Keeping It Real

10 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by sitanshi talati-parikh in Art, Literature & Culture, Publication: Verve Magazine

Tags

Published: Verve Magazine, July 2012

Debutante author Kiran Manral has an animated interaction with writers and bloggers on her debut novel The Reluctant Detective at the Trident-BKC’s Botticino

The monsoon ride to a luncheon book reading at the Trident-BKC’s Botticino restaurant was surprisingly quick. The clouds were dark and gathered, but not ominous. The hotel is chic, crisp and unostentatious. You’d expect a bustling business hotel, but the soft water channels, elegant jaali work and neck-craning tall ceilings masked the muted conversations floating around. Verve’s Arti Sarin and I were early: we settled into the Botticino’s little cozy seating area (off their grappa display cabinet with hand-blown glass bottles), where The Reluctant Detective’s charmingly poised and self-deprecating author, Kiran Manral, was to read from her book.

The Reluctant Detective by a first-time novelist treads new boundaries: the protagonist, Kanan Mehra, aka Kay, mustn’t be taken seriously. She bumbles and fumbles her way through a murder investigation – with the author’s trademark humour. Less of a stretch with the latter in the book would have made the writing crisper and less stream-of-consciousness. Yet, as the author is already on her next in series, you know she is creating a protagonist meant to be around with some permanence, and you wonder what Kay is likely to be embroiled in next.

For lunch, the Trident-Botticino’s chef Vikas Vichare put up a fine spread: a refreshing antipasto of ripe mango and asparagus in a filo pastry, to toast the season’s end for the king of fruits. Quick on the follow was a fresh pear, pecorino and arugula salad or a roast chicken roulade with marsala wine stewed figs, caramelised shallots and pistachio, if you please. While my choice for the mains was the ricotta and goat cheese ravioli; I could see the others savouring the meat options: chilli and fennel crusted snapper with orange sauce, and the mushroom and mozzarella filled chicken breast with sautéed fennel and thyme jus. As the wine glasses rolling with Frescobaldi Pater Sangiovese Di Toscana clinked to a well-balanced palate, the table wrapped up with a lovely-textured tiramisu and a berry sorbet.

At the beautifully laid table in a private alcove, conversation flowed easily between travel blogger Nisha Jha, food blogger Pushpa Moorjani, author Shakti Salgaokar and Manral, ranging from living the protagonist, to audience expectations, marketing a book and back-packing, while blogger Anuradha Shankar was snapping away with her camera at the elegant and meticulous plating. With Manral’s references to her spouse as “the husband” and to her intolerance towards cooking, we began to realise – in sweet irony over beautifully seasoned and balanced food – how much of the protagonist was her own alter ego. In this case, knowing the author uplifts the book to a place where the character unfolds and seems to come alive, larger than life, and so uncompromisingly realistic.

MasterChef On My Plate

17 Saturday Dec 2011

Posted by sitanshi talati-parikh in Humour, Publication: Verve Magazine, Social Chronicles

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

comment, Designer Children's Parties, Designers, Food, India, MasterChef, Social Chronicle, Trend, vervemagazine

Published: Verve Magazine, Social Chronicle, December 2011
(Illustration by Farzana Cooper)

If you are the latest in the line if PYTs to send your hubby a tiffin that contains pan-seared foi gras with a champagne berry jus, then you know you’ve arrived onto a culinary scene that’s flush with promise and ready to launch. Sitanshi Talati-Parikh describes the necessity of taking a kitchen rendezvous to the next step

‘Do you cook?’ She whispered. ‘Of course not!’ I retorted scornfully. Great parties are never about knowing what to cook; they are all about finding the right caterer. Gloved hands, butler coats, flitting in and out: the spanking German-designed modular kitchen is meant to be seen, not used. Must you fret whether pesto has pine nuts or pistachios? I’m quite certain it’s the latter, logically, isn’t pesto the green one?

Lately though, newbie home-makers carry recipes in their Ferragamo totes, and while sneezing up a bomb at the local Nature’s Basket, can easily tell one nut from another. Blame it on the latest reality TV craze: MasterChef Australia – far superior to its Indian franchise. As the country watches with bated breath which one of the accented Australians go down under and which ones make it to the top, the ladies are picking up a few tricks along the way, and the men are finding a new itch to scratch: the kind which involves a cutting board and a chef’s hat. After all, those men in chef whites skim over the fine line to count as men in uniform – and the way into a woman’s boudoir may well be through her stomach. Many a young man has now leaned over the bar and whispered suggestively into his lady love’s ear, ‘Your kitchen or mine?’

Now, you can’t visit a friendly home without getting a sprig of parsley in your Brie, or a dose of balsamic vinaigrette in your chilled watermelon balls. Recipes are snitched from one of the mushrooming gourmet restaurants in the city – the toasted pine nut, goat cheese and watermelon salad is The Tasting Room, I believe – and every meal is judged on the outlandishly clever gourmet competency of the home-maker-turned-chef. Does your beetroot come laced with chevre? Has it been garnished just so? If not, it’s not good enough to be plated up?

Play dates (for the uninitiated: the time like-minded infants spend getting to know each other) are also a fine chance to show off those pa(i)ring skills: preparing the finest meal for your child’s little friend – what could be a better sign of love? Ten-month-olds are developing a spectacular taste for the healthy good life – in the form of broccoli-and-spinach risotto garnished with fresh basil, a traditional (low-spice of course) massuman curry and zucchini-and-parmesan ravioli, washed down with a tall bottle of elaichi-flavoured formula milk.

And it’s not just the chic young men and women flaunting their culinary skills, it’s about ensuring that you have a system in place to replicate this sensational food – anytime and with the least bother. And to that end, my Bihari cook is now struggling with understanding my desire to replace a Bombay grilled chutney sandwich on Britannia bread with a Mediterranean sandwich on multigrain herb focaccia. And not even adding his own home-made paneer? Instead, layering the green meat of a tasteless fruit that he imagines to be Bengali baingan together with hefty hunks of feta, grilled zucchini and eggplant licked with a killer harrissa paste! He grudgingly grasps that the need of the hour – and the possibility of survival – means his knowing his parmigiana from his au gratin.

Chefs are now finding themselves akin to moviestars: in a recent MasterChef India (Season 2) show, one of the contestants cried because she got to meet her idol Michelin-starred, New York-based, Indian chef Vikas Khanna, whom she then proceeded to serenade. With Indians and Sri Lankans making their token presence felt on international cooking shows stirring up a curry-and-flatbread once in a way, and with Michelin-starred chef Vineet Bhatia attempting to challenge the desi taste buds, it appears innovation is the call of the day. You can’t serve up chana-bhatura any more, but what you can do is throw in chickpea couscous, broccoli khichdi and bhatura-flavoured sorbet. Now that would be a meal worth writing home about.

No longer is it about spices – it is about tempering taste buds with the appropriate levels of flavour so that they (your taste buds) can regain their virginity – and discard the massacre of years of generous masalas and chilli powder. And it isn’t really about eating – or stomaching to satisfy – as it is about teasing and cajoling the culinary senses into a pleased stupor. Hunger is for the middle-class. Palate-teasers are what fine dining is all about. It is no wonder that young chefs returning from Manhattan, dipping their fingers into genteel party catering, serve up hors d’oeuvres the size of peanuts. So smoked mozzarella flatbreads are actually coin pizzas, the size of, well, the shiny new 10-rupee coin. Tapas are in, or haven’t you heard? A meal in one of Mumbai’s trendy restaurants can consist of merely ordering 17 tapas and needing a hefty bottle of wine to wash all that tiny, tasty food down to feel deliciously full.

Wine pairing can’t be missed of course. No self-respecting 30-something will serve anything less than the perfect limited-edition international sipper that goes best with the course being served. All along, the conversation tinkles with very profound discussions on Chinese politics, Rushdie’s literary smackdowns, and whether the Riesling would work better with the coconut soufflé or the champagne tart. My ultimate brain wave is to serve up a passion-fruit-and-lemongrass Sangria. It’s the easy way out of pretentious course-drinking – and is somehow that crass, bohemian sort of thing one can do, to remain cool after all that soul-searching food.

Talking about soul-searching food, the gourmands believe in cooking from your heart, and with a dollop of love. How much can you cook from your heart, when your stomach is empty and how much love can emanate from that drop of extra virgin olive oil that you mayn’t get from your grandmother’s hand-churned ghee?

The thrill lies in the pleasure-seeker and the social climber. After all, can you really be eating khana-khazana-type makhani food in your Jimmy Choos and Herve Leger? It is worth sharing Gouda and Roma tomato notes, if merely to prove that the world is your personal oyster and you have an international, exclusive and very uber chic stew cooking in your state-of-the-art kitchen. And after that dinner party full of whispered conversation, clinking flutes and a sense of social accomplishment, where the senses have been thrilled with that one lactose-free beetroot foam tortellini, you are more than likely to find yourself kicking back furtively with a hearty macaroni baked dish, folded with about 250 grams of Amul cheese, and a little kiss of ketchup.

Nama Yum Yum

28 Wednesday Sep 2011

Posted by sitanshi talati-parikh in Musings

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

chocolate, Food, Royce Chocolates

See the full gallery on Posterous

A good friend suggested picking up some Royce chocolates while in Singapore. Sooo unassuming: the name, the location – in the basement of Takashimaya, but I began to perceive how sensational it would be when I saw them packing the chocolates up. An insulated bag with a icepack for travel and storage. Trying some of it won me over – completely incredible, ready-to-melt-in-your-mouth dark chocolates. If life is about experiences, this is definitely one of them. My favourite? The Petite Truffe – Orange. It’s got slivers of orange peel tucked into the folds of dark truffle. It kicks Belgian chocolate’s ass. The Nama chocolate in various flavours (running with some amount of liquor or champagne) are fabulous. There’s even a slab of what they call ‘Black Chocolate’. And a bag of chocolate potato chips that I didn’t try. Hailing from Hokkaido, Japan, I’m not surprised these bits of heavenly cocoa have a cult following. Can they come to Mumbai, already?

Thai Contemporary: Review of KOH, InterContinental, Mumbai

23 Saturday Oct 2010

Posted by sitanshi talati-parikh in Food, Publication: Verve Magazine

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Chef Ian Kittichai, Food, InterContinental, KOH, mumbai, Reviews, Thai

Published in Verve Magazine, October 2010

When pregnancy cravings hit, you need something fantastic to stem the stomach-curling desire. Chef Ian Kittichai’s Koh at the InterContinental Marine Drive, seemed like a promising addition to my rather exclusive list, from the moment I heard Deepika Padukone tweeting about how great the food is and my own cousin mentioning the presence of the rather elusive massamun curry on the menu.

On a Thursday evening the Manhattan-style Asian bistro is filled with a lively crowd of familiar and international faces. Where Czar once pulsated with desi tracks, its replacement, Koh’s muted restro-lounge atmosphere is at once sophisticated and global. Propped with comfortable cushions on a table for two that’s too closely set to make it an intimate dining experience, I’m floored by the facing glass wall mural created by Thai artist Patcharapon ‘Alex’ Tangruen. The mural defines the space and cuisine – traditional roots, contemporary accents. You suspect you won’t taste the conventional here, even if the chef has drawn from the flavours of his youth: his own mother’s kitchen.

Evocative fresh fruit signature cocktails with antioxidants (Gojiberry bellinis) set the tone for the flavourful and delicately-spiced food. Steamed edamame dusted with sea salt and Thai spices for the table, followed by appetizers that make you not want to save room for the mains. ‘Chocolat’ baby back ribs (coated with dusky chocolate), an unrivalled palate-opener, juxtaposed in quick succession with stems of stout lemon grass covered with flame-grilled chicken accented with coconut and cilantro make for a delicious first offering. In fine contrast is the hand-pounded rock corn minced with spices, and the tofu…. So, I confess, I hate tofu. Even Morimoto’s tofu couldn’t convert me, but I feel unable to turn down the mild-mannered and unassuming Chef Kittichai’s suggestion of a jasmine tea-smoked tofu. Surprisingly, it lacks tofu’s usual rude texture and it is smooth as butter. The aubergine dish, though tasty enough, has a tough skin texture, leaving it difficult to manipulate while eating. After soaking in the stunning Koh golden corn gumbo – hand-pressed corn swirling in coconut broth laced with Thai basil oil; we’re all set to move to entrees.

Composed of a wide variety of freshly-imported greens and vegetables (I add crisp water chestnuts), the ‘Paneang Curry’ is perfect for my taste buds, while what the general Indian palate may scream for is the hot stone curry-spiced rice – which is akin to a Thai biryani. My husband, Sahil, takes the chef’s apt suggestion and goes with the Chilean sea bass coated with a yellow-bean glaze: a fresh offering that lives up to its promise. You are surprised how easily the hours get eaten up while you are being gastronomically appeased. In entirety, the meal leaves nothing wanting, especially when topped off with the luscious valhorna chocolate dessert accompanied by Thai coffee ice cream. Oh and did I mention the coconut cheesecake? Absolutely lovely. My only regret is being physically unable to sample all the tempting flavours on the menu – but that’s for another evening, another craving.

Koh Notes

– Chef Kittichai’s favourite ingredient that shares its home with India and Thailand is cumin.
– All the ingredients at Koh are imported: meats thrice weekly from different parts of the world, vegetables thrice weekly from Bangkok and Chiang Mai and condiments weekly from Bangkok.
– Come October, Koh plans to add a Jain version to the already extensive menu and its varied vegetarian offerings.
– When travelling you can sample Ian Kittichai’s cooking at Kittichai in Manhattan, Restaurant Murmuri in Barcelona and the gastro bar Hyde and Seek in Bangkok.

Travel blog: Paradise Found (Maldives)

22 Monday Feb 2010

Posted by sitanshi talati-parikh in Publication: Verve Magazine, Travel Stories

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Food, Interviews: Travel, Maldives, Taj Exotica, Taj Maldives, Verve Magazine, Vivanta Coral Reef

Published: Verve Magazine, February 2010

A weekend celebration can start out incredibly wrong and become magically perfect, finds Sitanshi Talati-Parikh, at a recent jaunt where she revels in the pristine beauty and gastronomic delights of the two Taj Maldivian properties

Turning a decade older in one year, nay overnight, is never easy on the heart. As others in my new age bracket mourned in solitude, I figured that it would be perfect to throw a rather irreverent bash and, right after, take off in fabulous style to a destination of no dispute and great repute. Finding this place was easy – the image, torn from a lifestyle magazine, was tacked up in my husband, Sahil’s, den. As he worked, he rested his eyes by looking up at the beckoning azure waters, reflecting the sunlight in a way that only a location so close to the equator could – a place where an elixir of youth could be snatched for just a little while.

When we got there, that is. Did I mention that our flight to paradise got embroiled in the sudden cyclone that hit the coast? That twisting and turning (and it just wasn’t my stomach) we got to Colombo airport, only to realise that our connecting flight to Male had already left – without us. Day one of azure waters down. Hello, rotating fan, airport odours and Sri Lankan beetroot curry.

When we arrived at Male International Airport (15 hours later), we found the Taj staff and speedboat awaiting us, with smiles and refreshments. We took off, cutting through the inky waves, with a sense of sheer relief. And then we felt it. The humungous wave that nearly knocked us off the cushioned seats and made my stomach lurch in the way that no horror movie or sexy man ever had. And another. And another even bigger one. Apparently, the cyclonic weather had turned the still-as-a-lake-waters of the Maldives into a raging dark monster that threatened to eat us alive.

This really wasn’t how it was supposed to be, I told myself. Sahil reassuringly clutched my hand, and the general manager of the Vivanta Coral Reef, Allwyn Drego, who received us, also emphasised the fact that things were normally very different. Escorted to our room, I was touched to see the remnants of balloons and streamers lining the door. A reminder of what the day was to have been – a celebration.

Weary, but making the effort to change for dinner, we found ourselves placed by the rouge waters, on the beach, touched by a wispy breeze that floated with the promise of better things to come. Executive chef Vikas Milhoutra aroused our senses with a perfectly proportioned four-course candle-lit tasting menu. Think green pea mash with soya and aged balsamic foam, rice-paper wraps of enokitaki, brioche crouton with tossed mushroom and goat cheese salad, grilled Maldivian snapper, polenta with ratatouille of vegetables and feta with beetroot foam, and a crème brulee taster. Sigh. I felt like the best part of my life had just begun.

I believe we brought the sunshine with us. The next day awoke spectacularly. Time began to pass us by in the haze of snorkelling and finding a magical world of stunning multi-hued coral gardens that the island was a part of, scuba-diving lessons, sea-plane island hopping, deep-sea fishing, sun bathing to dry off, and copious amounts of delectable food – excellent sushi, Australian wagyu beef and Tasmanian lobsters cooked to a tantalising finish by the devilish Teppan chef Allwin. Stargazing (it’s unbelievable how many celestial bodies are in sharp focus from this point of the world) over post-dinner liqueurs and single malts, Drego and his charming wife explained how these blissful island-hotels in the Maldives had to be self-sufficient entities. The Taj Maldivian properties import the freshest ingredients from varied international locations, while also maintaining their own waste-management and bottling plants on-location. It’s not surprising how quickly the island had begun to feel like home – like everything one needed, existed in this one microcosmic place.

As we made our way on beautiful, still waters, coasting along with the setting sun, to the other Taj property – Taj Exotica Resort & Spa – I wondered how the two properties would differ. While the Vivanta Coral Reef’s genial vivacity, with its music-filled environs and bright décor, is a perfect uplifting getaway, the Exotica is a lovely, long slim piece of pristine floating land that in the midst of overhanging trees and outstretched shrubs, fiercely protects privacy and your need for seclusion. Everything was about discovering each other: even in-room dining was a truly cherishing experience. As we sat in plush robes, in our sprawling lagoon villa, we were truly pampered by the head butler, Himanshu, who laid a table with the finest linen and cutlery, chocolate sculptures and flutes topped with heady bubbly, and enveloped us with mood lighting, piped music, fresh floral scent…always anticipating our every need.

A champagne breakfast set up on a small sand bank was located far enough from civilisation that everything else became irrelevant. We were spoilt for choice (think a dozen different kind of egg preparations) and it was the perfect way to begin a day that you wished would never end. If love makes you hungry, the options here are unlimited. Under the supervision of F&B director, Bjoern Hiller, our taste buds were tantalised: from the chi-chi progressive world cuisine restaurant The Deep End (must-have the lobster ravioli) where the genial sommelier Luigi paired the perfect wine to match mood and food, to the interactive menu prepared by renowned chef Sandeep Narang, where our palate was intricately challenged with as many courses as we could take, picking from nearly 20 cuisines. And if while exploring the island, we were to discover a perfect spot for an intimate dinner, we would find it transformed with blazing lanterns and sunken candles to light the way – our own exclusive dining experience. Conversation became irrelevant; the experience leaves me breathless at the mere reminder of it.

There remains something intrinsically Taj about these two island retreats – the open, friendly charm of the staff in perfect combination with the privacy and space afforded by them, the attention to detail – like the paved sands of the entire island that were quietly in place every single day.

Maybe it was the uncompromising beauty of the locations, or the richness of colour (that our hazy city-life makes drab and grey), or the sheer understated luxury of the environs that made one feel desperately pampered – spoiled even, as if we were the only ones that truly mattered here, or maybe it was the fact that here, no one else mattered to either of us. It completed us.

survival of the tastiest

27 Sunday Dec 2009

Posted by sitanshi talati-parikh in Musings

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Food, nonvegetarian, Thoughts

i have yet to understand meat-eating pet-lovers. i haven’t really reconciled to meat eaters to start with, but what’s the scene with non-vegetarians loving their pets? they bathe them and care for them as if they are their own kids, even more than their kids. americans may forgo a meal to go that extra mile for their pet. but they wont forgo meat on their table. while food choices are up to the individual, i find it painful that people with the power of greater understanding and empathy, who don’t do things merely for survival, would willingly choose to cause so much pain to another living thing simply to satisfy their taste buds. the way animals are farmed, the way they are created and tortured, it would make anyone shudder with repulsion. but when the meat it tasty, who cares about how it was created, right? Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Meat raises pertinent questions…and the New Yorker has done a good job of presenting the case for the book. http://3.ly/meat

While I know not everyone can become a vegetarian or vegan, it helps if people think twice about cruelty to all animals, not just their household pet.

While cosmetic testing on animals is banned, and Legally Blonde 2 presented one helluva case, what about the billions of animals that are tortured and dying every day to make for an appetising entree? Cruelty takes place in many ways, and its important to start looking at the mass killing that you might be perpetuating, while ignorantly giving your pet a bath with scented oil.

And if you must eat meat, why not your pet? Its easier to kill and eat a stranger, is that it? So should mass homicide be pardoned, if a person is very loving to his/her immediate family?

yummilicious, delicious, and so real

25 Saturday Apr 2009

Posted by sitanshi talati-parikh in Musings

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Food, Thoughts

i hear they have special food tasters to make the food as yummy as it is – in their pretty wrappings and fabulous boxes. all microwave-able and ready to eat. also i believe that preservatives, colour, additives, flavouring substances, chemicals, pesticides, hormones and such add to the flavour and taste. french fries and processed cheese are like plastic – so non-biodegradable that even bugs won’t come to them. apparently, you gotta go scout out without a hope in hell to actually eat organic. don’t believe me? watch supersize me.

Curly Fries, Crunchy Crabs and a Patisserie Called Tart

18 Saturday Apr 2009

Posted by sitanshi talati-parikh in Food, Publication: Verve Magazine

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Food, India, recipes, vervemagazine

Published: Verve Magazine, Features, March 2009
Photographs by Nilesh Acharekar

As the young flood Mumbai post international living, education and exposure, Sitanshi Talati-Parikh finds that the city is quickly adapting to their exacting demands and needs, giving rise to a dynamic, fast, racy and global trend. The bagels are lathered with cream cheese, the burgers are juicy and there is authentic dim sum and then some. Warmth and attentive service are their mantra. The choicest of downtown Mumbai’s happening youth-run establishments open their doors to share their unique experiences and tantalising recipes

Henry Tham
Ryan and Keenan Tham

Walking into the Asian bistro you feel enveloped by a sense of serenity. Dim lighting, tall ceilings and Buddhas galore make this little restaurant and bar appear spacious and inviting. In 2005, post a degree in hotel management from Griffith University, Australia, the young Tham brothers, who are suave and affable in their part, brought to Mumbai the trendy upmarket concept, which at the time was relatively new in the area. Post their successful partnership in Olive, and seeing that no other Asian resto-bar existed at the time, they decided to create a place where people would like to come to celebrate special occasions, while also finding it equally comfortable kicking back with a fresh juice martini in the evening. The new-age food and promising seafood has taken the third generation family establishment a step further, wooing the hip young ones and couples. With an ambitious future expansion plan in mind, Ryan (26) and Keenan (24) felt confident enough to create a brand with their father, Henry’s name, riding on the goodwill and knowledge that he has built over the years. The bar reflects the brothers’ personality and is known for funky cocktails pulsating to the sounds of house, jazz and blues.

Mandarin Crab
Ingredients: Medium-size live crab, 1 no, 800 gms; Chopped ginger, 2 tbsp; Chopped garlic, 3 tbsp; Chopped onion, 1 no; Chopped green chilli, half tbsp; Chopped spring onion (green stem), 3 nos; Dark soya sauce, 1 tbsp; Light soya sauce, 1 tbsp; Chopped coriander, 1 tbsp; White pepper, half tsp; Salt, pinch; Sugar, 1 tsp; Chicken stock soup, 200 ml; Cornflour mixed in 60 ml water, 1 tbsp; Groundnut oil for the sauce, 3 tbsp; Cooking oil (for deep frying the crab), 400ml.
Method: Freeze the live crab for two hours till it is asleep and in a coma. Rip off the top shell and clean the crab of its grey gills. Chop the crab into six pieces. Pour 400 ml of cooking oil in a wok and deep-fry the crab for about 3 minutes till it is red in colour. Remove crab from oil. In a fresh wok pour three table spoons of oil and add the ginger, garlic, onion, chilli and stir-fry on medium flame till garlic is golden brown. Add light and dark soya sauce and some white pepper, sugar and salt to taste. Add the stock soup. Increase the flame to high. When it comes to a boil, add the crab and toss for four minutes. Add the cornflour mix to thicken the sauce. Add spring onions. Sprinkle the coriander on top and the crab is ready to be served.

Vong Wong and Dragonfly
Aashiyana Shroff

Café culture has really found a place in the echelons of Mumbai city. While chains and independent coffee shops have worked, you would be rue to find a gourmet café that is not overpriced in the Nariman Point area. Originally started as a lounge and bar, Dragonfly has now recreated itself into a spacious café and brunch spot through the day, wooing partygoers on weekend nights. Aashiyana Shroff, 26, who moved to Mumbai from London four years ago, teemed up with her father Deepak Shroff and turned her passion for food into their first venture Vong Wong – a Chinese and Thai cuisine restaurant. Dragonfly, located in the same space, though accessible from a different entrance, rivals the former with voluminous space overlooking the ocean. Aashiyana’s reinvented Dragonfly opened its doors last month, with “value for money; good, comfort food” like pizza, pasta, salad and burgers. Not wanting to take themselves too seriously, the place now has a more approachable and less pretentious feel. Also introducing a patisserie called Tart with a cupcake speciality, this is an avatar worth checking out.

Greek Salad
Ingredients: Cucumber, 30 gms; Red pepper, 20 gms; Green pepper, 20 gms; Tomato wedges, 20 gms; Feta cheese, 60 gms; Onion ring, 10 gms; Kalamata olives, 10 gms; Romaine lettuce, small bunch; Vinaigrette dressing, 60 ml; Oregano, 1 tsp.
Method: Cut the cucumber, red pepper, green pepper into cubes. Cut tomato into wedges and olives into half. Mix all the ingredients. Arrange in a salad bowl. Sprinkle chopped oregano on top.

OBA
Rishi Acharya

Thirty-year-old Rishi Acharya has found himself splat in the middle of the hospitality industry despite being from a completely different educational background. While his family business has been distribution and retail of alcohol, he did his Bachelor’s of Commerce from H.R. College, Mumbai. He got involved with Athena, after which his ventures (along with his partners) Lush and Ra (named after his initials) became hugely successful. After an unsuccessful stint in food retail, Rishi decided to join hands with Raja Dhody to start OBA, a New York-style resto-lounge, which encourages an evolving party experience with lighting and ambience that transforms according to the hour and concept – from bright dinner and ambient lounge to a glowing red ceiling light for the night. Rishi speaks from experience when he says that opening a large upmarket space and then changing the clientele demographics from exclusive guest-list only to all and sundry, is not what he has in mind for OBA. He is firm about wanting a sophisticated crowd (ideal age group 28 and up) in his 2300 square foot place, without it getting too crowded. He anticipates a select society, where you come confident with the knowledge of bumping into friends.

Pan-tossed prawns with onions, mint, and pak choi served with herb fettuccine and curry oil
Ingredients: Prawns b grade, 5 nos; Curry powder, 10 gms; Butter unsalted, 10 gms; Olive oil, 30 ml; Salt to taste; Fresh red chilli, 1 no; Pak choi sliced, 20 gms; White onion sliced, 10 gms; Shredded mint, few sprigs; Parsley, few sprigs; Lemon, 1 no; Garlic chopped, 5 gms; Extra virgin olive oil, 50 ml; Fettuccine (boiled), 80 gms.
Method: Heat the extra virgin olive oil with half curry powder, garlic, half onion. Let the oil cool and blend. Strain through a fine sieve to clear. Marinate the prawns with curry powder, salt, pepper and parsley. Heat olive and butter in a pan, add the prawns and cook till done. Blanch the vegetables. Toss the pasta with olive oil, red chilli, vegetables, onions and season with mint. Put the pasta in the centre of the plate. Top it up with vegetables. Arrange the prawns on top of the vegetables. Dress the dish with curry oil. Garnish with few mint sprigs and a lemon wedge.

Wich Latte
Abedin Sham

Twenty-six-year-old Abedin Sham, returned from Cornell University, USA with a specific idea in mind. An all-day eatery that catered not only to the myriad tourists walking down Colaba Causeway, but also to the people who have spent time abroad and crave the basic café food that is so easily available in the West. With an affordable price tag and imported items that appeal to a younger age group, Abedin conceived a kitchen that put together freshly baked multigrain breads, curly fries and imported cheeses. Known for their soup-in-a-bowl, gourmet sandwiches, bagels and salads, Wich Latte appears to be modelled closely on America’s café chain, Panera Bread. With plans to create express outlets with a centralised kitchen using economies of scale and the franchise model, Abedin is ready to take up the challenges post the success of his first venture.

American Veg Gumbo
Ingredients: Tomato puree, 100 ml; Broccoli, 25 gms; Baby corn, 25 gms; Carrot, 25 gms; American corn, 20 gms; Potato, 20 gms; Okra, 50 gms; Chopped garlic, 15 gms; Onion, 10 gms; Celery, 10 gms; Chopped basil; Salt and pepper, to taste; Vegetable Stock, 40 ml.
For Vegetable Stock: Water, 500 ml; Onion, 1 no; Celery leaf, 30 gms; Bay leaf, 1 no; Pepper corn, 2-4 nos; Carrot, 1 no; Leek, 20 gms.
Method: Heat the oil. Sauté garlic, celery, leeks, Add the tomato puree. Sauté along with the tomato puree for two-three minutes. Add the stock. Blanch the vegetables separately. Sauté them in butter. Add to the stock. Boil till tender make sure not to over cook the vegetables. Add 15 gms of roux for thickness. Add shredded basil for finish. Serve hot.

Pub Culture

Twenty-six-year-old executive, Aditya Parikh, decided to set up a ‘Thursday Drinkathon’ with a few friends, where young people get together post-work at a common location (generally in the Mumbai downtown area) to grab a few cold ones. It is networking, unwinding and partying all rolled into one. A peek into two of the many London-esque pubs that have sprouted in Colaba

Woodside Inn

Three young boys, Sumitraj Gambhir (27), Pankil Shah (27) and Abhishek Honawar (25), partners of a company called Neighbourhood Hospitality Management Services, decided to innovate with Woodside Inn, December 2007. They saw potential in the place nestled within a 120-year-old heritage building that has evolved many times, but has been largely successful on this particular instance. The concept is a warm neighbourhood bistro, reminiscent of the London pubs, where one can easily kick back, post work and catch up with colleagues or friends. Images of Mumbai line the walls, where wood, food and beer find a happy marriage in what they call an “urban experiment”. Frequented by artists during the day and professionals in the evening, the place has recall value for its character.

Bootleggers

Thirty-year-old Sushant Kamath, with a wide range of experience in the hospitality industry in Mumbai, Pune and Goa and 32-year-old Kumar Patel, with experience in healthcare in New York, opened the doors of Bootleggers in April 2008 to create a “non-territorial, non-class conscious place” to hang out. It is an “attitude-free space” that is full of interactive games, such as chess and scrabble, with pub quizzes once a month testing the general knowledge of the guests. It is frequented by groups of women who feel comfortable in the space, besides that fact that Tuesdays offer them cosmopolitans on the house. Very receptive to feedback, they have recently expanded their food menu, insisting that the take-away is “warmth”.

Travel blog: Ouzo and Meze (Greece)

23 Sunday Mar 2008

Posted by sitanshi talati-parikh in Food, Publication: Verve Magazine, Travel Stories

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Athens, Europe, Feta cheese, Food, Greece, Greek salad, Interviews: Travel, Olive Oil, Santorini, Verve Magazine

Published: Verve Magazine, Travel, March 2008

Basking in the Mediterranean warmth, Sitanshi Talati-Parikh, in a local tasting sojourn, cruises through culinary lairs in Greece

Virginity represents the epitome of purity. And a dash of extra virginity is purity magnified. Something so basic has been turned into the lifeblood of a country, into an industry and into a staple. Olive oil, spectacularly virgin, blessedly enhanced with features that are the true test of nature, denuded from the bountiful olive’s original sourness, marinated in herbs like fennel and finally spiked to culinary satisfaction. Olive oil is to Greece, what wine is to France. Drench a traditional Greek salad with it, observe it slide down the hefty chunk of feta cheese, creating rivulets around the oregano seasoning and watch it play a merry hide-and-seek with the folds of crisp lettuce, mountains of cucumber, mounds of olives and soft hills of ripe tomatoes until it arrives peacefully at the bottom of the bowl, waiting to be swished back up with flecks of freshly ground pepper. Ah!

Tourists come and tourists go, and they always leave with a distinct sense of Greece, emblazoned in her cuisine, and the pride with which the locals present their food to the hungry-eyed. With some grudging leeway made for Continental preparations (Greek with a French twist, dashed off with a healthy serving of Italian), it is tough to find truly international cuisine in Greece. Rightly so, for, would one wish to eat paneer tikka or sushi whilst basking in the Mediterranean?

Strolling down Athens’ Adrianou Street, a merry pedestrian path, in the vicinity of Plaka, I am spoilt for options. A host of family-run restaurants and street cafés vie for attention, as lissome Greek men prowl around attempting to charm a wayward tourist into their culinary lair. Uncles, brothers and nephews are all out in full force, with wickedly greasy smiles pasted on for the unsuspecting visitor who hovers expectantly at the entrance, flipping pages of their laminated menus, and once the walk has been made towards the table, they flit quickly to the next victim; I can only assume that the omnipresent mothers, wives, aunts and nieces are all back in the kitchen cooking up something truly divine!

Choosing the restaurant with the cosiest ambience and flickering candles, we slide into one of the crammed tables, and order ouzo – local anise-flavoured alcohol. Likened to the absinth or local fenny, ouzo is so strong (80-proof) that even the local Greeks chase it with water and always eat some meze to lighten the impact. Nothing fancy – something simple like bread doused in olive oil accompanied with a homemade dip, or feta and olives, works. (Beware the tricky ‘cover’ charge, that every table is inadvertently slapped with – for water and bread – whether ordered or not!)

If alcohol isn’t your cup of tea, then try the local Greek coffee, a chilled foam-topped drink popularly known as frappé or fréddo. For those who believe that Starbucks invented frappés, think again! Discovered by an employee of Nestlé way back in 1957 in Thessaloniki, the Greek frappé has its own variations in the iced espresso or cappuccino fréddo. In Greece, the local iced coffees are so popular that the trademark tall, slim glass, brimming with dark brown liquid swirled with pale froth is the drink of choice on sunny beaches, in lieu of fancy cocktails.

Food is a strange thing – even months, or years after having eaten something delectable, it is possible to conjure up, in the mind’s eye, the very taste, the flavour and aroma… In how many places though, is it possible to savour the changing hands of the season? The Greeks are purely seasonal eaters – the horiatiki salata (Greek salad), popular in summer, gets replaced by some version of lachano-marouli salata (cabbage-lettuce salad) at any other time of the year. The healthiest food in winter is the horta or wild greens, steamed or blanched and deftly made into a salad, with a dash of lemon juice and olive oil, eaten as a light meal with potatoes (in lieu of fish or meat). Watching the locals spend hours bantering or watching a community TV over the appetisers and salad, we begin to feel right at home.

As the moon lights up the Acropolis, our main course is served in steaming platters. From a freshly baked spanakopita (spinach and feta stuffed filo pie) to moussaka (a minced lamb and eggplant casserole), stuffed peppers, and pastitsio (a baked meat dish with béchamel sauce) there is much to choose from. Meat is in abundance in Greece – grilled lamb chops, pork and meatballs, and not forgetting game stew and grilled octopus. We look for kat which identifies frozen items on the menu, as the Greeks, by law, must make mention of anything that is not fresh. These baked dishes are great on the mainland, but the islands have their own specialties, though olive oil remains an ubiquitous ingredient across the country.

On the Cycladic islands, a few days later, as I watch the multi-toned hues of the Santorini sunset reflect onto the burgundy wine, throwing shadows onto mashed fava (split pea) puree drizzled with olive oil and roasted onions, I automatically reach for the blood red tomato balls, as if colour must match colour, in order to synchronise with nature. The melting carafe of local Santorini wine, springing from the volcanic temperament of the soil and microclimate, is as unique as the local produce, giving us waterless yet succulent cherry tomatoes, sweet and sturdy white aubergines (both owing their origins in Suez), piquant green capers and cheese cultivated at home and served fresh, daily.

Hobnobbing with the locals gets us an inside peek into some interesting tastes that grab our palette – louloudakia or stuffed zucchini flowers (a dish found in Lesvos) which can be deep fried with cheese or boiled and stuffed with rice and herbs. And a local appetizer popularised in the Mykonos taverns, louza, a deep ruby-coloured ham flavoured with spices, left to dry and sliced particularly thin.

It is simply sinful to leave Greece without having experienced the popular Greek fast food of gyro (pita sandwich with rotisseried meat, accompaniments and tzatziki sauce) and souvlaki (cubes of meat on skewers). We steadfastly maintain that neither dish tasted remotely close to the original, hole-in-the-wall version, when attempted at a fancy restaurant. It is not difficult to find a little joint in the island towns or on street corners in Athens. A corn-on-the-cob and roasted pistachios from the little street vendors work as great accompaniments.

The generous physical proportions of the Greeks is not surprising, what with a daily dose of lovingly syruped layers of delicacies – from Turkish baklava and melitinia (small cream cheese pies) to the Mykonos specialty of roasted marzipan. For a lighter dash of sweetness, there is always the local seasonal fruit (giant juicy figs, melons and pears) or my personal favourite – yoghurt doused with fresh fruit, honey and groundnuts – the famous local concoction, particularly delicious, creamy and thick.

As I sit back, sipping on the local digestive liqueur masticha, swirling the flavour of anise around my tongue, after twelve days of food tasting in the land of myth and history, I feel like I am a part of another world, a world rich in food and culture, and yet simple to the core. Maybe it is the lack of popularisation of Greek cuisine abroad, or the fact that when in Greece, get fed like the Greeks do, that I feel content. Or maybe it is all those chunks of feta swirling in extra virgin olive oil…

Travel blog: The Forbidden City of the Dragon Lady (Beijing, China)

23 Tuesday Jan 2007

Posted by sitanshi talati-parikh in Publication: Verve Magazine, Travel Stories

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Beijing, China, Food, Great Wall of China, Interviews: Travel, Tian'anmen Square, Verve Magazine

Published: Verve Magazine, Travel, January 2007

Meandering through the oriental imperial gardens at the Summer Palace, digging into spicy Sichuan-style cuisine and watching an emotional tableau at the Red Theatre, in Beijing, Sitanshi Talati-Parikh finds herself riveted by the magnificent historical aura of the Chinese capital

The subdued historic capital of the People’s Republic of China is coloured bright with the anticipation of hosting the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in 2008. Steeped in history, this city hasn’t shed its old-world charm, whilst donning the garb of modernism. With memories of the past lurking in every corner and tourist site, Beijing is exciting for its strange and unsettling tenor of an ardent hold on the past and an unequivocal desire to be a forerunner of the future. I could feel this fill up my senses as I walked through the X-O line that divides it from east to west and is the heart of the city, on which lies its history….

DAY 1
8 a.m. TIAN’ANMEN SQUARE
In the light of the early morning sun, the Square, which is usually crowded with jostling tourists and insistent peddlers, is serene at this hour. I am lucky enough to catch the ritual national flag-raising ceremony at daybreak, where the largest square on earth celebrates the dawn of a new day and the beginning of an era. On October 1, 1949, the founding of the People’s Republic of China was solemnly proclaimed here and since then it has become the symbol of China and its capital, Beijing. Symbolism is prevalent in every aspect of this city, as I discover in my first lesson. My well-informed guide announces that the national flag is red in colour, as a reminder of the bloodshed that took place here and the yellow stars signify peace, harmony and freedom.

9 a.m. FORBIDDEN CITY
The fact that the name makes it sound mysterious and exciting adds to the fact that this metropolis has indeed seen a lot in its time. It was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Over a span of more than 560 years, 24 emperors called this home. It is the largest and the most complete complex of ancient palatial structures in existence, covering 7,20,000 square metres. Walking the X-O from Tian’anmen you reach the Forbidden City. With only one entrance and one exit, anyone who enters must complete the journey in order to leave! I learn that it was decree that to maintain the power of the imperial palace, no bright colours were to be used in its vicinity. Royal colours were only meant for the area inside the Forbidden City. It makes me wonder, whether the life inside the imperial palace was as rosy as its colouring, whilst the life outside remained as dull as its grey exterior.

11 a.m. SUMMER PALACE
The place slowly opened up to me. Situated at the foot of Xishan Mountain in Beijing, the Summer Palace, originally called the Garden of Clear Ripples, began to be built in 1750. Covering an area of 2.9 million square metres, it is chiefly formed by the Longevity Hall and the Kunming Lake. There is also the Suzhou Street, Garden of Harmonious Interests and the Longest Corridor in the world. Whilst embodying the style of oriental imperial gardens, is also an artificial lake. The Chinese believed that the beauty of a place should not appear immediately, but should unfold slowly, like the chapter of a book or a beautiful poem. The majesty of the place lies in its spacious exteriors and intricate interiors. The emperor was so moved by the landscape of Southern China, that he painted thousands of murals of this scenery in the Summer Palace. Moving through time, you slowly begin to imagine living here and the past begins to come alive. The story of the Dragon Lady unfolds: the queen who wielded command over the people for 48 years through two young emperors (her son and subsequently her nephew). When the nephew rebelled, he was imprisoned in the imperial palace and that is from where the prison derived its name. I surveyed the grounds through the lookout areas in the corridors, restored to its past elegance, where women, who couldn’t walk around openly would find a place to view the outside world. In a time when women were restricted, the Dragon Lady had found the ability to create an imperial prison for a prince!

1 p.m. IN A SOUP
In the moment of truth – the first lunch in the middle of the city, in a country of ten thousand cuisines, that is rumoured to be the bane of Indian vegetarians, I looked for sustenance. From a choice of noodle or dumpling restaurants, I managed to pull out a Sichuan-style meal, which to my astonishment, was not only palatable but also delicious. From then on, the food mantra was “Sichuan,” which meant food from the Sichuan province – hot and spicy!

2 p.m. TEMPLE OF HEAVEN
Rejuvenated, I thought I had had my fill of history, as I trudged up the long walkway and enormous flight of stairs with aching feet. Everything in this megapolis was generously laid out. As I looked at the well-kept pastures surrounding the walkway, I asked my guide what these beautiful grounds had been used for. I was shocked at her unflinching reply, “breeding ground for sacrificial cattle!” Emperors would sacrifice an animal to please the gods in this Temple of Heaven. As I climbed up to the top, I surveyed the serene country before me, one that had seen bloodshed of many sorts, to one that now had camera-clicking tourists scampering around for a piece of history and a part of heaven.

4 p.m. SHOPPING FOR 2007
In this buzzing metropolis, I discovered that there are ample places to shop. I scouted the Silk Street, Panjiyuan Market and Hongqiao Pearl Market amongst others for hidden treasures. Easily diverted by the ‘magic trick’ peddlers, I am now the proud owner of curios of a bygone era.

8 p.m. PEKING ROAST DUCK
A die-hard vegetarian, this is one thing I left untried and accepted the verdict from my husband. Eating Peking Roast Duck is considered as much a must-do, as climbing the Great Wall! Immersed in condiments, roasted over an open flame, it is served with Chinese onions and a special plum sauce.

10 p.m. SINGING FOR THE MONEY
As night-time arrives, for music lovers, Beijing is the prize catch with the capital’s very own international festival with musicians and performances from Chinese to Russian and from BBC Symphonies to Mozart. The renowned Peking Opera is my choice for an authentic Oriental experience: a breathtaking performance of song, spoken dialogue and movements. For those who miss the 7 p.m. show, let your hair down on the Bar Street to the tune of worldwide music including rock, jazz, blues, country, pop and folk.

DAY 2
9 a.m. BEIJING BREAKFAST
If the sumptuous hotel buffets don’t do it for you, then grab the popular local snack off the streets. Sold by vendors, this pancake, into which an omelette of vegetables, sauces and spices is folded, is a quick and easy meal on the way to greater heights.

10 a.m. MING TOMBS
Quite missable except for the beauty of the walk and the view from the top!

12 p.m. THE JOY OF PORCELAIN
I was amazed at the intricacy and delicacy of the work involved in making the famed Chinese porcelain. It was not possible to resist buying, buying and buying…!

2 p.m. THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA
Autumn is considered one of the best times to visit the Great Wall, to view the change in foliage, but this wonder of human civilisation remains breathtaking all year round. Its construction began in the seventh and eighth centuries B.C. During the period of over 2,000 years, more than 20 dukes or princes and feudal dynasties contributed to the building of the Great Wall. Stretching 3,950 miles, the huge monument was built as a defensive structure.
The most well maintained and popular section is at Badaling, 50 miles north of Beijing and over 2,625 feet above sea level, but its magnitude and beauty can also be seen from more remote locations like Jinshanling, Mutianyu and Simatai. At any spot, however, climbing the wall is worth it, just to view the beautiful landscape that is China and a way to marvel at the feat that took thousands of years and millions of people to complete.

5 p.m. WHERE THE ROADS MEET
The Chinese capital consists of an eclectic mix of old and new styles of architecture. These contrasting designs can be noticed at the Dashanzi Art District. The city holds everything from dull grey monotonous buildings and beautiful ancient structures to modern skyscrapers. For the most upmarket address, drive down the Avenue of Eternal Peace and check out the luxurious hotels and buildings.

7 p.m. PAINTING THE TOWN RED
As if the wonders of the world were not enough, I am once more bowled over: this time by the brilliant Kung Fu show at the Red Theatre. The story describes the process of becoming a monk, training from childhood, the trials and tribulations and then passing the test of a warrior monk, brought to life with excellent live performances, brilliant lighting and stage effects.

11 p.m. BEIJING REFLECTIONS
As I prepared to say goodbye, I felt a sense of completeness, as if I had experienced the past and been shuttled back to the present. I peered down at the busy streets and reflected that here was a city where history had been made and one in which the glory of its heydays had not dimmed in the light of its future accomplishments.