Monday Salad: Cous Cous, Feta and Spinach Salad

Cous Cous, Feta and Spinach Salad

There is a vegetarian version and a non vegetarian version, both are really simple, delicious and super healthy. Cous Cous is so easy to make and it tastes yummm

Ingredients:

2 cups Couscous

Vegetable or Chicken Stock

400 gm Spinach

100 gm Feta Cheese

Half of a small onion, chopped

1 clove Garlic chopped fine

1 tsp Olice Oil

1 tsp Butter

4 - 6 Prawns (for the non veggies)

Fresh Oregano (if you can't find fresh, then take dried)

Pomegranate seeds to garnish

Juice of half a lime

1/4 tsp red chili powder 

Vegetarian Option

Step 1) Take your Couscous, put it in a bowl and pour hot Vegetable stock on it with 1/2 a tsp of salt and cover and keep aside for 5 minutes (You will have these instructions on your packet that you buy)
Step 2) Take spinach, boil it, drain the water and chop it. (By the way that spinach water is also healthy and can be used as a base for a soup or a bhaji)
Step 3) Take 1 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp butter, saute some onions, garlic (optional) and put in your spinach, put salt, pepper and fresh (or dried) oregano and mix this into the cous cous and crumble feta cheese on top

Step 4) Mix this into the couscous and crumble feta cheese on top

Step 5) Squeeze some lemon juice and top with some red chili powder and fresh Pomegranate seeds

Non- Vegetarian Option

Step 1) Take your Couscous, put it in a bowl and pour hot Chicken stock on it with 1/2 tsp of salt and cover and keep aside for 5 minutes (You will have these instructions on your packet that you buy)

Step 2) Take spinach, boil it, drain the water and chop it. (By the way that spinach water is also healthy and can be used as a base for a soup or a bhaji)

Step 3) Take 1 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp butter, saute some onions, garlic (optional), put the prawns in till they are cooked put in your chopped spinach, put salt, pepper and fresh (or dried) oregano and Keep aside to cool

Step 4) Mix this into the couscous and crumble feta cheese on top

Step 5) Squeeze some lemon juice and top with some red chili powder and fresh Pomegranate seeds

Sunday Treats: Red Velvet and Cream Cheese Cupcake Class

Last weekend I had a cupcake making class as a few friends (Shaina!!) pestered me, and didn't take no for an answer and made me have a cupcake making session. I just realized how much fun we all had in the class and I surely want to do it again sometime.

A big Huge Thank You to my Husband who has patiently taken the most beautiful photos of the class so that I can share it with all of you

We made:
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Cream Cheese Icing
Caramel Sauce
Chocolate Fudge Topping
Chocolate Cupcakes

I'm going to share with you the recipe on how to make the Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing this week and then Next week I'll show you the Caramel Sauce and the Chocolate cupcakes

These recipes are taken from Martha Stewart's Cupcake Book but slightly adapted by me to suit our Indian Climate and taste. Martha Steward is a genius and I love her.

My Whisks!

Cocoa Powder

Mixing the Red Velvet together

Adding the baking powder and vinegar

one final mix

Ready to go

yummy!

This is so much fun!

Filling up the cupcake tins

Cream Cheese Frosting

All ready

Now for the Icing

A big bite!

Icing

Almost there

Different Designs

how fascinating!

Let me try too!

 

Our creations

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups Maida

2 tbsp cocoa Powder

1 ½ cups sugar

1 ½ cups vegetable oil

2 eggs at room temperature

½ tsp red food colour

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 cup Buttermilk

1 ½ tsp baking soda

2 tsp white vinegar

Method:

1.      Oven should be at 180 Degrees centigrade

2.      In a bowl, mix together cake flour and cocoa powder

3.      On medium speed, whisk together sugar and oil till combined

4.      Add eggs one at a time

5.      Mix in food colour and vanilla essence

6.      Now on low speed add little bit flour and buttermilk alternating with 3 batches of flour and 2 batches of buttermilk

7.      Mix together the baking powder and vinegar in a separate bowl

8.      Add to the mixture and mix on medium for 10 seconds

9.      Bake for 10 minutes on each side or until done

 Cream Cheese Frosting:

200 gm butter

2 pkts cream cheese (336 gm cream cheese)

2 cups icing sugar

½ tsp vanilla essence

1.      Beat Butter and cream cheese together till fluffy

2.      Add sugar ½ cup at a time till you reach desired sweetness

      3.      Add vanilla essence and beat till fully incorporated

Friday Easy Dessert: Fruit Yogurt

 Strawberry Fruity Yogurt

Yes I know I know we are all on a diet after the indulgent Diwali festivities and we cannot even think of a dessert this weekend. But what if you can have a dessert that lovely, healthy fresh and delicious?

I racked my brains for something that you would probably like to eat as well as it having some sort of healthy twist, yet being a dessert and I came up with a fruity Yogurt layered dessert. This can be served in individual cups or then in a big bowl. You can choose any fruit of your choice from Kiwis to Oranges to strawberries, etc...

I've used strawberry in mine as it looks attractive and strawberries are my favourite fruit ever, however, you can choose to use any fruit of your choice - kiwis, oranges, gooseberries etc...

400gm Strawberries, hulled and halved

400 gm Yogurt that has been hung for 1 hour
2 tbsp Icing Sugar
1 packet strawberry jelly (for Kiwi you can use orange or pineapple)
Low Fat Whipped Cream (optional)

Method: 
You will need a large dish with ice before you start so that once your jelly is ready, you can take it and immediately start cooling it
Also, keep your individual cups and bowls all ready
Take the good looking strawberries and keep them aside for decoration
Put the rest in a vessel with 1 tbsp Icing sugar
Heat till the sugar and the strawberries have mixed together

Switch off the heat and keep aside to cool
Put 250 ml of water in the packet of jelly and dissolve the jelly crystals
Switch off flame and keep stirring till it cools reasonably
Take an electric whisk on low speed and start whisking the Jelly and put it over the ice
Quickly add 1 tbsp Icing Sugar and the hung yogurt and keep beating on the ice till it becomes thick
Put this mixture in layers with the strawberry mixture in between to make it look attractive
Put this in the fridge to set for a bit and top with Whipped cream and your strawberry pieces. You can even put a sprig of mint to make it look fresh and lovely

This actually turns out really creamy and lovely. Only downside is that it is quite tangy. I normally like it this way but if you feel the need to put more sugar, then you can absolutely do so. Sugar is carbohydrates and not fat so you can work it all off no sweat!

Thursday Easy Appetizer: Wannabe Boursin Canapes

Hung Yoghurt and Cucumber Canapés

This dish will take some advance preparations, but that only means that you have to mix all this together and stick it in the fridge for at least 12 hours before using it. I love Boursin cheese but it’s really fattening, so I attempted this at home with decently good results. Of course one can never really have a replacement for Boursin but this is a good option to sometimes have an make at home

Ingredients for around 20 canapés

400 gm Yogurt

200 gm Sour Cream

10gm Chives – fresh and chopped fine

10gm Parsley – fresh and chopped fine

1 large clove garlic made into paste

Salt to taste

A muslin cloth

2 cucumbers cut into slices or then crackers

Cherry Tomatoes cut into halves for garnish

Whisk the yoghurt and sour cream to make a smooth paste

Mix in the chives, parsley, garlic paste and salt to this and tie it in a muslin cloth

Tie this muslin cloth to a long spoon and hang the spoon over a large bowl so that the mixture can be suspended in mid air in your bowl

Put this in the fridge overnight for at least 12 – 18 hours

Take this out and you will have a thick beautiful creamy mixture of hung yogurt

Put dollops of this on top of your cucumber slices or crackers and serve

When serving this to guests on a platter, you could take halves of cherry tomatoes and stick them individually on your canapes to make it look more attractive

Wednesday Ladies Night: Pad Thai Noodles

Pad Thai with Rice Noodles

Oh yes it’s ladies night, and the feeling’s right!

This is the best spend over girls night pyjama party food that you can ever have. It’s so light, fresh and easy to make, great for a midnight snack and it is pretty light on the calories too! Oh you boys don’t be jealous, you are also allowed to make this hot favourite!

On another note, this is also great for people who are gluten intolerant as this is made with rice noodles and are a really delicious option for one and all

Ingredients: for 2 greedy and 4 normal people

2 whole spring onions chopped fine, the white separated from the green

2 cloves garlic - chopped

1 carrot chopped fine

1 box of rice noodles

2 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp Kikkoman soy sauce (if you are using any other use 1 tbsp)

1 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

Take a large bowl and put the rice noodles in it

Take around a litre of boiling hot water and pour it over the noodles to let It cook and keep this aside for around 5 minutes and then drain out the water

Take a wok or a large non-stick pan and put oil on a medium-high heat

Put in the white part of the spring onion and sauté for a minute

Put in the chopped garlic and carrots and sauté for a bit

Add the oyster sauce and the soya sauce and 2 cups hot water and mix together

Add the noodles and incorporate the sauce into the noodles slowly

Add all the green part of the spring onions and switch off the flame

Mix in the spring onions and serve immediately

Tuesday Cooking Tip: How to Cook Rice

How to cook rice is a really important tool when you are living alone and want to cook plain rice. I have 2 methods for making rice. Both versions are absolutely delicious and really turn out good. The first version is the Plain Jane rice and is made for everyday. The second version is if you have one or two guests over and need to impress.

Few ground rules:

1 handful of rice approximately for 1 person

Each cup of rice will need one and a half cups of water

Once the rice is set in the vessel, do not stir it as you will get a rice mash

You must rinse out the rice 2 – 3 times before cooking

Plain Jane Rice for 2 persons

1 cup rice

1.5 cups water

1 tsp salt

Method:

Wash out the rice and then put in the water and salt

On a medium gas burner, first cover and cook on a low flame till the mixture comes to a bubble.

Let this mixture bubble for 3 – 4 minutes covered

Take off the lid and put it on a high flame and cook till perfectly done

This will need some practice but you will be able to find and understand your rice and be able to cook it perfectly within the first 1 – 2 tries if you follow this method

Slightly Fancier Rice

1 tsp Clarified Butter / Ghee / Oil

1 cup rice

1 cup water

½ cup coconut milk

1 bay leaf

½ tsp jeera/ cumin seeds

1 tsp salt

Method

Wash the rice out and keep aside soaked in some water

Take a vessel, put the ghee/oil in, put the cumin seeds and the bay leaf and sauté

Drain out the rice and add to the oil and mix to coat all the rice with the oil and jeera

Add the water and the coconut milk and give one mix around and cover and cook on a medium flame till done

This turns out absolutely beautiful and aromatic; I sometimes even leave out the cumin seeds, or then other days I add peas or then instead of coconut milk I add tomato puree, there are just so many wonderful combinations that you can try with this. The easiest solution of them all of course is to buy a rice cooker, then all you have to do is dump all the ingredients in and have it ready, perfect and delicious in minutes!

Monday Salad: Egg Salad

I picked up this Egg salad recipe which is simply brilliant from the owner of Le Pain Quotidienne when I attended a session with him on Tartines.

What I like the most about this salad,  besides tasting great, is that it is a treat for the eyes and the nose with the beautiful white and yellow of the egg contrasted against the fresh green of the herbs sloshing in the heady aroma of olive oil and the saltiness of the capers…

LPQ puts this on a lovely bread slice so you can call it a sort of Bruschetta, but I like to have the egg salad as is without the carbs, however, you can choose accordingly

Ingredients 

2 perfectly boiled Hard Boiled eggs (check how to make perfectly boiled eggs HERE)

2 – 3 tbsp really good olive oil (Extra Virgin)

1 tbsp fresh chives chopped fine

1 tbsp fresh dill chopped fine

3 – 4 capers OR ¼ tsp salt

Some freshly ground pepper

Method

The trick with this is to really be very delicate with the egg.

Once cut, mix it very little so that there are beautiful looking chunks of egg and not a mess of scrambled looking eggs

You need a special egg cutter for this which looks like this:

Once you de-shell the eggs (take out the shells), put them in the egg cutter first horizontally and pull down the cutter to make the horizontal cuts

Then carefully turn the egg around vertically to make fine squares with the egg

This egg cutter is really cheap and available anywhere, but if you don’t want to invest in this you can cut the eggs manually with a knife as well

Put all this into a bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and then carefully mix together

Saturday: Sunday Treats

Yummiest Potato Au Gratin

I don't know whether you will love me forever or hate me forever for sharing the easiest and the most delicious recipe in the world. Only problem - it's sooooo rich and fattening!!

This is my simplified version

You will need:
A mandolin or a slicer

Some Ice Water
Delicious Lucious Heavy Cooking Cream (like 400ml)
Cheese (as much or as little as you want) It's sinful if you put Boursin Garlic and Fine Herbs in this, but any cheese will do)
Salt, pepper, Nutmeg and, if you like, some Chopped parsley for Garnish
1 Clove of Garlic and some butter (mmmmmm I'm just drooling thinking of this)


Method
Preheat your oven to 160 Degrees Centigrade
take the potatoes, peel them and take out those awful looking eyes, and slice them with your slicer
Dunk the sliced potatoes in ice water (important step, please do not skip)
Then take your baking dish and start arranging the potatoes in rows one after another
After you fill up the entire bottom layer, put salt and pepper on this (sometimes i even put cheese in the middle of this layer)
Repeat by arranging more slices of potatoes and again putting the salt pepper and optional cheese.
once you've filled the whole dish, carefully pour cream into the dish from the side and cover the potatoes and the dish
Top with Cheese, a little chopped parsley and put in the oven till the potatoes are cooked. This will take a good 20 - 25 minutes

The end result is this absolutely rich, creamy, delicious and irresistible Baked dish with creamy luscious potatoes, cheesy goodness and unbelievable satisfaction.

Disclaimer: I take no part in the responsibility for you gaining tonnes of weight because you want to make and eat this dish everyday. This dish should be treated with responsibility and can only be made when you are in the mood to treat yourself. 

Pre Weekend Easy Dessert- Fruit Salad

Fruit Salad

This is as easy and as delicious as it gets. I’m not going to tell you how to make one, I’m just going to give you suggestions on how to make yours better!

Tip 1:

Best fruits to put in a fruit Salad

• Pineapple
• Watermelon
• Grape
• Banana
• Star Fruit
• Strawberry
• Pear
•  Melon
• Kiwi
• Peach

Tip 2:

Worst Fruit to put in the Salad:

• Papaya
• Mulberry
• Custard Apple
• Orange and Sweet Lime
• Mud Apple or Chikoo

Tip 3:

Make sure that you have as many different coloured fruits as possible to make it look attractive

Tip 4:

Whatever mix of fruits there is, very delicately mix it together in a large bowl as you don't want to make a mess of the fruit. Also, for all fruit salads, you should add sugar and some lemon juice (you have to put sugar it’s a dessert for crying out loud)

Tip 5:

Make sure you deseed all of your fruits before you put them in. You can choose to leave the peels on for certain fruits such as apples as they will add colour and vibrancy to the dish

Tip 6:

Since your dessert itself is so simple you need to serve it in your most attractive bowls and forks/spoons to make it look gorgeous

Tip 7:

Garnish with a mint leaf sprig and, if you have star fruit, peg it onto the side of your serving bowl so it looks gorgeous

Thursday: Easy Appetizer: Red Bell Pepper Chutney

Red Bell Pepper Chutney

I saw this chutney on Fox History and Travel Channel and it really easy to make and looked really good so I thought I’d share it with you all.

This Chutney would be an awesome accompaniment to Bhajiyas, Pakoras and Moong Dal Vadas it’s a lovely fire engine red colour so it’s enjoyable to look at as well

2 Red Bell Peppers

3 large Red Chilies (not the small ones the long large fresh ones)

Optional – 1 clove Garlic (I can’t seem to do something tasty without Garlic)

2 tbsp Vinegar

1 tbsp Sugar

1 tsp Salt

Method:

Take a pot and boil water in it. Once the water comes to a boil put the red Bell peppers and the chillies and cover and boil for 15 minutes

Switch off the heat and drin out the water

Take out the skin of the Red Peppers and the Chillies and grind to a fine paste with the garlic

Pass this mixture through a thick sieve so you get this bright red velvety smooth paste

To that add your Vinegar, Sugar and Salt

Really good. 

Ladies Night Wednesday: Spicy Sangria

Spicy Sangria

Shaan, this lovely recipe is in honour of your superb website: www.spicysangria.com 


This is a good handy recipe to keep in mind when you have parties. Please note that you do need to put this in the fridge for the fruits to soak and the spices to set overnight. There is the non alcoholic version of it as well and is a really great welcome drink to have. The good part is that it’s liked both by men and women, so that also helps when you have guests over and need to serve a universal drink

Ingredients:

1 litre grape juice (red grape juice)/ OR 1 bottle red wine

200ml Orange juice

½ an apple cut into small segments

1 orange, washed and sliced with the peel on

Lemon juice of half a lemon / OR 50 ml Citrus/Lemon Vodka
2 red chillies split into half with the seeds removed

2 tsp sugar
1 star aniseed
3 - 4 cloves (Lavang)

Method:
Take 1 tsp water, 2 tsp sugar and heat for 30 seconds in your microwave (take a heat resistant bowl)
It will become this really hot bubbly liquid, mix it all together and you have a good sugar syrup to add, little by little if the Sangria needs sweetness
Take the star aniseed and the cloves and tie them together in a little muslin cloth (or an old handkerchief)

Mix all the ingredients together, put in the freezer overnight to chill, before serving take out that muslin cloth with the spices and the red chillies

Tuesday: Cooking Tips: How to Boil an Egg

How to Boil an Egg

Everyone who doesn’t know how to cook probably says that at least they know how to make 2 things:

1)      They know how to make Maggi Noodles

2)      They know how to boil an egg

Well do they really now how to boil an egg right?

You know sometimes your eggs have this awful greenish layer around them once you finish cooking it and you wonder what really went wrong. I’m going to show you how to make perfectly awesome boiled eggs every time with a few simple tips.

For 1 boiled egg:

1)      Make sure that you have enough water so that your egg is fully submerged in the water

2)      Take a vessel, add the water, add 1 tsp salt and keep it to boil

3)      Once the water is violently boiling, then only should you be adding your egg

4)      Take a spoon, put your egg on the spoon and gently lower it into the boiling salted water

5)      Put a timer for 9 minutes for Hard boiled, 4 minutes for soft boiled

6)      As soon as the time is up, switch off the gas, pour the water out of the vessel and pour cold water into the vessel to stop the cooking of the eggs immediately

Voila! You’re ready and set to impress and really say that you CAN boil and egg

Master Chef India Season 2

http://www.flickr.com/photos/firozeshakir/6250666247/

You can check out the photos of the event at the Masterchef India 2 Blogger event where I participated!

The highlight being able to meet with some brilliant chefs and had an overall wonderful feeling on the sets of Masterchef India 2

I think what was important to know is that the season 2 will be with a real award winning chef and hopefully bring more awareness about the celebrity chefs that we have in India. Also, I have a good feeling that people will be more focused on the food aspect of the show than the drama.

Thanks to Star TV India and look forward to a good season of Master Chef Ahead

Change of Format

Hey Everyone!

Hope all of you are good and enjoying the blog,

I'm going to change the format of this blog slightly so that there is more structure on it and you also will be able to plan your days better to be able to make and enjoy the recipes.

Monday: Salad Time

Tuesday: Cooking Knowledge and Tips

Wednesday: Ladies Night - Mocktails/Cocktails/Wines

Thursday: Easy Appetizer

Friday: Easy Dessert

Saturday: Sunday Treats

Sunday: Gimme a break guys!! :) 

Monday: Salad Time

Fruity Yogurt

This sweet and salty salad is really great to have. It’s nutritious, light and, for vegetarians especially, it provides good proteins in the form of the Yoghurt as well as the sprouts.

Ingredients:

200 ml (or 1 tin) Yoghurt

1 apple (cut into cubes)

1 potato (boiled and cut into cubes)

1 handful Bean sprouts

Salt, sugar, pepper to taste

1 tsp olive oil

¼ tsp mustard seeds (rye)

2 – 3 curry leaves (people can use curry powder if they don’t have access to the leaves)

Red chilli powder / paprika powder / or the take away pizza sachets chili flakes for garnish

(optional) Green part of Spring onion for Garnish

Method:

·         Take a bowl and put the apples, sprouts and potatoes in there

·         In another bowl whisk together the yoghurt, salt, sugar and pepper so that there are no lumps and it’s smooth

·         Pour that into the first bowl (don’t mix together yet!!)

·         On a small flame, take olive oil heat slightly (if there is any smoke coming out of the olive oil, you need to throw it away and restart)

·         Put the mustard seeds and the curry leaves in the oil and let it splutter

·         Pour all of this beautiful mixture in your yoghurt and salad bowl

·         Mix it all gently together and serve garnished with some red chili powder/paprika powder or chili flakes

·         I’ve put some green part of spring onions here for garnish and a little crunch, but that’s because I had some extra. It’s upto you to put this as garnish

This is really great for a 4pm snack as well filling and delicious plus has the sweet quotient of the Tea and the salty quotient of a nice khari biscuit so tones down my cravings and replaces it with a healthier option!!

Goat's Cheese and Rocket Salad

This is one of my favvvourite recipes and I absolutely love love eating this salad anytime anywhere. It's normally called a Chevre Salad and I think it's quite a famous french recipe

It's super easy and ready in a jiffy

4 bread slices, the edges taken off, then toasted slightly and cut into 4 triangles
300gm Rocket Leaves

100 gm Goat's Cheese
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Honey

Preheat your Oven to 160 Degrees Centigrade
Take the rocket leaves, wash them, dab them dry and put them on your plate.
Mix them with Balsamic vinegar dressing
Place a piece of Goat's Cheese on the triangular toasts and shove them in the oven/Griller/OTG for around 4 - 5 minutes till the goat's cheese is really lovely and melty
Take out from the oven, place on a rack to cool and drizzle with honey on top. The amount of Honey you put totally depends on how much you like honey. I've seen my sister put 1 tbsp on each Goat's Cheese toast whereas I need 1 tbsp for my entire batch of toasts... so ya depends on you
Place these toasts on top of your rocket leaves and balsamic and Voila Chevre Salad ready!

This is a brilliant all time easy and healthy snack-cum salad. Love it!

I've just put up pictures for representational purposes, I unfortunately didn't take a picture of my actual salad

Guava Cooler

This is one of my favourite drinks and I'd love to share it with you  I'm sure my friends will testify that it not only looks brilliant, but it tastes like the Guavas with salt and chili powder that you get on the roads here in India but in a glass. It is a surefire refresher on a hot summmer's day nice and chilled.

Ingredients for 10 glasses:
1 litre guava juice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chilli powder
400 ml sprite OR 200 ml Vodka 200 ml sprite

You will also need, to decorate:
Wedges of lemons
Lemon juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp salt mixed with 1 tsp red chili powder
2 flat small plates

Tip: You must use the sprite at the last minute just before serving the drink otherwise it will go flat 

Mix all the drink ingredients together and keep aside in a jug for easy pouring

Take a small flat plate or saucer and put lemon juice in it
Take another similar plate and put a mixture of salt and red chili powder in it

• Take your glass, put it upside down into the lemon juice first so that there is a thin layer of lemon juice on the rim of the glass
• Take it out from the lemon juice and place it into the plate with the salt and red chili powder
• Because of the Lemon juice, the salt and chili powder will stick to the rim of the glass
• gently overturn your glass and keep aside
• Repeat this process for all your glasses 
• Now carefully pour your drink into the prepared glasses, put the lemon wedge on top as a garnish and serve away!!

Indian Food with Wine - Chenin Blanc

I think that this post is going to be super useful for almost everyone out there who loves their wines and their Indian food but never can appropriately mix the two.

When trying to mix wine and Indian food one must keep in mind the following:

1)      Everyone has grown up with a different set of tastes and one can only make a suggestion. We all have a different palettes and if you discover a super combo for yourself that you absolutely love nothing like it!

2)      These guidelines will give you a basic picture of the type of wine that you are dealing with and what would be the best suggested food type and taste category (sweet, sour, creamy etc…) that your wine would go with.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to wine – Old World and New world wines. The difference between the two is that the following:

Old World wine producers (Namely France, Italy, Spain etc…) have demarcated certain areas after studying the soil and determined that a particular grape type was best suited to grow there. There could be mixture of these grapes that would go into making the wine or just one grape type but that was less significant than the grape growing region. Therefore you have wines like – Bordeaux, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Champagne etc… which are actually regions in France. So basic point being, the region is more important than the grape type.

New World Wine countries such as New Zealand, California (USA) etc... Said …wait a minute, isn’t that waaay too complex? I mean, each grape type has certain distinctive features and wouldn’t it just be easier for people who like to drink wine but are not experts to distinguish wines by the kind of grape that has been used in making the wine? Which actually makes sense, and sure as hell makes it much easier to identify wines. Like for example my Chenin Blanc can range from downright awful to absolutely delightful but I know it always will be a light and fruity wine. And so on with Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon – which are all Grape varietals or types of grapes

Therefore I’m going to give you the basic guideline on the basis of the Grape varietal method and not the other way round. I also figured that if you’re gonna have such a high end Indian meal, you will have a sommelier or a server who will be able to guide you on Old World Wines. 

Chenin Blanc:

As a grape, the Chenin Blanc is a mellow, wonderfully fruity wine. It normally has hints of tropical fruits such as pineapples, pears, peaches, melon, guava etc…This particular grape, and the wine made from it, pairs really well with Indian food. Paneer Tikka, Chicken Tikka and other tandoori items are sure shot favourites with this lively and refreshing wine. Cashew nut based gravies are also a really good match for the Chenin blanc as the heaviness of the gravies are cut by the mellowness of the wine. Other Parsi Dishes like Patra ni Machi, Saas ni Machi, Berry Pulav are perfect matches with the chenin Blanc as it works well with the hint of sweet flavours to bring the meal together. Salads with Beetroot, Carrots, Guavas, Channa Chaats are also great matches for the Chenin Blanc. In Marwadi Cuisine, the Dal Bhati with the sweet Churma has a perfect partner with the Chenin Blanc. Last but not at all least, Gujarati Thali. I mean the sweetness of the dal, the kadhi, the sweet and sour pickles and the ghee laden fare cannot find a better harmony (except if you’re fixated on having lassi with your thali!). 

Layered Ferrero Rocher chocolate Trifle

This has many elements to the dish, but all elements are quite simple and once they are made, you can assemble this easily into a large bowl or then into individual cups, both of which are pretty delightful!

Sonal, honey, this one's for you! Muah!

Layer 1:
Chocolate Cake - you can either make this from a ready cake mix or just buy a chocolate cake from your favourite bakery (Personal Recommendation - Dense Chocolate Loaf from Moshe's)

Layer 2: 
Take a quarter cup sugar and a quarter cup water and place on a low heat and keep stirring till the sugar has melted
(for the health consious, take 1 tbsp honey and dissolve in 4 tbsp water)

Layer 3:
Take 200 gm cream, 200 gm dark chocolate and 50 gm nutella
Chop the chocolate roughly and put together with nutella in a bowl
Heat the cream till almost boiling and pour this over the chocolate mixture
Mix until everything has melted into one delicious thick chocolate mixture
(please note: if the chocolate does not melt naturally in the warm cream and you're really struggling with this, then you can put the bowl into the microwave or on a double boiler and mix till completely melted)
Leave this aside to cool

Layer 4:
Whipped Cream (Sonal you can totally use your Soya Cream here) or then Vanilla Oce Cream

Layer 5:
Crushed and whole Ferrero Rocher

Assembling

• Take your individual cups and first put a small layer of cake at the bottom (it should cover 1/3rd of the serving dish or cup)
• If it is individual portions, then put 1 - 2 teaspoons of the sugar mixture on top, if it is one large dish, put all of the sugar syrup
• Pour over the liquid chocolate over this and put in the fridge to set
• Before serving take out and put the whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on top
• Garnish with lots of Ferrero Rochers 

Enjoy!

Bruschetta Part 2 - Marinated Mushrooms

This takes a little bit of advance planning but this is super easy and you can just marinate the mushrooms and dump them in your fridge and use them as a cold appetizer as well as put them on your bread and have it as a bruschetta

These are not only healthy but absolutely delightful to taste as well

You will need a sterilized glass Jar or bottle and these mushrooms need to be marinated for an hour and can last for upto a week in the refridgerator

You also need to wash the mushrooms and dry them very well with first a cloth and then a paper towel as the mushrooms need to be as dry as possible for the marination

Ingredients:
250 gm Mushrooms (one packet)
1 tsp plus 5 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 sprigs fresh Rosemary (sometimes I just put dried mixed herbs in there when I don't want to especially buy rosemary only for Mushrooms)
1 Bay Leaf
5 peppercorns
2 large cloves Garlic (or 3 medium - small) chopped
2 red Chilies (whole if you like it mild, just slit in the centre if you want it medium, chopped fine if you like it hot)
2 tbsp Parsley (I sometimes replace this with coriander and it works really well too!) Chopped
Salt to taste

Take a teaspoon of olive oil in a non stick pan and fry the mushrooms with some salt
Saute it for 5 minutes on a high heat till the liquid of the mushrooms has been evaporated
Drain the Mushrooms in a sieve and let them cool off
Now put all the ingredients including the mushrooms into a jar and seal
Put in the refrigerator and store for at least an hour before serving