Author: cookingwithshy

Udaipur: Of Lakes, Palaces & Royalty

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Hello Friends, Here’s hoping the New Year has begun well for everyone! Our dear son was visiting us over the recent holidays and we decided to take a quick trip within India.Now my travel almost always revolves around Culinary travel wherein essentially,I roundup a list of of best eats, or perhaps rub shoulders with a Chef at the hotel and get him to share a secret or two, or even do a workshop like I did one in Galle,Sri lanka. However this post is perhaps not as food centric and more of a travel post, sharing  the sheer splendour and magnificence of Fatehgarh, a  luxurious and boutique hotel we stayed at on our recent trip to Udaipur in Rajasthan,India.   Udaipur is quite aptly named as the City of Lakes or the Venice of the East and a city in Rajasthan, India, makes a perfect getaway  due its proximity of an a hour’s flight from Mumbai.The city has numerous lakes such as Fateh Sagar, Lake Pichola that make it a perfect spot for boating or …

Vegan Almond & Raisin Cookies

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My baking routine at the college has taken on a heightened frenzy, especially with kitchen exams just around the corner. This leaves me hardly any time to get on my experimental chef cap and try out any thing innovative. However, recently our College played host to a fabulous Vegan Competition. While most of the menu’s were being provided by the organisers, the students were left to plan out the recipes for their bakery products.I must say I’ve hardly baked vegan, eggless yes and was drawing quite a blank on how to go about a recipe trial with no dairy. I’ve been following numerous blogs that bake up great vegan delights, all though baking without butter was something that needed be de-mystified.Browsing on the internet amongst a dozen recipes I  came across an easy Vegan Chocolate Chip recipe on Allrecipes and have adapted the following Vegan Almond & Raisin one. The recipe trial worked out out great and I was happy to share the same with my students. It was an instant hit with the Vegan …

Udvada: The Perfect Foodie Getaway

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  Culinary travel is something that I’m very passionate about. And yes, I certainly will  travel 200 kilometres  away from Mumbai in search of hidden gems that nourish and  feed the soul.Well after all the best part of any travel is the food, right? One such getaway was a road trip to the sleepy and quaint town of Udwada in Gujarat. The hubs and I are the perfect partners in crime as he loves to drive and I’d go to the end of this earth in search of good meal. En route, our pit stop is  the legendary “Ahura” on the NH8 which serves up some great Parsi delicacies. We settle for some Akuri (spicy scrambled eggs with onions, tomatoes and spices) and some Kheema (Minced meat). Both these are served with Pav (Indian dinner rolls). With our bellies full we proceed on our journey ahead.   NH 8, Amboli, Tal. Dahanu, Dist. Palghar | 14 km after Charoti Toll Booth on NH 8 while driving to Ahmedabad, Dahanu 401601, India +91 97665 12512 We arrive at our destination late afternoon. …

Cat Cafe Studio: Fancy A Coffee with Cats?

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Fancy a Coffee with Cats? Here a Cat there a Cat Everywhere a Kitty Cat!! Now if you are wondering what a Cat’s got to do with a slice of the best ever Carrot cake and a shot of espresso, well then welcome to Mumbai’s first ever Cat Café Studio located in four  Bungalows Versova,Mumbai. Feline friends will be delighted to spend a couple hours at this café playing with Cats that are housed in the Enclosed section. The café hosts almost 20-30 species. These cats are usually stray cats taken from the streets ,that now have a home. They have been spayed and neutered and are all up for adoption (for free, provided you meet their requirements, which is being an ardent cat lover of course!!)   While this concept is new to Mumbai, Cat cafes are very popular especially in Japan says the Manager of the café. Apartments in Japan forbid pet ownership, and hence a lot of these cat café’s have sprung up. These café’s enable pet lovers to spend some time …

Chocolate Is The Key To Happiness…Easy Chocolate Gateaux

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Chocolate is the key to happiness… It’s been a hectic and busy  start to 2017 to say the least. I realise we are into May already.I can’t recall when I last sat  down with my cup of coffee and got down to posting for my blog. I now teach at a Hospitality Institute here in Mumbai and head  the Bakery & Patisserie program. It’s been one fabulous year and I love what I do…which is teach of course. Teaching: A Rewarding Profession Keep Calm and Bake on! The quintessential mantra in my kitchen as I begin my day at The RPH Institute of Hospitality Management. A sense of utmost tranquility prevails when I come in to commence preparation for the class. Of course this is the calm before the storm. Welcome to my world of elevated excitement interspersed with high decibels of noise and commotion, as I take on my task of instructing a bunch of enthusiastic bakers that are keen on bakery specialization The students arrive and I begin with a talk on how …