The days of eating like a pig and eating pretty much everything i wanted were slowly and cruelly coming to an end. Everyday i looked at my waistline and cringed, while my training shoes lay in a heap in the corner guiltily ignored. Tomorrow is another day, became my motto.

So on the last day that dawned in Bangalore, i forced Solo and Carol to come out with me for a continental dinner because i so desperately needed to eat cheese and pasta with loads of butter before time ran out! 

Actually i had been forcing them to do that pretty much from the day i arrived but they couldn't make time since they have an adorable nine month old son at home, Dylan who needs constant attention and Solo works long hours.However, i wasn't one for giving up. I pestered them every single day until they finally had to relent. They needed a break too for crissakes....I'm scrappy that way...yes, i am!

 my brother - solo, the turk

 love and light

So we went to this place called Benitos that Carol suggested which is just about five minutes from their home so that she could quickly drive back if needed. 

That's what i liked about Bangalore. There are so many places to go and so many places to eat without venturing too far. Your neighborhood has everything. I miss that in Darj but i guess that's how cities are and i haven't lived in one for a long, long time.

Needless to say, we ate like pigs!

 i could see many africans in blore and koreans, iranians etc - the more the merrier!

 solo explains his feelings about a good steak and caro listens 

creamy chicken and leek soup

mango smoothie

chicken stroganoff

beef steak with hot pepper gravy

farmhouse pie

penne in alfredo sauce - not that great but that's alright... i can always eat my own cooking some other time :) modesty...say what now?

the place

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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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