Chunky Chocolate Chocolate Chips Cookies

Say the title fast on repeat.

Its monsoons in Mumbai and some afternoons it rains for hours. A cup of coffee and a cookie is the best indulgence ever. I was craving chocolate chip cookies one rainy afternoon. After a brief google search that really just included searching for Pioneer Woman's website- I found her Chocolate Chips Cookie recipe. I did not have all her ingredient so I just went ahead and made my own with what I had. I was missing white chocolate chips and unsweetened cocoa powder. But I did have extra large (hence chunky) dark semi sweet chocolate chips and Cadbury's drinking chocolate (slightly sweet-so be careful)

So here is what I did.

Ingredients:
50gms butter (I used Amul butter) at room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup flour
1/2 cup Cadbury's drinking chocolate (slightly sweet)
1/2 tspn salt
1 tspn baking soda
1.5 tspn vanilla essence
1 cup Ghiradelli's extra large semi sweet dark chocolate chips (ok dont be fussy - use what you have)
If you have you can add a mix of white chocolate chips and dark. Also some chopped walnuts for crunch.

Time taken: 1 hour from start to finish

Yields: 8 large cookies (3" diameter)

Yumm!!

I also used all my new purchases from Crate and Barrel. My new spatuala, new egg beater (I dont own a Kitchen Aid mixer), my new cup measures. So exciting it was!

Preheat the oven at 175 Celcius

I mixed this using my eggbeater. The butter and sugar should not be lumpy. More like a smooth paste. Add the egg and keep beating till you have a smooth paste. 

Lovely smooth mixture of egg, sugar and butter. Feel to check if there are any lumps of sugar.

In a separate bowl mix the flour, drinking chocolate, baking soda, and salt. (Love the packaging for the hot chocolate.

Sift a scoopful of the flour-cocoa mixture into the egg-sugar mixture and fold. I still used the eggbeater for a smooth batter. A proper upper-body work out. 

So here is the tricky part. Its really yummy cookie batter. Yield to one lick maybe two. Or even better just lick the egg beater once you are done scraping the sides. Just be careful- its delicious you could finish half the batter!

Now for the yummy semi sweet dark chocolate chips. 

I wish I had white chocolate chips as well. But never mind. These guys will give the cookie chunky chocolatey bites. 

Mix well and gently. Notice the new red spatula. It is amazing how well it clears up the sides of the bowl. Nothing was stuck. I covered the bowl and put the cookie batter in the fridge for 20 min for it to firm up. Meanwhile Sous Chef Walter got a whole bunch of hearts from me.

Once the batter is firm- you got yourself some cookie dough. Now scoop a tablespoon amount on a baking dish. Decorate the mounds of cookie dough with some more chocolate chips- here I used milk chocolate chips- just cause I had some with me. Put the baking dish in the oven for exactly 10 min at 175 degree Celsius or 350 degree Fahrenheit.

Remove from the oven in 10 minutes. The cookies will still be soft and partially baked. Let them cool on the counter. As they cool, their surface firms up and the inside is still soft and gooey. When they are nearly cool, scrape them off the baking dish and pile them on a plate.

Yep just like that. Perfection on a plate. These babies have a slightly harder exterior and are gooey soft inside. When hot the chocolate chips just melt in your mouth.  

Well as Ree Drummond insists. MUST HAVE with a glass of cold milk. Its hard to stop at one or two or three. But no one has to know right.

This song goes so well these wonderfully indulgent cookies. It can be a secret right - no one has to know that you ate these lovely cookies. This is also a fun song though slightly morbid - perfect for rainy days outside. 

A Cinderella's weekend at the Le Meridien, New Delhi

The following article is written by my lovely cousin Anjum who spent the weekend with me at the Le Meridien, New Delhi. I was invited by the hotel to experience their art spaces and their cuisine. Here are her thoughts on the experience.

Does a Cinderella like thing happen in today’s world? Till 26th April a cynic like me would have not hesitated a second to say "NO' but that was then.....

My sister, the food blogger (this is her blog dude) was invited by Le Meridien, New Delhi to blog about their spaces and their cuisine and she was allowed to bring a guest along. Out of all us sisters (we are a big family) I was the chosen one.

So for next 2 days I was transported to this magical land of the finest French and Oriental fusion cuisines at their world-class restaurants. Stuff that you only read in books or travel magazines had now became a reality. You name it, they had it and we could eat our hearts content at any of their restaurants.

My first day started with the signature breakfast at The One, which is apart from their regular buffet. My eyes literally popped open with the eye openers (wake up shots for the jet lagged and lucky ones with a hangover) drinks like watermelon and mango chilly sorbet. We feasted on croque madame, which is a toast with cheddar cheese, fried eggs and bacon, goat cheese custard with dill and olive tapenade, spinach buck wheat pancakes and oatmeal soufflé with spices n berries. All delicately flavored and artistically presented. It was a meal straight out of an Enid Blyton. The chef was nice to come and explain the food to us. 

To burn all the calories we both hit the pool with the attendants supplying us with Pina-Coladas, Margueritas and Bloody Marys.

Lunch at Eau de Monsoon, prepared by a 3 star Michelin chef, was another gastronomic delight. Welcome drink of mushroom cappuccino with starters of French & Lucknow inspired galauti kebabs with foie gras(duck liver a first time for the uninitiated like me). After each course the attendants gave us palate cleansers of apple sorbet and berry compotes to clear our palate so we could appreciate the finer tastes, texture and aroma of the next course. (Ahem ahem). It was a totally out of the world experience for me.  Their sommelier Manisha, a rock star drink mixer has recently won a Grand Prix in a global coffee mixing competition. Thanks Manisha for the amazing wine tips. My sister who is more reserved about her opinion also could not help smiling through her lamb chops main course. Apparently lamb chops are the love of her life.

Taking a break from all the amazing meals, we went shopping at Khan Market, checking out interiors of Blue Frog at the Kila The Shroom, attending a private German party at Out Of the Box, Hauz Khas village.....

Sleep sleep go away, come again another day ... Life was at its best...Thanks Jyo!  Thanks Le Meridien!

And as the clock struck twelve, in true Cinderella manner my chariot became a pumpkin and my train for Dehradun left New Delhi exactly at midnight. The Cinderella was back home but not without my teenage daughters sulky comment "mom has all the fun".

Meeting friends in Delhi is so always refreshing.

So much love from friends.

My personal Musings: First of all I would like to thank Le Meridien for inviting me to experience their space and their cuisine. While the interiors were a bit loud for me, I really did enjoy the food. I also think the art gallery has tremendous potential and the art I witnessed was fantastic. Every one at the hotel was excited to have us and waited on us like we were some VIPs. I hope that is exactly how each of your guests is treated anyways. Thank you for the lovely break. 

Fun, Fast Food Break at Bombay Blues

I did like the decor and the interiors. The blue and white illustrations of famous landmarks of the city I call home now for the past two years. I was invited to blog about Bombay Blues at Phoenix Mills. I decided to take mom and dad along with me as we wanted to celebrate mom's new job.

The restaurant manager and chef were very sweet and made sure we tried a variety things on the menu. Bombay Blues serves a variety of cuisines- Indian, chaats, Lebanese, Mexican, Sizzlers etc. If you have grown up in Mumbai as Cream Center and New Yorkers as your childhood haunt- this place seems like a bit more modern version of those classics. As a kid though- the Mexican and Middle Eastern food held so much appeal.  I did enjoy the nachos and cheese (home made crisps). Mom loved the alu tikki stuffed with hung curd. That was pretty unique- the creaminess of the curd with the potatoes. Of the non- veg appetizer platter I liked the jerk chicken quite a bit. The flavours were authentic something I have not had in India yet- a Jerk chicken done right. The other two on the platter was a Andhra style lamb done in a deep fried spring roll (a bit much) and the other was a spicy fried chicken.

I think the rest of the food - the pasta and the sizzler were alright. The sauce of the pasta was a bit too sweet. To be fair I was too full to eat the sizzler and the large pieces of sausage just looked a bit intimidating. I am very fond of sausages off the grill and these were missing those char grilled marks.

We finished the meal with a sizzling brownie. Even though I have had this combination many times before I still enjoy the whole show of pouring hot chocolate sauce on a hot iron platter and watch the whole thing sizzle. My parents thoroughly enjoyed their dessert. I am a bit of brownie Nazi and love a gooey super chocolatey brownie. I have yet to come across brownies in Mumbai that make the mark for me. I did take a bite and as I said before- it was alright. 

I have to thank Bombay Blues though - my parents and I did enjoy our meal and the overall ambiance of the place. We relaxed and let the chef pamper us. Would I recommend it. Definitely for the snacks and appetizers and if you still have space for more experiment off the main courses.

An Unforgettable Meal at The La Plage, Goa

Some meals you never forget. There are many factors to that- 

- the process of getting to the meal

- the company

- the meal itself

I think each of the above factors played into making my dinner with Mr. Fox at the La Plage, Goa the most memorable meal of this year and I can safely say of last year as well. The La Plage came recommended by a couple of friends as a must go. Since it was supposedly only a 30 min walk from our hotel, we decided to walk along the beach and work up an appetite for dinner. Little did we know that the beach walk was not as simple as it seemed. What started out as a romantic, virgin sand, beachy walk soon got interrupted with fresh water lagoons that seemed too deep to wade through. At one point we were almost waist deep in water (not very romantic but still fun).  We worked our way to the road and what seemed like a never ending trek we finally arrived at our destination - The La Plage. It is located by the water next to the Amarya Shamiana on the gorgeous Ashwem Beach of North Goa. We were both exhausted but hungry. 

It also was a dry day in Goa because of the elections. So no wino for us. We went through the menu and ordered the calamari in cream sauce. My friend Anjalika sent me a message recommending the chicken pate. I have my reservations with pate. If done wrong it has a bile inducing effect. I did not want to throw up in front of Mr. Fox. But we ordered it anyways. This pate luckily was the most delicious creamy paste served with a sweet and tangy onion jam. It came with a basket of breads to spread on and play with. We were both delighted. 

For the main course we ordered a tuna steak- rare with wasabi potatoes and a serving a tangy squash and the special of the day- a jumbo prawn carpaccio with a generous drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Both dishes were beautiful. I really enjoyed the sesame encrusted rare tuna steak and Mr. Fox the prawns.

For dessert we ordered the Chocolate Thali another recommendation from Anjalika. This was a surprise and slightly overwhelming. Served in a traditional Gujarati Thali format - each bowl was filled with a chocolate preparation. Chocolate mousse, chocolate ice cream, molten chocolate cake, a chocolate ganache pie, strawberries with chocolate, nuts with chocolate, almonds with chocolate, a chocolate drink with whipped cream. This variety was quite astounding. There was also a bowl of vanilla custard to interrupt the chocolatey flavours. We were in chocolate heaven.

Such gastronomically delightful food was also accompanied with super conversation. I am clearly quite smitten. It was also quite a turn on watching Mr. Fox enjoy his meal. There is so much you learn about a person over a meal. Such mirth hanging out and letting loose with a fellow food lover.

 

The gorgeous beach that we stayed at- Mandrem. We walked along it for at least 2kms in the night till we hit the deep lagoons. 

The lessons learned:

1. Walking on the beach at night though romantic is not always a good idea

2. The correct way of holding the fork- ask Mr. Fox

3. Goa has some of the best cuisine in the country

4. Always stay on the main road

5. Always walk facing traffic

6. Military walk vs a gaiety stroll when on a mission.

Clearly it was a fun night - Mr. Fox made a super date. 

Fresh Fruit Smoothie made with love, honey

This post is a little about the frame of my mind. I want to celebrate the idea of love and friendship. 

These past two months my lovely younger sister has been at home. We haven't done much of anything apart from hanging out together. Cooking meals, watching The Walking Dead (very very addictive), shopping and just talking. We also did this lovely trip to Jaipur together. She leaves tonight back for the US. I can't believe her time home has come to an end. Can't be too greedy can we. Sigh!

I also have a bit of a crush on someone- a particular Fantastic Mr. Fox. My heart flutters a bit every time I talk to him. Romance is definitely in the air. 

A few weeks back my friend Mark gave me a jar of honey labelled Curry Patta Honey by this company called Under the Mango Tree (UTMT). It is very delicious with hints of the curry patta. Whats so special about Under the Mango Tree - well they help farmers around India to grow bees on their farmland to produce honey. Its organized and builds a community of farmers helping create sustainable practices in beekeeping. Through Mark I also met Emily Paarmann who works with Under the Mango Tree and we talked about her work in India and about cooking food together which is always an exciting idea.

So here it is- a lovely simple fresh fruit smoothie. The honey just adds the perfect sweetness to the drink. I have to say- it was very delicious honey. Also added was love and a little bit of heart in the form of dark chocolate chips. Oh yes.

So before this drink becomes too mushy-

Ingredients:

A box full of strawberries (12-15)

A banana

A guava (optional)

2 tbsp on plain yogurt

2 spoons of honey

A handful of dark chocolate chips

6 cubes of ice.

1 cup of milk (optional)

Throw all ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth consistency. Add some milk if it is too thick.

Refreshing. Delicious. Filling. 

In case I get busy again- Happy Valentine's Day.

Also today was National Bee Day (Cerana Day) and UTMT held a set of lovely events such as cooking with honey & discussion on bees and pollination. I could not make it- but if you did - do tell me about it.

In love with Crepes

I fell in love over crepes many lifetimes ago. I had a poulet au curry (chicken curry) served with a mango chutney and he had a bouef bourguignon followed by dessert crepe of nutella and bananas cooked in rum. It was at one of my favourite restaurants in Chicago called Le Creperie. It was really my first experience with this delightful dosa-like French everyday wholesome goodness. That was many years ago.

I did not think I would find a crepe place so good in Mumbai. My friend Ashraf raved about its hot chocolate and is almost at Suzette everyday (lucky bum lives practically next door). A site visit to Nariman Point led me to finally try the crepes at Suzette.  Its located right behind the NCPA. The tiny space was elegant, raw, minimal and earthy. The table mats were brown papers with a stylized line drawing of the Paris skyline (of course with the Eiffel Tower). Simple tall glasses and glass bottles to serve water added to the quaintness of this lovely little cafe. A bookshelf, a row with benches, a few tables with chairs and bar seating at the counter all gave the space the look of a typical Parisian cafe, warm and welcoming and a place you could spend hours at. A blackboard menu with all the daily specials handwritten. 

I chatted with the owners Antonia and Jereme about their restaurant. They told me about the hurdles of opening a French restaurant in Mumbai, learning Hindi to get their supplies from their vendors & most of all introducing the traditional Brittany crepes to Mumbaikars. Their menu though mostly crepes- sweet and savory, also has salads and an array of fresh fruit juices and smoothies (spelt as smoozies - as one would say in the French accent), teas, coffee and of course the hot chocolates. 

I ordered a salad of the day which was by far one of the best fresh salads I have ever had in Mumbai. Lettuce, beans, bacon and a balsamic vinaigrette which was in the perfect amount coating the salad making the lettuce leaves flavorful and not soggy (hate soggy salad).

Antonia recommended a lovely combination for the crepe- goat cheese, chicken, caramelized onions (OMG I love) and a drizzle of honey. Too sweet- nope it was just right. The saltiness of the chicken and goat cheese was the perfect balance with the onions and honey. The crepe itself was crispy and not stretchy like other crepes I have had. I really enjoyed its texture with the creamy goat cheese. 

And finally the hot chocolate- you would think thicker the better. Well take a sip and then think again. It was not thick, it was just right, flavorful from the depths of the dark chocolate ocean. One sip and I knew I will crave this every time I need a chocolate miracle.

On my second viist (oui I went back again), I met the third owner another French gentleman by the name of Pierre. He told me they use buckwheat flour which is traditional to the Brittany crepes. 

I could not quite get the recipe of the crepe batter out of him but I did find one here in case you are interested.

Crepe filling is like playing with flavours and textures- spinach, tomatoes and feta; goat cheese and apples; ham and egg; chicken and mushrooms in a white sauce. The possibilities are endless. Or check out Suzette's menu for more inspiration

Prep Time: 2 hours, 05 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes 

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon buckwheat flour
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 2/3 cup milk
• 3 eggs
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Preparation: 

Whisk all the ingredients vigorously until the crepe batter is completely smooth; allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours before making into crepes. Melt a little butter in a crepe pan or large skillet over low-medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of batter to the pan and swirl until the bottom of the pan is covered with batter. 

Cook the crepe for 1 minute, or until the crepe is slightly moist on top and golden underneath. Loosen the edges of the crepe, slide the spatula under it, and then gently flip it upside down into the pan. Cook for 1 minute and transfer the cooked crepe to a plate to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter.

 

My friend Mona sent me this video from when she lived in Germany. This crepe maker is making a banana, nutella cream crepe. It looks absolutely delicious. Danke Mona.