There's a tagging round going on, on facebook asking friends to list their top 10 favourite books that are at the top of their mind and I too participated in that, my list is here.
My friend Rushina, also issued a #10foodbookchallenge, so in random order, here are the top 10 books that come to my mind :
1. Home Encyclopaedia - J B Lobo - I know I will never have to deworm a cow or convert royal blue ink to blue black or hide hemline marks while altering an outfit or prepare a pond for stocking baby fish - but this was the first cookbook I ever read, since this was the only cookbook my nana owned and occasionally referred to.
2. Mangalore Ladies Club cookbook - for its Manglorean recipe section
3. Korma, Kheer, Kismet - Pamela Timms - if I ever get around to writing a book - this is what I would aspire to - a blend of food memories, recipes, history and culture with loads of passion.
4. Savour Mumbai: A Culinary Journey Through India's Melting Pot - Vikas Khanna - the recipes are spot on and resemble the ones I have eaten at these famous restaurants in Mumbai.
5. Cooking with Pedatha - Jigyasa Giri & Pratibha Jain - Feels like I'm eating at Pedatha's table myself when I cook from this book.
6. Biryani - Pratibha Karan - the subject matter is reason enough for me to love this one and what an assortment of Biryanis it covers from all across the country!
7. Following Fish - Samanth Subramaniam - love the quirky yet brilliant travel tale
8. Rude Food - Vir Sanghvi - love his columns for the width and depth of information - the book is a great collection of his columns
9. Will Write For Food - Dianne Jacob - so much to learn from this book about Food Writing
10. Fat Duck Cookbook - Heston Blumenthal - I keep going back to it, just to look at the pictures
Showing posts with label Recommendation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recommendation. Show all posts
Monday, September 01, 2014
Tuesday, December 03, 2013
Book Review : Savour Mumbai - A Culinary Journey Through India's Melting Pot
In "Savour Mumbai - A Culinary Journey Through India's Melting Pot" Michelin Chef Vikas Khanna takes the reader on a journey across Mumbai to some of his favourite restaurants and eateries. He selects some of their signature dishes and modifies them for a home cook.
Its also his attempt to show the wider world, that Indian food is not all about Punjabi food.
The reason I picked up this book, is that a lot of the restaurants covered are favourites of mine too and I jumped at the chance to get insider dope on their recipes. Restaurants covered are Bademiyas, Bagdadi, Banana Leaf, Dakshin, Diva Maharashtracha, Goa Portuguesa, Good Luck, Govinda's, Ideal Corner, Kangan, Kebab Korner, Kebabs & Kurries, Khyber, Lucky, Mahesh Lunch Home, Nawab Saheb, Noor Mohammadi, Oh! Calcutta, Raj Bhog, Saffron, Soam, Soma, Soul Fry Casa, Temple Flower, Trishna and Vrindavan.
So, how many of these are your favourites?
As you can see from the restaurants covered, there's plenty of cuisines represented in this book: Parsi, Goan, South India, Gujarati, Malvani, Maharashtrian, Konkani, Manglorean, Malyali, Irani, Mughlai,
Multiple 'Biryani' recipes from Lucky, Good Luck, Govinda's, Ideal Corner and I'm itching to try out each of them, even though they all look sinfully rich, especially the Chicken Rashida with biryani.
There's a short section on Mumbai's iconic street food too with recipes too for the Bombay sandwich, vada pav, golas and many other items anyone who has lived in Bombay will have fond memories about.
Savour Mumbai is a full-colour book filled with beautiful pictures that capture the spirit of Mumbai. Each recipe has a accompanying picture too, to show you what the ideal finished product should look like. Even if you never attempt to cook from this, its a beautiful coffee table souvenir - an ode to Mumbai's thriving food culture.
I can't wait to get cooking from this book, so much to try, so little time.
Rating : 4.5 / 5
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Book Review : Cooking at Home with Pedatha
However, I'm guilty of never cooking from either of these books for almost 3 years - for the simple reason that they were "Vegetarian" cookbooks and Vegetables for me are just a side dish to be consumed to give the body adequate nutrition and not really something I enjoy cooking or eating.
As I age and travel around Gujarat, I realise that vegetables too can be main courses in a meal and I'm trying to cook more such food.
When I wanted a different way to cook brinjal, these were the first 2 books that I picked up and I wasn't disappointed.
"Cooking at Home with Pedatha" was awarded the Best Vegetarian cookbook in the world at the Gourmand World Cookbook awards 2006 and once you start reading it, its easy to see why.
The Pedatha (eldest aunt) in question is Mrs Subhadra Krishna Rau Parigi, daughter of India's former President - Dr. V V Giri. Jigyasa & Pratibha decided to document Pedatha's knowledge of Andhra food after relishing yet another meal at her house. The accuracy of her recipes, inspired them to turn a personal collection of recipes she shared with them, into a cookbook.
And having tried the brinjal recipe above I have to attest to the accuracy of recipes too. I often tweak recipes considerably, but in this case I just increased the chilli and decreased the oil and the end result was fantastic, for such a simple and easy recipe.
The sections are divided into Chutneys (Pachchadi), Powders (Podi), Rice (Annam), Vegetables (Koora), Dals (Pappu, Chaaru), Yogurt (Perugu), Sweets (Theepi), and Crispies (Vadiyalu).
The recipes are very simple and well written, so even a novice cook or someone completely new to Indian cuisine, can easily understand and master them. There's a beautiful visual glossary at the end, for someone who isn't familiar with the terms and ingredients in this book.
The pictures throughout the book are beautiful and illustrative. I'd highly recommend this book, to anyone interested in cooking Indian food for the first time, or looking to expand their repertoire of Vegetarian dishes or seeking a deeper knowledge of Andhra cuisine.
Rating : 4.5 / 5
Note : The Picture for the Brinjal recipe is from http://www.innoconcepts.com/pedatha
Wednesday, July 03, 2013
Recipe : Bihari Mattar Ghoogni Chiwda - Peas and Puffed Rice Flakes - Vegan
When we were in Jaipur in January this year, we stayed with our friends Anand & Anisha who are excellent hosts. they love food as much as we do, if not more and we had a lovely holiday with them, eating and catching up.
Surprisingly, although I lived for 2 years in Jamshedpur (which was still a part of Bihar in those days), I now realise, I never had the opportunity to eat Bihari food. All the cooks at our hostel were Bengali or Odiya, so that is the kind of food they served us. Plus with Jamshedpur being the Tata's Industrial town, there were a lot of restaurants serving Tandoori, Mughlai, Chinese, Pizza, South Indian etc, but there weren't any places serving litti chokha or anything else that could be classified as traditional Bihari food.
On our second morning in Jaipur, we were served this dish and we fell in love with it, so we kept asking for repeats at tea time and for breakfast on almost all the days that we were there. The taste and texture is so addictive, that you can't help going back for seconds.
During winters, the dish is made with hara channa (fresh green chickpeas) or else it can be made with peas. Fresh peas are best, but frozen works quite well too. (Don't use dehydrated peas for this dish)
The peas or hara channa can also be served as a side with rotis or rice and dhal.
Anisha always has a big jar of homemade puffed rice flakes in her pantry, as they use it in many dishes. She says its just a matter of deep frying rice flakes (poha) and mixing it with salt and fried groundnuts. Here in Ahmedabad, I have found a ready made roasted version, to which I just add some roasted groundnuts. I've alsoo seen a recipe which says you can roast 1 bowl of poha in 1 tbsp of oil.
I tend to make the peas in large quantities - even half a kilo at a time because it gets wolfed down very quickly between the two of us. It keeps well in the fridge and can be reheated later.
Ingredients:
1 cup shelled peas / mattar or hara channa / fresh green chickpeas (if frozen, defrost by holding under running water)
1 medium onion chopped (less than 1/3 cup volume)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds / jeera
1" ginger grated (or to taste)
2 -3 green chillies chopped (or to taste)
salt to taste
juice of 1 small lime
1/2 tsp oil
Method:
Heat the oil.
Add the cumin seeds and wait for them to pop.
Then add the onions and stir fry until soft.
Add half the green chillies (if you don't like spicy, add all the chillies with the onions itself and cook them out), ginger and stir twice.
Add the peas / hara channa at room temperature.
Cook till done (don't close the pan while cooking, you might get a pool of liquid at the bottom)
When almost done, add the other half of the green chillies.
Give a quick stir and turn off the flame
Add salt and lime juice to taste.
Serve hot with the puffed rice flakes + groundnuts mixture.
Mix the two and eat immediately. Its really tasty either for breakfast or a snack.
These peas can also be served with rotis or rice and dhal during a meal.
The drink in the background of these pictures is Masala Chaas / Chaach / Spiced Buttermilk / Ayran / Majjige
Surprisingly, although I lived for 2 years in Jamshedpur (which was still a part of Bihar in those days), I now realise, I never had the opportunity to eat Bihari food. All the cooks at our hostel were Bengali or Odiya, so that is the kind of food they served us. Plus with Jamshedpur being the Tata's Industrial town, there were a lot of restaurants serving Tandoori, Mughlai, Chinese, Pizza, South Indian etc, but there weren't any places serving litti chokha or anything else that could be classified as traditional Bihari food.
On our second morning in Jaipur, we were served this dish and we fell in love with it, so we kept asking for repeats at tea time and for breakfast on almost all the days that we were there. The taste and texture is so addictive, that you can't help going back for seconds.
During winters, the dish is made with hara channa (fresh green chickpeas) or else it can be made with peas. Fresh peas are best, but frozen works quite well too. (Don't use dehydrated peas for this dish)
The peas or hara channa can also be served as a side with rotis or rice and dhal.
Anisha always has a big jar of homemade puffed rice flakes in her pantry, as they use it in many dishes. She says its just a matter of deep frying rice flakes (poha) and mixing it with salt and fried groundnuts. Here in Ahmedabad, I have found a ready made roasted version, to which I just add some roasted groundnuts. I've alsoo seen a recipe which says you can roast 1 bowl of poha in 1 tbsp of oil.
I tend to make the peas in large quantities - even half a kilo at a time because it gets wolfed down very quickly between the two of us. It keeps well in the fridge and can be reheated later.
Ingredients:
1 medium onion chopped (less than 1/3 cup volume)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds / jeera
1" ginger grated (or to taste)
2 -3 green chillies chopped (or to taste)
salt to taste
juice of 1 small lime
1/2 tsp oil
Method:
Heat the oil.
Add the cumin seeds and wait for them to pop.
Then add the onions and stir fry until soft.
Add half the green chillies (if you don't like spicy, add all the chillies with the onions itself and cook them out), ginger and stir twice.
Add the peas / hara channa at room temperature.
Cook till done (don't close the pan while cooking, you might get a pool of liquid at the bottom)
When almost done, add the other half of the green chillies.
Give a quick stir and turn off the flame
Add salt and lime juice to taste.
Serve hot with the puffed rice flakes + groundnuts mixture.
Mix the two and eat immediately. Its really tasty either for breakfast or a snack.
These peas can also be served with rotis or rice and dhal during a meal.
The drink in the background of these pictures is Masala Chaas / Chaach / Spiced Buttermilk / Ayran / Majjige
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Recipe: Halloween Fizzy Blood aka Watermelon Refresher
The heat has hit Ahmedabad again, now that the monsoons seem to have passed us by and I'm back to wanting light meals and refreshing drinks.
This is one of my favourites, its very easy to put together and if you want to serve it in a fancy manner for friends/guests, just muddle some lemon chunks and mint leaves at the bottom of the glass before mixing the drink.
While I've given approximate quantities here, its completely dependent on your taste buds, whether you prefer a stronger flavour of watermelon or lemon and how sweet you actually want it.
Ingredients:
2 tbsp Monin Watermelon syrup
60ml 7up
soda (sparkling water) to top up.
lemon wedges & mint leaves (optional)
Method:
Muddle together the lemon wedges and mint leaves at the bottom of glass if using.
Add the watermelon syrup to the glass, then add the 7up.
Top up with soda.
Check the taste. If its too sweet for you add more soda. If its not sweet enough add more 7up or watermelon syrup if you want a stronger flavour.
Kim's Halloween / Party Tips:
1. If you are having a Halloween party, this is a great non alcoholic drink that you can serve as fizzy blood with its dark red colour.
2. And for an even gorier drink, you can put in a few black jelly / licorice worms into a punch bowl, the fizz will make the worms wiggle around in the bowl.
3. If you are making it for adults and want an alcoholic version then vodka or white rum will go well with these flavours.
Note:
Monin syrups may seem expensive, when you look at the bigger bottles, but they are quite concentrated and hence last quite long.
The only syrup of theirs that I haven't liked, is the mojito mix because the sugar completely overpowers the flavour of lime and mint. You might as well use a homemade sugar syrup.
This is one of my favourites, its very easy to put together and if you want to serve it in a fancy manner for friends/guests, just muddle some lemon chunks and mint leaves at the bottom of the glass before mixing the drink.
While I've given approximate quantities here, its completely dependent on your taste buds, whether you prefer a stronger flavour of watermelon or lemon and how sweet you actually want it.
Ingredients:
2 tbsp Monin Watermelon syrup
60ml 7up
soda (sparkling water) to top up.
lemon wedges & mint leaves (optional)
Method:
Muddle together the lemon wedges and mint leaves at the bottom of glass if using.
Add the watermelon syrup to the glass, then add the 7up.
Top up with soda.
Check the taste. If its too sweet for you add more soda. If its not sweet enough add more 7up or watermelon syrup if you want a stronger flavour.
Kim's Halloween / Party Tips:
1. If you are having a Halloween party, this is a great non alcoholic drink that you can serve as fizzy blood with its dark red colour.
2. And for an even gorier drink, you can put in a few black jelly / licorice worms into a punch bowl, the fizz will make the worms wiggle around in the bowl.
3. If you are making it for adults and want an alcoholic version then vodka or white rum will go well with these flavours.
Note:
Monin syrups may seem expensive, when you look at the bigger bottles, but they are quite concentrated and hence last quite long.
The only syrup of theirs that I haven't liked, is the mojito mix because the sugar completely overpowers the flavour of lime and mint. You might as well use a homemade sugar syrup.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Recipe: 10 Minute Nutella Cheesecakes
First off, this isn't strictly a cheesecake. I just needed something creamy and chocolaty with a bit of saltiness and crunch and I wanted it ASAP at 11pm in Ahmedabad.
I had some mascarpone cheese that I had bought on a recent trip to
Bombay, so I decided to use that and make a practically instant dessert.
It took me less than 10 minutes once I'd made up my mind, to have the
finished ramekin in my hands. Honestly, its taken me longer to type up
this recipe, than it did to assemble it.
Ingredients:
200gm digestive biscuits (I used McVities, if you don't have access to digestive biscuits, you can use Marie biscuits, but it wont have as much texture)
200gm mascarpone cheese (use a good brand, else it will split and ooze liquid - I use Impero brand)
2 tbsp butter (yellow if you want a bit of saltiness)
2 tbsp nutella (adjust for personal sweetness & chocolate love)
2 tbsp cashewnut bits (optional)
4 ramekins
Method:
Line each ramekin with 1/2 tsp of cashewnut bits if using.
Using a rolling pin, crush the biscuits inside the packet itself by rolling with a bit of pressure, but watch the seams of the packet, so nothing pops out.
Divide the powdered biscuit between the 4 ramekins.
Drop 1/2 tbsp butter in each ramekin and pop the ramekins in the microwave for 30 seconds (or less - untill the butter melts completely).
Gently mix the mascarpone and nutella with a spoon (Since I had a 200gm container of mascarpone, I mixed everything in the same container)
Take the ramekins out of the microwave and gently mix the biscuit, nut, melted butter together.
Split the nutella+mascarpone mixture equally in the 4 ramekins. Don't worry about evening it out, it will automatically flatten out when it starts to melt.
Don't fill the ramekins too high, the mixture will rise a bit when its heated.
Pop the ramekins in the microwave for 1.5-2 minutes. The nutella+mascarpone mixture should melt and bubble just a little.
Take the ramekins out of the microwave, let them rest for a minute or two and then eat straight out of the ramekins.
Kim's Note:
The texture will not allow it to be turned upside down, as it won't hold its form. It will still be a bit gooey, so its best served in the ramekin that it is microwaved in.
Ingredients:
200gm mascarpone cheese (use a good brand, else it will split and ooze liquid - I use Impero brand)
2 tbsp butter (yellow if you want a bit of saltiness)
2 tbsp nutella (adjust for personal sweetness & chocolate love)
2 tbsp cashewnut bits (optional)
4 ramekins
Method:
Line each ramekin with 1/2 tsp of cashewnut bits if using.
Using a rolling pin, crush the biscuits inside the packet itself by rolling with a bit of pressure, but watch the seams of the packet, so nothing pops out.
Divide the powdered biscuit between the 4 ramekins.
Gently mix the mascarpone and nutella with a spoon (Since I had a 200gm container of mascarpone, I mixed everything in the same container)
Split the nutella+mascarpone mixture equally in the 4 ramekins. Don't worry about evening it out, it will automatically flatten out when it starts to melt.
Don't fill the ramekins too high, the mixture will rise a bit when its heated.
Pop the ramekins in the microwave for 1.5-2 minutes. The nutella+mascarpone mixture should melt and bubble just a little.
Take the ramekins out of the microwave, let them rest for a minute or two and then eat straight out of the ramekins.
Kim's Note:
The texture will not allow it to be turned upside down, as it won't hold its form. It will still be a bit gooey, so its best served in the ramekin that it is microwaved in.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Recipe: Chaap ne Bataka Roast - Gujarati Roasted Lamb Chops with Potatoes
This recipe is from Banu Hajratwala's - Gujarati Kitchen, a book I cannot recommend heavily enough. Instructions are clear, precise and detailed. In case you haven't read my review yet and are wondering how lamb chops could be a Gujarati dish - its because this is Gujarati Kshatriya cuisine.
This recipe is reproduced here as part of my review of Banu Hajratwala's - Gujarati Kitchen for the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com.
My details here are not half as detailed as the way Ms Hajratwala's instructions are. While I do occassionaly say that a book is worth picking up, this book is a must have for anyone interested in a wider spectrum of Gujarati food or wants a simple introduction to Indian food. Gujarati Kshatriya cuisine is just one of the many cuisines cooked/available in India. What makes this a great introduction to someone new to Indian food is the detailed descriptions, substitutions possible and the coverage of Indian staples like rotis, dhal, curries, pickles in this book.
I've used olive oil instead of regular oil and apple cider vinegar instead of lemon juice. I also cooked just half a kilo of chops, since I was cooking for just the 2 of us. Since I was using a microwave oven to bake, I used plastic wrap instead of aluminium foil to trap the moisture inside. Other than this, I stayed true to the recipe even down to the 1/4 cup oil.
For my friends from Guwahati wondering how I could procure mutton chops here? - I used Al Kabeer's frozen chops.
Prepping the Meat:
Clean, rinse and dry 1/2kg mutton chops, removing extra fat.
Marinate in a mixture of 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and 1.5 tbsp salt for at least half an hour.
This reduces the smelll in the meat and also tenderises it.
After half an hour, drain the juices (they would have turned a bit cloudy - thats just a reaction of acid with protein), rinse and dry the chops.
Ingredients:
3 tbsp Gujarati fresh masala
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup oil
1/2 kg potatoes washed, peeled and cut into 1/2" wedges
Method:
Make a marinade with all the ingredients except the potatoes.
Apply 2/3rds of the marinade onto the prepped lamb chops and leave for at least 1-2 hours or overnight. Reserve the remaining marinade.
When ready to cook, prep the potatoes and mix them with the remaining 1/3 marinade and lay them flat in a single layer in a baking dish
Then layer the mutton chops on top of the potatoes.
Preheat the oven to 190C.
Cover the pan with aluminium foil (in regular ovens) or 3 layers of plastic wrap for microwave ovens)
Roast for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven, turn chops over and baste with dripping. (don't turn the potatoes, only the chops)
Cover & roast for another 20 minutes.
Remove from oven, turn chops over and baste with dripping. (don't turn the potatoes, only the chops)
Roast uncovered for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven, turn chops over and baste with dripping. (don't turn the potatoes, only the chops)
Roast uncovered for 10 minutes.
Thus total roasting time is 1 hour with 30 minutes on each side.
I also grilled the chops for 5 minutes to give a light golden tinge to the meat.
I served the chops with Rotis and Raita. It will go very well with garlic bread too.
This recipe is reproduced here as part of my review of Banu Hajratwala's - Gujarati Kitchen for the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com.
My details here are not half as detailed as the way Ms Hajratwala's instructions are. While I do occassionaly say that a book is worth picking up, this book is a must have for anyone interested in a wider spectrum of Gujarati food or wants a simple introduction to Indian food. Gujarati Kshatriya cuisine is just one of the many cuisines cooked/available in India. What makes this a great introduction to someone new to Indian food is the detailed descriptions, substitutions possible and the coverage of Indian staples like rotis, dhal, curries, pickles in this book.
I've used olive oil instead of regular oil and apple cider vinegar instead of lemon juice. I also cooked just half a kilo of chops, since I was cooking for just the 2 of us. Since I was using a microwave oven to bake, I used plastic wrap instead of aluminium foil to trap the moisture inside. Other than this, I stayed true to the recipe even down to the 1/4 cup oil.
For my friends from Guwahati wondering how I could procure mutton chops here? - I used Al Kabeer's frozen chops.
Prepping the Meat:
Clean, rinse and dry 1/2kg mutton chops, removing extra fat.
Marinate in a mixture of 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and 1.5 tbsp salt for at least half an hour.
This reduces the smelll in the meat and also tenderises it.
Ingredients:
3 tbsp Gujarati fresh masala
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup oil
1/2 kg potatoes washed, peeled and cut into 1/2" wedges
Method:
Make a marinade with all the ingredients except the potatoes.
Apply 2/3rds of the marinade onto the prepped lamb chops and leave for at least 1-2 hours or overnight. Reserve the remaining marinade.
When ready to cook, prep the potatoes and mix them with the remaining 1/3 marinade and lay them flat in a single layer in a baking dish
Then layer the mutton chops on top of the potatoes.
Preheat the oven to 190C.
Cover the pan with aluminium foil (in regular ovens) or 3 layers of plastic wrap for microwave ovens)
Roast for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven, turn chops over and baste with dripping. (don't turn the potatoes, only the chops)
Cover & roast for another 20 minutes.
Remove from oven, turn chops over and baste with dripping. (don't turn the potatoes, only the chops)
Roast uncovered for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven, turn chops over and baste with dripping. (don't turn the potatoes, only the chops)
Roast uncovered for 10 minutes.
Thus total roasting time is 1 hour with 30 minutes on each side.
I also grilled the chops for 5 minutes to give a light golden tinge to the meat.
I served the chops with Rotis and Raita. It will go very well with garlic bread too.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Recommendation : Organic India Teas
Since we drink black and green tea and I have a large stock of them, I picked up the Tulsi Ginger.
This is excellent for bad throats and when you feel a cold coming on. Ginger and tulsi are an old Indian home remedy for colds.
Steep 1 tsp of the loose tea for 3-5 minutes in 1 cup of boiling water. Strain & drink with honey. It immediately starts to soothe the throat.
You can even make ice tea from this combination.
They are supposed ot have tea bags too, but I haven't seen them in the stores yet.
Its a quality brand. Their website is http://www.organicindia.com/ in case you want more information on product range and benefits.
This is NOT a sponsored post, its just a product that I appreciate.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Wadi Foods in Egypt
Wadi Foods is a local Egyptian Company which grows, bottles and sells organic products.
I have been extremely happy with their olive oil selection including the naturally flavored varieties (which come in attractive bottles that look very elegant on a dinner table and can be served as is)
Their olives come in multiple varieties (black, Kalamata & green) and with various pickling spices.
They have excellent capers and sun dried tomatoes too. (tart and firm, not soggy)
The pepper pickles are not as spicy as I (an Indian) would like them, but I have friends who aren't into extremely spicy food, who love these pickles.
Do remember that in a non Indian setting, pickles normally refer to something that has been preserved in brine (salt water with a little souring agent) The cornichons are good and the lime pickle is what we call in konkani -meetha udkache - which means preserved in brine. they also have vine leaves, if you are inspired to create your own stuffed vine leaves at home.
They say that, all Wadi Food pickles are handpicked and then processed naturally by curing them slowly without any chemical additives or preservatives. They do taste that way.
They have some excellent tapenades that go well on bruschettas for an impromptu snack or on toast for breakfast. I love the sun dried tomato tapenade the best
They sell ready made pestos (Basil, mixed herb and artichoke) and pasta sauces (Arabioatta, Alfredo, Mediterranea and Basilico) I haven't tried these as I prefer to make my sauces from scratch, so I can tweak the taste to our taste buds. But I did try an onion paste of theirs for marination when I was in a hurry one day and it tasted quite awesome. I don't remember the exact name on the bottle and I haven't seen it recently. Some of their products go off the shelves for a while depending on the seasonal availability of their fresh produce.
The Apple Cider Vinegar may not be the same as the one available in the US, but its quite good never the less and works out much more reasonable and healthy than the imported varieties. The balsamic vinegar is ok for marination, but if the balsamic is to be used as a dip or as the main top note flavor in a dish, then I prefer to use my bottle from Modena.
All measurements on bottles are in the drained weight.
These are the logos, you are looking for, when searching for Wadi Foods products
Most of their bottle produce is available in the Major Grocery Stores in Egypt You can also buy them from the dedicated Wadi Food Stores around Cairo
The other advantage of going to their dedicated stores is that you can also pick up organic chicken and organic vegetables grown on their farms along the Cairo Alex desert road.
They also have appropriate baskets for their bottles, which are very handy when you want to take some over as a gift for your dinner hostess. Or you can even carry one of their fancy jars. - My husband is convinced that I buy half the products because of their bottles :) which I love to re-use in different ways.
Feel free to use any of their spice/bottle racks and combine it with whichever bottles you think your hostess may appreciate and create a beautiful basket for yourself. If you fall in love with the arrangement yourslef, just buy 2. I speak from experience :)
Credit Note: Pictures have been taken from the Wadi Food Website.
I have been extremely happy with their olive oil selection including the naturally flavored varieties (which come in attractive bottles that look very elegant on a dinner table and can be served as is)
Their olives come in multiple varieties (black, Kalamata & green) and with various pickling spices.
They have excellent capers and sun dried tomatoes too. (tart and firm, not soggy)
The pepper pickles are not as spicy as I (an Indian) would like them, but I have friends who aren't into extremely spicy food, who love these pickles.
Do remember that in a non Indian setting, pickles normally refer to something that has been preserved in brine (salt water with a little souring agent) The cornichons are good and the lime pickle is what we call in konkani -meetha udkache - which means preserved in brine. they also have vine leaves, if you are inspired to create your own stuffed vine leaves at home.They say that, all Wadi Food pickles are handpicked and then processed naturally by curing them slowly without any chemical additives or preservatives. They do taste that way.
They have some excellent tapenades that go well on bruschettas for an impromptu snack or on toast for breakfast. I love the sun dried tomato tapenade the best
They sell ready made pestos (Basil, mixed herb and artichoke) and pasta sauces (Arabioatta, Alfredo, Mediterranea and Basilico) I haven't tried these as I prefer to make my sauces from scratch, so I can tweak the taste to our taste buds. But I did try an onion paste of theirs for marination when I was in a hurry one day and it tasted quite awesome. I don't remember the exact name on the bottle and I haven't seen it recently. Some of their products go off the shelves for a while depending on the seasonal availability of their fresh produce.
The Apple Cider Vinegar may not be the same as the one available in the US, but its quite good never the less and works out much more reasonable and healthy than the imported varieties. The balsamic vinegar is ok for marination, but if the balsamic is to be used as a dip or as the main top note flavor in a dish, then I prefer to use my bottle from Modena.
All measurements on bottles are in the drained weight.
These are the logos, you are looking for, when searching for Wadi Foods products
Most of their bottle produce is available in the Major Grocery Stores in Egypt You can also buy them from the dedicated Wadi Food Stores around Cairo
The other advantage of going to their dedicated stores is that you can also pick up organic chicken and organic vegetables grown on their farms along the Cairo Alex desert road.
They also have appropriate baskets for their bottles, which are very handy when you want to take some over as a gift for your dinner hostess. Or you can even carry one of their fancy jars. - My husband is convinced that I buy half the products because of their bottles :) which I love to re-use in different ways.
Feel free to use any of their spice/bottle racks and combine it with whichever bottles you think your hostess may appreciate and create a beautiful basket for yourself. If you fall in love with the arrangement yourslef, just buy 2. I speak from experience :)
Credit Note: Pictures have been taken from the Wadi Food Website.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Grand Snacks and Sweets, Chennai
Totally inspired by the masala (blend of spices) given to us by our Tamilian friends Lux & Moorthy, I sent a shopping list to my mom who was visiting Madras for her visa. The parcel has just reached me. YIPPEE!
Karakuzhambu paste, onion thokku, pepper rasam masala, and that tamarind thing - is it Pulikachal?
Also she has sent me a bit of sambhar and rasam powder of theirs to try out.
I don't need to cook anything other than rice for the next one month. Hahahahaha
I'm so kicked with myself. Already tasted all of them. They are awesome!
If you want to buy some yourself or get it shipped to you, the address is:
#24
2nd Main Road,
Gandhi Nagar
Adyar
Chennai - 600020
Phone: 044-24914213
Read more about Grand Snacks & Sweets in The Hindu
Karakuzhambu paste, onion thokku, pepper rasam masala, and that tamarind thing - is it Pulikachal?
Also she has sent me a bit of sambhar and rasam powder of theirs to try out.
I don't need to cook anything other than rice for the next one month. Hahahahaha
I'm so kicked with myself. Already tasted all of them. They are awesome!
If you want to buy some yourself or get it shipped to you, the address is:
#24
2nd Main Road,
Gandhi Nagar
Adyar
Chennai - 600020
Phone: 044-24914213
Read more about Grand Snacks & Sweets in The Hindu
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