a slice of espania dubai

cover story24 of new year's resolutions and couragevinita bhatia

people you should know34 sonia tartar culinary maestro

events etc.70 experience ecuador71 a slice above the rest72 bacardi india launches goa party package73 stirred not shaken, with belvedere martinis74 chill out with chilean walnuts75 saffola launches foodie website quick bytes

76 bawarchi.com food search survey quick bytes

77 burger king japan: fondue burger quick bytes

71 a slice above the rest quick bytes

food & flavors40 say smacznego to polish cuisine44 stick to your new year resolutions recipes

56 reversing diabetes health faq

65 in the company of bourbon party corner

matters of spirit80 a lady walks into a bar... spiritual quest

72 sweet & spice make everything nice mix it up

issue bonus62 stop. shop. shopping guide

96 world feast, my favorite kitchen book review

travel90 taking the road less travelled roaming rover

recipes26 baigan shikab28 asian greens chili bean sauce30 mediterranean lamb31 pink champagne sorbet with strawberries42 roast duck with apples43 zurek46 green apple bake with quinoa48 winter pumpkin and black salt pudding50 sugarcane and red rice kheer52 strawberry and lemongrass granita54 easy yogurt parfait with seasonal fruits58 red rice idli60 steamed mixed vegetabled in red gravy67 bacon and bourbon preserve97 spicy lamb curry with fennel and cloves

drinks & cocktails82 naughty-ni84 smokin strawberry86 pink floyd's drink in the wall88 dairy milk martini

Regulars05 editorial06 born this month07 contributors08 reviews24 cover story34 culinary maestro69 ask the experts90 roaming rover98 national listings100 international listings102 caldron foodie calendar


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This is the first issue of 2015 and as you may have guessed, the first thing on our minds are New Year's resolutions. All of us make them, most of us break them and then repeat the cycle at the end of the year. In this issue, we've tried to make it easier for you to keep your new year's resolutions, by not only coming up with dietary suggestions you could consider

resolving to follow, but also explaining them in detail, so you're well equipped to make and keep this year's vows of dietary fidelity. This, I believe, goes very well with the current trend I see, where most of us appear to be becoming more and more conscious of the food we eat and the consequences of doing so.

I personally, have decided to avoid bleached white flour and derivative products as much as possible. This was after learning it may contain a chemical compound as a result of the bleaching process, which could result in the destruction of insulin producing cells in the pancreas - induced Type I diabetes!

Yes, we have certainly become much more health conscious and I hope things remain this way. Here's to wishing you a very happy New Year and to your gaining all what you wish for.

Stay well.Sid

editorial


Nigella Lucy Lawson is an English journalist, broadcaster, television personality, gourmet, and food writer. She is

the daughter of Nigel Lawson, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Vanessa (née Salmon) Lawson,

whose family owned the J. Lyons and Co. food and catering business. After graduating from Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University, Lawson started work as a book reviewer and restaurant critic, later becoming the deputy literary editor of The Sunday Times in 1986. She then embarked

upon a career as a freelance journalist, writing for a number of newspapers and magazines. In 1998, she brought out her first cook book, How to Eat, which sold 300,000 copies and became a best-seller. She wrote her second book in 2000, How to Be a Domestic Goddess, which won her the British Book Award for Author of the Year.

In 1999, she hosted her own cooking show series, Nigella Bites, on Channel 4, accompanied by another best-selling cook book. Nigella Bites won Lawson a Guild of Food Writers Award; her 2005 ITV daytime chat show Nigella was met with a negative critical reaction and was cancelled after attracting low ratings. She hosted the Food Network's Nigella Feasts in the United States in 2006, followed by a three-part BBC Two series, Nigella's Christmas Kitchen, in the UK, which led to the commissioning of Nigella Express on BBC Two in 2007. Her own cookware range, Living Kitchen, has a value of £7 million, and she has sold more than 3 million cook books worldwide to date.

born this monthnigella lawson ■ born january 6th, 1960

living legend

2000: British Book Award – Author of the Year for How to be a Domestic Goddess2001: WH Smith Book Award – How To Be A Domestic Goddess shortlisted for Lifestyle Book of the Year

2001: Guild of Food Writers – Television Broadcast of the Year for Nigella Bites2001: World Food Media Award – Gold Ladle Best Television Food Show for Nigella Bites

2002: WH Smith Book Awards – Lifestyle Book of the Year for Nigella Bites2007: World Food Media Award – Gold Ladle Best Food And/Or Drink Television Show for Nigella's Christmas Kitchen

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ContRIBUtoRs jan

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Dr. Nandita Shah is the Director of Sanctuary for Health and Reconnection to Animals and Nature (SHARAN), a NGO she founded in 2005 with the vision of helping people connect to animals and nature in order to heal themselves and the planet. Dr. Shah first became vegan because of ethical issues, saying she became a doctor to reduce suffering. When she became aware of the tremendous suffering that humans inflict on fellow creatures for food, she had to make the connection. A registered homeopath from the CMP Homeopathic Medical College in Mumbai, she spends most of her time in Auroville exhorting people to turn to veganism to live a healthier lifestyle.

Backed by a bachelor’s degree in commerce and a diploma in hotel management, Chef

Vaibhav Mahajan started his career at ITC’s Grand Maratha

Sheraton and later worked with Welcomgroup Management

Institute at Gurgaon. His love for creativity and resource

management lured him to his current profile as a food stylist

and consultant. A visiting faculty at two professional

schools of photography, including Pune’s Bharati

Vidyapeeth, Vaibhav also hosts a cookery show called ‘Roti N Rice’ on Zee Khana Khazana,

where his emphasis is on the two basic staples of our everyday meal and how we can change their role in our menus. With over a decade of experience in culinary

operations, he recently started Castor Sugar, adding a new dimension to his culinary

repertoire.

Indrayani Pawar has done her post graduation in Dietetics and Applied Nutrition from Mumbai’s

Nirmala Niketan College and is a certified diabetes educator as well as an ISO 22000:2005 certified

food safety management auditor. Currently working as Team Leader Dietician with Hinduja Healthcare

Surgical, she often imparts lectures on the importance of weight loss and management as well

as healthy eating habits for weight-loss program patients. She gives some basic pointers on how people can go the vegan way without too many

hiccups.

Becky Balderstone lives, sleeps and breathes the adage ‘you are what you eat’. Moving from the UK to UAE in 2006, she worked as a marketing professional for consumer electronics and FMCG brands. She noticed that though locally produced, organic food was readily available at UAE farms, there were few retail channels to bring it to the masses. Thus, Ripe was born in 2011 with ‘seasonal veggie box’ deliveries prepared from one of Becky’s farms. Soon, she grew it into a successful retail brand running four weekly farmers markets, a retail and online store in Dubai, as well as deliveries of fresh, organic fruit, vegetables and other organic products across the UAE.


Gurgaon is no strang-er to opulent fine dining restaurants, magnificent bars or menus that cover the

globe, so then why would Sandy’s Cocktails & Kitchen at Gurgaon stand out? Well, for quite a few reasons. Sandy’s is both opulent and cozy, almost like an affluent living room, considering there are Mixologist and Owner Sandy’s

family pictures on the wall. Sandy’s has an alfresco garden space that’s ideal for winter BBQs and home to a herb garden and this ‘speakeasy’ is sprawled across two stories with a trailing bar in the basement. If you wish to dine then choose the ground floor; it’s comfortable and the window wall front has a view of one of the few peaceful streets of the city but if you wish to tank up then head to the basement and park yourself on a bar stool!

PeoPLe WHo CAReAnother differentiating factor for this bar would be the fact that it places lot of emphasis on food. The bread basket on the table suggested a healthy bent of mind and when we spoke to Chef Karanveer he offered us EVOO instead of butter. Wholegrain breads and EVOO suit me fine but please don’t scrimp on the recipe to justify a cause.

The Tom Yum (INR 410 – Prawn) had a serious kick and the Tri-ple Soy Infused Forest Mushroom Cappuccino (INR 390) had a lovely earthy heartiness, thankfully with-out any button mushrooms! The salads and starters were true game changers though and I suggest you indulge in the Burrata Fatta En

The bread basket on the table suggested a healthy bent of mind and when we spoke to Chef Karanveer he offered us EVOO instead of butter.

The bar counter at Sandy's

Supper at Sandy's

restaurant review

parul pratap shirazi / gurgaon

Head to Sandy's at Gurgaon for the food first, and then the cocktails. An ideal day would mean a meal upstairs

and a night of jazz by the bar downstairs!

sandy's,

gurgaon


Casa (INR 395). This fresh, Italian cheese is mozzarella infused with cream and ought to be a cloud of delicious dairy, which it was. I asked for the Salmon Gravalax (INR 475) because that’s very telling of a kitchen. It was perfectly cured salmon albeit thickly sliced for my liking, but all the frills of capers, sour cream and dill were in place and much appreciated.

A BIt oF eVeRYtHInGIn order to sample the massive menu as fairly as possible, Chef Karanveer graciously made a platter for us. The Mezze (INR 399) included falafel which was round though I like them flat; more surface area to make them crisp, mini pitas with zaa’tar and paprika which were addictive. The Frutti de Mare (INR 410) came in a fryer basket and included river sole, prawns and squid coated with semolina and fried perfectly, so that they were crunchy but not oily.

I could have had more of these. Between the Thai Cakes (INR 410)

and Chicken Shish Touk (INR 410), I enjoyed the cakes the most. Chef had the condiment pat down with a mint and a Tahini dip that com-plemented them very well.

The Shish Touk is mainly for those who prefer chicken when they eat out – we aren’t one of those people! Do note the plating and service, it’s very impressive and ever so often meals like these don’t measure up in taste and flavour but this one surely did!

An eLABoRAte sPReADOur main course was one elaborate spread, very good portions for very good price points. From a chef ’s perspective I was most concerned with how he managed to cost these! Between the two of us we had the Saltimbocca (INR 625), veal cooked in a wrap of black for-est ham with a delicate flavour of sage and served with a side of fan-tastic fondant potatoes. Sandy’s did ample justice to all of it’s nuances; the meat was juicy and cooked perfectly and the ham added just a bit of texture to every bite.

Then came the Sous-Vide of Pork Belly (INR 725), very reminiscent of Delhi’s fine dining Bistros. I loved the crackle and the meat to fat proportions made every bite moist and delicious.

We completed our meal with a delightful portion of New Age Tira-misu (INR 350). The key as I could taste was infusing the mascarpone with a shot of espresso and that made all the difference! Head to Sandy’s for the food first and then the cocktails. An ideal day would mean a meal upstairs and a night of jazz by the bar downstairs! ■

Price: INR 2500++ (Meal for two)

AddreSS: 388 SCO, Sec 29, Near Iffco Chowk Metro Station, Gurgaon

PhoneS: 0 98110 06904

The chef's Platter at Sandy's

4/5

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sandy's,

gurgaon


Something New This Season

restaurant review

parul pratap shirazi / gurgaon

Some kitchens are like old cultures, timeless, cozy and best left unchanged! For me both ‘Dum Pukht’ and ‘Bukhara’ fall in that

category, which is why their menus haven’t been changed much in decades. I consider ‘Dakshin’ and ‘Pan Asian’ in the same stead but in their cases I am so glad the menus are tweaked ever so often!

under the supervision of Chef Na-kamura, Pan Asian stands as one of the most iconic Asian kitchens in the city and it only gets better. The fact that they keep it dynamic doesn’t take away from its time-lessness, it adds a whole new di-mension. I’m deeply fond of Asian food; it’s delicate yet robust, light yet satisfying and most of there is a fragrance-flavour play that can be extraordinary when done right!

tRIeD A FeW, LIKeD tHeM ALLOf the new dishes on the Pan

Asian menu, we tasted a few yet enjoyed them all. From the Best of Asia collection, we loved the Wasa-bi Prawns (INR 1350), creamy and rich with just the ideal kick of wasabi. This is perfect for those of you who don’t appreciate wasabi with sushi, like myself. The flavour balances the sweetness of fresh prawns and is actually very pleas-ing. The size of the prawns was impressive but then that’s a given with a kitchen like this.

Vegetarians take heed, there is an equally exciting starter for you to indulge in, the Age-Dashi Tofu

Under the expert supervision of Chef

Nakamura, Pan Asian stands as one of the most iconic Asian kitchens in the city and it only gets better.

If you ever thought tofu is bland, then you haven’t tried it with frills; frills like radish or even ginger for that matter, what a burst of flavour!


(INR 800) – deep fried, fluffy tofu, steeped in light soy sauce and flavoured with ginger and white radish. If you ever thought tofu is bland, then you haven’t tried it with frills; frills like radish or even ginger for that matter, what a burst of flavour!

The soup that proceeded to ar-rive was by far one of the finest in seafood preps I have enjoyed in a long time. The Paok Teak (INR 695), was a mix of seafood with basil and lemon leaf, simple and fragrant with the essence of the sea. I enjoyed how the basil cooled off the heat that accompanies most Thai soups.

PRettY AnD tAstYOur main course was a medley from Asian kitchens; what tasted

like hearty home preparations with the finesse of a starred kitchen. The Kai Phad King, (INR 950), or Thai style chicken in ginger with black fungus, was perfect with a side of Stir Fried Long Beans with Minced Mushrooms (INR 800) and Prawn Glass Noodles (INR 900). Crunchy long beans with

the earthiness of mushrooms and a strong flavour of ginger in the chicken only added to the seafood-y delight that were the noodles. I prefer udon but glass noodles are so much lighter; you can eat better if the gravies are rich as these accompaniments were.One unusual component of the meal came in the form of Olive Fried Chicken Rice (INR 600) and made me wonder if it was Chinese olives they used. Apparently so, because though both Chinese and European olives are terribly tart off the tree, once cured, Chinese olives end up quite delicate with a distinct olive flavour and to my surprise they added a lovely gentle tanginess to the rice.

This is best enjoyed with an equal-ly delicate Steamed Sea Bass topped

with preserved vegetables (INR 1400). It helps keep the integrity of both dishes and all the flavours stay apparent. Note the flakiness of the sea bass when you try this – it’s such supreme freshness, I would probably compare sea bass any-where else I order it, with this one!

any MoRe AsIAn DesseRts?The dessert in the offing was Pan Asian Fantasy Platter, small bites of handcrafted Asian sweet delica-cies but after a meal like this all we could manage was a small portion of the Opera Torte. Honestly, con-sidering the efforts that have gone into the new additions I would love to see a bit more of Asia in the desserts as well.

Perhaps with a bit of Japanese Wagashi, Dango or Daifuku, or a touch of Korea and some Hotteok, because this is one restaurant that can certainly pull it off. I do plan to go back for the rest of this menu, especially the Double Cooked Pork with Black Bean Sauce and my all time favourite Asian meal, a heart warming bowl of Ramen! ■


AddreSS: Village Dadu, Tehsil Tauru, Manesar NH-8, Gurgaon - 122105

PhoneS: 01267 285500

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restaurant review

natasha ali / bangalore

My one kvetch with food festivals, generally, is the rather short du-ration they’re around for. A week to ten days, and poof, gone! I do understand that sometimes guest

chefs are flown in, that the idea behind the festival is to liven things up at the eatery in question, and so on. But given the amount of thought, time and prepara-tion that goes into creating a food festival, I still can’t help but wish that energy was not expended for so short a period.

So, when the Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield an-nounced a fest that would take place on a weekly basis (on Wednesday nights), but continue for a couple months or more, I said a small “yay” and trotted over on the very first week in November.

M Cafe, where part of this festival called Streat Kitch-en was hosted had undergone a complete transfor-mation. You would be forgiven for thinking you had walked into a carnival with the colorful wooden carts, hand painted kettles and tiffin carriers and other cute decorations with a hint of kitsch. There were some specially designed placemats featuring an auto rick-shaw, Bollywood actors, etc, as well as Bollywood music piping in.

A variety of street food (hence Streat – get it?) from across India are on offer at each cart, from chaats to dosas to kebabs to biryanis. This is, of course, in addition to the regular buffet offerings set up indoors at the cafe (we desisted from anything other than the dessert section, past experience telling me that I would then never be able to try all the festival offer-ings).

The festivities at the Streat Kitchen food festival at Bengaluru Marriott Hotel

Whitefield were conducted outdoors, where the entire area is transformed into a fair, with wooden carts, colorful, hand painted kettles and decorations and a

carnival atmosphere. A variety of street food (hence Streat - get it?) from across

India are on offer at each cart, from chaats to dosas to kebabs to biryanis.

Streat Kitchen Food Festival


FUn ACCentsThe cart we seated ourselves was next to the bar. Apart from Indian mocktails, there were three spe-cially crafted cocktails - one that was more like milkshake, a Bacardi spiked Nimbu Paani that we liked and Vodka Shots with Rasgulla! In-stead of the sugar syrup, these large babies were served in vodka. I am always leery of mixing my flavors and Indianized Western desserts and vice-versa, but this hit the spot and I went back for seconds.

I love chaats and I headed to those counters, but my dining compan-ion was all about the meat offer-ings and dived into the kebabs and fish. A round of Sev Puri done, we moved to Pav Bhaji and Kheema Pav. The former was blah, but the latter was really good, with the crisp edged, buttery pav holding together minced meat and onion and fixings.

I also liked the Ragda Patties that came hot off the giant tawas the chefs were handling. In fact, loved that everything we ate and drank was getting prepared right in front of us. The skewers section had paneer which we declined and headed straight across to the very delectable Gosht Gilawat Tikkis served with Ulta Tawa Parathas. This was the highlight dish of the night – the parathas with the delicate hint of rose water and the meltingly soft and perfect kebabs – we feasted on these!

WHAt to PICK and notThere were also momos, chilli paneer and chilli chicken which we didn’t get around to trying – the kebabs kept us quite occupied, and having spied jalebis being made fresh, I knew to save space for desserts. Though actually, the best dessert of the night turned out to be something I had never eaten before: Gadbad - fruits, fresh and dried, ice cream, syrup – we start-ed with a shared portion and went back for another.

The food overall was nice, if not brilliant, the atmosphere really fun, and the weather so perfect to enjoy an outdoor meal. So, if you’re look-ing for something to do to chase away the mid-week blues, head over to M Cafe and enjoy! ■

Price: INR 1450++ (Per person)

AddreSS: M Cafe, Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield, 8th Road, Plot No 75, EPIP Area, Whitefield , Bengaluru - 560 066PhoneS: 080 49435000

3/5“In the Vodka Shots

with Rasgulla instead of the

sugar syrup, the large rasgullas were served in

vodka.

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restaurant review

natasha ali / bangalore

When I started writing this column, I realized that the Bengali influ-ences in my life have continually increased over the past few years. Thanks to a dear friend who grew

up in Calcutta (now Kolkata), I was initiated into the delights that Bengali a.k.a. Bong food has to offer a couple years ago.

Added to this is the fact that I worked with a Bong boss and friends around me. Plus, a number of media folk and chefs I interact with happen to be of Bengali origin; so I guess when the Alila Hotel invited us to a showcase of their new menu at the Tiffin Room, I shouldn’t have been surprised that the Indian dishes we tried had a Bengali touch, given that their Execu-tive Chef is Suvarnajan Banerjee.

The hotel’s and the chef ’s focus is the Farm-to-Table concept, where food is cooked using fresh, organic, locally sourced ingredients, minimizing transpor-

tation of produce. This reduces one’s eco-footprint, making it an environmentally friendly choice.

WHo sAID eLeGAnCe CAn’t Be CoMFoRtABLe?Along with a couple of other food writer pals enfamille, a delightful evening was spent at theTiffin Room, Alila’s signature restaurant. The space is such that it lends itself to an elegant meal while still allowing for the kids in the group to run around and spread their wings. With rough hewed wood tables, metal statuary and glass and open spaces galore, the restaurant has a modern feel, as indeed, does the entire hotel.

Now for the main event, the food! We began with a starter that was just about perfect in every way: taste,

The Tiffin Room at Alila in Bangalore has revamped the menu, with the concept of farm-to-table at the heart of it. Be prepared to see some not-so-popular ingredients grab the spotlight in ways

you would not have imagined.

Tiffin's Got A New Menu!


presentation, look and feel – the Beetroot Carpaccio (INR 450), baked with thyme, with a pome-granate emulsion and goat cheese and pickled shallots. Beetroot is not a favored vegetable, perhaps because in Indian cooking it’s not played around with a lot. But as carpaccio, it was spot on, and the acidity of the goat cheese and pomegranate cut into the vegeta-ble’s innate sweetness.

The next starter to make its ap-pearance was Duck Breast (INR 650), served warm with red onion marmalade and glazed vegetables. Duck is something you just don’t see enough of on menus in India as far as I’m concerned and I was delighted to see that this prep was particularly noteworthy. The duck was cooked perfectly and had none of the fattiness and gami-ness that this protein is sometimes disavowed for. The third starter was Barbequed Prawns (INR 700), which was not particularly memo-rable and hence it makes no sense to write about it.

BoLD FooD CHoICesWe sampled three of the entrees from the menu hoping to cover all bases – vegetarian, chicken and fish. The vegetarian dish consisted of Parwal or pointed gourd (INR 550). This was my first experience with this vegetable and I think it is a bold move by Tiffin to use an un-usual and not particularly popular veggie as the star of a main course! Stuffed and served with a classic Bong mustard sauce on a bed of sweetish ghee rice, it was the rice that I liked better, especially when scooped with the mustard sauce. One of our table, who grew up eat-ing this dish, did say it was quite as good as his mamma makes – high praise, no?

Next up was Grilled Breast of Chicken (INR 650) with manda-rin thyme jus on a bed of creamy starchy saffron rice. This was my favorite amongst the mains. We rounded off the selection with the Calcutta Sea Bass (INR 750),

which had bhetki wrapped in a banana leaf with Bengali spices and rice.

Our meal ended with a sampler of desserts. I was super excited to see a version of my favorite Ben-gali dessert (either an ice cream or yogurt base with a topping of jaggery) – Baked Yogurt (INR 400) with an infusion of dark palm jaggery. The other dessert was a Bitter Chocolate Torte (INR 400) accompanied by a lovely caramel ice cream. No one at the table was able to finish dessert in its entirety, but it certainly put the finishing touch on a meal of fresh food with light flavors. ■


AddreSS: Alila Bangalore, 100/6, Varthur Main Road, Whitefield, Bangalore

PhoneS: 080 71544444

3/5

“It is a bold move by Tiffin to use an unusual and not particularly popular veggie like the Parhwal

(pointed gourd) as the star of a main

course!

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restaurant review

Vinita bhatia / mumbai

… but not to serve! That is the unfortunate status quo

of Brewbot Eatery and Bar at Mumbai, the latest microbrewery to open in

the city.

License To Brew…

It takes a religious person to open a microbrewery in Mumbai. After all, one needs to pray fervently to every deity known to be able to get

the requisite licenses to brew and serve beer. This is the quandary that Ketan Gohel, Anand Morwani and Ansh Seth of Brewbot Eatery and Bar find themselves in, as they await licenses to brew their own

beer.

Brewbot’s décor has an industrial feel to it, given the steel mesh stairs to the first floor, exposed brick walls and the sight of the large stainless steels tanks that will hold the different brews. There is a long bar at one of the lower levels with ban-quette seating on the opposite side and a few island tables with high chairs separating the two.

The first question that pops to mind is who will visit a bar for the food?

Seeing the number of people who were there on a Wednesday night, apparently there are many takers! Brewbot does not have your regu-lar bar grub but neither is it so pre-tentious that you will be confused whether you are in a microbrewery or a hi-glam restaurant. not ReGULAR BAR FooDSince the house brews were out of the question, we decided on beer cocktails. The Beer Passion (INR 500) is a hit with the ladies, be-cause of the sweet taste of passion fruit juice and peach schnapps which masks the flavor of King-fisher beer. The Beer ’n’ Margarita (INR 750) has an interesting pre-sentation. It comes in a pint glass with an upturned Corona bottle swimming in a cocktail comprising tequila, Triple Sec and fresh lime juice. As you sip the drink, you can pull the Corona pint to release the beer to customize the booziness in the drink.

The food menu has salads, burgers, pizzas, sliders, sandwiches, grills and then there are mussels pre-pared three ways as well as fondue. To create a distinction, Anand, who manages the kitchen at the establishment, uses produce that is grown in his own farm on the outskirts of Lonavala.

brew

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The inclusion of farm fresh pro-duce is evident when you take one bite of the rocket leaves in the Roasted Beet & Goat Cheese Salad With Caramelized Walnuts (INR 445). The sharp taste of the leaves has a peppery taste that is usually missing in the limp rocket leaves imported from other countries. sLIDeRs AnD MoReThe pulled pork slivers in the Pulled Pork Sliders (INR 425) literally fall out of the house-baked brioche buns. The homemade bar-beque sauce is slightly sweet, but the pickled gherkin pieces present the perfect argument to it.

You will either love the blue cheese marinated patty or hate it, but there is no way you can ignore its strong presence in the Tenderloin

Sliders (INR 395). It is easy to con-fuse the Chimichurri sauce in the Cottage Cheese Sliders (INR 295) with pesto, but these technicalities aside, it is a great marinade for the cottage cheese patties. The rocket leaves tossed in honey mustard sauce and Sriracha aioli play a sweet-spicy tango that is music to the tastebuds.

It does not get more buttery than the lightly spiced Holland Pork

Chops (INR 995), served with Béarnaise sauce and creamy potato mash. Served medium rare, un-less you specify otherwise, cutting through can be a task even with a sharpened steak knife.

The good thing about the Barbeque Chicken Pizza (INR 475), other than the very crispy thin crust, is the fact that it is not over-compli-cated with too many ingredients vying for attention. It has pieces of smoked chicken, little bell peppers and jalapeno slices on a base of barbeque sauce – just what you would like to order if you were having a drinking fest with bud-dies.

While digging into the sinful Chocolate Fondant (INR 350), we realized we could easily have

made it our entire meal if we had ordered two portions. Throw in the Vanilla Soufflé & Caramelized Banana (INR 315), and you would be excused if you choose to dismiss the entire food menu!

Brewbot might have a long wait before it actually lives up to its original purpose as a microbrew-ery. However, its glass is half full, rather than half empty, which after all, is a win for any bar. ■

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AddreSS: G-01 & 101, Morya Landmark 1, Off New Link Road, Andheri (West), Mumbai - 400051

PhoneS: 022 4003 4448 / 4449

3/5

“Brewbot does not have your

regular bar grub but neither is it so pretentious that you will be

confused whether you are in a

microbrewery or a hi-glam restaurant.

brew

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um

bai


restaurant review

Skky at Ramada Powai Hotel & Convention Centre is not very popu-lar in Mumbai, given its remote location. Now in

its third year of operations, Rama-da is promoting Skky, touting it as Mumbai’s first official rooftop restro-lounge and bar. That might be a far-fetched claim, since it is on the 2nd floor of the hotel, but it does have an interesting layout.The tables at this open-air restau-rant are separated by a neat net-work of water islands with mid-sized frangipani plants acting as screens. These give guests privacy without obscuring the view of the bar on one end or the show kitchen on the other end. Get WItH tHe PRoGRAMSkky has also succumbed to the fad of offering the menu on a tablet where you can view thumbnail images of the food with a brief description about it. We ordered a Strawberry Basil Vodkatini (INR 450) and the muddled basil, with fresh strawberry puree, Fraise de Bois and vodka proved that we made the right choice.

On perusing the menu in detail it was obvious that the restaurant

specializes in pan-Asian cuisine from Thailand, Japan, Chinese and Malaysia. It has started offering some Indian appetisers as well as pizza due to popular demand.

There is even a Jain section in the menu as well, another feature that is becoming omnipresent these days.

After a chat with Chef de Cuisine, Simanchal Sabat we started our meal with the Char Siev Chicken Bao (INR 495) and Crystal Chicken Dim Sum (INR 495), which are served in pretty bamboo steamers. The round, smooth textured and

Vinita bhatia / mumbai

Stumbling upon a restaurant that does not cut corners in the preparation or execution of dishes with exotic ingredients is always fun. Realising that a meal at this establishment does not cost the sky makes this find

a veritable treasure.

Skky Is Not The Limit

A view of Skyy

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fluffy Bao stuffed with a mildly spiced chicken filling won us over as did the dim sum with the reas-suringly pliant covering and the chicken pieces cooked to perfec-tion within. sAY Yes to sUsHIWe strongly recommend you to try the assorted sushi platter, served with a giant whorl of pickled gin-ger slivers, though the tiny glob of wasabi was too dry. The California Rolls (NR 495) with their delec-table fish roe eggs are so perfect in their conception and execution you just can’t stop at one.

The Sake Nigiri Sushi lacked the subtle taste of the rice wine and The Hamachi Nigiri Sushi also lacked the umami taste. But then again only the really discerning can spot these deficiencies and it doesn't distract from the otherwise delicately flavored preparations.

You need to be ravenously hungry to do justice to the Grilled Salmon with Black Bean Sauce (INR 995), especially after tasting various dim sums and sushi. It has a whopping 220gm salmon fillet with a slightly crispy crust. However, the slightly overcooked fish had turned flaky, which is sacrilegious for some-thing as delicate, and expensive, as salmon. JUMPstARt tHe APPetIteOur appetite was nonexistent at this point in time, and we ordered Wok Tossed Veg Soba Noodles (INR 375) merely to be polite to the chef. But a bite of the buckwheat noodles tossed with Chinese cab-bage, assorted veggies and cashews kickstarted our moribund appetite and we managed to polish it off our plates.

For desserts, we had just a spoon-ful of the Paan Ice Cream and

Dulche De Leche Ice Cream. The latter tasted like something that had come out of a condensed milk can, but the Paan Ice Cream with chunks of gulkhand tasted like molten paan.

What we liked about Skky, other than the sense of vastness and expansiveness, is that the service is discreet, and the food has a whole-someness to it. The best part is that even the prices are not over the top so you might be tempted to return to Skky, despite its location. ■

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AddreSS: Ramada Powai Convention Center, 16/17, Paspoli, Saki Vihar Road, Powai, Mumbai

PhoneS: 022 30151175

4/5

“The California Rolls

with their delectable fish roe eggs are so perfect in their conception and

execution you just can’t stop at one.

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Sake nigiri Sushi at Skyy


restaurant review

Tucked away in a cor-ner of Al Wasl Road is what has emerged as one of Dubai’s more popular culinary

hotspots, the Pantry Café. The first impression one gets on entering this café is the feeling of having stumbled upon a quaint New York café. It radiates vintage charm with some contemporary touches; for instance, exposed brick walls, erratic chalky scribbles across the walls and exposed ceilings.

On display is an enticing patisserie section, supplied by Hey Sugar

Bakeshop. You can also grab a peek at a wide range of deli products including cured meats, oils, jams, sauces, and exclusive cheeses. Given the balmy winter in Dubai, my companion and I decided to lunch out at the restaurant’s al fres-co area, soaking up the pleasant sunrays before it gets turned up at a searing blast a couple of months later.

MoDeRn AnD DeCADentPantry Café’s menu, presented on an Apple iPad, is divided into two sections. There is the breakfast segment available until noon on weekdays and 2pm on weekends, and all-day dining options, boast-ing of organic eggs, herbs and veggies from regional suppliers. There is a special kids menu, so you know that the little ones are not ignored when you are dining at Pantry Café.

Before you think that the eatery has basic prosaic fare, let us dis-pel that notion. Some items on the menu include far-from-usual and bordering on decadent items, especially for a café, like the Wagyu beef, Foie Gras, truffle and lobster. Of course, they come with a price to match their upscale culinary status, but indulgence comes with a price tag anyway.

sachi Kumar / dubai

The combination of style and culinary chic is what transforms Pantry Café into a gourmet eatery. It also has regular fare that

will satiate those who want to grab a quick bite, but would rather skip the run-of-the-mill fast food

cafés.

Pantry Café: Artless Sophistication

The interiors at Pantry cafe

pantr

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, dubai


We kick started our meal with a Grilled Halloumi Salad (AED 42) and Polenta chips. The salad was a splendid mix of various lettuce, cherry tomatoes, fresh oranges, black olives and pine nuts dressed in balsamic vinegar. However, the taste of Halloumi was a lit-tle overpowering over the other ingredients. The polenta chips, wonderfully crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside with spicy herbed salt, were a definite winner for me.

MInIAtURe BoMBsSkeptical about which gourmet burger to order for main course, we settled on sampling the Slider Platter (AED 99), which had four options. Their diminutive sizes

notwithstanding, these sliders were akin to large bombs in small packages. While the Pulled Chick-en Slider, marinated and grilled in barbeque sauce, was run-of-the-mill, the Wagyu Slider had an intense flavor which elevated the wonderful texture of the meat.

The Quinoa Slider however stole the limelight from its two peers. The patty of organic quinoa, beans, organic rolled oats, vegetables and spices has a high protein and fiber content. Its health quotient aside, it had a hearty flavor that piqued our interest and our appetite.

My companion chose to customize her own Pizza (AED 40) with top-pings of grilled chicken, baby spin-

ach, cherry tomatoes and smoked mozzarella. The base is fermented for 12 hours and then lathered with in-house tomato sauce before it is tossed into a wood fired oven. This heightened our anticipation and the first bite of the pizza did not disappoint.

While Al Wasl Road area is chock-a-block with various eateries, it is easy to see why the Pantry Café has managed to get its finger firmly on the pulse of food lovers in Dubai. The open kitchen with wood fired oven creates just the right vibe to allow diners to have a great dining experience with unobtrusive atten-tion from the staff. ■

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Price: AED 100(Meal for two)

AddreSS: Wasl Square, Dubai, United Arab Emirates - 9623

PhoneS: +971 43883868

4/5

“The open kitchen with wood fired

pizzeria creates just the right vibe to allow diners to have a great

dining experience with unobtrusive

attention from the staff.

Polenta chips with spicy herbed salt

pantr

y cafe

, dubai


restaurant review

There is more to Spain than bullfighting, foot-ball, beaches, wine, beautiful women and good food. Strike that.

It has great food that will send you to gastronomic heaven, especially if you know the place that serves as close to authentic Spanish cuisine as possible.

In search of culinary nirvana, we visited Casa De Tapas located in the Dubai Creek Yacht Club. As you enter, the sight of all the glass can be a little disconcerting, though the sense of spaciousness soon puts one at ease.

The restaurant has tried to recre-ate Spain with overhanging vines and traditional art hanging on the walls, again inspired by traditional Spanish households with their use of dark woods, mosaic tiles and hand painted ceramic plates fixed on the ceiling. Don’t worry about these falling on your head while dining; we were assured that they were tightly glued!

Let’s eat some tapasWith a name like Casa De Tapas, there was no way we could not begin our meal with just that. We began with the Flamenquin Relleno De Vegetables Asado (AED 25). This classic dish from Cordoba, also known as the Roll Saint Jacob, has a breaded roll stuffed with fried chicken and roasted vege-tables. Topped with Manchego cheese, this tapas was an absolute delight; not only to the stomachs, but also to the eyes.

sachi Kumar / dubai

Casa De Tapas restaurant is constructed on the

lines of traditional rustic bodega style eateries found in the alleys of

Madrid. This quaint eatery features Spanish dishes

from Andalucia all the way to Galicia, and despite its name, features a lot more

than tapas.

Casa De Tapas – A Slice Of

Espania

dishes are distinctively presented

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We then tried the Canelones Vege-tarianos De Espinacas A La Cata-lana, which was created specially for Christmas. I indulged in this vegetarian cannelloni with fresh spinach, raisins and pine nuts wholeheartedly, despite not being a spinach-lover. The pine nuts added a nice crunch and sweet touch to the cannelloni, making the dish burst with flavors, without any ingredient overpowering the other. Our only grouse was that the can-nelloni was a little undercooked.

I am glad my companion urged me to try the Rape En Salsa Mari-nera Con Almejas Y Gambas (AED 165), because this monkfish with prawns in a rustic fisherman sauce was simply divine. The fish had a nice little crust on the top and the sauce had the right amount of earthiness courtesy the roasted red

peppers, almond paste mixed with olive oil and vinegar.

DesseRts tHAt tHRILLedPerusing the menu, we saw that Casa De Tapas has some exquisite desserts. Shoving away thoughts of sweating it out in the gym the next day, we indulged in the Churros De Cacao Con Chocolate Blanco (AED 28). Churros are to Spaniards what donuts are to Americans – the go-to dessert anytime of the day. Casa De Tapas has mastered the art of making this crunchily delicious dessert.

On our server’s suggestion we tried the Volcan De Chocolate Al Per-fume De Valencia Con Helado De Cerezas Del Jerte (AED 40), a hot pudding with a molten middle. It scored a perfect ten on our person-al scoreboards, given the pairing

of chocolate fondant with a tangy cherry ice cream.

For a real taste of Spain, visit Casa de Tapas, which does all things Spanish, right from paellas to sangrias. Fridays are even better, as the place comes alive with live bands playing while flamenco dancers give diners a feeling of being in Spain. If you are in an in-dulgent mood, then round off your meal by visiting Cielo, the stun-ning rooftop bar and lounge! We decided to do exactly that during our next visit. ■

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Price: AED 200(Meal for two)

AddreSS: Dubai Creek Yacht Club, Port Saeed, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

PhoneS: +971 42956000

4/5

“I am glad my

companion urged me to try the Rape En Salsa Marinera Con Almejas Y Gambas,

because this monkfish with prawns in a rustic fisherman's sauce was simply

divine.

Assorted tapas platters

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dubai


Of New Year’s Resolutions and

Courage

◉ CoVeR stoRY Vinita Bhatia


Will you be able to stick to your New Year’s resolutions long after the initial euphoria of deciding them, and perhaps even starting on some of them, passes? If eating right

is one of your resolutions, well, we can help!

It is the same story year after year. You make a list of reso-lutions for the New Year and topping this list is adopting a healthier lifestyle. In all

probability this includes eating right, shunning junk food, work-ing out and keeping a close eye on the needle of the weighing scale. You probably even get started on some of these enthusiastically, but then slowly find yourself faltering. Either work or family pressures get in the way, or you just become plain lazy or disinterested.

Sticking to diet-related resolutions can be tough, we know. After all, junk food is so much tastier, and convenient to get hold of. So what if they can cause some serious damage to the body including obesity, lifestyle diseases, high cho-lesterol, chances of heart disease, diabetes or sleep apnea? Most feel they will not suffer from these problems, at least not this year.

Well, here’s a wakeup call. These ailments can afflict you, even if you have an active lifestyle. So

why not spare a thought for those hardworking vital organs and start eating right? In this issue, we have got some experts who can help you ease your way into healthy eating. Read through some of the various existential choices you can make that will help you lose weight and gain some vigour. You can thank us at the end of the year, when you blow air kisses to the fitter, im-proved you in the mirror!


◉ CoVeR stoRY new year resolutions

#1 Vegan Diet: Mind Over MatterShifting from a meat-based diet to a vegan is more about training your mind and your taste buds to accept the transition, than it is about re-placing ingredients on your plate.

Often people confuse vegan with vege-tarianism but the two are very dif-ferent. Vegetarians

abstain from animal meat in any form, while vegans are vegetarians who abstain from dairy products and any animal-based ingredient, including honey.

People presume that going vegan is well nigh impossible. Sure, it needs lot of willpower, but an increasing number of folks are going the veg-an way, convinced it’s a healthier lifestyle choice.

Studies like the ‘Health Effects of Vegan Diets’ published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2009 state that vegan diets are free of cholesterol and generally low in saturated fat. A vegan diet makes it easy to con-form to measures to reduce the risk of major chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer.

Indrayani Pawar, Team Leader Dietician at Mumbai’s Hinduja Healthcare Surgical, has found that

BAIGAN SHIKĀB{ I N G R E D I E N T S }

500 gm soya paneer, crumbled500 ml soya milkMustard oil, to fry

500gm brinjal cut into wedges1 large pinch of asafetida

1 tsp cumin seeds2 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped2 tbsp green chilies, chopped1 tbsp Deghi Mirch powder

1 tsp red chili powder2 tbsp coriander powder

1 tsp turmeric powder1 cup bean curd, whisked

1 ½ cup tomato puree1 cup waterSalt, to taste

1 Kashmiri garam masala powder¼ cup mint leaves, chopped

1 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped

For GarnishMint sprigs

4 green chillies, slit halfway1 tbsp ginger juliennes, soaked in

lemon juice

{ M E T H O D }

1. Soak paneer in soya milk for half hour to soften it. Drain milk and reserve the crumbled paneer.

2. Heat mustard oil in a kadhai and fry brinjals till golden brown. Drain and set aside.

3. Heat 2 tbsp of the mustard oil in another sauce-pan. Add asafoetida and cumin seeds and sauté till cumin seeds crackle.

4. Add ginger and green chilies; sauté for 2 minutes. Mix in chilly powders, turmeric and stir.

5. Add whisked curd and cook for 5-7 minutes.6. Add tomato puree and cook till the fat starts sur-

facing on top. Season with salt and stir.

7. Add the fried brinjals and paneer, with water. Stir and sprinkle garam masala powder on top. Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes on low heat.

8. Add mint and coriander; remove from heat.9. Garnish with mint, green chillies and ginger juli-

ennes.

Recipe and image courtesy: ITC Grand CholaPicture on opposite page

* Serves: 4 *


◉ CoVeR stoRY new year resolutionsitc g

rand c

Hola

Baingan Shikab

non-vegetarians complain that adapting to veganism plays havoc on their system. They feel irritable, depressed and weak – all natural symptoms of their bodies getting into detox mode once they stop eating meat and dairy products. “The foods these non-vegetarians consumed earlier were difficult for the body to digest easily and led to a buildup of waste and toxins. When they shift to veganism, the enzyme-rich food dislodges toxins from the colon wall. As these tox-ins enter the bloodstream, symp-toms like headaches, skin break outs, weakness, irritation, moodi-ness are observed,” she explains.

Though annoying, these are not worrisome concerns. The trick to avoid this is to inculcate a vegan diet gradually in one’s lifestyle.

tAKInG sMALL stePsAlong with the diet, one needs to change the frame of mind. Con-

centrate more on what you are adding to your diet, rather than what you are eliminating. “When converting from a non-vegetarian to a vegan diet, plan in advance and use substitutes. For example, soya can replace meat, tofu can replace paneer or peanut butter can replace dairy butter,” Indrayani suggests.

Start substituting one ingredient at a time and begin with simpler foods like milk. Try almond, soya or coconut milk instead of animal milk. Similarly, instead of eggs for breakfast, opt for fruits. Gradually, substitute chicken or mutton with tofu or soya nuggets, convincing your mind that these taste just like the real thing.

AVoID teMPtAtIonEat fruits, sprouts, nuts or soups throughout the day to curb your appetite. When you are not hun-

gry, you will not crave meat prod-ucts as much. While dining out, visit restaurants that offer vegan food, to avoid hiding behind a menu while your companions devour their steaks. Luckily, most Indian restaurants have many veg-etarian options that sync well with a vegan diet plan, so you just need the determination to stick to your choice.

Vegans with a sweet tooth can choose from chocolates made from carob, a plant based ingredient. There are desserts made from fruits and vegetables and in ab-sence of these, fall back on sweet tasting seasonal fruits.Shifting to a vegan lifestyle is not daunting. All you need is strength of mind, information about sourc-ing the right foodstuff and support from people around you. The payoff will definitely be worth this effort.



#2 Going Organic: Making it WorkSome consider going organic as a healthy lifestyle choice, while others dismiss it as just another fad for people with fat wallets. The rising consumption of organic products, especially foodstuff, is proving the latter wrong, as people wake up to the health and environment benefits of this fare.

Visit any supermar-ket and you will see shelves devoted to organic produce. You will also notice

that not too many people reach out to pick it, unsure whether the

comparative high prices are worth the expense.

Interestingly, the sale of organic products is growing the world over. According to FibL – Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, many countries, including Ger-many, Denmark and the uSA, registered 5–10 % growth in 2014. A YES Bank report released in 2012 estimated this business to be around INR 1,000 crore in India, which is growing at 30 to 40% an-nually. These are exciting figures, so what is making consumers, especially in urban cities, opt for

organic produce? One is the grow-ing awareness of the benefits of organic food for the human body as well as the environment.

WHY Go oRGAnIC“Produce grown organically is low-er in pesticides and contains lesser amount of chemicals like food additives, synthetic colors or fertil-izers,” explains Becky Balderstone, Founder of Ripe ME, a organic produce supplier in the united Arab Emirates. “Since it is chem-ical-free, it is fresher, healthier, tastier, more sustainable and more environmentally friendly than con-

Asian Greens Chili Bean Sauce{ I N G R E D I E N T S }

2 tbsp chili oil2 onions, chopped

5 -6 garlic cloves, sliced2 bird’s eye chilli, chopped

1 tbsp green chilli paste2 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp tomato ketchup1 tbsp chili bean paste

2 tbsp sesame oilSalt, to taste

750 gm assorted vegetables (zuc-chini, broccoli, carrot, baby corn, bell peppers, asparagus, shiitake mushroom, water chestnuts and

bok choy), blanched

{ M E T H O D }

1. Heat chilli oil in a wok. Add bird’s eye chili, garlic and green chili paste and toss well.2. Add oyster sauce, ketchup, chili bean paste, sesame oil and salt to make a sauce.3. Add the vegetables to the sauce and toss till they are well coated with the sauce.4. Check seasoning and take off heat.5. Serve hot.

Recipe courtesy: Trikaya, MumbaiPicture on opposite page

* Serves: 4 *



Asian vegetables being tossed

ventionally grown produce.” She might have a point there, because a study (PDF), led by researchers at united Kingdom’s Newcastle university found that organic food provides as many additional anti-oxidants as eating between one and two extra portions of fruits and vegetables per day.

Yet another study by Stanford uni-versity, which was released in 2012, noted that organic food has less pesticide residue and may reduce exposure to antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

While this is great news for those who are conscious about what they cook and eat, there is one problem that has hindered the widespread acceptance of organic produce – its high cost as compared to conven-tionally grown products.

HeAVY on tHe PoCKetBecky admits that world over, or-ganic food is relatively expensive. One reason for this is that farmers growing organic produce do not use artificial fertilizers or pesti-cides to fight insects and disease. Instead, they rely on natural pest treatments involving more labor intensive farming methods, in-creasing the cost of organic pro-duce.

Organic food is slightly expensive because it is still considered to be a niche lifestyle choice, rather than something one can include in their daily diet plan. Hence, it has not reached mass consumption levels. As more people start buying or-ganic produce, the scales of econ-omy will tip in its favor and bring down its prices.

Becky is confident of this happen-ing soon. “Once you have tasted organic produce with its fresh flavors, going back to regular food will not entice you,” she enthusi-astically adds. Luckily consumers can now explore a wider variety of organic produce in their local su-permarket, gourmet stores as well as farmers’ markets held in their city. This is increasing the aware-ness about the quality of these products, driving to an increase in consumption.

“ultimately, it depends on how much you are willing to invest, literally, for improving the quality of your life. An organic products lifestyle is not for everyone, but I would not go back to the chemi-cal-laden products anytime soon,’ vouches Divya Kankharia from Gurgaon.



#3 Gluten: Not a Dietary BogeymanIf you are suddenly seeing glu-ten-free food all around you, do not rub your eyes in disbelief. More people are cutting out this ingredi-ent from their diet believing that it is not essential for their systems anyway.

Gluten is suddenly all over the place. Restaurants are featuring gluten-free dishes on their

menus, bakers are stocking gluten free bread loaves and nutritionists are suggesting that people opt for a gluten-free lifestyle. Based on this,

is it surprising that people presume gluten to be the new-age Termina-tor of the dietary world.

However, Pune-based nutritionist Swati Javeri sets aside these no-tions and says that gluten is not the bogeyman it is made out to be – at least for those who do not suffer from Celiac disease. ‘Gluten is not harmful and cutting it from your diet will not necessarily mean that you will become healthier,” she states.

onLY FoR CeLIAC PAtIentsNot many know about Celiac

disease, an immunological condi-tion where a protein called gluten, commonly found in wheat, rye or barley, causes damage to the lining of the small intestine, impairing its ability to absorb nutrients. Due to this, the patients suffer from several health problems including malnutrition, anemia, diarrhea, indigestion, etc.

“Gluten intolerance is a fairly rare disease, and only those suffering from this condition are asked to forego gluten in their diet. Howev-er, the remainder of the population need not abstain from it, because it

Mediterranean LambMediterranean cuisine is said to be one of the healthiest in the world. And with good

reason too! The use of herbs and minimalistic ingredients make this a tasty and nutritious dish.

{ I N G R E D I E N T S }

¾ tsp dried rosemary ¼ tsp dried basil ½ tsp dried thyme

Salt and black pepper, to taste

4 lamb chops (each ¾ inch thick) 1 tbsp olive oil

¼ cup shallots, minced 1/3 cup aged balsamic vinegar

¾ cup chicken broth 1 tbsp butter

{ M E T H O D }

1. In a bowl or cup, mix together the rosemary, basil, thyme, salt and pepper.

2. Rub this mixture onto the lamb chops on both sides. Place them on a plate, cover and set aside for 15 minutes for the meat to absorb the flavors.

3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place lamb chops in the skillet, and cook for about 4 minutes on each side for medium rare, or continue to cook to your desired doneness.

4. Remove from the skillet, and keep warm on a serv-ing platter.

5. Add shallots to the skillet, and cook for a few min-utes, just until browned.

6. Stir in vinegar, scraping any bits of lamb from the bottom of the skillet, then stir in the chicken broth. Continue to cook and stir over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, until the sauce has reduced by half. If you don't, the sauce will be runny.

7. Remove from heat, and stir in the butter. Pour over the lamb chops, and serve with some sautéed vege-tables on the side.

Recipe by: Chef Roberto Boggio, Le Meridien PunePicture on Page 32

* Serves: 1 *Preparation: 20 minutes Cooking: 15 minutes


Pink Champagne Sorbet With Fresh Strawberries

Want to make a gluten-free treat? Try this velvety champagne sorbet with a burst of fresh-ness with and the tangy sweetness of strawberries.


For Champagne Sorbet200 ml water200 gm sugar

750 ml Moët et Chandon pink champagne

Juice of 1 lemon

For French Meringue4 egg whites

100 gm castor sugar100 gm icing sugar

For Chantilly Cream

120 gm whipping cream25 gm powdered sugar

For Strawberries Coulis100 gm powdered castor sugar

500 gm fresh strawberriesJuice of 1 ½ lemon

For Chantilly Cream

120 gm whipping cream25 gm powdered sugar

{ M E T H O D }

For Champagne Sorbet1. In a saucepan, bring the water and sugar to the

boil. 2. Leave to cool for 6 hours for maturing the sugar

syrup. 3. Add the sugar syrup to the pink Champagne and

lemon juice. Blend them well. 4. Churn this in an ice cream machine till frozen. This

could take anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes de-pending upon the ice cream machine.

For French Meringue1. Beat the egg whites either with a whisk or electric

blender, until soft peaks appear and it is foamy.2. Add in the castor sugar in 3 parts while beating

the egg whites. The egg whites should now start to form medium to hard peaks.

3. Mix the meringue with the icing sugar and transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a round pastry tip.

4. Preheat oven to 90°C. 5. Pipe balls of meringue onto a baking sheet lined

with baking parchment. 6. Gently sprinkle some icing sugar so that it doesn’t

crust. 7. Bake in a preheated oven for 1 hour. Take out of the

oven and remove from the paper. For Chantilly Cream1. Whip the cream until it is medium firm and clings

to the whisk without falling. 2. Add the powdered sugar. Refrigerate until required.

For Strawberry Coulis 1. Purée the strawberries (barring 6-8 strawberries)

in a food processor with a little lemon juice. 2. Add sugar to it and boil the mix till it reduces to ⅔rd

quantity and becomes a little thick in consistency. 3. Strain through a sieve and let it cool. To Serve1. Take chilled martini glasses. 2. Place some fresh half cut strawberries and me-

ringue. 3. Take an ice cream scooper or a spoon to make a

quenelle of the champagne sorbet. Place it on top of the strawberries.

4. Pipe some whipped cream around the sorbet and drizzle some strawberry coulis.

Recipe & Image Courtesy: Chef Sanjana Patel, La FoliePicture on Page 33

* Serves: 4 *Preparation: 30 minutes Cooking: 8 hours



Mediterranean Lamb

does not promote a healthy dietary lifestyle choice,” adds Swati.Before jumping the gun and opting for a gluten-free lifestyle, check with your doctor whether you need to go down this road. “Some of my clients ask me to chart out a gluten-free food chart because it will help them lose weight, which is not necessarily true,” Swati points out.

If you have been diagnosed with Celiac disease, then it pays to take a close look at the labels of food-stuff you are buying. Avoid pro-cessed food, because there could be traces of gluten within them. Stick to wholesome, organic fruits, vegetables, pulses, dairy or meat products.

One need not avoid all grains, and can substitute wheat, rye, semoli-

na or bulgur with quinoa, millet or other grains. It is best to work with a dietician who can create a nutritious diet plan, so that you do not miss out on important nutri-ents. Don’t let Celiac induce you to live like a hermit! All you need to do is be cautious about the ingredi-ents that go into your food, wheth-er you are eating at home or in a restaurant, and you can live life as normally as is possible.■


Pink champagne Sorbet With Fresh

Strawberries


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Vinita bhatia / mumbaiculinary maestro

“India’s travel and tourism market is rapidly growing and the need for qualified, operational management talent is growing with it”

- SONIA TARTAR, CEO, Les Roches WoRLdWide

The fast growing hospitality industry worldwide needs the right level of talent to ensure that customers have a memorable experience and identify with the brand.

Sonia Tartar, CeO, les Roches Worldwide, spoke to vinita Bhatia about how this premier Swiss hospitality institution helps students understand the basics of hotel

operations and gives them the opportunity to apply their acquired skills in a real world environment. After all, there are exciting opportunities for employment and professional growth not only in traditional hospitality industry areas, but also in the

expanded experience economy industry.


Vinita Bhatia (VB): What were some of the interesting experi-ences during your maiden trip to India?Sonia Tartar (ST): The purpose of my maiden visit was to strengthen our relationship with our various stakeholders, industry leaders, prospective students and members of the media. During the weeklong visit, I visited schools and met with media and industry leaders to understand the Indian perspec-tive on the fast growing hospitality industry. I also wanted to promote careers in hospitality management and contribute to the dialogue about the exciting opportunities for employment and professional growth not only in traditional hos-pitality industry areas, but also in the expanded experience economy industry.

VB: Is this interest in encourag-ing the traditional hospitality industry in India proportional to more students opting for this profession?ST: Les Roches Worldwide has

welcomed many Indian students over the course of its 60-year history and we are delighted to see enrolments from India developing very strongly over the past years. It is evident that India’s travel and tourism market is rapidly growing and the need for qualified, opera-tional management talent is grow-ing with it.

The Indian student delegation is now among the largest on campus and an important contributor to the school’s academic and social life. With our visit to Mumbai and Delhi, we wanted to acknowledge this contribution and try to learn more about the expectations of hospitality education in this di-verse and exciting country. Sadly, I did not have time to visit any hotel management institutes in the country. However, I got several invitations and I hope that I will be able to do so in my next trip to India.

VB: Why is it that Switzerland has emerged as the groundswell of hospitality management and education courses?ST: Due to its long-standing histo-ry as a tourism destination, Swit-zerland started educating talent for the booming hotel industry at a very early stage. Over time, Swiss institutions have perfected the art of hospitality management educa-tion and have become a reference in this specific field. It comes as little surprise then, that today, the three top-ranked hospitality management schools in the world is all located in Switzerland (TNS Global Survey, 2013).

culinary maestrosonia tartar

A classroom at Les roches international School of hotel Management

“Through different technological innovations such as online travel booking sites and, most recently, the sharing economy, the sector is constantly adapting to keep in line with these innovations.” – Sonia Tartar

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The Swiss institutions discovered early on that training an opera-tional hotel manager requires more than teaching business theory; they must also master the basics of hotel operations, which is why the first semesters entail craft-based learn-ing courses in the areas of service, kitchen and rooms division. These practical courses ensure that our students understand the basics of hotel operations and are able to ef-ficiently manage the staff carrying them out. Also, the curriculum in-cludes two six-month internships, which gives students the opportu-nity to apply their acquired skills in a real world environment.

VB: What are some courses Les Roches International School of Hotel Management offers to its students?ST: Les Roches offers undergrad-uate and post-graduate hospitality

programs to train students to run the hospitality business around the world. It also provides them with an opportunity to study across its campuses in all the four countries and gain experience and exposure at various places. Two important courses we launched recently are ‘Master of Science in Hospitality Leadership’ and ‘Specialization in Spa and Health Management’. The latter gives students exposure to world class training with visits to ESPA-branded spas in London, which allows them to experience best practices first hand and con-duct an integrated business project.

VB: It is interesting to note that the traditional hospitality indus-try has evolved to include spe-cialized services like spa, wellness and even healthcare. How and why did this transformation come about?


“The hospitality sector is one of the most dynamic, with the

creation of new jobs predicted to grow very rapidly over the

next few years.”– Sonia Tartar

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A class in progress at Les roches international School of hotel Management


ST: As an industry, hospitality has undergone many changes and faced a range of challenges over the last decades. Through dif-ferent technological innovations such as online travel booking sites and, most recently, the sharing economy, the sector is constantly adapting to keep in line with these innovations.

One of the main reasons for the hospitality industry to branch into other sectors is the fact that many companies from related fields such as spa and health, airlines, events, luxury retail and areas of finance have discovered hospitality grad-uates’ to bring the soft skills and customer orientation that are cru-cial to parts of their business. This is why we observe more companies from outside the classic hospitality sector coming to campus to recruit our graduates.

The fact remains that the hospital-ity industry, especially the leading companies and their clients, are becoming increasingly global,

which requires managers to oper-ate effortlessly across different lan-guages, cultures and time zones — qualities that can only be acquired through international experience.

VB: Recruitments in the hos-pitality segment are recording some all time highs, especially in emerging countries like India. What is attracting people to join this industry?ST: With the hospitality sector ex-periencing above-average growth, the industry demand for quali-fied graduates with the necessary management skills and knowledge of practical hotel functions and services is continuously increasing. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), travel and tourism is expected to increase its GDP contribution by uSD $3.5 trillion to uSD $10.4 trillion in 2023. During this time, employment within the sector will increase by one quarter, support-ing $338 million, or one in 10 jobs around the world.

These career prospects attract many students to join the hospital-ity industry, but also the working environment of a luxury hotel and the chance to work across the globe are appealing to many young people. In the case of India, we see many of our students from a hospitality background come to Les Roches to acquire the skill set to later successfully run the family business. Others decide to start their own hospitality busi-ness upon graduation and choose Les Roches for its entrepreneurial approach.

We promote an atmosphere of entrepreneurship and innovation on our campuses and encourage students to develop their own ideas by attending different leadership and innovation specializations, classes and seminars to exchange ideas and develop their own busi-ness projects.

VB: While leading hotel chains often hire trained students from reputed or even partially recog-nized institutes, a big percentage of the manpower hired in the hospitality segment is unskilled and untrained. How does hiring the latter type of candidates affect a hotel in terms of service, brand-ing, as well as HR issues?ST: Hospitality is a service-driven industry and customer service is at the core. Skilled personnel in the back and front areas of services and operations are fundamental to the success of any brand in this industry. Whether vocational or managerial training, the industry needs to have the right level of


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talent to ensure that the customer has a memorable experience and identifies with the brand.Regardless of the demand for high-skilled hospitality labor, there will always be low-skilled local staff to fill service, kitchen and other operational positions. It is cru-cial that managerial staff have the knowledge and ability to effectively hire and train their local staff to carry out tasks according to brand standards.

VB: It is equally interesting to note that more women are enter-ing an industry which till a few years ago was a male bastion, isn’t it?ST: There is no denying that the industry requires motivated staff prepared to work long hours in a challenging work environment with high standards of service. But, the days where management positions were held by men and

the service staff was made up of women are long gone. We see many female graduates advanc-ing their careers rapidly across functions and brands all over the world, which in turn inspires more women to join the industry.

However, there is still a perception in some regions that hospitality is not suited for women. We try to counter these beliefs through targeted actions involving our female alumni by sharing their success stories, inviting them to speak to our students to share their academic and professional experi-ences and give insight into various career paths.

VB: What are some evident trends in the hospitality industry worldwide and in India?ST: The hotel and service industry is becoming increasingly interna-tional and global. Encompassing a

multitude of varied job opportuni-ties, the hotel and tourism industry is rich in career possibilities. The hospitality sector is one of the most dynamic, with the creation of new jobs predicted to grow very rapidly over the next few years. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the hotel industry is expected to experience constant growth over the next decade, with a significant impact on the economy:

■ 8.7% of jobs globally are in the tourist sector

■ Jobs in the sector will reach a total of 337 million by 2023

■ Tourism is expected to grow by 4.4% annually by 2023

The Indian hospitality culture transpired in every single hotel I had the pleasure of visiting during my stay in India, among them Hotel Imperial. Everyone, from the porter at the entrance to the gener-al manager of the hotel, was totally focused on making my experience as a customer unique and memo-rable with a remarkable attention to detail. A certain Indian touch was noticeable everywhere – in the music, service, elegance, colors and flavors.

I think the values we teach at Les Roches, which hinges on creating an unrivalled customer experi-ence through service excellence, is something already inherent in the Indian culture. Despite the distance separating us, we share common values on which we can further build our mutually benefi-cial relationship. ■

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Sonia Tartar


say smacznego to Polish Cuisine

The beauty of Polish food is that it immediately teleports you to a place in time when food was about the simple flavors of the ingredients, unspoiled by overuse of spices. Since stumbling upon the hidden gem that Polish cuisine is, Jaswinder Singh claims to

be its diehard fan.

jaswinder singh

international flaVors



When all else fails, food prevails. The ambassador for any coun-

try and culture in this new world is undoubtedly food. It opens up a portal into a culture and the hearts of the people, perhaps even more than music, even if the music is from an exalted artist like Fredric Chopin.

Chopin was one of most popular musicians from Poland in the early 19th century. Such was his pop-ularity that he charged a signifi-cantly higher fee than most of his contemporaries for music lessons and for his public performances. His music compositions are still among the best works from the Romantic era. It does comes as a surprise therefore that though Chopin’s work is known world-wide, little is known about his native Polish cuisine.It is the kind of food that is as hearty as it is simple; one that ought to be shared with friends and family on a winter evening, huddled around a rustic wooden dinner table with an open fire

nearby. In all my life, I had never tasted a mushroom soup that was about the mushrooms and not the spices. IGnoRAnCe not BLIss?Armed with a newfound admira-tion of the food and the people, I asked people around me what they thought of Polish cuisine. Surprisingly, everyone I spoke to could only look at me bewildered. Is there anything to know about the Polish cuisine, apart from the cabbage and cream and vodka? Well, yes of course.

Poland made a name for itself as one of the best vodka producers in the world long ago, especially Belvedere’s rye vodka that comes with a distinct bouquet of salted caramel, fresh bread and toasted pine nuts.

One more that piqued my interest was the Zubrowka, another dry rye vodka flavored with the bison grass herb. The flavors, especially vanilla and bison grass, are mel-lowed down by the extreme low temperature, giving the drink a medium, round mouth-feel that is

nothing short of interesting if you like to sip your vodka, which is the correct way of drinking it contrary to popular belief.

But, enough about the vodka. Let us focus on the food from this country.

Sweet plays a very important part in the Polish cuisine. Apples hap-pen to be the largest export item from the country. The dependence on fruits for vitamins might be a result of the harsh terroir, but it certainly has given a very interest-ing edge to the cuisine. The roast duck with apples, a national favor-ite, is a great example of that.Another delicacy worth a try is the cranberry liqueur with a distinct freshness of citrus and sweetness of fruit that is most fitting for an after dinner drink. While one is talking of sweet, never, ever pass over a chance to taste the Polish Mead. I must confess I was fairly surprised by the ingredients of this very brandy like drink. Who would think that some honey, water, yeast and mild spices could turn into a drink that exquisite?! tHe PeRFeCt CUReWhile fruits and sweet flavors play an important role in the Polish cuisine, a lot can be said about the country’s tradition of curing meats. Another result of the harsh climate, cured meats find a special place in the Polish cuisine. Salted meats are used in sausages that tend to be dry and slightly chewy compared to German sausages but make for a great snack or as an ingredient to many other dishes. I loved the sausages and eggs in the Zürek, a sour rye soup I had never tasted before.


Roast Duck with Apples


1 kg duck1 medium sized apple

1 tbsp fresh marjoram, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed500 gm baby potatoes, cleaned and

halved

½ tbsp caraway seeds

{ M E T H O D }

1. Rinse the duck with water and pat dry.2. Wash, peel, core and chop the apples into small

chunks and stuff the cavity of the duck. Tie the legs together with a string to hold the stuffing in place.

3. Rub the skin well with the marjoram, garlic, salt and pepper. Place on a large plate, cover, and leave for 45 minutes to marinate.

4. Preheat the oven to 240°C. Place the duck in a roasting tray. Collect any marinade left in the plate, and add some more water to make up one cup of liquid. Pour this liquid around the duck in the roasting tray – not over it or you will wash off the marinade.

5. Roast the duck uncovered for 10 minutes, then re-duce the heat to 160°C and cook for 2 hours.

6. Every ½ or so, use a fine skewer to pierce the duck skin with holes to release its juices and then baste the duck with the liquid that collects in the bottom of the pan.

7. When the duck still has about an hour to cook, salt the potatoes, place them in the tray with the duck and sprinkle with caraway seeds. They should start to fry gently in the duck fat.

8. When you next baste the duck, turn the potatoes, making sure they are well covered with the duck juices. Add another sprinkle of caraway seeds if you like.

9. Before presenting, remove the strings from the leg. Carve into chunks and serve with the potatoes and other sautéd vegetables of your choice.

Recipe courtesy: “Rose Petal Jam: Recipes and Stories from a Summer in Poland”

* Serves: 2 *Preparation: 1 hour Cooking: 2.5 hours

Poland, I’m told, is the land of soups. Soups made from every-thing and served as a full meal. Zürek is traditionally served in a bowl made of sour dough bread. While you drink the soup, it soft-ens the bread and you finish off the bread bowl, completing the meal.My guides to Polish cuisine, the

lovely Maria Lukaszuk, wife of the Ambassador of Poland to India and the First Counselor, Chief of Economic Section at the Polish Embassy, and Ryan Bromley, pop-ularly known as the son-in-law of Poland at the embassy, were kind enough to take me through the intricacies of the cuisine. With the

picture painted for me by Maria and Ryan, I can’t wait to try out more Polish dishes. P.S. – In case you are wondering, smacznego (smatch-ne-go) is bon appétit in Polish. ■



Żurek


FOR THE zakwaS115 g rye flour

1 or 2 crusts from rye bread (225 g)2 garlic cloves, minced

480 ml warm water

FOR THE SOuP2 large onions, peeled, one halved

and one coarsely chopped

1 large carrot, peeled1 large parsnip, peeled½ celery root, peeled

6 cups water2 garlic cloves, chopped finely115 g bacon strips, chopped

1 kg white sausage, cut into chunks1 bay leaf

3 allspice berries

1 tbsp dried marjoram6 black peppercorns

55 g grated white horseradish120 ml light cream

Crusty brown bread for serving (optional)

{ M E T H O D }

FOR zakwaS1. Place all of the ingredients in a large storage jar

with a hermetically sealing top.2. Leave the jar in a warm place like a windowsill or

in a cupboard for 4 to 5 days.3. Open the jar, remove any mold or green bits that

might have accumulated on top, and strain. The remaining sour, fermented liquid is the zakwas. You will have about 480 ml for the soup. Set aside.

FOR SOuP4. Place the sliced onion halves, carrot, parsnip, and

celery root in a large saucepan with the water.5. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncov-

ered, for 40 minutes or so.6. Strain the broth and discard the vegetables.7. Meanwhile, in a soup pot, fry together the chopped

onion, garlic, bacon, and sausage over medi-um-high heat until all are lightly browned.

8. Add the strained vegetable broth, the bay leaf, allspice, marjoram, peppercorns, and horseradish. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook at a low boil for 20 minutes.

9. Stir in the reserved zakwas and the cream. Raise the heat, and bring to a boil again. Remove the bay leaf and serve in a hollowed out sourdough bread, preferably with crusty brown bread on the side.

Recipe courtesy: Anne Applebaum & Danielle Critten-den’s book ‘From a Polish Country House Kitchen: 90

Recipes for the Ultimate Comfort Food’.

* Serves: 4 *Preparation: 4 days Cooking: 1 hour



Stick to Your

New Year reSolutioNS


Who says New Year’s resolutions are meant to be

broken, especially when they pertain to desserts? Chef Vaibhav Mahajan brings you some

droolicious desserts that are

light on your waistline but high

on taste.


Green Apple Bake With Quinoa

This delightful bake will assuage your guilt with the presence of quinoa in it. Go on, bake your cake and

eat it too.


6 Granny smith apples (green ap-ples), peeled and cored

¼ Demerara or brown sugar¼ honey

½ tsp cinnamon powder¼ tsp nutmeg powder

½ cup raisins½ cup walnuts, chopped

½ cup almonds, chopped½ cup quinoa seeds¼ cup skimmed milk

{ M E T H O D }

1. Preheat oven at 180°C and grease a baking dish.2. Cut the apples into thick slices and place in a bowl of water.3. In a bowl, mix the sugar, honey, cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder and quinoa seeds. Fold in raisins, wal-

nuts, almonds and apples.4. Pour the mixture in the baking dish. Pour the milk on top.5. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 45 minutes or until the cake is soft.6. Cool the apple bake lightly before serving.

* Serves: 4 *Preparation: 30 minutes Cooking: 1 hour

Recipe Corner


Chef’s tip: if you are feeling indulgent, serve

with ice cream or whipped cream.


Winter Pumpkin And Black Salt Pudding

This pudding is perfect when you're craving a treat but don’t want to pile on the calories.


500 gm fresh pumpkin, skinned and deseeded

150 ml skimmed milk2 cloves

5 - 6 green cardamoms50 gm jaggery

2 tbsp basil seeds or tukmaria½ tsp black salt

Slivered almonds, for garnish

{ M E T H O D }

1. Preheat oven to 160°C.2. Cut the pumpkin into chunks. Roast in a preheated oven till soft and roasted.3. Heat the milk on low flame with the cloves and cardamom to infuse the flavours.4. Heat a nonstick pan on low flame. Add the roasted pumpkin and grated jaggery.5. Cook till almost all moisture evaporates.6. Roughly mash the pumpkin with a fork. Strain and add the milk and simmer to a thick consistency.7. Set aside and cool.8. Add black salt. Mix well and serve warmed or slightly chilled.9. Garnish with slivered almonds or any other roasted nuts of choice.


Recipe Corner


Sugarcane and Red Rice Kheer

Don’t ignore your sweet tooth, especially when you can keep it happy with this healthy kheer.


750 ml sugarcane juice½ inch ginger, peeled and smashed

100 gm red rice

¼ cup dry coconut, grated50 ml condensed milk

1 tsp cardamom powder

Dry fruits, for garnish

{ M E T H O D }

1. In a heavy bottomed pan, boil the sugarcane juice and ginger on a low flame. Stir at regular intervals.2. Skim the impurities that rise to the top. Remove the ginger.3. Add the red rice and grated coconut and cook till rice is cooked through.4. Add the condensed milk and finish with cardamom powder.5. Serve garnished with choice of nuts or dry fruits.


Recipe Corner


Strawberry and Lemongrass Granita

This granita is deliciously soothing and the perfect after-meal treat, any season of the year.


3 inch lemongrass stalk1 cup water

½ cup strawberries

Juice of 1 lemon½ teaspoon Demerara or brown

sugar

12 mint leaves (optional)

{ M E T H O D }

1. In a heavy bottom pan, muddle the lemongrass stalk and add water. Bring to a boil for about 2-3 minutes to infuse the lemongrass flavor.

2. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool. Strain and discard the lemon grass.3. Blend together the lemongrass infused water, strawberries, lemon juice, sugar and mint leaves to a smooth

texture.4. Transfer to a clean covered bowl and place in the freezer till it sets. Avoid setting to a hard consistency.5. Remove and break to loosen with the help of a fork and serve immediately, else put back in the freezer.

* Serves: n/a *Preparation: 20 minutes Setting Time: approximately 2 hours

Recipe Corner


Easy Yoghurt Parfait with Seasonal Fruits

Yoghurt is not called a superfood for no reason. add some seasonal fruits and this becomes an all-natural dessert that will not blow your calorie consciousness

through the roof.


2 cups yoghurt2 ml vanilla extract

2 tbsp honey or maple syrup

10 strawberries, chopped10 mulberries, chopped

1 banana, chopped

Mint leaves, for garnish

{ M E T H O D }

1. In a clean bowl, whisk together yoghurt, vanilla extract and honey or maple syrup.2. Cut the fruits into even sized dices.3. In two glasses, alternate layers of whisked yoghurt and cut fruits.4. Serve chilled garnished with fresh mint sprigs.

* Serves: 2 *Preparation: 15 minutes

Recipe Corner


Chef’s tip: You can also add

rolled oats, muesli or granola to make this an

excellent and easy breakfast dish.


dr. nandita shah / founder and director, sharan

HeALtH FAq

Reversing DiabetesDid you know that diabetes can be reversed? Dr. Nandita Shah of Sharan says this is possible, if individuals make the right lifestyle choices and sustain them, beginning

with eating plant-based foods.

Diabetics often submit themselves to a life of medi-cation, blood tests and a diet devoid of

flavour that they have to eat none-theless. Just imagine the delight on their faces if you could tell them they can bring the flavour back on their palate by making the right food choices? And imagine their further delight when you tell them that they can even reverse their diabetes?

Diabetics often find their weight gradually going up along with fluc-tuating blood sugar levels. They then have to resort to higher doses of medication, and deal with its af-filiated complications. Even when they manage to keep their blood sugar levels in check, they could suffer from a variety of ailments like neuropathies, loss of vision, kidney failures, heart attacks or gangrene.

Most doctors advise diabetics to cut down carbohydrates, stop having sugar in their meals and exercise more. Of course, they also have to keep taking insulin and other medications, which can be a limiting factor in their lives.

Dr. Neal Barnard, Adjunct As-sociate Professor of Medicine at George Washington university of Medicine and President of the non-profit Physicians Committee of Responsible Medicine, re-searched ways to reverse diabetes. He wrote about his findings in the book ‘Dr. Neal Barnard’s Pro-gramme for Reversing Diabetes’.

UnDeRstAnDInG InsULIn ResIstAnCeDiabetes is caused when the body either produces insufficient amount of insulin (Type 1) or none at all (Type 2). If we understand what stops the body from produc-ing the requisite amount of insulin and remove this cause we will be successful in reversing diabetes.


The muscle cells in our body have receptors for insulin, allowing glucose to enter. This glucose is used by the cell to generate ener-gy for all the vital functions. In diabetics, these insulin receptors become resistant and do not allow the glucose to enter. The result is a concentration of glucose in the blood stream, which is flushed out of the body during urination. The muscles do not have enough energy for daily activities, causing weakness. Doctors advise these pa-tients to take anti-diabetic drugs, which temporarily reduce the in-sulin resistance. However, since the problem is inherently present; the latent diabetes is never cured.

Dr. Neal has found that the cause of insulin resistance is fat in the muscle cells (intramyocellular lipids) while reduces the sensitivity of receptors to insulin. The other cause could be the ‘Insulin-like growth factor’ present in milk, which is similar to insulin and blocks the receptors. It is basically similar to a situation when you’re trying to open a lock with the wrong key. The situation is worse because the wrong key is stuck and you cannot use the right key either. The blocked receptors in our body do not let muscle cells use the glucose, leading to increased sugar levels.

According to research, infants who are fed animal milk at an early age instead of their mother’s milk are more likely to develop Type I dia-betes. In some people, the protein in the cow’s milk stimulates pro-duction of antibodies, which are basically fighter proteins produced by the immune system with the intention of fighting the proteins

from milk. However, since pancre-atic cells are structurally similar to the milk proteins, these antibodies destroy the pancreatic cells instead. This reduces the insulin-producing capacity of these cells leading to Type 1 diabetes.

Other factors like certain chemi-cals or medications can reduce this capacity too. Although some cases of type 1 diabetes cannot be re-versed, most cases can be reversed over a period of time, resulting in a reduction in or altogether elimina-tion of insulin requirement.

ReVeRsInG DIABetes There are some ways to build up the body’s ability to fight insulin resistance. The first thing to do is take a close look at what you are putting into your body. Avoid addictive foods like tea, coffee, al-cohol, sugar and reduce salt intake. Drink plenty of water, which will keep your muscles and organs well hydrated.

Eat whole plant foods, which are packed with fiber, vitamins and minerals. Avoid animal products,

since they are high on fat, includ-ing milk. Stay away from refined products like white rice, white flour, oil, sugar and processed foods. Eat organic foods, since pes-ticides used in conventional farm-ing methods can cause diabetes.

Try to get lot of plenty of Vitamin D by going for a walk or run in the early morning. Get plenty of sleep, especially at a stretch in the night. Although the most import-ant change is nutritional, plenty of fresh air, reducing chemical pol-lutants, good exercise, exposure to sunshine, and stress reduction go a long way in healing diabetes.

Most people come up with excuses for not following the lifestyle pre-scribed when they aren’t at home or when they travel. Controlling and later reversing diabetes is all in the mind. Pledge yourself to a healthy lifestyle and make a com-mitment to a plant–based diet for at least a month. The first month is most crucial – after that your body will adapt to the altered lifestyle more easily. ■

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Red Rice IdliThese pretty pink colored idlis are surprisingly tasty, filling and healthy. Once you get hooked to these, the regular white rice idlis might no longer appeal to you.


4 cups unpolished red rice1 cup whole (black) urad dal

1 tsp fenugreek seedsSalt to taste

{ M E T H O D }

1. Separately soak the red rice and the urad dal for 6-8 hours.

2. Soak 1 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds either with the rice or dal. Add salt to taste.

3. Grind the soaked rice in the blender till you get a slightly coarse, but slightly smooth paste.

4. Pour into a large bowl.5. Grind the soaked urad dal in the blender till very

smooth and mix with the rice paste.6. Keep this mixture in a cool dry place to ferment for

8-12 hours.7. Grease the idli moulds with some ghee and then

pour the batter into it. 8. Place in an idli steamer and steam for sometime till

the idli is ready.9. Serve warm with some coconut chutney.

Recipe courtesy: Sharan

ReCIPesHeALtH FAq


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rec

ipes


Steamed Mixed Vegetables in Red

GravyYou can use any steamed vegetables of your choice to

make this filling and wholesome dish.


300 gm cauliflower50 gm potato

½ cup green peas1 carrot

200 gm French beans

FOR GRaVY3 tomatoes

1 cup ground cashew nuts2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp cumin seeds30 gm ginger, grated

1 green chilly, cut long

1 tsp red chili powder1/4 tsp haldi

1 tsp garam masala1 tsp coriander-cumin powder

Salt, as per taste

{ M E T H O D }

1. Cut all vegetables in medium sized cubes and steam them.

2. Puree the tomatoes and cashew nuts in a blender.3. Take a pan and sauté the cumin seeds, ginger and

green chillies.4. Add the tomato puree. After 5 minutes, mix the chili

powder, garam masala, coriander cumin powder and salt.

5. Stir until the gravy is ready. Add all the vegetables and let it cook for 5 minutes.

6. Serve with multigrain rotis or cooked brown rice.

Recipe courtesy: Sharan

ReCIPesHeALtH FAq


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stop. shop

Because coffee

comes first, always

There are people who wake up in the morning and religiously thank

the big man in the skies for just one thing - coffee! They would rather

share their kidney than their cup of coffee. If you are one of this legion, we have handpicked some products that you can gift to yourself so you

never have to turn depresso!

Primula TemPo Coffee Press He who hath loved coffee, deserveth a fancy French press, says an ancient saying. This piece de resistance Primula has a narrow cylindrical glass jug, equipped with a lid and a stainless plunger, which fits tightly in the cylinder glass beaker.

Just pour water and coarsely ground coffee beans into the jug, leave it to brew for a few minutes, then depress the plunger to trap the coffee grinds at the bottom of the glass jug. The fine wire mesh acts as a filter, capturing more of the coffee's flavour and essential oils. French pressed coffee is usually stronger and thicker and has more sediment than drip-brewed coffee. After all, life is too short to waste it on a cup of insipid coffee!

PhiliPs Daily ColleCTion Coffee maker hD7447/20 A reliable coffeemaker makes all the difference when it comes to brewing the perfect cuppa. The Philips Daily Collection Coffee Maker HD7447/20 has a smart and compact design for easy storage as well as an innova-tive water level indicator, allowing you to follow easily how many cups you filled in the water tank.

The jug of this coffeemaker will fit 1.2 L of coffee, enough for 10 to 15 cups, depending on your cup size. It also has a drip stop function to interrupt coffee brew-ing whenever you want to pour a cup of coffee.

All parts of this Philips coffeemaker are dishwasher-safe for easy and convenient cleaning. So go ahead, and espresso yourself!

Available at leading electronic stores

Primula Tempo Coffee PressPrice: INR 1,800

Philips Daily Collection Coffee maker hD7447/20 Price: INR 2,595


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life Begins afTer Coffee - 3D PosTer Proclaim your love for caffeine with this amazing Print Masala poster. Fix it on walls at home or your workplace and watch the entire place become as perky as your cup of coffee.

Printed on a special matte sheet which gives an elegant handmade fabric feel, Print Masala uses high definition printing using technology by HP on premium 200 gsm paper by ITC. It is available in three sizes - A1, A2 or A3 and is delivered in a cardboard tube to avoid damage during transit.

Available at Print Masala

sleeP on iTThere are those who wake up to coffee. And there are those who like to sleep on it. We mean an awesome cushion cover that declares your fondness for coffee so that no one is in doubt. This cotton cover, measuring 40 cm x 40 cm, postulates why piping hot filter coffee trumps every other beverage and why you should never leave your home without drinking at least one cup.

Available at Happily Unmarried

Who neeDs sPoons anyWay?Now, you need not hunt for a spoon, stirrer or even a pencil to stir your coffee in a hurry. The self-stirring cup will do it for you. This cup with a stainless steel finish with a snap-lock lid keeps your drink hot and it has a spinning plastic disk that frappes your drink into a whirling blended maelstrom of deliciousness. And you can also use it to stir other hot beverages, like a nice hot cup of cocoa! Any way, press the button on the handle and whirr your drink into a perfect blend. No more sandy sugar in the last dregs of your drink, and no more spoons!

Available at Jasan Shopping

Drink, sWiPe, reWarDThere are those who swear by their Star-bucks cup of coffee. The Starbucks Card is perfect for them as with one quick swipe at any Starbucks outlet in India, they can use it to purchase anything from their fa-vourite beverage from whole bean coffee to the latest range of merchandise! They can also earn rewards like free drinks. Ain’t it cool!

Available at all Starbucks outlets

life Begins after Coffee - 3D Poster

Price: INR 149

sleep on itPrice: INR 480

self stirring Coffee mugPrice: INR 399

Drink, swipe, rewardPrice: N/A


In thE CoMPAnY oF BouRBon

When it comes to cooking with bourbon, stick to the best brand you can lay your hands on. Just like only good wine can make good food, only good bourbon can

make good BBQ!

I can’t claim to be a lover of whisky and have limited appreciation for the brew, though Bour-bon is one whisky I tend to crave in winters! It could be my love for rum that drives this craving

– they say people who enjoy dark, fruity brews often veer towards Bourbon when it comes to a woody liquor like whisky.

Bourbon is classic American Whisky, the way Scotch is from Scotland. My favourite brand, the Ken-tucky-based Jim Beam, is made with corn, rye, malt, water, barley and as they say, time and pride as well! It is not to be confused with Jack Daniel’s, which is an American whisky from Tennessee.

BoURBon, AHoYAll Bourbon is American whisky but not all American whisky is Bourbon! In fact, the products are so differ-

entiated that I prefer cooking with them differently. Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7, for instance, is NOT a Bour-bon and it peeves me when people ask for it instead of Bourbon. It is made with a fine grain of yellow corn, which is ‘whiskey’ mellowed in charcoal.

Kentucky Bourbon on the other hand is also a prod-uct of just one distillery (unlike Scotch blends) and is made with added ingredients and the unique pro-cess of Mix-Mash-Cook. The resulting clear spirit is placed in newly charred American oak barrels for aging, during which it gains colour and flavour from the caramelized sugars in the charred wood.

CooKInG WItH BoURBonThere are a little over 100 brands of Bourbon being produced in the united States, but it is best to go with an original Bourbon classics, like Jim Beam Original

by parul pratap shiraziPARtY CoRnER


▶ PARtY CoRnER COOKING WITH BOURBON

or if you can get your hands on it, Maker’s Mark! They are said to use pure, iron-free limestone spring water only, making a big difference in how flavours mature during its ageing process.

Now to the tasting notes of the Bourbon. Maker’s Mark has a caramel, roasted coffee and fruity ‘nose’ while Jim Beam is reminis-cent of spices, citrus and a mel-lowness of herbs. It’s the way these core Bourbon ingredients cook or char that makes all the difference in a Bourbon BBQ Menu. Check out the boxes below for a quick look at the tasting notes.

Ideally, choose two or three differ-ent brands and let the tasting notes decide which part of the menu they go in. Whether you barbeque on a stove or charcoal, Bourbon lends a smokiness that’s ideal for barbecued meats and veggies too.If you’re a teetotaller then be as-sured that the liquor burns off in the cooking process so as long as

you steer clear of dipping sauces and salad dressings, it is highly doubtful eating ‘Bourbon’ will get you drunk, it may get you ‘hooked’ however!

CooKInG WItH BoURBonGrilling and barbecuing are two popular cooking methods for bourbon. The ‘grill’ is what you cook upon, whilst grilling itself is open pit, charcoal cooking while

barbecuing is usually with the lid closed and the heat is rotated. Grilling is done upon direct heat and usually a faster method of cooking versus barbecuing which is over burning embers and lets the meat cook in its vapours.

The great debate however remains – Charcoal or Gas? As per the Bar-becue Bible (Steven Raichlen), avid outdoor cooks prefer to choose

Jim Beam original

tasting notes: Fragrant citrus with rich spices and a touch of herbs.

Suggested Dishes:Given its tasting notes, the citrus, spices and herbs need the alcohol content to remain potent, so burning the alcohol off can render a marinade of Jim Beam that is a lesser potent than BBQ meats ought to be. The maximum taste potency of this product is when it remains intact and is infused with complementary ingredients.

■ Classic Bourbon BBQ Sauce ■ Bourbon Hot Sauce ■ Bourbon Chili Orange Jam ■ Bacon & Bourbon Preserve

Maker’s Mark

tasting notes: Dark caramel and coffee with a gentle fruitiness

Suggested Dishes:Despite how dessert-like the ‘nose’ of this bourbon is, it is the cooking process and its effect that matter. The dark caramel aids in palatable charring, the sugars come together to make ribs sticky sweet or wings sticky hot. The coffee burns with an added nuttiness that is very complimentary for grilled meats, so this is ideal for marinades that spend time on the grill!

■ Bourbon Garlic Rubbed Pork Chops ■ Bourbon Beef Chilli ■ Hot & Sweet BBQ Drumsticks ■ Apple Bourbon Pulled Lamb


▶ PARtY CoRnER COOKING WITH BOURBON

wood or charcoal but space constraints and ease allow some space for gas grills. Gas is convenient and con-sidering the lack of safe firestarters in supermarkets, getting a coal fire started requires lots of newspaper and a hair dryer.

If you’re considering wood, then I can only hope you’re in the mountains, ensuring the purity of the wood and the potential for finding flavoured wood as well. Wood is a flavourful fuel but it tends to burn hotter and temperature control is harder, which makes it ideal for grilling. Look for apple, cherry, pine or oak for the best flavours.

For barbecue, coal remains a favourite. However, there is no way to tell the grade of coal you purchase from vendors locally, but since these are not like to be every day meals, go ahead and indulge, the flavour is unparalleled. ■

Jim Beam is the flagship product of the Jim Beam distillery, which was founded in 1795, and family op-erated for seven generations. It was named ‘Jim Beam’ in 1933 after Colonel James B Beam rebuilt the business following Prohibition.

When you sip Jim Beam original, you're savouring a Kentucky bour-bon whiskey that has been pro-duced essentially the same way by the same family for more than 200 years. Isn't it good to know that some things never go out of style?

Bacon And Bourbon Preserve{ I N G R E D I E N T S }

2 tbsp olive oil7-10 garlic cloves, smashed

2 large red onions, chopped fine400 gm thick, salty cooking bacon

or 2 packs of breakfast bacon2 shallots, chopped fine

150 ml bourbon100 ml + 50 ml honey

2 tsp cumin powder2 tsp red chilli flakes

Sea salt, to taste

{ M E T H O D }

1. Heat olive oil in a shallow saucepan or frying pan.

2. Add bacon slices and fry till crisp.3. Once the bacon is evenly browned, remove on

a paper towel and cut into small bits.4. Add the onions and garlic to the fat. Sauté on

medium flame till the onions start to caramelize.5. Once the onions start to turn brown, mix in

cumin powder and chilli flakes.6. Pour in the honey and bourbon. Once it starts

to bubble, turn the flame to high and let the mix reduce to a thick, syrupy relish.

7. Mix bacon bits and relish in a glass mixing bowl, and blend with a hand blender or food processor. Check seasoning and add sea salt.

8. Cool the mix completely and bottle in a clean, air-tight mason jar.


ASKthE

ExPERtS

Does cooking often seem daunting? Let us help you! Send us your questions about food and cooking and we will get chefs of leading hotels to share their wisdom on

how to make that dish, perfect.

I want to get a recipe for duck meat, preferably fried duck meat. Also, since this is the first time I am cooking duck I want to know how long it takes for the meat to become tender.

Afroz Qureshi, Ahmedabad

Duck meat is a little tough to cook and can be chewy if not fried at right temperature and in time. The best way to cook it is to confit the duck (breast or leg), which is slow cooking. Cover the duck in oil with some herbs like thyme, garlic, rosemary, peppercorn and cook slowly at 90°C for around 2 hours till tender. Remove from the oil and shred the duck when warm. Add chopped red onion, fresh coriander, chopped tomatoes, mustard, salt and pepper and mix well. Make small patties and cool them. When cold, crumb them with egg white and bread crumb. Deep fry the duck patties till golden brown and crispy and then serve with chilled lemon mayonnaise or hot and spicy ketchup.

I have a 8-year old basic microwave, but its paint is peeling off. I am interested in baking and want to buy a new appliance which will help me bake well. Should I go for an OTG and keep the old microwave or buy a new convection micro with grill, keeping in mind that I intend to bake a lot?

Mou Mukherjee, Gurgaon

Microwaving is an easy way of reheating food. As profession-als we use it for re-heating of minimum food, but I would not recommend microwave as the cooking process absorbs the moisture out of any food and makes it dry. OTG or a con-ventional oven would be best recommended for baking.

I made Pav Bhaji recently, but was left with a lot of Pav. Is there any way for me to use this bread?

Nivisha Jain, Surat

Make a breakfast dish by cutting the pav into dices and tempering it with mustard seeds, chopped green chili, curry leaves, turmeric, salt and chopped coriander leaves. To make it spicy you can add some chilli powder. Shallow fry in oil till the pav is crispy; to finish squeeze some lemon juice over it. Try this and I am sure you will love it.

I have two packs of plum cake and I don’t think anyone in my family can eat it as it. Can you please suggest something different that I can make using this cake?

Rashmi Singh Bisht, Bhopal

Plum cakes have a fermented taste as they are made with soft dry fruits and plums soaked in syrup for many days. Try making vanilla custard and cut some fresh berries (strawberry, blueberry, raspberry) and make a plum cake trifle in a glass. All you need to do is add diced plum cake at the bottom of the glass, add custard, berries and fresh cream. Then to top it with use some crushed M&M or Gems choc-olates. Kids and family members both will enjoy this.

What is kefir? And what are its health benefits?

Shraddha Nishanrao, Pune

Kefir is a fermented milk drink made with kefir grains, a symbiotic culture of yeasts and bacteria. It has its origins in Turkey and is pre-pared by inoculating cow, goat, or sheep milk with kefir grains. Kefir contains minerals, essential amino acids, minerals as well as Vitamins B12, B1, and K, all of which are good for health.


Chef Gaurav Malhotra, Executive Chef – Novotel Pune, spent his last decade in Mumbai, London and China, playing a key role in the pre-opening teams of properties like Holiday Inn Mumbai and Sofitel Mumbai BKC. His last assignment with Sofitel Macau was a stepping stone for his career which has left an impression on him, one that he is excited to share with Pune’s rising dining scene. Being with Accor for the past four years, he brings over 13 years of wealthy experience to Novotel Pune. A zealous traveler and foodie, Chef Gaurav likes to explore food cuisines in different parts of the world.

CHeF GAURAv MALHOTRA ASKthE

ExPERtS

What is the difference be-tween white and brown sug-ar? And can I substitute white sugar in place of brown sugar?

Nisu Rav, Mumbai

Brown sugar is darker in color and stickier in texture, and has a definite caramel taste. It differs very little from white sugar, except that the former has more color. In simple words, brown sugar is nothing more than white sugar that has been mixed with molasses to color it and give it a more moist texture. Light brown sugar has less molasses than dark brown sugar.

Brown sugar should not be confused with raw sugar, that has a similar color and taste but is actually the residue from processed sugarcane. In short, you can substitute white sugar with brown.

Is it possible to store tarts with-out a refrigerator? What is the best way to store them and how long can they be stored?

Jill Pabari, Hyderabad

The best way to store tarts is in an airtight container in a cool and dry place or in the refrig-erator. The ready made variety, keeps for a week due to preser-vatives. Homemade products must be consumed in 3 days.

I would like to make nutribars at home. Is there a simple reci-pe for this?

Madhu Dhawn, New Delhi

You don’t even need an oven to make nutribars. All you need are some oats, cinnamon powder, brown sugar, honey or maple syrup, some dry seeds like sunflower, flax or pumpkin and some dry fruits raisin or almonds. Roast the dry nuts, oats and seeds in a pan or in conventional oven or an OTG and then cool and crush them. Take honey or sugar in a pan with some water and reduce till sugar starts to caramelize. Add the roasted ingredients, maple syrup, and mix well till coated. Remove in a rectangular tray lined with butter paper and let it cool.

If you have an oven, mix all ingredients together and put them in a baking tray and bake in pre heated oven at 140°C for 30-40 minutes till it browns and sugar caramelizes. Once mixture is a little soft, remove and cut into bars as required and cool them at room tem-perature. It is best eaten with thick yogurt and fresh fruits or berries. Just crush the bars in a glass or bowl, add yogurt, berries and top it with honey or maple syrup. Even kids will love this healthy fare.

How should I cut a cross at the bottom of chestnuts prior to boiling it? I cut myself once doing this and am scared to do it again. Also, is it import-ant to cut chestnuts before using them in cooking?

Tara Sturgeon, Boulder

Before starting on the flat un-derside of each nut, use a sharp paring knife and make an 1/8" deep incision that goes through the skin, the fuzzy papery layer, and just barely pierces the flesh. Continue the cut almost all the way around the nut, stop-ping just short of meeting back where you started. Alternately, cut an ‘X’ shape into the flat side of each chestnut. use a tea towel to hold each nut so it doesn’t slip. The reason you make this cut is so that the nuts are more accessible/easier to peel after roasting or boiling.


EvENTS

experience ecuador

by team caldron

Pro Ecuador, the Institute for the Promotion of Trade and Investment of the country, hosted an event at Shiro, a

popular nightspot in Mumbai. The objective? To get people to appre-ciate one of the most important exports of the country - cocoa.

Now, not many people know that Ecuador exports a wide variety of products ranging from coffee, shrimps to handicrafts and roses worldwide. But the one foodstuff that has brought it renown is co-coa, and its final result, chocolate. “Ecuador is an undiscovered gem for Indian travellers, investors and corporates, which is why we have looked forward to presenting this experience of our country,” said Héctor Cueva Jácome, Consul

General representing Ecuador in Mumbai, India. He further added that “Ecuador as a destination has a lot to offer for the various genres of travellers and companies.”

sWeet tALKThe event unfolded with an infor-mative audio-visual presentation about the various opportunities in

the country in terms of trade and tourism. The spotlight then shifted onto the famous exportable prod-uct of Ecuadorian chocolate with an intriguing session by chocolati-

er and chef, Varun Inamdar. Later, Héctor and food writer Rashmi uday Singh announced the launch of ‘The Chocolate Factory Ecua-dor’ brand of premium chocolates curated by Varun. These luxury Ecuadorian chocolates are current-ly available in Mumbai at Godrej Nature’s Basket outlets at INR 750 for a box of 12.

Guests at the event were charmed with a delectable culinary spread. Other striking elements of the eve-ning were live Latin music along with colourful photo booths to engage the guests. ■

Ecuador and chocolates are often mentioned in the same breath. Which is not surprising, given that the country exports over 60% of the world’s premium cocoa. Pro Ecuador, the Institute for the Promotion of Trade and Investment for Ecua-

dor, recently held an event where ‘The Chocolate Factory Ecuador’ brand of premium chocolates was announced.

Hector and food writer Rashmi Uday Singh announced the launch of ‘The Chocolate Factory Ecuador’ brand of premi-um chocolates curated by varun. These luxury Ecuadorian chocolates are currently available in Mumbai at Godrej Na-ture’s Basket outlets at INR 750 for a box of 12.

Varun inamdar, Aditi Goel, rashmi Uday Singh and héctor cueva Jácome launch 'The chocolate Factory

ecuador’ brand


EvENTS

A slice Above the Rest

by shreenivas gadewar

Food and history is an eclectic mix and when you are invited to help create India's longest pizza, you don’t want to

miss that piece of historical pie. La Terrazza Trattoria at Hyatt Re-gency Pune created India’s longest pizza, measuring 60 x 6 feet, in December 2014. The current reg-istered record for the longest pizza in India is approximately 16 x 5 feet long as per the Limca Book of Records.

Around 100 people were involved in making history, including me. We were ushered into the specially created super-long pizza kitchen, where the object of attention was the 60 feet x 6 feet wide pizza base spread out on what looked like two dozen lined up tables.

Chef ’s hats, aprons and gloves were handed out to each participant as we got busy slathering pizza sauce on the base, followed by tons of mozzarella cheese. Then arrived the veggies; red and yellow peppers mixed with Executive Chef Manav Koul’s secret sauce recipe.

After another round of cheese sprinkling, we let the chefs bake it in the wood fired oven while

we headed to the pizzeria to enjoy Chenin Blanc and Shiraz wine while listening to popular classics belted out by the live band.

LAUnCH oF WInteR MenUThe winter menu of the La Ter-razza Tratorria was showcased to those present, including melt-in-the-mouth Grilled Salmon Steak with Balsamic Roasted Beets and Warm Artichokes. The Grilled Tenderloin with Potato-Gorgonzo-la Puree paired beautifully with the wine, whilst the Vegetable Stufato (winter vegetable and beans stew with fresh baked focaccia) and the

Warm Mushroom Salad served with Garlic Ciabatta and Truffle Oil brought the overcast and chilly Pune winter afternoon alive.

What I enjoyed most about the event was that the helpful staff gave us tips on how to make the perfect pizza, while sharing one's handful of ingredients with strangers brought a sense of joy and teamwork to the proceedings. The icing on the cake was learning the pizza was served to 150 un-derprivileged children from local NGOs. What better way to herald the season of giving and spread the Christmas spirit! ■

Taking its Italian legacy forward, La Terrazza Trattoria at Hyatt Regency Pune decided to create a record breaking pizza to highlight that it serves some of the best thin crust pizzas in the city.

The icing on the cake was learning the pizza was served to 150 underprivileged children from local NGOs.

image - Mohammad Labban, General Manager, hyatt regency Pune with his wife Samar Labban


EvENTS

Bacardi India launches Goa Party Hangout Package

by team caldron

Bacardi India launched a Goa Hangout Pack-age in association with online travel agency, MakeMyTrip.com,

which offers amazing deals and discounts in Goa for party goers and travelers. And what better way to announce this package, than to hold a pulsating party at Hard Rock Café in Gurgaon?!

Commenting on this collabora-tion with MakeMyTrip, Manish

Seth, Director of Sales & Market-ing, Bacardi India, said, “We are thrilled to be launching this hol-iday package with MakeMyTrip.com because we believe that our consumers deserve not only the best products, but also the most engaging and memorable experi-ences. This association allows us to give our consumers unique ways to vacation and party in Goa and other destinations.”

Confident of a great response to this initiative, Mohit Gupta, Chief

Marketing Officer, MakeMyTrip.com, elaborated, “We are very excited to present this conceptu-al holiday experience to Indian travellers along with Bacardi. The best of our strengths and syner-gies have been utilized to offer our customers a memorable holiday experience.”

An eneRGetIC eVenInGThe DJ for the launch evening was Nikhil Chinapa while Bollywood actress Esha Gupta attended the

event and professed her love for Goa. Dressed in a vivacious white

and blue Gauri Nainika outfit and Steve Madden shoes, the gorgeous actress also sported accessories like earrings by Micare, a ring by Isharya and a Jimmy Choo bag. Tropical styled Bacardi classic cocktails were passed around the bar, which was done up in a beach holiday themed decor.

Later guests were told about the various packages starting from INR 6,999, available till 31st March, 2015. It includes stay at leading hotels like Alila Diwa, The Phoenix Park and Nagoa Grande, at discounted rates, as well as deals at popular hotspots such as SINQ, Cape Town Pub, Mambo’s, Tito’s Courtyard, Infantaria, Sauza Lobo and Café Del Mar. This package can be booked online by logging on to MakeMyTrip.com. ■

Goa has emerged as the go-to state where people can party and party hard. Bacardi India decided to make things inter-esting for these party animals by collaborating with MakeMyTrip.com and launching a package that offers good deals and

offers in Goa.

The package includes stay at leading hotels like Alila Diwa, The Phoenix Park, Nagoa Grande, and Sukhmantra Resort, at discounted rates, as well as deals at popular hotspots such as SINQ, Cape Town Pub, Mambo’s, Tito’s Courtyard, In-fantaria, Sauza Lobo and Café Del Mar.

BAcArdi Md, Vijay

Subramaniam, esha Gupta and rajesh Magow of Makemytrip


EvENTS

Belvedere Vodka held a party at the Lon-don Film Museum to announce its part-nership with the next

James Bond film, Spectre, which will be released on 6th November 2015. The event saw the presence of singer Pixie Geldof, 'The Riot Club' actor Douglas Booth, model Lily Cole and 'Made in Chelsea' star Amber Atherton, rapper Tinie Tempah, journalist Kim Hersov, model Ella Catliff who were seen talking about the beverage with Christophe Navarre, CEO of Moët & Chandon.

Spectre will be the 24th James Bond adventure, which will

be produced by Metro-Gold-wyn-Mayer Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Belvedere, owned by the LVMH Group, will channelize the British agent’s fond-ness for vodka martinis where he mouths his famous line “Shaken, not stirred”, to promote its luxury vodka brands. The company will

collaborate with Albert R Broccoli’s EON Productions to promote the highly anticipated movie with the help of two custom-made vodkas in limited edition of 100 bottles, which will be gifted to Bond fans and also sold at charity auctions.

Charles Gibb, President of Belve-dere Vodka stated, “James Bond is recognized as the most admired and influential tastemaker in the world. We’re delighted that Belve-dere will be partnering with Spec-tre, our largest global partnership to date.”

Dwight Caines, President of Theat-rical Marketing for Sony Pictures, said: “James Bond’s cool attitude and stylish sophistication have

always gone hand-in-hand with his choice of vodka martini. Belvedere is a perfect match.”

CHAnGes In tHe oFFInGBelvedere’s signature blue palette will be switched for a distinctive green, mirroring the secret spy agency’s ink of choice to sign secret

documents. A 007 twist will also be applied to its Silver Saber bottles, known for their cutting edge metallic aesthetic and illuminating tech-

nology.

Belvedere’s Spectre marketing pro-gram will include a global adver-tising campaign and a wide range of promotion and activation rights around the film. The brand will use its marketing prowess to shed light on its ingredients, including Dankowskie Rye.

The marketing campaign will be launched as of February 2015, with a strong focus of efforts in on-premise establishments and retail stores across multiple coun-tries.

Excellent choice, Mr. Bond. ■

Belvedere’s signature blue palette will be switched for a distinctive green, mirroring the se-cret spy agency’s ink of choice.

Lily cole and charles Gibb

stirred, not shaken, With Belvedere Martinis

Belvedere will channelize James Bond’s fondness for vodka martinis to promote its luxury vodka brands.

by team caldrondavid

m.

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EvENTS by team caldron

The Agricultural Office of Chile in India in conjunction with the PROCHILE Commer-cial Office of Embassy

of Chile in India organized an event ‘Launching Walnuts from Chile’ in November 2014 to cele-brate the market access granted to Chilean Walnuts in India. Andres Barbe, Ambassador of Chile in In-dia, welcomed guests consisting of importers of dry fruits, agri-busi-ness consultants, chefs, media peo-ple and ambassadors from Latin American missions.

To get a taste of the versatility of the Chilean Walnut, Chef Cristian

Cabrera prepared culinary delights out of this product, to appeal to the taste buds of the gathered guests. Jaime Gonzalez, Counsellor for Agricultural Affairs of Chile in In-dia, showcased a video on walnuts featuring the characteristics of this wonderful product from Chile, highlighting its value and health properties. He was hopeful that this wonderful nut will be able to

position itself suc-cessfully in the Indian market and conquer the preferences of local consumers.

He later extolled the health virtues of Chil-ean walnuts, which include high levels of antioxidants, which in turn decreases heart risks, improves bone health, helps prevent diabetes and helps in weight management. These nuts can be enjoyed in a mix of

preparations: snacks, appetizers, pastries, chocolates, sauces and fillings for white and red meats, salads or simply on their own at any hour of the day. Many peo-ple from the importers’ fraternity showed great interest in estab-lishing contact with the Walnut Exporters of Chile, which bodes well for the ingredient. ■

Jaime Gonzalez, Counsellor for Agricultural Affairs of Chile in India, showcased a video on walnuts featuring the charac-teristics of this wonderful product from Chile highlighting its value and health properties.

Jaime Gonzalez, counsellor for Agricultural Affairs of chile in india

Chill out With Chilean Walnuts

The Agricultural Office of Chile in India, in conjunction with the PROCHILE Commercial Office of Embassy of Chile in India, organized an event ‘Launching Walnuts from Chile’ in November 2014 to celebrate the market access granted to Chilean

Walnuts in India.


saffola Launches Website For Food Lovers

Following the success of the TV show, Saffola has launched the www.fitfoodie.in website as a one-stop destination for healthier yet delicious recipes.

Are you a foodie who actively seeks out delicious food that is healthy to boot? Do you like to try

out different flavours and cuisines but do not want to compromise on fitness?

If you answered yes to these questions, then you will enjoy the fitfoodie.in website launched by Saffola. The company claims that it has a wide variety of healthy and tasty recipes across different cui-sines, courses and using different ingredients.

All Fit Foodie recipes are created and approved by the Fit Food-ie Panel, consisting of a body of experts headed by Michelin star chef, Vikas Khanna. The others on the panel include nutritionists

Jigna Sheth and Purvi Varma as well as food blog-gers Rekha Kakkar, Deeba Rajpal and Archana Doshi.

HEALTH AND TASTE GO HAND IN HANDWith the belief that health and taste are

not at opposite ends of the spec-trum, but in fact, go hand in hand, Saffola Fit Foodie is a delight for foodies who value fitness. You have healthier versions for scrumptious dishes like a healthier Chicken Biriyani or a Vegetarian Mexican Burger or a Baked Samosa or Bitter Sweet Dark Chocolate Gateau.

The website has an option where users can share a recipe with any-body by clicking on the ‘Send to

Whatsapp’ option and also save it on the mobile phone. Saffola has also developed a Fit Foodie Me-ter, a tool that gives every recipe a health score based on its nutrition-al composition and completeness. Developed in consultation with the Indian Dietary Association, all recipes on the website show scores for two types of recipes – ‘Regular Recipe’ or the most commonly pre-pared form of the dish or the ‘Fit

Foodie Recipe’. This comparison helps you make a healthier choice for your favourite recipes.

The Saffola Fit Foodie Corner has an exclusive member’s zone where you can create your own recipe diary and submit your recipes. These recipes have a chance to be featured on the website selected by Vikas Khanna. Now, cooking healthy and tasty is no more a challenge. ■

Saffola has also developed a Fit Foodie Meter, a tool that gives every recipe a health score based on its nutritional composition and completeness.

QuIC

K BY

tES

team caldron


91% Food Related online searches Are For Indian Recipes:

Bawarchi.comAccording to the study conducted by Bawarchi.com, chicken is the most popular non-vegetarian item and most Indians

prefer continental and American desserts over Indian food.

Bawarchi.com, an online community dedicated to foodies, conducted a study based on over 4 million visits and

searches across 25,000 food reci-pes on its site in the last one year. It revealed that 91% of all online searches related to food are for Indian recipes; both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. This is followed by Italian, Chinese, Con-tinental and American cuisines.

Commenting on the study, Arun Rajamani, Head-Portals, Sify Technologies said, “It was fasci-nating to delve into the minds of our consumers and create perhaps the first scientific study on what food, methodologies and types were popular. It is interesting to note that Indian cuisine is the most popular among our visitors world-wide.”

While 40% of people look for vegetari-an food online, the remaining 60% look for non-vegetarian. Indian vegetarian cuisines account for 97% of searches, while 33% of searches were for sabzis or dry veg-etable preparations. Interestingly, Indian

vegetarians preferred gravies made of paneer and soya, while starters made of cottage cheese are the most searched-for. Another insight is that the most popular method

of cooking searched-for includes stewing, followed by sauté and fry.

otHeR onLIne seARCH tRenDsWhen it comes to non-vegetarian food searches, Indian cuisines top the chart with 85% of people look-ing for it, followed by fusion and continental food. Again, dry gra-vies (43%) are most searched-for in non-vegetarian food, especially those made of chicken, followed by

red meat and seafood. Stewing, fol-lowed by shallow and deep frying, are the most searched-for cooking methods for these dishes. While searching for international cuisine, most Indians looked for pastas and pizzas. Among Chinese food, momos, fried rice, noodles and soups are most searched-for. Spanish and Arabic are the most preferred Mediterranean cuisines followed by Turkish.

It is also interesting to note that about 15% people look for food for kids, while 49% people look

for recipes for the main part of the meal course which includes side dishes, followed by starters (19%) and desserts (14%).

Fried is the most searched-for food cooking method. Fish fry, crispy corn and chicken spring rolls came up as the most popular deep fried food items, whereas Chicken Fry, Keerai Adai and Sooji Ka Cheela are most popular in shallow fried food items. ■

According to the study, Indians prefer parathas and idlis for breakfast, followed by recipes made of oats.

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team caldron


Burger King Japan Debuts Fondue Burger

Don’t let the name beef fondue burger from Burger King Japan convince you that you will get a fondue pot filled with melting cheese to dip the burgers into. Instead, these burgers will be served with a side of cheese sauce with just a hint

of white wine.

Does cheese make your world go round? Do you imagine it dripping off meltingly from

bread buns and trailing a goo-ey path along some meat patties before settling besides some crisp French fries? If you are in Japan, you are in luck because Burger King in that country is launching Beef Fondue Burgers this year.

The burgers will come with a choice of beef or chicken patty and a side of cheese sauce, which has a

hint of white wine. You can either dip the burger into the tiny plas-tic cup with the fondue sauce, or just drizzle this sauce over the top, or better still just lick it off your fingers. If you are a cheese fanatic, that is, because it is going to be one heck of a messy affair, which might be off-putting for some people.This is not the first time that Burger King Japan has come up with an unusual (some might call it outlandish) creation. Not many months ago, it had debuted black burgers, with squid ink lending it a Goth look.

Keeping pace with such extraordi-nary creations from one’s compet-itors is not easy, but McDonald’s in Japan is trying to match up. It will soon be launching a crab croquette burger, with snow crab and mushrooms combining to form the patty. This will be stuffed within ciabatta bread and served with lettuce and tomato sauce. So, it might not be as fancy as Burger King’s beef fondue burger, but at least McDonald’s is not giving up without a fight! ■

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team caldron


sPIRItUAL qUestjaswinder singh

It’s not a joke, guys. Women bartenders are claiming their spot behind bar counters and doing it with style. At least, you can say that for the bunch of talented women who competed at the 1st La Maison Cointreau Women Bartend-

ing Competition in India. Ami Behram Shroff, a free-lance flare bar professional from Mumbai, took home the crown and will represent India at the regional finals in Bangkok this year.

18 Indian women mixologists competed in the semi-finals round in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. Eight were chosen for the finals held at Leela Hotel, Gurgaon. Coming from varied backgrounds and ex-perience at the bar, these ladies enthralled the judges with their mixing skills.

The panel of judges included Shatbhi Basu, India’s first woman bartender, Nandini Bhalla, editor of Cosmopolitan and Naina de Bois-Juzan, co-owner of Le Bistro Du Parc, who were bowled over by Ami’s classic Cointreau cocktail, Kamikaze with a glamor-ous twist, and one of her own recipes, the Cointreau-

licious. Finalists were judged on parameters such as knowledge of the original recipe, innovation with a recipe, bar set-up and efficiency, bartending skills and presentation of recipe and taste.

ReCoGnIsInG WoMen PoWeRThe competition was part of an Asia-Pacific regional mixology challenge by Cointreau to recognise vision-ary talents in the Indian hospitality industry. Speak-ing at the occasion, Shatbhi Basu noted, “Women have never had it easy in any field in India. God for-bid, they should try something as ‘radical’ as manning the bar, as there are lot of roadblocks they encounter in the face of such professional decisions. But more women have taken up the challenge of standing up to these ridiculous stereotypes and prevailed and a lot of them are from smaller towns of India.”

Like Rahul Dravid said, the next crop of Indian crick-eters will come from the small towns. The same can be said for women in the hospitality industry as well. And looking at these young ladies, the future seems very bright indeed! ■

... and takes it over. And that lady is Ami Behram Shroff who will represent India at the La Maison Cointreau championship finals in Bangkok.

A LADY WALKS Into A BAR…


sPIRItUAL qUestla maison cointreau women bartending competition

Ami-Behram-Shroff

Ami-winner-of-La-Maison-cointreau


nICE• SWEEt AnD SPICE •

MAKES EVERYthInG

mix it up


Think of a flavor or an ingredient and there’s a martini you can make to highlight it. All you need is a little imagination and some help on how to muddle the ingredients correctly. Luckily, the bartenders at Santé show you how to whip up some delicious concoctions with interesting ingredients that will wow your guests.


nAuGhtY-nInAuGhtY-nI


If a stiff martini rocks your boat, you will love this potent take on the classic cocktail, with a shot of espresso and a

dash of whisky.

Serves: 1

InGREDIEntS1/4 cup crushed ice cubes

45 ml Scotch whisky15 ml any single origin chocolate, melted

in a double boilerA shot of espresso coffee

Whipping cream, for garnish (optional)Coffee bean, for garnish

MEthoD:Fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes.

Add all ingredients in it and shake well.Strain the drink into a Martini glass. Garnish with some whipping cream

and place a coffee bean gently on the surface before serving.


SMoKIn’ StRAWBERRY


this cocktail is apt for those who like theatrics in their life, and in their drinks.

It requires a little bit of panache to prepare it, and stoicness to finish it at

a go!

Serves: 1

InGREDIEntS 2-3 strawberries1 tsp castor sugarApple wood chips

45 ml vodka 15 ml dry vermouth1 tsp Grenadine syrup

Crushed ice, as required

MEthoD:Halve a strawberry. Rub the rim of chilled martini glass with this half so its juice is

deposited on the rim.Dip the rim into a bowl of sugar until

evenly coated. Chill empty glass in freezer for few minutes.

Fire applewood smoke into the empty martini glass with the help of a smoking

gun. Cover the glass with a lid.Pour vodka, vermouth and grenadine into

a mixing glass with ice. Stir briskly.Strain into martini glass and drop in

strawberries.


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PInK FLoYD'S DRInK In thE

WALL


one sip of this potent cocktail and you might begin thinking that education and self control are overrated, just like Pink

Floyd sang.

Serves: 1

InGREDIEntS30 ml vodka15 ml tequila

15 ml rum 15 ml gin

15 ml triple sec45 ml sweet and sour mix

A splash of colaCrushed ice, as required

15 ml Absinthe Lemon wedge, for garnish

MEthoD:Mix all ingredients, except absinthe, together

over ice, in a glass. Pour into a shaker and give one brisk shake. Pour back into the glass and make sure there

is a touch of fizz at the top. Finish with absinthe.

Garnish with a lemon wedge.


DAIRY MILK MARtInI

Light on the palate, yet high on sweetness - that is how you can best describe this

chocolatey smooth cocktail!

Serves: 1

InGREDIEntS45 ml vodka

1 bar of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk at room temperature

15 ml creme de cacao15 ml heavy cream

Ice cubes, as required

MEthoD:Combine all ingredients together in a blender

half-filled with ice cubes. Blend until a layer of froth forms.

Pour into a martini glass and serve immediately.

Dust with Dutch cocoa powder and garnish with a thin slab of Dairy Milk chocolate bar.


All recipes by Santé, Mumbai


tAKInG thE RoAD LESS tRAVELLED

RoAMInG RoVeRparul pratap shirazi

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the differ-

ence.” – Robert Frost

Clichéd but true! Travel from the concrete jungle of Gurgaon to lush village farms; this season every-

thing around is in beautiful hues of emerald green and mustard yellow. Consider leaving behind every-thing that you know and de-gadget for a change.

These are the basic objectives of a ‘staycation’; you don’t go too far but you go far away enough to make it feel like a vacation of sorts. Make what you will of it, but ‘stay-cations’ are here to stay!

This winter, we defied fog and ignored the beckoning of for-

eign shores and hopped, skipped and drove our way across to The Gateway Resort at Damdama Lake, an hour short of Gurgaon. This is the first Gateway branded resort launched by Gateway Hotels & Resorts in association with Samak Dhoot Resorts & Spa and it marks the entry of the hotel chain in the NCR region.

In sYnC WItH nAtUReTucked away in the Aravalli Hills, the resort spreads over 20 acres of landscaped gardens, adventure sports, nature nooks and not-to-be-missed orange laden trees! It is a nature-inspired urban sanctu-ary that follows the principles of re-purpose, re-use and re-create.

Do note the installations and sculptures dotted across the prop-erty, mostly made with repurposed metal – they reinforce the concept

of local and heritage! The artwork, including scrap metal sculptures, embroidered and hand-painted textiles and studio ceramics reflect the essence of the rural habitat. This is a recurrent theme at Gate-way Resorts, since they aim to absorb the local flavours of each destination, even extending to the kitchen!

The resort offers 78 spacious rooms including 2 suites, each with serene views of the surrounding landscape. As a destination, this resort is designed as a weekend retreat, creating a luxurious yet homely atmosphere nestled in a natural environment. The archi-tecture attempts to dissolve the literal boundaries of the building to integrate the inside and outside. So there is plenty of space, air and light, with ceiling to floor bay win-dows and plenty of foliage!

Take heed of what poet Robert Frost wrote and disengage from the chaos of Gurgaon to head to the calmness of The Gateway Resort at Damdama Lake.


Swirl @ The Gateway resort


RoAMInG RoVeRthe gateway resort, damdama

A daylight view of the pool

Sian @ The Gateway resort


RooMs WItH VIeWsOur room was thankfully on the ground floor. As much as I like resorts that are one level, space is something that needs to be creat-ed, so our block was duplex! Spa-cious and neatly settled, the rooms are all about the view and if I may say, the bathroom!Our bay window allowed us a view of poinsettias in full bloom and burdened orange trees; it allowed us to enjoy a cup of hot coffee in the sun without being outdoors and had we stayed longer, it would have been for this!

The bed is king size but there is a provision for an equally com-fortable extra bed for kids. The in-room entertainment allows the use of DVDs and there is uSB streaming as well, so feel free to bring movies of your choice! We didn’t do any of that so we had the television for respite, which

didn’t suffice considering the lack of channels for kids. Though to be fair, you don’t come here for indoor entertainment, you come here to commune with nature, so do just that! The in-room bar is sparse so bring snacks if you’re like us; we need to eat through the holiday!

PeRFeCt FoR tHe ACtIVe FAMILYIdeally, check in at noon and then head out to explore the property. The adventure sports complex nestled within the resort offers Zorbing, Rock Climbing, Balloon Bursting, Blind Mine Field, Spider Web and more. If the kids are old enough or your heart is young enough, this can be loads of fun!If you’re here for a longer stay,

then balance your meals with your workouts at the fitness center - Ac-tive Studio, Celsius the pool, The Spa or the sports park, which has a cricket pitch and goal posts! We ended up at the recreation centre, enjoying a bit of old school carom board while my 8-year old daugh-ter chose the X-Box.

The essence of these sporting activities is togetherness, in a place where you don’t hear a car horn or the neighbour’s dog! The Spa fits in naturally in the resort given that the entire ambiance is peaceful, fragrant and serene.

PLentY on oUR PLAtesLunch time comes faster when you are having fun and we enjoyed ours at Buzz, the all-day dining

restaurant. The menu is a cos-mopolitan mix of international cuisine and au-thentic regional home-style deli-cacies. Buzz also offers an Active Foods Menu for

those who are health conscious. We, instead, decided to indulge in one of the finest thalis we’d had in a long time, the Haryanvi Thali.

The Gateway Resort takes the concept of home-style cooking very seriously. At all their proper-ties, they have on their rolls a local home-cook or chef who makes the best local foods. So then, when in Haryana, do as the Haryanvis do; we did!

Superior resort room A.

Don’t miss the organic vegetable garDen, the kiDs will love it. marvel at their ques-

tions because the proDuce they usually see is baggeD in grocery stores whilst here

it is pulleD straight from the soil, cookeD anD serveD!



Buzz day

The Lobby

Sumalya Sarkar, executive chef, The Gateway resort damdama Lake, Gurgaon



Our Thali made by Chef Mukesh (she is the village’s top chef) was spectacular. Chicken curry in a light, onion and tomato gravy, dal with the deep, creamy flavour of ghee and rotis so delicious, we probably had half a dozen each. I suggest you request for this meal and keep the Buzz lunch buffet for Day 2.

Chef Sumalya Sarkar, Executive Chef, worked with five local chefs, sampling and standardizing to create a local menu you will be surprised by! The austere cuisine inspired menu includes gravies and pulses made with locally sourced produce paired with a se-lection of breads. The Bajre ki Khichri is a must-try.Post-lunch siestas are mandatory and considering the silent peace, do yourself a favour and tuck yourself in. Wake up at tea time, order in the coffee; it comes pip-ing hot and in under 15 minutes. Add a snack if you like; the room service menu is multi-cuisine as well!

Once you’re recharged, pick up Firefox bikes from the Adventure Camp and go check out the proper-ty. Don’t miss the organic vegetable garden, the kids will love it. Marvel at their questions because the produce they usually see is bagged in grocery stores whilst here it is pulled straight from the soil, cooked and served!

If you find the hammock like we did, then a book is a must have; let the kids enjoy the space and you enjoy yours! I did miss the presence of a few farm animals though – seeing some aquatic birds as well as a turtle or two would have been nice!

eLABoRAte PReP FoR DInneRFor dinner head to Sian, the Chinese and Thai kitch-en at the resort. You see the Taj’s stamp of excellence in service amongst the gentle and courteous staffers.

Though sushi and pork dishes were unavailable, our server’s suggestions made our meal memorable nev-ertheless. The menu is being worked on and so far the selection has fantastic seafood preps. Don’t miss the pan fried noodles and the Deep Fried Ice Cream.We hit the bar post-Sian, since we prefer our liquor as a digestif. Tuck the kids in with a movie, you’re only a call away, and head to Swirl for a drink. The bar seems more sci-fi, which is a little removed from the nature-inspired interiors throughout the resort.

CAtCH soMe MIGRAtoRY BIRDsMake the next day count by taking a trip to the Hot Springs of Sohna or a quick dekko of the ancient Shiva temple nearby. The resort will gladly pack sandwiches for the little drive. You can also consider a picnic at Damdama Lake. Though the lake isn’t very grand, the season saw the arrival of several migratory birds.

Since you’re a stone’s throw from the property, return to the Buzz for the buffet lunch, which is an impres-sive spread of multi-cuisine food. Since it is a rotational menu, I hope there’s fish curry the day you’re there!

If you need some time to unwind and relax without feeling like you are going too far from home base, a staycation is best – especially when you visit places like The Gateway Resort at Damdama Lake. You feel pampered, cared for and yet uninhibited to do the things you would not be able to do back at home – including getting in touch with nature. ■

chef sumalya sarkar, executive chef, workeD with five local chefs, sampling anD

stanDarDizing to create a local menu you will be surpriseD by!



BooK ReVIeW

parul pratap shirazi

World Feast – My Favourite Kitchen

Publisher: Om Books International, 2014Pages: 384availability: Offline and Online storesPrice: INR 2097 (Flipkart.com)

iSBn-10: 9384225657iSBn-13: 9789384225650Format: Hardcoverlanguage: English

My family eats out all the time. We have our favou-rite restaurants, chefs and meals

that we swear by. However, there is a trade secret that most guests in restaurants are not privy, which I am. I am talking about ‘staff meals’.

These are meals that chefs cook for their staff. If you have never worked in a hotel’s kitchen, let me tell you that these are amongst the tastiest meals you could ever eat. They might not have the gourmet trappings of truffles, chipotle, aged cheddar or scallops. What they do have, however, is the combined prowess of the chef and his/her love for food!

Most of the cookbooks penned by chefs these days, especially those of international repute, pander to flamboyant recipes using osten-tatious ingredients with affected preparation methods. It is unfor-tunate that the said chefs avoid putting down the wholesome and

humble staff meals they would pre-pare for their teams in these books instead.

I was rather thrilled to find that ‘Vikas Khanna’s World Feast – My Favourite Kitchen’ cookbook has tried to buck this trend. It is an im-pressive compilation of staff meals that came out of Junoon’s New York kitchen! After going through it, I believe this is soon-to-become the bible of world foods.

An IMPRessIVe toMeFor those who came in late, Ju-noon is more than Vikas Khanna’s Indian restaurant in the Big Apple. It is his pride and joy and a defin-ing chapter in his life’s story.

I was delighted to attend the launch of the book where Vikas spoke at length about his staff, which includes sous chefs from South America, dishwashers from even farther and a smattering of Europeans and Asians –all of whom come together to make the Junoon kitchen a true melting pot

of culinary cultures. The book contains personal glimpses into Vikas’s life in New York City. It is a visual tour of his favourite places, monuments and moments. You can feel his sense of pride for what he has achieved in a foreign nation and his humility for showcasing the people who helped him reach there!

The sheer size of the book makes it a collectible coffee table décor piece. The photography is awe-in-spiring and commands a chunk of the book. It is interesting to note that the 400 pages contain only 125 recipes, but each one is a good read.

Most of the featured recipes are personalized and include a piece of history. Since the history belongs to a person, it makes the whole reading, recreating experience more intimate and in a sense more comfortable. From Mario Batali inspired Potato Cakes, Gordon Ramsay’s Eggplant Rollatini to Mrs. D’Souza’s Cream Cheese and

One of the things that entice you about Vikas Khanna’s ‘World Feast – My Favourite Kitchen’ is that the produce mentioned in the recipes is

surprisingly easier to find than most internationally styled cookbooks. Of course, the irresistible photos of Vikas’ journey and his culinary creations

are easy on the eye too.


BooK ReVIeW

world feast – my faVourite Kitchen

Rose Flan, I love how the recipes flow from celebrity chefs to real people to real kitchens.

tHe IDeAL stAFF MeALSince the book was launched on December 2014, when it was peak winter in the northern cities of In-dia, I chose to try out a lamb dish, Spicy Lamb Curry with Fennel and Cloves, from the cookbook, and see how that turned out. It has familiar flavours of fennel and cloves, the much-needed kick of red chillies and the depth of soy sauce.

For me, this is a real staff meal. It has slow-cooked, regular cuts of meat and is a one-pot prep, which

is best enjoyed with fluffy white rice. The latter is a staple in any Indian household and thick gravy is the perfect accompaniment.

I suggest you start your journey through this book with a recipe like this – its familiarity will help you build a relationship with what could possibly be your favourite cookbook for the year to come!While perusing ‘Vikas Khanna’s World Feast – My Favourite Kitch-en’, I was delighted to note that the produce used in the recipes is surprisingly easier to find than most internationally styled cook-books. It is no longer unusual to stock wild rice, kiwi or Szechuan pepper in our kitchen cabinets or

to source them, which makes this book easier to follow.

As an overview, it is quite apparent that these recipes were comfort-ing meals and not pretentious $50 platters because there is a sense of simplicity that flows effortlessly. Barring the Maple Syrup Turkey, nothing in the book is overtly gourmet or requires more than 12-15 ingredients. Thankfully, there is also minimal use of gadgets, machines and techniques that are unusual for a home kitchen. Only the size of the book could be a hindrance for which I suggest you do what I do, take a picture of the recipe and take the phone to the kitchen! ■

Spicy Lamb Curry with Fennel and Cloves{ I N G R E D I E N T S }

2 tbsp oil2 medium white onions, sliced

1-inch fresh ginger, finely chopped2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

½ cup carrot puree1 tbsp black pepper, coarsely

ground1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp tomato paste1 tsp ground fennel1 tsp ground cloves

2 fresh red chillies, slit

1 kg lamb shoulder, cut into 1” pieces

Salt, to taste

{ M E T H O D }

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over me-dium-high heat.

2. Add the onions, ginger and garlic, and cook for about 2-3 minutes, stirring occa-sionally until the onions are translucent.

3. Add the carrot puree, black pepper, soy sauce, tomato paste, ground fennel, cloves and slit red chillies.

4. Cook stirring for about 3-4 minutes until the flavours are well combined. Add a little water if required.

5. Add the lamb and salt, and cook, stirring occasionally until the lamb is cooked through and the sauce is thick and very fragrant, about 20-25 minutes. Serve hot with steamed rice.


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gOOd dROP Wine CellaRS launCheS CaSaBlanCa SPaRkling Wine

Good Drop Wine Cellars has launched Casa-blanca, which the company claims is India’s first Prosecco styled sparkling wine. This range of three varieties is made from a blend of four grape varieties. These are Chenin Blanc to give it the front palate and aromat-ics, Sauvignon Blanc to add to its length and crisp acidity, Shiraz to hold the mid-palate as well as Symphony, which is a cross between Muscat and Grenache Gris to give it a floral Muscat nose.

The wines are made by the Charmat method, which naturally generates its sparkle through a secondary fermentation in the tank. Lees contact for three months creates a delicate wine with a hint of complexity, while the sweetness level is limited to a dry or sec style. The pale straw colour hints at a generous fruity nose of kiwi and grape fruit layered with lime and floral undertones. It has a light body on the palate reminiscent of pear and green apple with a predominant acidic struc-ture ending with smooth and lingering finish.

ChOCO MOCha - gelaTO iTalianO’S FlavOR FOR januaRY

Kick-start your year with a sinful indulgence from Gelato Italiano. This January, Gelato Italiano brings coffee and chocolate lovers the best of both worlds with its new flavour ‘Choco Mocha’.

A blend of rich crema, chocolate sauce and enticing coffee make for the perfect indulgence. Pair this soft and creamy ice cream with a crunchy cone across Gelato Italiano outlets in New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai and Cochin.

In addition, Gelato Italiano offers all its customers a INR 10 ‘Paytm’ mobile recharge coupon on every purchase done for ‘Flavour of the Month’. This offer is available for the month of January 2015.

RajhanS nuTRiMenTS launCheS hOP-PiTS ChOCOlaTe BaRS

Rajhans Nutriments, a division of Rajhans (De-sai-Jain) Group, launched Hoppits, a premium chocolate bar and also signed up actress Priyanka Chopra as its brand ambassador. Launched under the Schmitten umbrella, these chocolates are available in 4 exciting variants, including Rich Caramel with Golden Nougat, Roast Almond with White Nougat, Dark Chocolate with Granola and Nuts, Dark Chocolate with Granola and Fruits. Hoppits is priced at INR 25 and INR 40 for 25g ad 40g bars respectively.

Jayesh Desai, Chairman of Rajhans Group said, “With Hoppits, we wanted to create a niche segment for Granola dark choco-late bars. We recently launched Schmitten, a premium chocolate made from Swiss technologies with seven exciting variants, which has received excellent response from the consumers.” He added that Hoppits is man-ufactured in a 1.75 lakh square feet factory in Surat using top-in-class European equipment manufacturer, to adhere to strict Swiss inter-national standards.

Pan india FOOd SOluTiOnS launCheS lOYalTY ReWaRdS PROgRaM

Pan India Food Solutions, with brands like Noodle Bar, Spaghetti Kitchen, Copper Chim-ney, Bombay Blue, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, has introduced a Pan India Loyalty Rewards program across India to provide their patrons a chance to enjoy a unique culinary experi-ence at valued prices. The Blue Food Rewards (BFR) comes with special benefits given each time guests dine at any of these restaurants throughout India.

BFR members are also eligible for a wide ar-ray of exclusive privileges such as 5 gourmet points awarded on every INR 100 spent and various other privileges on special occasions and festivals. They also enjoy exclusive pre-views on food festival days & offers initiated by them.

Commenting on the launch, Pan India Food Solutions CEO, K.S Narayanan says, “Through this new loyalty rewards program, we want to recognize those shoppers who continue to be loyal to our brands and engage new shop-pers by offering a very distinctive program. As we continue to grow, the BFR program will focus on finding meaningful ways to engage and deliver value to our loyal customers.”


add Fun TO SundaYS aT vivanTa BY Taj-COnneMaRa

If you are looking for a perfect recipe for a fun Sunday outing, visit the Verandah, an all-day dining multi-cuisine restaurant at Vivanta by Taj-Connemara for a leisurely brunch. Beat the heat with a long relaxing soak in the pool followed by the lavish all-new brunch buffet featuring a medley of Italian, Anglo-Indian and South Indian cuisine, all perfectly combined with unlimited sparkling wine, beer and other spirits from the select bar.

Choose from the salad bar, soups, delicates-sen counter, cheese counter and home-made bread counter. Enjoy grills in Indian and continental marination as well as live chaat and oriental counters. Savour all this while enjoying live music with the in-house DJ. There is something for your kids too, with a kid zone that has different activities to keep the little ones entertained. The Sunday Brunch Buffet is priced at INR 1,750, without alcohol and INR 1,950, with alcohol.

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hilTOn WORldWide launCheS dOuBleTRee BY hilTOn agRa

Hilton Worldwide opened DoubleTree by Hilton Agra offering a magnificent view of Taj Mahal. Located 10 kilometers from the Agra airport, it is also near popular attractions and shopping districts includ-ing the Agra Fort, Akbar’s Tomb, Jama Masjid and Kinari Bazaar. The hotel is owned by Archer Hospitality Private Lim-ited and managed by Hilton Worldwide. “The opening of DoubleTree by Hilton Agra marks our entry into one of the most important leisure markets in India for both DoubleTree by Hilton and Hilton Worldwide,” said John Greenleaf, Global Head, DoubleTree by Hilton. The DoubleTree by Hilton Agra features 104 guestrooms, including four suites, equipped with modern amenities including the signature Sweet Dreams by Double-Tree sleep experience bed, Wi-Fi, 42” HDTV, tea and coffee making facilities, mini bar, electronic safe and a three or four-fixture bathroom with a walk-in rain shower.

Guests will be able to choose from four dining venues at the hotel, including: North 27, a trendy all-day global cuisine restaurant; Kebab-E-Que, offering the best of Indian North-West Frontier cuisine; Plush Bar, an uber cool lounge; and The Food Store, an all-day café and deli that serves fresh pastries, sandwiches and beverages for dine-in or takeaway. Recreational facilities at the hotel include an outdoor infinity pool with views of the Taj Mahal, a complimentary 24-hour fitness centre, Kids’ Activities Room, spa and a salon.


MaRRiOTT hOTelS OPenS Shunde MaRRiOTT hOTel in SOuTheRn China

Marriott International, Inc celebrated the recent opening of its first hotel under its flagship Marriott Hotels brand in Shunde, a district of Foshan in Guangdong Province. The 258-room Shunde Marriott Hotel is only 10-minute drive to both Shunde Station of Guangzhou Railway and Shunde Port, 30 minutes to Guangzhou South Railway Station and 60 minutes to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.

“We are proud to open the company’s 76th Marriott International hotel across six brands in China and to bring the total number of properties in China under our flagship Marriott Hotels brand to 19 properties,” said Henry Lee, Chief Operations Officer, Greater China of Marriott International.

Hotel guests can enjoy a diversity of local and international culinary delights at three restaurants. Goji Kitchen and Bar features an innovative flexible micro-concept that offers two different distinctive dining experiences. It features sumptuous buffet as well as a la carte menu; Man Ho Chinese restaurant offers authentic Cantonese cuisine in an elegantly-appointed ambience; The Lounge is a relaxing place to enjoy locally inspired cocktails, specialty drinks and signature Chinese teas.

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STeak & SuShi aT Mazina, The addReSS duBai MaRina

Meat lovers in Dubai will be on a roll every Thursday as Mazina at the The Address Dubai Marina hosts a Steak and Sushi night. From 7pm to 11pm, guests can enjoy carefully crafted sushi and steak preparations for AED 265 for steak and sushi or AED 180 for sushi or steak only.

The portions are flexible, so you can taste many of the finest quality meats and fresh fish hand picked by the restaurant’s chefs.

neW YORk’S kniCkeRBOCkeR hOTel annOunCeS FeBRuaRY 2015 OPening

Enviably situated on the corners of 42nd Street and Broadway overlooking the heart of Times Square, The Knickerbocker Hotel in New York will open its doors February 12, 2015, revealing an elegant, urban 330-room hotel that pulses with the energy of contemporary fashion, flavors, fitness and finesse. Originally opened in 1906 by John Jacob Astor IV, The Knickerbocker is the rumored birthplace of the original martini and the first hotel to offer a multidimensional lifestyle experience.

A member of The Leading Hotels of the World, The Knickerbocker will provide the best of everything New York has to offer. All 330 guestrooms, including 27 Junior Suites and four Signature Suites, will provide a sleek and contemporary, customized layout, outfitted in bespoke furnishings.

It has partnered with master chef Charlie Palmer to debut several exceptional dining venues and ensure a sophisticated level of taste throughout the hotel. Guests will have the option to dine at Charlie Palmer at The Knick – the hotel's full service restaurant and bar; JAKES @ The Knick – a coffeehouse and artisanal cafe; and St. Cloud - one of the most magnificent rooftop bars in New York City. In addition, priority access and preferential treatment will also be offered to hotel guests at Palmer's flagship restaurant Aureole, located just across the street from The Knickerbocker.


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LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort on Florida’s Gulf Coast invites revelers to escape the hustle-and-bustle of seasonal stressors and savor an ultra luxury celebration with the all-inclusive ‘Champagne Wishes’ escape promotion upto 28th February, 2015, starting at $18,000 for 3 nights. Whether toasting to warm weather and stunning sunsets or the holiday season with that special someone, guests experience one-day aboard a private chartered yacht and three-nights in deluxe beachfront suite accommodations complete with indulgent amenities, all without having to lift a finger.

To kick-off the grandiose ‘Champagne Wishes’ experience in the posh resort town of Naples -- touting more millionaires per capita than any other Florida city -- following limo service from the airport, LaPlaya greets travelers upon check-in with an iced magnum of Veuve Clicquot and two Swarovski crystal champagne flutes, before whisking guests away for a day out on the turquoise-blue waters of Florida's Gulf Coast aboard a 48' private chartered yacht.

Once back on dry land, the award-winning Baleen promises pleased palates with "Toes in the Sand" dining -- an experience found nowhere else in Naples -- featuring premium wines and a coastal twist on traditional flavors. Following dinner, couples cozy up by an intimate beachside fire pit and sip chilled champagne before retiring to casually elegant accommodations for sweet slumber, sinking into pillow-top mattresses and goose-down pillows.

As visions of sugarplums dance through heads, alarm clocks are turned off, allowing visitors to sleep with ease knowing they will awake only to the sound of waves crashing on the shore. To ensure the utmost relaxation throughout the retreat, daily in-room breakfast is provided, complete with mimosas, of course.

Meliá uBud OPenS in Bali

Meliá Hotels International opened a new hotel in Bali, the Meliá Ubud, under a management agreement with PT Pilar Prambanan INvestama. This resort is a 45-minute drive from Ngurah Rai International Airport and will consist of 49 beautiful keys, including a venue for weddings and events – one of the most successful market segments in Bali - and a relaxation area with a magnificent YHI Spa.

Bernardo Cabot, VP-Asia Pacific, Meliá Hotels International said, “The Melia Brand has been present in Bali almost 30 years being part of the development of the destination. Melia Hotels International is very excited adding Melia Ubud to our portfolio, giving our clients additional accommodation options and increasing our cross selling opportunity between our properties in Nusa Dua, Benoa and Legian”.Meliá Ubud will become the forth hotel in Bali and the tenth hotel in Indonesia, alongside Gran Meliá Jakarta, Melia Bali, Meliá Purosani, Sol Beach House Benoa Bali, and the upcoming Gran Meliá Bintan, Meliá Surabaya, Innside Yogjakarta, Innside Makassar and Sol House Legian, which are currently in the pre-opening stage. With this addition to its portfolio, Meliá Hotels International continues to grow in Asia Pacific, with 20 other hotels in the region including countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, and Mongolia.

MaShaWi nighT aT The addReSS duBai Mall

Embark on a spectacular BBQ experience at Cabana at The Address Dubai Mall. Unwind to the beautiful melodies of an Arabian Oud player during an evening filled with authentic treats; from heartily Arabian appetizers to sumptuous BBQ delights. Watch the main course being prepared at the live BBQ station while gazing at the stunning backdrop of Burj Khalifa.

This is definitely something for the entire family to enjoy every Saturday between 6:30pm to 11pm for AED 250 inclusive of water, soft drinks and chilled juices. For AED 350, this is inclusive of selected house beverages.


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JoacHim beuckelaer (1533–1575), kitcHen scene, witH Jesus in tHe House of martHa and mary in tHe background (1566), 171 x 250 cm (67.3 x 98.4 in)

The calendar


1 Bloody Mary Day 16 Inter Hot & spicy Food Day

2 Cream Puff Day 17 Hot-Buttered Rum Day

3 Chocolate-Filled Cherry Day 18 Peking Duck Day

4 spaghetti Day 19 Popcorn Day

5 Whipped Cream Day 20 Cheese Lover's Day

6 shortbread Day 21 new england Clam Chowder Day

7 tempura Day 22 Blonde Brownie Day

8 english toffee Day 23 Rhubarb Pie Day

9 Apricot Day 24 Peanut Butter Day

10 Bittersweet Chocolate Day 25 Irish Coffee Day

11 Hot toddy Day 26 Pistachio Day

12 Curried Chicken Day 27 Chocolate Cake Day

13 Peach Melba Day 28 Blueberry Pancake Day

14 Hot Pastrami sandwich Day 29 Corn Chip Day

15 strawberry Ice Cream Day 30 Croissant Day

31 Brandy Alexander Day

Food Days in January 2015

From to What Where

16 Jan 25 Jan Pie and Beer festival Grand Mercure, Bangalore

25 Jan the sunday District District 6, Bangalore

14 Jan Pongal Delicacies southern spice, taj Hotels, Chennai

18 Jan Punjabi tadka Café Delhi Heights, Delhi-nCR

02 Jan 15 Feb the Winter Collection spice Route, the Imperial, new Delhi

06 Jan 31 Jan strawberry Festival shiv sagar, new Delhi

09 Jan 31 Jan Amrosu soup Festival at nagaland's Kitchen nagaland's Kitchen, new Delhi

11 Jan 20 Jan sardiyan da swad Baywatch, Welcomhotel saket, new Delhi

12 Jan 18 Jan tex-Mex Delights Blooms, eros Hotel, new Delhi

13 Jan Lohri celebrations the Chatter House, new Delhi

13 Jan Celebrate Lohri Paranda, Vivanta by taj, surajkund

15 Jan 15 Feb Rustic Grills 1911, the Imperial, new Delhi

07 Jan 31 Jan Dim sum Food Festival Binge, noIDA

05 Jan 15 Jan thai seafood Festival thai Pavilion at Vivanta by taj, Gurgaon

16 Jan Frisky Pints Band Live sandy's Cocktails & Kitchen, Gurgaon

18 Jan sunday Brunch sandy's Cocktails & Kitchen, Gurgaon

09 Jan 18 Jan sher-e-Punjab Fest taj Banjara, Hyderabad

26 Jan Republic day Lunch the square, novotel Hyderabad

30 Jan Fridays Highway on Your Plate the square, novotel, Hyderabad

31 Jan saturdays BBq Goes Asian the square, novotel, Hyderabad

21 Jan 25 Jan Zee Jaipur Literature Festival 2015 Jaipur

04 Jan 31 Jan Menu of Berry Icing on top, Mumbai

16 Jan 31 Jan Burgers & Bourbon La Bar Diamantaire, sofitel, Mumbai

17 Jan 25 Jan Jashne Zaika Frontier Food Festival saptami, Holiday Inn, Mumbai

18 Jan Pop-Up Brunch Bazaar Copa, Mumbai

19 Jan sante's Karaoke nights sante, C'est La Vie, Mumbai

23 Jan 31 Jan Coastal Delights novotel, Juhu, Mumbai

25 Jan triple the Fun novotel, Juhu, Mumbai

Republic day Brunch the square, novotel, Juhu, Mumbai

10 Jan 31 Jan spaghetti Kitchen, Pan India

14 Jan Pongal special eighty eight, Hyatt, Pune

25 Jan sunday Brunch Four Points by sheraton, Pune

Food promotions in January 2015


Awww... did it have to end?

caldron magazine, january 2015

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