Watch n Learn!!!!

I get inspired when I see people talking about food, travelling places, going out of their way, devoting time for something that is so close to my heart. Yeah I know m getting emotional here.

I strongly recommend Nat Geo Adventure which has been renamed to Nat Geo People, Fox traveler, TLC, Travel XP. Their shows are truly amazing and a bliss for all those foodies out there. 

My current favorites, Ishai Golan’s Street Food around the world, Peter Kuruvita’s My Sri Lanka and David Rocco’s Dolce India.

Read, learn, follow!!!

Recipe - Mixed Veggies- Firangi Style!!!!

Ingredients: Broccoli, bell pepper (all colors) mushrooms, baby corn, spring onions. Olive oil, butter, salt, green chilli paste, ginger, garlic, black pepper powder, Aji - na -moto

Method: Add olive oil and butter in a pan, add ginger garlic paste along with green chili paste, sauté for a couple of minutes. Add Broccoli and baby corn, sauté for 5 mins.

Add bell pepper, mushrooms and spring onions, sauté for 5 mins.

Add one tea spoon of Aji - na -moto, half a teaspoon of black pepper powder and salt to taste.

Sauté for 2 mins, ready to serve.

You can add zucchini, cauliflower and other veggies.

Ultimate Love for Chinese food

Chinese cuisines are incomplete without rice, noodles, vegetables, sauces and seasonings. I hate it when people add Indian flavors, desi masalas and mess with the cuisine. 

If you can’t have it bland, then you got to opt out of it. 

My preferred spots for relishing Chinese are;

Mainland china – I still remember the commercial, the guy kisses the chef and says ‘most authentic Chinese I have ever had’

I wouldn't rate them very well when it comes to service though, they try really hard to get the accent right but common this ain't China for Gods sake!!!!

Global fusion for its Authentic food, vibrant ambiance and great service!!!
Tao and Five spice and are also in my hit list 

Barring Tao, the remaining fall in the same vicinity ( times square - Andheri saki naka)

They serve Chinese cuisine to its true spirit and tradition. 

Recipe - Italian Pasta / Macaroni - few get it right

Most of my friends and their mommy's goof up on this one.

Lets get it right. If I wanna have pasta, it has to be home cooked. My mom has mastered the art of cooking luscious pastas at home.

Basic ingredients:

Fussili, shell macaroni, pasta, onion, garlic, green chilli, olive oil, butter, cheese,milk, maida, flour, salt to taste, black pepper powder.

Method: 

Boil pasta in a container.Add a pich of salt and and few drops of oil. Once they are boiled, drain / discard pasta from hot water. Immediately add chilled water for good result and discard it too. 

Add olive oil and butter along with all the chopped vegetables i.e. onion garlic, chili, sauté tillit turns light pink. 

Add dry Maida flour to make white sauce. Sauté till the color is changed.
Add milk, salt, grated cheese, black pepper powder, and stir for 5 minutes. Add water only if needed. 

Add pastas in white sauce and stir it for 5 minutes, mix well and Hot Luscious Pastas are ready to eat!!!

Add more vegetables and meat chunks if needed.

Broccoli and bell peppers( all colors) are most preferred.

Recipe - Boiled Crab with Garlic Butter Sauce – quick and easy!!

Boiled Crab with Garlic Butter Sauce – quick and easy 

What you need

4 Medium Crabs (or more depends on how many you want to eat )

4 pcs Chopped Garlic

4 tbsp Melted Butter

Method

First set your alarm to 10 minutes and boil your Crabs. Make sure that your Crabs are covered with water. You'll know it's cook when the Crabs turns to red.

Once cooked, drain the water and set the Crabs aside. Let it cool. Then fry your Garlic just when it become light brown then add it to your melted butter.

Cut your Crabs into half and remove the lungs. And then pour the Garlic Butter Sauce on the crab meat

You're done! 

Soft spot for sea food

I still remember the time I was watching Ocean Odyssey with my friends (a documentary on a sperm whale), and there was a time where I couldn't take it anymore. Sounds absurd, but I was so smitten by the sperm whale and the stunning squids (almost the size of the bus), I wanted to relish them all. I am desperately waiting for the day when I would catch and cook.

When it comes to seafood, my heart craves for shellfish over fish. Prawns, lobsters, crabs, mussels, squids, tiger prawns, just can’t stop raving about it. If it’s fish my heart is set on surmai (luscious and chubby), shark and tuna.



Where to head;

Mahesh Lunch Home – Crabs cooked in garlic sauce with spring onions (a bit too expensive 1800/-), lobster (any sauce of your choice, again 1600/-), batter fried squids, clams (cooked in Mangalorean style). Our last visit took us back by 7000/- for two, but all in all it’s a good option for seafood cravings.

Gajalee – good place but the service is slow. Their tandoori tiger prawns, crabs and surmai are truly amazing.

Gomantak – one can only visit this place for the food. Their Prawns curry thali and Surmai tawa fry are to die for.

Had recently been to BBQn during the sea food festival, snapper was very well cooked but the overall experience was disappointing. Can't blame them much, there was a mad rush and the service took a beat!!!!

Preferred hot spots in Mumbai

Over a period of time I have realized that buffet restaurants give you value for your buck. This concept has become widespread in the metros and continues to grow. The only fear is that too much of anything can become a hassle. We have top notch restaurants that have strategically come up with deals and offers that make you pay frequent visits.

Some of my most preferred hot spots n specialty restaurants;

Sai palace ( andheri ), Sigree Global Grill  (powai), Indigo Delicatessan (lower parel), Café mondegar (colaba), Salt Water café (bandra west), Barbeque Nation, Global fusion (andheri saki naka).

Then there are some ancient (as I call it) places, which are always in my hit list;

Café Universal – established in 1921, a tourist friendly bar (sometimes I find it hard to locate Indians), a brightly lit up place, away from the loud outlets we have these days.
Their burgers, mixed platters, fish and chips, chicken wings are must haves!!!

Café Leopold is its contender but I find it a bit too loud and expensive. So if you wish to break free and grab a bite, Café universal is a place to be.

If it is traditional food, it is Goan and Mangalorean food

I always look forward to my trips in Goa, as Goa is all about food, pleasant people, sandy beaches and an ultimate paradise for vacationers.

Goan cuisine is sea food based, incomplete without fish and shellfish. I starve the moment I step in, precisely because prawns, tiger prawns, crabs, lobsters, squids and mussels start blocking my mind, waiting for me to feast on them.  

Some of my favorite restaurants in Goa include

Martin's Corner – Located in Betalbatim beach, South Goa, it is among Goa's best known restaurants and our very own Sachin Tendulkar’s favorite too. They serve Continental, Seafood, Goan, Indian, Tandoori, Chinese cuisines.  You can expect the place to be crowded in the evenings and you may have to wait a bit too long but the lively ambiance, people, music and extraordinary food will not make you regret any bit.

My favorites include batter fried squids with mustard sauce, garlic and butter sauce crabs, prawn fry and pomfret curry with rice.

Kentuckee 

Kentuckee is located right next to the Colva Beach. It is the sound of the ocean and the view that sets this place apart. They serve some really delectable sea food. Again the ambiance is impressive and staff is friendly. 

My favorites include rawa fried mussels, traditional goan fish curry.

Brittos at Baga Beach and Souza Lobo at Calangute, Balton’s at Majorda, Salcette also score high in my list of favorites

Mangalore on the other side remains an undiscovered territory for me. I have always wanted to be there ever since I heard about this picturesque place dominated by its ancient temples and sandy beaches.

Mangalorean cuisine is well known for its unusual flavor.  A total delight for a non vegetarian and sea food lover like me. I am not much into spicy food but the traditional cuisine takes you back in time. Mangalorean food would remain incomplete without fish, rice and coconut. 

My take- Pork Sorpotel, Beef and spring onions, shami kebabs, mangalorean cooked clams, rosachi kadi are ‘must try delicacies’

What inspires me

A food lover loves to head out and discover new places. I get inspired by delicacies I eat in restaurants, street food, different cuisines, travel and lifestyle TV shows and the list goes on.

I simple love what Ishai Golan does in his famous television series ‘Street food around the world’. He explores the origins and recipes of the most savory and surprising local dishes around the world. He travels to a different city and in the time span of 24 hours; he meets with the locals and must eat whatever they eat. It’s an exciting journey to discover the culinary gems of food stalls, colorful food markets and popular local restaurants, which draw hundreds of passers-by every day. God, how I wish I could do what he does!!!

I trust the internet and the recommendations people make. Especially if it is a cuisine you’ve never tried before or a place you’ve never visited before. I believe in taking collective opinion but at the same time I listen to what my heart says. Remember, people write when they truly feel a certain way about something. I research anxiously on delicious places. It gives me immense joy to learn how passionately people talk about the thing you have a soft spot for.

Remember, think outside the box! People who are always looking for good food discover places they have never heard or read about. Someone rightly said that ‘Hole-in the walls are so much more fun than over hyped!

About me

Hi that is me, always hungry!!! There are certain things in life that cheer you up, for me it has always been food. As a child, I saw my mum deriving happiness out of the meals she cooked, she loved to serve and get views from her audience, which in most cases would be her family, friends and relatives. Guess I carried her genes except that I am an avid eater and a non-vegetarian and still trying my hands on cooking. I still remember, asking my mum what was being cooked decided my mood for the day. It’s amazing to see how food brings people together and I threw myself into it. I've always loved food and eating, and I know I will subsequently love cooking.

The idea of starting with raw ingredients and creating something, it just marvels me every time I eat something delectable and makes me crave for more. And I developed a taste for eating and having great food. It's about that desire that continues to burn inside of you, that drives you for that excellence. And when passion comes, it enhances that desire.

I have all the ingredients I need to discover and learn. Let’s enjoy this journey together!!!