food blog - Travels for Taste

Cooking with WORLD FOODS at the School of Wok and WORLD FOODS Giveaway – CLOSED

December 16, 2014 by manjirichitnis 12 Comments

Cooking out of jar is something we resort to only when we are really hard pressed for time or in a situation when we simply do have access to fresh ingredients, but there are few jarred sauces that defy this belief and World Foods sauces I think deserve to be one of those. The reason I say this thank to a really well planned and executed cookery class at the School of Wok courtesy WORLDFOODS and expertly conducted by Head Chef at School of Wok Jeremy Wong.

WORLDFOODS produces a range of seven ready-made sauces totaling 51 variations in all with tantalising Asian dipping sauces, pastes, noodle sauces, stir-fry, cooking sauces, marinades, chutneys and salad dressings . The best bit is that they do not use preservatives and artificial flavorings. AND their products are food allergens free, trans-fat free and gluten free with no artificial preservatives, coloring or flavouring. The aim being to produce and maintain a range of “clean” products that are suitable for Vegetarians, Vegans and Celiacs.

Once we had a brief introduction from Jeremy, we were each asked to pick a partner to cook with and since I was going to be eating the duck and Nayna is a vegetarian we picked other partners and Fiona and me started working on the ingredients.

Jeremy showed us some really amazing knife skills and we sliced a pepper like I’ve never done before using a rather huge cleaver imported straight from the Far East. In spite of both Fiona and me still having wrists in bad shape we managed this bit smoothly thanks to picking up some basic techniques that Chef Jeremy very lucidly explained.

The mention of Panang Curry duck with Thai basil stir fry made my mouth water. On the menu was a also a Masaman roast poussin and for the vegetarians similar dishes using the same WORLDFOODS sauces but with aubergine replacing the duck and delicious and cute squash used in place of poussin. I love paneer and the squash was stuffed with paneer – I felt slightly greedy especially when I saw the beautiful roast squash was taken out of the oven – turning a visible shade of green (with envy – which scared Fiona a little and Nayna a lot 😉 !). The vegetarians also made Rendang tacos.

After the veggie chopping when we started cooking I was really impressed with the huge portion of duck that we were going to cook and it watching the duck sizzle and ooze its fat and juices on the pan made my tummy rumble in anticipation of a fab meal.

What happened next was the most interesting part of the evening – we learnt some cool wok handling skills and the basics of how to get a stir fry going, I even managed to get a really cool video of Jeremy giving us some amazing tips – why not head over to my Instagram feed and watch the video now?!)

After our cooking session we sat down to a delicious meal and really enjoyed the the taste of the dishes – fresh and full of flavour – nothing that you will expect coming out of a jar – ever! The Lemon drizzle cake made with WORLDFOODS lemongrass paste had a beautiful fluffy and light texture and was irresistibly yummy. I am not a fan of traditional lemon drizzle cakes and find the sharp citrusy taste overwhelming but the milder lemon grass was a very welcome taste for me and I really think that this is going to be my favourite not so secret ingredient for my future bakes!

With minimal prep done for us, I picked up some excellent knife skills and cookery tips, ate some gorgeous Asian Fusion food and spent a very pleasant evening in the company of some old food blogger friends and met some more really lovely bloggers. The most important part was the superb time management by Jeremy and his efficient in house chef.

WORLDFOODS have kindly agreed to give ONE lucky reader a selection of 5 delicious sauces to experiment with so you too can create asian fusion foods using natural ingredients in the comfort of your own home.

How to enter the WORLDFOODS Asian Fusion Flavour Sauces Giveaway with sliceoffme blog:

How to enter the giveaway:

You too can WIN 5 delicious sauces from the WORLDFOODS range, all you have to do is :

Follow me on twitter – @manjirichitnis
Tweet out the following – #WORLDFOODS #WIN @fusiontasteteam sauces with @manjirichitnis, to enter #GIVEAWAY head to sliceoffme blog bit.ly/16oX4oj
Leave a comment below telling me what is your favourite asian dish and your facebook name used to like my FB page. I will find you on twitter via the hashtag so it’s not required for you to mention your twitter handle in the comments. Do not share your email id in the comments please.

Please have a read through the Terms and Conditions below:

Winner will be picked using Random Number Generator.
Deadline for entering this contest is 5th January’ 2015 midnight GMT.
Entry is open only to residents of the U.K except Scotland and Ireland.
All entrants must be 18 years old and above.
ONE lucky winner will be chosen using random number generator.
The giveaway prize is as mentioned in the post. Neither WORLDFOODS, nor I am liable for any damage of products and / or contents in transit.
Please allow a minimum of 25 days for delivery of the prize, which may reach earlier or later. The sauces will be sent directly by WORLDFOODS.
The prize is as stated: no cash alternatives are available.
I retain the right to DISQUALIFY any entrant who do not complete all the 3 steps mentioned above.
The winner will be notified on 6th January’ 2015 on Twitter by me and here on my blog post. I shall tag the winner on Twitter via their twitter id. If you are declared as the winner you agree to allow me and Knorr to contact you via email id to arrange for the goody bag to be sent out to you.
If the winner failS to respond by 8th January’ 2015 then another winner will be chosen via Random Number Generator.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE LUCKY WINNER WHO HAS WON 5 DELICIOUS WORLDFOODS Asian Fusion Flavour Sauces

Sarah Davies @haonharas

*With thanks to WORLDFOODS and the PR team for arranging the fabulous sauces for my giveaway and inviting me for the event. A special thank you to School of Wok and Jeremy for his time, generosity and teaching me some cool skills . No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own

Festive Feast at Bengal Quay to celebrate the launch of their New Menu

December 13, 2014 by manjirichitnis Leave a Comment

Last week hubster and me were invited for a preview of the new menu launch at Bengal Quay. So after work on a Monday evening we both made our way from different parts of the city to the beautiful docklands area. I had never been on the DLR before and as I saw the beautiful landscape unfold it put into a very dreamy mood, something to do with the tall buildings and the water reminded me of the amazing south Mumbai roads, glitzy five star hotels and a gorgeous coast line. I could almost feel the salty sea breeze on my face.

Situated within walking distance from South Quay station this Indian – Pakistani restaurant has a fabulous new menu, as we were about to find out.

1-Bengal Quay 8th Dec'14 - New menu Launch3

I was delighted to finally meet Asma Khan who runs the popular supper club called Darjeeling Express and also the lovely Lisa who writes guest posts for my Fiona’s blog London Unattached.

It was chilly evening so I stuck to my trusty drink of cognac with warm water – Remy Martin this time and hubster too stuck to the same, the other guests enjoyed good red and white wines while the others tripped on tall glasses of Mango Lassi.

The starters were a selection of seafood which made hubster and me very happy as you my readers know well by now about our seafood obsession! We loved the Salmon Sooa which was Scottish salmon flavoured just right and wrapped snuggly in a little portion of banana leaf, it was melt-in-your mouth soft and I would go back just for this and of course the Lamb Nihari – Slow Cooked Lamb Shank in Pakistani Nihari Curry with Onions and Lemon – though opinions over which was the best dish at the table were a bit divided between hubster and me who went nuts over the Venison and Afghani chicken – humm.

The use of cute wooden clips to secure the banana leaf, the stainless steel lemon squeezer and that tangy tamarind chutney made me feel so very much at home.

The other starters were Imli Scallops – a very different approach to spicing up scallops with Indian spices and Tandoori Monkfish which was just the right kind of flaky and went down a treat – thumbs up from both OH and me.

1-Bengal Quay 8th Dec'14 - New menu Launch

The mini seabass fillets served with tangy crispies were served with a bhel like mixture in cute cones – which are always welcome for chaat fans like hubster and me and we really liked the seabass – but clearly this not the case with the rest of the table who had mixed reactions. This unusual combination seemed to work for us and was presented very nicely too.

The mains arrived and suddenly there was no navigation space on the table and we were very- very spoilt for choice.

I mopped up with buttery garlic naan the delicious Diced venison in red wine and mushroom curry – which disappeared fast from the serving dish and as a majority vote it became the star dish of the evening. The special fried rice was great on it’s own while the pulav rice was great with the lamb shanks. The lamb nihari gravy was fabulous and the meat was cooked to fall-off-bone perfection , for all meat fans out there – this dish is something that you must not miss! Game is not easy to pair with spices and serving it up in a curry form with mushrooms seems to be a winning combination – Asma too was very intrigued and happy with this dish in particular.

Neither hubster nor me are fans of sweet or creamy gravy but the Afghani chicken was fantastic, the mild curry flavoured with saffron and cream and the delicious soft chicken was just too good to resist – the chef did something very right with this dish folks.

1-Bengal Quay 8th Dec'14 - New menu Launch1

The tarka dal was comforting and done to expected standards, which is always a good sign in any authentic Indian/Pakistani restaurant.

Expectedly we were stuffed to the gills and the prospect of consuming a selection of desserts seemed impossible. But that was only until the dessert plates arrived at the table of course 😉

The Indian in me was very happy with not one but two mango desserts to gobble – though the mango sorbet was definitely my favourite. Chocolate brownie came with a very unusual companion – a moreish passion fruit sauce which complimented the gooey chocolate taste very nicely. Again a winning combination.

1-Bengal Quay 8th Dec'14 - New menu Launch4

Nestled in the by lanes of London’s business hub and a stones throw away from Canary Wharf this is a place I would recommend you visit and do not miss the Lamb Nihari, Afghani Chicken and the passion fruit sauce and brownie and if you can allow yourself the guilty pleasure the mango sorbet too. But if you cannot visit anytime soon and spend time then you MUST take away the Venison curry to mop up with plain pulavAND some garlic naan!

It’s after such a meal that I forget that I am in London and walk out with a wide grin on my face half expecting to see a Bombay black cab whiz past, I feel I will be passing by my favourite Bombay sights and take in the familiar sounds and the magic of my darling city … until I actually step out into the biting cold and the cold breeze envelopes – but then in so many strange ways I find even this comforting as we stroll into the quiet night air, the sense of intense activity behind the deceptively quite larger than life glass mammoth buildings of Canary Wharf is obvious to the those who care to observe and the bright Christmas lights can’t help make me feel warm and fuzzy inside – a feeling I could get used to very easily.

*With thanks to Humayun Hussain and Bengal Quay for the invite. No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review .All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Indian Masala Egg Omelette

November 22, 2014 by manjirichitnis 18 Comments

Weekend mornings demand a good breakfast, especially if you have had a tad too much wine on Friday evening 😉

I love making a simple Indian omelette and my dinner guests who stayed with us for the night, last Friday, had to be fed a hearty breakfast before they set out to go home. Like my aai I am obsessed with feeding people and cannot imagine sending off guests on an empty stomach.

Luckily, now that I am part of the Happy Eggs Taste 100 Blogger network a #happyeggtastemakers, I had 2 boxes of these lovely Happy eggs at home, red onion or the Mumbai pink onion which I buy from my fav Indian-Pakistani grocery store and loads of frozen coriander.

This is a very basic recipe for the Indian masala omelette- with a bit of twist , added in my me . I also love adding in cheese and bulking it up with ham or sausages which I did for my guests, but hubster is a purist of sorts when it comes to the masala omelettes (read fussy hehehe) and so made 2 huge omelettes , one using the recipe that follows and another with the cheese, sausages and Parma Ham – so… so… so… good !!

Indian Masala Omelette

Manjiri Chitnis

Indian Masala Egg Omelette

Print Recipe

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 8

Servings: 2 people

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients

1 1 medium – sized Red onion or Pink Mumbai onion chopped fine
3 medium – sized Eggs
2 Green chillies chopped into fairly large chunky pieces- easy to pick out for the faint hearted!
A pinch of Turmeric Powder
1/4 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1 tbsp Finely Chopped Fresh Coriander (Cilantro) Leaves
2 tbsp Butter
Salt to taste

Equipment

1 Pan
1 Chopping Board
1 Knife
1 Whisk / Fork

Method

Finely chop the red onion
Chop the green chilli into fairly big pieces sothey can be picked out by those that don't want to chew on them
Crack the eggs into the bowl
Add in the chopped onions, green chilli chopped,red chilli powder, turmeric and salt. Whisk with a fork till the mixture foams and is well aerated , this will give you a beautifully 'fluffy' omelette
Then add the chopped coriander and mix again
I add in the turmeric as it has loads of healthbenefits – it has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strongantioxidant, and our guest who do not consume turmeric on a regularbasis loved the idea
Now add in the cheese – torn roughly if it using acheese single or crushed if using a soft cheese or crumbly cheese, sausages andParma Ham. Lightly beat the egg mixture once more with a fork to mix well
Place a big pan on medium heat and when it beginsto heat up melt the butter
When the butter begins tosizzle and pan resembles what you see in the image then it's the right time toadd the egg mixture
Move the pan around so that the mixture spreadsevenly and cook on a low flame for about 2 minutes
When the omelette leaves the sides of the pan ,slightly lift it with a wooden spatula and check , if it has browned it's time to flip it over. You can tell by the aroma wafting around too
With a big wooden spatula gently flip over and cookon the other side, I place a lid over my pan at this stage to trap the steam and it also gives me a really fluffy omelette, of course it will fall flat if you don't serve immediately
Once done, turn off the heat and cut in half using a wooden spatula. Fold and place in between hot buttered toast for a fabulous breakfast

Notes

Additional Ingredients that can be added in to bulk up this delicious Indian Masala omlette:

Sliced mushrooms, button mushrooms go really well with this recipe
A sliced cheese single, ideally Cheddar, I also love adding in cheese that comes flavoured with garlic and/or chilli flakes
2 Pork sausages
2 thin slices of Parma Ham
Adding the garam masala is something I like to do as it gives the omelette a fabulous amped up flavour but feel free to leave that out if you aren’t a fan

Masala Anda Omelette recipe by Travelsfortaste

An Indian masala omelette, served at breakfast with hot buttered toast and hot cups of masala chai, I think is a breakfast fit for a king – Made better with Happy Eggs I say!

I am so egg-cited to be part Happy Eggs Taste 100 Blogger network, they sent me this beautifully packaged cute box with a massive chocolate cookie made using Happy Eggs and a lovely picture of the latest campaign – Top of The Flocks – where Happy Eggs produced an original album of classical music following a study by the University of Bristol looking at the positive benefits of music on hens.The results showed that Happy Hens prefer Bach to Beyonce – they have refined taste these hens! Happy Hens produced 6% more eggs in nest boxes playing classical music compared to pop! Awesome or what?! – always good to know where your eggs are coming from isn’t it?!

Ahem… as you can that by the time I actually got around to taking a photo of the welcome kit , hubster and me had managed to devour most of the cookie …well , don’t blame us – it was soo yum!

Well a new year and a new beginning and with tomorrow being the first day for getting back to work, I will be making us egg omlettes and devouring them with freshly ground coffee and buttery toast – after all Monday mornings are never kind especially in the winter and more so after a long break!

Make Ahead – perfect for a make ahead style breakfast, this mixture can store in the fridge very easily.

Linking my savoury Indian Masala egg omelette recipe with the monthly link up at Belleau Kitchen for the Simply Eggcellent recipe link-up – love the name!

Also linking up with #BrilliantBreakfasts at Made with Pink blog by Andrea, for I think without a doubt a masala omelette makes a darned good breakfast!

*With thanks to Happy Eggs for taking me on as part of their Exclusive Blogger Network and for a complimentary voucher sent with their cute welcome pack . No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

WHY NOT TRY MY OTHER RECIPES WITH EGGS AS THE STAR INGREDIENT?

I VISISTED A BUSY EGG FARM WHERE HENS ROAM IN RURAL ENGLAND, HAVE A READ AND BROWSE THROUGH SOME PICTURES FOR A VIRTUAL TOUR

Behind the scenes at an Egg Farm

Le Restaurant de Paul – Boulangerie transitions into a restaurant

October 3, 2014 by manjirichitnis 9 Comments

Originating in France in PAUL bakery continues to be be a family owned company five generations on. Today they are present in more than 25 countries in London, Washington, Dubai, Tokyo ,Singapore and Moscow. They have been the go to bakery for authentic French bread, cakes and pastries for Londoners with 30 other branches located across the length and breadth of the city.

Their first bakery in London at Covent Garden has recently become a full fledged restaurant . We were invited there for a relaxed dinner on Sunday evening .Located in the heart of theatreland , its walking distance from Covent Garden tube station but I prefer walking from Waterloo station . Walking beats taking the crowded tubes and my reward is a beautiful walk by the river with stunning views of the London eye on one side and St.Pauls cathedral on the other.

The famous black shop front with the name in stately lettering made famous by Francis Holder in 1993, is difficult to miss amidst the evening crowds, theatre goers and many shops.The aroma of freshly ground coffee beans is a welcome olfactory assault that is complimented by the the beautiful display of meringues, cakes ,pastries and fresh bread .

The restaurant was packed when we arrived and the front of the restaurant which functions as a delicatessen had people queuing up for French bread , coffee and cake at the counters up front when we reached , so we busied ourselves taking pictures of the beautiful baked goodies .

Our waitress for the evening was a smart young lady who showed us to our table a beautiful semi circular sofa against a wall and comfortable chairs on the side. The beautiful décor which is comprised of hand picked antiques is pleasantly distracting and a lot of photos later we finally settled down.

Our two sharing ,one a charcuterie and one a vegetarian platter arrived with a large tray full of colourful glass jars stuffed with bright ,preserved vegetables – which were used as a base to rest the sharing platters wooden boards on – now that is going to be an idea all of us will end up using for our food photography !

The charcuterie is a selection of saucisson, jambon cru, coppa, rosette,terrine,smoked duck breast, pickled baby onions ,cornichons,butter and assorted breads.

The veggie platter was such a beauty – so colourful and fresh – selection of grilled and marinated vegetables,tapenade,aioli,hummus,sauce vierge and PAUL cheese gougere.

Heidi enjoyed her oven baked Camembert and toasted Campagne bread.

If anything these starters had made us hungry for more and our mains were so good that when they arrived all conversation came to a standstill ….

My main of Loup de Mer – Pan roasted fillet of sea bass, braised fennel with sauce vierge was flavourful and the sauce was faulous , my sea food loving self was very , very happy!

I also had a delicious side of Gratin Dauphinios – Traditional French potato gratin (£2.95)

We shared a bottle of red which went well with the mains – a French Pinard Classique 2013 – best described as a lively bouquet of plum, bluberry and hints of blackcurrant on the nose, the palate is beautifully rounded, soft and juicy.

Our group of food bloggers had these fabulous French delights :

Clockwise Top left to right – Demi Poulet au Grain Rôti à l’Estragon – Roasted free range corn fed half chicken marinated in tarragon ,lemon & garlic ,green salad (£12.50) ,

Saucisses de Toulouse – Traditional course cut Toulouse sausages served with crushed buttery potato mash & Bordelaise sauce (£10.50)

Poivron Fraci (£7.50) and

Confit de Canard aux Olives – Slow-cooked duck leg, crushed buttery potato mash, black olive & red wine sauce (£10.50)

I am glad I could squeeze in some dessert as well after all that food – I really needed some coffee so mini macaroons paired with a latte it was.

Am positive that I shall be returning to dine at Le restaurant de Paul and would highly recommend that you check it out for yourself – a taste of authentic French food in the heart of London – with a sensibly priced menu too – Why not ?!

While you are here why not have browse through the blogs of my blogger friends too?

Karen blogs at Lavendar and Lovage
Heidi’s blog is called Kitchen talk and travels
Nayna blogs at Citrus Spice

Stuffed Marrow Bake

September 28, 2014 by manjirichitnis 6 Comments

It was on a sunny summer Sunday morning that I finally went to the local car boot sale to look for any treasures that I may find to use as food props and found this beauty.

But it wasn’t just this beauty that we came home with. We found a beautiful marrow and I instantly knew what we would be having for dinner. sometimes things just come to you by some sort of divine alignment of separate incidents to become one. I had some Lactofree mature cheddar cheese which I was looking to experiment with and this was the perfect chance to use it in a bake. Had a packet of smoked bacon cubes and yes had some cute, tiny bottles of olive oil which had been sent to me. I normally would infuse my own oils and always have a big bottle of olive oil into which I stuff a few cloves of crushed garlic, some chill flakes and fresh herbs – the oil adds beautiful depths of flavour in whatever I use it for and because it is a lovely bottle, it looks pretty on my kitchen counter too – which reminds me I need to get around to doing this again soon – hummm

Also, I had these bright and colourful mini chilli plants now sitting on my window sill, looking all pretty and waiting to be used – yellow and deep aubergine coloured chillies – this was going to be one colourful bake!

So this beautiful marrow came home with us and just like that became part of our dinner plans…..

Stuffed Marrow Bake

Ingredients

1 beautiful marrow
3 heaped tbsp grated Lactofree mature cheddar
3 flakes of garlic chopped fine
500 gm smoked bacon cubes
4 tbsp sweet corn
2 medium-sized red onions
2 tbsp chilli infused Terra Rossa Olive Oil
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
Sea salt to taste

Method

Chop the red onions lengthwise, set aside.
Cut the marrow into half and scoop out the insides and discard, I know I should have saved them for making something else …

In a saucepan heat 1 tbsp chilli Terra Rossa Olive Oil.

Sauté the chopped garlic first and when it begins to brown and the aroma explodes into the kitchen its time to add in the chopped red onions and toss them around till they begin to change colour. Then add the smoked bacon cubes and cook on a medium flame stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes.
Then add in the sweet corn and mix well for about a minute, season with sea salt and chilli flakes.

Remove the saucepan with this onion, bacon and sweet corn mixture off the flame and set aside.
Line a baking tray with parchment and brush some olive oil on the marrow inside out so that it has a bang of flavour when you bite into it.
Stuff both halves of the marrow with the mixture.

Wrap the stuffed marrow halves in foil and bake for half an hour at about 180°C – I have a fan oven, please adjust time accordingly to suit your oven.
Remove from foil and add the grated Lactofree mature cheddar cheese on the top.
Then bake again without foil till the cheese browns or for 10 minutes approximately.
Serve with a warm fresh baguette or a cheesy bread – simply so that you can scoop every single bit of juicy goodness as you eat

The Terra Rossa oils, I received a pack of 3 exquisite Jordanian infused extra virgin olive oils – chilli and lemon infused oils and an unfiltered, cold dripped Sinolea extra virgin olive oil. Not only is it good to have in the store cupboard, I think it makes for a lovely gift idea too! Yes, it isn’t too early to start planning your Xmas gift list is it?

It is incredible how much flavour this humble marrow packs in. I cannot wait to use it again in soups and stews. Yes, it’s autumn and we are going towards colder weather. So along with getting those woollies out we also need to get started with beautiful soups and stews hummm – the seasons they are a-changing! This easy recipe is perfect for busy weekend evenings ( or for a lazy Sunday evening when you want to spend some time watching telly sipping a glass of wine and chilling out rather than slaving in the kitchen!) when you do not want to compromise on flavour and want a wholesome meal too. For a meat-free option replace the bacon with a spicy potato and cauliflower mix. Whatever you choose to add as the stuffing, the result will always be satisfactory – that’s the nature of this beautiful marrow ….

*With thanks to Terra Rossa for the samples. No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Prague and Vienna – How to plan a short break to Europe

September 13, 2014 by manjirichitnis 9 Comments

Wanderlust

Lazy me, I wrote this post on the bank holiday weekend but didn’t end up uploading it! But here it is now! Followed up of course with my Prague and Vienna trip travel adventures !!

Long weekend trip to Prague with my girl gang

Hello everyone! It’s Monday and we are all waking up feeling very happy that we are not rushing to work! London has many food festivals happening all over and also the Notting Hill Carnival concludes today. Hubby and I have just got back from a 3-day highland tour and so am feeling on top of the world. The highlands are simply breathtaking ….But more about that in my travel posts later, for now, let me tell you how my girlfriends and I, planned a fun 3-day getaway to Prague!

A beautiful reminder of our Highland adventure

Dreaming of travelling across Europe

It was my first ever trip to Europe and Jules who writes a travel blog told us one lazy afternoon over a lazy cuppa coffee how she has been wanting to go to Prague forever. I actually wanted to go to Spain as my first Europe trip but well Prague sounded good too! Muks (Muktha) who is a travel enthusiast was super excited too and just like that, we set the plan into motion. So we found a brilliant deal with British Airways and saved a ton of cash by booking our flight tickets and hotel stay with BA.

Short break – Prague and Vienna

The next task up was, of course getting a Schengen Visa sorted for Muktha and me. Jools had already got hers from a trip before and wanted to make the most of the visa. Fab!

Applying for a Schengen Visa from the U.K

So while I started working hard at my new day job, we met in the evenings over several cuppas and planned the itinerary, and chalked out a list of all the documents you need to apply for a Schengen visa. Here is a quick look on the Czech Republic visa site for the documents necessary – please note this list is subject to change and you can get updated information about how to apply for a Schengen Visa for entry into the Czech Republic from the official website here

Print out of valid return ticket
Proof of stay – booking details of your stay in the Czech Republic
Valid travel insurance documents
Xerox of your passport front and back
Xerox of visa to prove you are legally in the U.K when applying from the U.K
Proof of employment, if valid
Employers letter original confirming that you are on their payroll
Bank statement of the past 3 months or your partner’s bank statement if you are financially dependent on them

Of course, you will need to carry your original passport and visa / BRP card.

Not sure if you need a visa to visit Prague? Have a look at this tourist information website, they have a helpful section with all documents that you require when visiting the Czech Republic.

Day Trip to Vienna

Jules meanwhile had a brainwave (expected!) and we decided to throw in a day trip to Vienna on Day 2 of our 3-day trip. Brilliant idea, I must admit and she found us a cracking deal with a travel company based in Prague. So a one-day road trip to Vienna was planned too!

Now all that remained was for us to get the visa! Which arrived in 5 days promptly – cool or what?! But it was a nervous wait especiallu for Muks as she is stickler for rules and timelines whereas I am …aheam NOT really the kind that would sweat over things much! hehehe

How to make the most of your single-entry schengen visa

Muks did tons of research and spent hours online and finally the Czech embassy wrote back to her confirming that on a single-entry Schengen visa we are allowed to travel within Schengen states. Muks and my very skeptical OH breathed a sigh of relief that at the Vienna border control we would face no trouble. All this while Jools was confident we could travel to Vienna too and after reading the email when Jules and I had a smug ‘told you so’ attitude which probably irked my OH a bit…but when two hard-core travel enthusiasts and bloggers bitten by wanderlust can’t both go wrong can they?

Packing for Prague

Now the not-so-fun part had to be done – PACKING. With daytime temperatures of 27 ° C predicted we had sun-tan on the top of our lists!

Wahooooo!!!

Stay tuned to my travel blog post series to find out what happened in Prague and on our exciting one-day trip to Vienna! What we saw ( or didn’t manage to cram into our packed sightseeing schedule !) and the exciting Czech food we ate – Schnitzels – yes! 🙂

How to plan a short break to Prague and Vienna

L – R – Moi , Jules and Muks with the Astronomical Clock in the busiest square in the old town – when I first laid my eyes on this magical clock I fell in love with this city of cobbled lanes and historic monuments … it’s as if every brick had a story to tell… am sure they do actually … if only one could care to ask …

Prague – Posing outside the Astronomical Clock

Prague - posing with my girl gang outside the astronomical clock — Prague

Looking for travel inspiration? Have a browse through my other travel posts too!

Take a virtual tour of some of my favourite markets across the world

Vegetarian Sausage Satay

September 1, 2014 by manjirichitnis 14 Comments

Wait a bit? Did you read that right? Absolutely yes! Vegetarian Sausages are exactly what I have used in this fab recipe sent by my sister who turned vegetarian a few years ago. She doesn’t even consume eggs. I am far from becoming a vegetarian but love to experiment with lighter options and so was delighted to receive some samples from Secret Sausages which I had sampled first at FBC 2014 a few months ago and I recollect really liking the flavours.

I was sent 3 different flavours to experiment with:

Rosemary & Garlic – Garlic, Green Beans, Mixed Peppers and Rosemary
Honey Bee – Sweet Corn, carrots, peas and honey
Chilli and Coriander – Chillies, coriander, onion, sweet corn and carrots

This recipe can be used with the sausages chopped and served as a starter or else as a main with sides like potato or sweet potato mash and green peas.

Serves: 2 as a main with a side of mash and peas

Ingredients – Enough for 2 packets with 6 sausages each

groundnut powder – 5 heaped tbsp
Garlic purée
Green Chillies – 3
A small bunch of fresh coriander or one large packet from the supermarket
Oil 3 tbsp
Juice of one lemon
Salt to taste
Red onions – 2 large
Tomato – 1 medium-sized

Method

In a dry sauce on a low flame heat 1 tbsp oil and add the chopped green chillies and garlic purée.
Then add the groundnuts powder and roast this mixture for about 2 minutes, stirring continuously ensuring it does not burn.
Turn off the flame and add freshly, finely chopped coriander leaves, salt, sugar and lemon juice.

Allow this mixture to cool down and then coat the sausage with skin with the mixture thoroughly.

Refrigerate the marinated sausages for an hour.
Before you remove the marinated sausages from the refrigerator make the onion and tomato mixture.
Chop the onion into long thin strips.
Heat 2 heaped tbsp oil in the same saucepan and sauté till they caramelise.
Add the chopped tomato and sauté for another minute.
Then remove the marinated sausages from the refrigerator and saute on a griddle pan with very little oil sprinkled onto it.

Mix the sausages in the onion-tomato mixture.
Serve with mashed potatoes and green peas as sides.

Why not try my recipe for a fabulous Meatless Monday meal?

*With thanks to Secret Sausages for the samples. No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Creamy Oat Cream Pasta with crunchy green Salad

August 17, 2014 by manjirichitnis 8 Comments

I remember tasting Oatly for the first time at FBC earlier this year, it was a very pleasant taste, the chocolate one even better. All of us at Food Blogger connect this year got a generous bag of Oatly products to take home. The ‘milk’ went used up pretty quickly so I went and got us some more but the Organic Creamy Oat, basically a single cream, I was waiting to experiment with. Since the product is bursting with the goodness of all things organic and is dairy-free I thought why not keep everything about this pasta gluten and dairy-free. So I got some Lactofree mature cheddar cheese and also some pasta which is made from Italian rice and corn, therefore, making it dairy and gluten-free. Oatly cream uses organic rapeseed oil so my cooking medium is …you guessed that right organic rapeseed oil! And since the cream also contains sea salt as one of the ingredients I have used my trusty smoked Maldon sea salt in here too 🙂

This pasta dish can’t get any better, can it? Ok, wait till you hear what OatLy Creamy Oat is all about…It’s made in Sweden using entirely organic ingredients. The fat content is absurdly low 3% over 9.6% in regular cream. Besides, it tastes like cream made from cow’s milk and is packed with fibres.

Ingredients – For the pasta

Dairy and Gluten-free fusilli Pasta 150 gm
Smoked Bacon 200gm
1/2 of a 250 ml tetra pack OatLy cream
a bunch of spring onions
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 cloves of garlic with their skins on
Fresh rosemary and thyme sprigs 1 each
a pinch red chilli flakes
Maldon sea salt to taste

Method – For the pasta

Boil the pasta in a saucepan with some rapeseed oil and allow it to cook completely. Sprinkle some sea salt into the water while it is boiling.
While the pasta is boiling get started with preparing the sauce. Chop the spring onion into bite-size pieces.
In another saucepan add 1 tbsp olive oil and place on a medium heat, when the oil is hot, crush the garlic with the skin on and add into the hot oil.
Allow the garlic to brown and then add the spring onion when the onion begins to change colour add the bacon pieces and reduce the flame.

Let the bacon cook for about 5 minutes until it turns crisp and yummy while stirring occasionally till ensuring it doesn’t get burnt.

Reduce the flame and then pour the Oatly oat cream into the bacon mixture and add a sprig each of thyme and rosemary.
Cover the saucepan and allow to cook for about 2 – 3 minutes.
Add freshly crushed black pepper and sea salt to taste and some chilli flakes.
In a plate add the cooked pasta after draining excess water and pour the bacon and cream mixture over the top.

The oat cream will give you a thick creamy sauce and the smoked bacon adds deep, rich flavours to this pasta dish. It is great for those who are lactose intolerant or those simply looking for a switch. Add some grated lacto-free cheese for a truly cheesy and deliciously satisfying pasta carbonara. I know this dish isn’t vegan because of the bacon so if you want to make a vegan version using smoked paprika breadcrumbs for the texture and smoky taste, also to replace eggs and go vegan use soft tofu puree. I have skipped using eggs and honestly, I didn’t miss them at all in the sauce. So it is not really a carbonara but yes it’s just as silky and creamy and smoky and yummalicious ! 🙂

Ingredients – For the salad

1 medium-sized white onion
8 juicy cherry tomatoes
8 chestnut mushrooms
1/2 a bag of crunchy mixed salad leaves
8 stems of tender purple asparagus
8 stems of tender purple broccoli
Cranberry flavoured vinegar
1 tsp rapeseed oil
Freshly cracked black pepper
Maldon smoked sea salt to taste

Method – For the salad

Chop the tender stem purple asparagus roughly into bite-size pieces keeping the spearhead intact, do the same with tender stem purple broccoli. I loved the colour so I picked purple, its absolutely fine to go with the regular green stuff but the colours in this finished salad are so vibrant! Set aside and move onto the mushrooms and onion now.
Chop the mushrooms into bite-sized pieces, then chop the onion in half and then slice it fine lengthwise
In a saucepan heat the olive oil.
Saute the garlic with skin on in the hot oil and when it turns brown add the mushrooms in. Let them cook for about 1/2 a minute.
Add the onion, asparagus and broccoli into the saucepan and stir for about 1 minute on a low flame we don’t want the greens and the onion to cook and loose the crunch and bite, just give them a bit of flavour so they sit well with the leaves.
Take the saucepan off the bowl and allow to cool.

In a salad bowl was and add the salad leaves, give them a good slosh of cranberry vinegar, sea salt and cracked black pepper and give them a good old’ shake so that the vinegar coats the leaves well.
Place the green and onion over the salad leaves and throw in some juicy red cherry tomatoes on a vine or salad tomatoes into the salad. Give another sprinkling of Maldon sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
If you want to bulk up this salad add 2 boiled eggs halved on top and serve with a cheesy bread or focaccia as a side with a creamy mushroom or chicken soup for a wholesome but light and healthy meal option! Keep the bulked-up version of this salad vegan, again by replacing boiled eggs with fresh large chunks of tofu.
This salad is bursting with goodness and packs in a great punch of flavour with the cranberry flavoured vinegar and the meaty mushrooms and crunchy tender stem asparagus and broccoli feel so lush together when you bite into them ummmmm

I am quite happy with the end result of this pasta and have another 250 ml tetra pack of Oatly Creamy Oat to experiment …wonder what will come out of that lovely little pack, now where is my thinking cap ?!

Uni brings Nikkei Cuisine to Victoria

July 20, 2014 by manjirichitnis 11 Comments

The largest Japanese settlement outside of Japan is in Peru and the unique fusion cuisine that is Japanese Peruvian is called Nikkei. Fiona invited me to accompany this time to discover Nikkei, she is an award-winning freelance writer and marketing consultant who currently writes about travel and London lifestyle for a number of publications and runs her own London lifestyle blog called London Unattached.

So it was a bright summer Monday afternoon that I trooped to Uni (the Japanese word for the sea urchin, a Japanese delicacy) restaurant and sushi bar designed by Andrew Martin, in Belgravia minutes away from the travel hub that is Victoria station.

I was shown to a cosy table downstairs.

For starters, I got some steamed edamame with a spicy chilli and garlic sauce (£4.50) and some refreshing green tea served in a typical cast iron heavy pot which I would love to have as part of my growing food prop collection which now occupies every corner or of our tiny rental flat much to the chagrin of my hubby – I guess the last straw was trying to pass off a very heavy cast iron pot as a ‘place to keep his USB drives and hide away the many wires…. hehehee

I had happily managed to forget my phone at home and therefore Fiona tried in vain to inform me of her delayed train. Blissfully unaware of this I sipped my tea and munched my edamame all the time trying to ignore some stuffy banker-type folks on the table next to me talking shop – how boring…

So when Fiona arrived she managed to move us to a bigger table away from the ‘big boy talk’ as she aptly called it and onto a table where I could dump my bags and lay my camera lens and other paraphernalia – I do not travel light …

To make life easier we chose to have bento boxes for our mains and mine came with the udon noodle and fish cake soup while Fiona had a light Miso soup. I was feeling ravenous by the time the soup arrived and devoured it in a flash! (£24.5 per bento box – comes with soups, salad, sushi, & maki, main dish, side, rice and dessert)

Nabe Udon – Noodle and Fishcake Soup with Prawn Tempura.

Beautifully light Miso Soup

My Bento box had Kaiso Wakame – seaweed salad, prawn and carrot tempura, main of duck tataki – seared duck breast finely sliced and dressed with mirin and soy, fried rice and sashimi selection. The duck tataki was deliciously morish, I also loved the seaweed salad and the sticky fried rice with the sashimi was very filling.

Fiona’s bento box came with steamed rice and artichoke sauce, and black cod and was very appetising.

We washed down our Bento lunch boxes with some chilled sake.

The very polite manager came and urged us to experiment with some of the Nikkei range from the menu and we were served two stunning dishes.

Tiraditos of Yellowtail with kizami wasabi,Yuzu and fresh mint presented in a creative and stunning display, it was delightfully fresh, sharp in taste with a delicate balance of colour and flavour. (£15.5)

Wildly beautiful looking salmon tartare tacos with cucumber,tomato,masago and creamy miso were crunchy and melt in your mouth creamy all at one once exploding with a light flavour in every bite – delicious! (£6)

Stuffed to the gills now I had to walk around click a few pictures and allow for some space to be created in my tummy to fit in some dessert 😉

To my amusement the very attentive young lady on the staff showed us how the colourful lamp shade were made from bottle of campari that could be detached and well glugged , given it was a hot summer afternoon I think it was a great idea that Fiona ordered us some Pisco Sour shots instead ;).Never having tasted these before I downed them in one go much to my own peril, the sake already in my system the shot gave me quite the buzz!

Thankfully, my cooling Matcha Gelato worked wonders and cooled me down several degrees -phew!

Fiona managed to stay light with desserts too with a selection of fresh fruit.

The creation of former Nobu chef Rolando Ongcoy, the menu at UNI offers a good selection of grilled meats ,fish, sushi,sashimi, selection of tempura and maki. The Peruvian influence is prevalent throughout UNI’s menu, ceviche and tiraditos peruano included.

The bar area upstairs also has plenty of seating on high stools and around the bar, perfect for knocking down Peruvian fav’s like the pisco sours or coconut-based Chilli Mojito.

Victoria being a very office space kind of area is lucky to have Uni in its midst now, with bite-sized healthier meal options, seven-dish bento boxes for short lunch hours are on offer at a price of course. So the big banker boys and girls can have their financial pow-wow meets in the fancy cubicles or basement vaults if you please which can seat about 10 – 12 people, and if the huge ice buckets with bottles of chilled Moet and the power talk we overheard from the table next to us are anything to go by then Uni is already a haunt for these suited and well-heeled office folks!

Website: Uni
Opening Times: is open for lunch and dinner, Monday to Saturday inclusive

*With thanks to Uni for the invitation. No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Dinner at the Tower Guoman, London – a Review

July 18, 2014 by manjirichitnis 8 Comments

On the day of the Mens Singles Final when Djokovic won the match against Roger Federer ,I had an invite to go dine with a few fellow bloggers at The Brasserie at the Tower Guoman. I must admit the match was so engaging that I was glued to the tv and only in the game that I was just to nervous to watch so I dragged myself out and kept pestering a dear friend of mine in whatsapp till she gave me updates of almost every move on the court …. I was hoping that Djokovic would win and also hoping that the match would end before I hopped onto the tube and lost network… Lets just say that all invisible divine forces were with Djokovic ( and me )that day coupled with his awesome performance, just as I was about to get into the tube… there it was..,… message I was hoping to see on whatsapp…. ‘He won’… which led to a very comical impromptu gig on the staircase by me watched by bemused passers by…heck a good win deserves a dance ..at least ! Bonus points to all those who also watched this match to oogle at Boris Becker …teehee

After that I needed a refreshing drink and just as I was settling in the beautiful area just outside the Guoman, an open air bar and siping my cocktail gazing up the Tower Bridge was perfect. Chilled Prosecco, Cocktails and Mocktails flowed while we chatted up with the manager who also had dinner with us later .Meeting my friends after Food Blogger Connect was fun and camera lens choices, food photography ,the Wimbledon final results and the stunning view dominated our conversation. Before long the rain decided to play spoil sport and we were ushered inside to our huge table at The Brasserie.

I took the seat the far end of the end but the view from any where inside is just as brilliant , it’s the first time I was so close to the Tower Bridge and you can be guaranteed you will have the best seats in town at The Brasserie with superb views of Butlers wharf thrown in.

The table was neatly laid out with our special menu for the evening there and fresh bread , warm and just out of the oven with 3 different dips arrived.

Our rustic bread selection with truffle oil and olive oil.

To go with our Rustic Bread selection we had the smoked paprika dip – the bright orange one and my fav of the 3, one with chives in the middle and a plain one which I found a tad too salty.

I choose to have the Grilled Vegetable and Goat Cheese Tart to start off my meal with – it sounded very appetising – Tomato olive salsa,balsamic reduction,pine nut,sekura cress – hummm yes please.

The thin crisp pastry base was not one bit soggy or eggy, the grilled Manchego cheese ( a cheese made in the La Mancha region of Spain from the milk of sheep of the manchega breed) tasted great in combination with summery veggies like asparagus and grilled peppers and the salsa was very good ,I loved the taste of the olives and hints of fennel, the cress made the whole dish so fresh not just to look at but to taste too.

The Head chef Kamaldeep Singh (left) and his colleague decided to take us through the process of how the new menu was created , the origin of ingredients and basically make us hungry for more!

Madeleine seated next to me choose the other option as her first course :Peppercorn Cured Beef Carpaccio – Manchego cheese , home cured tomatoes,charred artichokes,mizuna and micro cress. I was avoiding red meat that so was very happy to photograph her dish and ask how it tasted but equally satisfied with my light tart.

The carpaccio was hammered thin and artichokes placed over – it looked great. Very happy with my first course, I expected the second course to deliver and impress me a bit more. Must say my Pan-Fried Fillet of Sea Bass served with diver scallop,caper crushed potatoes, mixed bean salsa, and the sauce did not fail to do so. It looked amazing and I had to photograph it from various angles – oh you know how obsessive we food bloggers are about getting the perfect photo!

But this was simply delicious and worthy of praise for more reasons than one – made using farmed sea bass responsibly sourced scallops, a lighter than most sauces that usually accompany a fish main the scallop sat one a delicious pea puree and cream base.

The mixed bean salsa tasted great with the morish caper crushed potato, the cress balancing off the dish in a subtle way.Nayna my vegetarian food blogger friend chose to have the Spinach and Ricotta Raviolli made with heirloom tomato salsa and served with freshly made basil cream sauce.Our first wine of the evening accompanied the first course , Vidal sauvignon blanc from New Zealand , aromas of gooseberry, passionfruit and guava lead into a palate that exudes tropical and passion fruit flavours.

After that very satisfying sea food dish ,we moved onto the next course , I stayed away from red meat again and the Garden pea,mint and pecorino cheese risotto was fabulous for me , I love my rice and many a times I really need some to complete my meal and make it me feel full, maybe a psychological thing but coming from the coastal side of western India ,fish curry and rice is our most staple everyday far.One of the staff members asked me where I was from and when I said Mumbai, pat came the next question which I was sort of expecting – was the sea bass as good as the Pomfret, well no! For me pomfret is the king of all fishes on this planet – but its a matter of what taste one has grown up with and our method of cooking is also so very different. But yes Sea Bass , Salmon and Basa are my favorite buys,best eaten fresh on the day of purchase ,hate frozen fish,tastes muddy and weird in curries especially.

The pecorino cheese added a subtle tangy taste to this very morish and filling risotto, its easy to get this dish so wrong because often the seemingly easier to make dishes are the toughest to produce to perfection . I am a great fan of the risotto that my elder sister hubby makes , he is a trained chef but now a very busy and senior marketing head honcho so it’s very rarely that we meet and even more rarely that I get to eat the risotto he makes. Ah sweet nostalgic family moments, only truly good food can bring on such an attack for me.. 🙂

By now the light had really faded and my risotto photo and all that follow look terrible!

I must admit Madeleine was very kind and allowed me to have a taste of burnt celeriac which I loved with some of the calvados sauce I scooped it off her plate with from her Confit of Gloucestershire Pork Belly. She enjoyed my cheesy risotto too.

The 14 hour low heat cooked pork belly looked so very appetising, the burnt celeriac adding to the earthiness of this dish,the cinnamon compliments the pork and the savoy cabbage and compressed apple give it a tart almost tangy twist on the side. This was washed down with several glasses of a full bodied Chilean Merlot – Errazuriz , almost opulent with notes of berry and cassis fruit.

It’s at this point that I slipped into blissful food coma and saw this beautiful rainbow emerge right in front of my eyes… the photo does no justice to the what we actually saw…

That is us at the table – L- R – Bintu who blogs at Recipes from a pantry, Nicki who blogs at Baking Beardy, seated opposite her is Fiona who writes an award-winning blog – London Unattached, Nayna – who blogs at Simply Sensational Food, and the lovely Madeline who blogs at Kitchen Journeys and documents heart-healthy recipes at From the Healthy Heart.

Was too full by now and the dessert platter served with a large shot of margarita in shot glass lined by sugar , managed to cut the sweet taste that was bound to settle on the palate after cheesecake ,a panna cotta that failed to impress because I was expecting the usual wobble and a refreshing pista flavoured ice cream – my fav from the selection.

As we strolled out for an impromptu photo session and gazed happily at the beautiful Tower Bridge,I couldn’t help but wonder that though the exterior of the Tower Guoman leaves one wanting the view of two world Heritage Sites – Tower Bridge and the Tower of London certainly makes up for it!A massive refurbishment project is on the cards too.A few more plus points include a convenient location within easy reach of the financial district, Canary Wharf, the Excel Centre, London City Airport, historic Greenwich, the West End and Westfield Shopping Centre. Also the newly launched menu at The Brasserie definitely warrants a visit. The menu is bold and one where the chefs have really gone the extra mile to hope that if they try ambitiously to achieve the Zero Mile Ingredient mark and grow their own herbs fresh on the terrace garden which is to come alive very soon!

The staff was very polite, genuinely attentive and ensured we had a great evening.

*With thanks to The Tower Guoman for the invitation. No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review . All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

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Notes

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