Author: cookingwithshy

Sundae Funday at Lakeview Cafe: Renaissance Mumbai

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Hello Friends! I was overjoyed to be invited into the kitchen’s of the Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre, yet once again.This time it was for the Valentine’s Day event at the Lake View Cafe.In keeping with the theme,I was asked to provide some of my favourite recipes for Sundae’s.The idea being,getting  diner’s at the restaurant to go ahead and make up their own creations for either themselves, their spouse or their friends. What a wonderful way of saying “Happy Valentines’s. Rhomesecrets is an initiative by the  Renaissance in collaboration with SecretIndianrecipe to bring traditional Indian home flavours to life in a five-star hotel kitchen.It was indeed a great experience to have participated in the home chefs event and I certainly look forward to many such opportunities. Here is an image of the decadent Brownie A la Mode that I  whipped up..The event took place at the Hokey Pokey Ice-cream cart at the restaurant.The diner’s had a choice of making up Sundaes of their choice,pairing it with Brownie’s, assorted garnishes such as Blueberry Compote,Sour Cherries,Chocolate chips,Nuts and Fresh …

Chocolate Pots & Raspberries: Will You be My Valentine?

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Love is just Love…It can never be explained.♥ Ah yes, if it’s a decadent chocolate post  mingled with sweet nothing’s and love, it’s got to be that special time of  the year. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and everything seems like looking through rose-tinted glasses.Right from heart-shaped boxes filled with chocolates, red roses,cards professing undying love, special romantic dinner’s, exotic getaways’ and pink champagne on ice. Yes,I’ve done it all.I have been wooed,wined and dined in style on various Valentine’s with my darling hubs.However the one memory closest to my heart is my first Valentine’s with him  many years ago.We were newly weds and I was moving to live with him in the Middle East. Not knowing what to really give him ,I got him a bright Red heart-shaped pillow that had “I Love you”, embroidered in white, and I picked  up one for myself as well. He had planned a  special home-coming for me too.A table setting for two with a lovely meal all laid out , a dozen red roses, some bubbly  and a …

Zucchini Noodles: Loving My Spiralizer

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All right I may as well admit it.I’m an absolute and out right gadget freak.More specifically a Kitchen gadget freak.Travelling does that some how.An incessent and obsessive need to browse through home and kitchen stores,walk down endless aisles of supermarkets,on the look out for some kitchen gadget or house ware that would make cooking a lot more interesting.That, I do not have any more shelf space  is another story all together.Amongst the stuff that I’ve been amassing over the years are hordes of  Bakeware, Cookware,Gizmos and  various other kitchen memorabilia collected over numerous travels ,making the insides of my pantry  resemble a well stocked Kitchen-ware store.No,I’m not complaining,just overjoyed at my stash.After all having the right equipment makes all the difference.

Saffron Infused Rice Speckled with Tangy Barberries-Zereshk Polo:A Persian Delight

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Having lived for fifteen wonderful years in the Dubai and now currently in India,my taste buds have been hankering for some Middle Eastern flavours. Yes we did make a couple of short trips last year and revelled in all our favourite haunts. Especially the Lebanese,Persian and Moroccan ones.I’m very fond of Iranian cuisine ,especially the varied assortment of flavourful kebabs and the buttery,crispy rice that is an accompaniment with them.An all time favourite over the years has been the Pars Iranian cafe that served some of this deliciousness.This Persian  rice is termed as a Zereshk Polo or very simply put-a Saffron and butter infused rice and garnished with some sweet and sour Barberries,which are ever so popular in this cuisine. A family dinner a couple of weeks ago got me making up some aromatic chicken kebabs and I thought I’d delight them all with a lovely Iranian rice dish.  Zereshk translates into the Barberries and Polo is the rice in Farsi.So it was decided I would go ahead and serve this rice. It was just as …

Muhammara: Roasted Red Bell Peppers & Walnut Dip

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This bright and super flavourful dip is a show stopper and a crowd pleaser for sure.Smoky flavours of roasted red bell peppers combined with a hint of garlic,a burst of lemon juice and olive oil mingle together to make up this delightful Middle Eastern Mezze. If your taste buds are sharp enough you will detect the slightly coarse texture that is brought about by the addition of breadcrumbs and coarsely ground walnuts. This classic dip traces  its origins to Aleppo Syria,and now a popular accompaniment with most Levantine cuisine. A key ingredient that lends a vibrant colour to this dip is Pomegranate Molasses.I do believe the brilliant red tones and the tartness of this deeply flavoured Muhamarra ,lies in the addition  of the molasses.I’ve been impatient to make this for quite awhile now and glad that I  went ahead and made some.