Sinning With Churros!

After returning from China, where I had my first Churros at Beijing's Nanluogouxiang Hutong, I was in love with the crispy, chewy straight doughnut. And then today, I finally found the Spanish delight, Churros in the heart of my city.

As we headed to Lokhandwala for the weekly chore of shopping groceries, when I saw an outlet of Chocolateria San Churro, an Australian chain of sinful, delightful chocolates, right next to where Fame Adlabs used to be, I knew I had found my salvation!

The menu was quickly scanned and I waited with bated breath!

Ahhh! Finally my Churros came, with a bowl dark chocolate....

That's what happened next - the Churros just vanished!

If chocolates are sinful, I would love to sin every day!!!

The Fruit Of The Sea

Last Saturday, Neeti was out of town, in Dahanu, and I was in charge of stocking up for the week. That took me back to Lokhandwala, a place we called home for 7 years.

My first port of call was Tata Star Bazaar, where I picked p a few groceries. The meat and fish section there is nice and huge, with varied options.

There lay a wide variety of fish, resting on a bed of crushed ice, fresh from the fisherman's catch from earlier in the day - the fruit of the sea were there for us to devour and enjoy! And that's when I was pleasantly surprised to notice anchovies nicely stacked up on the ice bed.

Instantly, my mind raced back to early 2009. As chance would have it, I was at the newly opened The Aman in New Delhi for a meeting. This was an uber-luxury hotel property that had just opened, on the same plot where the Lodhi Hotel once stood. The chain of Amanresorts was founded by Adrian Zecha, a Singaporean of Czech-Indonesian descent - the concept was simple - offer super luxury comforts in far-off getaways to the rich and famous of the world, th Amanjunkies, far away from the prying eyes of the paparazzi. That explains why Katy Perry chose to tie the knot with Russell Brand in Amanresorts's tented property, Aman-i-Khas, at Ranthambore way back in 2010.
The Delhi property was, however, Amanresorts' first city property.

The Aman New Delhi had a unique F&B establishment, The Tapas Bar, which was to serve authentic Spanish Tapas, finger food to go alongwith drinks. The then management of Aman New Delhi offered us lunch at The Tapas Bar, and that was where I had anchovies for the first time in the classic Spanish pickled preparation called Boquerones en Vinegre!

The memory of the unforgettable lunch at The Tapas Bar sent my digestive juices gushing out in an unprecedented avalanche!

Here we the anchovies and I had to create the Tapas magic at home with my own Boquerones en Vinegre!

I picked up half a kilo of the magical pink anchovies and rushed back home. Not only are the anchovies intensely flavourful, they pack in an amazing amount of goodness in them - omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, calcium, iron and vitamins. in fact, twenty grams of fresh anchovies have 0.3 grams of omega-3 fatty acids. This represents 19 percent of the recommended daily requirement for men and 27 percent for women.
At home, I wasted no time in cleaning them up, removing their guts and soaking them in white vinegar. The marinated fish was refrigerated for over 12 hours, in which time, the acid softened the flesh and turned it from pink to white.

Now was the time when garlic, parsley and extra virgin olive oil was added. And that went back into refrigeration for the next 6 hours.

And all that while I had an agonising wait. Finally when the wait was over, I impatiently toasted a slice of bread and topped it with a Boquerone and man, it tasted heavenly!

The next refinement was an open sandwich - bread, with blanched spinach, sliced mushrooms and topped off with Boquerones and herbs grilled to a toasty crisp perfection!

And then the latest - a belated Purim celebration with bagels from Moshe's, pepper omelette, sauteed spinach with mushrooms and green olives served with Boquerones on the side! I was indeed impressed with my creation!

As I enjoyed my Boquerones, I lamented the loss of one of Delhi's finest eateries, The Tapas Bar - a change in management and ownership meant The Tapas Bar had to make way for a more conventional pub (sic!) and The Aman itself had been renamed as The Lodhi!

But still, The Tapas Bar had given me one compelling reason to enjoy the fruit of the sea!

Bonne année! & ¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

Ushering the New Year, 2013 had to be a special occasion. And what better way than to try out our version of Coq Au Vin, a classic French preparation that had captivated me for over 2 months and about which I had written last November on this blog.

The preparation began a day earlier with bunching up herbs - fennel, thyme, chives, tarragon and rosemary in a  bouquet garni.  

Next, chicken pieces alongwith diced carrots, shallots and fennel were mixed in a bowl togeher with the bouquet garni. In India, getting poulet de Bresse was out question, so I chose Godrej Real Good chicken . And though Coq Au Vin is supposed to be made from a rooster, I chose to ignore the gender of the bird I bought! A teaspoon of sugar and some salt was added. Next came a generous helping of red wine to marinate the chicken. No Burgundy here.... I chose the red wine I could lay my hands on!

Next, a few pomfrets were marinated alongwith carrots, ringed onions and carrots in olive oil and red wine and herbs for an Iberian fish braise!

The next day, New Year's Eve, fish braise and the Coq Au Vin was prepared.

Accopanying the Coq Au Vin and fish braise were herbed potato mash, crunchy steamed vegetables, rye bread and Lavache - an Armenian flatbread. Two dips - hung yogurt and wasabi-mayonnaise went along with the bread!

That was our way of celebrating the end of 2012 and the beginning of 2013!

Bonne année! & ¡Feliz Año Nuevo! 

"East Meets West" & "The End of The World"!

After reading up on European cuisine and watching television shows, I have developed this particular fancy for visiting Europe, starting in Paris and then travelling by road down to Spain and then further eastward to Cyprus.

I can imagine myself driving on the French countryside amidst vineyards and olive groves, sampling the goodies on offer - the cheeses, the wines and delicatessen. I had written about France earlier - the Rungis in Paris and all that. 

Now for something new....

At the crossroads of Europe and the Middle East lies the island of Cyprus. Cyprus is unique - it is the only nation whose map, copper coloured, is on its flag - with two olive branches below it.

Based on its unique blend of ethnicities - Greek and Turkish, Cyprus has developed a unique food tradition - an unorthodox "East meets West" kind of place. This is the place where kebabs meets pasta, where Arab mezze meets cured meats, Oriental spices meet vegetables like Okra from Africa! 

Cyprus is a place I have always wanted to visit since 1983, when I saw photos of sun-kissed Nicosia, the green Mediterranean countryside and the sun-kissed beaches. But Tonia Buxton's show My Cypriot Kitchen, was quite a revelation that Cypriots have blended various culinary traditions to evolve a very delectable cuisine.

The Basque region of Spain particularly excites me. The Basque people are believed to be the original Europeans, who inhabited this continent much before the Indo-European races migrated from the Caucasus region. Their language, Euskara, is much unlike the rest of the Indo-European languages. A lot has been speculated on the origin of Basques - speculative reports on the internet say the Basques are from Atlantis or are of alien origin (gasp!) - but truly, they are unique!

One unique tradition of Basque is the Txoko - a closed gastronomical society, traditionally only open to male members who come together to cook, experiment with new ways of Basque cooking, eat and socialise. The first record of a Txoko goes back to 1870 in San Sebastián, Spain, from where the concept spread. During the Franco dictatorship, Txokos became increasingly popular as they were one of the few places where Basques could legally meet without state control, speak Basque and sing Basque songs. 

The Txoko tradition has helped in the revival of many traditional Basque dishes, which could have otherwise died out. These clubs have also influenced the development of new dishes as Txoko members frequently experiment and innovate with Basque cuisine. The tradition has led to Basque cuisine being both highly refined and affordable.

Anyone for a Txoko in Mumbai?

Travelling westward from San Sebastián along the northern coastline of Spain, to Cape Finisterre, where the bay of Biscay meets the Atlantic promises to be exciting. The Finisterre are has several rocks associated with pre-Christian religious legends, such as the "holy stones", the "stained wine stones", the "stone chair", and the tomb of the Celtic goddess Orcabella. 

The significance of Cape Finisterre is this - it was believed to be the end of the world - 100 metre high cliffs and the Atlantic waves crashing below. Finisterre is the final destination for many pilgrims on the Way of St. James, the pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Cape Finisterre is about a 90-km walk from Santiago de Compostela. This is said to be the remnant of pagan traditions which have become very Christian today. 

It is a tradition for pilgrims to burn their possessions - clothes or boots at the end of their pilgrimage at Cape Finisterre. Perhaps that is to signify ending the past and beginning on a clean slate! That makes me want to visit Finisterre, "the end of the world", perform this pilgrimage (despite not being a Christian but a devout Hindu) and make a new beginning, in what I love the most, yes - it is food!

Our Own Delightful Paella!

Last weekend, lazing around at home, we watched a show "From Spain With Love", on Fox Travel, a food and travel show hosted by Annie Sibonney. Annie, a Moroccan-French gourmand based out of Toronto, brings a inexplicable passion to her show that makes it so enjoyable.

The episode in question was that on the ubiquitous Spanish Paella. Rustic and delectable, Paella is a delight that exemplifies how food travels, how locals marry foreign traditions with the goodness of local and fresh produce.

Paella, the name comes from Patella - the Latin word for pan (uncannily, it sounds like the Indian Patilla!). Paella evolved in the Valencia region. Moorish influences brought rice to Spain - they used to cook rice alongwith meats and vegetables and a pot. The Spaniards adapted this technique as their very own to make Paella - something that has  now become ubiquitously Spanish.

Usually, Paella is made on a wood fire, in a wide open pan with meats sauteed with saffron giving the dish a delectable yellow-orangish hue. There go in vegetables, paprika, grated or pureed tomatoes. Finally, goes in Bomba rice - a visible symbol of Arab and Moorish influences in Spain. Then goes in a stock - the wide pan ensures that each grain of the Bomba takes in the richness and the goodness of the stock. Paella is usually cooked outdoors, the slow heat from the wood fire ensures even cooking and ensures retention of the rich meaty flavours.

Annie's show walked us through a variety of Paellas - rabbit, chicken, snail and seafood Paellas. That was a real revelation because the first I heard about Paella in 2008, it was of a basic version. Padma Lakshmi, who is better known as Salman Rushdie's ex-wife hosted a show of her travels through the world  - one episode covered Spain and had a few minutes devoted to the Paella.

We were so enthralled by the show's depiction of Paella that we made it at home, our own way for our New Year dinner, ushering in 2009. The star of that dinner was Paella alongwith other Spanish stuff - a chilled tomato Gazpacho and a baked pomfret casserole with vegetables cooked in white wine.

My attention was focused on the Paella - I picked up the widest kadai we had at home. In heated olive oil chicken pieces were fried with 4-5 strands of saffron. Once chicken turned golden, in went onions, deskinned tomatoes, which got pureed in the heat of the kadai. Then we added coarsely shopped bell peppers and capsicum. Then went in lightly soaked rice - we used coarse rice available, as I could not lay my hands on Bomba!

The rice began take on a saffron tinge from the chicken. A thick chicken stock was prepared and added to the pan. Once it started simmering, I added a few table spoons of white wine, jumbo prawns and calamari rings. In next few minutes, the rice turned fluffy - swollen with the goodness, the lovely flavours of the saffron and chicken.

That was New Year's dinner to remember - tomato gazpacho, pomfret casserole and a very delectable Paella, with white wine!

Neeti and my folks did say that Paella was much like our own biryani, Spanish biryani! 

Now again I am watching another of Annie's journeys through Spain's Andalucia - this time she's covering gazpachos, sangrias, anchovies, artichokes withe green peas! 

And I am also thing how good would a Paella be with coarsely chopped chorizo? Perhaps a chorizo paella would usher in 2013!

Man, I am hungry, again(!), for all things Spanish!

I Don't Want Nirvana! I Want Great Food, Always!

As I wrote the blog on Haleem yesterday, an interesting revelation struck me. All the dishes that we so relish today have had very humble provincial beginnings, evolving as societies grew. As an example, Haleem started off as a street-snack in Yemen for people breaking their Ramzan fast. It was not elitist, for sure. Over the years, Haleem traveled to India, Turkey and other parts of Central Asia, evolving in different culinary styles, in each of the cultures, where the dish was adopted.

The Biryani too had similar humble beginnings. To feed the marauding Muslim troops who ransacked much of Central and Southern Asia in the 11th century, the army cooks concocted a no-brainer - meat and rice cooked together in large pots over hours, alongwith with local spices. That surely did make many a hearty meal for the outlaws. Today, the humble dish has evolved in myriad ways, finding its way into both gourmet restaurants and streetcarts, to be relished by people from all classes.

Today there are over a dozen kinds of Biryanis available all over India - the most famous being the Hyderabadi Biryani. There are other varieties too like the Awadhi Biryani, Malabar Biryani, Calcutta Biryani besides lesser known variants that had evolved in Sindh, Kutch, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. From India, Indian diaspora and Muslim migrants have carried the Biryani with them to places like Myanmar, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore and Mauritius.

Another stream of this delectable rice-meat concoction traveled from Central Asia to the then Persia, Arabia and Turkey. In today's Saudi Arabia, there is a rice-meat dish called Kabsa which closely resembles the Biryani. The Saudis use camel meat, lamb or beef for their Kabsa.

It is also probable that from Turkey and Arabia the dish traveled into the Maghreb or North Africa from where the Moors took the concept to Spain where the Paella evolved. I sometimes wonder whether the Italians were similarly inspired by the Paella to come up with a cheesy cousin, the Risotto?

All these ideas are so enticing, exciting and mouthwatering!

The theme that remains central here is that all that becomes fanciful and worthy of being a gourmet concept, did have plebeian and rustic beginnings.

In undivided Punjab, rustic food made from seasonal vegetables and grain that fed the peasantry have become popular allover India. Palak paneer, makki di roti, sarson da saag, gajar ka halwa are good examples of this.

Evolution of food is probably dictated, also, by economic conditions. In the middle ages when Europe was ridiculously and wretchedly poor. As affordability of food and meat was a big issue, several cured meat preparations evolved. The not-so-desired parts of the pig, for instance went into blood sausage, head cheese, lardo, terrines, pâtés, galantines and other mouthwatering stuff. I recently saw a an episode of From Spain With Love on Fox Traveler where a family feast centered around one whole pig - every part, every organ - little or big was cured, preserved, processed or cooked and finally consumed. 

All that stuff has become gourmet now!

In Scotland, the Haggis has become a part of the cultural folklore. Wikipedia tells me that Haggis is made of sheep's heart, liver and lungs, minced with onion, oatmeal, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal's stomach and simmered for approximately three hours.  The Wikipedia page also talks of the origins of haggis -- When a Chieftain or Laird required an animal to be slaughtered for meat (whether sheep or cattle) the workmen were allowed to keep the offal as their share. Food writer  and chef of Bizarre Foods fame, Andrew Zimmern, has said that Haggis was "born of necessity, as a way to utilize the least expensive cuts of meat and the innards as well!"

Years ago, I saw the first episode of the first season of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations titled "France: Why the French Don't Suck". Rightly so, the series was kicked off in the gastronomical Mecca, Paris. Anthony visited a small local eatery and a rich, deliciously heartwarming stew that was once food for the poor in the middle ages - it was made of discarded meat organs simmered away to glory. But today it is a treasured delicacy today. 

Another place that keeps the legacy of past alive in Paris is the world's biggest food market, Marché d'Intérêt National de Rungis where one can buy meats that were once a necessity but today, well, are at a premium - stuff like game, rabbit, pig trotters, pig heads, brains, hearts, wild boar (reminded of Obelix the Gaul), various birds and varieties of sea-food. It is quite a lot of gore and blood and certainly Rungis is not for the fainthearted. But it is on my radar, whenever I visit Paris - I am told there are organised tours of the market at Rungis, which I would certainly participate in.

I have come to believe food evolves, grows and travels alongwith growth of civilizations, their migrations and their intermingling. It's those innovations, fusions and evolutions that keep foodies like me yearning for more, more and yet some more! 

I don't want Nirvana, I want to be reborn over and over again to partake great food, as it evolves!