Saturday, June 30, 2012

This joint lowers the bar

In the by-lanes of Fort, the sort that’s buzzing by day with lawyers, white-collar workers and food stalls, and which by night turns desolate and musty, you expect a drinking place to be a dive or a ‘permit room’. But the month-old Brighton (where Panache Lounge earlier used to be) markets itself as an upmarket club. At least, that seems to be the intent.
The square little space on the ground floor has a bar to one side, sofas with tables and a little mezzanine floor right at the end. The level above, we later learn, has a dance floor that’s oddly “open only on Saturdays” or for private parties. The decor is a mix of wannabe cool (a minimal bar, wooden tables) with tragically tacky elements — a chandelier that belongs at a wedding banquet, pillows where cushions should be, and a large, strange photograph of a girl in a mask.
They don’t take cards yet, only two cocktails are available on a menu listing a dozen and “the tandoor isn’t working”. But let’s put that down to teething trouble.
A sign outside promises “happy hours” till midnight, but the one waiter taking all the orders informs us that it only applies to beers ( R160 for a pint of Kingfisher) and Indian spirits. Our mojito ( R240) comes in a Johnnie Walker glass — it’s the sort of thing we’d expect at a friend’s place, not when we’re paying for drinks at a bar. It is, however, surprisingly good: not overtly sweet, and with just the right amount of alcohol. The peach margarita ( R440), however, is a letdown — it’s essentially overpriced peach juice in a salt-rimmed glass.
The panko-coated mushrooms stuffed with spinach, cheddar and cottage cheese ( R250) are all in different sizes, but don’t taste bad — they’re soft, juicy and in a little bit of sauce. The four-cheese pizza ( R350) is decent too. But the chicken in peri peri sauce ( R350) is the biggest disappointment. The butter rice, blanched veggies and crispy fries are all pretty tasty, but the chicken itself is so tough that we knock half a dozen fries off our plate just trying to cut into it.
All in all, this is the sort of place you might go to for an after-work beer if your office is right across the street ( R160 for two pints isn’t a bad deal at all). For all other purposes (food, alcohol or ambience), Colaba is just five minutes away.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Homemade Mascarpone

1 lt cream 2 tbsp lime juice Heat the cream in a doubleboiler over low heat, stirring frequently for about 15 minutes or till it almost reaches boiling point. Add the lime juice and continue stirring till it starts to curdle. The cream will not split, but start to thicken and streaks of whey will be seen. Once it seems thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, take it off the flame. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Drape a muslin cloth, folded over at least four times, over a deep sieve line. Place a bowl under the sieve. Pour the mixture into the muslin cloth. Do not squeeze, press down or place any weight over the cheese. Once the cream is completely cool, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for 8-12 hours. Discard the whey. The cheese is ready to be eaten. Consume within a week.

Cheese maker Karl Kothavala brings some culture to the city with his mascarpone, cream cheese and crème fraiche

Most people have ice cubes in their ice tray. Karl Kothavala’s ice tray contains frozen cubes of a lactobacillus-rich, cheese starter culture. The culture, says Kothavala, looking adoringly at the frozen cubes like a proud father, has been growing stronger and stronger from the day it was first made.
As has Say Cheez, his twomonth old artisanal cheesemaking business.
The 36-year old, who runs a highly successful GPS business, supplying GPS devices to logistics and transport companies, had always wanted to run a food business. The dream finally took shape three months ago when, “at three in the morning, I called over Rashmin Sayani, my business partner and said ‘let’s make cheese’. I pulled out my grandmother’s recipe for mascarpone and by 4 am, the cheese was ready to be set.”
The first batch, not surprisingly, was a disaster. But 15 litres, a couple of YouTube videos and about a month later, Kothavala was satisfied with the results. “I compared my mascarpone with the imported brand Zanetti and it had the same silky texture and a lovely natural, dairy flavour.”
His first customer Mehernosh Khajotia who runs Celebrations Fine Confections, a high-end patisserie and confectionery in South Mumbai, loved the mascarpone. “He made an absolutely dreamy tiramisu for my father’s birthday using my mascarpone,” recalls Kothavala. There was no turning back after that.
Sampling sessions with restaurants like Indigo, Five and FBar translated into immediate orders; newer clients like Aurus as well as Bungalow 9 are finalising the contracts. Kothavala was extremely touched when Nitin Kulkarni, executive chef of Indigo, stood up and congratulated him on the quality of his cheese.
The chefs also suggested that he expand his portfolio of cheeses and so he turned to Sayani’s wife Jeena, a qualified microbiologist.
Armed with an array of test tubes and thermometers, she created a cheese culture in his kitchen, which he could use to curdle the milk or cream for a Philadelphiastyle cream cheese or crème fraiche — a sour cream-like cheese. Both cheeses were an almost instant hit and volumes had to be stepped up. Old friend Israel Harrington was roped in as a third partner with the sole responsibility for the mascarpone production.
“Today, we make just three fresh cheeses, but I’d love to make aged cheeses like brie, camembert and Roquefort,” says Kothavala with an earnestness in his voice that suggests he’ll be his own best customer. Until he does, the response he’s already received is good enough reason for him to say ‘cheese’.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Looking beyond milk for your calcium fix

Looking beyond milk for your calcium fix

Your mum wasn’t wrong in forcing you to drink that glass of milk before leaving for school. Dairy products like milk, yogurt and cheese are the best-known sources of calcium. For most of our adult life, we need roughly 1000 mg (1 gram) of calcium per day. Taking enough calcium through childhood and adulthood makes sure you don’t lose bone later in life.
Ninety nine per cent of the body’s calcium is in bones and teeth and rest in blood and tissues. Your body gets it from food or supplements. In the absence of adequate calcium intake, it is obtained by draining the bones, which weakens them.
Some people are intolerant to dairy products while some dislike them. Whole milk, yogurt and cheese are also rich in saturated fat, which is a problem in people predisposed to high cholesterol levels and heart disease. Studies have also shown a link between too much dairy consumption and a risk of ovarian cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. But there are plenty of non-dairy foods that are rich in this mineral. Some of them are green leafy vegetables (spinach, mustard greens, collard), broccoli, fortified soy milk and beans. Oatmeal, almonds and dried figs are all calcium rich. Combining a bowl of oats topped with a few roasted almonds and a couple of dried figs for breakfast can start your day on a calcium high.
Nothing beats Til-Chikki (sesame brittle) for a calcium rich snack. 1 oz of til has around 280 grams of calcium, which equals that from one glass of milk.
Next time you go to the vegetable market, pick turnips with their green tops intact because1 cup of cooked turnip greens has around 200 mg. Make this as a saag or add it to your dal. Arugula is a delicious salad green, that you can also wilt and add to pasta. A cup of raw greens serves up 125 mg of Calcium.
Fishlike sardines packed in oil with their bones are also a rich source of thisbone-building mineral.

He graduated in economics from an American college, but Nikhil Chib discovered his real passion lay in food

Secrets from SE Asia

He graduated in economics from an American college, but Nikhil Chib discovered his real passion lay in food. His first venture was a seaside restaurant in Goa, which was a precursor for his true calling in life. He opened Busaba in Mumbai more than a decade ago, introducing South East Asian cuisine in India at a time when nobody had thought of going beyond Chinese. He loves the subtlety of Thai food, and we have a yen for it too because it gives us many healthy options with its light cooking techniques.
Here, Chef Chib shares a couple of his well-loved light fish recipes:
Steamed fish
“I discovered this dish in a soi (gully) in Thailand, stumbling on it at a roadside eatery run by a Thai mama (fat woman). It was extremely tasty. Unofficially one could say that it’s practically the national dish of Thailand. It also happens to be one of the top draws at my Colaba restaurant.”
Ingredients
l Fish baiki, 1 filet (200 gm)l Garlic, 50 gml Fish sauce, 100 mll Lemons, 10 (extract juice)l Red Chili, chopped 50 gml A dab of sugar

Method l Chop the garlic and chili in a bowl. Add fish sauce, lime juice, and a dash of sugar.lApply salt, celery leaf, pepper, garlic on both sides of the fish and steam for ten minutes. lHeat the sauce in a pan for 15 seconds and pour over the fish. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Pan-seared red snapper
“Celebrating summer, this dish is perfect for a Sunday brunch: fresh, light and flavourful.”
Ingredients
Marinade:l Red Snapper fishl80g garlic (minced)l30g fresh red and green chiliesl120ml olive oill40g corianderl60ml lemon juicel10g pepperl10g salt
Garnish: l12 baby carrotsl12 asparagusl6 limes l12 mint sprigsl12 coriander sprigs l120g butter

Method lFillet red snapper fish and remove any pin bones l Marinade the fish and refrigerate for 2-3 hourslPeel and scrub baby carrots and steam all vegetables lToss in butter and season well lWipe off the excess marinade from the fillets and pat dry, reserving the excess marinadel Add olive oil to a skillet over high heat. Then introduce the fillets of fish skin side downlCook on either side for 2 minuteslPlace the fish on paper towel to remove excess grease l In another pan, heat the marinade and whisk in butter. Hold warml Pour sauce over fish. Garnish plate with mint sprigs, coriander sprigs and halved limes.