Bacon Wrapped Chicken (Anwesha's Recipe)

Bacon Wrapped Chicken (Anwesha's Recipe) 

This week our (Kolkata Food Blogger's)  star is Anwesha who runs this beautiful travel cum food blog, Peanutsontheroad.
I personally have a strong believe that she or he who travels is always a blast to talk to because you can never run out of conversation with travelers who have so many stories to share and Anwesha despite having a very busy schedule takes out time to document her travels and once in a while shares a few foolproof and delightful recipes.

She is a researched with IIT Kharagpur and is an avid traveler and food enthusiast.

When her week approached I had initially decided on one of her recent recipes of mince meat stuffed buns but then again I went on reading her recipes one after the other and suddenly I was confused between the Bacon Wrapped Chicken, Meat Ghugni and Fish Cake.

I had initially made her Fish Cake but adjusted it to my needs my replacing the flour with mashed potatoes , omitting the cheese and mostly using milk instead of butter but then just as I was about to start writing my experience I saw that one of our other members has already made written and raved about the Fish Cake and I instantly felt joyous because it meant I was going to make the Bacon wrapped chicken.

Ah Bacon, well as a bacon lover this dish is an absolute delight. And its difficult to go wrong with a tangy apple filling inside succulent chicken breasts wrapped with crisp bacon.

I mostly stuck to her recipe which you can take a look here : Bacon Wrapped Chicken. 

I am not writing the  recipe because like I said , I mostly stuck to it.

Here is a helpful hint though :-

1. When you are wrapping the bacon around the chicken make sure it just about wraps it and bacon does over overlap its own layer because then the layer of bacon beneath the layer of bacon outside won't crisp up. 
2. Once baked let the bacon wrapped chicken rest for a good 10 minutes because then the chicken beneath the bacon will become absolutely juicy and succulent without a trace of dryness. 
3. Using granny smith apples (greenapples) gives a delightful tangy taste .

This is part of :-

Pan Roasted Chicken Legs

Pan Roasted Chicken Legs 

Inspired by Urmi's Roasted Chicken drumsticks 

This week Kolkata Food Blogger's star is the quiet beauty, Urmi. I have met Urmi only once during Kolkata Food Bloggers' Bake Sale and the image I had of her before meeting her fitted her perfectly. A sweet gentle gracious person.

She was the first Kolkata Food Blogger to have guest starred in a cookery show which you may find on her blog and is ever so the humble person. Do check out her blog Ume's Kitchen. 

I particularly liked her Roasted Chicken Drumsticks and loved the story of how her mother would pan roast it and then use the traditional method of cooking the chicken on coal fire to give it the smoky affair. What I personally love about such family recipes is that yesterday's customs become today's and tomorrow's heritage. So instead of following Urmi's method of grilling or baking the chicken I pan roasted it. I do not own a traditional coal fire and had to sadly exclude it from my preparation.

I followed her recipe with a few tiny alterations and the result was juicy succulent delicious pan roasted chicken with Indian flavours. I used dark portions of chicken (thigh + leg without the skin) instead of the drumsticks alone.

As for the time for marination I used to think that the greater the number of hours the better the marination. Then someone told me that over marinatino can actually harm the flavour of fish. I immediately looked up the topic online and found this useful article : A Marinade Timing and realized that due to over marination my fish does actually turn mushy when over marinated.

Ever since that day other than some tough cuts of goat meat or pork I stick to round about 2 hours for chicken legs.

This time I put the theory to test by first having a chicken after 2 hours of marination and the other one was left to marinate overnight in the refrigerator. In the end what I personally found out was that while there isn't much difference in flavour with the extra marination the one which marinated overnight cooked faster and rendered softer meat. So for chicken legs (dark portions) I would suggest the long hours of marination when not using acidic agents.


Serves 3

3 Chicken (leg + thigh)

1st phase of marination :-

Salt as per taste
Juice from 1/2 a lemon

2nd Phase of marination :-

Wet ingredients :-

6 medium sized garlic cloves (if you are using the large cloves of garlic 2 would suffice)
1/2 an inch ginger
I usually have homemade red sauce ready at hands made with ripe red chilies, garlic and vinegar and I used 1 tsp of the very hot sauce but otherwise I suggest that you stick to the recipe and use 2 to 3 green chilies which give the chicken a lovely flavour which I know from previous usage
1 tbsp sour cream or heavy cream

Dry ingredients :-

You can check our Urmi's blog for her homemade recipe for tandoori masala . I stuck to the following ingredients :-

1 green cardamom
1/4th inch cinnamon
1/2 tsp whole black pepper
3 cloves
1 blade of mace
Pinch of nutmeg
1/4th black cardamom
1/4th tsp cumin seeds
1/4th tsp coriander seeds
1 whole dried  Kashmiri chili

1.5 tbsp mustard oil / ghee


Start by first cleaning the chicken well and then pat it dry  and using a fork to prick the chicken all over so that the chicken gets well marinated. Rub it with salt and then the lemon juice and leave it aside for 15 minutes. Strain the chicken and go on to dry roast and grind the ingredients for the 2nd phase of marination and grind them to a fine powder.

Make a paste of the wet ingredients and massage the chicken with the wet marination and freshly made spice powder and leave it in the kitchen for 6 hours to 7 hours or overnight.

Heat mustard oil or ghee and seal the juice of the chicken on high heat for 1 minute on each side and then lower the flame to the lowest and cover and cook the chicken for 4 minutes to 5 minutes per side and open the cover and brown it a bit and then let it rest for 5 minutes and then serve it with some raita made with yogurt , rock salt , cumin powder and roasted brinjal.

I am sending this to :-

Nature's Table at Jhaal Farezi

Nature's Table at Jhaal Farezi 

For me the term 'Organic food' takes me to a peaceful state of mind where I taste food which is as close to nature as possible.

When Jhaal Farezi invited Kolkata Food Blogger's for their 2 day event 'Nature's Table' my ears were immediately pricked or rather my eyes were glued to the invitation and so on a sunny winter's day I headed off to Jhaal Farezi located at Park Circus on Circus Avenue expecting fresh food which rejuvenates the body and mind.

I entered the place and was immediately reminded of a relaxed brunch which incidentally was what this event was all about. There was laughter and chatter and people were enjoying themselves. I was immediately greeted by the cheerful Debamita who insisted that I taste a few dishes which was on offer from Jhaal Farezi keeping in tune with the event but then the stalls seemed so fascinating that I couldn't stop myself from checking them out.

The first stall which caught my attention was one which had these fresh vegetables, bottled Preserves and cheese on offer. They are called 'Lettuce Eat' and are making an effort to deliver fresh organic pesticide free food. On offer is fresh organic vegetables from Green Tokri, 40 varieties of organic cheese from Mango Hill in Pondicherry which produces some lip smacking cheese including their very own 'La Pondicherry' which has a delightfully nutty taste and Naturellement which gives you organic preserves which taste delightful indeed at affordable prices.

A taste of their Basil pesto and sun dried tomato salsa proved that the products are indeed fresh and are bursting with flavour.

A chat with corporate chef Sumanta Chakraborti led to a few revelations which can delight just about any health conscious person or anyone who is looking for quality over quantity.

Imagine a resort which grows its own vegetables. Well that's exactly what the Ambuja Neotia group does in their Raichak outlet and what more they try and incorporate fresh organic ingredients in some of their dishes across all restaurants managed by Ambuja Neotia group and they source it from Green Tokri.

A sampling of the food left me extremely satisfied due to the crunch from the salads which is a key indication of a vegetable's freshness  . The dressings on offer were equally healthy and fresh.

The apple veloute soup was a winter's delight indeed. Warm hearty and delicious to the last drop interspersed with the mild flavour of green apples .

I was intrigued to learn that the breads on offer were mostly without all purpose flour except for the base for the pizzas and it focused on health which is a great initiative indeed.

Also on offer was Sienna showcasing their beautiful and bright pottery and Green Earth which showcased some lovely mats.

This event in question not only allows you to sample these delightful dishes put together by Chef Swarup Chatterjee but it makes the guests realize that organic food does actually provide a superior taste and is a wonderful start to a healthy and happy life.

I highly recommend ordering some fantastic cheese , preserves and fresh organic vegetables from Lettuce Eat. Find them here Lettuce Eat and get fresh delicious ingredients delivered to your door step at a nominal fee of Rs25


This event was held on the 10th and 11th of January 2015 and here is hoping that Kolkata gets to attend such a beautiful event in the near future.

Do read my friend and fellow blogger Pritha's experience of the same event : Jhaal Farezi's Organic Food Fest

Coffee Walnut Cake with a Coffee Caramel Glaze

Coffee Walnut Cake with a Coffee Caramel Glaze 

As part of the Kolkata Food Bloggers not only do I get to meet other people who share my passion for the kitchen but I get to make great friends. I met Pritha who blogs from Guilt-Free  a few months ago but we almost connected instantly and would keep chatting over the messenger and our mutual obsession with creating new dishes would lead to these fun trips to the market. Having never had a partner to go out with and share the same passion I cannot express how much joy I feel when I get to flock with a bird of my own feather.

When I had gone to visit my husband for a few months it goes without saying I missed my friend and so the moment I came back we had a lovely potluck lunch .

Anyway coming back to our event Know Your Blogger 2 I had actually picked a certain recipe of Pritha's quite some time back which I wanted to make but then came work and it just kept piling with a deadline which had robbed me of my sleep.

I was quite at a loss when I suddenly remembered the very first time I was fascinated with another recipe of her's.

I wasted no time in recreating what had initially impressed me and it goes without saying the end result was superb.m Lets just say that this is a dream cake for all coffee lovers. All I did was change the amount of sugar a little bit, leave out the oil and make the glaze a bit differently.

So her is Pritha's Coffee Walnut Cake

Serves 5 to 6

125gm butter
150gm castor sugar
128gm all purpose flour sifted with 1 tsp baking powder
2 medium sized eggs
50gm of walnuts crushed to make walnut flour
1 heaped tbsp ground coffee soaked in 6 tbsp hot  boiled milk and strained twice

For the glaze

Half a cup of castor sugar
50gm butter
Half a cup of  freshly brewed extra strong coffee

Start by creaming the butter and sugar till its pale and fluffy. Now add the eggs one by one and whisk well to create a smooth fluffy batter. Add the strained coffee flavoured milk and beat well. Preheat the oven to 180C. Now fold in the ground walnuts and then fold in the sifted flour + baking powder bit by bit . When you mix the flour you must never whisk it else it looses that airy fluffiness.

Pour the batter in a 6 inch to 7 inch baking pan and bake for 30 minutes to 45 minutes. Here I must expressly mention that the temperature of ovens vary greatly. My friend Pritha and I both use Convection oven and while she required 25 minutes to 30 minutes of baking time , I checked at 30 minutes and the batter was wet in the center and I required 44 minutes in total.

Now let the cake cool completely and in the meantime make the glaze by first caramelizing the sugar on medium heat and then adding the butter and then the coffee and once it bubbles let it cool down. Once the cake has cooled down completely pour the glaze on top and enjoy this delightful treat with what else but a cup of coffee.

Please note that you must wait till the cake cools down completely to glaze it else it will become soggy.

This is part of

Minced Fish Curry

Minced Fish Curry 

And so we are in our 4th week of the lovely event from our group Kolkata Food Bloggers called 'Know your Blogger 2' This week our star blogger is Indrani who blogs from Recipe Junction. My interaction with Indrani has been completely virtual but from her huge collection of recipes it is quite apparent that our lady in question is a passionate cook.

She is one of the most active people I have come across. After all not many people manage 3 kids , a household and a beautiful food blog.

Now I have been away from home for quite sometime and so upon my return to Calcutta the first thing I wanted to have was the river fish we get here in Bengal.

Indrani's Fish keema  seemed the perfect dish since it is one dish which goes well with rice, Flat-bread or yeast  breads. Keema is the hindi and Bengali word for minced. It usually applies to red meat or chicken and so this came across as quite unique.

I made it on an evening when I was dead tired after my usual visit to New market for fresh fruits, amazing pork from kalman's and a meet with a dear friend and the thing about this recipe is that its quick and easy which anyone can make no matter how tired they are.

I did change the spice quotient as per my taste buds but the end result was relished by our family.

So here goes the recipe :-

4 medium pieces of Rohu Fish
1 medium tomato
1 medium potato
1 medium onion
1 tbsp smooth ginger garlic paste
Salt as per taste
1 tsp Kashmiri red Chili powder
1 clove
1 green cardamom
1 inch cinnamon
1 green chili
2 tsp mustard oil
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
Pinch of turmeric

Boil the fish in water with a tiny bit of salt and once done take the fish out and smash it with a fork and let it cool down. In the meantime make a smooth paste of ginger and garlic and then make a smooth paste of the tomato and finely chop the onion and cube the potato in small sized cubes. Reserve the water in which you have boiled the fish.

Once the mashed fish cools down carefully take out every thin bone. It takes a bit of patience but is well worth the effort for the end result.

Now heat the oil and add the onions and fry till translucent and add the ginger garlic paste and cook till you get rid of the raw smell and add the tomato paste and cook on medium heat stirring continuously till the colour changes to a deep red and add the spices after crushing them along with the bay leaf , red chili powder salt and turmeric and finally add the potatoes and mix well and add the water in which you have boiled the fish and cook covered till the potatoes are cooked add the mashed fish and green chili and mix well and cook uncovered till you a semi dry mixture, add the finely chopped coriander leaves  and serve with Chapati or rice or even bread.

Tip

Be careful while adding salt when cooking the fish because the water in which you have boiled the fish will already contain some amount of salt.

This is part of

Junglee Murgh (Priyadarshini's recipe)

Junglee Murgh (Priyadarshini's recipe) 

I thought November would be a month I shall relax. Well what you anticipate and what actually  happens in life can sometimes differ greatly. Its not always bad , in fact here are some great bits of news.

So after a crazed work schedule till the first week of November the parents visited us in Mumbai since the husband will be off to South Africa for research work for a good 2 years. So sooner had I finished this massive Project there was celebration with the parents and sightseeing in Bombay can be beautiful if you enjoy classic architecture but the travel can wring you of all your energy. Well once they were gone I thought I would relax a bit but then there is back to back work and I am not really complaining because to be honest I love work. In between all this work I met my good friend Claudia and then a week later it was a gathering of friends . I finally met Gungun from Sinfully Your's and what a lovely day it was.

On top of all of this Kolkata Food Bloggers' is conducting its ongoing Project of 'Know Your Blogger Part II' where each week we choose a member and each participating members, recreates the member's recipe.

This week the star is my good friend and the most creative food blogger I know, Priyadarshini from 'Lets Talk Food' What you need to know about this gorgeous lady is that she is a creative rebel. I mean she puts her own creative touch in every dish that she posts about and this is not the first time that I have followed her recipe. Previously I tried out her 'Kancha Lanka Murgi', this lip smacking Chicken dish from Bengal cooked with loads of Green chilies and it was out of this world.

So when it comes to selecting a recipe I usually try and find one which suits my needs of the time. So this time I was in Bombay with a husband who follows the green diet and I am personally on a high protein, extremely low carbohydrate with lots of vegetables diet but the good news is since I exercise I can have fat in controlled portions.

I'l be honest I mostly chose her Junglee Murgh which literally translates to Wild chicken due to the reigning flavour of garlic and chilies two of my favourite ingredients and the fact that its cooked in pure clarified butter. Here is the thing with Most North Indian food and clarified butter. Ghee makes every dish better which is why these days I cook these recipes rarely but when I do so I use what was originally intended for it and the results are just unbelievably good.

 I must say that since this recipe uses very few ingredients modifying it would simply ruin the taste. The best part is that it being dry it makes the perfect appetizer and if you are on a diet you can just team it with some salad on the side or a spicy spinach paste like I did.

Now here is a crucial part, working with chicken breasts can be very tricky so read on to make sure you never again end up with dry chicken. If you follow the steps I guarantee that you will always get soft succulent chicken breasts.

Now here is another good news before I finally share the recipe with my good readers,We The Kolkata Food Bloggers proudly present a Bake Sale on the 13th of December 2014 and I would have a small stall which I am sharing with Pritha from 'Guilt-Free' and it gives me great pleasure to invite all of you to drop in.

So here comes the recipe

Serves 1 to 2

380gm of Boneless cubed  Chicken
2 tsp minced garlic
7 to8 Dried red chilies (preferably the ones from Rajasthan'
2 tbsp unmelted ghee
Salt as per taste
3 Fenugreek seeds
2 to 3 Black peppercorn

Simply heat the ghee and garlic together. This step ensures that your garlic doesn't burn at all in the end.

Once you get the aroma of garlic filling your kitchen add the chilies, peppercorn and fenugreek and finally the chicken , add some salt and seal  its juices on high heat for a few seconds on each side. Now is the tricky part. You see chicken breasts are very delicate and if cooked for too long it turns dry and stringy. So now your lower the heat and cover and cook for 5 minutes to 7 minutes. Open the cover and cook for another minute or 2 till it becomes dry.

Now is a very crucial part to end up with moist juicy chicken. Cover and let it rest for a good 15 minutes before you dig in.

Enjoy this lip-smacking dish.

This is part of : -

Chicken Yogurt Soup

Chicken Yogurt Soup

If you have read my previous post you would know that Kolkata Food Bloggers is hosting this amazing event called, Know Your Food Blogger Part 2. So basically the reason behind this initiative is interesting. So you see we are a group of cooking enthusiasts and we mostly cook, click , write and share but then again with so many recipes to be tried and tested we don't always get to explore each other's kitchens and with this event each week a blogger is chosen as the star of the week and we try out her recipes. This time our Star Blogger of the week is the lovely, Jayati Saha.

My interactions with Jayati has been virtual from the beginning. A doting mother, her blog was actually born due to her son's encouragement. She is a busy mother and holds a full time job and creates some mouthwatering dishes which she shares with us. You can find all her recipes at Jayati's Food Journal . Not only that when the very popular Calcutta based newspaper, 'The Telegraph' decided to write an article on Food Bloggers they did not forget to mention Jayati.

Since I am still on a high protein and vegetable and almost no carb diet I  chose her Chicken Stew with Curd . With a few changes here and there to suit my taste I created this dish which I am calling Chicken Yogurt Soup. Now I did have some homemade Harissa substitute which I had made the day prior to making this dish which I used in the soup and which added much flavour.

So here goes the recipe.

Makes 2 servings

400gm chicken ( leg + thigh)

For marination :-
4 heaped tsp plain yogurt
4 medium sized garlic cloves
1/2 inch ginger
1/4th tsp Harissa substitute paste (In case you don't have Harissa just use 1 dried red chili + small pinch of cumin seeds and a pinch of caraway seeds)
2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt as per taste

Spices for the soup :-
1 bay leaf
1 inch cinnamon
1 green cardamom

2 cups of mixed vegetables (Broccoli, Red bell pepper, Yellow Bell Pepper, 1 medium sized leek)

Make a paste of the ingredients mentioned in the marination and marinate the chicken for 1/2 an hour to 1 hour. Now heat a pot and add the marinated chicken and the bay leaf, cinnamon and cardamom  and let it brown a bit on both sides and add 1 litre water and boil for 7 minutes. Now take out the chicken and drop it in a bowl of cold water and separate the meat from the bones and shred it put the bones back in the pot and boil till the liquid is reduced to half its content and then take out the bones and add the broccoli and simmer for 5 minutes and add the rest of the vegetables and the shredded chicken and taste and add salt if required and simmer for another 5 minutes and turn off the stove and rest it for 15 minutes and have some hearty soup.

This is part of

Pasta Cooked in Ground Chicken Spinach Sauce

Pasta Cooked in Ground Chicken Spinach Sauce 

Kolkata Food Bloggers is presenting another fabulous event. This time its Know Your Food Blogger 2. For those of you who still do not know who we are. We are a bunch of mad hat food lovers who loves cooking, clicking , sharing and knowing. For this event we are dedicating a week each for our members who are participating in this fabulous event and recreating some wonderful dishes. This week's star is our very own Sarani Tarafder from Cocoawind: Back to Basics.

My entire interaction with Sarani has been virtual. Early on we realized that this bubbly enthusiastic lady and I have studied in the same school and my older cousin sister has been her former classmate and has in fact attended her wedding. Talk about it being a small world but then again that must have been years ago since our lovely lady in question has spent a large chunk of her married life in the USA.

What I love about Sarani is the balance she maintains between food which is indulgent and food which is mostly healthy yet delicious.

For quite some time have I eyed and marked her fabulous recipe for Pasta Cooked in Ground Chicken Spinach Sauce . What I love about this particular recipe is how well the lovely Sarani has camouflaged Spinach for her tiny tot. Now having become an aunt at quite an early age thanks to my older cousins,  struggling to make kiddies have veggies is something which is highly familiar to me and the way our lady in question has skilfully been successful in getting her lovely child to eat Spinach is proof enough of her expertise in the kitchen. Well I have always loved spinach and it doesn't need camouflaging for me but there is something about blend spinach which gets me very excited.

Anyway coming back to recipe,  after the week long indulgence during Diwali I had sadly ruined months of exercising and careful eating and this recipe couldn't have come at a better time. Since I am following a low on carb  high on protein and vegetable diet I did modify the recipe a little bit but it essentially remains the same. The original recipe asks you to use spices or herbs as per your choice which is what I did and to make it oil-free and even more healthy I chucked out the frying part altogether and added some Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the end which is optional. This dish was so fabulous and healthy that I know that it will be a staple in my ktichen.

So here goes the recipe which serves 1 :

1/4th cup wholewheat penne pasta
Half a large bunch of fresh spinach
200gm to 250gm ground chicken
1 extra large garlic
3 to 4 peppercorn
Salt as per taste
1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (optional)

Bring a pot of water to boil along with a pinch of salt and add the spinach when the water starts boiling and cook for exactly 2 minutes and take out the spinach and let it cool down and add the pasta and let it cook as per instructions on the packet. In the meantime once the spinach has cooled down blend it with salt, garlic and peppercorn and keep it aside. Once the pasta is cooked drain it but reserve the water and bring this water to a boil with the ground chicken and cook till its cooked all the way though. If there is extra water left drain it and keep aside the stock and now put the cooked ground chicken and blend spinach back in the pan and add the pasta and mix well and serve with a drizzle of 1 tsp EVOO. Enjoy a delicious healthy meal.

This is part of

Dilli-gate, Kolkata

Dilli-gate, Kolkata 

 A joint venture with a joint menu of  lip smacking food from North West India , Calcuttan Chinese and Mughlai dishes. Located in the Eastern hub of the city of Joy this place is a much needed multicuisine restaurant for the area.

I was invited as part of the Kolkata Food Bloggers to sample their divert menu. Locating the restaurant is not very difficult. If you are going from Park Circus keep an eye on the left hand side of the road and you shall reach the area within 10 minutes from Park Circus.

The interiors is done in green but the chairs and tables seem very comfortable to sit in, big back rest with cushioned chairs. One side of the wall is lined with pictures of street food be it the hearty punjabi food, the delicate noodles or the Mughlai Paraunthes.

This restaurant is the brain child of Mr.Manish Singh from the ever popular Balwant Singh Dhaba at Elgin road and Mr. Mukesh Agarwal.

What caught my attention was that the owners let us know that this is essentially a 'budget restaurant where it wouldn't cost more than Rs300 to Rs400 per person.' They have made their menu and pricing keeping the recession in mind and that is worth appreciating. The idea is to make available dishes from different cuisines so that one does not get bored with the same kind of cuisine.

The creamy spinach rolls 

We were first served an assortment of starters and I must say that their Mutton Seekh Kebab was soft succulent and juicy . The Murgh Tikka had the perfect balance of spices and saltiness for my palate and I was already a fan when we were served the Chicken lollipops. To be fair the chicken lollipops were quite a disappointment since it was too spicy and had way too much of soy sauce than I would prefer.


For vegetarians I must recommend the spinch spring rolls which were creamy and delicious . They serve it with an in-house made sauce which is perfectly spicy and tangy to balance the creaminess of the rolls . I personally did not take after the hara bhara  kebabs since it was a bit too mushy and salty  for my taste buds.

We were soon led to the buffet to sample the main course and I have to say that their sprout salad is quite delightful with its lemony tangy taste. The rajma was perfectly thick and delicious but could have done with a bit of extra spice. The Murgh tikka Makhani was delicious indeed creamy, spicy amazingly soft meat. The Mutoon which was simply served as Kosha Mutton (which means bhunoed mutton) was amazingly soft and tender and had the perfect balance of saltiness and saltiness. It was a thick almost dry curry which is a superbly made dish. Their malai kofta was soft and creamy and perfect for my taste buds.

The Mutton 

I personally did not like their Chinese offerings be it the noodles or the fish in coriander sauce which were salty and had way too much ginger garlic paste. It is unfortunate because the new China town of Calcutta is located right near this restaurant. The only item which caught my fancy was the chicken in pepper sauce which had soft succulent pieces with vegetables which provided the right bite tot the dish.

Feast of love 2014

Love is in the air. Well to be frank Valentine's Day for me is much hyped yet the celebrations of the day is infectious. To be fair my husband and I feel even more loved when we make ordinary days into Valentine specials. I will be honest here. I believe that love for thyself is the greatest love one can have and only if you love yourself can you love another being with all your heart. I decided I needed some much needed pampering and my better part of the day was spent in one of my favourite places, Downtown Bombay. The architecture , the brilliant food and everything else is a romance in itself. I treated myself to a wonderful lunch and would highly recommend Cafe Churchill to anyone who loves Western Cuisine and happens to visit Bombay. I have written about My Experience of Cafe Churchill which left me in a much better mood for love.

So I shall revel my secret today. My husband and I are far from being romantic and I have realized that while I am completely head over heels in love with love itself I am not a very romantic person in reality. Most of my romance is swimming around in my mind. Thed other secret is that my green husband is not far from being passionate when it comes to culinary interest. Having said that I must mention that he has expressed his love for my cooking from the day I had put something on the table. So while I personally love love love elaborate lunches and dinners since we are Celebrating Valentine's day I decided my food should be an ode to love and so I prepared a dish which is cherished by my husband and well I love it as well. I bought a bottle of white wine to make the day a bit special and with enough praises from the bear half I was quite happy and might I say romantic as well. The surprise element was the dessert. You see my husband does not have a sweet tooth and more importantly he had expressed his utter repulsion for dark chocolates so while I cannot have my chocolates but dark, bitter, creamy silky he loves his chocolates milky and sweet.

 The surprising part was when I made some Dark chocolate Swiss truffles a few weeks back for my dear friend Claudia and well there were a few leftovers. I will go on to give a detailed description of what happened. I was in bed with Anna Karenina where she is madly in love when my bear half came over murmuring ' Mmmm Manjari , these are delicious. I love them' I looked up to find him relishing the dark chocolates truffles. I said, 'but you do not like dark chocolates' to which there was no reply since he kept popping one chocolate after the other in his mouth. My personal belief is that the cream which is used for truffles makes it a delight for all people unless they dislike chocolates.

So for dessert I decided on some Swiss Truffles. Now we did not actually have the dessert on Valentine's Day per say since both of us believe that any day can be Valentine's day and so my basic truffle was ready by the next day and even before I could roll them in the nuts or coat them with chocolate 7 of them were polished off by a man whose teeth was dark after the overindulgence. I couldn't be more happy. By night I was done with the coating and well who knew that the man who once despised desserts would pop in two more truffles.

So coming back to my food I chose Spaghetti alla Arrabbiata a dish which is cherished by my husband. Now usually I make Arrabbiata the old fashioned authentic way which simply uses garlic, olive oil, tomatoes and chilies and I love how you can play around with taste by adding a bit of basil on some days and a bit of parmesan on other days .I have personally even added red bell pepper with raving reviews. Here I must share a particularly important bit of information that I have learnt myself. You see most people would have you believe that Arrabbiata is incomplete without Parmesan or basil but that is not the case as I have mentioned already. Arrabbiata means angry and the pasta is called so due to the presence of ripe red chilies which give it is fiery taste. For a true gourmet feel do add the cheese and basil , it might not be absolutely authentic but is certainly tastes heavenly. The best part about this dish is that it hardly takes 15 minutes giving you ample time for other romantic activities.

What you need for 2 lovebirds :-

2/6 of 500gm pasta or a bit more if you have a strong appetite
5 to 6 plump tomatoes
4 to 5 garlic cloves (Indian medium size)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 ripe red chilies
A good handful of grated Parmesan cheese
5 to 6 fresh basil leaves
Salt as per taste

Start by boiling your pasta as per instructions mentioned on the packet. Bring water to boil and add salt and pasta and cook as per instructions. It usually takes 10 minutes to 11 minutes . In the meantime mince your garlic as finely as possible, finely chop the chilies and chop those plump tomatoes and grate the cheese. Leaving 2 basil leaves finely chop the rest. When the pasta has cooked for 4 minutes start making your sauce by heating up 2 tbsp olive oil and saute the garlic. Saute the garlic but do not brown them one bit. Add the chilies and then the tomatoes and basil and cook on medium flame mashing them with a masher from time to time. When you see little bubbles lower the heat to low flame and add salt and cover . Once the pasta is done drain it and give the sauce a good mash so that it is smooth and simply mix the sauce with the grated Parmesan reserving about a tablespoon . Use a spatula to make sure that the cheese has melted which it anyways will due to the heat from  the sauce. Mix the spaghetti with the sauce and arrange in a pasta bowl or dinner plate and sprinkle Parmesan cheese and garnish with the basil leaves. Its simple easy , quick and a lover's delight. Oh by the way its red the colour of passion. Ah but did you know that basil is an aphrodisiac. So make anyday of the year a Valentine's special dinner with this easy simple delightful recipe which is tangy with the fresh sweetness of basil and the delightful fieriness and creamy cheesy taste.


Now what is Valentine's Day without some chocolaty indulgence.

Try some Swiss truffles, smooth silky soft and delicious inside with a nutty coating or a solid chocolate coating








This is part of Kolkata Food Blogger's Love on Plate  do check our Page for scrumptious dishes you might prepare for your romantic partner

Of Breads Bombay and Health

"Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all food;    

and good bread with fresh butter,the greatest of feast" - James Beard 

Well I could not agree more with James Beard. For the better part of my years of growing up breakfast with bread was something which was a common sight at the breakfast table, be it the slice of bread toasted and buttered well with an omelette or fried egg sunny side up of the egg sandwich or the ever favourite French  toasts but the one type of bread which makes me think fondly of my great grizzly bear at home were these simple loaves of bread baked fresh at 6:30 a.m. which would inevitably reach our home by 7 a.m. and my father would go on to layer it with butter and sprinkle it with sugar. Times have changed and we have all moved on from the humble milk breads, casting it aside as the unhealthy demon, but oh what a treat it is to slather the freshest of soft fluffy white loaf with a generous layer of butter. Of course, the days when we would get our supply of cow milk from our village home, it would be a real treat with the addition of the thick natural cream on the buttered bread. This treat was of course limited because the village some 200km away from the City of Joy was far away. 

In recent times, we as consumers, have become quite conscious. There are innumerable articles which educate people and so we are horrified to know that, 'those who eat lots of white bread raises the risk of a cancer' as reported by the DailyMail from United Kingdom. Rows and rows of multigrain bread and wholewheat bread and names I don't even remember but all claiming to be the healthiest of breads occupy shelves of bakeries. 

Kolkata Food Bloggers have decided to keep this week and the coming week as the 'Yeasty Feasty' week and while there are delicious recipes of bread you can find on the page I shall try and share my experience and tips on purchasing good quality bread. 

To be fair I haven't had the best of breads in Calcutta and after my tryst with the bread that is on offer in Mumbai the erstwhile  Bombay my love for bread wakes up whenever I reach this city and it leaves me sad whenever I leave the city. This story takes us to the by-lanes of Old Bombay. While you are mesmerized by the beauty of the architecture that the city has to offer you cannot miss the little bakery tucked away in-between two buildings in Fort, the famous 'Yazdani bakery' , started in 1951 it is a bread lover's paradise and the prices will astonish you in the happiest way possible. They open up in the wee hours of 5:30 a.m. and close down at 7 p.m. in the evening. 

The entrance with its tiled roof is a beauty itself. The place is tiny rustic and mesmerizing. So you have fresh bread being made on one side of the room you share the wooden benches with strangers and the peeling walls adorned with pictures of bodybuilders is hard to miss. The menu is written in colourful chalks on a blackboard and the waiters simply ask you, 'Kya doo?' (What shall I give you?) If you are lucky enough the old man at the cashier will indulge in a little small talk and quite frankly if you have not been lucky enough you sure are missing something. His ever smiling robust presence is so cheerful that the Grinch who stole Christmas would be a changed Grinch.  

When in Bombay you just cannot miss the buns and bruns on offer. You see while these soft fluffy buns are moist and pillowy its harder cousin the bruns are soft inside with a beautiful crust outside. So throw caution to the winds and enjoy it like you should by slathering it with butter and dipping it in some Irani chai. And one brun maska (maska meanign butter) can keep you full for a good 3 hours to 4 hours . Wake up early and head straight to Cawasji Patel Street and sink your teeth in fresh from the oven brun with a cup of irani chai. You see enjoying the brun without dipping it in tea is quite possible and so dunk and feel the magic of these crusty yet soft inside delights. 

For your regular use try the multi-grain bread Soft, dense and full of flavours this healthy bread is perfect for your taste buds and your health. You see, the whole wheat releases sugar slowly and just one slice is enough to fill you up. At Rs70 for 600gm it is quite a delight. Try their Laadi pav one half of the infamous Pav Bhaji or Vada Pav from Bombay, These soft delight are not just for your regular Bombay street food, slicing it in the middle and adding a bit of jam Homemade Strawberry Jam is what a good morning or a beautiful afternoon paired with a cup of tea is all about.

While not all of us have access to Yazdani bakery or cannot always bake fresh delicious bread at home all of us can make little differences to our regular affairs and indulge once in a while :-

You do not have to shun bread altogether simply try and pick up 100% whole wheat bread which is not brown bread. Brown bread is made with all purpose flour and whole wheat .

Healthy bread is supposed to be dense. So try and give your loaf a gentle squeeze before buying to ensure you get your whole grains. Most manufacturers make soft pillowy bread  with the use of all purpose flour.

Here are a few tips on how to buy bread and keep it fresh  which might interest you.

Don't forget to visit Kolkata Food Blogger's for some Yeast Feasty Treats 

This is part of the Yeasty Feasty Celebration

Kolkata Food Blogger's Table : Tribute to Bengal with a modern twist

Bohemian

Cost - Approximately Rs1500 for 2. Alcohol is not served.

Address : 32/4, Old Ballygunge 1st Lane , Ballygunge, Kolkata

Cuisine : Contemporary and jazzy , a true tribute to traditional Bengali food jazzed up the modern way

It was for years that Calcuttans have had the delectable traditional Bengali fare served by a few restaurants in Calcutta be it Oh! Calcutta, Suruchi, 6, Ballygunge Place, Kasturi and a few other restaurants.                      

 While the city began to be filled with eateries in every nook and cranny Chef Joy suddenly forayed into the Calcutta gastronomical space with his beautifully unique  dishes in 2008. My first encounter was when someone had ordered in a couple of dishes from this joint and well , the meal was memorable even more so with the twist and turns.

So you see there were sandwiches with cumin and pizzas with nigella seeds and it was a beautiful innovation. So I present Chef Joy's delicacies. The consistency of quality and quantity over the years does deserve special mention, though in recent times he did switch his home fries with store bought potato crisps.

Now coming to 10th of November , 2013 , well the day was a bit different since it was my first group meeting with Kolkata Food Bloggers. The choice of restaurant had obviously but delighted me owing to my previous good experience. My dealings with the restaurant has mostly been in the department of home delivery but I did visit the restaurant somewhere in 2012.

Locating the restaurant is quite easy. If you are coming from the north of the city all you do is take Syed Amir Ali Avenue and then at the junction of Ballygunge Phari you take a left turn onto Bondel road and continue for another minute till you reach a small "kali mandir " basically a tree with a small deity and take a left turn yet again and you find the name Bohemian on the right side of the road. From the looks of it you realize it is an old house (well quite new compared to the heritage buildings of Calcutta but nevertheless a home and that itself gives  a very cozy feeling. The interiors is very youthful and jazzy. So there is rock n roll music with innovative pictures of Aerosmith and other Rock , Jazz and musical iconic idols attached with ropes on the big glass wall looking onto the street. The presentation is truly unique. The warm colour of the interiors is comforting as well. Now there aren't too many tables and quite frankly most of the tables are a size smaller for the number of occupants the tables are supposed to occupy. We did originally take a table for 6 but later moved onto a smaller table due to the number of diners being 4 and it being a Sunday. The table in my opinion was a bit too small for comfortable dining. The interiors does full justice to the name with the colourful settings.

The food is well in one word Bengali contemporary. So each dish has some spice which is a common ingredient of most Bengali kitchens but low and behold it is not your usual fare. So there is panch phoron flavoured chicken escallops, gondhoraj julep, Bacon wrapped chciken in aam kasundi sauce and so on so forth.

Chicken escallops flavoured with 'Panch Phoron' 

Gondhoraj Julep 

                                                                                                           
   






We decided on the panch phoron escallops and some refreshing drinks. I had ordered the gondhoraj julep which was delightful at first with the mild aroma and flavour of the beautiful lime and the sharp taste of coriander leaves but over the course of time found the sharp taste of coriander a bit too strong for my taste. Of course I have to mention here  my taste buds like subtle flavours. My fellow diner who had ordered the same drink liked it a lot. The pricing at Rs149 seemed reasonable as compared to the present scenario of dining outside.

The escallops were delightful with the subtle hint of well ground Bengali five spice , the exact amount of salt for my taste. It did not require any condiments due to the beautiful flavours lent by the five spice and when a fellow diner asked for some condiment the server politely informed the same. This one is a perfect start.

Now we did also order Vodka Soaked Prawns but since I am highly allergic to sea food I cannot write about it.

The bacon Wrapped chicken delight

For your main course everything here is A la carte. The crockery is also a tribute to the Bohemian theme , colourful , mismatched and beautiful. I opted for bacon wrapped chicken and my fellow diners had ordered spicy pork curry , Royal Bengal roast mutton and I do not remember the fourth choice. My Bacon wrapped chicken was truly a delight be it for the succulent and juicy chicken pieces and the perfectly baked bacon. The sauce is a beautiful amalgamation of mustard , mangoes and subtle hint of  spices . Along with the rice and tossed vegetables this alone is a sufficient meal. I could not finish off my entire meal and had to pack it but I do have a small appetite. Priced at Rs399 it seems very reasonable. I do clearly remember the distinct taste of my friend's Anglo-Indian Pork curry  and must say it was spicy indeed but delightful. I remember getting a  strong taste of black pepper which beatifies the dish even more.

Gondhoraj Souffle

We were all happily full and yet insisted on dessert and so finally settled for the Gondhoraj souffle which was shared among all 4 diners. While the taste was beautiful with the subtle hint of the zest from the lime and the perfect amount of sugar. It was more a mousse than souffle because it clearly had not been baked. The bill seemed quite reasonable.  The pricing of Rs219 seemed quite reasonable.

In all a delightful lunch with delightful company makes it a wonderful Sunday.

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