One stop meal- A Chicken Frankie

Don't you love compact meals all packed in one yummy roll. I am a huge fan of shwermas, falafel, kathi rolls, rolli-polis in a paratha and ofcourse THE FRANKIE. A Bombay invention, anyone who grew up in Bombay would have at some point eaten a Tibb's Frankie. It'S simple, fast and easy to carry street food and frankly speaking I love the simplicity of everything wrapped in one meal.

So here it is:

Ingredients:

For the Wrap:

1 cup regular flour

1 cup wheat flour

1tbsp oil

water to knead

1 tspn salt

For the filling:

1 Sliced onions

5-6 cloves garlic minced

handful of ginger minced

3-4 green chillies sliced lengthwise

1 green bellpepper thinly sliced

1 box of mushrooms (approx 10 numbers)

1 corn off the cob

sliced chicken kababs. I used Yummiez by Godrej. You can order or make them at home

1 egg per frankie roll

1 dash of milk

Mixed masala according to taste (I always use Papa's Magic Masala)

1 lemon

Siriacha sauce

1. Mix the ingredients for the wrap and prepare teh dough. Cover with a damp cloth and let sit for 10 minutes. 

2. Roll into chapattis or rotis and on a low heat cook the rotis on the tawa or flat pan till small bumps of air show on the surface. 

3. Store in a dry place. 

Prep all the veggies. And roll the dough for the wraps. Follow the steps mentioned above for the wraps.

 Shave the corn off the cob for fresh and crunchy bites.

 Saute the garlic, ginger, chilies and onions. Add some herbs, spices such as Papa's Magic Masala mix or chat masala. Add the corn and mushrooms.

 Slice the precooked chicken kababs by Yummiez. This saves time for sure. For a working woman like me this is a relief. These kababs are very tasty on their own and can be had with fresh corriander chutney. You can  go all out and make kababs from scratch. But nothing beats the comfort of a quick cooked meal.

 Pour the egg mix of egg, milk and spices on the tawa and make an omelet. As the omelet is cooking plaee the roti on the egg. The half cooked eggs omelet sticks to the roti. Cook on a low heat.

 Flip over and serve on a plate. This is what it should look like.

Sprinkle some grated cheese and pour some hot sauce. Here I have used my favourite Siriacha sauce. You can apply coriander chutney as well.

Pile high with the sauteed veggies and pieces of the chicken kababs. Squeeze a dash of lemon and roll and eat.  This is such a good rainy day meal. It takes care of all the deep fried cravings and it is really healthy. There can be so many variations to this dish. Add spinach, add cream in the corn, add potatoes instead of chicken. Will be also great with sausages, salami, bacon. Its unending. Various kinds of cheese, herbs. Just the basics can be the same and so much fun can be had with this meal. 

This was a fulfilling meal and flowed well together and all the ingredients rolled into one so well that  I felt it accompanied this piece of music perfectly. I discovered this redition of Adele's famous Rolling in the Deep last week on the internet. I am becoming a big fan of these Piano guys. Do hear this piece, it is beautiful.

Egg in a Hole

Sunday breakfast at home after a long time. A recipe post on Follow my Recipe after a long time as well. Well mostly because I have been traveling like a maniac.
I was introduced to eggs in a hole in grad school in Chicago after a drunken night of partying, my friend Chris made us eggs in a hole. I loved the idea. So after almost 8 years I replicated the recipe in my kitchen today.
Its so easy and so fun that you cant help but smile. Maybe even giggle. My mom wants to make egg in a hole with everything- parathas, dosas, pancakes. (Trust mother Purwar to get uber creative with the idea).

Ok so you need:
Slices of bread
Equal no. of eggs.
Butter or cream cheese
A round object for cutting (preferably much smaller than the bread)
Salt and pepper and any other garnish you like with your bread and eggs
A dash of oil
A non stick pan.

1. Cut a circle in your bread.
2. Spread some butter on both the holed bread and the circle piece.
3. Heat some Oil on the non stick pan.
4. Place the bread on the pan.
5. Crack an egg in the center of the hole in the bread.
6. Sprinkle some salt and pepper.
7. Cover with a bowl and let it cook.
8. Served with your favourite sides- potatoes,  grilled tomatoes, bikaneri sev (my sis will truly appreciate this), slices of bacon, Yaaa.

Also the left over circles can be used to make tres cool cucumber sandwiches.

Such simple, happy breakfasts make it all the time away from home worth it. Nothing like sharing your breakfast with your doggy.

Also this song is so perfect for today. Of course Id rather say I love Mumbai in the rain.

The Mavalli Tiffin Room

The Mavalli Tiffin Room (MTR) is synonymous to Bangalore. Early morning breakfasts, filter coffee, lunch thalis, bisi bele bhaat, kesri bhaat, sweet boondis - an entire range of food that represents the Karnataka cuisine is served here. I was in Bangalore quite a bit last month and in between my crazy schedule begged my driver to take me to the original MTR located near the Lalbagh Botanical gardens. This place has been around since 1924.

I asked my friend Gopal of the Mumbai Paused fame for suggestions and he said order a rawa idli, a masala dosa and the sweet of the day. And so it was.The idli was soft and speckled with dal and whole peppers. The sambhar along with it was thick and not watery like elsewhere in this country. There was a generous helping of ghee on the side just in case. The masala dosa was a surprise. It was much thicker than dosas I've eaten in Chennai or Mumbai. It had the most comforting sour dough taste ever. My fingers were slick with ghee and ofcourse there was more ghee on the side. The Kesari bhaat was surprisingly not too sweet but again rich with ghee. The filter coffee hit the early morning spot. My server very sweetly allowed me to step into the kitchen where dosas, boondis, idlis, large buckets of sambhar, chutneys were being mass produced by a few smiling men who let me photograph there process.


Post MTR a very full and satisfied me had to go for a walk around the Lalbagh Botanical gardens to see the lovely glass house which was built in the likeliness of the Crystal Palace in London. The weather was perfect for a post breakfast exploration walk under the shade of the massive rain trees.

The beautiful Lalbagh Botanical Garden

  After Lalbagh I headed to see the famous temple of the giant Nandi bull. This was not the last giant bull I saw in my trip. 

The whole MTR experience had this playing in my head as the soundtrack for the meal.

Breakfast Tiffin at Saravanaa Bhavan and then some.

I landed in Chennai early morning and Prats whisked me off to Saravanaa Bhavan for breakfast. It was my request. I love idli, dosa, sambhar, the chutneys, idli podi and of course good South Indian filter coffee. And I want it traditional and I want it perfectly Tamilian. Chennai's varied cuisine is always beckoning me. My friend Prats happens to be a wonderful guide into the not so well known but spectacularly delicious places in the city.

Of course, Saravanaa Bhavan's reputation precedes itself. With over a 100 outlets world over it is probably the best known restaurant for good, fast cheap South Indian food. What I did not know was that my fondly called Idli- Dosa is actually called a tiffin. Hence we had tiffin for breakfast. Prats ordered an appam with sweetened coconut milk. My exposure to appam has been limited and mostly accompanied with a chicken or fish curry. She poured the coconut milk in the center of these bowl shaped pancakes made of fermented rice flour. The center is slightly thick like an idli. The coconut milk fills up all the pores and moistens the pancake. And with our hands we mixed and turned and tore and scooped at this absolutely delicious and simple tasting breakfast snack. I ordered a rawa masala dosa. It was good, crisp, hot with perfect filling of spicy potatoes called masala. The variety of chutneys- white coconut (not so spicy), green coconut (spicy), tomato (spicy and tangy and of course sambhar. My favourite always is the tomato chutney. The sambhar accompanying hit the spot. We got ourselves some good South Indian filter coffee that Prats poured back and forth in the little metal bowl accompanying the glass. She 'stretched' her coffee as it cooled down in the pouring. I followed suit and really enjoyed the experience. It seems like I always had my filter coffee the wrong way.  It was a rewarding breakfast after an early morning flight from Mumbai to Chennai. My favourite sort of breakfast.

Prats took me next door to the oldest Nalli's in Chennai. Housed in a quaint old bungalow this Nalli's has serviced women purchasing sarees for various occasions for almost 80 years. This place is historic and best known for its south Indian silks especially from Kanchipuram. Later I told my mom about going to Nalli's and she told me she had been to the exact same Nalli's several years ago when I was a little 3 year old girl. I bought my first Nalli's silk to make into a typical Tamil Nadu skirt. Ms. Prats is going to design that for me. Can't wait!

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.