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Restaurant Review: Veda Grill, Somerville, NJ
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| Image Credit: vedagrill.com |
Last night was a milestone to be remembered in terms of family outings. As much as my other half & I love eating out & trying new restaurants & cuisines, everything pretty in that genre much screeched to a halt as soon as the baby turned bipedal & started displaying a mind of her own! Seriously, I now understand why parents of toddlers have this stressed apologetic expression etched or BOTOXED on their faces when they take their kids to eat out anywhere other than fast food joints!
Last night’s eating out session was an ‘on the fly’ decision. The other half still immersed in the joy of discovering apps on his new Iphone 4, downloaded a restaurant finder app & the name Veda Grill popped up. Just as the ‘yet another Indian restaurant’ thought was rearing its head, A quick glance at the menu silenced it. For one thing this restaurants menu offerings does not attempt to include cuisines from the four corners of India (which invariably ends up doing justice to none of them). Their focus is on Northern Indian cuisine, in particular the Tandoori & grilled dishes.
The ambience within is simple, classy & welcoming without being overwhelming. The optimal blend for a good dining experience with little kids in tow! The service is friendly & cheerful and very efficient.
We settled in and made our selections, pudina paneer tikka and Shakarkhand (sweetpotato) ki chaat , ( the latter one being something that had been humming in my head ever since I came across Monica Bhide’s post on FB on this classic Delhi street fare!) for appetizers and Sanjeev Kapoor’s signature dish Shaam savera, and gobi Kundan Kaliyan accomapnied by an order of Green peas & cumin rice & a Paneer Kulcha.
The pudina Paneer tikka was truly exceptional, It arrived at a table with a sizzling flourish, to the point my five year old backed off in alarm. The Paneer is marinaded well & coated in a layer of crumbled mint with a touch of dessicated fenugreek. The aroma is redolent with the smoky signature of the coal grilling and the first notes to hit your palate are the crunch from the herbs. This is followed by the soft tender paneer gradually exuding the heat of the red chilli powder component of the marinade. The accompanying onion & bell peppers are seared well & pair delightfully to complement the piquant bite of the tikka.
The Sweet potatoes in the chaat were roasted to perfection, Personally, I would have personally preferred less tamarind chutney, since it tended to overpower the natural flavors of the tuber. But the other spicing components in the dish were true to form of the original street snack.
The Entrees: The Shaam Savera, was delicious to say the least. Perfect spheres of creamy paneer wrapped in a spinach coating (with the addition of a touch of fenugreek geens) and cooked in a creamy makhani gravy. balanced & true to the original recipe, there appeared to be no garam masala slapped on to overpower the delicate smooth creaminess of the sauce, nor was there a sheen of reddish melted butter glazing the finished dish. Definitely a ‘must try‘.
The cauliflower in the Gobi Kundan Kaliyan was prepared to perfection. The first bite yields a crunch characteristic similar to that of a deep fried potato, while the interior is cooked to just the right level, the flavor of the cooked vegetable comes through without the texture getting mushy as is wont with cauliflower. Its topped with an onion & tomato sauce & it does not disappoint!.
The Rice & Kulcha were standard fare, well made without a trace of excess greasiness.
In all, this restaurant can be considered as a hidden gem. A perfect spot for those family outings that call for a refreshing change, a touch of elegance without the pretentious aspects.
Veda Grill is located at 30, E Main Street, in Somerville NJ.
T: (908) 450-7370 F: (908) 450-7369
Website: http://www.vedagrill.com/
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| Image credit: Vedagrill.com |
Pizz-alu chaat
Chaats: that hallmark of the ultimate street food category have been around for longer than we can imagine. Coveted & reviled at the same time, I really cannot think of how life would have been without them. (search and replace ‘internet’ with ‘chaat’ & run it through your neural thought processor and you’ll get an idea of what I mean).
While chaats are a lifeline in cities such as New Delhi (gol guppa, alu tikki chaat, coal roasted sweet potato chaat to name a few signature dishes), Mumbai (Bhel poori, Ragda Patty, Paani Poori)& Kolkata (Jhaal Muri, Puchka), Madras never really had a chaat culture. Vadai, idlies & dosas were after all stuff that you technically made at home regularly, then “why would you want to eat something made by that &^%^%^ fellow?’ GOD knows what oil that fellow uses, you’ll get sick“, was an oft heard reprimand the minute you raised the issue of eating out. Maybe it was because of the innate conservativeness of the culture down south, I can’t really tell. but to this day, I’ve yet to find a decent chaat place in Chennai.
Its a mandatory outing for me to take off with my husband’s nephews for a round of chaat ( & being typical teenagers, they’re as well versed with the local food scene as the best), The last time we tried a place , the guy had slapped a tadka of mustard seeds into Bhel poori!! (EEW!!, Street food may not be high falutin’ standards, but there are rules governing their creation!!), The cook was originally from Bihar & when I asked him in Hindi as to why he’d included the tadka, pat came the reply because apparently he got complaints that the dish had not been finished & somehow he was shortchanging the patrons by skipping on the tadka!!… I gave up at this point! The cardinal rules for Rasam were not meant to be applied to bhelpoori!!, needless to say, I’m soo not revisiting that restaurant!
Since the nineties, the western notion of fast foods has caught on in a big way & Pizza is now considered part and parcel of the Indian food scene. Pizza hut in India even has traditional Tandoori variations on their menu.
and why not? Pizza is traditionally a peasant food, a simple bread adorned with a splash of fresh tomatoes & some cheese for a quick satisfying meal.
While there are tow camps about how a Pizza should be topped ( everything but the kitchen sink, vs. minimalist, thick vs thin crust..) potatoes topping a pizza is not really well known. (carb on carb, a sinful combo), of late there have been some lovely recipes. an episode of ‘The best thing I ever ate’ featured Alex Guarnaschelli, raving about the Yukon gold potato pizza at Five points restaurant and since then, the urge to create a ‘Panfusine’ version of this has been nagging me. When someone sugeested I do a pizza, it really gave me a push to actually put my thoughts & notes into action. and the result: a delicious lunch both healthy & fun to gorge on!
For this pizza you need:
Store bought pizza dough
Ricotta cheese (Part skim works fine!)
one medium red potato
one peruvian blue potato ( This was purely for the color contrast)
1/4 cup sev or boondi
chaat masala
olive oil
mint coriander chutney
date-tamarind chutney
thinly sliced long hot peppers (the kind used to make mirchi pakoda!)
mint & cilantro for garnish.
Preheat oven to 425 F.
Roll out the pizza dough into a thin circle (thick crust is really not a good idea, all you end up tasting is the bread!). place on a greased baking sheet. I use the net part of the traditional Indian sieve (Chalni), works great!. Brush liberally with olive oil.
Add a dollop of ricotta cheese onto the dough & spread evenly . You could mix the ricotta with chaat masala & then apply to the dough, or else, simply sprinkle chaat masala liberally. (The pizza can really take on the spice, so don’t be afraid!)
sprinkle the boondi evenly over the ricotta.
Using a vegetable peeler, slice the potatoes and arrange it on the dough. (I made a mistake in pre-slicing the potatoes & dropping them in water. well the slices were crisp but really not what is needed for something that is going to be baked. plus, the slices curl up, not what you need on a flat pizza!). Brush over the potatoes liberally with another coat of olive oil.
drizzle some sweet chutney over the potatoes and add thin slices of the hot pepper. (don’t add any green chutney, you want it to taste fresh, not cooked!)
Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes till the edges are golden brown.
Remove from the oven, drizzle the green mint chutney and the finely chopped cilantro & mint. , cut into wedges & serve!
Bon appetit!
Passover special: Matzo Lasagna
Growing up in a traditional Tambram household invariably means that one is subject to an array of stringent rules regarding food. ‘ecchhil‘ (Jhoota or portion of plated food that has already been tasted by someone else), ‘Patthu‘ (a complicated set of rules dictating the washing of hands after touching a particular cooked dish), ‘theendal‘ (roughly translated as ‘polluted’, especially by women going through their monthly cycles). Beyond these basic set of ‘kosher’ rules, are others that are not so well known.. Like.. ‘Did you know that it was taboo for an observant brahmin to eat anything that contained yogurt & urad dal’ in the same dish. In other words ( assuming the tone of the ‘soup nazi‘ from Seinfeld): No Dahi vada/ Thayir vadai for you… EVER!!. The reason apparently is that Urad dal (& this is partially my extrapolation) is said to have protein ( as in all the amino acids) that are similar to muscle tissue, and its taboo to drown an animal in its mothers milk.
This rule about consuming milk & meat ( or rather abstain from) is one of the cardinal ‘kosher’ food rules in the Jewish faith. There a a number of similarities to be found with traditional Indian orthodoxy in the socio-cultural rules that people following this faith. There are even similarities to 2 of the 3 boldly highlighted rules that I listed above. Certain Orthodox Jewish communities bar women from the temple, touching money, or handling food while having their periods and some traditional homes even have 2 distinct kitchen areas for the preparation of Kosher & non kosher foods.
One of the most religiously significant festivals in Judaism is Passover. This week long festival commemorates the exodus of Jews from Egypt when they were freed from slavery by the Pharaoh. Since this exodus was done in haste, there would have been no time to bake anything with leavened dough, hence any food prepared with leavening agents is forbidden. During this time, Supermarkets are stocked with boxes of cracker like unleavened bread known as ‘Matzoh’
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| Matzoh crackers |
The taste of these lightly salted crackers bears an uncanny resemblance to fresh ‘phulka’ roti, except that these are completely dry. & why not? the basic ingredients are the same: flour, water & salt & no leavening agent.
The phulka is cooked over a griddle while the matzoh is baked. Those of us who count roti as a daily staple, revel in the umpteen varieties of subzees & gravies that it complements. Give me 2 phulka rotis & a bowl of mutter paneer or saag paneer & that would be a meal to feel good about for the rest of the day!
As much as pasta dish such as lasagna is also made out of the same raw ingredients, what it CANNOT do in terms of familiar mouth feel is replicate the comfort of the humble roti & subzee. My crazy solution ( & I’ve been regularly making this for dinners which means that the photographs are really not worth posting, shot as they are under low lights) use Matzoh crackers in place of the lasagna strips & then feel free to use almost any Indian gravy dish that you eat with roti!. Since i could not decide between palak paneer & Saag paneer, I combined all three together. so here it is, my passover special, Matzoh lasagna with spinach, green peas & Ricotta filling.
For the Filling (a.k.a) the subzee, you need:
(for the masala paste)
1 onion, roughly diced,
1 clove garlic
2″ piece fresh ginger peeled & diced
2 dried red chillies
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoons broken cashew nuts
Combine all these ingredients & blend into a thick, smooth paste, adding as little water as needed.
1 tbsp each Olive oil & Ghee
2 bunches fresh spinach leave, cooked & pureed
2 cup fresh green peas boiled
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp Turmeric
Salt to taste
Heat the oil & ghee in a skillet & add the masala paste, stir well & cook till the oil oozes out & the raw smell of the onion has disappeared. Add the crushed tomatoes, turmeric & salt. Cover & cook on medium heat till the tomato has incorporated into the masala to form a brown colored gravy. Stir in the garam masala & the sugar.
Add the spinach puree & peas, cover & allow to simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes till the dish is well thickened.
For the Lasagna you need ( makes 2 servings when baked in a regular sized loaf tin)
5 squares matzoh crackers
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 a block of Paneer
The Spinach recipe.
a large shallow pan filled 1/4 way with water
Line a loaf tin with aluminum foil & brush well with ghee. dip the matzoh cracker square in the water till it softens slightly, tear into the size required for you baking dish. Place this at the bottom of the loaf pan.
Add about 1-2 tbsp of ricotta cheese & spread evenly over the wet matzoh
The next layer to be added is the spinach filling. Spoon the required amount & spread evenly.
Using a vegetable peeler, slice thin strips of paneer from the side of the block ( this ensures that the paneer does not dominate the dish). Arrange the strips over the green layer.
Add another matzoh cracker & repeat the layering till the pan is filled up. Finish with a layer of paneer.
Liberally brush the top Paneer layer with melted ghee.
Place the baking dish into an oven (preheated to 350 F) & bake till the Paneer on the top layer is golden brown.
Remove from the oven, allow to rest for 5-10 minutes, Cut & serve as a complete meal with a salad of your choice.
Bon appetit!
Chukku Kaapi: Mocktail Version
When I blogged about my foray into mixology fusion, in addition to the group that were quite thrilled about the idea of a boozy version of the traditional South indian Chukku Kaapi, there were an equal number of people who requested a mocktail version. The immediate blunt first thought that replied mentally was… but that is just chilled regular chukku kaapi…& nothing could have been further from reality..
A lot of fruits have flavors that cannot to ‘unlocked’ by a water based solvent. They require a chemical such as ethanol to completely dissociate & be perceived by the tastebuds & the nose. Next time you hear someone extolling the virtues of the nose & bouquet of a great bottle of wine, you know why! Ditto with fruit & other flavored liqueurs, the alcohol helps unlock some flavors that are otherwise hidden simply because the H2O in our Saliva cannot dissolve them to release their aroma to be analyzed by the nose.
The reason that so many Creme liqueurs are in the market today is not because of their myriad flavors. Its the textural experience of sipping them. Creme liqueurs are exactly that..Creamy, with the thick ‘custardy’ texture of melted high fat vanilla ice cream.
Coming back to Chukku Kaapi. The original beverage made by countless Indian moms, is designed to be much more lighter & diluted than a traditional tumbler of filter Kaapi mainly to aid digestion during the convalescent period following delivery. Certainly NOT what a creamy rich coffee mocktail should feel like on the tongue, or taste.
All in all, I had a ball creating this drink. Since someone had asked for a chocolate mocha angle, I went off searching for a chocolate based syrup.. Yes, I found it in the grocery in a 1 litre bottle.. since I had no clue if I would use that much, decided against buying it & just ordered my self a small coffee with lotsa extra syrup..on the side! Just as well, that horrid thing was made using a sweetener!. Lesson # 1.. Never start off with sweeteners, refined sugar is artificial enough for our systems to handle!
So… brewed an espresso with an additional tablespoon of cocoa powder. The end result had just the right amount of chocolate nuances.
To make this mocktail, you need: (makes 1 serving, multiply according to how many you need)
30 ml espresso coffee (follow directions above for a choco-mocha)
30 ml Fresh ginger root extract
15 ml Ginger syrup (recipe follows)
1/4 cup light cream or half & half
plus extra for frothing
1 mini martini glass (sugaring the rim optional)
To make Ginger extract, finely grate a 2 inch piece of ginger & squeeze out the juice. allow to stand for 5 minutes before decanting. Discard the white residue at the bottom.
To make the ginger syrup, combine 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger ( or 1 tbsp of powdered dry ginger in 1/4 cup of water. Boil till the syrup has thickened & strain into a fresh container. Chill until needed.
In a cup, combine the espresso coffee, ginger root extract and the ginger syrup. stir well. Add the cream as per your preference & chill till really cold. Heat the remaining cream for 30 s in the microwave & whip well using an aerolater (a fancy name for those battery operated milk whips that retail for $ 1.99 @ Ikea)
Decant into a Martini glass. Spoon froth over the coffee, garnish with a cocoa powder & a broken bit of dark chocolate.
Enjoy as an after dinner apertif in the company of friends.
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Ginger syrup comes in handy for a LOT of other uses like a quick ginger flavored lemonade etc. To prepare this in bulk, you need:
1 cup grated Ginger
1 cup brown sugar (yields a richer flavor)
1 cup water.
Combine the sugar and water & heat till the sugar dissolves. Add the ginger & simmer for ~ 15 minutes on medium heat till the syrup thickens. Remove from heat, cool & strain into a glass container. Store in refrigerator & use as needed.
Book Review: Cooking at home with Pedatha by Jigyasa Giri & Pratibha Jain
One of the quirkiest & memorable awards I’ve ever recieved was ‘ the resilient taste buds award’ at the Medical Residence annual, while working towards my Biomedical Engineering degree at the University of Cape Town… & the single factor that made me the clear winner for this title, my ever present sidekick at the dinner table, a bottle of home made Andhra style red chilli chutney sent to me regularly from Johannesburg by my mother’s friend Mrs. Satya Somaiyajulu. Needless to say, it was so essential to keeping my taste buds happy when faced with daily doses of dorm food! So when I came across this book while browsing through Amazon.com, it brought back such vivid memories of the best academic experience I’ve been through.
The first thing that strikes you about the book is the sepia toned photograph of a graceful lady, Mrs Subhadra Parigi, against a pastel green & olive background. She could be anyone’s grandmother, paati, nonna, aaji, (take your pick of language), the loving warm kind who would welcome you & your friends & acquaintances home for a sumptuous meal! But while the books layout may be in shades of pastel, the recipes within burst forth with a vivid palette of intense flavors.
The recipes itself are typical of what is cooked daily in a traditional Andhra household. Keeping with Mrs. Parigi’s or ‘Pedhatha’s (Grand Aunt in Telugu, the predominant language spoken in Andhra Pradesh) principle ‘Anyone can cook‘, the recipes are simple and straightforward in their use of spices & seasonings. Its the solid time tested techniques that catches the eye. Most of the recipes have a callout with Pedatha’s tips for raising the flavor profile up a notch or two, resulting in a dish that is unforgettable.
The recipes are divided in 8 sections with a chunk of the book devoted to classic Andhra dishes like pachadis (chutneys) & podis (Dry powders made with lentils & spices) that are serve as an accompaniment to steamed rice. While it is the widespread belief that Andhra cuisine is just extremely spicy & hot, The heat from the red chillies & the tartness of the tamarind is well balanced by the use of jaggery (an unrefined Indian sugar) and other spices such as fenugreek to create dishes that cater evenly to all the four taste bud categories.
As much as it is about these lip smacking recipes, its the passion about Pedatha’s home cooking that has been brought out so well by the authors Jigyasa Giri & Pratibha Jain. The book hints at a story, a story of food, warmth, joy & comfort that pedhatha brought to people who came into contact with her, and the culinary legacy she leaves behind, not only for her near & dear ones, but to everyone who uses this book.
Last but certainly not the least, this is probably one of the few books on South Indian cuisine apart from ‘Dakshin’ (Chandra Padmanabhan), which has been published with such elegance & class. Absolutely on par with any international publication.
‘Cooking at home with Pedatha’ is available through amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Home-Pedatha-Vegetarian-World/product-reviews/8190299301
or through Pritya publications (http://pritya.com/shopping/)
Gothsu a la Symon!
Before you wonder why I dragged a confirmed meat n potatoes name like Iron Chef Michael Symon into a classic beloved South Indian dish, take a look at this creation of his. http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/michael-symon/pan-roasted-lamb-loin-with-sweet-and-sour-relish-and-smoky-or-grilled-eggplant-puree-recipe/index.html
NO.. NOT the Lamb, the grilled eggplant puree.
It was fascinating to watch how the Iron chef transformed a common man’s vegetable into something so elegant!, Got me thinking, Isn’t that on the same lines of the humble gothsu that any southie grandma whipped up? & if you go to the basics, this is exactly what chef Symon did for his ‘high end’ lamb dish.
In the days of cooking with firewood, the eggplant would be rubbed with oil & left to grill on the glowing embers after most of the the day’s cooking was done. the charred skin would be discarded & the cooked flesh would be combined with tamarind extract,salt, asafetida & pieces of dried arbol chillies, a simple ‘tadka’ of mustard seeds would finish the simple piquant offering to be eaten with idlis or pongal.
In the traditional Gothsu, the cooked eggplant was imply mashed up by hand & combined with a liquid tamarind extract into which the chillies & asafetida had been mixed. the texture was unmistakably rustic & complemented the smoky flavor very well. This Panfusine version retains the smokiness but the texture is more like that of a dip. It pairs very well with cocktail appetizers like Pita bread or cocktail idlis
Well, here is the Iyer-n-chef (wannabe)’s homage to the gothsu.
for the gothsu you need:
1 Italian eggplant rubbed with oil
1 golf ball sized amount of dried tamarind pods
Salt to taste,
2 dried red arbol chillies
a pinch of asafetida
1tbsb sesame oil + 1 tsp for the ‘tadka’
1/2 tsp mustard seeds.
On an open stove top flame grill the eggplant till the flesh is soft & the skin is charred well.
(It makes practical sense to put off cleaning your stove top AFTER you do this, as the liquids from the eggplant drip & can create a mess!)
Set aside to cool and then remove the charred skin. If the eggplant is riddled with a lot of mature seeds then try to remove the seeds as much as possible, else leave the seeds in.
Add 1/4 cup of water to the tamarind & heat in the microwave for ~ 1 minute. Allow to cool & strain out as much pulp as possible. Discard any seeds and fibrous matter from the tamarind. Add broken red chillies, salt & asafetida.
Add the eggplant and tamarind mixture to a food processor bowl & puree for ~ 5 S.
While the processor is running, drizzle ~ 1 tbsp of sesame oil into the eggplant mix till it emulsifies.
Transfer to a serving dish. Heat remaining sesame oil. Add mustard & let it sputter. Finish the gothsu with the mustard ‘tadka’
Serve with Venn polenta (the previous recipe) or with Pita bread &r other hors d’oevres of your choice.
Bon appetit!
Venn Polenta
If Yogurt rice occupies the # 1 spot in a South Indian’s list of food faves, then ‘Venn Pongal’ is usually with in the top five list of comfort foods. Almost every South Indian reading this post has some story about a weekend brunch comprising of a large dollop of steaming hot & thick porridge of rice & tasted moong dal, with a side of crisp Medu Vada with an almost unlimited supply of tangy piquant Coconut chutney to go with it. the added bonus was licking the plate clean!
I had been toying with the idea of bringing out a series of dishes using grits & Yellow corn meal for sometime, but the push to get going never came until Shaila Ballal Nigam posted her delish recipe for Cornmeal Dhokhla a week ago. I promise that I’ll recreate that recipe & post it…. as soon as I finish up this batch of hominy grits that I have on hand!
Back to Venn Pongal, as I said, Its a mix of well (even slightly overcooked) rice & moong dal ( which is the quickest cooking of all the lentils in the typical South indian pantry). Precooking the lentils makes sure that the cornmeal can cook to perfection without under cooking the lentils. the toasted lentils give final dish a subtle nutty flavor and that complements the rich aroma of melted ghee (clarified butter) that is used to finish the polenta. The dish is spiced with Cumin & black peppercorn and ginger & curry leaves round off the flavor profile.
Cornmeal or Grits is a staple used widely in Africa & the Americas. for details, check out (yeah yeah, you know where!!) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornmeal. Polenta is a classic Italian dish made from yellow cornmeal.
Necessity being the mother of invention never applied more than using corn maize as a substitute for rice. My first recollection of this was in the 70’s when South Indian housewives living in Kenya used maize meal as a rice substitute for making Idli/ Dosa batter, & they probably still do even today. Just soak the same amount of cornmeal as rice in water & add to the Urad dal batter.
For the Venn Polenta you need: (4 servings)
1/2 cup cornmeal grits (the white variety)
1/4 cup cooked Moong dal, slightly toasted
a pinch of turmeric
2 cups water
Seasoning:
8-10 whole peppercorns
1/2 tsp cumin coarsely powdered
1/4 tsp Pepper coarsely powdered
6-8 curry leaves, torn
Salt to taste
1inch piece fresh ginger root, finely grated
5-6 cashew nuts, broken
3 tsp ghee.
Combine the dal, grits & the turmeric to the water & set to cook on the stove top. cook till the water is absorbed & the consistency is that of a tick yet ever so slightly runny porridge.
In a small skillet heat 1 tsp of ghee and add the whole peppercorns. stir for a minute before adding the other ingredients (except the remaining ghee)Stir well for a minute until the spices give off their characteristic aroma. Add to the polenta and mix well till thoroughly combined. Finish with the remaining ghee,
Stir well & pour out into a greased pan. Leave to cool & set.
When the polenta sets, cut into triangles & serve with a chutney or Sambhar of your choice. I’ve paired this with Eggplant ‘Gothsu’ which will be posted immediately after this recipe.
Pair with a steaming hot cup of Filter coffee for a perfect weekend brunch! Bon Appetit!
Toasted coconut & Sesame Shortbread
Christmas for me in terms of memories were localized to Nairobi, Kenya, where I spent a chunk of of my growing up years. Our neighbors were Goan & I can still mentally taste the Christmas platter of home made goodies that used to be sent up the week of the 25th. Cheese straws, fruitcake, Karanji’s filled with coconut & sesame..these were the first things that came to mind & acting on my thoughts i decided to whip up a batch of shortbread cookies with the aim of incorporating the flavors of karanjis which are deep fried traditional festive desserts made with coconut, common to western India ( in addition, shortbread , is possibly one of the few cookie recipes that do not compulsorily call for eggs which I try to work around due to my inherent lethargy!)
Shortbread is a cookie made primarily from flour, butter & sugar. Its a classic Scottish dessert & due to the expensive ingredients that went into it, it was reserved for special occasions such as Christmas, New year & weddings. For more history on shortbread..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortbread (wikipedia, what else!!)
For the shortbread, you need
1 cup all purpose flour (plus some extra for rolling the dough)
1/2 cup sugar (more if you prefer a sweeter taste)
8 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 tsp ground cardamom,
1/3rd cup shredded coconut
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds.
Preheat oven to 350 C.
Toast the shredded coconut till its golden & emits a nutty aroma.
Set aside to cool (I used the fresh coconut since it has an extra dose of moisture that works well in the recipe)
Cream sugar & butter till light & fluffy.
Add the flour, toasted sesame seeds, cardamom & coconut to the creamed butter & work into a ball, do not over knead as this can make the dough tough.
Flatten into a disk, wrap with wax paper & refrigerate for ~ 1 hr.
Remove from the fridge onto a clean floured surface & roll into a 1/4 inch thick sheet. Cut into shapes & place onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar if desired.
Bake for ~ 10-12 minutes or until the cookie begins to appear brown at the edges.
Remove from the oven. let the cookies cool completely on a rack before storing in an airtight container.
Restaurant review: Alice’s Tea cup, New York City
Even as I type this note, a part of my brain wonders what I’m doing trying to write a restaurant review… So, rather than treat this with such an objective eye, Let me just rephrase this as a blog entry on an almost perfect brunch session with a friend, on a cold rainy December Morning.
Coming to think of it, sampling one entry on a menu does not even remotely qualify as a review, but Kudos to Jyoti Ananth, for her awesome selection of venue & menu..
Alice’s Tea Cup has 3 locations in NYC, & we picked the one on E 64th St or Chapter 2 as they refer to it on the website. There was a wait of about 30 minutes ( a sure fire way of determining the popularity of the restaurant) & they were prompt in calling us on our phone to let us know that our table was ready.
The restaurant itself is housed in one of those cute quaint brownstones so characteristic of NYC. The furniture so adorable in their cobbled English country cottage style. The adjacent table was constructed out of the wrought iron frame of an antique sewing machine, while ours was a display case with Alice in Wonderland knick knacks.
While the Menu is pretty extensive, we settled on the Mad Hatter, a generous lunch offering that was served with our choice of tea, scones, sandwiches, Cake & cookies (or should I call them Biscuits?)
Our Picks:
Scones: Pumpkin, Black berry coconut & blueberry chocolate chip:
The Pumpkin scone was a trifle ‘doughey’ but its hard picking a favorite from the other two although, the coconut blackberry did have an edge purely on the novelty factor.. It isn’t everyday that you see coconut incorporated in scones, but the pleasant berry flavor & the crunch of the coconut definitely makes it a must try!
Sandwiches:
We picked the classic English Cucumber sandwich with watercress, slathered well with a lemon chive butter on whole wheat bread. as perfect as a sandwich could get.. or so we thought until the other sandwich was sampled…
I could go on raving about this one, but let me restrict myself to an objective description.
The filling was roasted carrots flavored with cumin. The bread itself is worth a mention, It was a semolina bread embedded with a generous amount of black sesame seeds (which had a lovely toasted flavor) that complemented the cumin fabulously. A whiff of an Indian influence without the ubiquitious ‘curry’ flavor butting in & taking over. The carrots were roasted to an optimal soft yet crunchy texture. Something I haven’t come across previously in a sandwich, but then I really have never tried slapping carrots between 2 slices of bread either!. The Olive Tapenade & goat cheese complemented the sweetness of the carrots.
The teas: We selected an Apricot Brandy tea & an seasonal Christmas tea. Both herbal teas that did not require milk or cream.
The desserts:
Sorry… We were so stuffed by this time that we packed up the cookies & cake to take home to our kids…
Very reasonably priced. Lunch for 2 for under 40$ makes for a great deal!
I’d definitely return here with my husbands & kids in tow!
you can check out this restaurant online @ http://alicesteacup.com/ (the one being referred to here is Chapter 2)
A New York State of Mind….
With the Advent of the holidays, a must see seasonal attraction of New York City’s infinitely fascinating facets sets up tent in Union Square & Columbus circle. The last time I had roamed this awesome bazaar was a decade ago in the waning days of grad school. When the opportunity to do this again arose, boy! did I grab the opportunity. This time I had a mission, the food stalls! (not that the others were of no use, boy the kinds of knick knacks from all over the world on sale there, you have to see this to believe it!).
For those of you who are wondering what the %^&^% I’m jabbering about, let me back track. The Union square Farmers Market is a part & parcel of life in New York city.. Remember the scene in ‘You’ve got mail’ where Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan grab a bag of Pretzels & fresh flowers & sit down wondering how they keep accidentally bumping into each other? That’s the spot! (http://www.grownyc.org/unionsquaregreenmarket)
The Holiday market is a seasonal event, with stalls set up between Thanksgiving & Christmas, a fabulous place to buy your gifts, & nosh on all the lil stuff that New York is famous for. There is NO way one can really indulge in everything thats out there, but here’s a list…
1. Sigmunds Pretzel Shop (http://www.sigmundnyc.com/)
For those of you who think that pretzels are those dry chewy things hanging from vendors carts, Think again!
These look more like a bagel sized bialy, the only giveaway being the pretzel like texture peeping out from the generous fillings within.. My favorite, the goat cheese & olive
& this one is still waiting to be shared with my other half!
PS: Shared, Polished off & boy was it GOOD!!
2. Nibmor chocolates. (http://www.nibmor.com/index.php)
These guys had a stall with a crowd around it. SO obviously there was something good to be had there. Wended my way thru & figured out they had the right answer to a chilly day. Hot Chocolate. 2 flavors, original & 6 spice, which I was told had cayenne, cinnamon, & well… they had me at cayenne. The drink was perfectly sweetened, rich with a creamy mouth feel, with the flavor of the cocoa complemented by the spices without overpowering the chocolate, & the Cayenne released a perfect heat at the back of the throat that made this the perfect pick-me-up to sip while wandering around.
In fact it was so good that the first thing I did when my friend joined me was to drag her here to try it.. It was then I was told that there wasn’t any milk or cream in the hot chocolate, It was completely vegan & was made with almond milk!! So All you vegans out there, this one is a MUST HAVE!
Another indulgence I got to sample were the truffles from ‘NO CHEWING ALLOWED’, (http://www.nochewingallowed.com/ ) at first the brand name sounded like a joke, but its worth obeying this command. the melting sensation of the truffles in your mouth is unparalleled & its not worth letting this decadent dessert melt away on the enamel of your teeth unless, by some mutation, you have sensory nerve endings on them!
Sorry no pics, would have been well worth it though!
One of the things I really wanted to find out more about in New York City was the pink Himalayan Salt that seems to be in the news in the World of ‘Haute Cuisine’ these days. & yes there was a stall selling these as well! the website for this stall is http://www.candleladysusans-himalayanrocksalt.com/.
Although I did not buy any salt (they ran out of the size I wanted.) I did get a chance to taste it, & its so unlike the varieties of Salt at your local supermarket. Its the color of rose quartz (& looks a lot like it too), with a clean mild taste (in contrast to table salt that can feel grating on the sides of your tongue. I hope to get some in the near future to incorporate into my recipes.
Other names of repute represented in the markets include David Chang’s Momofuku bakery selling their signature cookies. Nope, didnt get a chance to taste these, but they sure looked delicious!
Panfusine 