Friends - The Flavour of Life

So.....Nor have I stopped eating.....Neither have i stopped visiting places new and old in my desire and pursuit of awesome food. Yet, somehow and in someway i found that i couldn't write about my experiences in the past few months. 


Don't get me wrong, my passion remains alive and kicking. Its just that the last few months the food brought out an even greater flavour in my life in the way that it was shared with awesome people. This new flavour enticed me such that i was flabbergasted; lost for words. I didn't know how to describe this added spice in my life. But finally, I have found the words(I hope) to do justice not only to the food but also to the company.


The food although still a priority has taken a back seat for today. This piece here, is a way to say thanks to my wonderful friends. Because in reality, even the worst of dishes were forgiven at times in the light of their scintillating company. And that got me thinking that I always reveled in my food more(whatever it may be, well almost always) when i have friends to share stories and speak(with our mouths full, disgusting?) to. 


From my school times to this date, my friends have held the power to turns the most disgusting food (read green veggies) into bearable and sometimes appetizing even. I have been made to eat awful stuff(again green veggies) in the name of friendship time and again. And i have had some of the most fabulous meals too with these said bewitching friends.


From sharing home cooked food (fantastic varieties, i tell you) with my three musketeer friends to hanging out with them at Cafe Coffee Days over Frappes and Ice-cream brownies. From cooking Pasta and baking Cakes and everything in between for my cousins at home. From traversing the length and breadth of Hyderabad with my equally food-crazy friends at EFLU to the toasts that are awaited in the future; It has been a fantastical run, really.


Til date the journey for new tastes has taken many a topsy turvy turns. From thelewali phulki to Anna ka Dosa. From Pineapple pastries to lemonade and pakodas eaten in the car. From ordered-in pizzas and pastas to sudden visits to Subway. From kettle cooked Maggi to Dadu's ki jalebi. Alex ke Kitchen se Chicken Lollipop to 500 bucks ka Chicken salad from TGIF (I wish I was kidding!). Coffee, Tea or Chocolate! Sandwiches, Spaghetti or Chopsuey! Muffins, Cookies or Chocolates(what can i say, we all love it)! From Gujarati to Telugu, Chinese to Tamil, Punjabi to Continental - the cuisine train has made a stop at many a stations. 


And even though the tastes, the flavours, the cravings, the quality, the variety - in short, everything to do with the food did keep on changing. What didn't change was the fact that my friends could always make it so much more special for me. And so after months together of silence, i have been able to spout a few word hoping to let my Fantastico friends know what a wonderfully delicious flavour they bring into my life.

BEKAARVALA investment

So, Bikanervala.... This is going to be the shortest review from me because I've nothing good to say about the place.

I went there with my friends in search for good Chat and was sourly disappointed. The menu boasts a lot but they don't have half the stuff listed on it.

Each and every dish is indiscriminately priced.

But, boy nothing is their speciality or tastes authentic to the cuisine it Boasts to be from.

So basically Bikanervala is a Bekaarvala waste of money. If you want good Chat, walk a few feet ahead and go to Agra Sweets. A better choice anyday. 

Cold is what i am
Warmth is what i am searching for
Do you know the way....

shared with Haiku Heights

FROM THE HOUSE OF APHRODITE - THE CHOCOLATE ROOM

                                            THE CHOCOLATE ROOM
  

 Rich, dark, smooth, sinful and yet heavenly are the adjectives that describe my experiences in The Chocolate Room, the newest place in town offering the divine food of the Gods - Chocolate to us mere mortals at the prices that though seem a bit extravagant but are actually quite worth it.




Eskimo



My first time I ordered an Eskimo and I swear despite the fact that i hate cold...... this was one eskimo I wouldn't have minded settling in the Artic with. The desert was pure sin. Two huge scoops of ice-cream (vanilla and choco) on just slightly warm waffles, choco crunchies and lots of chocolate sauce... What more could a gal ask for, I ask you?



I also had a bite of the Afogato that my friend ordered..... and it was pure evil. Two huge scoops of vanilla ice-cream with a shot glass of chocolate and flavours such as irish, hazelnut etc to choose from. One bite and i swear i got the devil's mini tour of heaven.

Since then I have tried their hot chocolate, cold chocolate and their Chocolate Avalanche (sweep me over any time). Everytime the place has delivered.




Chocolate Avalanche



Add to it the fact that it boasts of baguettes, wraps, crepes, pan-cakes and waffles for those without the capability to enjoy chocoliscious delights and you have the perfect place for a Sunday brunch followed by a rich  chocolate dessert just right for the a blissful weekend.

Preset on my menu for the next visit (hopefully with my buddies for that abovementioned Brunch) - Chocolate fondue...Ooh la la..... Anyone care to join me :P









WHAT THE FUDGE.....

CHOCOLATE BROWNIE FUDGE

Last semester, my friend Mukta sashayed into my room and popped a indecently small, i should say, piece of the most awesome, melt in your mouth, almost orgasmic chocolate brownie fudge in my mouth and walked on to the next room. A second later I had jumped out of bed and followed her out hoping to get a  few more bites of that delicacy. Alas, it was over. But, I did manage to finagle the recipe out of her.

So when my childhood friend, Vartika, decided to come over for the weekend to spend time with me and well I wanted to do something special for her. Since she is a chocolate lover but refuses to eat branded chocolates (another one of her activist whims), I decided to whip up a batch of these exotic chocolate brownie fudge for her.

She absolutely loved them and finished the entire box in a single day ( This stunt was performed by an expert and I am sure that much fudge in a day is not good for the stomach, so please don't try this stunt at home.) So here i give you the much loved, the yummilicious, the fantasy-tical chocolate brownie fudge recipe -

INGREDIENTS:


1. For the batter

Flour (1cup)
Powdered sugar (2 cups)
Eggs (4)
Butter (1/2 cup)


2. For making it Fudgy

Cadbury cocoa powder (12 tbsp)
Coffee (1 tbsp)
Butter (3/4 cup)


1. Preheat the oven at 180 degree

2. Put all the batter ingredients in a mixer and beat them into a fluffy mixture.

3. On very low flame or in a double boiler melt the 3/4 cup of butter and add the cocoa powder and coffee to it, stirring all the while to form a smooth paste. (Don't taste it, it's darn bitter!!!)

4. Now fold in the chocolate paste into the egg batter and mix it properly.

5. Pour the batter in a lightly greased cake tin and sprinkle choco-chips and walnuts over it. Put the tin in the pre-heated oven for around 40-45 minutes in a 180 degree oven.


The original chef (Mukta) recommends that you serve it either with ice-cream or chocolate sauce.

But, if you are anything like my best friend or me, believe me you won't have the patience to adorn the fudge 'cus it's perfection in itself so just go mad over the chocoliscious delight and gobble up!!!!

PASTA - POPEYE STYLE

If I had to one character from the POPEYE THE SAILOR-MAN.........I'd definitely be Bruto.
like Bruto i hate the sight of the dreaded green vegetable - Spinach.

But even for a cynic like me there are two ways in which one just can't go wrong with Spinach. With cottage cheese ( Palak Paneer) and secondly, the Italian way i.e. with Pasta. So here is a tried and tested and totally rocking recipe of a healthy yet delightful Spinachy Pasta.

Ingredients:
Pasta
Spinach (15-20 leaves)
Butter (2 tbsp)
Flour (1/2 cup)
Milk (half liter)
Cheese (there's never enough of cheese)
Diced Capsicum, Carrot and Tomatoes ( 2 cups)

1. Boil any pasta of your choice till al-dente. blanch in cold water. Keep aside.

2.For the Spinach puree
Boil 15-20 leaves of spinach in just enough water to soak them for 5 mins.
Add salt, a little pepper and chilly and blend the boiled spinach to make the puree.

3. For the white sauce
Put a saucepan on medium flame add the butter. Add the flour to melted butter while stirring. When it gets
a slightly golden tinge slowly start adding a little milk. Keep stirring.
When the sauce starts to thicken a bit, add a half tsp of salt and stir in the vegetables. let it all simmer for 3-4
minutes. By now the sauce should have reached the desired consistency.
Mix in the puree and cheese, stir and add in the already cooked pasta. Cook for two minutes. Take off the flame.
Add freshly ground pepper and finely chopped parsley and lots of grated cheese. Serve Hot.

The pasta tastes yummilicious.
But what made it one of my best culinary success ever is when my cousin asked - "Is it okay if I eat directly from the pan" and the sound of the pan being scraped of the last dibs of sauce was music to the ears.

SNEAK PEAK...........STEAL AND EAT

If you ever follow Nigella Lawson's cookery show, you'll notice that the last clip is always the one where she sneaks out to her kitchen at night and plops into her mouth whatever in that huge fridge of hers catches her fancy.

Now, i have spent the last year living in a hostel where i have full freedom to eat whatever i want and whenever i want it. So, i never understood the novelty of sneaking food into my stomach this way.

Still i was pretty intrigued....

So this past month i decided to follow in Nigella's footsteps. And guess what - it is actually a lot of fun. It's suicide for the health but the entire hidey-ho feel of staving off hunger and, more importantly, boredom is really quite awesome.

To sneak downstairs at two in the morning, all the way assailed with the constant fear of waking up my light-sleeper mom. Peaking all around the staircase in the dim lights of my mobile display so as not to do a Humpty-Dumpty. Walking barefoot on the cold floor and opening the kitchen door all the while praying it won't squeak. Phew.

It has actually been so much enjoyable that till now I've managed four such trips downstairs. Once for coffee and plum cake (yummy) and the next time to warm up the bowl of noodles (mmmm..) sitting in the fridge. Coupled it with a few episodes of F.R.I.E.N.D.S and it actually made for a blissful night of sleep.

It is something that i found that i quite love to do right before i slip into my warm toasty duvet with a good book. The laughs that James Herriot hilarious novels draw are very well complimented with that stolen last piece of melt-in-the-mouth chocolate pastry or a hot cup of tea and a pack of biscuits.

I can only assure you that all of this food which i tasted snuggled in my bed tasted ambrosiac that late at night. The sneak peak...steal and eat routine actually makes me hungry and the food that i manage to sneak into my room had some amazing flavour quality to it.

This post might seem exaggerated, but i think that those stolen moments of childlike behaviour render some of its sweet and salty quality to the food. And although, I guess, following Nigella this way is not exactly a good habit. But a bit of fun never hurts, huh.

 So do try to sneak in your kitchen sometime at night. Oh! And remember to steal something that your mum will definitely notice missing the next day. The perplexed expression on their face is just added bonus :P