JDF: Shortbread.

Shortbread has got to be one of the easiest things I've ever made and it tastes so divine! All you need is some butter, sugar, flour and cornflour an you're good to go. Of course Jamie does make everything so simple but I'm serious. There is something so British about shortbread and I just love how it melts in your mouth. Once you've made a batch, you can use it with cheesecakes, pies and ice cream. It's just a life- saver.

Ready? Okay!

This is the first time I made shortbread and it turned out great! And just in time for Christmas too! Look how gorgeous it turned out ♥

Mouths watering? Mine sure is!

Tips I'd give-

• Follow the recipe. It's unbelievably easy!
• When rolling out the dough, don't stress. It's gonna turn out okay if you've got the correct amounts of the ingredients.
• Add some cinnamon, maple syrup or rose syrup to spice it up. If you don't want to, the original tastes brilliant by itself so not to worry!

As always, here's the master's recipe which I now handover to you http://www.oprah.com/own-anna-kristina-grocery-bag/The-Best-Shortbread-in-the-World . Get busy cooks! It's Christmastime and no matter how many sweet things you make they're never enough, so get cracking! Send me pictures if you do try it out :)

Happy Holidays!

D

Inside...

It's four days to Christmas so here's my special Inside just for the occasion! As you all know by now, Indigo Deli's one of my favourite restaurants and it seemed only fitting to find out the secrets behind all this amazing food! So behold, in this post I'll tell you about their latest Gourmet Ice Cream station, a chat with Chef JD and a sundae date with Shreya who helped me so much!

Indigo Deli started in 2006 and is a leading deli in Bombay. Their newest baby is the Ice Cream station at Indigo Deli, Palladium. There are 17 ice cream flavours, 2 sorbets and 2 frozen yogurts. They rotate the flavours everyday.

YUMMERS.

I tried 3 flavours; Strawberry Cheesecake, Bailey's and Three Chocolates. My fav? Three Chocolates! It's a trio of white, dark and milk chocolate and tastes just heavenly together. Buy a tub, stay under your covers and enjoy!

 

After trying these Shreya told me I HAD to try one of their sundaes and it's really not like me to refuse someone so I gave it a go ;)
The sundae I ordered? The Deli French Toast Sundae. Absolutely divine. Warning, don't think you can finish it all by yourself cause you can't! Moist French toast, orange segments, hot cointreau fudge, fresh cream and spiced pecan. Heaven.

Deli French Toast Sundae. Muahahaha!

I then had a little talk with Chef JD about how they work. They use seasonal produce and import the stuff that are really not available here like hazelnuts, the rest is all local. Their specials are decided by the chefs and the young budding chefs they have in the kitchen. Sometimes they're responsible for sides or even entire dishes! What a fun place to work eh? 

Where the magic happens...

Since this IS a Christmas Special, let me give you a few tips for a better Christmas; Go try Indigo Deli's new Christmas menu, go and make yourself your own Christmasy sundae- cinnamon, rum, cream if you know what I mean ;) my friends at Indigo Deli will oblige! Above all, have a happy Christmas with loads of good food! Forget about the diet, it's the holidays! You guys are also most welcome to send me food, all in the spirit of Christmas ofcourse ;) and last of all, COOK. Experiment, come up with new dishes, I'm sure that's what I'm gonna do!

As the Brits say, Happy Christmas!

Happy holidays,

D

Arola.

Okay, it isn't everyday you get a see a two Michelin star chef at work and that's just what I had the pleasure of doing! Sergi Arola, the owner of Arola at J.W. Marriot showed us how to make a few of his signature dishes; Patatas Bravas, Tandoor Lobster, White Asparagus and Crema Catalana.

Apart from being a brilliant chef, Sergi Arola is so entertaining! His anecdotes in that dreamy Spanish accent pretty much had me glued. His food philosophy is simple, don't complicate stuff and let the produce speak for itself.

Patatas Bravas

Also called patatas a la brava or papas bravas, is a dish native to Spain, often served as a tapa in bars. It typically consists of white potatoes that have been cut into about 2 centimeter irregular shapes and then fried in oil and served warm with a sauce such as a spicy tomato sauce or a mayonnaise. This dish is commonly served in restaurants and bars throughout Spain, where it is traditionally accompanied by a shot of orujo or a glass of wine. It is one of the most spicy dishes served in Spain.

Arola's patatas bravas- just melted in my mouth!

White Asparagus

Thick, fresh white asparagus in olive dust and mayo with a few fresh sprigs of parsley

Tandoor Lobster

The raw material- Beauty.

The finished product- garnished with macaroni sauteed in tomato, chili and garlic and olive dust

Crema Catalana

This is basically a Spanish creme brulee. Arola served it with a hint of cinnamon and an orange sorbet- Yum!

The master at work

Talking, learning and eating; this was a very fun evening! I hadn't tried authentic Spanish food before and this was something really different for me. Plus, eating Michelin starred food in a Michelin star restaurant listening to a Michelin star winning wish isn't the worst thing ;) thanks Gourmet It Up! 'Twas funnnn :D

I have a Christmas Special INSIDE lined up for you guys! So stay tuned!

xoxo

D

Apology.

Let me start by saying I'm sorry. For what,you might ask, I just realized that I've made only 4 out of the 9 desserts I was supposed to make for my Jamie Dessert Fest. Shame on me. I've let my hectic schedule be an excuse for this but in reality, nothing should come in the way of my word. I gave you my word that I'd make 9 of Jamie Oliver's desserts and managed to make just 4 and the year's gonna end! Yuck. Something must be done. Starting tomorrow I'm buying the ingredients I need and getting down to it. My newly decided diet doesn't make this situation any easier so for those of you who want to come and help me finish the dessert, please don't hesitate! This post is going to be way to short. But the longer the apology, the worse it reflects on you doesn't it? Eton Mess is a dessert comprising mainly of bashed up meringues, berries and cream so you could do it on your own. No! This isn't an excuse! I'm not trying to lessen my workload. I'll show you how it's done. Don't worry. Starting tomorrow the Jamie Dessert Fest is going to take a turn for the better: Fast & Furious.

I'm forgiven aren't I? You guys are the best :)

Get ready for a sugar rush!

xoxo
D

JDF: Meringues.

It's been a while since my last JDF hasn't it? I'm sorry. But I couldn't just blog about the dessert without actually making it myself cause that's not what I vowed to do. So, without further ado, meringues!

Ready? OKAY!

The first time I had a meringue was at a Good Foods store in London. This was the first time I made some myself and Jamie made it SO easy! Doesn't he always though? Okay that's enough gushing. If you guys don't  know what meringues are, they're light and sugary biscuit kinda things which you've just got to try! Meringues are real easy to make, consisting of just 3 ingredients:

And into the oven they go!

• Egg whites
• Caster sugar
• Pinch of salt

Then of course you can add you own subtle flavours and also make a pavlova! I made Oreo meringues by adding crushed Oreo cookies to the mixture. There are dozens of other flavours you can come up with!

Mmmmmmm...

My next JDF will be Eton Mess whose key ingredient is meringues! As always, here's the recipe: http://www.oprah.com/own-anna-kristina-grocery-bag/Jamie-Olivers-Basic-Meringue-Recipe

Meringues are one of the easiest desserts to make! I literally have no tips to give you! If you have any questions or problems, you know where to tweet me :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

xoxo

D

Indian.

This post is aptly titled, if I can say so myself. With Diwali having just gotten over and the general patriotic fervor in the air, I realized, that my knowledge and depth about Indian food is quite stunted. I think the simple reason is because I don't eat as much Indian food as I do continental neither do I cook it. What can I say, I just don't have a natural talent for Indian food. I can't concoct Indian recipes with various spices in my head like I can continental food. The solution? Practice! And I've already started, trust me, I made my first ever Poha for Diwali breakfast this year and it wasn't a disaster! So there is hope ;)

What do you think?

Rajdhani.
We've all been to Rajdhani; a simple and elegant experience with great value for money. I recently went to Rasovara by Rajdhani which is now a more fine dining experience with the prices just a little higher and a HUGE variety in return. The place is done up and looks fabulous and the staff is dressed as smartly as ever. Each table has a designated person in charge. The service here is top notch. It really can't get any better. They force you like you've come to their home and leave you feeling content. I had the privilege of visiting their kitchen and my friend Sneha got busy! All in all, it was a wonderful experience. Go there guys,for the impeccable service and the desserts if not for anything else; heavenly.

The Menu

Newer, prettier, bronze thalis!
Fun Fact: They weigh 2 kg :O

Dessert, Mmmmmm...

Jalebi with Rabdi. Eeep!

PHEW!

Paan shot? Yes.

Paan? Yes.

Sneha making rotis in the Rajdhani kitchen! Awww :)

I'm gonna spend my time increasing my knowledge about the food from my country and I can use all the help! Tweet me @devikambing :) That's it for now guys! How were your Diwalis? Hope they were safe and full of good food! Mine sure was :)

Stay Hungry!

xoxo
D

Pesto.

One of my favourite sauces, if you make a jar of good pesto, you'll never have a tasteless meal! I have a pot of basil in my kitchen so I'm never out of basil to make me some pesto. Once made, you can store it in a jar topped with some extra virgin olive oil and it can last you for days. The first thing that comes to mind when you say pesto is ofcourse, pasta. But I like my pasta with creamy pesto and not with claggy lumps of basil. Where did I learn to make great pesto? Jamie Oliver. He is my guru and I think I'm his apprentice. Small glitch: He doesn't know...yet ;) So to make perfect pasta with pesto, mix the pesto you've made with some belchamel sauce until you get a light green colour. Add pieces of soft chicken breast, whole olives and some almonds soaked in warm water for about 10 minutes and you have the best pasta ever!

Let's do this!

How to make pesto?

INGREDIENTS:

• Basil
• Olive Oil
• Lime
• Salt
• Pepper
• Parmesan Cheese
• Pine Nuts
• Garlic

Put everything in a pestle and mortar (or food processor) and keep adding more of the seasoning until you're happy with the taste. I can't really give you amounts for the ingredients because everyone likes their pesto different.

Once you have this basic pesto you can use it as a spread, marinade and sauce and make the most spectacular dishes! If you need some more ideas on what to use it for, tweet me!

Stay Hungry!

xoxo

D

My George & Gary Moment.

EEEEEEEEEEEP! I met them, I met them! I know you know how much I love Masterchef Australia, I even had a post dedicated to it. Not only did I meet Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris, I COOKED FOR THEM! Yes, hold your horses, it's true. All I have to say is Gary and George are AS cute as we thought they were. What did I make? Good question. I made them a bruschetta antipasti consisting of 3 types of bruschetta: Caramelized onions and walnuts with feta, roasted bell peppers with a honey and lime vinaigrette and mozzarella and last, char grilled zuchini with balsamic and mozzarella. George said his favourite was the roasted bell peppers and mozzarella and Gary loved the caramelized onion and feta concept. Me? I was just ecstatic that they were tasting MY food :') It began in complete Masterchef style with,"Your time starts NOW!" and ended with the,"That's it, time's up." I really don't know how Andy, Ben and Julia did it.

Cookin'

Then George asked me about my dish in complete Masterchef style and I tried my best to answer without fainting, and succeeded! That will have to be my greatest achievement! The minute I heard George and Gary were coming to Bombay, I had made my mind that I HAD to meet them. But never did I ever think that I'd cook for them! It was one of the most exhilarating moments ever.

Gary showing me how they get the contestants to tear up!

George and Gary telling me about my dish.
VERDICT: The bread should have been crunchier and more caramelized and the mozzarella should have been melted. The 3 flavours were really distinct.

In all honesty, Gary and George are one of the cutest and most genuine people I've met and dealing with Bombay crowds can really be hard, even for us. But they handled it so beautifully! In the end, the perfect day: A cuddle from Gary, a dish inspired by Jamie Oliver and George and Gary tasting it and telling me exactly what it needed. I woke up the next day and wondered whether it was all a dream? But then I had these to testify ;)

Gary ♥

Me: Gary's my favourite.
George: Do you want to give him a cuddle?
Me: YES!
♥

I've never been to Australia, but when I go, I'm heading straight to Fenix and The Press Club!

xoxo
D

Teppanyaki.

My first memory of teppanyaki is when Ross from Friends took a girl on a date to a teppanyaki restaurant and bumped into his ex- wife and her lesbian partner. I remember him catching a hot mushroom straight off the teppan into his mouth and spitting it out immediately because it was too hot. Since then, teppanyaki's always seemed fun, spectacular concept as opposed to just ordering your food or helping yourself. It's an art. There are teppanyakis in Vegas where they have a chef who is their star performer and people come just to see him. Why am I telling you all this? It's just my introduction to my post about the Teppanyaki Night at Shiro!

The stage.

Cheers!
(The green apple and peach sparkling wine)

It's the first time I went to Shiro and had an amazing time. The ambiance is amazing with the stone Buddhas, I love the high ceilings and the music's great. The chef started off with some tricks with his spatulas and made some rice and noodles. He then broke some eggs, which was also quite entertaining. We all had drinks as we watched this. I had the sparkling green apple and peach wine with vodka and some red wine sangria, both of which were really good. There were entrees to go around: Sushi and Chili Potato. Now sushi isn't usually my favourite but I LOVED the Crispy Spicy Avocado Sushi. Then we took our places on the tables to enjoy the food properly. The rice had a nice sticky texture but a bit too peppery for me. The noodles with vegetable butter were also really nice. There were too kinds of chicken which were really well cooked. There were prawns with some goat's cheese which were really light and fresh and the basa was also enjoyable.

All in all, I'd say go there for the experience. I had an amazing night with great company and at the end, was completely stuffed. ChicChick went with me as well, you could ask her!

Stay Hungry!

xoxo
D

JDF: British Vanilla Ice Cream.

Now there's a reason why I call it BRITISH vanilla ice cream because the main difference is the ice cream in England has a lovely, rich, light yellow colour which makes it look so wholesome as opposed to the Indian ice creams we buy which is a tasteless spotless white colour. This was the first time I made ice cream and it turned out great! Since I don't have an ice cream machine (yet) I did the next best thing Jamie advises to do: Go to the freezer every twenty minutes and stir the ice cream mixture to give it that amazing, creamy texture and so that it doesn't taste like icy crystals.

This was the first time I used an actual vanilla pod instead of the vanilla essence and I'm telling you, it makes ALL the difference! I couldn't believe that this was something you actually just picked off a tree! Vanilla, somehow sounds so man-made but then you realize that something this perfect has to be natural.

THAT'S how it turned out. Pretty awesome, eh?

MY TIPS-

• Don't forget the stirring, it's more important than you can imagine!
• A little less cream if you find it too rich is absolutely okay.
• Ice Cream is kind of just frozen custard and if it does scramble while on the pan, don't worry ! Just transfer it to a cool pan and pass it through a sieve.
• To make a tiny vanilla sundae, add some brownie crumbs and a shot of Bailey's!

If you're counting that's dessert #3 in the Jamie Dessert Fest! The weather's perfect for some ice cream, eh? And ofcourse, here's the recipe http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/member-recipes/Vanilla%20ice-cream/1454 This isn't the exact recipe from the book but I couldn't find it anywhere online. Instead of vanilla sugar, use regular sugar and a vanilla pod :) If you have anymore doubts, you can always tweet me at https://twitter.com/devikambing

Enjoy!

xoxo
D

Cricknfashion.

Hii everyone!☺ Its time for my 2nd article, finally!
This should have come up earlier, but well, never mind. So, since this nation is cricket-crazy, and I mean that in the best way possible, I thought it would be a good idea to take cricket and fashion up. Now I know this isn’t the IPL season where the entertainment and fashion quotients are high, but there is still SO much cricket going on! There are so many matches you can flaunt your fashion at. Let me just quickly tell you what’s in store for you. India is getting ready to host England, Australia, and arch rivals Pakistan in the months to follow, and that means so many matches to go to! :D If you’re as cricket crazy as I am, this has got to excite you.

Cricketers have always been those kind of people that people look up to, and want to be like. Remember Kevin Pietersen’s punk hairstyle? Which guy didn’t think that was cool!  I personally think a lot of cricketers dress well and when they step out, they always step out in style. But, my favourite has to be Virat Kohli and I’m sure a lot of you girls out there will agree with me ;)
Here, have a look for yourselves -

This young emerging, or should I say emerged, cricketing star has been named the 3rd best- dressed international man by the GQ magazine. With his charisma and good dressing sense, he makes for a perfect style icon. 

More on what to wear and what NOT to wear to a cricket match coming up in my next article ‘Howzzzat!’ So look out for it ;)

Stay chic, stay classy

Xoxo
ChicChick❤

JDF: Fifteen Brownies.

In case you thought I forgot about my Jamie Dessert Fest, think again! I'm back with a new dessert. These brownies are the ones on Jamie Oliver's menu at Fifteen, his restaurant in London. They are by far the best brownies I've made and I'm not just saying this cause I'm a fan. I've tried countless brownie recipes but none have given me the result that this recipe did.

Let's do this!

Brownies are something that everyone loves. I don't think I've met a sane person who doesn't like a good brownie. I made this without any nuts and sour cherries cause I didn't have them at home at the time :P

This is it.

And THAT is how they turned out. YUMMMM. I've never seen my mom eat so much dessert before!

My tips:

• Try using one less egg than the recipe says cause they can turn out a little too moist.
• Give it ENOUGH time to cool in the tray.
• Serve it warm- NO EXCEPTIONS!
• Send me some for critical acclaim ;)

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did! No one can refuse a good brownie. Also, don't forget a dollop (or quinelle ;) of good vanilla ice cream. You can check out the recipe here http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chocolate-recipes/bloomin-brilliant-brownies (It's under a different name but the same recipe, I checked :)

That was Dessert #2 of the JDF. Hope you make these this weekend! You're welcome ;)

xoxo

D

Indigo.

This post has been long overdue. Actually, it's quite shocking that me, such a lover of Indigo Deli waited this long to dedicate a whole post to this. The reasons being, I'm so engrossed in the food that I rarely take pictures, the place is so familiar to me now that I sometimes forget that I could criticize and blog about it. What I love about Indigo Deli is how every dish tastes different and amazing and my whole family would testify to that. So if you ever go to Indigo Deli and are confused about what to have, tweet me and ask me ;)

So, I finally wrote this post because I recently attended a session by Rahul Akerkar at Indigo, Colaba. I'd never been to just Indigo otherwise, just the Deli. I'd never been somewhere so food-centric before and I was in heaven! Rahul taught us to make the new antipasti menu at Indigo.

ON THE MENU:

• Trio of Tartare- Beef tartare, Spicy tuna tartare and Beetroot tartare.
• Seafood Ceviche with Bacon Popcorn.
• Spanish Fritata.
• Mushroom and Almond Pate with Pan Roasted Mushrooms.
• Roasted Artichoke, Fennel and Lemon.

I arrived at Indigo not in the best of moods cause I'd rushed from college, didn't exactly know the place and the rain poured down on me while I was on the hunt. So I reached Indigo wet, annoyed and slightly shivering. But after the welcome sangria, nothing could stop me from having one of the most exciting afternoons of my life (mind you, the alcohol had nothing to do with it :P)

Rahul started with the trio of tartares and needed a few of us to make some alongside him. It was all so Masterchef and so Masterclass!

                                     Trio of tartare- from left to right- Beef; tuna; beetroot.

I'm pretty conventional when it comes to food and the idea of meat not cooked on a flame never really appealed to me. They always said that the acidity of the vinegar did technically cook it but I wasn't convinced. Until I tried this and LOVED it! Just so you know, the one above is the one we made and not Rahul. Yeah, you better believe it ;) I also made my first quinelle :D

                                                       Seafood ceviche with bacon popcorn.


This was by far my favourite! Fresh, light and garnished with popcorn fried in bacon fat. Yummers all the way!

                                                                       Spanish fritata.


I'm not a fan of fritatas in general but I quite liked this one. My favourite veggies in a kind of Spanish omelette!

Mushroom and almond pate with pan roasted mushrooms.

Beautifully rich and wonderfully creamy, I loved this dish! If you love mushrooms, you have to try this!

                                                    Roasted Artichokes, fennel and lemon.

A really light, tart and fresh dish with just the right amount of creaminess given by the pesto. This is Deepti Dadlani's favourite!

All in all, I had the best afternoon, talking to foodies, watching Rahul Akerkar cook with a really cool sense of humor and being called 'their No.1 fan' by Deepti Dadlani while sipping on white wine sangria, red wine sangria and a pina colada ;) Haha, I guess I am ;)

Hope you guys enjoyed this sort of 'Inside'!

Stay Hungry!

xoxo

D

Lanka.

It's another F & F abroad! This time, a little closer to home. This was my third visit to Sri Lanka. The 1st two times I was quite a child and didn't really understand much. So here's an older and wiser me sharing my thoughts and pics with you guys. I first went to a place called Hambantota. Yes, I DID in fact go there. Every Sri Lankan thought I was out of my mind to go there but well, I did. Not so great on the food front, but who doesn't love spas and beaches? They did have this one really awesome dish though, Grilled Tiger Prawns with lemon butter- yum!

Seafood with Lemon Butter- Match made in heaven.

Sri Lanka has always been one of the most stylish places I've been to. The way restaurants and hotels are done up is just amazing. So, when it comes to this post, I'm gonna talk about food in Sri Lanka and fashion in Sri Lanka. My first meal was a very Sri Lankan breakfast with Wood Apple juice. Wood Apple is a VERY smelly fruit which is kind of a favourite with elephants. Tastewise? Ummm... Not so good but you have to try everything for an authentic experience! And speaking of authentic Lankan experiences, you can't go the Sri Lanka and not try their egg hoppers!

The legendary Wood Apple waiting for me in my room.

Wood Apple juice for breakie!

Egg hopper 1.0

Egg hopper 2.0

The Gallery Cafe.

The Gallery Cafe opened in 1998 in a structure which was the former offices of the world renowned Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa. This cafe oozes class. The menu is also really contemporary and I loved it!

I had: A Caesar's salad with spicy prawns- Drawback? No romaine lettuce

Onion Rings and a spinach and ricotta ravioli with creamy pesto. To drink, I had plain ol' ginger beer. For dessert, I had the Paradise road chocolate cake. All in all, a great meal :)

All good things come in a menu :)

Onion Rings!

No Romaine, but spicy prawns are always yum!

As I was saying... Oozes class.

Seems like para para paradise

Every time she closed her eyes...

The Lagoon.

This restaurant is in a 5-star hotel. It has a beautiful concept. Fresh seafood on ice on display, choose your method of cooking and your sauce and a side and you're good to go!

What I chose? 

Fried crab claws- Something new! 

Fried prawns- A little bland 

Modha fish in a Chinese tamarind sauce- Perfect!

Calamari with chili and garlic- Again, yum.

For the side I decided to be simple an ordered some fried rice.

                                                                         Fried Prawns

                                                          Stir fried Modha with tamarind sauce.

                                                            Cuttlefish with Garlic and Chili

Since I'm sick, I'm gonna do the shopping bit a little later cause my bed is calling me. Hope this was enjoyable! See you sooooooooooooon! 

Stay Hungry!

xoxo

D