What I Ate On My Birthday: 2013

Even though turning 19 isn't the most amazing thing, you do what you love on your birthday. What do I love? Of course you know! Eating! My nineteenth birthday was a total Eatathon. I've always been one of those annoying people who make everything about themselves ONLY on my birthday though ;) I go as far as making it my Birthday Week and everyone has to tolerate it. This BW was so awesome! It ended with an actual long weekend as well!

Since my dad wasn't there on my actual birthday, we had a family dinner the day before, and by family dinner I mean, Thai Pavilion! Gorgeous, gorgeous food. I had one of the best tom yum soups, grilled prawns, fried lobster, chicken wrapped in banana leaf, spare ribs (which tasted deliciously like pork belly) and for the main course, Red Thai curry with clean, steamed rice.

Mouths watering?

The dessert, water chestnut soaked in rose syrup in a creamy coconut cream with crushed ice, HEAVEN.

Looks as beautiful as it sounds, eh?

Thai Pavilion at the Taj President was a great experience, I highly recommend it for a special occasion.

Moving on, my actual birthday lunch. Let's move a little closer to home for this one shall we? You guessed it right. Indigo Deli with my best friends. I must confess, I forgot to click pictures of this lunch so you're just gonna have to let my writing skills convince you (cough).

ChicChick and I had the Crispy Chicken Burger, one of the best burgers I've had in Bombay for sure with fries and a lovely little coleslaw. My other best friend, let's call her Wag, had the Deli Roast Chicken with mashed potatoes and a lovely roasted garlic. For libation, we an an iced tea each. 2 lemons and one peach. We were way too stuffed for dessert but were still eyeing the 'Make Your Own Sundaes'. We decided all our components before we realized out bodies just wouldn't cooperate. So we've left our sundae with waffles, hazelnut ice cream, Belgian chocolate ice cream dark chocolate fudge, pecans and crumble for the next time ;)

We took home some cupcakes from Le15 anyway. Oreo, Red Velvet, Milk, Peanut Butter, Belgian Chocolate and Chunky Chocolate to be precise :)

Just when you think I couldn't eat anymore, another darling friend, let's call him Pore, surprised me with a box of chocolates from Oven Fresh. This local, homey place has come up with the most amazing truffles and macarons. God bless them.

Taste as good as they look, trust me.

So, that's What I Ate On My Birthday this year. I hope there are many more episodes to come, cause I kinda enjoy them ;) Go try this places out, they're really awesome. And if you have friends as awesome as mine, you have nothing to worry about. It's the perfect recipe- Friends + Food. So that's it from me for now, a year older, hopefully a year wiser and definitely a year hungrier!

xoxo

D

JDF: Fifteen's Chocolate Tart.

Hey guys! It's the latest JDF with one of the best ingredients ever, chocolate! Who doesn't like chocolate? And those of you who don't, I'm sorry, but you've been judged. The first time I made pastry and turned out pretty great. This is a classic dessert which you can never get tired of. Let's begin!

Ready? Okay!

Doesn't it look gorg? Doesn't my garnish look pretty? (If I may say so myself :P) This tart is light, creamy with a crisp base, perfect.

Tip's I'd give-

• The recipe says orange zest (optional) but I'm telling you, it's not an option! The orange zest in the pastry just enhances the taste SO much and chocolate and orange is one of my most favourite combos.
• Make sure you line the pastry carefully and make a very thin layer otherwise the pastry will become too hard for you to cut.

Okay, I tried really hard but couldn't find this recipe to share with you guys but I'll post it soon! So go like our Facebook page at the top right side and you will get the recipe soon enough :)

xoxo
D

Eggs.

I'm sorry for the long gap guys! It's exam time. Last papers tomorrow and I'm doomed anyway so figured why not blog instead? So here's what I'm going to talk about today, eggs. One of the most useful mains don't you think? They work with vegetarians and non- vegetarians (most of the time) and you're in the clear. The thing I love about eggs is that there are so many ways to serve them! Fried, boiled, scrambled, poached, you name it! Plus you can use eggs for mains as well as desserts, how convenient of them?

So I'm here to talk about my fav egg dishes and where you can find some of the best. Who doesn't love a good fried egg, sunny side up? The gleaming yellow yolk, the crispy white edges... Mmmm... Fried eggs is one of the first things I learned to make. Okay, not a huge fan of hard boiled eggs but I can totally enjoy a soft boiled egg with it's yolk trickling down some bacon, asparagus and tomato on toast. Are your mouths watering yet? Mine is. Poached eggs are tricky. Every attempt is an independent achievement for me and I can just never depend on my past laurels. But once you get it right, heavenly. It tastes nothing like an ordinary egg. It's creamy and refined. And how about pancakes huh? You need eggs for those too!

My very first poached egg! 

Almost eggs florentine (fried egg instead of poached) complete with creamed  spinach and caramelized toast

Meanwhile, go try the Eggs Florentine and Eggs Benedict at Indigo Deli and the Egg Curry at Shalimar. They're eggcellent. Really. This is my getting-back-in-action post. Hope you've missed me, I've missed you! It's time for me to hit the books now (literally) 2013, let's begin!

xoxo
D

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