Reminiscing over Mumbai and chutney sandwich

If I were to replay Mumbai brunch scene for you, then it's only fair I make you a chutney sandwich. This sandwich holds a special place in my heart, I put it top most in my healthy brunch list that I would eat at that time if I was not eating Maggi, left over Chinese food, or worst starving further. That freshly made hot sandwich was a perfect melange of local veggies, homemade chutney and fake tomato sauce between super soft white bread ,with sides removed and toasted on charcoal. You can totally ask him to omit the fake sauce and keep the sides one.

The one close to Mahim station was my regular pit stop for sandwich, after a while I dint have to tell him to add cheese to my sandwich he did it anyway. It felt normal to have a chat with him while fanned the charcoal sigree and I told him we made the same version of sandwich back at work and his pudina chutney goes by the name of cilantro pesto on our menu I was tempted to tell him our selling price was 100 times higher than his but never had the heart to shock him. He'd occasionally give a few tips on how to attain perfect smooth consistency of the chutney. Though  he never revealed measures of his blend he always told me to go easy on the mint and use a BIG handful of coriander. Keep adding water a little at a time while blending and finish it with a splash of oil.  I would stand there watching him deftly use his sharp handmade knife to slice the beets paper thin without theP support of a chopping board.  While some  of the other sandwichwalas have other variations like toasted butter jam, potato cheese his make shift work stations supported only the original chutney sandwich. He manned it single handedly without help, when he had no orders he would rip the bread covers into squares and neatly stack it to use it for packing the takeaway orders or prep a few sandwiches anticipating sudden orders.
 Here is more on Mumbai sandwichwalas if you like a further read and if that's not enough make yourself this sandwich already.



Mumbai street inspired chutney sandwich 

White bread w/o sides 4 slices 

Coriander mint chutney to smear 

Mashed and tempered potatoes 2 medium

Tomato 1 small

Cucumber 1 medium half 

Beetroot 1 small

Onions a few rings

Tomato ketchup optional
Butter a dab

For coriander and mint chutney - wash a big bunch of coriander leaves including the stalks, stalks have more flavour than the leaves, throw in a few mint leaves, a few green chillies, a teaspoon or two of roasted cumin seeds, a small clove of garlic , a squirt of lime, a dash of sugar and a pinch of salt. This can be stored in the fridge up to a week or longer.

For tempered potatoes-  Boil potatoes in an open vessel and not a pressure cooker (pressure cooker makes the potatoes too soft) , peel and mash the potatoes and leave aside. Heat oil in a pan , when hot tip in a few mustard seeds once they splutter add in curry leaves and a slit green chilli , a pinch of turmeric powder, mashed potatoes and some chopped coriander leaves. Stir for a while and turn off the stove.

Assembly-

Cut the sides of two bread slices
Smear a little butter and coriander mint chutney on one of the bread slices
Spread a teaspoon of tempered mashed potato covering all the surface
Place a few slices of beetroot, cucumber,tomatoe and onions in the same order
Season with salt & pepper use a cheese slice if you like
Now close the sandwich the other slice of bread , brush a little butter on the bread and place it in a gas toaster or griller
Grill till golden brown on both the side
Serve with tomatoe ketchup or more coriander mint chutney

Update: I found a more authentic recipe Here

Variation - Boiled eggs can be replaced in place of all the veggies, it make for a superb sandwich too. 

Lets Bake!!

Of jamming and canning

Classic peach jam 

      

Strawberry preserve

      

Cherry jam

     

If you ever see in Deli’s like Moshe’s, Le pain quotidian, smoke house or at any gourmet super markets there are pretty good chances that you would catch me around their shelves which are dotted by jams and preserves made inhouse, checking the label for ingredients and effusing over their brilliant flavor pairings but too pricey to bring them home. 

Strange but Its only this year for me in Mumbai that I got introduced to peaches, nectarines, persimmons, picture perfect cherries and abundance of strawberries. these fruits elude the markets of Hyderabad *sigh*. So in an attempt to take full advantage of the abundance I decided preserve few fruits, carefully ‘can’ them, eat it over buttered toast in the morning, eat it by spoonful when craving for sweet in the night or to put a twine around the jars and present it to friends. while I was looking up for tips on canning and recipes on Jams I did a right thing by ordering Canning for a new generation by Lianna krisoff and I was hooked. Earthy recipes and canning at home with minimum care are the star points for me in this book. 

Baking With Julia- The White Loaf.

With my personal santa gifting me Baking with Julia a week before it was Tuesday I had the right kind of encouragement to bake a loaf of white bread and to be a  part of TWD . Sadly, though I baked a gorgeous loaf I couldn’t post on time. My blog provider was at its nasty best and internet connection too shaky. Im happy to report that The white bread loaf was kneaded, baked and devoured with a generous helping of cinnamon butter .

For the White loaf recipe please hop onto Jules Blog

(Finally) Welcome BBC GoodFood (India) !!

Each time I visit a bookstore, I scan the magazine racks for food magazines and would most of the time return disappointed. I would always see a slew of books on photography, fashion, technology, finance, health but none on food. While some imported food magazines like Martha’s Living are available but at exorbitant price. So I would just flip through the glossy international magazines, standing there tempted to buy then would finally give in or more often give it a pass. Finally my months of disappointment was answered with Good Food India magazine, brought to you by BBC. It is a perfect package matching the international standards with glossy pages, gorgeous food pictures, beautiful kitchenware and recipes in abundance. The content is perfect (for me), with a mix of easy to make on a weekday night recipes and some elaborate recipes. The ingredients used are pretty easy to find and their source is most often listed. It’s really inspiring to come across some of our Indian chefs who I dint know existed but now follow them on Twitter happily. The kitchen tools recommendations, book picks, ingredient reviews and restaurant reviews are a good guide for a amateur cook like me. The foodie holiday suggestions are a total happy/informative read so are their articles on one seasonal fruit per issue. Though I find the advertisements  too bothersome I wouldn’t mind it for all the food writing I get to devour.

So when a good friend asked me to whip up desserts for a Christmas dinner, it was but natural for me to pick a recipe from the magazine I have been reading so religiously. Since the time I had on time was little, I chose to make vanilla panna cotta with fresh strawberry sauce. I did not bother testing the recipe beforehand as it seemed pretty straightforward and also the mag claims that the recipes are triple tested for a domestic kitchen and I wanted to believe them. The reviews I got both for the look and taste were rave. I literally caught somebody swooning after their first bite, I guess the cold vanilla speckled cream against the sweet tang of strawberries does have the happy effect. 

vanilla panna cotta with fresh strawberry sauce

Source- BBC GoodFood India

Notes- I had halved the recipe and made use of muffin tins in place of custard cups. Half of this recipe in muffin tins yield around 12 panna cotta’s

Update: In place of custard cups or muffin tins I have also tried making them in Disposable bowls and they work just fine.

For the panna cotta

Fresh cream- 1 ltr  (I used Amul cream)

Sugar- 200 gms

Vanilla bean- 1 split lengthwise

Powdered gelatin - 4 1/2 tsp

Cold water - 100 ml

For the fresh strawberry sauce

Strawberries- 400 gms washed and hulled

Sugar- 2 tbsp

• In a saucepan heat cream and vanilla bean and bring it to a simmer


• Turn off the heat and cover the Pan for 30 mins.


• Discard the bean Re-heat the cream with sugar until completely dissolved


• Lightly oil 8 custard cup with neutral oil like sunflower


• Sprinkle gelatin over cold water and let it stand for 5-10 mins


• Pour the warm cream mixture over gelatin and stir until its completely dissolved


• Divide the panna cotta mixture into the prepared cups and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours until firm

For the strawberry sauce

• Blend half the strawbrerries into a purée. Chop the other half of the strawberries and stir it with the purée


• Add sugar and transfer to a serving bowl


• To unmould the panna cotta run a sharp knife around the edge of each panna cotta or briefly dip the cups into warm water. 


• Spoon over some strawberry sauce and serve.

Apple and Strawberry jam with Blueberries

Apple and Strawberry jam with Blueberries

Each time I discuss with Seeteez something new in pastry that completely stumped me, he does not fail to remind me of my blog which is lying in limbo. That big boy can never get convinced if I plainly tell him I have no natural talent for writing and food blogging is all about beautiful writing, food styling, photography and keeping up with the trends happening in some very popular blogs all around the world. The truth is I have a lot to share. My life is practically revolving around butter, sugar, flour, eggs and chocolate and I am loving every sweet bit of it.

Without much ado I would like to tell you guys that I am now working as a trainee at a bakeshop which has been selling fantastic breads for the last 55 years. Its been two months working in a professional pastry kitchen and boy oh boy this did some wonders to my speed. 5 hours is what i spend working at the bakeshop shaping loaves, creaming butter and sugar, separating 60 eggs for a meringue and peeping into massive ovens with a crinkly face. After a snoozy local train ride I am back home ogling at food blogs and baking in my brothers adorable kitchen by the big window which truly is a spa treatment for the mind.  Every time i am close to finishing my bakery ingredients i  ever so happily make a trip to RUN to Crawford market. When I am there I’m untouched by all the melee. it’s the variety of dry fruits from macadamia to Turkish hazelnuts, cream cheese and cheddar at discounted prices, fresh herbs and my love bordering on obsession with fruits that makes this place a Medina of sorts for me.

Couple of weeks back I was insanely scouting the food blogs for recipes on homemade jam, after hours of searching I was totally lost with the whole canning process. The difference in sugar content, addition of pectin and other preservatives did little to comfort me. For that week since I was so pumped about jam making, I made Strawberry and Apple jam with Blueberries. I used this recipe from my good old trusted source, the jam turned out beautiful ruby red with every flavor being high and distinct and thus continuing my quest for good homemade jams led me to this book. This is my first book on jams and canning , it is terrific in the sense that it takes away all the mystery from canning and makes the whole jam making process a simple 4 stepped one.  More on this and jam recipes in my next post.

Caramel Cake!!

Remember the garage scene in Kill Bill-1. How ‘The bride’ spots a garish yellow truck with the words Pussy wagon spray-painted on the tailgate, she climbs onto the backseat with difficulty and rests. She struggles to move her feet and  keeps repeating "Wiggle your big toe," Nothing happens. She repeats the line again, and again and again. Big-ups to this moment of cinematic brilliance which is almost the apt metaphor describing the  struggle to get my blog movin again :) :)

While my blog was at it, I was diligently baking at home and working not so diligently at the bank, met more people and made new friends than I ever did before, started drinking beer without making a funny face, ate beef like it should be eaten chewed and swallowed and not down it with water but the dislike stays, read a lot more ( if reading blogs counts  i.e) ,  
added expensive chocolate, real vanilla and 5  types of sugar to my pantry and finally graduated from baking basic chocolate cakes to more complex breads and pies. I now have a well organised baking corner where my whisk and Spatula's are at arm’s length, equipped it with nifty kitchen tools that I cant stop buying, a well stashed fridge with hard to find ingredients sitting pretty. Ever growing list of things to bake and books to buy.  All the right things just to make the baker in me happy.

And to Celebrate the coming back of my blog i leave you with a very simple to make  buttermilk Cake Topped with  a smooth creamy caramel glaze ...believe me when i tell you the caramel glaze was outstanding, the texture was smooth like butter,  just the right amount of sweetness  and butterscotch taste,  just the right qualities to be called holy goo!! 

Caramel Cake!!

Caramel Cake.

Adapted from-  Lottie+Doof

For the Cake:

• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sifted cake flour ( I substituted cake flour with ‘2 cups + 2 tbps All Purpose flour’ + 5 tbsp Cornflour)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (Omit salt if using salted butter)
• 1 stick (4 oz)/ 113 grams unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup well-shaken buttermilk ( I made buttermilk using 3/4^th cup Yogurt + 1/4^th cup milk)

For the Caramel Glaze:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (I  used 1/4^th cup dark brown + 1/4^th cup regular White sugar)
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 To make the cake

• Preheat oven to 180°C , Butter and line an 8X8  square cake pan
• Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt leave aside
• Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 mins. Add in vanilla. and beat for less then a min
•  Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition for about a min.
•  At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture may look curdled).
•  Add flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing until each addition is just incorporated.
• Spread batter evenly in cake pan, then tap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles. 
• Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan. Invert onto rack and discard parchment, flip cake so it is right-side up and then cool completely, about 1 hour.

To make the glaze:

• Bring cream, brown sugar, corn syrup, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved.
• Boil until glaze registers 210 to 212°F on thermometer, 12 to 14 minutes, then stir in vanilla.
• Put rack with cake in a shallow baking pan and pour hot glaze over top of cake, allowing it to run down sides. Cool until glaze is set, about 30 minutes.