APRIL 2015: Golden Crispy Savoury Crepe (Dosa)

photoed by A. Rajan

Crispy golden crepe (dosa) with lightly spiced filling of potatoes and onions, is delightful in every bite. Since we heard about this place so many times, we decided to go and binge in the so called haven of South Indian style food (Kathir Food Experience resto). This place did not disappoint, when it comes to taste, as well as presentation. The taste buds are first titillated with the smell of food and also with the way it’s been presented. It first feeds your senses and then pleasures your soul in every bite. 

The crepe is served with variety of different chutneys or dips (as you may call it). Chutneys are of three different varieties, namely coconut chutney, tomato chutney and green chutney; which makes the experience of dosa-eating complete in every way.

Referring to Wikipedia, dosa is considered amongst top 50 tastiest foods in the world-- according to CNN.  High in proteins and enzymes, it makes an ideal food for health conscious. The enzyme activity is enhanced, because of fermentation process of the batter. I guess it’s debatable to what ratio you will mix rice and lentils. I have heard various versions from people. Some people prefer 3:1 ratio and consider it to be the best but then there are others who say 4:1 or 5:1 is better. 

I am not too sure. I tried making dosas at home with 3:1 ratio, and they turned out decent enough, if not perfect. I guess it’s about the quality of rice as well. I use any white rice, I have handy at home and use just that. Sometimes the results are inspiring. Other times, I almost make a decision of not making it ever again; considering the wastage and the mess that goes along with it. Remembering its rice to lentils ratio is a must.

The process is simple. 

1)Soak rice and lentils separately. 

2)Grind lentils to a smooth consistency, and grind rice to a little grainy consistency.  

3)Now mix both of them, and then let it be on the kitchen counter or any warm place overnight for 8 hours, to let it ferment. (The batter will rise and double in quantity.)

4)Mix it with a little salt, and then on a hot flat pan, 

5)Spread the batter with the back of your ladle. (It doesn’t take long to cook them.)

6)Just let it cook till it becomes golden brown and crisp.  

Served with my dosas, I like the whole hog of all chutneys-- that they served at this restaurant. You can experiment with chutneys of your choice. I make one with scraped coconut, raw mango, coriander, green chilies and salt and then temper it with mustard seeds and curry leaves in coconut oil. It’s my absolute favorite introduced to me by my neighbor-- back in India. I don’t have anything against traditional chutneys though. 

If you don’t want to go through, all these troubles, then there are plenty of places, where you can find good South Indian food. I liked the simplicity in ambience at Kathir and the way my dosa was presented in a simple compartmentalized steel plate. The place was busy; the servers were efficient and very work centered on delivering goods to every table on time. Call about feeding hungry souls and they do just that. They delivered excellent quality food. 

My tummy is happy and I will go back for more.

--A.R.

                                                                                                                                                                           

MARCH 2015: Sweet and Unsweet Combo ala Starbucks

photoed by D. Liongson

In the mood for cake and a drink for afternoon tea?  Lots of cake are on the sweet side.  With such a cake, I recommend you take it with a drink that has zero sweeteners.  

Your sweet cake will sweeten the unsweet drink.  Yup.  Have a bite of that cake and a sip of that drink.  You get to explore the flavors that the added sweetener would mask.

For example, I ordered a Blueberry-licious Cheesecake and a hot Mint Blend tea.  (I made the mistake of ordering peppermint tea.  They may not have peppermint tea but Mint Blend is what they have, and it is just as fab!)  Best eaten and drank slowly.  If I ate and drank these in a rush, I'd miss the fun of enjoying the yummm factor.

photoed by D. Liongson

If you'll share the cake with another foodie, feel free to ask for another fork. (I did. :-)

The tea usually comes with two serves of tiny honey tubs.  If you will be having tea with a sweet treat, I suggest you to set aside the honey for another chance to a zero sweetened food plus a drink that needs honey-ing.

There may be other drinks you can take unsweetened to go with a slice of sweet cake.  I leave that experiment up to you.  :-)

Question, hot drink or iced drink?  If you need warmth on a cold day, hot drink it is.  If you sweat like pigs and need to chill, then that would call for a iced drink.

Some diabetics may be instructed to steer clear from sweet anything.  Diabetics, by all means, consult your doctor about a list of food of both 1)you may eat and 2)you may not eat. Then, consume what you may. 

There are a caboodle of health conditions that prohibit certain types of food.  It is smarter to ask your doctor of what food to eat and what to avoid than to make a naughty risk.  (Too bad there are people who insult their doctor rather than to consult one. Tsk tsk tsk...) 

Blueberry-licious Cheesecake and hot Mint Blend Tea... cheers! <clink!>
--D.L.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'HAIKU
Blueberry cheesecake:
creamy, cheesy, sweet and gone;
with hot minty tea!
--D.L.

FEBRUARY 2015: Kande Pohe (flattened rice or beaten rice with onions)

photoed by A. Rajan

This is a popular regional breakfast item in Maharashtra. Pohe is a nutritious and versatile ingredient and can be turned into porridge or breakfast cereal. But this is more like savory breakfast.

Ingredients:

2 cups pohe

2 medium size onions

Couple of green chillies

1 small potato, boiled and cut in small cubes

Handful of raw peanuts

Mustard seeds

Oil

2 Tbsp of grated coconut

Lime wedges

Coriander leaves (cilantro)

1) First, wash the flat rice (pohe) and

drain the water completely.

2) Heat some oil in flat-bottomed pan or wok.

3) Fry some raw peanuts and keep on the side.

In the same oil, add green chillies and mustard seeds.

4) Once you hear crackling of the seeds, add finely chopped onions and

saute till they become transparent.

5) Add the potatoes followed with some turmeric powder.

6) Saute a little, and then

add soaked and drained pohe into the wok,

add salt to taste, and

let it steam a little.

7) Once done, you can eat this by garnishing it with fried peanuts, coconut, cilantro and dash of lime juice.

I love this recipe, as its very quick, healthy and tasty. Try it out and share your experience with us.

--A.R.

JANUARY 2015: Pizza @ CIBO

(PRINT: caffe paninoteca, bruschetteria, alimentari, pizzeria ... CIBO (R) dal 1997)

photoed by D. Liongson

CIBO (chee-boh) Italian resto serves pizza too. In circles? Nope. In squares? Nope. But in...

photoed by D. Liongson

OVALS!  Hence the term "pizza ovale". They have a wide selection of pizzas. I picked...

photoed by D. Liongson

Pizza #4-- funghi trifolati! It is a tomato based pizza with mozzarella and mushrooms topped with basil leaves. The tomato and cheese are festive enough for the New Year's red and gold.

photoed by D. Liongson

As you may see, the photo has a missing slice. Where did that slice go before I made that photo shoot?

photoed by D. Liongson

On my plate! Just in time before it landed in my mouth. When I ate my slice, I can taste the tasty tomato base, the melted mild mozzarella cheese, the effect of fresh and dried herbs, and the softly crisp crust. I ate the center piece of basil leaves together with some bites of the pizza. Yummo!  

Not only is it delicious to the tastebuds, but also the sight of it, the aroma of it, the touch (with my bare hands), and the bite of it that I forgot to use my cutlery. Now I know why it slipped my mind to take the photo first before getting a slice. I posed the fork and knife on the plated pizza slice just for looks. ;-)

I look forward to order this pizza and eat it all by myself again when my big appetite kicks in. If my appetite is smaller, this will be my cue to share the slices.


Buon appetito!
--D.L.



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D' HAIKU
Pizza shapes can be
either round, square, or oval;
but quality counts.
--D.L.

DECEMBER 2014: Pakora

photoed by A. Rajan

This month's blog is about the finger food, which is a very famous tea time snack. Onion or any other vegetable fritter which is known as pakora. 

We particularly crave for this when it rains. And, the food goddess starts dancing on our tongues asking us to eat this very tasty, lightly spiced, crunchy snack.

Ingredients are simple :-)

* One onion sliced thinly lengthwise, 

* potatoes sliced thin,
* Some long green chillies whole.

Make a batter of:

* chickpea flour, 
* crushed oregano seeds (or Ajwain), 
* pinch of red chilli powder,
* turmeric,
* pinch of baking soda, 
* salt.

1) Add water to make semi-thick consistency. 

2) Now just dip your veggies in this, and transfer them in hot oil to fry them. 

3) Once done, sprinkle a little chaat masala over it. 

4) Serve hot with hot cup of chai tea.

I couldn't wait to eat it immediately after I made it. l especially love spicy green chilli fritter the best! It's all about preference. Do try making this on a rainy day, and you won't regret it ever.

Yummy ...already in my tummy :-)

--A.R.

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D' HAIKU

If red shoes make you

toe-dancing, then pakoras

make you tongue-dancing.

--D.L.

NOVEMBER 2014: Free Birthday Churros!

(SERVIETTE: "Better to have enjoyed & made a mess
than never to have enjoyed at all!")
photoed by D. Liongson

Ahhh... Chocolateria San Churro! It has been more than one birthday where I receive birthday churros for two. This includes a platter of 6 churros and 2 dipping sauce bowls. All I did was register to their free newsletter. Once accepted in the mailing list, I received an email voucher for the free churros (on a few days closer to my birthday!).

Churros are fried pastries. The ones I ate were served hot, subtly salted, crisp on the outside, and soft in the inside. Melted chocolate is the dip for these. I usually choose dark chocolate. Mmm... taste the sweetness with a hint of bitter twang that dark chocolate has. It slipped my mind what other dips do they offer. It helps to ask the staff who takes your order.

To minimize waste of this luscious dip, I recommend you dip the churro in the sauce and bite up to the level within what the sauce covered. As much as possible, no sharing of dip bowls. But if you are okay with the mouth germs of the dip bowl from whom you are sharing with, then I guess sharing is cool.

When you are ready to claim your free churros, bring an ID that bears your photo and birthdate on it.

There are three days to redeem them: 1)on the day before your birthday, or 2)on your birthday, or 3)on the day after your birthday.

Interested to have a go for the free birthday churros for 2? Simply register for a free email newsletter at: 

http://www.sanchurro.com/newsletter.

Delicioso!
--D.L.

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D' HAIKU

Churros with choc'late:

Dry crisp bites; melted sweet dip...

Now a birthday treat!

--D.L.

OCTOBER 2014: Pan Seared Rainbow Trout (Chinese inspired recipe)

photoed by A. Rajan

I am a true Fish-eterian. Being from Mumbai, fish has always been a staple food at home. Simple fish plus curry over rice is my comfort food.

Living in Canada, I have developed and acquired taste for fish that’s available here.  I absolutely love Rainbow Trout, for its mild flavour and good health profile.  This sort of fish isn’t really a curry delight.

I bake the Rainbow Trout with some lemon garlic butter on top, served with mashed potatoes on the side; this is how I usually make it.

This time, I wanted something different. I had some left over rice, which I wasn’t in mood to save for next day. Rice and fish are great with each other. I was not in the mood for any curry, so I decided to experiment with Chinese style Rainbow Trout.

Ingredients:

• Fillet of Rainbow Trout, cut into two pieces
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• Crushed black pepper and salt
• Brown sugar (dash on each fillet)
• 1 clove of minced garlic
• A little ginger, minced
• 2 Scallions (spring onions), thinly sliced lengthwise (little bit of greens saved for garnish later)

photoed by A. Rajan

The Procedure is simple…

* Drizzle some soy sauce over the fish, sprinkle salt and pepper and brown sugar on each fillet.

* Put some Olive Oil in the pan; add the scallions in the skillet. Sauté.

* Add minced ginger and garlic.

* Then, place the fillet onto the skillet, skin side down.

* I cooked the fish three minutes on the each side equalling six minutes. It was not over or underdone and turned out moist and flaky. Just the way it should be. Skin was nicely crisp and golden, which made it all the more special.

* I served it on the plate of rice with some garnish of scallion greens.

photoed by A. Rajan

Utterly gluttony delicious! J

--A.R.

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D' HAIKU

Chinese inspired meal

from a trout who stained its scales

from the rainbow's end.

--D.L.