Where have you been?

First off, I know it's been a while. I was out traveling for three weeks in August, driving, camping, beach bumming, kayaking, hiking, snorkeling... you get the gist. I went from being roughly 3000 meters above sea level straight to the tropical aquamarine sea. I've gone from being wheatish complexion to an almost burnt bread crust and my feet look like they belong to another person!

But that's it about what I have been up to. In more exciting news, it is Vegan MoFo time of the year again - when bloggers from all over the world come together to blog about vegan food and things.  This year it is going on all through the month of September and I am already three days late to start.

Not being able to zero in on a theme for this year, the best (and easiest) thing for me to do this month is to talk about my travels, what I ate and where. I will hopefully be able to share a few recipes also. Like last year, I will feature one or two interesting blogs / bloggers whenever I get around to posting.

Before I begin, tell me where have you been in the month of August? What have you been up to?

I will be posting about my first destination in a few hours. Till then enjoy some of my fellow bloggers from this exhaustive list:

http://www.veganmofo.com/2013-where-in-the-world/

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Dinner at Citrus

Times City contacted a few bloggers in Mumbai and asked them to go review the food on offer for the Times City Gourmet Week. The concept is similar to other restaurant weeks. For a fraction of what you would otherwise pay to eat food at these establishments, you can eat from a fixed menu or a buffet depending on the participating restaurant. Most of the participating restaurants are award winning restaurants at either 5 star hotels or standalone. Having never been part of any restaurant week, I decided this is something I wanted to try.

The one I ate at was Citrus at The Leela, Mumbai. Citrus is one of Leela's award winning restaurants known for their all day buffets. They have allowed for this buffet to be part of the Gourmet Week and let me start by saying it is an absolute steal.

Before all that there was one condition though, at least some food had to be vegan for this to make it worthwhile for me. If you are ordering à la carte, the food is easier to veganize because you can tell the staff  exactly what to leave out of the dish. A buffet is rather challenging and that is usually why I avoid buffets in general. The generous people at Times City did all the checking for me and I was assured it was possible. So my evening arrived and with a little bit of trepidation I made my way to the Leela.

Beautiful Roses that were there all over the hotel

The restaurant is situated at the lobby level right next to their Indian restaurant Jamavar. With the tables all spread out on the right side, the food occupied almost the entire left side. While the food side was brightly lit, the slightly dimmer tables had tea lights to aid the diners. I had the privilege to meet the very talented chefs behind this large spread of food. Let me tell you, being a home-based caterer is hard enough, but imagine the hard work these chefs have ahead of them every single day.

Sr. Sous Chef Birender Barthwal & Sous Chef Akshay Pandit

An amuse bouche- Artichoke, Sundried Tomato & Asparagus with Balsamic Vinegar

We were guided to our table and after a bit of catching up with their friendly PR Manager. I went to check on the food. The food is a mix of Indian, Italian, Thai, South East Asian and Mediterranean influences. So you can imagine the amount of food on offer there. They also had a live counter to grill a few things on offer including very cute looking vegetable skewers. You could even have a pasta or pizza to order. Among the salads, a lot of what was already at the buffet was vegan already. I love salads, and I filled up my plate with their Roasted Cauliflower salad, Pickled Mushroom, a make your own leafy salad counter with arugula, baby spinach and iceberg lettuce, a Mediterranean style chickpea salad and a very interesting Pomelo Salad. I would have never imagined a Pomelo to take center stage in such a way. Pomelo shreds with onions, corn and lots of peanuts in a zesty dressing awakened my chaat taste buds (yes I have one whole section on my tongue dedicated to chaat). I loved the peanuts and actually did not notice them until I tried the salad. I also made my own leafy salad with the lemon-oil emulsion and the balsamic-oil emulsion, both already being one of my favourite salad dressings. Reminded me of how delicious food can sometimes be so simple.

The surprisingly good Pomelo Salad

Pickled Mushrooms

Pretty Vegetable Skewers

From the other types food on offer again a lot of it was vegan, a few South Indian style preparations like the Thoran, the dry Potato Curry, Hummus and the most amazing Baba Ghanoush I have ever tried. I also tried their Pasta Arrabiata and a very piquant Yellow Thai Curry with rice.

Aloo Soya & Mixed Vegetable Thoran

Pasta Arrabiata

Yellow Thai Curry & Rice

When I eat out in this city, I don't expect to eat dessert because almost always nothing is vegan or can be veganized. Not like I need an excuse for dessert being a baker myself, but sometimes it is nice to have a cake someone else has made instead of you. The chefs obviously noticed that none of the desserts were vegan and quickly whipped up a gratifying raspberry sorbet that came in the prettiest bowls. Needless to say I was already stuffed but made my way through the sorbet just because it brought back some Italian memories. That was the perfect end to an already perfect meal.

Delicious Raspberry Sorbet

I was told that they will be more than happy to cater to vegans coming to the buffet and also that they are looing to introduce gluten-free options in their à la carte menu.

Times City Gourmet Week has given us mortals a chance to enjoy am amazing array of food at a great price. I think it's more than a deal.

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Guest Post on Susmitha's blog: Spiced Pumpkin Mousse

I think the Pumpkin is a rather ignored vegetable. You give me pumpkin for breakfast, lunch and dinner and I will happily eat it. I have hardly come across Indian recipes that use pumpkin in desserts and that is strange because if you have tasted raw yellow pumpkin (you must if you haven't) it is delicious with a slight hint of sweetness that increases after you cook it. Americans make it into Pumpkin Pies and the Portuguese make a Pumpkin Jam that I love, so this time I put it in a mousse and sent it over as a guest post to Veganosaurus.

Veganosaurus is a blog by Susmitha who is based in Bangalore. The recipes on her blog are simple, use healthy, local ingredients and look absolutely inspiring. Head on over to her blog so check out how I used my favourite squash - Veganosaurus

Enjoy!

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Rice Paper Rolls with Peanut and Mustard Dipping Sauces

I've always been intrigued by Rice Paper Rolls. They are dry, thin sheets of rice that become translucent when you immerse them in warm water. I love the idea of blurred colours of the vegetables stuffed in them popping through the sheets, waiting to be dipped into spicy sauces.

I found Rice Paper rolls in a store inside Crawford Market here in Mumbai. They are a bit expensive because they are imported but they are worth every rupee. They are perfect to make rolls or wraps and I'm sure would taste great with sweet stuffing.

What I love about them is that you can do so much with them. You can stuff them with thin noodles or lots of lovely raw vegetables. It doesn't have to be the same every time.

To make them you need:

Rice Paper
A continuous supply of hot water
A large deep plate big enough to fit one rice paper sheet in it

Cooked Rice Vermicelli Noodles (optional)

Any of the following:
Cabbage
Purple Cabbage
Peppers- Red, Yellow and Green
Carrots
Leeks
Sauteed Mushrooms
Sauteed Spinach, Chard, Kale
Coriander to Garnish

Chop all the raw vegetables into long, thin slices.

Dipping Sauces:

Peanut Sauce
2 tbsp Peanut Butter
1 Clove of Garlic
1/2 tsp lime juice
Red Chilli Powder(Optional)
Salt
Water

Mustard Sauce
3 tsps Whole Yellow/Black Mustard
1 Red Chilli
1/2 inch piece of Ginger
1/4 tsp vinegar
Salt
Water

Sriracha (because it makes everything better)

To make the sauces, grind the ingredients of each sauce until smooth.

To assemble the dish, pour a little of the hot water into a plate. Now carefully immerse the rice paper roll in it while keeping it pressed so that it doesn't roll up. Be careful not to burn yourself. Once the rice paper has gone from white and hard to translucent and lose, it is ready. Carefully pick it up without folding it and put it on a dry plate. Add you choice of stuffing in the center in a line leaving at least 2 inches space along the top and bottom edges. You can also add a bit of the sauces inside the roll. Working quickly, roll the top and bottom of the rice paper towards the stuffing and then do the same with the sides. Either top it with your sauces or serve them separately. Garnish with coriander.

Continue to do the same with every sheet of paper while replacing the water in the plate as it gets cooler.

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Tandoori Baby Bellas (Oil Free Recipe)

I'm always so excited when I find new ingredients to experiment with. And I'm so thankful there are people close to Bombay growing all these lovely vegetables that would only otherwise remain fond memories of holidays I have taken in the past.

Since my last post on the  amazing "foreign" produce I found in Mumbai, I have come across so many new vegetables and leafy greens that are coming in now. One among the new finds is Baby Bellas, also known as "crimini mushroom, baby portobello, baby bella, mini bella, portabellini, Roman mushroom, Italian mushroom, or brown mushroom" says Wikipedia

I love mushrooms and I was super kicked when we started getting Oyster Mushrooms in Bombay. Now of course there are gourmet food stores selling dried and tinned varieties of many kinds. To find fresh, locally grown stuff is rare and I almost pounced on the packet of Baby Bellas when I saw them.

Portobellos have a fond food-memory corner in my brain. I ate a lot of them when I was travelling through the US. The yummiest of which was a grilled Portobello Burger I had a B.A.D. Burger in Brooklyn. I wish I had the sense to click a picture of it. After walking past the Brooklyn Bridge and walking around Brooklyn for almost two hours I was starving and I all I could think of was to eat that burger.

The first time I bought the Baby Bellas, I don't quite remember what I used them for. It was a while before I found them at my usual vegetable vendor again. This time I decided I would make something more worthwhile and document the process.

Tandoori food is something us vegans cannot enjoy at a restaurant. Everything is marinated in spicy yogurt and then grilled over a coal barbecue. I love the smell of the spices used in a Tandoori and may be one day I will gather my lazy bones to make the tandoori spice mix. This time I used a ready mix that I use every so often when I make my version of Tandoori vegetables.

It has no Chicken!

This recipe can be used on almost any vegetable like Potatoes, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Zucchini, Carrots even Tofu. I usually steam the vegetables that take longer to cook for 10 minutes or so before I marinate them. Since Mushrooms cook quickly, there is no need to steam them. This recipe is also oil free because for one, the cashews have enough (good) fat in them to see the mushrooms through to the end and secondly who needs oil in their diet?


You need:

250gms of Baby Bellas (Or whatever vegetable you are using)
1/2 cup of raw, unsalted cashews powdered
3 tsp of Tandoori Chicken Masala (I like it spicy but you can start with 2tsp and add more if you like)
2 cloves of Garlic
1 inch piece of Ginger
1/2 tsp Rock Salt
1/4 tsp of Black Salt
Juice of 1 Lime
Water

Wash and cut off a small portion of the stems of the mushrooms. Halve or quarter the mushrooms.

In a small bowl, mix the cashew powder, tandoori masala, garlic, ginger, salt and lime juice. Add water and make a thick paste. It should be a thick mayonnaise-like consistency. Add this to the mushrooms, mix well and cover the bowl with cling wrap. Let it rest in the fridge overnight or for 6 to 8 hours. I kept mine for almost a whole day.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for about 25 to 35 mins covered with aluminium foil.

My herb mill being put to good use

Serve hot with some mint chutney

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