Comfort Foods and Heartwarming Company

So there is this crazy cold/allergy that directly correlates to the Bangalore pollen/pollution that I have been dealing with for months now. After multiple hesitations, three rounds of antibiotics, a surgery scare, etc., I have finally succumbed to the idea of going for a homeopathy treatment for all my ailments.

Considering my overall mood, I decided that I needed some comfort company and food – not necessarily in that order J.

The company of thoughtful and wonderful friends is the easiest way for me to uplift my mood. I had a friend drop in for tea with the most thoughtful gift from USA of a measuring spoon set that helps us measure pinches, smidgens, drops, etc. How absolutely adorable!! Then another friend and I were contemplating where to meet up for a lunch date and we finally ended up eating simple, home cooked meal at her home and chatting about the complexities of stepping out of our comfort zones.  To tell you the truth the friends who make you feel special, sane and are always there for a quick pick-me-up-coffee are worth their weight in gold.

 

Coming back to the topic of comfort food, a quick browsing through my pantry showed me that I had some tinned and sliced pineapples. Deciding that it was meant to be, I started on the path of cooking myself some upside down pineapple cake. This is one dessert that tastes amazing when it is warm and whereas the preferred mode of eating it would be with some vanilla ice cream, I decided to make some warm vanilla custard to accompany it (remember, I have a cold!!).

A well recommended online recipe seemed the ideal way to start. I made a few modifications to made it work for both my taste as well as the limitations of my pantry. (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5562/pineapple-upsidedown-cake).

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

 

The only tweaks I made to the original recipe were to add pecans instead of cherries and reduce the sugar to 90gm in the cake. I have added my step by step pictures to get you to rush to the kitchen and make your own :).

 

I arranged the tinned pineapple slices on the creamed mix of  brown sugar and butter. And added pecans in the gaps.

 

Honestly, I literally just plopped all the cake ingredients together in a bowl and mixed it up with a whisk.

 And the results came out just fine :).

 

Then it was a matter of topping up and evenly spreading out the cake mix on the pineapples.

The cake definitely came out looking like I created a crater full moon - however, once I upturned it (giving it a 5 minute breather and a circling around of the edges using my handy butter knife).......

It looked something like this.....not bad eh!!

I plated it as soon as I could with my slightly warm vanilla custard........to enjoy a piece of heaven....comfort food at its best!!!!





 

Book club meets tonight....

One of my absolute favorite outing was meeting up with friends for book club evenings. It was a monthly get-together at someone's place and usually occurred after dinner. Lounging on sofas, drinking chilled white wine and munching on yummy snacks and desserts while discussing the pros and cons of Jhumpa Lahiri's stories in "Unaccustomed Earth" or figuring out the practical truth behind "Freakonomics" theories or better still, wondering about the life and times in Egypt as we chatted about Stacy Schiff's "Cleopatra" are truly blissful memories.

So what does one do when they miss a little bit of US in India? Well, I for one, created a book club of some of the most amazing women whom I had the pleasure of meeting in Bengaluru. It is a small group of 10 or so and we pretty much follow the same style as my US book club, except, instead of meeting at 7:30, we meet at 8:30 :). Dinners are always later in India......

The meeting tonight is at my place and other than planning the course of our book discussion, I also focus significantly on ensuring that I serve somewhat interesting snacks and desserts.

Since starting this blog (all of 1 day ago!!!), I realized that I need to take some pictures of my cooking process and the ending results to truly create the excitement that I hope my recipes encourage out of you (meaning - I need to make this and eat this RIGHT NOW).

The menu was planned around the book - its called "The Extras" and is based on the somewhat pathetic lives of two Bollywood "extra" artistes. Not a very exciting book, however, an Indian based menu seemed somewhat appropriate...

So we are having -

·         Vegetable Kababs

·         Spicy and crispy parathas

·         Mint and Yogurt dip

·         Chocolate and Orange Mousse

·         Warm Chocolate Chip and Pecan Cookies

·         Assorted Chocolates

All served with an accompaniment of Rose, Chenin Blanc and a Shiraz.

So, what are your thoughts? In case you are wondering how the desserts qualify as being "Indian" influenced? Well, chocolates are a must and a chocolate trio (warm, cold and room temp) sounded too tempting....and as they say - "my house, my rules" :).

 

Vegetable Kababs

Makes : 12 pcs (approx.)

2 medium sized par boiled potatoes grated

1/2 cup carrots grated

1/4 cup green beans chopped very fine

1/2 cup cauliflower florets grated

1/4 cup onions chopped

1/4 cup boiled peas (roughly mashed up)

1/4 cup boiled corn (roughly mashed up)

1/8 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/4 cup gram flour (besan)

1/4 cup Chopped Coriander leaves

1/8 cup cashew nut paste

Minced garlic and ginger (to taste)

Salt to taste

2 tsp Chaat Masala

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp Garam Masala

Chopped Green Chilies (to taste)

1/2 tsp Whole Jeera

Oil for Cooking
 

I realize that the list of ingredients may appear daunting at best - but truly you can choose to add/subtract any ingredient above based on your pantry's situation :)

 

 

In a pan, heat 2 tbsp oil and add the whole Jeera till it splutters. Add the ginger, garlic and chopped chillies and stir a few seconds. Then add the onion, bell peppers, carrots, green beans, cauliflower, salt, garam masala and cilantro. Cook for 5 mins. Then add the peas and corn together with the chaat masala. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes.

 

 



Make a small hole in the middle of the mixture by moving the mix to the sides of the pan. Add the gram flour in the middle and roast it in the pan, making sure the mixture does not get over cooked or burned. It is best to keep the flame at medium to low level. After the gram flour is roasted for 2-3 minutes, mix it into the remaining mixture in the pan. Add the lemon juice and cook for another 5 mins.

In a large bowl, mix the potatoes, cashew nut paste and the cooked mixture.

 

 

 

Divide the kabab mixture into small portions and ensuring that your palms have a little bit of oil coating them, start putting the mixture into small sized skewers and pressing them together into a log like form. Heat a regular pan or a barbecue griddle and oil it well. Start putting the kabab sticks in the hot griddle and cook over medium to low flame.

 

 

 
Ensure that the kababs are well cooked throughout and then serve them hot with the mint and yogurt dip, some lemon juice and a sprinkle of chaat masala on a bed of crunchy onion rings.

Are you salivating yet? If not, the below pic should do it :).

 

 

And just to further whet your appetite....here are some of the other pics of the food from the book club menu. These recipes are sure to appear in my future posts....so stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

So, go with the motto - eat well, read better and stay in great company!!!



 

Start of a New Chapter....

So why does one become a blogger? Is it out of an odd sort of a need to express oneself and get ratification from others on our thoughts/opinions or is it for the simple pleasure of expression for the sake of communication with like-minded/wider reaching audience?

For myself, I can say, that the name of the blog gives a pretty good hint on why I am here...."diva" and "delicious"......sort of my motto in life......
 

After living in Minneapolis for slightly over ten years, we decided to move back to India....the city of choice was Bangalore or Bengaluru as it is now called. It has been close to three years since the move and I am discovering the joys of living in a city which offers the best of most culinary delights.

 

Food has always been inspiring for me, but, I realized that its a lot more satisfying when accompanied with scintillating conversation between friends and new acquaintances. Entertaining family and friends with uniquely flavored dishes, well thought out menus and listening to interesting escapades and impromptu witty remarks make me feel truly happy.

 

Entertainment happens for a variety of reason - special occasions, lets-just-catch-up-since-its-Sunday, book club meetings, pot-luck get together and so many more. I am just thankful that we are blessed with friends who range in age from 30-65, and have varied tastes (from being avid painters to wine connoisseurs, to closet singers etc.), and grateful that they all seem to appreciate our company!

 

A good start to this blog would be with me sharing a recipe that was always a hit - whether in the US or here......

 

     Mango Avocado Salsa
 

2 large sized ripe avocados or 3 small ones (roughly chopped)

1/2 cup chopped ripe mango

1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
 

      3-4 tbsp onions - chopped fine

     3 tbsp green bell pepper - chopped fine
 

2 tbsp cilantro - chopped fine
 

2 tbsp lemon juice

1-2 cloves of crushed garlic
 

1/2 tsp de-seeded jalapeno - finely chopped (to taste)
 

1/4 tsp of cumin powder

pinch of cayenne pepper
 

salt and crushed black pepper to taste

 

Mix all the ingredients in a colorful bowl and presto...your appetizer is ready. All you need to do is surround the salsa/dip with your favorite tortilla chips (my favorite combinations were either the extra cheesy variety or the spicy tomato one).

Whereas the above is a very basic recipe, you can always modify the same with the following options:

· Substitute the mango with pineapple and add red chili powder instead of the black pepper powder

 

· Add 1/4 cup pomegranate and a pinch of sweet paprika powder to replace the black pepper powder
 

· Serve with chilled, crunchy, sliced and peeled cucumbers instead of chips

 

Serving food in a creative and fun way is just as important, as enjoying its taste and aromas!

Happy entertaining!