Baisakhi Menu - Kangan , Westin

Baisahki - Punjabi New Year and the harvest festival celebrated in the land of 5 rivers is on April 14th, 2015 and the celebrations have already begun.

All over Punjab there are Melas (fairs) to bring in this joyous occasion .

No celebration in Punjab or in a Punjabi household where ever it may be on the globe is complete without food , drink and the generous spirit of sharing joy and love.

Kangan - the restaurant at Westin , Pune that serves delectable cuisine from the legendary North West Frontier province and Hyderabad , has put together a wonderful selection of authentic Punjabi favorites to celebrate Baisakhi.

I was absolutely delighted with the spread and here are a few pictures of what we enjoyed.

The Baisahki menu has wonderful Punjabi staples like Langar Walli Daal , Aloo Wadi , Dhabewalli Kukkad , pindi chole , slow cooked sarso ka saag , Fish Amritsari with a wonderful flavor of Ajwain that will take you back to little bylanes of Amritsar where this snack originated and other wonderful dishes

 Wonderful beverages to accompany your meal , we enjoyed some Lassi and Jal Jeera !

Ofcourse the desserts are wonderfully executed , we had crisp jalebi with rabri ....it was just right not overpoweringly sweet and the signature dessert at Kangan - Gulab ke patte ki kheer is something you should not miss!

Do checkout the Baisakhi special menu.

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Easter Sunday!

I had a wonderful Easter Sunday....the lovely people at JW Marriott , Senapati Bapat Road,  Pune hosted a wonderful afternoon full of Easter Joy.

With a fun little baking workshop for children (to which I took my niece) , an Easter Bunny and a wonderful magic show!

We made a basketful of Easter goodies -  cupcakes , chocolate Easter eggs and wonderful white chocolate cookies....A lovely time was had by all and it was fantastic being surrounded by budding young , enthusiastic chefs!

Chef Ajmal Salim , Director , F&B, JW Marriott Hotel patiently took the excited bunch of young cooks through an enjoyable afternoon of making Easter goodies.

Hope you all had a wonderful , blessed Easter!

Poha Masala Powder

Poha or beaten rice is very popular all over Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

Its easy to make , light and still counts as a good hearty breakfast/tea time snack.

 This is not another poha recipe ....I recently went to Bhopal and Indore and was amazed to see how differently poha is garnished and served there....

So this post is about how you can re-invent your poha recipe with just a few small changes .....

But before I tell you about Poha here are some pictures of everything that constitutes a Typical MPwalla Naashta ( breakfast)

There is garam garam doodh ( Scalding hot milk) that has been lovingly heated for a few hours in a kadhai resulting in lots of malai (cream) and thick fudge-y taste.....

There is jalebi crisp and hot to be eaten with poha or alongside your glass of hot milk....

Samosa and Kachori both very well made also constitute a good Bhopali / Indori Naashta

And now moving on to the Poha ....While in the train we were served poha with a garnish of Namkeen , lemon wedges and raw finley chopped onion....it tasted selicious even though it wasnt hot and was at room temperature . I was quite surprised because I dont fancy eating raw onions at breakfast but this tasted delicious.

At another breakfast pit-stop in Bhopal we saw a vendor with a huge mountain of Poha garnished with grated carrot and lots of chopped coriander ! Not only does the carrot add  color it also tastes great . There was also sev , fried green chillies and Poha masala ....

Poha Masala Recipe 

Chaat Masala..............70%

Red Chilli Powder..........30%

Salt ..................to taste

Simply combine chaat masala and red chilli powder (70:30 ratio) , add a little salt , give it all a good stir and store in a dry jar .



All to be eaten simply over a square piece of news paper.......

And here in Maharashtra we love our Poha garnished with grated fresh coconut and sometimes even coconut chutney!!!

So are you ready to spruce up your old Poha recipe?

Let me know if you enjoyed these suggestions....

Cashew Muhammara (Middle eastern roasted red pepper dip)

All good parties involve a lot of standing around gossiping and picking on finger food, and this is the kind of food you want table side to be picked from!

                            

This is a wonderful dip ....a velvety gunge of charred red pepper , onion and olive oil with mild undercurrents of garlic!

Serve this with Pita bread , lavash , cucumber/carrot batons and any crudites that you want to provide!

                                             

 I love serving dips & finger food at parties specially when my girlfriends are over! This is my new favorite dip and I hope you try it out!





























CashewMuhammara

1/4 cup of lightly toasted cashew nuts

1 red bell pepper (red capsicum)

6 cloves of garlic

1 onions chopped fine and cooked in 2 tsp olive oil

Red pepper flakes (to taste) or 1-2 dry red kashmiri chillies soaked in water

Sweet smoked paprika (optional)

1 bread slice

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

A dash of honey

Salt to taste

Procedure

Cant get any simpler! Just add to a blender and combine till smooth!

Will take about 5 minutes , serve in a bowl and garnish with some more extra virgin olive oil and some smoked paprika on top.

Serve with choice of bread / crudites

Moroccan Food Festival - Westin Pune

Moroccan cuisine has developed over centuries and is heavily influenced by the interactions the country has had with other nations and cultures.

Being the center of trade in the days gone by , it saw travelers and traders from across the world walk the tiny alley ways and souks . They all brought with them distinct flavors , exotic spices and unique cooking techniques.

With access to great sea food , spices and fresh produce Morocco has some fine food to offer!

Seasonal Tastes at Westin , Pune is hosting a Moroccan Food Festival until the 8th of November ,2014 . Pune foodiez were invited to sample this gorgeous fare last week!

And easily, this is the best Food Festival I have been to . Chef De Cuisine -Prasad Metrani has put together an excellent food experience!

Chef has made every effort to keep the food authentic! Everything is fantastic be it salad , pickled lemons , kebabs and desserts!

I will keep this short because I could go on for forever about how gorgeous everything was!

Here are some more  pictures of everything we enjoyed!

And you MUST go check it out !

At Seasonal Tastes , Westin Pune , Koregaon Park

Moroccan Food Festival till 8th November , 2014 .

6.30 PM onwards

Buffet @ INR 1299 +  Taxes

Lakeland Pune

What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than admiring the lovely wares at the Lakeland Store?

The Tiny Taster (Roxanne) with Shahzad Variava (aka Dessert King of Master Chef fame) put together a lovely afternoon of baking and fun for food /baking enthusiasts in Pune.

I loved the afternoons I spent in the Lakeland store in Stratford Mall , London ....so you can imagine how pleased I was to find out that Pune has a Lakeland Store too!

Its the perfect place to find gifts for friends & family that enjoy entertaining/baking/cooking! Its also just the place if you are looking to make your time in the kitchen a little more convenient and enjoyable....

They stock everything from beautiful Tagines, lots of baking pans , canning & preserving essentials....

Lots of lovely retro swing top bottles ...ideal for infusing olive oil and vinegar with herbs.....

 Silicon baking mats , pots and pans , an excellent specialty knife section , party supplies , cake pop machines and well I could go on..........but you will have to visit the store to find out how wonderful it is!

Most of my enamel pie dishes are from Lakeland and they have stood the test of time ....no chips and no cracks despite having put them to plenty of use!

Lakeland is a one of UKs home shopping pioneers that offers an unrivaled collection of creative kitchenware that is sure to make your time in the kitchen lots of fun!

I had a lovely time learning how to frost cupcakes and cake pops from Dessert King Shahzad Variava!

And ofcourse was completely thrilled to meet and pose with Tiny :))

Do check the store out for lots of cooking/baking inspiration!

Lakeland Pune
Ground Floor ( Near Mad Over Donuts)
Phoenix Market City

WTF Seaons Mall Pune

I had heard so much about WTF from friends in Bombay and friends in Pune who attended the launch and pre-launch tasting sessions that I was mighty excited about spending Friday night there with PuneFoodiez.....



The place has a very cool , youthful and relaxed vibe about it! I totally loved the way the space has been designed and put together ...

The indoor area has a lovely well stocked bar and cool graffiti is everywhere on the walls ...on the menu cards...

Mojito & Apple Martini

The drinks were all pretty neat I had a few sips of the cocktails friends at my table ordered....Each one was well executed .

The food menu is pretty limited , mostly bar/finger food ....nothing like a main course really....

So this is some of what we tried ...

Hummus with Pita

WTF French Fries

I was a little disappointed with the food ....because on a night out FOOD is the hero!

Bombil Thecha Roll

Chicken Naan Pizza

Chicken Kemma Pav

I did however enjoy a few things like the chicken keema pav , Hummus and the chilli chicken! A lot of the dishes that my friends really enjoyed I could not really taste because I dont eat red meat!

Overall its a nice place to catch up with friends over a few drinks .
I will defiantly go back for the lovely drinks and ambiance   :))) ...... I will also go try WTF at Phoenix Mall sometime soon and let you know how that was...