Four Years of Bombay Foodie

February 3, 2008: I baked my first cookie. I also wrote my first blogpost.

I didn't know this blog will change so many things in my life.

I didn't know Mumbai food blogger community will grow to 40-odd people. And we'd have so much fun when we meet.

I had no idea I will make so many blogging friends in so many parts of the world.

I also didn't think I will stop buying flowers or wine or other gifts when I go visit a friend and will bake them cookies instead. And they'd all love them so much.

I couldn't imagine the way people's eyes light up when you talk about food, and the way everyone's interested no matter what they do or who they are.

But most of all, I didn't know I'd have so much fun on the way.

To everyone who stopped by Bombay Foodie to read my posts, or leave a comment: A HUGE THANK YOU!

Life is like a box of macarons

Photo Credit: Nikhil Merchant

You never know what the next flavor is going to be.
And you will never find out until you take a risk and take that first bite.

Life's just handed me a box of macarons.

Next week, I will give up my job and move to London as a full time student. You will see a little less of me at Bombay Foodie in the coming months, but you can follow my adventures all of next year, as A Student in London.

Come join me as I explore a new lifestyle in my favorite city!

Strawberries and Cream

Panacotta - for isn't that just another name for cooked cream - as the new friend for first strawberries of this season.

David Lebovitz said that you are doing something wrong if you need more than 5 minutes to make panacotta. It actually took me less than the allotted five minutes to get the panacotta ready, pour it into shot glasses and put it in the fridge to set.

Topping the panacotta is a balsamic strawberry coulis. Start with one cup of sliced strawberries. This goes into a blender with a tbsp of balsamic vinegar, 2 tbsp basil leaves and a tbsp of caster sugar (more if you like your strawberries sweeter). Blend into a puree.

Once the panacotta has set 2-4 hours later, carefully pour the coulis into the glass. Chill some more, then enjoy the newfangled strawberries and cream.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

The setting is Edgecombe St. Mary, a sleepy little village in the English countryside. The unlikely hero is Major Pettigrew - old retired Major who sticks to tradition and honor above all else. When he decides to turn tradition on its head and falls in love with a Pakistani widow running the only store in the village, chaos ensues. Helen Simonson's first book - our book club's pick for the month - is thoroughly enjoyable for its quirky characters and funny, almost absurd situations. I ended up being charmed by the Major.

To celebrate one of the best books I've read in a while, I thought up a rather elaborate dessert. It had to be British, and what's more English than a trifle.

The bottom layer is an apple jelly. I knew my other layers will be super sweet so I kept this one fresh and simple. I soaked one gelatin sheet in cold water. Next, I heated 50 ml apple juice. Squeezed out water from the gelatin and added it to the now warm juice. Stirred it around until the gelatin was completely dissolved, then added another 100 ml of apple juice to the mix and gave it a minute or so on the stove so everything was heated. I poured this jelly into three glasses, let it cool, then put it in the fridge for a couple of hours to set.

In the meantime, I made the next layer - the sponge cake. I've had limited luck making sponge in the past but Deeba said her recipe works like a charm. And it does! The sponge cake had a perfect texture. I still think it tastes a little eggy but it wont matter in this trifle. Once the sponge was cooled, I cut rounds with my cookie cutter to fit the glass and dropped them on top of the jelly.

Next comes caramel apple, the star of the show. I peeled two golden apples (you can use granny smith) and cut them into 1 cm cubes. In a thick bottomed pan, I mixed apples with 3 tbsp sugar and heated them until the sugar started to caramalize. Added a tbsp of butter, mixed everything in and kept cooking until the sugar had turned into a rich amber caramel and the apples were cooked through. I let them cool and then added them on top of the sponge.

Are you thinking that there's something off in this dish...that it's so English. And where, then you say, is Mrs. Ali. She comes forth in the last layer, the custard that isn't your creme anglaise but is in fact the way pouring custard is made in India and Pakistan. This is the custard that comes in a packet and all you need to do is mix it with milk and sugar, then boil until thick. Let it cool a bit too before you pour it as the final layer on the trifle. Put the assembled dessert in the fridge for a few hours and it will taste a lot better.

Balsamic Stuffed Mushrooms

This is one of those perfect appetizers for lazy afternoons or weekend evenings. Start with a packet of button mushrooms. Mine had 15-16 mushrooms. Wash the mushrooms thoroughly, then take off the stems to leave some space in the caps for you to stuff. You can use the stems in a stock if you like (don't be like me and throw them away - they make a great stock).

In a bowl big enough to fit all mushrooms, mix 2 tbsp olive oil, a tbsp of balsamic vinegar and plenty of salt and fresh ground pepper. Whisk until you have an emulsion. Add mushrooms and toss to coat well. Leave these in the fridge until you are ready to cook them, but at least for half an hour.

In the meantime, make the stuffing. Start with 50 grams of paneer (or ricotta if that's what you have). Mash well. Add 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese and 8-10 basil leaves that you have chopped finely. I find that cutting the herbs with scissors is usually much quicker and neater than using any knives. Also add salt to taste but go easy here because there's salt already in mushrooms and in parmesan.

When you are ready to eat the mushrooms, preheat the oven to as high as it will go. Mine goes up to 270C. Fill each mushroom with the stuffing and arrange on a baking tray. Bake on the top rack of the oven until the mushrooms are cooked through and the stuffing gets a little browned on top.

Looks familiar?

This is the ultimate quandary. I like pizzas from Pizza Hut but can't stand their garlic bread. And it's just the reverse for Domino's - LOVE their garlic bread but would rather pass on their pizzas. If only it was that simple.

Domino's steadfastly refuses to deliver anything unless you order a pizza first. And tired of ordering a pizza which I give away the next morning, I decided to make my own garlic bread.

It's a basic focaccia recipe, altered to fit the bill. First off, heat 1/2 cup water until it's warm but not hot. 20 seconds in the microwave usually does it. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp of active dry yeast and let proof for 5 minutes.

To the now bubbling yeast, add 1 tbsp olive oil and a cup of plain flour. Mix until the flour is all blended in, then cover and let rise until doubled. Took about half an hour in Mumbai weather.

Now that you have a sponge, add another 1/2 cup flour, salt to taste and (this is most critical) 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Knead for around 5 minutes until you have a smooth dough. It will still be very wet. Let it rise again until doubled.

At this stage, preheat your oven to as high as it goes. Lightly flour your counter and roll out the dough to a rough rectangle. Transfer it to a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush olive oil on top and open up a few packets of Domino's seasoning you saved from the last order to sprinkle on top (or oregano if you must). Cut into strips with a pizza cutter and bake until browned on top, about 10-12 minutes.

The bread looked and tasted "almost" like Domino's. Almost but not quite because my courage failed me at the last minute and I simply could not pour as much oil on top as Domino's does. But go ahead and do that if you like and you will never have to order extra pizzas again.

Sunday Night Salad

I don't know about you, but I usually start thinking about making a salad by the time sunday evening rolls in. Sort of a compensation for pizza and chocolate excesses of the past two days.

Usually made with whatever I can find in the fridge, this sunday night salad can be a hit or miss affair. Today's was a hit. The salad is a mix of steamed corn, alfalfa sprouts, feta cheese and basil. Dressed simply with salt, pepper and lime juice. Then surrounded by my latest find this season - black cherry tomatoes.

The Beach Cafe

Sometimes we get the best gifts and don't even realize how big they are. In the Beach Cafe, the book our club read this month, this happens to Evie, our heroine. Evie is one of those people who muddle alongside a highly successful family. They know Evie's not in their league and never fail to remind her. Everyone except for her aunt, who dies in a car crash and leaves her cafe set by a Cornwall beach to Evie.

Even then, Evie doesn't realize the gift she's been given. After a series of mishaps involving her trying to remotely run the cafe, dealing with some sticky staff situations, Evie comes over to this little Cornish town to live. And to enjoy her legacy. The book is all about this ugly duckling turning into a swan. There is also some romance thrown in and while the story is utterly predictable, this is a great sunday afternoon read.

What else is great on sunday afternoons? Cakes, specially since cakes were what made Evie's aunt so popular. And cakes were what put Evie back on track in running the cafe (well, Cornish pasties did too, but Sweatha already made some). And for this book, I decided to spend my sunday afternoon baking the ultimate vanilla cupcakes. Stef over at cupcake project nominated test bloggers for this one...I wrote in but she didn't pick me so I had to wait until she made the recipe public a few days back.

To make the cupcakes, leave 30 grams butter and an egg out of the fridge until they come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 175 C. Scrape the seeds off a vanilla bean and add them to 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, mixing to break any clumps of seeds and to infuse the sugar with vanilla. Mix 7/8 cup (or 90 grams) plain flour with 3/4 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp baking soda. Add vanilla sugar and mix to combine. Now add butter and mix until you get a fine crumb like texture. In another bowl, combine the egg, 1/6 cup yogurt, 30 ml (2 tbsp) canola oil and 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract. Add this to the flour and mix until just combined. Finally, add 1/3 cup milk and mix until everything's blended in. Don't worry that the batter's too liquid, that's how it's meant to be. Fill 8 muffin tins a little more than halfway with the batter. Don't be like me and try to fit everything in 7 cups (and dont even dare think about 6) - you need to get 8 muffin tins filled!

Bake for 15 minutes, test with a toothpick to see if it comes with any crumbs attached. If it does, continue to bake, checking every 2 minutes, until the cupcakes are done. So are these the ultimate vanilla cupcakes? Sure, they are. With a much lighter crumb and sponge like texture, these cupcakes displace the currently reigning French Yogurt Cake as my default go-to cake. There isn't a picture because they look quite ordinary. So you will just have to bake them yourself to find out how special they are.

And if you would like to find out what our next book is and read along with the club, just write in!

How can something this simple be this hard!

Brownies are one of those recipes bakers are supposed to whip up in a jiffy. Grandmas make brownies. Why, even 5 year olds bake brownies. And yet, I've been disappointed with recipe after recipe.

Finally, I turned to the most trusted baking gurus of all. And finally, in Dorie Greenspan's classic brownies, I have a winner.

I halved the recipe and got six of these gorgeous creations. And let me tell you that this is the stuff brownie legends are made of. Fudgy but not overly so, gooey but not excessively, and not even too sweet. There's also a hint of coffee in there that somehow makes it more chocolate-y. I've finally found a keeper!

Update: Since so many of you asked, here's the recipe. Line a 7 X 4 inch dish with foil or parchment paper. Or use an 8 inch square dish and double the recipe to give you Dorie's original measures. Preheat the oven to 160 C or 325 F.

Measure out 35 grams butter and 85 grams chocolate (I used 70% dark, but even something lighter is fine). Heat for 30 seconds in the microwave, stir and continue to heat in 10-20 second increments until chocolate is fully melted. Add 3/8 cup powdered sugar. Wait until the mixture cools a bit, then whisk in one egg. Once its mixed in, add 1/2 tsp vanilla essence and 1/4 tsp instant coffee granules. Mix well, then fold in 1/6 cup flour. Don't be heavy handed here, only stir until the flour in just mixed in. Finally, mix in 1/3 cup chopped walnuts.

Pour into the prepared baking dish and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the top is dry and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the dish comes out with only a few crumbs. If you get a clean toothpick, you overcooked your brownies so don't go too far. Wait for the brownies to cool before you unmold them. I cut mine into 6 brownies and Dorie says her original recipe will give you 16 pieces so I guess it depends on how big you make each piece.

Like Water for Chocolate

Laura Esquivels' first novel could have been a simple love story of two star crossed lovers. Instead, Tita and Pedro become characters in something that's part fable and part fantasy. Set in Mexico, and published in monthly instalments, the novel has a chapter for each month of the year.

Because so much in Tita's life in linked to the kitchen and the food she cooks, every chapter starts with a recipe. The dishes may look ordinary at first glance but their effect on the book's cast is nothing short of magical. With every passing month, the book's magic draws you to Mexico and its strange ancient traditions.

So much in the book is linked to weddings that I decided to bake Mexican wedding cookies in honor of the book.



Also called snowballs, these are really gorgeous cookies. The recipe comes straight from Lottie & Doof, although I replaced pecans with walnuts. As a quick recap, toast 1/2 cup walnuts and chill them. Measure out 1/3 cup icing sugar and use 2 tbsp of that to mix with walnuts. Grind the walnuts+sugar finely in a processor.

Beat 100 grams softened butter with the remaining sugar. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla essence and mix it in. Add the ground walnuts, mix well and then add a cup of plain flour. Mix everything until thoroughly combined. Roll into 1-inch balls, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake in an oven preheated to 170C for 15-20 minutes (or until the cookies get to light golden).

Let cool completely, then sift icing sugar all over the cookies.

If you'd like to see more Mexican treats, head over to the book club for other members' take on the book.