Happy Birthday Le 15!

Yesterday HT celbrated 30 years of Brittania serving up its legendary Berry pulao. A dish that is on every foodies culinary map of  discovering Mumbai. And if Brittania made a homestyle Irani rice dish a lengend, the onus of giving the French Macaroon so unshakeable an identity that 2 year old children recognise it like we once identified with laddoos as children has to be laid squarely on the doorstep of Le 15, with a huge hug of thanks!

Mumbai restauranteurs are a much stronger breed than their counterparts from other cities. THey have to survive much harder challenges to survive than any other place in the world. Soaring real estate prices, cut throat compitition, people ready to copy a good idea at the drop of a hat, staff being stolen at crippling salaries once they are trained. I have been a silent sad observer of  many great restaurants biting the bullet and closing down because of fomething or the other not working out despite everything being perfect. and its just gotten tougher with some of the world biggest food chains have arrived onto Mumbai shores in the last few years. This is the ever changing foodscape of Mumbai and i have watched if for 10 years as a food writer.

But ever so often a success story like Le 15 comes along. Heartening the rest of us who have chosen to create a business in this tough landscape that is the Mumbai food scene. Proving to the world that a fabulous product when backed by hard work, passion, love and grit can not just survive but Come out winning in the face of every challenge thrown its way. And Le 15, a tiny little patiserrie started by the beautiful passionate young Pooja Dhingra (who I am proud to call friend) is that sort of success story.

I met Le 15 and Pooja when it first opened. I attended a Korean cooking class there. I think Le 15 was a month old then, they only had their central kitchen. But the jaded Mumbai Palatte has been gobbling up everything they have been dishing out ever since. Soon after that, Pooja invited me to do cooking classes there and I became a regular at Le 15, arriving there twice a month, baskets of ingredients in tow to embark on some mad new culinary adventure. From Amuse Bouche to gourmet gifts from the kitchen, from Tadka workshops to cooking classes for men, from healthy cooking to boozy cooking, Pooja's given me a free hand on the classes. And I have loved every moment!

But this is not about me or my classes. This is about Pooja and Le 15. On every visit I have made to Le 15, Pooja has been there. In her office planning new and wonderful things, but more often in the kitchen hustling her chefs along and most often making macaroons or some other wild and wonderful connfection. I have watched every step of growth for Le 15, from that first strawberry and pistachio cake they did for Womens day that year (how delicious it was) to the intoxicating Cointreau Macaroons they did recently. I've been privy to the joys and the frustrations, the let downs and the exhilerations of nurturing this little baby that is Le 15. And all  I can say is that its a success story thats inspiring. It brings emotion welling to the eyes and blessing to the tongue; may it grow phenomenally and continue to bring smiles to the world. 

Happy Birthday Le 15!

Here are some pictures and memories! 

We learnt color identification with Le 15 Macaroons! And Pink is still our first pick out of a box!

Natasha is perhaps Le 15's most ardent afficionado!

A special Gourmet Tadka class we customised for a foodie couple from the USA

Talking food!

The He cooks Mens Cooking Class!

Natasha wanted an angry birds cake and Pooja was kind enough to make me marzipan in differnet colours !

My most memorable class - when my husband joined us to conduct a coupls cookign class. Thanks for pushing me on this one Pooj!

Pooja support fldgling food writers by sending in Macaroons for my exploring flavours excersise at my food writing classes.

My idea of an indulgent way to start my day!

Heirloom Tomatoes and a Tomato Caprese with a ‘Tadka’ twist...

 

They literally jumped out at me off the shelf in all their colourful glory - Green, black, yellow, purple, orange... tomatoes! Yes, you read right, I did say tomatoes!  And there was no way I could have walked away from them! Heirloom tomatoes are tomatoes that have existed–without genetic modification or hybridization for generations grown from seeds that are passed from farmer to farmer. Now being grown by Trikaya Agriculture they are available all over Mumbai.

Heirloom tomatoes at Trikaya Agriculture Farms. 

The tomato is not indigenous to India, its arrival in Indian cuisine is suggested to be as late as 1850 by food Historian K.T.Achaya, who further enlightens that it took another 30 years for their incorporation into Indian cuisine. As a result, Indian cuisine is still evolving its relationship with the tomato. Things have changed so much! I remember as a child, when the morning newspaper announced that the tomato prices were at an all time low, how Moti Mummy my grandmother, would decree that it was time to put down a year’s worth of tomato puree and ketchup to store for the season when tomatoes would not be available. That was because tomatoes were seasonal then. But they were also an ingredient that was treated gingerly. We eat a LOT of them; of course, they are an essential ingredient, in the Indian kitchen alongside onions, garlic, chillies, potatoes and coriander. But most regional cuisines will have distinctly different dishes for tomatoes and even onions and garlic. A parallel menu almost, and they will never be part of food cooked for rituals or offering to Gods in Hindu traditions (as far as I am aware, do correct me if I am wrong.) 

Your parents might tell you of misshapen tomatoes they grew up eating; I faintly recall eating them as a child. But today all we see is the hybrid red tomato and the occasional unripe green tomato in season. I have never seen tomatoes in different colours. My friend Samar of Trikaya Agriculture had sent me these heirloom tomatoes when he was trying to grow them for the first time last year but they were mostly just red or pink. That day at Natures Basket they were available in all their colourful glory. And unable to resist, I bought them all! 

At home, as I washed them, I could not help marvelling at the sheer variety! All sorts of wonderful colours from the Red Giant and Red Globe (which are black in colour),, Green Zebra, Orange Banana, Yellow / Green Brandy Wine, Great White, Green Maldovan, Cream Sausage, in irregular shapes to long and perfect round shapes and sizes that range from that of a grapefruit to that of large grapes Black Cherry tomato, Sungold Cherry Tomato to miniature Spoon Tomatoes perfect down to the little spidery crown and so named because they are the size of peas and lots of them can fit in an average tablespoon! 

And I knew exactly what to do with them. There was no doubt in my mind that messing around too much with them would be temerity as it would take away from their beauty! So I focussed on one of the most classic ways to serve tomatoes - an Italian Caprese salad. With a slight Tadka ... literally! And what a lovely time I had. I chilled the washed tomatoes whole until it was almost time to serve, then I took a large plate I have that shaped like an artists  palate (an so appropriate to what I was about to do) I then proceeded to paint it over with the colours of tomato! Laying streaks of sliced up larger tomatoes out first, Green Maldovan, Orange Banana, Red globe and wedges of Green Zebra filling in gaps with halved black and gold cherry tomatoes and sprayed it all tiny spoon tomatoes and drizzled crystals of sea salt all over the platter so the crystals made their way into all the nooks and crannies between the tomatoes and into their crevices as well. Dabs of fresh mozzarella, torn off in bite sized chunks went on next, their juices trickling down and mixing with those bleeding off the tomatoes. I added small basil leaves over it all and then applied the finishing touch a ‘Tadka’ of a generous few glugs of olive oil in which I had fried lots of garlic to golden crispness with basil leaves. As I drizzled it over it spread quickly, sensuously gilding the beautiful tomatoes gently warmed the mozzarella and making its way right down to the bottom of the plate to add to the juices collecting there, to be soaked up with good bread when all the tomatoes are gone!

'Tadka' Heirloom Caprese Salad a la Rushina (Time: 10 minutes; Serves: 4-6)

Ingredients:

2-3 large heirloom tomatoes in different colours

12 cherry tomatoes in different colour

½ cup spoon tomatoes

100 g fresh mozzarella (the Mozzarella balls packed with liquid)

Sea salt to taste

3 tbsp Extra Virgin olive oil

1/3 cup garlic, chopped fine

½ cup loose packed fresh basil

Method

The beauty of this dish is it will go well in any serving ware; I do it on a large platter or a large glass salad bowl. If using a bowl arrange tomatoes in layers to show off their colours. Cut large tomatoes in round or halved thick slices. Place in serving dish as you go. Halve cherry tomatoes and add to bowl. Scatter spoon tomatoes over, whole. Now reserve tomatoes and heat olive oil in a pan. When hot add the chopped garlic and stir fry and cook till garlic is golden, add basil and fry for 20 seconds (do not overdo as Basil gets bitter and metallic if overcooked). Now quickly return to the salad, scatter sea salt over generously so it gets into all the crevices of the tomatoes, pinch of bits of Mozzarella off the ball and scatter over. Spoon the garlic basil oil all over platter. Serve with good multi grain bread.

Notes-

This salad should cost between Rs. 250-350. I served it with a Mushroom soup and multi grain bread and chocolate cake with lime frosting and strawberries for dessert. The entire meal totalled Rs. 1000 for 4 people.
 

Other ways to use Heirloom Tomatoes -
Slow roasted tomatoes, or as a topping for Phyllo pizza Marinara style with Feta, Heirloom tomatoes and Basil scattered over (this can also use up leftover Mozzarella) Phyllo pastry prices have fallen to half and 1 packet is good for about 5 pizzas. 

Shopping list

Heirloom Tomatoes - Trikaya stall at Crawford, Nature's Basket outlets all over Mumbai and other large stores. Mozzarella - I use Indian brand Imperio which is enough for two uses) and is available everywhere.

Made for Each other and a recipe for Shekhars Basic Crusty Sourdough.

 

Happy New Year!

Yes I know. I have not written in a long time! No year end recap, no New year’s goals. At some point in everyone’s lives, comes a time when all best laid plans fall apart. Thats what happened to me toward the end of 2011. The year didn’t end the way I wanted it to. Disappointed I decided to retreat into myself and just stop worrying.Well, I guess sometimes one needs to take a step back and breathe a little. So I did. But once I got back to Mumbai I got caught up in the whirl of events and appearances I had committed too. And everyday I would log in to my blog with the plan to blog and switch off after a while because nothing seemed right to post about for the first post of 2012. Well today I am determined to break through this blog block. 

And I could not have found a more appropriate topic to post on. 

Valentines Day is almost on us and that means that it will be 16 years to the day I held my husband Shekhars hand for the first time. (Yes I am soppy like that.) I remember some of our earlier Valentines days, I would get so upset because Shekhar neverdid any of the conventional things one would like to be at the receiving end of on the day. But relationships are like recipes, they take their time to reach the perfect results. Today I put Valentines day right up there with Instant coffee, heat and eat food, 2 minute noodles, 30 minute pizza delivery. Just like food is becoming less about enjoyment and more about being unavoidable. Valentines day has come to be a sort of fast food fix - one begins to feel like one is becoming a scrooge like person for not celebrating it. Full of clichés and symbols of love.

But these are not so important. What more important is showing your love everyday. Its in that cup of coffee he wakes you with when you have worked late at night, that smiley he draws with Sriracha on your omelette  when you are stressed out or the garnish he takes extra care to put on your plate to surprise you.In those lucious peach muffins honey drizzled over. And most of those who know me, know that I am utterly, passionately and hopelessly in love with my husband but he is a very private person and does not like too much attention. But he loves his food. He loves my cooking and most importantly he is the wind beneath my wings, the flame under my cooking pots, the olive oil in my pesto, the chilli in my chutney.... (ok. ok I'll stop!)

A while ago family dinner was becoming an endangered activity in our home until I woke up to the smell of sourdough bread baking one Friday morning last year. While I was not looking Shekhar  had given in to a long standing yearning to bake. Inspired I cooked up the best spaghetti and meatballs, ever to go with it that night. And ever since, cooking is something we do together for daily meals as well as more elaborate meals for friends and family. I know I drive Shekhar nuts cooking all sorts of exotic things, getting frustrated when they go wrong and struggle to juggle everything I do so I can get that post out on the blog on schedule. But I have made it my life's work to bring fun and creativity back to everyday cooking and he has been an equal partner in helping me do that. the many cooking projects we get into together that include our friends and family in our love. Because beyond a point a marriage grows to include families. The thing is, Shekhar and I held hands, and we have kept holding them through everything. I truly believe we were Made for each other.

And I am very excited to share that he has agreed to do a couples cooking class with me this Valentines day called Made for Each other in which we will showcase dishes we do well together. Look at our Class Schedule for details on that class here 

I have been mentioning Shekhars breads a lot and many of you have asked for his recipes. So here is his recipe for:

Basic Sourdough Bread Rolls in 4 simple stages

Stage 1: Making a Sourdough starter (10 minutes)

Take 1½ cups of flour (maida) in a large bowl (plastic or glass), and add 1 teaspoon of instant dry yeast. If using Blue Bird yeast (slightly bigger), you may want to add ½ teaspoon more. Make a small well in the middle and add 7/8 cups of water into it.

Mix by moving a (sturdy) fork from the center of the water well outwards in circular motion for around 2 minutes. The end result should be a sticky mess.

Cover the bowl and keep overnight (8-10 hours).

Stage 2: Making the Dough (10 minutes)

In the morning, the dough would have risen into a wet mass with lots of air bubbles. This will be very soft to touch, and sticky to manipulate.

Add another 3 cups of flour (you could do 1 cup maida and 2 cups of whole wheat flour) to the mixture.

Sprinkle another ¼ teaspoon (or ½ teaspoon of Blue Bird) yeast

Sprinkle 1 ½ teaspoon of salt

Mix 2 teaspoons of regular sugar into a bowl containing 7/8 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and 2 tablespoons of milk. Stir briefly.

Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour the liquids into it. Mix the entire lot again, with a (sturdy) fork, until it starts coming together into soft but crumbly dough.

Pull out the dough out on a lightly powdered flat surface (a kneading bowl or thaali will also do) and start kneading this dough. This can be done by lifting one side of the dough, folding it and pushing it down with your knuckles. Sprinkle maida, as required, to keep the dough from sticking. Repeat this for at least 5-6 minutes until the dough is soft and shiny.

Return the dough to the bowl, cover it, and leave aside for around 10-15 minutes to rest.

Note: Kneading and resting are the most important steps in baking bread. Kneading is required for the gluten in the maida to start its linking process. Resting is required for the yeast create air pockets that help the bread rise.

Stage 3: Shaping the bread (15 minutes)

Pull the dough out on a flat powdered surface. Cut the dough into small equal portions with a knife. Gently, yet firmly, roll each portion into a cylindrical shape that tapers at both ends. Don’t press too hard, or all the air contained in the dough will be released. Place these rolls on a lightly powdered baking tray with enough distance between them to allow them to expand (usually 1-2 inches depending on the size of the roll). Use a knife to slice 6-8, 1-inch long diagonal strips on the top of each roll. Lightly powder the top of the rolls with maida.

Cover the tray with a piece of cloth, and keep aside for 1 hour.

Stage 4: Baking (30 minutes)

Pre-heat the oven (gas/electric oven or OTG) at 220°C for about 15-20 minutes before baking.  Place the tray into the oven quickly and close the lid. For a crusty bread, you should spray a fine film of water into the oven using a water spray at 5 minutes, 6 minutes and 10 minutes. This water should ideally steam quickly, so the oven has to be opened and closed quickly to maintain its temperature.

Bake for 20-22 minutes. The bread should have a nice brown crust on top at the end of the baking process. Remove it from the oven and transfer it to a wire rack for cooling.