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