Cook chef style! With several cookery classes conducted by top chefs in town, you could now don the proud expert hat at home

Cook chef style!

With several cookery classes conducted by top chefs in town, you could now don the proud expert hat at home


Always thought top chefs have some tricks up their sleeve that make the food on your plate almost magical? Well, even if they do, they're now out in the open. Move over private cookery classes. Now, several city restaurants are conducting cooking and baking sessions by their head chefs every now and then, giving you a peek into their signature cooking methods.
Recently, Svenska Design Hotels announced the launch of a series of cooking classes on Spanish-Mediterranean cuisine by chefs of Miro, who have been taught by Michelin-star chefs from Europe. Chef Zubin D'souza, Director, food and beverage, Svenska, says, "The motive behind starting a series of cooking demos is to ensure that our participants learn the Spanish cuisine in the easiest and best possible manner."
Chef Aloo of The Tasty Tangles, Khar, is gearing up to teach different methods of making South East Asian cuisine, how to use the veggies and the best ways of preserving the food. "Our environment boasts of an open kitchen where food is prepared live. It is only appropriate that we treat all our guests through the entire kitchen experience," says Sameer Uttamsingh, Brand Manager, The Tasty Tangles.
There's a French cooking class ongoing at Chez Vous, Churchgate, that promises to teach you an authentic French meal. Anisha Deewan, a homemaker, is excited. "It's a great thing that restaurants are also doing these classes now. In fact, I have indeed noticed an increased demand in the last few months," she says. Baking classes are a regular part of Cinnabon. "We use imported Makara Cinnamon and the freshest ingredients. Our 'Bake a Bon' activity has our bakers demonstrate the entire baking method step by step, live," informs Manish Miranda, Brand Manager, Cinnabon.

Romance on your plate Wanna let your hair down? Hit this chilled out lounge in the city to do just that!

Romance on your plate

Wanna let your hair down? Hit this chilled out lounge in the city to do just that!



People often ask me if I am romantic. I tell them that to be in love… with that every breath of the air breezing across your face, even if it's 12 degrees cold, to balance yourself on the trickiest slopes of the weirdest mountains and spread your arms to some mushy lyrics, or prance around like a happy puppy on the scorching beaches with that moony expression on your face… you ought to be a romantic, or you're just loony in the head! So every actor I believe is a core romantic. I definitely am. I recall I was out with some friends recently and I turned my head up 90 degrees and said, "Wow the moon looks so awesome!" My friends found my romanticising the moon almost ridiculous and started teasing me. I defended by saying, "If losers don't have the time to enjoy simple pleasures of life, I do!"
For those of you who think my friends were right, you could very well exit this part of the page and go do your own stuff, and those of you who agree with me, come along, as I take you with a smile to a place that's a luxury in the heart of the city where you can in fact stretch your legs, loosen your nuts and bolts, hang your shoulders down and set your spirits free.

Gadda Da Vida is a chic sea-facing lounge bar at the Novotel hotel in Juhu where you can enjoy the finest sunsets, fresh breeze, a variety of munchkins and, of course, the ever-flowing seductive drinks from the bar coupled with some great music! The USP of this place is definitely its ambience and the drinks. So if you want to make your evening truly special, work towards it and book yourself a reservation for the lounge's best sea-facing couches.
Though it's not a dinner place, it's more of a drink and snack place. On a full moon night and for the killer ambience, I'm sure one could just chill gorging on a variety of snacks and sipping on life! For vegetarians, you could start with the Nachos with salsa sauce or bite into the Mozzarella cheese fingers — with Mozzarella crumbed and fried till crisp. It melts in the mouth while leaving a taste behind, which lingers on. It's slightly heavy in the tummy, but it's definitely worth a have at least once.
You can then graduate to the Hummus and pita bread, which when combined with the perfect blend of olive oil and chickpeas, provides enough protein to go for the day and pita could either be plain or a multigrain. My favourite is the classic Margarita pizza. Here I learnt that a simple tomato combined with cheese and pizza bread can be your shortcut way to heaven!

My non-vegetarian friends tell me that the fish here can give the chicken a run for its score. The Fish Acra — Crisp fried bekti with green chili finish — crisp and spicy is their signature. Grilled Fish and grilled prawn are also truly awesome to the health conscious taste buds. But if you believe that no meal is ever complete without chicken, then you must try then Bukni Murgh Tikka — Chilly garlic toasted chicken morsels whirling in the special aroma of the clay oven. Or, the more wholesome Chicken Fajita Wrap — flour tortilla stuffed with chicken and pepper julienne. It is HOT, tangy and cheesy! To gulp down rich slices of awesomeness, you definitely need a refresher and that's when you ask for the company of some of the most interesting drinks. The Virgin Mojito is my favourite, while The Green fantasy — litchi squash, khus syrup, fresh cream topped with lemonade is a stress coolant. For those who need extra pampering to get them high in life, go for the Cocktail Mojito. If not, the Peach iced tea will certainly be your elevator. So the next time, you look at the moon and it's promising to be at its blossoming best tomorrow, call your romantic date and say, "Dinner tomorrow just you and I?" And then you know whom to call next…

Meal for two: Rs 2,500

Gimme red, never mind the tears It's irresistible even if it leaves you gasping for breath, because southern coastal cuisine is as hot as it is tasty,

Gimme red, never mind the tears

It's irresistible even if it leaves you gasping for breath, because southern coastal cuisine is as hot as it is tasty,


Fenix is all red. The leather seats, the flowers, the salt and pepper shakers, and in the distance, a shiny grand piano all shimmer in different shades of red at this Oberoi restaurant.
The decor was a foretaste of things to come, because I was there for an exploration of southern coastal cuisine. Along most of India's coastline, food is usually tinged with red, because various forms of red chillies are a part of the special spice mixes that are used.
Gobu Kumar appears to be a wet-behind-the-ears chef, just out of catering college and eager to please. But as this Thiruvananthapuram-born chef starts talking, it is apparent that my lunch is in safe hands.

Chettinad spice mix
The star of any coastal menu is its seafood and chef Gobu has plenty of variations on it. The appetiser he sends out is a platter of Chettinad spiced crab cake and kariveppilai yera (prawns in curry leaf masala), accompanied with a papaya relish, raw mango pickle and raw mango chutney in mustard oil. "Every Malabari dish has to start with pappad and pickles," he smiles.
The crab cake is so light it breaks into my fork and melts in my mouth, releasing a strong flavour of onion followed by the juicy goodness of crab meat. Green chillies, ginger and curry leaves have been mixed into the Chettinad spice, which is a mixture of 18 spices and takes four hours to prepare in a step-by-step procedure.
For the kariveppilai yera, a thick batter made of urad and gram dal finely ground with red chillies, cumin, pepper and roasted curry leaves is applied to the prawn, which is already marinated with chillies, coriander powder, ginger-garlic paste, pepper and curry leaves. This is then pan-seared. What you finally get is a heavily-coated super-spicy prawn with a crunchy texture. "The raw mango chutney works well with this prawn as the slightly sweet and tangy mango cuts the heavy spices of the masala," says chef Gobu helpfully.
Grandma's cooking style
Chef Gobu learned his cooking mainly from his grandmother. Every school vacation, he would be at her home, watching her rustle up delicious avial, dal, and lal saag for him. "I still try and follow her simple ways of cooking," he says.
On his recommendation, I try the Andhra fish curry, one bite of which leaves me gasping. "Chillies are the main ingredients here," adds chef Gobu, a little too late. The red snapper in the curry is soft and gets its pungent flavour from the deceptively simple ingredients, green chillies, onions, tomatoes and the Chettinad spice mix. The next dish is more to my taste, a mild meen polichatu: fish wrapped in banana leaf with crispy shallots and a strong coconut flavour.
Here too, chef Gobu had added his own touch, pan-searing the fish instead of just steaming it, which gave it a slightly burned flavour.

Avoiding wastage is a traditional value in India which is making a comeback in these days of rising food prices. meets some homemakers who work their magic on leftovers with age-old recipes

Make those leftovers count

Avoiding wastage is a traditional value in India which is making a comeback in these days of rising food prices. meets some homemakers who work their magic on leftovers with age-old recipes



It is late afternoon. While most of her contemporaries are deep in siestas or lost in the grandeur of twin stair-case havelis on TV, Dina Sohal, 76, has more than sinister saas-bahu polemics on her mind.
A pickle jar lies open in front of her, the aroma of raw mango and asafoetida permeates the air in the Breach Candy flat. Look into the jar and the marinated-for-a-year mango pieces are all gone and what's left is a salty, spicy sediment swimming in deep red oil.
De-stemmed, dry red chillies stand neck-to-neck in a plate nearby, and the matriarch begins working her magic. Each chilli is gingerly packed with left-over pickle masala and stood in another plate. "The fiery chilli balances out the salt and the masalas. The sourness and aroma of raw mango adds to the taste and mystery," she says, laughing. The plate of packed chillies is then left in the hot sun daily for a week.
She cautions that it should not be left outside after sundown. "This recipe has come down generations and the pickled and dried chillies do not go bad even after a year if this is strictly followed. Around the mid-70s, it began to be seen as a vestige of hard times and fell out of use."
Since neither the car outside, nor the plush interiors within indicate anything amiss, we ask if all is well. "Yes it is. But, we hear every day of how many are losing fortunes in the market and I fear within," she says folding her hands in a silent prayer. "Living a little prudently won't harm anyone," she says and takes a deep breath. "Definitely not, when it smells so heavenly."
An out-of-the-pot idea
Desai isn't alone. As inflation rises and home budgets tighten, even the well-heeled are thinking of ways to recycle food and avoid wastage. Sabzi from banana peels, poha-like snacks from left-over rotis, and cutlets from left-over fish are making a comeback with vehemence.
From the city's western coastline to the far north-eastern one in Navi Mumbai, working mother Simran Chawla rushes home from her Khalsa College job in Matunga. Her thoughts are far from her lecture on Brand Management. She is wondering what to do with the large leftover pot of masoor-ki-dal lying in the fridge from the previous day. "We'd gone out in the evening and the kids wanted pizza. Stuffed, they refused to eat and so did my husband," she says. "There's no way I'm going to throw away so much dal or simply give it away after having cooked it with so much love."
Rolling her eyes in sudden glee she smiles. "Today I'll have everyone begging for more of it, and they won't even know it's the left-over dal."
Once home and freshened, she goes about getting the masalas, flour, onions and other ingredients ready to make parathas. Seeing there is only a small container for water, we wonder how she will knead the dough. "That's where the special element comes in," she says teasingly, before uncovers the pot of dal which she had pulled out of the fridge a while ago.
"Apart from being rich in protein, these lentils are a good source of iron, potassium, sodium and vitamins," she explains and goes about kneading the dough with the dal and rolling out parathas.

A tribute to Annapurna
Cooking aficionado Shrirang Khatavkar echoes Chawla's sentiment. This caterer from Thane feels guilty throwing away vegetables simply because his son and daughter curl up their noses at them. "It made us laugh when Sharman Joshi's mother says that veggies will soon sell at the jewellers' in Three Idiots. But go to the market today and you can literally watch your money vanish," he says.
So Khatavkar decided to become innovative to make leftover vegetables appealing. And now when his eight-and-a-half-year-old son Makrand asks for another bottle gourd cutlet, Shrirang winks, fibbing: "Yeah, this uncle bought them in Vile Parle. Don't know why no one sells these here."
A half an hour drive away in Kalyan, Sarita Dani's family often has guests over for dinner or lunch. "While we can adjust with the dal, vegetables or salads thanks to the legendary Gujarati pickles, chutneys and chundos, I end up cooking too much rice or rotlas," she says. So she crumbles leftover rotis into bits and mixes them with jaggery and ghee to make laddoos which her family loves. "With the rice I end up making traditional Gujarati style bhat muthiyas. These are not only tasty but make for a filling breakfast snack," she tells us and remembers that the recipe is a hand-down from a time when food was scarce and people lived spartan lives.
"Traditionally we worship food as the Goddess Annapurna and wastage has always been frowned upon both in my maternal home and here. I want to hand this down as a value to my daughters too," says Dani.

Biryani goes on a diet

Biryani goes on a diet





Indian cuisine tends to kill nutrients by overcooking ingredients, and the food is often saturated with unhealthy fats. But with a little imagination it can be just as healthy as the Mediterranean diet which is a popular choice for the health-conscious, and tastier too because of the infusion of spices. Expert chefs tell how to go about it


I peer at the 'healthy' chicken biryani chef Renji Raju, executive chef at Ziya, The Oberoi, places on my table, trying to nitpick before I even taste it. Biryani and healthy? The two terms don't even sound right in the same sentence, I tell the chef, to which he responds: "Well, for starters, this biryani has used only one and a half teaspoons of oil."
The biryani does look as lush and red as they come. I smell saffron, garlic and something irresistibly tangy and full of mustard. I take a spoonful and the flavours blend into each other seamlessly, without leaving an aftertaste of fat — which you don't really mind. Nothing else seems to be missing. How's that even possible?
"How is it healthy if you have used white rice?" I ask finally.
Raju simply turns the biryani over with a fork to reveal brown, unpolished rice beneath the upper layer. "You may as well play with your senses if you decide to smarten up and make a healthy chicken biryani, right? I sprinkled a spoonful of white rice just to give you the feeling of having a 'normal' biryani."
Why go Mediterranean?
But aren't some diets inherently healthier than others, like Mediterranean? "The Mediterranean diet is healthy because it propagates the consumption of cereals, vegetables and fruits. But that doesn't mean we, here in India, need to eat the exact fruits and vegetables they eat. It's better if the food you consume is grown as close to home as possible," replies Raju.
What our cuisine can borrow from the Mediterranean and European cuisines, however, says Suresh Thampy, executive chef at the Courtyard by Marriott, is the cooking process. "We kill the nutrients with overcooking. If we retain the colours, textures and the crunch you'll be surprised at how healthy and delicious Indian food can be."
Thampy rattles off the things one can do to raise the health quotient of homemade dishes — stop trying to make gravies thick and 'rich' with nuts. The thicker you want your gravy, the more oil you will add and end up overcooking the vegetables. Kebabs needn't be deep-fried — spray some oil and roast them. If you boil broccoli and greens, transferring them to cold water will retain their colour and nutrition. And skip garnishing your biryanis with fried onions.
Yoghurt in everything
"Try introducing low-fat yogurt marinade in any dish. It takes it to another level by bringing out the flavour of the spices," says Thampy. Pack in ginger, garlic, mustard paste in the marinade, use it on broccoli, for instance, and grill it in the OTG, he adds (see recipe). Cumin seeds, basil and thyme do wonders for stir-fried vegetables. Thampy also suggests adding boiled vegetables to dishes rather than frying them. He rustles up a tawa pulao and sauté blanched vegetables in very little olive oil. He doesn't use onions at all.
Chef Surjan Singh Jolly, executive chef at the Renaissance, says even something as rich as Palak Paneer can be made with just 2 teaspoons of oil (he sticks to grape seed oil at all times), sans cream (see recipe). "You have to unlearn unhealthy cooking practices and educate yourself if you want to stay healthy while consuming Indian food. We sometimes eat dishes with ghee that were actually meant for farmers and warriors," he explains, adding that no region's diet is altogether healthy — Italian food is rich in cheese and fats, the Mediterranean diet uses unhealthy amounts of pork. "It depends on how you modify your own cuisine to make it healthy. Use a yogurt-based dressing, with mint, garlic, green chillies and black pepper, for your salads instead of mayonnaise. Substitute the fats with as many spices as you like, and you're ready to go," he says.

Where there's smoke, there's flavour

Cooking may be simpler in gas and electric ovens, but they can't replicate the wood-fired ovens' unique, traditional flavours,

Pumpkin and thyme soup

The only thing that looks fancy about the pumpkin and thyme soup at Miro is the bowl it is served in. The soup itself is thick, pale orange in colour, and reminds us — almost depressingly — of a pumpkin. So we're surprised that it is even on the menu of an upscale restaurant, let alone during a food festival, where chefs tend to strut out their inventiveness with food.
Turns out, that's exactly what Zubin D'Souza, director, Food and Beverages, Svenska Design Hotel, was trying to do. "I want the dishes to be simple so the influence of the wood-fired oven stands out," he says, explaining his choice of menu for the 'Festival of Food Finished in Wood-Fired Stone-Floored Oven'.
One whiff of the soup dispels any notion that it is boring. The smoky aroma complements the earthy, sweet flavour of the pumpkin. Adding pumpkin seeds and almond flakes lends crunch and texture to the soup. "The pumpkin is cut, marinated, and left overnight to roast in the oven after the wood fire has been put out," said D'Souza, "The next morning, we take it out, make the soup, and leave it in the oven to simmer and reduce. The oven gives it the unique smoky character."
The wood-fired oven works on the same principle as the tandoor, except the tandoor is usually made out of clay, while the oven at Miro is stone-lined, the kind used in Europe. The oven has two semi-circular openings, closed or opened using cast iron lids depending on whether you want to trap the heat in, bring the temperature down, or cut the oven's oxygen supply. Burning wood is placed on either side of the oven, while food is placed in the centre. The stone flooring serves a purpose — retaining heat for a longer duration and spreading it evenly across the oven's surface.
The only modern component is a white analog dial that stands out on the outer stone wall, giving a temperature reading. "But it's not of much use. So often, the pointer vibrates furiously at the maximum temperature. Unlike gas or electric ovens, you can't really control the temperature of a burning piece of wood. You need to observe carefully how the dish is turning out," says D'Souza. He experiments in the kitchen with different kinds of wood for the fire. "Mango wood was a great success. To experiment, we burnt even tea roots (expensive wood that is usually carved into furniture)." But the standard option is birch with assorted dried herbs.
The smoked flavour isn't quite apparent in every preparation. The paella, a Spanish rice dish, is prepared by cooking vegetables, meat and rice together in a vegetable, seafood or meat stock. According to D'Souza, the paella is cooked first in a pan and then finished in the oven. The veg paella doesn't make a distinct impression, while in the chicken and chorizo paella, it is only the roasted chorizo and bacon that are smoky.
Our faith is restored after we try the Hickory Wood-Fired Roasted Chicken, and the Mushroom Cannelloni. The chicken leg has a crisp texture, and the accompanying red wine sauce goes well with the smoky taste of roasted meat.
In the cannelloni, the pasta dough and white sauce is prepared outside the oven. The mushrooms are roasted in the oven just long enough to remove all the moisture. The mushrooms and sauce go on the pasta dough, which is then rolled. After adding white sauce and cheese on top of the roll, it is placed in the oven. The cheese, white sauce and mushroom absorb the smoky flavour making it cannelloni unlike any other.
By the time we finish, our tummies are full and our taste buds have been exposed to some interesting new flavours. But we wouldn't recommend an entire meal prepared in this technique, since the flavour graph will remain more or less the same. Nonetheless, a few smoked dishes certainly give the meal an interesting twist.
The Festival of Food Finished in Wood-Fired Stone-Floored Oven at Miro, Andheri West, Mumbai is on till December 4

We are all brothers when we eat We immerses herself in the culinary melting pot of Borneo for a deeper sense of the place

We are all brothers when we eat

We immerses herself in the culinary melting pot of Borneo for a deeper sense of the place



In a not-so-literal sense, Malaysians are what they eat. As a result of diverse historical factors, they are a mixture of races and cultures. Workers from India, China, Thailand, Arabia and Indonesia arrived here in colonial times to sustain the tin mines and rubber plantations. They brought not just their labour and families but also their foods and customs, creating a distinctive cultural legacy. Colonisers from Britain and Portugal followed suit, introducing a culinary influence along with their desire for trade. To add to this gastronomic complexity is the primordial food pattern of the myriad ethnic groups of Sabah and Sarawak.
And so, like many intrepid gourmandizers before me, I visit Kota Kinabalu in Sabah in Borneo in Malaysia, to test the reputation of a place that was acclaimed for being the rainbow's end of complex and delicious flavours. That I land in the middle of Ramadan when, after the day's mandatory fast, culinary delights can be found everywhere in the food markets that spring up and in the extravagant buffets offered by five-star hotels, only adds to my amazement. Confronted with the mecca of all things edible, it's easy to sense that Malay food, no matter its roots, is characterised by a generous use of spices and the frequent appearance of coconut milk.
In a fuzzy good mood from the all the food I've eaten, I notice that differences of religion dissolve miraculously, as various fingers appear ready to wipe what's left of the redang or spiced curry, and the piquant peanut dip of the chicken and beef satay. Several curry mee (bowl of yellow noodes) and popiah (deep fried spring rolls) later, I glance at my watch and am in for a shock. Two hours have flown past, but my new brothers-in-food won't let me go. "You can't leave without your ABC," they say. ABC? I repeat nonplussed, half suspecting that the quantities of food I've imbibed have gone directly to my head.
Ais Kacang or Air Batau Campur as it turns out, is the queen of Malaysian desserts. Upon a mound of shaved ice, is drizzled any of the following — sweet red beans, grass jelly, cream corn, ground peanuts, palm sugar, sweet syrup and evaporated milk.
I ask to see the chef — because I know that much as I enjoy sitting here, relishing the ice cream and screw-pine coloured glutinous cakes, the best way to get a fuller culinary understanding of this place is to travel in the opposite direction to the pack. The chef tells me to go in pursuit of "the protein-rich sago grub" at a Tamu or open air-market. On my way to find this delicacy of the largest ethnic community — the Kadazandusan people, who consume every part of the sago tree, including the grubs living in them — I discover many idiosyncrasies.
For instance, food here lives without hierarchy. Favourite foods can be found in the most lavish restaurants, as equally as in the food court, as in the humble roadside stall. Just about everywhere I find an abundance of nasi lemak — fat rice cooked in creamy coconut milk, flavoured with pandanus leaf, ginger and lemon grass for fragrance. This is typically served with fried or roasted peanuts and anchovies, hard-boiled eggs, slices of cucumber and a dollop of sambal — a shrimp paste mixed with chillies, onion and garlic that is essential to Malaysians — for whom life without adequate spice would be just a little less bearable. The die-hard fans of the dish swear it tastes better when eaten, not just with some exotic fish, but with one's fingers.
When is the best time to have lemak? I probe. Anytime, they say and sure enough nasi lemak turns up as part of the breakfast next morning. I am delighted at this sign of creative life at a breakfast buffet, beyond the static continental fare dished out at most hotels , that include the standard croissants, ham, cheese, salmon and bacon.
But to truly let Sabah in, the locals say with a subversive wink, you can't leave without a taste of the uniquely red-fleshed durian fruit. I resist at first, put off by the reeking odour that I know would live with me long after I swallowed the morsel. But the minute I renounce my title of gustatory sissy and place a slice of the smelliest fruit in the world on my tongue, the locals welcome me in. I have come of age in Sabah, passed the rite de passage, let the locals in along with the fruit and they in return are ready to spur me on in my pursuit of those elusive but protein-rich grubs.

IN THE RAW Certified raw food chef Lisa Pitman shows how an uncooked meal needn't be bland or boring

Clockwise from top: Raw crepes drizzled with strawberry and chocolate sauce, Coconut lime cheesecake and Raw lasagna with macadamia nut ricotta, red pepper marinara and basil pesto.

IN THE RAW

Certified raw food chef Lisa Pitman shows  how an uncooked meal needn't be bland or boring



How do you make a curry out of raw food? Canadian raw food chef Lisa Pitman, who is here on a mission to "rawify" Indian curries, shows us how with a raw saag curry. This dish combines cashew nuts, sea salt, ground coriander, cumin, garlic, ginger, sweet onion, water, lemon juice and baby spinach, in a blender. Yes, it is that simple. "You can make rich curries using coconut, nuts, or sun dried tomatoes combined with spices. Toss in diced vegetables and let everything marinate for a while. The flavours will infuse the vegetables just as it does when you simmer them over a flame," says Pitman.
Below 50 degrees C
"Raw food means anything prepared without heating above 118 degrees Fahrenheit (47.7 degrees C)," says Pitman. "That means making cheesecakes and date squares without the use of an oven or a stove."
Instead, she mainly uses a food processor for mixing fillings, a blender for smoothies, and a dehydrator for pizzas and pancakes. Instead of an oven, she chills most of her crusts, allowing them to set.
But Pitman is best known for her healthy desserts — she makes them using different combinations of nuts, coconut, spices, dried and fresh fruits. Her signature dish is date squares, which she can whip up in minutes. The crust is made by mixing pecans, walnuts or cashews, raw oats, dates and a dash of cinnamon. "When this is blended in a food processor, it begins to clump together. This mixture, when placed in a pan lined with parchment paper, becomes your crust," says Pitman. The filling is made by blending dates, orange juice and orange zest. A little crust is sprinkled on top. The dish is chilled for an hour and served.
She makes a cheesecake with almonds, unsweetened coconut, medjool dates and vanilla, all blended together to form a crust, and then refrigerated. The filling is made with coconut, cashew or almond milk, cashews, date paste, fresh lime juice, vanilla extract and raw, cold pressed coconut oil. This mixture is chilled for two hours.
Ever since she arrived in India this week, Pitman has been wowing audiences with her desserts — raw cheesecakes, fruit sorbets, cookies, tarts, pies and more. "You should hear the reaction when people take a bite of a raw cheesecake... no one complains about the missing cholesterol or saturated fat... I've replaced all that with fabulous flavour," she says.
Back to basics
Pitman, 33, has been a vegan since the age of two, when her parents realised she couldn't ingest animal protein. Then, seven years back, she started reading about the connection between diet and health and found herself slowly eliminating refined and processed foods like white sugar, refined salt, flour and butter from her daily meals. She inspired her mother, who was suffering from diabetes and asthma, to try her vegan whole food diet. "After a year, she had lost well over a hundred pounds, reversed her diabetes and stopped needing her asthma medication," says Pitman. Then she shifted completely to raw vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds.
No compromise on flavour
Pitman is a full time social worker doing public policy for the government. Her day starts with a blended fruit smoothie, a parfait, or oats porridge.
The parfait is a layered recipe that is more structured than the others. She pulses dates and orange zest, then adds pecans, oats, dried cherries and salt to create a granola-like mixture. Separately, she combines cherries, orange juice, dates and salt. She also blends frozen bananas to get an ice-cream like texture. The three mixtures are then layered in a glass to provide a nutritious breakfast or evening snack. "This recipe is also a great way to get kids involved in the kitchen. They can add ingredients to the food processor, push the pulse button to get things moving and study the transformation from frozen bananas to ice cream," says Pitman.
During the day, she snacks on fresh fruits. She also makes dips using nuts or sprouted beans and spices, which she enjoys with sliced vegetables.
"My favourite foods are raw cheesecakes, ice creams and cookies. But I also make simple main course dishes with raw foods," says Pitman. An example of this is spring pasta, using zucchini noodles. "A vegetable peeler will give you fettuccine-like noodles. In a blender, combine frozen peas, asparagus, avocado, water, lemon juice, lemon zest, thyme and pepper to make a smooth sauce." Pitman uses hot water in this recipe, to pour over the asparagus and peas for a couple of minutes. They are drained and mixed with the noodles and sauce. "You don't have to choose pleasure or wellness. You can have both," she says.

The great Indian street food trail Sephi Bergerson fell in love with Indian street food when he had a pakoda at Paharganj ten years back. Ever since then, the Israeli photographer has been documenting the street food culture in our cities. Joanna Lobo finds out which are his favourite spots

The great Indian street food trail

Sephi Bergerson fell in love with Indian street food when he had a pakoda at Paharganj ten years back. Ever since then, the Israeli photographer has been documenting the street food culture in our cities. Joanna Lobo finds out which are his favourite spots



When Sephi Bergerson walks the streets of India, he is "the bald foreigner with a camera who is eating our vada pav". So, when he proceeds to shoot pictures in the middle of a bustling Dadar market or outside Jama Masjid, his subjects are happy to oblige. "I am a foreigner and speak a little Hindi, so it opens people's hearts," says Bergerson happily.
Now he says he wants to share this joy with others. Come February, he aims to take a few like-minded people on a ten-day tour through the streets of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Varanasi.
Biryani at Jama Masjid
Bergerson's love for Indian street food goes back ten years when he moved here from Israel. His first taste of it was a pakoda in Pahargunj. "Someone asked me if I was crazy. I told him the guy had been sitting here for 500 years (sic), he hadn't been thrown out and people still eat it. So I will eat it too."
What he doesn't eat, and therefore doesn't click, is non-vegetarian food, the sole exception being the biryani stall outside Jama Masjid which he could not resist. To him it exemplifies the street food experience in India. "It has the food, the crowd, the beautifully old Jama Masjid. It says India".
Chuski in Old Delhi
Old Delhi is one of Bergerson's favourite places for street food because of the huge variety it offers. "Migrants come to the city, they don't know what to do, so they start cooking something from their own home and selling it on the street," he explains, adding that he loves to see the making of a chuski (flavoured ice).
Bergerson wants to capture this era before it is gone. "You take it for granted because you have grown up with it, but make no mistake, it will change." Much like the falafel in Israel where he grew up, which went from being food sold in a "dirty, greasy hole-in-the-wall" to a "white ceramic and steel glass place that serves fresh salads".
Panipuri at Chowpatty
Mumbai's quintessential street food, vada pav barely made it to Bergerson's collection, despite being a personal favourite. "I wanted a good picture of the experience of vada pav and not the bun itself which is ugly." He has similar feelings about another favourite, pani puri. It was on an assignment to click panipuri when he realised that it just doesn't look good in a close-up. But he realised that eating a panipuri can get messy which makes people go into contortions. So he kept his distance, and used a long lens to capture what has become one of his favourite pani puri images.
Kulhad chai at Kolkata
The first time Bergerson visited Kolkata, he walked for five days but shot only two 'satisfactory photos'. The second time round he got the picture he wanted. It was on his way from the airport, when a jolt of blue on an otherwise drab street caught his eye. "Kolkata is not colourful. If I had to give the city a colour based on its energy, the life there and my experience, it would be black". He did not know which street the stall was on, so he patiently retraced his route to the airport. When he did find it, the vendor refused to get his picture clicked. Unfazed, Bergerson bided his time, shooting something nearby, smiling at him from the middle of the road, ordering chai from the stall. "He was quite tired of having me hang around there and I finally got my picture."
Jalebi in Jaipur
Bergerson always ate everything he clicked, except this one time in Jaipur. He was ambling along a bylane when he noticed a vendor carrying jalebis. A quick run, about turn and he got the vendor in the frame. "Just before he got too close, there was sunlight that lit him up from behind and made the jalebis shine," he smiles in recollection.

Burmese connection Want to satiate your crush on Kaukswe? Get a table at this restaurant in town, known for its authentic Burmese cusine

Burmese connection

Want to satiate your crush on Kaukswe? Get a table at this restaurant in town, known for its authentic Burmese cusine

Apart from my petiteness, if you haven't already noticed my features and guessed I could have a Burmese connection, let me tell you, I in fact do! My great grandfather Sunder Rao had migrated to Burma, then Myanmar, from our home town Mangalore and made a fortune. My grandfather Amrit Rao was born in Burma and was extremely fond of a variety of Burmese cuisine and also knew how to prepare it.
And since we're on the topic of Burmese food, let me tell you that Busaba is perhaps the first Burmese cuisine restaurant in Mumbai, and I have been frequenting this place since school days. It was here that I got introduced to my grandfathers' first Burmese crush — Kaukswe and I discovered she has many interesting facets indeed.
The Kaukswe is a wholesome noodle meal that originated in Burma in the mid-16th century and is pronounced as 'cow sway'. The Kaukswe at Busaba is an original recipe that was passed on by the owner's (Nikhil Chibb's) grandmother who was Burmese. And trust me, it surely is a big reason to go to this place.
A bowl of noodle is served along with nine to 10 different bowls, which makes it look like an Indian version of a thali. Each of these bowls contain chopped celery, spring onion, fried garlic, onion rings, coriander, lime juice, red chili flakes, coconut based yellow curry with vegetables or (chicken/prawn) and boiled egg and prawn paste for non-vegetarian preferences. The whole process of pouring the yellow curry over the noodles and then sprinkling each of these condiments on to it is a rare feeling of being involved in the preparation of the dish, unlike the regular act of feeding your face, the moment the food is put on the table. When you put a spoonful of this concoction in your mouth, it's amazing how each of these fine condiments leave a special feeling of their unique presence to our taste buds! The best part is, you can also individually choose to mix any combination from the rich array of these accompaniments to create your own original taste sensation. I especially feel the comb of celery and burnt garlic chops adding to the flavour of curried noodle leaving an exotic sensation in the mouth.
Just like the history of Burma accommodated various cultural habitants, Busaba's kitchen is stacked with chefs from Vietnam, Thailand and Korea, presenting their niche delicacies. With its precise mezzanine arrangement of a 'resto-bar', you could experience a fine dining atmosphere upstairs or slip downstairs into the cozy chalet lounge with jazz, funk or house beats, and pamper a mixed cocktail in your hand with the motto being — just chill! (The watermelon Man — named after the jazz guru Herbie Hancock promises to rhythmise your senses; the Good Morning Vietnam is compulsory, I insist!). For starters, vegetarians could find bliss in the Khao pod tod — Thai corn cakes with red bell peppers, cilantro and curry paste served with a sweet and sour sauce or my favourite Banh xeo — Vietnamese rice pancakes filled with bean sprouts, mushroom, tofu and fried onion.
There is a unique variety of seafood starters like the Japanese tempura — squid or prawns fried in a light batter and served with a sweet chili sauce. My friends drool over the Satay-Thai barbecue chicken, pork or prawn served on skewers with a spicy peanut sauce.
Also, the Tod man pla — spicy Thai fish cakes (with cucumber chilli pepper relish), I hear is a show stopper! With such exotic variety of starters in the menu, one could easily get tempted not to begin with the main course at all! My expert advise — starters must be light and preferably shared, if you go there in a large group so that you have ample space in your tummy for the Kaukswe, which in itself is a 'one meal dish'.
The Bulgogi — Korean style marinated beef with shaved garlic, spring onions, lettuce leaves, mushrooms and Koearn chilli paste, the Pla neung Manao — Thai steamed fish with lime chilly and garlic and the Disha fire red based crab are runaway successes too. If you can claim to die eating like me, don't leave the place without tasting the chocolate fondant. I'm sure you will agree with me that Busaba's creative appeal carves a niche in South East Asian cuisine. If my taste buds feel a magnetic pull and find a soul satisfaction at Busaba, it's got to be my DNA!

Amrita Rao is an actor and a foodie.

Tuck in some turkey! Thanksgiving Day is coming up on Thursday; try out these turkey recipes...

Tuck in some turkey!

Thanksgiving Day is coming up on Thursday; try out these turkey recipes...



Thanksgiving Day has been officially recognised as an annual tradition since the 80s. Initially Thanksgiving was celebrated after the harvest cycles to give thanks for a good harvest season and rejoice with family and friends with a feast. Oven roasted turkey is a must in every household celebrating Thanksgiving. Following the tradition, restaurants in Mumbai have come up with their own food spread especially for this occasion. LPQ is offering dishes like Smoked turkey breast shavings with cornichons, herb cheese and scallions and Pumpkin cake with vanilla ice-cream. Indigo Delis have roasted butterball turkey and apple pie. Renaissance hotel offers Turkey escalope, fennel-prosciutto mascarpone gratin and Braised turkey shank. So, here are a few recipes that you can cook up for Thanksgiving at your home...

Roasted Turkey with chestnut, sage, apple stuffing and cranberry jelly (Le Pain Quotidien)
Ingredients:
Turkey breast - 1.2 kg
Demi-glace - 500 ml
Onion - 300 gms
Garlic - 40 gms
Leeks - 150 gms
Celery - 75 gms
Croissant - 1
Brioche - 2
Sage - 5 gms
Apricot canned - 5
Milk - 400 ml
Carrot - 300 gm
Cranberry jelly - 50 gm
Egg - 1
Red apple - 1
Water chestnut - 100 gms
Prunes - 30 gms
Salt - 10 gms
Pepper - 5 gms
Olive oil - 200 ml
Thyme - 5 gms
Pre Preparation:
Clean the turkey breast; flatten it using a meat hammer. Marinate it with salt, pepper and chopped thyme. Make it into roulade and tie it using a twine. Cut a few vegetables for mirepoix for the base. For the stuffing - saute carrot, leeks, celery, garlic. Add this to the diced croissant and brioche; add milk, seasoning and egg. And keep it for 15 mins till the bread soaks all the liquid. Make a roulade using a kiln film and cover it with foil and keep water boiling for cooking. Make florets of the broccoli and blanch them. Chop the prunes for the sauce and add them into the demi-glace.

Preparation:
Set the oven at 175 degree Celsius. In a roasting pan put the mirepoix and place the turkey roulade on it. Pour some demi glace over it. Cook it for 45 mins basting it every 10 mins. Poach the stuffing roulade in the boiling water for 15 mins at the same time. Put the cranberry jelly in the apricot halves and warm it in the oven. Sauté the broccoli florets in olive oil with some seasoning. Slice the turkey breast and roulade and arrange it alternatively on the plate. Along with the broccoli, apricot and pour over the sauce with prunes. Roasted Turkey by Chef James Reppuhn, Visiting Executive Chef, JW Marriott
Ingredients:
Whole Turkey - 1nos. (Approximately 5-6kg)
Unsalted Butter - 300gms
Fresh Sage - 30gms (40-45 leaves)
Onion - 2 nos.
Celery - 4 sticks
Carrot - 2 nos.
Leek - 2 nos.
Salt - to taste
Black pepper powder - to taste
For Stuffing:
White bread -10 Slices
Celery - 3 sticks
Onion - 1 medium
Chicken Stock - 1 cup
Egg - 1 nos.
Salt - to taste, black pepper powder - to taste
Method:
Keep the unsalted butter at room temperature, when it is soft mix it with chopped fresh sage. Cut the wings of turkey at end bone, this helps it to seat still while roasting. Cut the excess skin near the neck. Wash the turkey and pat dry with paper towel. Season the turkey with salt and pepper powder. Rub the turkey with sage butter. Cut the onion, celery, carrot and leek in to large dices. Place them in the roasting tray. This will infuse the flavour in turkey while roasting. Pre-heat the oven at 180 degree Celsius for 30 minutes. Put the Turkey in roasting tray, put it in the oven and roast. It will take 75-90 minutes.
For Stuffing:
Cut the white bread slices in to cubes. Chop the onion and celery finely, saute it lightly in butter. In a mixing bowl mix together bread cubes, sauteed onion and celery, egg and chicken stock. Season the mixture with salt and pepper powder. Place this mixture in an oven dish and place it in the pre-heated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 15 minutes. Serve hot with accompaniments like mashed potato, roasted sweet potatoes, bacon, green beans and mushroom, and cranberry sauce.

Apple, chocolate, pomegranate idlis, anyone? Coimbatore man applies for patent and Intellectual Property Rights for 20 varieties of idlis

Apple, chocolate, pomegranate idlis, anyone?

Coimbatore man applies for patent and Intellectual Property Rights for 20 varieties of idlis

If variety is the spice of life, then nobody other than Kovai Iniyavan of Coimbatore has truly lived upto the adage.
A 38-year-old school drop out from Coimbatore, Kovai has not only developed scores of varieties of idlis, but has also applied for patents for 20 types of the popular south Indian dish.
The caterer has applied for patent and Intellectual Property Rights for these idlis claiming all the recipes were exclusively developed by him. His menu card boasts of 200 types of idlis comprising apple, orange, tomato, pizza , pudina, curry, honey, etc varieties.
"They differ in taste, shape and smell. He makes idlis with various kinds of fruits, vegetables and spices," said Gnanavel Murugan, a foodie from Chennai.
Kovai learnt the art of idli making from Chandra, a widow in Coimbatore whom he helped in transporting the idlis she made to hotels.
"Later I started helping her in idli making and she taught me how to prepare soft and tasty idlis. It was a new experience and she shared all knowledge with me," he said.
Idli is the simplest and safest of all foods, says Kovian.
"But one has to be careful while preparing the batter. Housewives grind rice and lentils and leave it overnight for fermentation. That is not the correct method," said Iniyavan.
Though he grinds the rice the previous day, the lentil is ground only three or four hours before the idli is steamed.
"The rice and lentil are mixed just two hours before preparing the idli," he said.
Kovian asks housewives to use aluminum vessels to steam idli. "Pour the batter only after the water starts boiling and use only two layers at the same time," he said.
On the anvil are idlis made of tender coconut, carrot, chocolate, pomegranate, coriander, etc. "This will make idly eating a new experience because every day one can think of having a new variety," he said.

You're my cuppycake! Hotels and restaurants across the city have something special in store for kids on the occasion of Children's Day on November 14

You're my cuppycake!

Hotels and restaurants across the city have something special in store for kids on the occasion of Children's Day on November 14



Here's one day where you can let the kids go free without preaching to them what's healthy and what's not. And the little ones are spoilt for choice this Children's Day, on November 14, as several cafes and restaurants have designed a special kiddie brunch/lunch or even a special kids menu — with all the not-so-healthy but tastefully addictive stuff — designed specially by chefs.
For instance, Lotus Cafe at JW Marriott is organising a special Children's Day extravaganza where you can shower your child with gifts he'd love — scrumptious food, together with games and fun-filled activities like face painting, unique balloon creations, video games and famous mascots and clowns. Also, the centre piece on every table shall be the Candy Wonderland made of castor sugar and lollies. The kids buffet will include lip-smacking favourites like Chocolate Profiterole, Lamington, Chocolate muffins, cupcake assortment, chocolate doughnuts and fruit tartlets, apart from fish fingers with gherkin mayo, chicken nuggets with honey mustard sauce and ketchup, smileys and vegetarian wok noodles.
However, a separate buffet arranged for parents will comprise of Pan Seared Red Snapper Steak, Baby Crushed Potato & Pakchoy, Balsamic Ginger Veloute, Grilled Tenderloin, Onion Jam, Foie Gras Jus, and Wild Mushrooms Stuffed Chicken with Seared Polenta, Buttered Asparagus and Red Wine Jus. Also, there will be live counters serving Hand Tossed Pizza, Pasta, Chicken Shawarma, Khauswey or Roasts and Live Desserts. Says Neha Mathur, manager Lakeside Chalet, Marriott, "We decided the menu going by what kids like the most… cakes, sandwiches, doughnuts, smileys and soft beverages." She adds, "There is also a kids dance party and loads of dance floor games. We have a special cake that will be cut by the kids, plus there will be lots of gifts and prizes being given away."
Deliverychef.in too has some amazing offers for the day. You can personalise cupcakes with your kids' favourite cartoon character and customised messages with sugar work and candies. Moreover, it's also offering 20 per cent off on all kiddie flavours like bubble gum burst, cotton candy and tooty frooty.
Westin Mumbai Garden City has a Children's Day brunch on November 13. "We anyway have a special theme based brunch every Sunday. So this time we decided to make it special for kids. It's called 'bubblicious'. We have cartoon characters like Dora, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse present in the party. There will be 20 different types of candies, mini burgers, nuggets and pastas," says Sachin Mylavarapu, director F&B, Westin Garden City Hotel. "We'll also teach them how to do icing on the cookies, which they could take back home as a souvenir."

Born. A petite Whether it's Italian, Mediterranean or Carribean cuisine, this restaurant in the suburbs lures with its authentic food

Born. A petite

Whether it's Italian, Mediterranean or Carribean cuisine, this restaurant in the suburbs lures with its authentic food



Looks can be deceptive and I am a classic example. I might look like they starve me back home and I can't claim to survive on fresh air in the city of Mumbai either. But the secret coming straight from the kitchen onto your plate is that there is a lot of food that hides comfortably behind this petite frame! My close friends call me "bhukku" and half my Twitter matter is about the yummy things I binge on! My Twitter friends and DNA After Hrs were the unique ones who spotted the foodie in me and encouraged me to write and review a food column. As a staunch vegetarian myself, I hope to share some great recommendations to my veggie folks and hope to tempt the taste buds of those from the non-vegetarian religion too!
I begin my first food column with Out of the Blue on Pali hill, a restaurant I've been frequenting since school days, when it was exclusively a sizzler place. I have memories settled in different corners of this place — whether of birthdays, Christmas luncheons, farewell dinners, friendly get-togethers and, of course, a whole lot of official meetings and photo shoots!

The restaurant is perhaps one of the rare combinations of ambience and mouthwatering food. Its USP is the space and the efficient utility of each and every corner. The indoor arrangement has proximity to the bar and the outdoor seating is close to the live barbeque counter. Today, along with their famous sizzlers, the restaurant serves the city's finest Italian cuisine, along with their original and innovative variety of fondues such as the desi fondue, Chetinad fondue, pizza fondue and so on. My personal favourite? It's olives dipped in desi fondue.
The kitchen is a bunch of creative madness with chefs who believe that food can be fun if you want to invent new things. This place serves the most unique cold cheese bruschetta, which was a discovery by default by one of the young enthusiastic chefs, who forgot to heat the bruschettas before serving them. However, this slapstick version has now become the restaurant's running 'cold' favourite. Their Caribbean chef Michelle Fourniller is the latest flavour of the kitchen and specialises in Mediterranean and Caribbean cuisine.
And for all of you who, like me, believe that the company of the right choice of drink can make all the difference to the entire dining experience, try out the Jaljeera Mojito, which is the restaurant's farm grown recipe and an instant mood-pepping refresher.
Let me now, with a musically loud announcement, introduce to you, ladies and gentlemen, my crush on the menu that ensures I come for it again and again — the Vegetable Exotica. It's basically vegetables in cheese, aptly true to its name with its 'exotic' taste. Each time I'm at Out of the Blue, I order for this particular dish… to an extent that when the restaurant was revamping its menu, it retained this dish on the menu, specially for me! I think in the years to come, it shall be called Rao Exotica! If you haven't tasted the Vegetable Exotica, you haven't been to Out of the Blue. Just a reminder… it's on Pali hill. See you there!
Amrita Rao is an actor and foodie.

Try out these recipes

Green Peppercorn and cumin rubbed hickory smoke chicken with beetroot spaghetti: 
Chef Mrinmoy, 5 All Day, Colaba
Ingredients:
❉ Smoked chicken breast
2 nos
❉ Green peppercorn
crushed 10 gms
❉ Cumin toasted and
crushed 5 gms
❉ Garlic 5 gms
❉ Olive oil 1 tbsp
❉ Salt and black pepper
freshly ground to taste
❉ Beetroot flavoured
spaghetti 50 gms
(alternately regular
spaghetti)
❉ Red wine 30 ml
❉ Balsamic vinegar 10 ml
Procedure:
❉ Burn about 50 gms of
hickory wooden chips
which has been soaked
in water. As they begin
to smoke put it in a steel
vessel with the chicken
breast not touching
each other which has to
be coverd with a cling
wrap for 10 mins.
Marinade chicken
breast with oil, salt,
pepper, cumin, garlic
and green peppercorn
for at least 30 minutes.
Sear the chicken
breast both sides
for a minute each
and put in the
oven for bout
10-15 mins.
Keep the pan
aside for the
sauce. Toss the
spaghetti in olive oil
and garlic with
seasoning. Add the
red wine and
balsamic vinegar in
the pan used to sear
the chicken and
reduce. Place the
tossed spaghetti on a
plate, place the chicken
breast on top. Pour the
sauce over.

Tea smoked quail: Chef
Mahesh More, OPA, Juhu
Ingredients:
❉ 3 Quail
❉ 1 tsp rice wine
❉ 1 tsp salt + salt to taste
❉ 5-6 spoon veg oil
❉ 3 tsp tea leaves such as
black, jasmine, litchi,
lapsang, souchang
❉ 5 pieces dry tangerine
peel
❉ 1/2 tsp castor sugar
❉ 5 tsp sesame oil
❉ 1 garlic chives
❉ 2 tsp light soya
Procedure:
To prepare the quail, rinse
and dry the birds.
Cut off the necks
and wing tips,
then split each quail in half
along the breast bone. In
large shallow bowl, stir
together the wine, 1 tsp
salt and a tsp vegetable oil.
Add the quail and turn in
the mixture rubbing the
birdswith your fingers to
coat evenly. Leave for 20
minutes, turning twice. To
bring water to a boil in the
base of a steamer. Set
the quail on the metal
steamer rack, cover
tightly, reduce the heat
so the water continues to
simmer and steam for
five mins. Remove the
quail on the rack and
place the rack over a plate
or bowl to drain. Line a
large, heavy sauce pan or
wok with a double
thickness of alluminium
foil. Place the tea leaves,
tangerine peel and sugar
on the foil in the bottom of
the pan and set over a
medium heat. Place the
quail on the rack in the
pan. Cover the pan and
smoke - cook until golden
brown about 12 mins.
Remove the quail from the
rack and brush them with
2 tsp of sesame oil.
Sprinkle lightly with salt. In
a wok, warm the remaining
2-3 tsp veg oil over high
heat. When hot add the
chives and stir fry until
they begin to wilt. Spread
the chives on a platter and
arrange the quail on top.

'Smoking technique' is the new alternate, innovative way of cooking that city based chefs are taking to

Smokin' hot!

'Smoking technique' is the new alternate, innovative way of cooking that city based chefs are taking to



Smoking technique is a traditional method that is mostly used for preserving food materials, but has now become an integral part in the kitchen as well. With new restaurants opening, whose menu mainly comprises of dishes made of smoked techniques — starting from starters to even drinks, this innovative way of cooking has become the talk of the town.
The smoking exposes the food material to flavourful compounds released from the wood, apart from retaining its original flavours. Though the cooking may sound easier through this method, but one also has to take into account the various elements involved in it. "Smoking technique involves two types of smoking — cold and hot smoking. Cold smoking produces the satiny, moist texture, while hot smoking results in the firm and dense texture," says Mrinmoy, owner and head chef of 5 All Day restaurant. Sous Chef Sahil of Two One Two Bar and Grill adds, "Smoking technique helps in maintaining the juicy flavour while absorbing a nuance of smokiness that adds like a fabulous seasoning." Chef Alain Coumont of LPQ (Le Pain Quotidien) says, "Smoked food develops a beautiful golden colour. The meat on the outside becomes a light brown, red, or almost black depending on the type of wood used, heating temperatures and total time smoking."
Inspite of all this when the issue comes to the healthy aspect, chefs are not sure whether smoke technique is indeed the healthiest way, "It's a debatable topic. One may argue that chemicals from the wood and carbon monoxide from smoking may not be the healthiest option. The only thing is there is no harm in having them once or twice, but just don't make it a habit," adds Chef Mahesh More of OPA.
Local restaurants use woods depending on availability and saw dust for the technique. And one of its merits is that this method is perfect for novices, since it doesn't require any extra time or drip pans.

This restaurant in town caters to your love for authentic sushis, shitakes and more...

reviewS BY CELEB Guests A slice of Japan

This restaurant in town caters to your love for authentic sushis, shitakes and more...


We are big fans of Japanese food. And hence for my last review, I could not miss out on this Japanese restaurant that's easily the best in Mumbai. Situated at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower overlooking the Gateway of India is Wasabi, which I feel is Mumbai's only true-blue Japanese fine dining signpost. After so many years with so many Japanese restaurants sprucing up in Mumbai, Wasabi still stands tall, having silenced critics with its consistently high standards of ingredients, preparation and presentation, and the fact that reservations are norm even on week-nights.
The recently restored restaurant has an all new decor with a cheery and dramatic red lacquered staircase, a glazed glass and steel lift zooming you up from the Harbour Bar into this small 'magic box'. The key feature of Wasabi by Morimoto is the bold, sculptural round table that dominates the room and is complemented by an over-scale custom hammered metal light fixture. The overall look is crafty, traditional Japanese and the sushi counter and teppanyaki kitchen serve as focal points of activity, with the teppanyaki area defined by a large art piece.
The food fare here is authentic Japanese. Many of the ingredients are apparently flown in everyday from around the world and most from Japan too. We started by ordering a plate of spicy salmon sashimi roll and a spicy shitake roll (the veg version). The sashimi was just so fresh! The wasabi that came along with it seemed creamier and of a different texture. We were later told that a lot of restaurants usually make the Wasabi paste with some powder and they were one of the few places to use the actual root. The chef then created a special squid salad, which was delicately done with pine nuts and walnuts. The flavour and the seasoning was done just perfectly without an overdose of any dressing. It was a light seasoned salad in which you could savour the taste of each ingredient. Among their famed Sushi dishes are also the Spicy Tuna, Soft Shell Crab and the vegetable combo... sheer bliss, paired with a fine Barbaresco D'Alba Italian red wine or their legendary cold Sake. You also cannot miss out on their Black Cod Miso. It was simply out of this world. It was this big and beautiful and juicy piece of fish, marinated in Miso. It was soft and had the most succulent flavour ever!
There is an outstanding and dedicated veggie menu as well. Japanese Pizza (yes this exists), Veg Epice, Spinach Tempura, Veg Sushi (a No-Nori Veg Sushi is on the cards), Newspaper Vegetable Purse and Edamame too.
My verdict? Wasabi is at the pinnacle of freshness and everything is prepared to perfection. The best part is that the food does not weigh you down and the service is super-efficient and full of warmth. This is one place where I will keep coming back for sure!
Raveena Tandon is an actor and a foodie.