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Pasta Please Challenge April’14 Round Up

May 3, 2014 by manjirichitnis 7 Comments

Last month I hosted my first ever food challenge linky called Pasta Please created by Jacqueline Meldrum of Tinned Toms Blog. The theme was ”Olive Oil” In the past month I have infused 2 large bottles of good quality olive oil with various herbs, garlic and chilli and used this oil for cooking, especially for Italian recipes it gives your dishes a new level of good taste.

Thanks to all bloggers who linked up and Thanks to Jacqueline for kindly letting me host #PastaPlease for April’ 2014.

The first entry was from Corina of searchingforspice blog. Her –Tagliatelle with Chorizo, Garlic and Sundried Tomatoes is a delightful pasta dish made using various bits of leftovers. I am always impressed with what can be made by salvaging leftovers which we may otherwise be inclined to chuck. I love chorizo and it pairs very well with pasta. The way she has described the juicy tomatoes bursting when you bite into them is enough to make me want to make my own pasta using her recipe!

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Fusilli with Baked Eggplant and Marinara Sauce by Ridhi of Drizzling Delicacies Blog which is a meat-free and eggless recipe blog is an easy recipe which uses baked eggplant in a thick and delicious tomato sauce.I love using fusilli and penne pasta which are great for scooping off the sauce. And olives in a veggies pasta must add a definite crunch and saltiness that is so good on the palate.

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 Easy Entertaining: Stuffed Pasta Shells by Katie of Feeding Boys Blog is a Gennaro Contaldo recipe – a cheesy mix of ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella then baked with a tomato and basil sauce, for the Good Food Channel website that was part of the Spring photoshoot Katie cooked for. This one is fab for impressing guests on a weekend and giving the impression of having slaved for hours. I love such recipes! Conchiglioni rigati (large pasta shells) being shovelled into the mouth with melted cheese and other goodness is so so…. tempting …Ummm.Sharron’s image is to die for too!

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Chicken Riggies: A Utica, New York Pasta Speciality by Rachel at The Crispy Cook Blog is one of the most intriguing entry in the link-up simply because it is made using very saucy, spicy chicken with rigatoni (the “riggies” part) and chopped hot red peppers. This recipe is native to the Italian-American community in Utica, NY and Rachel’s version is Gluten-free -Brilliant!

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Red Peppers in Pasta Bake, Stuffed and in Soup by Johanna of Green Gourmet Giraffe Blog or triple G as I am going to remember her blog from loves green and dreams of being tall and graceful as a giraffe 🙂 She lives in Australia and has hosted the #PastaPlease challenge before. This was the first pasta bake of the 2 which linked up to the challenge. I love the main 3 ingredients in this bake – Angel hair pasta, red peppers and mozzarella cheese. Also, I had never heard of Tofu Bacon before I read through Jo’s post. While reading through her about me section I notice that all the foods she dislikes I like very, very much especially eggs and mangoes and GASP……Fresh Coriander and ermmmm very spicy food! Well dislikes aside Johanna’s blog is a treasure trove of veggie recipes and I ended up reading many of her posts!

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Extremely Delicious Vegetable Lasagne by Chris of Cooking around the world blog came into the linky just when I was wondering why hasn’t any lasagne recipe made an appearance! This veggie recipe has a secret ingredient too – Radish, I have no shame in admitting I like a radish – no not love just like but that’s good enough I guess. Chris’s dish is dripping with deliciousness and flavour and its a must try with all the gooey cheesy goodness and each distinct flavour layered into this fab bake.

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Farfalle with Sicilian Pesto by Torta di Rose is what I was hoping to see in the linky because it has pesto with anchovies whizzed through the food processor, I am a fan of anchovies ever since I was kid, growing up reading Enid Blyton and all the seniors at Malory Towers asking the junior students to make them some anchovy on toast ahhh good old days. Rose’s photo is magazine quality awesome I think and kudos to her for writing her blog in Italian and English!

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Gnocchi with Asparagus, Sage & Prosciutto by Louisa Foti of Eat your Veg blog made me realise the sheer variety that exists in the types of pasta. Gnocchi is that type of pasta which is so sinfully good and tasty. I love when Louisa says ”The heady pairing of lemon and sage work really very well with the slight salty tang from the slithers of prosciutto”. Louisa’s blog is full of family-friendly recipes and in most of her posts, her 2 adorable kids are seen ‘helping’ her cook :).A recipe apt for the Asparagus season this is packed with goodness.

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Spicy Chorizo Pasta with loads of veggie goodness – last but not the least an entry by yours truly this was my attempt to get a ton of greens into OH’S tummy without the cribbing and using chorizo in a tasty sauce to mask the veggies. The things I have to rest to just to get him to eat all his greens, well well well.

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I hope all of you had as much fun cooking and sharing your recipes with me and Jacqueline as we had hosting the #Pasta Please challenge for April’2014 with all of you.

Hope you liked my first ever round up too.

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Miscellaneous Tagged With: April 2014, olive oil, Pasta Please Challenge, sliceoffme, Theme, Tinned Toms, travelsfortaste

In my Veg Box: Cauliflowers – Recipe Linky Challenge

May 1, 2014 by manjirichitnis 19 Comments

Am back in May with another exciting challenge! This month, I am guest hosting In My Veg Box, an event run by Nayna Kanabar of Citrus Spice UK. This month’s theme is Cauliflowers.

Cauliflower – ”The kale of 2014, the budget-friendly superfood, the most underrated vegetable” is what the Huff Post, Canada mentions in a recent article about the 10 health benefits of cauliflower.

Did you know that Cauliflower is an aid to weight loss? Yes! That’s why it is the new kale and tastes much better too, don’t you think? My favourite new way to use cauliflower creatively is by shredding it in a food processor and cooking it with some water in a microwave as a replacement for rice.

Cauliflower is bursting with various vitamins like  Vit B and C, potassium and phosphorous that can support your body’s repair and maintenance of the nervous system, immune system, muscles and bones.

Its name is from the Latin caulis (cabbage) and flower.

A brassica, like cabbage and broccoli, cauliflower is a mass of tiny, tightly packed flower heads (called curds), which grow from a thick central stem to form a single, round head, cupped by green leaves. It has a firm, almost waxy texture, and a mild, delicate flavour. Most cauliflowers are white, but it’s also possible to find green and purple varieties, as well as the sweeter Romanesco cauliflower, with its distinctive pointed florets.The orange cauliflower is also rich in beta-carotene and vitamin A.

I tasted the orange and purple coloured variants of cauliflower for the first time a few years back and my love affair with the beautiful Romanesco cauliflower has only just begun! Did you know that the English call romanesco â€“ broccoli, the French – cabbage and the Germans and the Poles – cauliflower. Some of the undecided place it somewhere between broccoli and cauliflower. Taking into account its shape, romanesco rosettes bring to mind the pyramids or minaret towers, the theory, that it fell out of a flying saucer would seem to be rather interesting.

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According to the BBC Good Food Guide:  Like all brassicas, cauliflower smells very unpleasant if overcooked, so brief cooking is essential.

With me and my husband, cauliflower and green peas, bhaji made using a simple hand-me-down recipe from my Aai (mother in Marathi, my mother tongue) is a firm favourite. I make it at least once a week. My Aai, my sister and her kids love it too, we are a veggie-friendly family that way!

If all this has not put you in the mood for cooking up something interesting or simple and easy with cauliflower then what will?! 😉

So get cooking, clicking and link up but first a few rules! I know, I know RULES. But  I promise the rules are dead easy to follow!

Rules to Participate:

  1. Please prepare any vegetarian recipes using Cauliflowers and link your dish to the linky code below. You will need to enter the name of your dish, as well as the URL of your blog.
  2. The current theme is CAULIFLOWER.
  3. You must link this post to Travelsfortaste and to Citrus Spice UK.
  4. Use of the logo is not mandatory but it helps to spread the word if you can use it.
  5. Multiple entries are allowed.
  6. Archived entries are also allowed, only if they are re-posted and updated with this event link, as well as the Citrus Spice UK link.
  7. Recipes must be added to the linky by 31st May 2014.

In the event of any problems with using the linky code, please email me your entry to manjiri.chitnis@gmail.com. Please include your name, recipe name, URL and an image no larger than 300 pixels.

Thank you! Can’t wait to see a variety of recipes that I am sure are possible with the humble cauliflower! Get Cooking Bloggers!

In my veg box cauliflower

References: Wiki, Huffington Post Canada

In my veg Box – Theme Cauliflowers – all entries.

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Miscellaneous Tagged With: BBC Good Food Guide on cauliflower, beta carotene, brassica, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower – dieters friend, eat healthy, Healthy food trends 2014, Huffington Post Canada on 10 health benefits of cauliflower, In my Veg Box: Cauliflowers - Recipe Linky Challenge, kale, live well, phosphorous, potassium, sliceoffme hosts In my Veg Box for May 2014, sweeter Romanesco cauliflower, theme – Cauliflowers, travelsfortaste hosts In my Veg Box for May 2014, vegetables that aid weight loss, Vit B and C, vitamin A

New Beginnings

April 20, 2014 by manjirichitnis Leave a Comment

I think its time to finally share with all of you that am letting go of my blogs old name and moving to a new, shiny blog with a new name .Moving to a blog that is  entirely mine which means a cooler look, great new competitions and much more content . So the whole moving of stuff around will take a while, not too long though but I promise to keep all you updated through my Facebook page and of course Twitter.

For the new name – humm will take a while to reveal – no drama here just a few things to be sorted out  first 🙂

But the biggest news ever – I am now Mami (aunty) to a cute little boy, am hoping to see him real soon for he is so far away, several thousand miles away… in another continent …sighh

I have also been staying away from my computer for a while as my hand is still recovering from a carpal tunnel op but it is not as sore , but while I was recovering just after the surgery I found a whole new addiction – watching back to back whole seasons of legal dramas on the TV on one of the subscriber services! Damn I have been so so guilty. Its unstoppable ! Almost a crazy obsession that has taken over my whole life … but I think thanks to the brilliant weather am finally able to tear myself away from the telly and get back to being my old self (notice how I am avoiding using the word ”normal” self – but that is a discussion we shall not have right now

Spring seems to have really got some beautiful new buds blossoming in the garden of my life I must say. There is a lot more to look forward to – happy things , things that make me smile , people who make me smile …..a new chapter has unfolded hasn’t it ?

Oddly enough all thats NEW coincides with  us  just having celebrated New Year or ”Gudi Padwa” as did many other communities who bring in New Year on different days , according the Lunar Calendar which we follow. This brings to my mind  a new year poem by Thomas Hardy-

The Darkling Thrush

I leant upon a coppice gate
When Frost was spectre-grey,
And Winter’s dregs made desolate
The weakening eye of day.
The tangled bine-stems scored the sky
Like strings of broken lyres,
And all mankind that haunted nigh
Had sought their household fires.

The land’s sharp features seemed to be
The Century’s corpse outleant,
His crypt the cloudy canopy,
The wind his death-lament.
The ancient pulse of germ and birth
Was shrunken hard and dry,
And every spirit upon earth
Seemed fervourless as I.

At once a voice arose among
The bleak twigs overhead
In a full-hearted evensong
Of joy illimited;
An aged thrush, frail, gaunt and small,
In blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
Upon the growing gloom.

So little cause for carolings
Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
Afar or nigh around,
That I could think there trembled through
His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
And I was unaware.

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Miscellaneous Tagged With: New Beginnings

Pasta Please Challenge – April 2014

April 1, 2014 by manjirichitnis 29 Comments

Spring is here and so is April, Easter breaks around the corner. With kids being at home it is a great time to cook up some delicious, healthy, and quick pasta recipes for the whole family. I love cooking pasta because it is a great way to bring smiles around on full tummies and its a great way to combine lots of greens with meat or leave out the meat totally and get a very healthy meal on the table. Its also a thrifty meal idea to use up things from your larder and fridge that would otherwise face sure death. Pasta comes to the rescue always!

This is the first-ever food challenge and linky that I shall be hosting so am nervous and hopeful that everyone participates with great enthusiasm 🙂  Thanks to Jacqueline who blogs at Tinned Tomatoes, for letting me host this lovely food challenge for April’14.

The theme for this month’s entry is – OLIVE OIL. I have just infused a bottle of olive oil with crushed garlic,chilli flakes and fresh Italian herbs! Am very  excited to create something tasty with this oil and use some of  large packet of Pappardelle Pasta I purchased yesterday!

Sounds exciting? Ready to join in the challenge?

The rules ARE:

PASTA PLEASE – Food Blog Challenge – April 2014

To join in, simply post a pasta dish on your blog by the 28th of April 2014

Link to Travelsfortaste and Tinned Tomatoes.

Use the Pasta Please logo in your post.

If you use twitter, tweet your post with @tinnedtoms and @manjirichitnis using the hashtag #PastaPlease and we will re-tweet it to our followers.

Current theme is Olive Oil.

Vegetarian dishes and  with any dishes using  meat,sea food,pork,beef,chicken,dry fish are  allowed (any non-vegetarian
dish).

One entry per entrant.

Recipes must be added to the linky by 28 April 2014.

Please email me your post with one image on fruitsnveg@yahoo.com.(Why? because the Linky has a GREMLIN inside and is not working! Thankfully its the last day to link up -phew!)

pasta please

Entries So far :

  1. Tagliatelle with Chorizo,Garlic and Sundried Tomatoes by Corina of searchingforspice blog.
  2. Fusilli with Baked Eggplant and Marinara Sauce by Ridhi of Drizzling Delicious Blog.
  3.  Easy Entertaining :Stuffed Pasta Shells by Katie of Feeding Boys Blog.
  4. Chicken Riggies: A Utica,New York Pasta Speciality by Rachel at The Crispy Cook Blog.
  5. Red Peppers in Pasta Bake, Stuffed and in Soup by Johanna of Green Gourmet Giraffe Blog.
  6. Extremely Delicious Vegetable Lasagne by Chris of Cooking around the world blog.
  7. Gnocchi with Asparagus,Sage & Prosciutto by Louisa Foti of Eat your Veg blog.
  8. Spicy Chorizo Pasta with loads of veggie goodness! by me 🙂

 

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Miscellaneous Tagged With: April 2014, chicken, chilli flakes, crushed garlic, fish, meat, olive oil, pappardelle, Pasta Please Challenge, seafood, sliceoffme, Theme for April 2014 Pasta Please challenge is Olive Oil, Tinned Tomatoes, veggies

Wordless Wednesday – a new beginning.

March 26, 2014 by manjirichitnis 23 Comments

Have been meaning to start off a Wordless Wednesday series with a linky and blog hog for ages now – for this week though will share these 3 images and by next week will set up the linky and/or  blog hop.Would love to have all you wonderful bloggers, photographers, readers out there linking up from next week 🙂

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Both the images above have been sent by the lovely Bintu who blogs at Recipes from a Pantry.

The photograph below was taken by me ages ago when I didn’t have an DSLR am , it was a clear day almost 3 years back and I was chopping these brilliantly coloured peppers to make Pav-Bhaji 🙂

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Have a wonderful Wednesday Folks !:)

P.S: Leave any queries you have as comments on this post and if you would rather email me ,my id is fruitsnveg@yahoo.com – I try and reply to all my emails asap !

 

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Miscellaneous Tagged With: Camera, clicks, DSLR, Food Photography, images, pav-bhaji, photo speak, worldless wednesday

GIVEAWAY – ONE whole month worth of Innocent Smoothies!

October 16, 2013 by manjirichitnis 14 Comments

Innocent Drinks recently concluded series was very inspiring with each evening planned to a theme and some very inspiring personalities who came and shared their thoughts with all of us food bloggers.

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Innocent Inspires was a series of one-off events where people discussed and debated and were  inspired by the values that INNOCENT DRINKS strongly believe in,with the help of a group of interesting people who do brilliant things everyday.Like the folks at Innocent who invented this – the Wee-o-meter *gasp* hehehe

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I was one of the bloggers that attended the Innocent Inspires evening about Taste.Of the group of achievers who spoke to us , the brilliant and inspiring words by Emilie Baltz, Jellymongers – Bompass & Par and the popular  Ms.Marmite – lodged themselves firmly somewhere in the folds of my grey matter. I pull  out these words at will and re-live the evening in my head, it never fails to make me smile and gives me immense hope,courage and enthusiasm to keep going. No idea is too ridiculous to be ignored – better to have tried and failed than to NEVER have tried at all I say:)

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L – R :Kerstin Rodgers aka Ms Marmite Lover,Bompas and Parr,Emilie Baltz, Florence Knight, , Ollie Dabbous

Their last evening called ”Innocent inspires Creativity” had writer and dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah,world renowned graphic artist Kate Moross,DJ and founder of Bestival Rob Da Bank, writer performer and maker of his own Y fronts John Paul Flintoff and an acoustic treat from the extraordinary Nathan ‘flutebox’ Lee share their inspiring tales.

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L- R :Kate Moross,Rob Da Bank, John Paul Flintoff,Benjamin Zephaniah,Dan Germain – Head of Creative at Innocent

So you were not at the evening? Well, all is not lost, watch the video below, and get a piece of the action and you might just be the LUCKY WINNER to walk AWAY with ONE month worth of delicious INNOCENT SMOOTHIES! Enter the giveaway on blog’s Facebook page.

Will YOU be the  LUCKY WINNER to walk away with ONE WHOLE month worth of  INNOCENT SMOOTHIES???

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Easy entry into exciting Giveaway, simply do the following:

  • Go to my blog’s Facebook page and click on the Rafflecopter widget.
  • A mandatory question will prompt you to leave an answer by posting a comment on this blog post. Please tick the ” Notify me of follow-up comments via email.” while commenting so if you win I can leave a reply to your comment and you can get that on email by default.PLEASE – Do NOT skip this step, it’s one of the most vital steps towards a successful entry into the contest!
  • Then simply like the Innocent Drinks and my Facebook page.
  • Follow Innocent Drinks and me on Twitter.
  • Tweet the video that is in this blog post.
  • Share any of my recipes from my blog on any ONE of the following – Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon, or Pinterest and mention clearly which link you have shared and where.

All done! Now just click ENTER on the Rafflecopter widget and Voila! You ARE entered into the giveaway 🙂

The best bit is you are allowed to enter again the next day and as many times as you like – to help INCREASE your chances at  winning!

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(For more information on how to enter giveaways using Rafflecopter please see this short video. You can win more bonus entries by tweeting on a daily basis. It’s EASY! Rafflecopter will tweet, like, and follow on your behalf. For information on finding the URL of your tweet please see this)

Terms and Conditions:

Starts on the 17th of October 2013 and ends on the 9th of December 2013. This prize is offered by Innocent Inspires and I am hosting it on behalf of them. Please note, I am not responsible for posting the prize out or providing it. The winner will be selected at random from all correct entries received. The winner will be notified within 7 days of the closing date. The prize is as stated: no cash alternatives are available. This competition is open to UK entrants only. The winner will be selected at random by the Rafflecopter widget on my blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE and you can enter via Twitter on a daily basis to have more chances of winning.

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Good Luck!

Manjiri

P.S:

  • I would like to Thank Karen of Lavender and Lovage who has kindly let me modify the T&C and instructions on how to use Rafflecopter from her blog post.
  • All images and the video in this blog post are courtesy of Innocent Drinks.
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Filed Under: Lifestyle, Miscellaneous Tagged With: #giveaway, #win, @innocentdrinks, Benjamin Zephaniah, blog contest, blog giveaway, Bompas and Parr, contest, Dan Germain, easy contest, Emilie Baltz, exciting news!, facebook page contest, Florence Knight, free, gift, goodies, Head of Creative-Innocent, increase chances of winning, innocent inspires, Innocent inspires Creativity, Innocent Smoothies, inocent drinks the big knit, John Paul Flintoff, Kate Moross, Kerstin Rodgers, Ms Marmite Lover, Ollie Dabbous, participate, presents, rafflecopter, Rob Da Bank, sliceoffme, smoothie contest, social media share, twitter contest, watch video on creativity, win 1 month of INNOCENT smoothies

Mumbai’s little-known Irani Cafe – Cafe Colony

September 11, 2013 by manjirichitnis 21 Comments

An interview with the owner Agha and his daughters Bibi Sadat , Bibi Fatehmehand son Mirza

Interview with Mr. Agha and his two daughters – owners  –  Cafe Colony – Hindu Colony,Dadar, Bombay.

Manjiri :

Ever since I moved back to Bombay after a few years in Pune and with Cafe Colony within walking distance, I wanted to meet Agha and have a heart to heart  chat with him. I soon became  a regular customer  as well as established a friendly rapport with  him and his daughters that calling this piece an interview is not apt. It’s just snippets of a long conversation over several cups of Irani Chai and  several  evenings. But it was only after I had moved to London and then on one of my unplanned visits to India that I got an opportunity to really get talking with Agha’s daughters, Agha himself was too busy but did let me come and click a dozen pictures, he never lets anyone do that so I guess my skills of persuasion worked! In fact there was so much more to catch up on even after my conversations with Aghas daughters, that I let Mrinal (who blogs at Retro-Reflections) catch up with  Agha after I came back to London after my visit to Bombay this May. I am so glad she managed to get him talking!

My earliest memories associated with Irani cafes are of eating giant omelettes with soft buns slathered in butter with my father  at a now nonexistent Irani cafe  opposite Dadar Station. This happened a few years in succession as we waited for my grandmothers train to arrive at the station, invariably delayed we confidently sat down to have breakfast at this quaint cafe instead of sweating it out on the platform. This Irani cafe  no longer exists and has long been replaced by an Udipi joint. The typical wooden chairs, the glass-topped wooden tables with a simple plastic ‘’tablecloth’’ and the trademark maska-pav dripping in butter was great fun to eat and I also got to feel all grown up and important by having a cup of tea to myself instead of the daily glass of milk!

Aghas daughters are shy by nature and very simple too but standing behind that counter and ‘’manning’’ the post has taught them a lot. After being cheated and fleeced silly by a manager who they had for a short while, the girls decided to take over when Agha needed a break. The elder one started coming to the shop when she was 18 and her brother when he was even younger . Soon they learnt the ropes  of the working of the cafe. Mind you managing a shop in a city like Bombay is no mean feat. No one would know that better than me, after managing 9 supermarkets in Pune including lauching them. I got to see a bit of live ‘’action’’ when during my visit to Bombay in November’13 all shops were forcibly made to shutter down due to some political tension in the city and the girls very ably managed to safely shut shop and get themselves home. Believe it takes some major spunk to do this sort of stuff.I had to ask them if any other Irani cafes they know are now ‘’manned ‘’ by the women in the family , I was so happy to hear their reply, ”Light of Bharat” Irani cafe is at times managed by a lady and Crown Bakery has the Irani Parsi girls managing the show.My thoughts are interrupted by a customer who come to buy a few eggs and another person seeking change for a large amount is politely but firmly turned away ,atta girls!

”The Agha girls” as I shall call them here because I choose not to name them, I could but as they very kindly told me a few reasons why they wouldn’t want to be photographed , I genuinely think it’s a mark of respect to not use their names here either – they later changed their mind after ma in law convinced them that they should be PROUD that they stand alongside the men in the family their father Agha and brother Mirza and help run the cafe so efficiently, so the photos you will see in this post are old photographs they have kindly agreed to share with aai and me.

It seemed apt to munch on some mawa cake and down it with tea at this juncture,always a good way to keep the conversation going.

Moving to Surat in India one of the reasons for migration was the growing discomfort between Irani Muslims and Irani Parsis they tell me.The elder of the two sisters started helping out her father at the shop when she was 18. Labour issues, staff theft and skyrocketing taxes, the girls have seen a lot.The LBT strike are happening on and off in India during this period (April 2013) and sugar and dal stocks are badly affected. Imagine an irani cafe that can’t serve tea they say …shudder shudder…

Someone has ordered a plate of dal rice, the common mans daily meal in India and supremely satisfying as a comfort food.

The girls recount that biryani was added onto the menu much later and even today Irani cafes continue to serve authentic rice and kheema in-spite of mutton getting more expensive each passing day.

Increasing taxes,expensive ingredients, political turmoil, staff issues are just some of the many daily challenges the surviving Irani cafes face, many have shit shop, yet others have renovated to keep in step modern and risked loosing the old world charm and so many others are on the brink of extinction as future generations have migrated or chosen other professions. But the elder of the Agha girls remembers the 1992 communal riots vividly and how the locals came to their rescue and they agree Bombay is home and the Cafe is their only means of livelihood, and they wouldn’t trade what they have for anything in the world. I heave a silent sigh of relief …

A consignment of sweets from Iran has arrived and I get to to inspect the package,photograph it before it goes into the freezer, all this is done with a great amount of fanfare and Mrinal and me have managed to attract a small amount of giggly kids outside the store. One bold but very cute kid one comes and tugs at my shirt ,”tumhi reporter aahe? newspaper madhe photo yenar? majha ghya na” – Marathi for ”you a reporter?wil these photographs be printed in tomorrows newspaper?please click a picture of me” ! 🙂

Gaz is nothing but Persian for nougat originating from the city of Esfahan and Boldaji, located in the central plateau of Iran. The same nougat is also made in Iraq where it is known as Mann al-Sama

The Cafe’ was now getting very busy and lots of customers were approaching the counter, business as usual….

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In the ‘’interview’’ with Agha below Mrinal takes a walk down memory lane with, of course with rather distractedly tempting photographs in between the paragraphs.

Mrinal – (blogs at Retro-Reflections)

It was after a great deal of persuasion that Mr.Agha of Cafe Colony, Dadar agreed to talk to me putting his busy schedule on hold.  He was apprehensive at first   but once he got into the mood there was nothing to stop his enthusiasm talking about his experiences in running of the cafe. But first, my association with Agha’s extended family (when there were several partners in the business) goes way back to the sixties and the early seventies when Cafe Colony was run by Mr Mohammad. He was a jolly young man who lived close by with his wife and two cherubic children, little Mohammad and Fasila. I remember them constantly running in and out of the shop and making a terrific ruckus to get attention whenever their father sat on the counter. Many a times these children were invited   to our house  for goodies they had never had and they came most willingly  and also  out of curiosity.Cafe Colony at the time was a small cafe with very little to offer.  My memory is quite  hazy but as the years went by it began to expand gradually offering a wide range of items and a buzzing place , a hub where all  gathered .I learnt later Mohammad and his family left.

Several of Agha’s family was involved with the running of the cafe till Agha himself took over.Like other Irani families, his  family too migrated and came via Surat. The cafe opened in 1933. Since then it has steadily and surely catered to hundreds of residents living in Hindu Colony and around it. There were other Irani joints nearby —–Yezdaan, round the Dadar T.T corner now where Metro Shoe shop stands. Point out  Agha’s daughters, ‘on a clear day one can see the etching of the name Cafe Yezdaan on top of Metro shoe shop if you are tall enough) and Cafe Premier near Dadar station. Both these have closed down now. But Cafe Colony still survives despite all odds.

Says Agha . those days  it was easier to man the cafe . Raw stock was easily available and labour was cheap. Even the effect of the LBT affected items like sugar, flour and dal. These are the things one has to grapple with.The ‘irani Boys’ who waited at the tables were loyal and honest  and did all the odd jobs. I remember there was personalised service if one was staying nearby.  They used to personally deliver eggs bread and other items.People were friendly and the crowd was motley. We even had a juke box and a weighing machine.Many residents from Parsee colony too would come to the cafe and enjoy the music and sit around till late. But soon all this disappeared as the suburb began to grow and old structures gave way to new ones .The footpath in front of Cafe Colony widened as traffic increased on the Tilak Bridge. Cafe Colony was no longer the same where one could sit quietly and enjoy a cup of chai without the blaring of horns. But with it the cafe too began to expand and many more things were added to the cafe besides bakery products and tea accompaniments.Nearer to Cafe Colony (two shops away) Agha’s family purchased another corner shop called Bakery and Candy Store, which did a brisk business for a short period but ran into a considerable loss and was sold off. But Cafe Colony soldiered on.

Any political issue resulting in a strike  or  (since the area came  under  a party’s stronghold) shops would  down their shutters but not Aghas Cafe . In fact people used to collect there for major discussions and endless cups of chai would be supplied just to keep the bonhomie going. His daughters recall how the colony people protected them and their shop during the communal riots  and they are more than grateful till today. However, it was sad Candy Corner bore the brunt  and was vandalised . On 26th July 2006, when Bombay was under water Cafe Colony was open all night despite no lights and was offering customers whatever was available as well as refuge.

Other highlights in the life of Cafe Colony are when Ramdas Athavale (political figure ) visited the cafe and it catered for his entire security guards  about thirty to forty of them. Another time when Agha himself prepared Biryani for Dr Ambedkar’s grandson.

Today all that has changed and the struggle goes on . The Irani boys keep changing and one has to keep a hawk eye on them. Very often I see Agha himself in the kitchen giving a helping hand, just rustling up a quick breakfast or giving finishing touch to the Biryani on a Sunday morning or taking the delivery of the meat from the butcher . The delicious mutton and chicken patties which earlier were available any time at the counter now need to be ordered beforehand.  Although his own supply of almonds pistachios figs Turkish delight Irani jars and occasionally a lovely carpet may be on sale. The versatality of the shop is just amazing!

Unlike other Irani cafes around Bombay whose owners are apprehensive about the second generation manning the cafe cum restaurant, Agha’s cafe is currently in the safe zone as his son and daughters give him that support he desperately needs to keep it going. The future according to him is uncertain. But what of the good old residents of the Colony for whom Cafe Colony has been a landmark . A closure of this iconic place would surely herald protests of all kinds .

The next post in this 3 part series will take you to an Irani Cafe London….coming soon!

Cheers,

Mrinal (who blogs at Retro-Reflections) and Manjiri

References:

Wikipedia

13th Sept’13 – Friday

Mrinal and me were so happy to receive an email from Bibi Fatemeh who is Agha’s younger daughter.She has very generously and proudly agreed to share their names and their photographs taken while they are at the counter.I cannot express my joy and pride at how much this means to both Mrinal and me. Bibi Fatemeh  has been very generous in her praise about this article:

”It was pleasure reading about our interview and seeing pictures of Cafe Colony. A real proud moment for us. We all liked to whatever you & Mrinal has written. All the credit goes to my Dad for the struggle & all the hard work he has put in till date.”

Thanks Bibi Fatemeh, we too are very proud of your Dad and we can only say one thing ”LONG LIVE CAFE COLONY”

Bibi- Fatemeh has shared a picture of her at the Cafe Colony where she and her elder sister Bibi Sadat proudly manage the counter.Bibi Sadat’s picture will follow soon enough.

(What I love about Bibi Fatehmeh’s photo below is the beautiful and confident smile and the huge stack of eggs behind her that sell off quickly as they are sold at the wholesale rate, a respite form the other crazy expensive retail rates! Another feather in the cap for Cafe’ Colony!)

Bibi Fatehmeh

Watch this space for Bibi Sadat’s photograph – up soon!

Ok Folks!Bibi Sadets picture is here!And a lovely photograph of Agha with both the lovely girls.

Bibi sadat
Agha and daughters at the shop

Last but certainly not the least is Bibi Fatehmeh with her brother Mirza.

1-IMG_5634 (Copy)
Cafe Colony Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Filed Under: Food, Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Restaurant Reviews Tagged With: 1930, 1992 communal riots Mumbai, Agha, Bakery and Candy Store, Bombay, Bombay in the 1970's, bonhemie, brun maska, butter, Cafe Colony, Cafe Yezdaan, camaderie, chai, dadar, Dadar T.T, daughter, drink, eat, India, Interview, Irani Cafe, juke box, kheema pav, london, meeting place, Mumbai, omlette and maska pav, Parsee Colony, parsi, politics, Pune, riots, Sassanian, tea, tension, Tilak Bridge, travel, Vohumans Cafe, weighing machine

Irani Bakeries Still Soldiering On

September 6, 2013 by manjirichitnis 14 Comments

Guest Post by Mrinal Kulkarni who blogs at Retro-Reflections.

Since childhood bakeries have held a special fascination.The exotic and delicious goodies displayed in the glass counters and shelves often led me to press my face against its glass  to peer even more closely.Not to mention the whiff and aroma of freshly baked bread and rolls further tantalizing the pallette. To own a bakery then became a childhood  dream.Though I knew that could never be, visiting one was on my daily agenda .

Living in colonial cities like  Bombay,Coonoor, Wellington, Madras and up  north  in the hills of Musoorie and Shimla through the 50’s,60’s and the 70’s saw a plethora of bakeries almost around every street corner.Each one having  a special quality of its own.

Finally settling down in Bombay and  during my growing years I  perceived bakeries in a different light.Living in a suburb,the area was practically surrounded by at least five to six  bakeries.But these bakeries were different with cafes attached.They belonged to the Iranis who did a brisk business throughout the day and late into the night. Their  method of working, the fare they offered, the ambiance that was created around them made it so popular especially the simplicity sans any  frills. Some of these bakeries had  two sections – a  variety of breads—pau, whole sliced  bread,bun and  brun pau and  bakery products like mawa cakes,cream rolls and the other section was a tea space  with grayish white marble-topped square tables and black chairs against a backdrop of dark brown glass cupboards stacked with different utilities like groceries (the range which expanded over the years). The walls were often adorned with pictures of old Bombay or English countryside. These small joints  eventually began to be known as cafes.These  small  cafĂ© spaces or little tea and cake joints were in existence for a long time. They excluded an old world charm.Daily samplings soon became a regular  feature for  tongue tickling treats and a place easily accessible and affordable for all.The goodies were not eye-catching nor were they colourful but tasty and tantalizing.The entire aura around these little cafĂ©s  was alive and buzzing  which attracted attention of any passerby.The high-and  low-pitched voices of the Irani owner giving orders, the chatter of the Irani errand boys executing  the orders, the clatter of crockery and a general bonhomie that went with it was just as alluring and endearing as to what they were serving.Whiffs and aromas of all kinds made you want to sit around (literally in a no-time bound frame of mind) soaking in the milieu and drinking endless cups of sweet mana——the Irani  chai.

The bakeries were owned by Iranis who  migrated to India,from Iran  to Surat,a flourishing commercial city on the west coast of India, in search of some lucrative  enterprise.They came to India in the late 19th century.Most of them who migrated were not well versed in the literary sense  but possessed astute business sense  and were  proficient  in the business of baking – as  this was their traditional business and the only enterprise they understood.Soon they set up Irani cafes all over the city which  became synonymous with the city’s landscape. A unique feature of an Irani cafĂ© was that many of them were situated at corner of the street.It is believed they acquired these corner spaces as the Hindu shop-owners were superstitious about setting their own shops there as they felt it would not prosper.

As mentioned earlier one could, or rather one wanted to  linger on in the cafĂ© for hours.It served as a meeting  place for some,an appropriate setting for both serious political and social discussion for others and leisurely conversation for all and sundry.This space cut across all classes and community.The sweet and delicious hot cuppa-dunked with the typical Irani khari (a buttery and subtly flavoured light flaky biscuit which almost disintegrated  before you could put your mouth to it) was and still is to die for….

The word “Irani” conjures images of old-fashioned  bakeries,wine shops, restaurants and its delicious fare with their typical names——the ubiquitous maska pau (thick yellow butter slathered on a small round of fresh bread, the pau,the origin which dates back to the time of the Portuguese who first introduced this now hugely popular bread in India, particularly Bombay.These cafes, bakeries and restaurants have evolved over the years, introducing several other items on their menu. Khari chai and bhurji, mawa cakes to name a few. At one time almost half the Irani population in the metropolis was  involved in  running of these enterprises (a tradition dating back to almost 100 years) which at one time thrived but now facing stiff competition from modern type of bakeries and deli.The famous Irani bakeries which were one of the famous landmarks of Bombay and visible at strategic corners in most suburbs are practically non-existent except for a few which are trying to be a bit more aggressive  to compete with the modern cafes. However,today the baking process too has changed — all traditional breads baked in wood fire ovens have been replaced with modern energy efficient ovens.

This article besides highlighting their popularity  takes a look at the  plight of the existing bakeries which still occupy certain pockets of the city and are still popular among young and the old who still want their usual fare of  brun maska or khari and chai to drink at leisure and watch the world go by.

What makes these Irani bakeries tick? Obviously its mouth-watering fare – the brun maska (a hard round bun which is oh so soft inside  which when you cut when hot and slather blobs of  butter and dip it in tea is sure to leave a slick of melted butter on the surface –that’s the way its supposed to be eaten. Have it with kheema(minced meat),scrambled eggs with green chillies onions and tomato (akoori) or plain fruit jam , it delicious all the same.Each cafĂ© puts up its own menu of the day but brun maska, mawa cakes and khari are  constant.

The bread making process  in Iran goes a long way back.Even before the  Iranis migrated to the city of dreams, bread making  in Iran was a traditional process; bread was prepared and baked at home in special ovens.The practice is still carried out in most villages.Each bakery specializes in a special kind of bread and they do not bake other kinds of bread simultaneously. Irani breads are of a wide variety. Barbari  made of white flour is thick and popular among the Turkish people . It is a specially type of leavened bread that seems to have been introduced in Iran fairly recently like the  European style bread. It  is  a long  narrow loaf about 2 to 3 ft long  inch thick and 2-3 ft long and 8-12” wide. It is separated before baking to give it an added crispness and is sprinkled with sesame seeds. It needs to be eaten soon after baking as it becomes stale quickly and is often used as breakfast bread.  La vash made of white flour is thin and several lavash are enough for one person, is of Armenian origin. Sangak is also thin but made from brown flour. It gets its name from the process of baking it on a bed of heated pebbles instead of the wall of the oven , which gives bread a very crisp and irregularly surfaced texture.

Barbari Bread

Image – Courtesy Iranian.com – Barbari bread

La Vash

Image -credit Wiki – La Vash Bread

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Image credit Wiki – La Vash bread stacks

Sangak wiki image 1 wid 2 people

Image credit Wiki – Sangak

Sangak_bakery

Image credit Wiki – Sangak goes into a hot oven

Taftoon or Taftun is made from white flour and is thin but oval in shape.Taftoon and La vash  are baked thin against the wall of the oven and differ primarily in the type of wheat (whole wheat or white) is used to make them.

La vash is very soft. In rural areas many families bake their own bread on a weekly basis and produce a hard La vash which is softened at the time of use by sprinkling a little water on it.

Naan In Iran is a kind of flat bread which is brought directly from the bakers who are called naanva i.e. a naan baker.

Acorn bread was made in ancient Iran. A small bread oven and the remains of acorns were discovered by archaeologists in Iran to conclude that ancient Iranis did bake bread using acorn flour, over 3000 years ago.The Ayapir cultural heritage team found almost 40 kinds of plants species at the ancient site of Izeh in Khuzestan Province, Iran , a dig carried out prior to the rising waters of the reservoir of Karun 3 dam.

To quote Hajir Kiani, the head of the team, “the acorns’ resistance to the elements made it an important foodstuff for the local people. Different parts of the oak tree such as fruits and leaves were used as food and medicinal purposes . The tools found in the mountains when compared to tools found in the present day nomads of the region prove that the baking method  has been almost the same for the past 3000 years.

The Bakhtiari nomads who currently live in the region grinding acorns with a grindstone, then put it inside a basket made of thin branches of the almond tree and put the basket in the stream for about a week. This helped to remove the bitter taste of the acorns.The acorns expand and gradually turn into dough within a week. The only thing to do is to pick up a handful of dough , knead it well and put it on the fire to bake”.

Religiously speaking, bread is treated with so much respect among the Iranians. Muslims are taught to avoid dropping bread on the floor or under feet or dumping it in a disrespectful place.Unused bread is used as feed for birds.

The type and quantity of bread found in the Iranian meals can to some extent be understood as an artifact of traditional dinning habits. During earlier times , the custom was to sit on the floor , a large cloth called sofrah would be spread out and the bowls and platters containing the various dishes put on it. Formerly, there were no plates and cutlery instead thin sheets of flat bread served as plates and for eating from utensils or for  scooping  up morsels of food. The art of fine dinning and etiquette was absent. It was only  under European influence ,use of tables and chairs forks and spoons became common especially in urban areas. These have been described in detail by European travelers who came to Iran.

Grain crops such as wheat and barley are well-suited for cultivation in the arable areas of the Iranian plateau and have been growing there since ancient times . Wheat was used to make a variety of breads that form part of the daily diet. In towns and cities , it is customary to buy bread freshly made from one of the many neighbourhood artisanal bakeries. That is why bakeries cook their bread three times a day, early morning, noon and in the evening . Scenes of crowded bakeries at this time is very common. Since most of the people come to buy bread at the same time, bakeries have long queues at rush hours and families prefer to send male members especially teenagers to buy bread.

 Iranian cafes and bakeries started by the Iranian immigrants in the 19th century  provided cheap food and good company in a leisurely setting.

After coming to India, the Irani bakeries modified their typical Irani bread to suit the taste buds of the Indians as well as specialize in a whole range of eats from garlic bread, shrewsberry biscuits, mawa cakes and to the bun maska and brun maska fare ( a bun or crusty bread sliced horizontally and generously slathered with butter dunked in paani kum chai (strong milky tea) which is usually eaten in the bakery itself  either standing near the entrance or some bakeries do provide for a small tea space where a few chairs and tables are laid . This is usually a quick fare which is satisfying and wholesome.Those cafes with ample  space provide full meals of  akoori on toast ,chicken/mutton patties, kheema pao, lagaan nu custard, falooda (chilled milk with rose syrup, vermicelli and basil seeds).

Honest to a fault the Iranis believe in offering good value for money but have lost ground in the bakery business due to the northerners taking over bakery business.Today the bread is baked elsewhere and through contract.The owners are totally dependent on the delivery.

Living near a Irani cafĂ©,I  have had several opportunities to meet the owners and understand their problems and methods of survival. It has been a fascinating journey for them when they set out but a hard struggle now and yet they are popular. Often Sunday morning with its  special menu like kheema rice and mutton biryani, long queues are seen.Is this a sign of survival  if so how many more years. The second and third generation of owners certainly do not want to be behind counters.They want to explore the whole wide world  like their counterparts. Will they succeed or come right back into the business,one doesn’t know.

Interview with some Irani owners just might reveal  whats on their mind. So look out for the next read on the Irani cafes and their owners.

 Mrinal blogs at retro-reflections.

 

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Restaurant Reviews Tagged With: akoori on toast, Ayapir, Bakhtiari, Barbari, basil seeds, biryani, Bombay, brun maska, bun, cafe, cafe'.brun pav, chai, chicken, chilled milk, Coonoor, cream rolls, cultural, falooda, freshly baked bread, green chillies, Hajir Kiani, heritage, Hindu, India, irani, Irani khari, Izeh, Khari chai and bhurji, kheema pao, kheema pav, lagaan nu custard, light flaky biscuit, lucrative, Madras, maska pau, mawa cakes, Mumbai, Musoorie, mutton, nomads, old fashioned, onions, paani kum chai, paav, patties, pav, plain fruit jam, Portuguese, rose syrup, scrambled eggs, Shimla, shrewsberry biscuits, Surat, sweet mana, tea, the Irani chai, thick yellow butter, tomato (akoori), vermicelli, Wellington, whole sliced bread

Young Entrepreneur Farrah shares how MOOSE MAPLE BUTTER was conceived- in her first-ever Interview.

July 26, 2013 by manjirichitnis 12 Comments

This is the first ever interview Farrah has given, she confessed, when we spoke over the phone trying to decide where we could meet. I told her that I would promise to keep it simple and conversational and I am so glad we spoke like long-lost friends exchanging ideas and chatting away. We decided on a beautiful pub called The Bolingbroke in Battersea and it was a hot, summer evening with the sunlight streaming in through open doors onto thick wooden tables.

Farrah is an especially inspiring person to meet; she seems to emit these waves of positivity around her in tiny, invisible bubbles; landing on me, they made me feel as if I could win any war I wanted to.

A high-flying lawyer by profession, Farrah divides her time between New York and London; and when she isn’t acting as legal counsel to some very big names, she is busy in her home kitchen making an extremely delicious spread called Moose Maple Butter. And yes, the recipe is a secret!

Read on to find out how she came about making this heavenly tasting, pure, wholesome goodness of butter.

(As it goes with my interviews, we shall refer to me as MJ and to my new-found friend as FM short for Farrah ‘’Moose’’; MMB is short for Moose Maple Butter)

MJ: What inspired you to create this amazing new product?

FM: Soon after a detox in France, where I spent a few weeks learning about healthy eating habits and especially learning to avoid “added sugar’’ in my diet, I was in New York for work and having breakfast at a hotel. I was looking for something sweet to spread on my already buttered, hot toast but I wanted to avoid added sugar at any cost. The jam and chocolate spread options available on the table were all laden with sugars and other artificial nasties that I really wanted to avoid! Finally, and really through a lack of choice and an insatiable desire for a sweet taste that morning, I poured some of the organic maple syrup – on the table for pancakes – over my toast. It was that ‘’Eureka’’ moment, coupled with the fact that I couldn’t find maple butter to buy in any shops, either Stateside or in England, that prompted me to experiment at home until I came up with my current recipe for Moose Maple Butter.

Image 1 MMB sample close up shot

MJ: Great! That’s an interesting and ever so creative way to make a whole new product. Now for my old favourite trusted question, why the name Moose?

FM (With a big smile) Well I have to admit, even though it’s probably going to make me sound a bit odd, that I have been obsessed with moose for years.  I have moose things everywhere!  I was doodling for the maple butter logo and cute, funny images of moose kept appearing 
 Moose Maple Butter just seemed a natural choice, especially as there are generally moose around where maple syrup is produced!

MJ: I must mention here that Farrah has the most beautiful and neat handwriting I have ever seen and her notebook has beautiful doodles, hardly doodles really, but neat, cartoon creations of a moose which ultimately became her logo, I even managed to get this quick picture of her final drawing that is now her officially registered logo. I love it. The little black doodle near the jar at the bottom of the page is the moose’s nose; talk about perfection and practice!

How the MOOSE logo was born

MJ: So now that you have created this wonderfull product and christened it, what happens next?

FM: Well, I have only just had the brand and logo registered, both in Europe and the US, so I now feel confident about getting Moose Maple Butter out there to as many people as I can! It’s a brand awareness campaign in full swing from now until November this year, when hopefully you’ll find Moose Maple Butter on the shelves of supermarkets!

MJ: Wow, that’s good news, pity you can’t give away any names (naughty smile). Any other ways of promoting MMB then? (Moose Maple Butter = MMB)

FM: Yes! I am looking at actively promoting MMB at various food fairs, events and festivals in the run up to November. As you know, I had a stand and basically introduced MMB, at the recently concluded Food Blogger Connect (FBC5). That was wonderful for MMB! I’m so glad they found me.

(Heck, so am I Farrah, or I wouldn’t have met you and would have lived my life not knowing Maple Butter existed! No way!)

MJ: Tell me more about your ‘’Eureka’’ moment and what followed.

FM: Initially, I was really only making Moose Maple Butter for family and friends and then also supplying, on request, to family and friends of friends! Everyone kept asking for more and where they could buy it and it all got me thinking!  Every time I had kids over at home, I had a little ‘’tasting’’ session and would lay out hot toast slathered with my maple butter spread along with some toast with chocolate spread on it and some with the usual butter and jam. It was always reassuring to see ALL the toast with Moose Maple Butter being gobbled up in comparison to the other offerings! That, along with lots of encouragement from everyone around me, gave me the shove I needed to sell Moose Maple Butter at a few of last year’s school Christmas fairs, in London and Los Angeles (Farrah’s second home). I have been flooded with requests ever since from a rapidly growing group of mothers and fathers alike and have been selling tubs of MMB ever since.

Of course there are all the not-so-fun things to deal with, like premises inspections and registrations and food hygiene certification and all the rest! I was so relieved when the local council left very impressed with my clean and shiny, brand-new kitchen!  I think I have a bit of an obsession on the cleanliness side!

(Farrah: I totally agree – I am sure I have cleanliness OCD geee)

MJ: I notice you have a very nicely done Facebook Page for Moose Maple Butter, I love it!

FM: Thank you! I love sharing art work done by my little fans who send me their pictures. You will see quite a lot of creative ones on the page. Of late, a lot of food bloggers have asked me for samples too and have created so many beautiful and delicious recipes.

Any recipe that calls for butter and sugar is a possible one for using Moose Maple Butter instead and results in a more wholesome but equally tasty outcome!

MJ: How does MMB compare to butter and spreads in its nutritional content?

FM: I am so glad you asked this question! MMB in comparison to say a chocolate spread is much more well ‘’spreadable’’ and hence you use up much less than say a thick peanut butter. Since I only use purely organic Maple Syrup at all times, what you get is much more taste with very little MMB.

So in the case of Moose Maple Butter a little goes a long way!

So everyone looking for any alternate spread, especially to chocolate spread, Moose Maple Butter it is!

I must say I agree with Farrah here, my first bite of Maple Butter was enough to make me fall madly in love with this new find – Hook, Line and Sinker if you will!

 To put this into perspective:

10 gms of average chocolate spread = 53 calories and one needs at least 30gms to properly cover one slice of toast, whereas only 10 gms of Moose Maple Butter will go a long way on that same one slice of toast! Brilliant! And tasty!

close up MMB close up shot with table details

MJ: So if I was to ask about the shelf life and nutritional contents of Moose Maple Butter what would you say?

FM:  I have currently given samples of MMB to Eclipse Scientific who will provide me with an accurate analysis of the exact shelf life and the precise nutrient content. But like any butter, it needs to be kept refrigerated.

Moose Maple Butter has no artificial additives; it has no E numbers, nothing. It is absolutely nothing but pure fresh butter and pure grade A maple syrup – with a dash of sea salt.  It is a superb alternative to processed sugar-laden products. It is a great, quick and easy breakfast option and just melts into the grooves of a hot crumpet and is of course best paired with pancakes.

Wow! That mention of hot crumpets makes me want to quickly grab hold of those cute sample jars from the table and run home for some tea and crumpet time. But to avoid such madness Farrah has kindly agreed to part with a large pot of Moose Maple Butter just for me to sample and make something delicious out of! So folks watch this space, in a few days you will see some delicious recipe posted on my blog Travelsfortaste with Moose Maple Butter as the divine ingredient.

MJ: What would you like to make of this new venture Farrah? Or put it plainly where do you see yourself in 5 years time

FM:  I’d just love to see Moose Maple Butter become a household name. I think the biggest kick would be when some kid I don’t know asks me if I’ve ever had Moose Maple Butter – that would be a great moment.

Our conversation becomes something of a friendly banter. The glorious sunshine refuses to go away but the shadows have shifted. The pub is filled with loads of families, kids running around; there is a buzz of activity. The usual lone ranger, armed with a net book and ale, occupies the table opposite us and looks down on me with disdain as I take some snaps of the cute jars.

(Image below is a picture of Farrah – the creator of Moose Maple Butter)

Farrah's Pic

I hate to tear myself away from this happy pub and evening chat but the promise of a dinner and movie by the hubby beckon.

Just realised that, of all the entrepreneurs I have met so far, 4 in all including Farrah, three of these entrepreneurs had never been interviewed before!

(To read the older blog posts with these inspiring entrepreneurial stories just click on the links below:

  • Dum-a-Dum Biryani Biryani & Kebabs – An Interview with an entrepreneur and a passionate foodie
  • Interview of Pune’s Leading Fruit Wine Manufacturer
  • Escape the Urban Jungle – Go Adventure ”Eco Camping” at Panchgani

I am sure Farrah is as excited as I am if not more,about her first ever interview where she has shared her story and how Moose Maple Butter was born. Now can’t wait to use her creation in my home kitchen!

Apart from the fair amount of persuasion it took to meet the two first time interviewees in India, I must admit that the one common thing amongst ALL entrepreneurs is their humility and their generosity to share their dreams, a few apprehensions and most of all, their time. I cannot thank you all enough.

Do leave your thoughts and comments about this interview and while you are at it, spread the MOOSE!

Say Hello to MOOSE at: http://www.moosemaple.co.uk/

Find MOOSE on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/MooseMapleButter

Follow MOOSE on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FarrahMoose  (@FarrahMoose)

Buy Moose Maple Butter (or pick up a free sample) at The Petal Pusher in Kew.

Share the MOOSE folks!

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Miscellaneous Tagged With: 2013, Battersea, blogging, chocolate spread, Delicious.Spread The Moose, detox, E numbers, eat healthy, Eclipse Scientific, entrepreneur, Exclusive First Interview at sliceoffme, food and travel blogger, food blogger connect, food blogging, food lovers, France, great BRITISH summer, hot buttered toast, hot crumpets, Kew Gardens, Lawyer, london, Los Angeles, Manjiri Chitnis Kulkarni, Moose Maple Butter, Mumbai, New York, no artificial additives, nutrients, organic maple syrup, Pune, Pure, Share the Moose, simple, tasty, testing for food, The Bolingbroke, The Petal Pusher, You read it first on Sliceoffme, yummy

Caribbean Themed Summer Party with Blogger Buddies

July 18, 2013 by manjirichitnis Leave a Comment

Summer is the perfect time to totally go insane and experiment with food and share with friends. When my friends came over for lunch yesterday I decided to turn it into one mad Caribbean themed summer party! Ladies the ”Maharashtrian meal” shall save for our next meet,soon!

Why Caribbean? Well, the sun always shines there so can’t go wrong with that menu for summer can I? Also had a mad time buying some great new adds for my kitchen! I now have a very cute Ice Bucket, tow much needed calibrated plastic jugs for loads of smoothies,juices and Pimm’s just waiting to be concocted and served to thirsty guests and some beautiful Vintage glasses from Lakeland, not to mention some crazy props which I will be using again soon!

My menu for the lunch was :

  • Caribbean Themed Summer smoothie
  • Caribbean Sweet Mini Pepper Salad
  • Jerk Chicken
  • Coconut Rice with peas
  • Peach Melba with Vanilla Ice Cream

and Of Course lot’s of PIMM’s – no summer party in Britain is complete without Pimm’s o’clock time 😉

For ease of navigation I am going to post each of the recipes as a separate post with a small one for making your own All Spice Mix!

Cheers to that ye all 🙂

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Miscellaneous Tagged With: Caribbean Themed Summer smoothie, Coconut Rice with peas, Jerk Chicken, Lakeland, Peach Melba with Vanilla Ice Cream, Pimm's

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