'Luquaimat' and Tea. A traditional Omani sweet at Muscat Festival , Oman

Luqaimat is a well-known Arab dessert and a 'must have' in Arab homes for Iftar. Also known as a crunchy sweet dumpling, it varies from country to country and I had a wonderful opportunity to see it being made 'up close and personal' at Muscat Festival some time back

Halfway through my visit to the very popular Muscat Festival, I found myself feeling slightly peckish and the need for a cup of tea was very strong. Heading towards the food stalls, I was wondering exactly what I should have when I heard someone calling out to me. It turned out to be the heroine of today's story, Fathiya, a 43 year old from Rustaq who showed me exactly how it was made, patiently answered all my queries and best of all, allowed me to photograph her at each stage. What I learnt from Fathiya however was that the dumpling itself was not sweet but the syrup that is poured over it is what gives it that sweet taste.

Moving to the sit down area, I sat and enjoyed my teatime treats and moved on...refreshed and thoroughly rejuvenated! For those of you who might be interested in trying it out, I have located a variation of the basic recipe that uses condensed milk at the last stage. In my opinion that really makes it even more delicious. Ingredients 1 cup all purpose flour 1 tbsp corn flour 1 tsp instant yeast 1 tsp of sugar 3/4 – 1 cup of water Condensed milk Oil to taste Method Mix the all purpose flour, corn flour, yeast and sugar in a bowl. Gradually add the water and keep on mixing until you get a smooth batter. It should be in dripping consistency( not too watery or too thick) Cover the batter for 1 or 2 hours until the batter has doubled. The batter now should have bubbles and look somewhat bouncy. Heat oil in a wok. Scoop a small amount of batter with your fingers and drop them into the hot oil Fry till they turn golden brown. Remove from oil, and place them on kitchen paper. Pour condensed milk or your favorite syrup on top. Sit back with friends and enjoy with a hot cup of tea, coffee or better still, on their own. NB- this post has been shared again on popular demand

Love Muffins? Then try this easy Banana, Raisin and Nut version

Then there are the days when you want a quick and tasty 'anytime' treat. 

Looking around, you find the bananas seem to be slightly over ripe  but there's a wonderful way to deal with that.

Then look into the kitchen cupboard, find things, pre-heat the oven and its time to bake.

Banana, Raisin and Nut muffins

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 cup sugar 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

Half teaspoon salt

Cashew nuts chopped into bits 

20 raisins 

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature 

2 eggs 

a dash of vanilla extract 

2 ripe bananas.

All set to proceed

Method

Pre heat oven to  100 C and prepare the muffin cases by lightly greasing them from inside.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nuts. 

Combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla in a large bowl.

Add the flour, baking powder, sugar and blend into the banana mixture.

Spoon this batter into the muffin cases, leaving enough space for them to rise.

I managed 11 large muffins

Bake until muffins are  golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Looking good and smelling delightful!

Once they are ready, you can serve them with honey drizzled on top, or try vanilla ice cream and honey.

Best of all, just sit back and enjoy one with a large mug of coffee..

             Golden brown and smelling great

Which is exactly what I'm going to do next!

Food memories and associations- Going down memory lane and remembering some special people

Think about it for a moment and you will understand exactly what I mean.Food plays such an important role in every aspect of our life. For instance, if there's a celebration we try to come up with the best, or as the case may be, the most appropriate menu for the occasion. Alternately, if someone dies anywhere in the world, the close family and friends organize a 'wake' where good food and drink is served while people gather around in memory of the departed soul.

Food is also something that can really taste best when eaten in company. For me, the term 'breaking bread' with someone beautifully depicts a scenario where good food tends to taste even better with good company In fact, I'd go so far as to say that even a pastry  and coffee or a croissant and a coffee had with a friend is something that becomes really pleasurable and many a time, truly memorable. Top of my head, I can recall at least  ten instances when I've enjoyed the meal/coffee so much more because of the company on a particular day.

Shared with family

Shared with  friends

Then there are some food memories which are very dear to one's heart by virtue of the fact that they centre around the food that either someone cooked for you in a way that was really special or then it could be about a  savoury or sweet dish that you cooked  for or shared with someone and he/she loved it best just the way you made it.

Which then leads me to  a chain of bitter sweet thoughts.

For instance, I can never eat sweet rice,  or better known in Punjabi as 'Meethe Chawal' without remembering my grand mother in law, 'Beeji'. For Beeji made the best Meethe Chawal in the world as far as I was concerned. And always, always made it for me whenever I asked for it. Never mind that I was a grown up married lady and she was already in her seventies when we first met.

I can also never eat 'Kadhi Pakore and Chawal' ( a yogurt and gram flour based Punjabi dish) without remembering Jairam, my parents'  cook for over thirty years who makes the most delicious Kadhi on earth.As also my friend Amrita in Muscat who makes sure she personally delivers a box of her special home made Kadhi to our home whenever she makes it.

I can never eat a peppermint without drinking water  right after it to check if my mouth really feels cool because that is exactly what my 'long lost and never found again; friend Christine Bose from my school in Calcutta used to do.

I can never drink 'Elaichi' ( cardamom ) tea without thinking about my mother because she always drinks hers that way.  

I could go on and on but I find  that I actually have a pain in my heart remembering  some people close to me, now deceased, so I think I will stop here.

But not before I say that what really brought on this chain of thought in the first instance was when I was making Rajma Chawal  (a North Indian delicacy made with red kidney beans cooked in thick tomato based gravy) this morning specially for my daughter Neha  when I remembered a friend of mine Akhila, who passed away in the prime of her life last year.

For whenever I made Rajma or Maa Ki Daal,  I would always send her a big bowl, or better still, drop it off to her place personally because she said that it was the best she'd ever eaten.....

A trip to the DLF Cyber Hub Gurgaon, Lunch at The Wine Company and Coffee at Au Bon Pain

Green, clean and beautiful-The DLF Cyber Hub

An exciting concept, the DLF Cyber Hub is definitely one of Gurgaon’s major attractions and a buzzing place anytime of the day. As home to over 40 restaurants, including bars, cafes and fast food joints, the Cyber Hub is a gastronomer's delight and from what I could see all around me, there is something here for everybody. In this post, I'm going to talk about my maiden experience here last week and hope to follow it up with more as time goes by.

My friend Poonam and myself have been having leisurely lunches over many years and this time was really no different. Instantly agreeing with her suggestion of the DLF Cyber Hub, I found myself transported into a beautifully designed and very sleek Cyber Hub, India's first one stop destination for food, drink and so much more.

Loved the look and vibrance all around-At the DLF Cyber Hub

The 10 types of people you meet in Gurgaon

Since it was already past 1 when we reached, the place was packed with people looking for lunch tables at the various restaurants.After checking out a couple of places we had originally thought of and disappointed in finding no seats with a minimum 30 minute wait, we decided to look for a place that we could sit down in and enjoy our lunch in - right away. And so it was The Wine Company where a pleasant hostess escorted us to our table and seated us comfortably.  And that was when we decided that we already liked the restaurant we found ourselves in.

Lunch Time at The Wine Company

"Wine-Because no great story started with someone eating" said the graffiti in the washroom at the Wine Company and that thought is echoed through the restaurant.The Wine Company is primarily Continental restaurant and bar with an exhaustive wine selection.They have a Lunch menu inclusive of a buffet or 'a la carte' if you decide to opt for a light lunch.We tried out a vegetable quiche and a grilled chicken with sangria and wine. (more about it later.)

The Sangria Bar was well stocked and the service quick and efficient

Gifts for all and then some!

Interesting Graffiti in the ladies washroom

Cheers

Grilled chicken and a red wine 

Vegetable quiche and Sangria 

Must admit though - The quiche was dry and not half as good as what I'd been expecting.

The bill for two- Approx Rs 2, OOO.


We decided to move to another place for coffee and dessert and since the Cafe Au Bon Pain had caught our attention as we walked into Cyber Hub we decided to head right back there and check it out for the goodies.

Coffee and Dessert at Au Bon Pain

A Great little cafe

Cakes, desserts and then some

Great conversation , cappuccino and a blueberry cheesecake

With over 38 restaurants left and counting, I can clearly see the DLF CyberHub becoming a real hot spot for us, so do watch this space for more such culinary adventures...

A Class Reunion at The Pot Belly, New Delhi and my first entry into the world of Bihari Food

Being back in Delhi certainly has its advantages. Rediscovering old favourite haunts,discovering new ones, catching up with old friends over tea, coffee, lunch, drinks, dinner et all, my list of interesting  things to do is a really long one! So when a group of batch mates from St. Stephen's College suggested meeting up for dinner at a restaurant called 'The Potbelly' last week, it was something that I found myself eagerly looking forward to. 

Located in the heart of New Delhi, on Tenzing Norgay Marg in the 'Bihar Nivas' in Chanakyapuri, The Potbelly is a restaurant serving Bihari cuisine.As I found out later, this is the second outlet of The Potbelly in New Delhi,  (the first being located at Shahpur Jat) and is one that has succesfully managed to introduce and popularise Bihari food among Delhi ites. The menu has a number of vegetarian and non-vegetarian delicacies and a delightful ambience and decor that I  loved.

Beautifully lit and decorated interiors

The eatery overlooks the lawns at Bihar Nivas and is done up with wooden furniture and colourful hanging lamps.Diners also have the option to enjoy their meal listening to birds chirping in the background while sitting on a few tables set up in the garden. While the various canteens located in many of the State Bhavans have a steady stream of visitors all day, and some like Andhra Bhavan are immensely popular, The Potbelly gains some more points because it is the first established restaurant serving cuisine from a particular State that has been invited by the government.

An interesting menu

My  initial impression was that of a quaint old world straight out of a work of fiction- with green and blue wooden chairs and flashes of yellow here and there, a large fenced sitting area outside, dotted with little lanterns—a great way to start the evening. 

As the seasons change, so does the Bihari thaali say every 3–4 months. The constants are rice, roti, achar, chatni, dals and milk and milk products with some variation.People use both vegetable oil por mustard oil  and  zeera or panchforan (literally "five seeds", namely saunf, sarson, methi, ajwain and mangraeel(Kalaunji) for "chhounkna"/"Tadka"(tempering) of some vegetables. There is a lot of light frying, called bhoonjnaa, in Bihari food.

One of the most remarkable things about Bihari food is "smoking ''. It refers to using smoked red chilli to infuse a strong aroma in food. It is used in preparing "chokhaa", i.e. mashed brinjals/potatoes/tomatoes, either single or combined. Smoked chilli is also used in preparing 'kadam' (a common fruit sweet sour in taste) chutney.

A Self explanatory Welcome

Looking inside- The Vegetarian options

And the non vegetarian options

Starters- Litthi  Chokha - very filling and decadently delicious

Our mocktails comprised a range of 'nimboo paanis'( lemonade ) and 'aam panna'( cooling mango drinks) along with a few intersting starters.One of these was 

the very delicious and equally heavy 'Litthi Chokha' ( above) in which powdered baked gram is mixed with chopped onions,green chillies,lemon juice,coriander leaves. This mixture is filled inside atta ( wheat flour)and either barbecued over coal or deep fried with oil. It is eaten best accompanied with ghee,curd, chokha and baigan bharta.

Another starter- Gram and mutton keema  with two delicious chutneys.

Loved this particular corner

We then moved on to the main course- chicken mutton and mixed vegetable curries,  all delicious but (in my book) extremely oily. These were accompanied by a range of breads and rice which completed the meal. 

Boiled rice, with rice and saboodaana rotis 

A memorable Class reunion full of fun, music and great food 

Must admit, we were all stuffed by then, so dessert was just a  spoonful each of a delicious 'Kheer' (rice pudding).

Great food, drinks, music, and the joy of meeting old friends, my first visit to The Pot Belly was a super one and I'm already looking forward to the next ...

Mind, Body Cleansing and Culinary Delights - A Navaratri Special

March is a great month to be in India, and I'm really glad that we have been able to see all the exciting facets of March. Be it the weather which is changing slowly from Spring to Summer, the beautiful parks and gardens in full bloom with the heady fragrance of brightly coloured flowers or the wide ranging cuisine, many of it which we have been able to try out at great little restaurants, its been a month of re-discovering our hometown Delhi and we intend to carry this through to various parts of India over the course of the next few months.    

The last few days have seen the advent of Navaratri, (a nine day and night festival that honors the Mother Goddess in all her manifestations, including Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati) and with it, I have had the opportunity of trying out a whole new range of cuisine. Also called 'Vrat Ka Khana' or food during fasting, the most popular food preparations include Kuttu Ki Puri,(buckwheat flour), Singhade Ka Halwa, Singhare Ke Pakore, Khuskhus Aloo,( potatoes  Sabudana Vada and Sabudana Khichdi. 

Some of the typical food ingredients to prepare these include Kuttu atta or Singhara atta, Sabudana, or tapioca and foxnuts. During Navratri, markets are flooded with 'vrat' packaged snacks. For devotees observing Navratri fast, special Navratri 'thalis' offering an assortment of preparations are available in many restaurants.A couple of days ago, we stopped for lunch at Sagar Ratna at the JMD Galleria, Gurgaon and tried out their special Navaratri Thali. 

When it came, it looked like this and tasted even better!

'Navaratri Thali'at Sagar Ratna - great looking and even better tasting According to the 'Art Of Living Foundation', "Fasting is a  Feast for Body, Mind, and Soul." It has frequently been observed that when it comes to eating and drinking, we often forget that we ought to be eating to live and not the other way around. The body needs only so much for sustenance and the stomach can hold only so much, but the senses continue to crave, and we continue to feed those cravings. So, fasting is a gift to an over-burdened body and an over-indulged mind. It gives a chance to the body and mind to break out of a pattern and give it a new direction."

Must confess, I haven't tried it that way so far, but must equally confess, I'm getting highly inspired to do so...

Spring colours and moods make the atmosphere more conduciveFor devotees who observe partial Navratri 'vrat', the ritual involves breaking the fast after evening puja. The devotees abstain from consuming meat, fish, eggs, alcohol, onions, garlic, dishes made with common salt or any kind of spice. Some people live only on milk, fruits and fruit juices for the entire length of fasting. Apart from tea, coffee and milk, sago and potato cooked with rock salt are extremely popular dishes among devotees observing partial fast. Milk products and dry fruits can also be consumed. Navratri rules also imply watching one's temperament, actions and behavior. This is particularly aided by following a strict vegetarian diet.

My Navratri Tandoori Platter at Haldiram's last week-Mouthwatering


With a few more days to go for Navaratri, I've seen, observed and learnt a fair bit. Its been a great journey both in the culinary as well as knowledge front and one which I'm bent on continuing in many more and innovative  ways. Watch this space for more folks and you will see exactly what I mean.

In the meantime, here' wishing all of you a very Happy Navaratri.

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Italian Delights and an Anniversary Special at Travertino, The Oberoi New Delhi

Day 11 in New Delhi and it was our Wedding Anniversary on Wednesday. And what better way to mark it than to utilise the voucher I had won at the 'SelfieAtOberoi' contest at the Palate Festival at Nehru Park last November? A couple of e mails later, it was all arranged and we walked into Travertino the exclusive Italian restaurant at the Oberoi in time for a leisurely lunch.  

'

Starters, breads and our delicious mocktails

Travertino' is an elegant restaurant encased in the warm Italian stone Travertine,(hence the name) Entering through a large teak door, we found ourselves in a sophisticated dining space with beautifully laid tables topped with sparkling wine glasses, silver lined plates and crisp white linen.Skylights and a tall, glowing Travertine stone wall provide ambient lighting, and we were even luckier to be there on a beautiful March afternoon with sunlight streaming in through the skylight and adding to the beautiful ambience of the afternoon.

Bright, airy, welcoming and all set up 

Greeting us warmly and leading us into the restaurant were Mehak, Niyati and Deepica, the courteous and smiling ladies at the Oberoi, who spoilt us through the afternoon, as well as Chef Vincenzo who kept us informed about all the varied and delicious courses.

Once our delicious mocktails had arrived, a bread basket and the accompanying oils made their way to our table.This was followed by a Broccoli foam with almonds- just a tiny bite on a beautiful platter and very enjoyable.

My first course was a delightful combination of poached pears and a goats cheese salad.What I particularly enjoyed was the combination of the sweet and savoury flavours, a perfect balance that whetted the appetite for what lay ahead. 

My first course-Poached pears and a goat cheese salad-delightfully refreshing

Avi's first course-the Minestrone soup

All Smiles- With Chef Vincenzo Di Touro from Naples who chatted with us between and during each course..

Chef's Special-Ravioli with peas filling and shrimp

My main course- Sea Bass, beans and its accompaniments

Avi's main course- Grilled Sword fish and salad, new on the Menu

And then it was time for dessert-I chose the berry cheesecake and Avi chose the Tiramisu and he actually told me that it was the best he'd ever eaten! Says a lot..

Time for dessert- My choice-Berry Cheesecake with raspberry sorbet and coulis while Avi chose the Tiramisu.

There is no way that I can close this piece before detailing what happened next. Mehak, the Asst Manager F and B brought a platter and then followed a fabulous chocolate cake with Chef Vincenzo and the team walking in to wish us a Happy Anniversary. 

I admit it, I was really touched- it was a wonderful gesture that really did make our day! 

Meeting and exceeding customer delight with a delicious chocolate cake

One of our most memorable anniversaries- Thank you Travertino!

So there it is, the story of our first and very memorable visit to Travertino,but it certainly wont be our last...