budding junior master chefs ?

every friday i am a 'Cook and Bake' teacher for kids at the Darjeeling Montessori House of Children. the kids are a riot (aren't they all?) and it takes all of my zen and patience to sometimes rein them in with nothing but love...i guess i've had enough practice with zy in that front. zy too, is a part of the curriculum ( although he's absent from these photographs )

we made rocky road last friday and it was the biggest hit with the children because which child does not love chocolate, marshmallows and licking the bowl!?

when the school administration first spoke to me about holding classes for children here, apprehension was my only reaction. i had never taught children before in the kitchen. my first concern was safety and my other concern was well, me! i'm not known for my patience. with zy, i get away with it because i package it as 'tough love'  and he buys that! 

not very long ago, my friend Cath had once mentioned that i was a natural with kids during one of our other workshops so when i eventually agreed to take this up, i guess i might have gone with that ...i really hope i've done the right thing!

all said, these young chefs have been amazing...so far, so good :)

Rocky Road Recipe

125 grams soft butter

300 grams dark chocolate broken into pieces

3 tablespoons honey

 (it's actually golden syrup but in darj, we do make compromises with ingredients)

200 grams rich tea biscuits

100 grams mini marshmallows

Melt the butter, chocolate and golden syrup in a heavy-based saucepan. Scoop out about 3 tablesppons of this melted mixture and put aside.

Put the biscuits into a freezer bag and then bash them with a rolling pin until they are crumbed unevenly.

Fold the biscuit pieces and crumbs into the melted chocolate mixture in the saucepan, and then add the marshmallows.

Tip into a foil tray and flatten as best you can with a spatula. Pour the reserved melted chocolate mixture/ganache over the marshmallow mixture and smooth the top.

Refrigerate for about 2 hours or overnight.

Cut into squares and eat!

we might organize a food festival as a fund - raiser for the school. watch this space for the same ... as, when and if it happens.


“His name is Marcus: he is four and a half and possesses that deep gravity and seriousness that only small children and mountain gorillas have ever been able to master.” 
― Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys

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trippin on taste

the few shots of food that i found time to click with bini's new canon point and shoot which she bought exclusively for the trip because gatty took the camera with him to burma and missed me by a day when he got back :( hence, shooting food was not primary on my list of things to do this time.

until someone called me this morning about my food classes and i suddenly remembered that i did have a blog about food, no matter how lifeless it is at present.i also remembered that i did have some food pictures from the trip - old habits die hard, good camera or no. i also happen to have difficulty sleeping tonight so i thought what better way to keep myself entertained than give you guys a glimpse of the ... partay in our mouths!

a polished plate of spinach canneloni 

only at Magic Italy, which wouldn't have been so magical if it wasn't for the beautiful (yes, beautiful) Ricardo...but then my girlfriends would know more about that. 

remember i was in mommy mode so i just concentrated on the 'beautiful' food and behaved myself! :)

spaghetti pesto at h20 at agonda beach

what is it with me and italian food?

pan asian sauces

mini falafels at abc farms,pune

it's strange coming from a darj girl 

but i'm not a big fan of momos...it applies to both eating and cooking them

however, i still had to make some for my friend's friends in pune

which surprisingly i ate a lot because they turned out to be delish...:)

truth be told, i think it was because of my different and experimental (read totally awesome) stuffing !

golden fries - a lil bit o junk never hurteth anyone

piri piri chicken

masala prawns 
which i am told, did not hit the spot for my friend who ordered it.

top hats at malaka spice - very healthy. period.

the remnant insides of some frothy drink

a sauce with sauce - whoever said, an ounce of sauce covers a multitude of sins, is probably right ?

no unfinished business this

some gleaming mushroom dish which i cannot remember the name of - the after effects of too many mojitos!

choco chip muffin...airport snack

a nameless kiwi crush drink 
which looks harmless but is potentially potent - the sole reason why i can't give it a name!

  

my morning cuppa jo

potato satay

a very sweet chocolate drink at a wayward cafe in gokarna

a cottage cheese and tomato stuffed parota at mango tree.

the german couple beside me politely asked me about what i was eating 
because to them it looked gorgeous...(really ?)

i just had to ask them to dig in and take a bite...my way of letting them know that, ' it ain't that great!'

i think they went for the cashew curry like concoction after that

well, some things just have to be pointed out, albeit choice of means. :P

there is something incredibly wonderful about drinking in the afternoon with girlfriends - a bottle of valonne chenin blanc in this case - over fashion magazines, gossip and soul searching, in that order !

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selling the selroti

I know the great festival of the Nepali people came and went, i know delicious meals were cooked in every household including mine, i know the tunes of deusi/bhailo still lingers for some of us... and i also know that i have been neglecting this page :(

My only excuse is that i've been busy, not glorifying it but just plain, dull, mundane busy with work. So busy that i couldn't even send this recipe which i'm posting today to V when she needed it. I know i'm forgiven (because my girlfriends have massive hearts, specially her!)...nevertheless, this one is for Vaishali/ Falguni.

Selroti is an important fermented rice food of the Nepalis consumed traditionally during marriages, festivals and other special occasions in Nepal, the Darjeeling Hills, Sikkim and everywhere else in the world where you might find Nepalis.

the batter

My grandmother used to insist on using traditional tools while preparing selroti. The okhli and mushli to pound soaked rice, a nanglo to dry the soaked rice, a suiro, which is a pointed bamboo stick to turn the selroti upside down, lift and drain oil to take out the fried rings of selroti.

The tawa, a cast iron frying pan was a must ( as used below)and a thumsey, a wicker made basket to store fresh selrotis.

frying the sel roti swirls in golden glory

My mother still tries to keep the selroti preparation in our family as traditional as possible, besides the grinding part. Of course, we use the blender and i say a silent prayer to the science gods for that wonderful invention...

the suiro from my grandmom's days

Is it just me or do other people also want to know the origin of this delicious bread in the Nepali community? I love stories specially when it revolves around food so after putting in my best to find out,the only conjectures that i could come up with after many queries and online research is that the name could be derived from saela, a Nepali word given to any food item that is lifted by a suiro.Hence, saela roti becomes selroti. 

Also, Seli is a local variety of rice grown in the foothills of Nepal so the product prepared from this particular variety of rice could have been called selroti.

Although the nomenclature given to that beloved concoction is still a mystery, am i glad that it's NOT Fox Bread of all the   interpretations in the world! I almost cried when i heard that the first time :(

crispy selrotis served with sukha aludum

My Grandmother's Recipe

Come Tihar or a wedding or any festivity, she was the go to person for everyone we knew for the best selrotis in town.People flocked to her house to have it made.

Ingredients:

The estimate i have given is for a kilo of rice which would roughly give you 40-50 pieces of selroti. 

Rice

100 gm ghiu / clarified butter

garam masala ( cardamom, cloves, cinnamon etc)

500ml milk ( depends on how thick you want your batter)

2 unripe banana

Heavy Cream to soften the dough

250gm wheat flour

200gm granulated sugar

Oil to fry

Method

Clean, wash and soak rice in cold water overnight.

Drain excess water and spread to dry for 1 hour.

Grind soaked rice into a coarse powder - (this is how we do it at home which ensures the texture of the final selroti is not smooth but rough.To get this texture,you must also make sure that your gas flame is not too high and is kept to a medium flaresre).Some people prefer the surface to be smooth, so for that result, you must grind the rice to a fine paste.

Mash and add unripe banana, spices, ghiu, heavy cream, sugar, wheat flour and knead the mixture to a soft dough.

NOW add the milk slowly to batter the mixture into a thick and luscious paste.

Leave the batter to ferment for at least two hours or more in a cold climate.

Heat oil in a cast iron pan and deposit the batter as rings into the oil and fry until golden. Make sure that your flame is not too high.

Seloti can be eaten warm, hot or cool with aludum, simi ko achar and chiya.

this photograph was taken by my dear friend, Pranavesh, at his girlfriend's house...and i begged him to part with it...scrappy, ain't i? :)

A little late in the day but HAPPY TIHAR everyone!

x

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Bangalore Bites - Part 2

An old friend and a Korean dinner 

Meeting Priscy in Bangalore brought back fond memories of the many, many years i have known her which dates right back to school until now. Although much has changed in our lives,nothing has changed between us. It was great to catch up over Korean food at Soo Ra Sang at Airport Road in Bangalore.

She chose the place because both of us wanted to try Korean food, me not owing to the sudden emergence of Korean pop culture in our parts or all over the world for that matter; her reasons are another matter altogether. She's a huge fan, i find out, of all things Korean ( read films, TV series, movie stars, even music, food - in that order)

 

View from the top

She chose this place due to its online reviews and a wise choice it was because we loved the food although we were a little apprehensive while riding the elevator to the rooftop where the restaurant is, which read ' don't open lift till land fully ' among other signs. We did not, of course.

Soo ra sang is small and family run and it looked to me almost like a pop up restaurant with decor and furniture that is quite simple, minimal and not too over the top. It could have been a hole in the wall but those are truly the best kind of places with the best kind of food, isn't it?

 and then some

Service is fast and friendly except for the Dragon Lady who did not let us click photographs of the place but was very gracious with the food. I hope she does not read this review. 

She did give us her best table which according to her, is their family table.

Our food was served with Oksusu Cha which is an authentic roasted corn drink. It tasted nice and reminded us of satua. Next came the Soju, a potent Korean drink which looked like Saki to me , and then the many, many accompaniments and side dishes which i can't remember the names of because the soju had already done its duty by me. But they were all delicious and exactly how i like my food to be - light, delicate and fresh.

The kimchi gets a special mention because it was quite tasty and extra points to the attendant for coming over to the table and personally shredding it for us.

   a shot of sparkling soju...

For the main course we had Kim Bob, Beef stir fry, Pork red stir fry and Dol Sot Bidimbap.

Kim Bob is like a vegetarian sushi filled with rice and veggies wrapped in nori and dol sot bidimbap is a stone pot rice served warm topped with vegetables and a chilli pepper paste, served with a fried egg.

 kimchi being administered at our table

 we hastily make a go for it

 pork red chilli stir fry

 kim bob - rice and veggies wrapped in nori

 bidimbap - stone pot rice

 beef, pork and accompaniments

priscy risks the dragon lady's wrath to pose for a picture for me so that i can give you guys a glimpse of the restaurant!!

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