Kanda Papeta per Eedu - A Parsi Classic

Parsi food is not always lavish and complicated. There are plenty of simple comforting dishes that will make you weep with pleasure. Kanda Papeta per Eedu is definitely one of them.

K asked me to have Kanda Papeta ready so he could make Kanda Papeta per Eedu for breakfast. The Parsis' love for eggs is legendary and their repertoire of egg dishes is vast. Kasa per Eedu or eggs on something is a huge category in their cuisine and the something can range from a simple onion tomato base to the elaborate kheema or lamb mince, the crisp and crunchy sali or the delicately flavoured kanda papeta.

Kanda papeta is simply onions and potatoes slow cooked with minimal spices or oil. It's delicious with rotlis or bread and is often part of a simple dinner at home. The addition of eggs takes it to a different level.

Kanda Papeta per Eedu

Serves two

2 potatoes, peeled and sliced finely
1 Onion, chopped medium
mustard seeds (optional)
1 or 2 green chillies, chopped fine
a few sprigs fresh coriander
salt
pepper
oil
3 eggs


Heat up your nonstick pan and splash some oil into it. Splutter the mustard seeds if you're using them and then reduce the heat. Add the sliced potatoes and chopped onions along with the green chillies. Spread and tamp down slightly and let it cook slowly. Add salt. Cover the pan and stir every five minutes. Add the pepper.  Take care not to brown the onions. The potatoes must be sliced finely so the cook quickly and the onions don't risk getting brown. Once the potatoes are nearly cooked level it all across the pan. Sprinkle the washed and chopped coriander all over. Cover and cook for another minute or two and your Kanda Papeta is done.

There are three ways of adding the eggs to this. You can add the eggs whole cracking them on the kanda papeta layer. Sprinkle salt and pepper and cook covered till desired done-ness. Garnish with extra coriander and chopped chillies.

I prefer the Faetela or beaten version. In a bowl whisk the eggs with a little salt and pepper and then simply pour over the kanda papeta in the pan. Cover and cook till desired level of done-ness.

Now within the faetela version you can either tightly pack the base to prevent the beaten egg from running through so you have two distinct layers or you can leave the base a little loose and let the beaten eggs seep through the gaps. Let the bottom brown a little - the top layer will soft eggs, onions and potatoes and the base will give you a delightful crunch.

All three versions are divine!

Serve hot with rotlis or bread. I like to have it on it's own :)

Marathon Bloggers Project 52

You're Still Here Even Though You're Not

Katy, K's mom, died four years ago. Today is the date and it has come by as it relentlessly does every year and will come every year in the future. Dates... they become the markers of how long the precious people in your life have been gone.

Yesterday was K's dad's birthday - the first one without dad himself. It was hard to get through and we tried not to be too melancholy. When the dates are back to back it gets even harder maybe because the memories overwhelm you and the holes seem to huge to fill. But they do fill. Slowly but surely. A filled hole doesn't mean that someone is forgotten, it just means that the memories are still sharp but the pain is a little less severe.

As I look at my life with K I see them both so strongly woven into the mundane actions of our daily lives. The enamel saucepan that Katy once used, the dinner set they bought together in Dubai, the dining table dad brought over himself from Lonavala, the towel with Katy's name embroidered on it, the books she tried out recipes from, the coloured glass bottles I found under their bed, the painted bowl that's been in the family that dad gave K, Katy's dressing table that she happily gave me, the praise that dad lavished on my cooking, the chocolates we bought for him because they were his favourite,the plants on the window sill that dad admired, the mutton dad bought for me all the way from Lonavala, the wonderful man that K is because they made him so...

Katy and Feroze...You're not here but you still are. You will always be.

Cafe Monza - A Gem in Kharghar

It's a rare day when K has even a holiday free. He usually has a lecture somewhere or has client meetings so we don't really get a chance to just relax and be with each other exploring local eateries. Yesterday he had the morning free and told me to get dressed because we were going out for breakfast. Music to my ears!

We went over to Cafe Monza in Kharghar itself. This place has been around for about a year now I think, and is one of the absolute gems of Navi Mumbai. The menu covers a whole lot cuisines from around the world and though you might have doubts about how authentic each recipe is, the food is delicious.

We walked in around 9.30am and I was happy to see the place quite full even that early. K already knew what he wanted to order so I left it to him. He asked for the Kheema Ghotala for me and for a mushroom and cheese omelette for himself. We also indulged in a plate of french fries :)

The kheema ghotala was superb. Flavourful but not overwhelming, it was delicious. Served with toast and butter, this is quite a treat. The ghotala should have eggs scrambled into it this one seemed quite low on eggs. But it was so good I forgive them.

The cheese and mushroom omelette was lovely. A perfectly fluffy omelette with a generous amount of cheese and mushrooms, also served with toast and butter.

French fries - hot and crisp served with ketchup. These disappeared in no time!

I'd just had coffee at home and didn't want another so soon so I asked for their ginger lemon cooler. It was tangy and had the just enough of the sharp bite of ginger. I would go back to have just this again.

We sat there and read the newspapers, chatted and just chilled. K had coffee which he said was quite good.

We paid around Rs.500 for our breakfast and it was completely worth it.

The waiters are friendly and service is relaxed but not slow. The place has a young feel with bright interiors and a huge mural across one wall. They also have a small seating area on the mezzanine. The menu is extensive covering breakfast, snacks and starters, salads, sandwiches, pizzas, mains, fresh coffees, coolers, and a good range of desserts. The vegetarian options are extensive.  They also have Free WiFi and a clean loo. And they do local deliveries too.

If you're travelling to Lonavala or Pune and are tired of jostling around at McDonalds, try Cafe Monza instead. It's just off the highway as you pass through Kharghar.

Cafe Monza
Shop 15, Plot 5/6
Bhoomi Heights
Sector 8
Kharghar
Navi Mumbai

9022224253 / 9022224259

Ham, Cheese and Leek Quiche

The hubby spied leeks in the veg box in the fridge and asked me to make a ham and leek quiche. I had, of course, scant memory of what lay in that veg box and was quite surprised to find out that we had leeks. Well, there was no excuse and I set out to make the quiche.

I have never made quiche before and had absolutely no idea where to begin. Vague ideas of sautéed leeks and chunky ham baked in an eggy custard floated around in my head and I had no clue how the crust should be. Puff pastry seemed requisite but it turned out that shortcrust would do as well.

I trawled the Net for some basic recipes and then looked through my cookbooks for more ideas. I cobbled together a workable recipe for the pastry case and the filling and this is what I made.

Ham, Cheese and Leek Quiche

1 cup grated cheddar or Grano Padano cheese
250gms ham, diced or in chunky cubes
1 cup sliced leeks
2 tbsp Olive oil

3 eggs
200ml Amul cream
salt
pepper

1 1/2 cup maida or white flour
100gms butter, very cold, cut into small cubes
2 tbs chilled water
1 egg


Start with the tart shell. In a clean bowl put in the flour and the cubed butter. Combine with a fork or a pastry mixer till crumbly. You can also do this in a food processor. Add the egg and a tbsp of the cold water and mix gently to form a loose dough. Turn out on a lightly floured surface and knead very lightly to bring together into a ball of dough. Work it minimally and quickly with just your fingertips. It just needs to stay together. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 20 to 30 mins.

Dust your work surface lightly with flour and roll out the chilled dough into a large disc at least 15 inches in diameter. Lift gently and place over your loose bottomed pie ring. Gently press the dough into the sides and the base of the ring. Trim the edges with a sharp knife or simply pinch off with your fingers. Press into the sides so the dough sticks to the fluted edges of the tin. Cover the pie shell with parchment and fill it with dried beans, rice or baking beads - whatever you have. I used black eyed peas.

Bake the tart shell blind at 200C for 15 minutes in a preheated oven. Remove and take out the beans and the parchment paper carefully.   Put the tart shell back in the oven and bake for another 7 to 10 minutes till it is a pale golden colour.

In the mean while  heat the olive oil in a pan and sauté the leeks and then the ham lightly. Remove to a plate and set aside. Grate your cheese and keep it ready. In a clean jug whip the cream with the eggs. Season with salt and pepper.

Once the pie shell is baked to a pale gold it is time to assemble the quiche and put it to bake. First scatter the cooked leeks and the ham. The sprinkle the grated cheese to cover. Finally pour the eggs and cream all over. You can add some fresh or dried herbs if you like.

Now bake the quiche at 180C for 20 to 25 mins. It will be puffed up considerably but will settle as it cools.

Let it cool for 5 minutes and then remove to a pretty plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot.

You can use a slightly smaller pie ring so the filling is deeper. You will also have some pastry left over. Just pop it into the freezer and use it later to make a mini quiche or a fruit tart or something. Be careful while handling the baked pie shell. The constant putting it in and out of the oven is a delicate operation - I cracked my pie a bit and so some of the egg custard dribbled out leaving me with a flatter filling than I would have liked. But this was my very first time and it's a lesson learned :)

Use a jug to pour the egg custard. This is something the hubby saw Jamie Oliver suggest on one of his programmes and it's a genuinely handy hint that ensures less mess.

The egg cream custard is a must in a quiche. You can fool around with different combinations for the rest of the fillings - use chopped and cooked salami, chunky sausages, vegetables, shredded chicken, whatever you like.

Marathon Bloggers Project 52

Basil, Garlic and Sundried Tomato Bread

I tried out a recipe from a bread recipe book I've had for ages. I just wasn't aware that the author was a much respected one among bread recipe writers. Bread making is a seductive activity and it can turn into an all consuming passion if you're not careful. I'm in the throes of it right now... every new recipe looks inviting yet challenging and scary too. The thrill of a successful bread conquers all those fears ultimately. But not always.

I know I will try out the recipe from Paul Hollywood's book again soon but before that I had to bake bread for an outing with friends. I'll tell you more about where we're going after the event but today I'm going to tell you about the bread I made for my friends. Once again, I turned to Saee and her blog MyJhola. I looked through her list of easy breads and settled on this one - Olive, Basil, Sundried Tomato and Garlic Bread. And it has turned out perfectly as you can see!

As always, I have followed her recipe as closely as I could. I didn't use olives as I didn't have any. I also used fresh yeast instead of dried. I have doubled the recipe to make two loaves.

Basil, Garlic and Sundried Tomato Loaf 

450 gms plain flour
4 tsp fresh yeast
1 cup warmed water
2 tsp sugar
good quality Olive Oil
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sundried tomatoes with the oil
1 generous tbsp fresh basil leaves chopped
1 pod garlic, peeled and chopped fine

In a glass bowl put the yeast and the sugar together and pour the warmed water on top. Give it a gentle stir and leave it to froth. Once the yeast has frothed and you can see bubbles it's ready to be used.

Pour the measured flour into a large mixing bowl and pour in the yeast water. Mix briskly and bring together to form a dough. Turn it out on a lightly floured work surface and start kneading the dough. On one side of the work area take place the salt and pour a tablespoon or so of olive oil. mix quickly and then incorporate into the dough. Add another tablespoon or so of olive oil later as you knead. Pull and stretch the dough and fold it back on itself as you knead it. Ultimately it will be smooth and soft. Shape into a ball and leave covered to rise till double. This should take around 20 minutes.

In the mean while you can prep the flavourings - wash and chop the basil leaves, mince the garlic and chop the sundried tomatoes if the pieces are too large.

Once the dough has doubled punch it down, add your flavourings and incorporate them into the dough. Divide into two. Shape into free form flattish circular loaves and leave them to rise till doubled again.

Bake in a 200C oven for 30 minutes. Brush generously with olive oil as soon as they're out. I baked my loaves on after the other. You can leave the waiting loaf without refrigeration if you're going to bake it immediately like I did.

This bread has a soft Bombay Pav like crust and is delicious as it is or warmed slightly and then slathered with butter.

Marathon Bloggers Project 52

Tomato Soup for the Soul

We're off for a short trip to see Dholavira and I was in the process of emptying out the fridge. I had a pile of tomatoes among some other assorted vegetables. I'd just made pull apart bread rolls this morning and I thought soup would be superb with them. Thus tomato soup made its appearance at lunch today.

Sometimes all you need are a few fresh ingredients and a simple recipe to create a soul satisfying meal. This tomato soup definitely qualifies.

Tomato Soup

1 kg ripe tomatoes
2 potatoes
2 carrots
1 large onion
1 tbsp celery, finely chopped
salt
pepper
butter

Peel the potatoes and the carrots and cut into chunks. Chop the tomatoes and discard the stem roots. Put the whole lot into your pressure cooker along with a cup of water, the chopped celery , salt and pepper. Once the cooker whistles lower the flame and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Switch off and let the cooker cool down and release pressure on its own.

Mash the boiled vegetables with a wooden spoon. If you have a moulee legume you can run the soup through it. Alternatively just whizz it up in your blender or run it through a sieve. Do be careful if you're doing it in the blender - the hot puree can splash out of the jar and cause bad burns. Don't fill the jar beyond half its capacity.

Finish the soup with a dash of butter and scatter some finely chopped celery. You can also sprinkle some cheese for extra flavour.

We had the soup with the pesto rolls and it was a lovely lunch indeed!

Pesto Pull Apart Rolls

I have been looking through the past recipes done by the bread baking group We Knead To Bake to do one for February. I also wanted to make a bread to welcome the hubby home - he'd been away for a few days. It's also a working day today so I wanted something quick and easy. The Herb and Cheese Pull Apart bread that they did in January last year fitted the bill perfectly. This was the first bread the group did together at the start of WKTB in 2013.

I browsed around to see what the other members had done with this recipe and chose to follow Saee's recipe for Pull Apart Pesto Rolls. I had plenty of pesto in my fridge and this would be a great new way to use up some of it.

I'm reproducing Saee's recipe here. I haven't tweaked it at all.

Pesto Pull Apart Rolls 

200 gms Maida or white flour
2 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp sugar
3/4 cup warm water
2 tsp butter
1 tsp salt
extra butter for brushing
3-4 tsp pesto

In a small bowl or glass mix the yeast and sugar and pour the warm water over. In a separate bowl or directly on your work surface measure out the white flour. Make a well and pour in the yeast sugar mixture and start bringing the dough together with your fingers. It will get sticky but will come together very soon. Knead it on the counter top for a bit.

On the side take the 2 tsp of butter and the salt and combine them together making a smearing movement in a tight circle using your fingers parallel to the surface. Once the two are combined and the butter looks light and foamy work it into the dough. Once you add the fat the stickiness of the dough miraculously disappears.

Knead the dough well, stretching it as you go, for a good 10 minutes. Roll into a ball and place it in a bowl to raise. Cover with a damp cloth and leave it somewhere warm. It will double in 20 to 25 minutes max.

Remove the dough back on to a floured work surface. Punch out the air and knead for a minute. Roll it out into a flat oblong not thinner than 1/4 cm. It doesn't matter if the shape is not perfect. Spread the pesto evenly across the flattened dough going out to the edges.

Roll the dough carefully into a log. Cut the log into nine pieces and arrange them in a 9 inch round baking tin. Leave it to rise for another 20 minutes. Remember to leave some space between the rolls so they have room to rise.

Once the rolls have doubled and look squashed up next to each other pop them into your oven and bake for 20 minutes at 200C.

The tops should be a nice light golden colour. Brush the rolls with butter while they are still warm. Cool completely and they will come out of the tin very easily.

The same basic bread recipe can be used with a variety of fillings - Nutella, herbs and cheese, finely diced bacon or ham with cheese... just use your imagination and enjoy yourself!

Marathon Bloggers Project 52

We Knead to Bake #2 2014

Gajar ka Halwa - Indian Carrot and Milk Pudding

It started towards the end of October - as the weather cooled in the north I saw picture after picture of the delicious red carrots flooding every food group board on Facebook and more often than not, people were making gajar ka halwa with those carrots. 

I have always disliked Gajar ka Halwa. Once again I have a seemingly stupid reason for my dislike. My dad liked to cook and as most men, especially in those days, he was not into making mundane daal, bhaat, torkari, but liked to cook up the fancy and complicated stuff. The fact that slave labour (me) was available inhouse was an added benefit, I'm sure! And so gajar ka halwa featured often. 

I would be duly sent upstairs to our neighbour's house to get their grater. It was a big red plastic bowl with a white grater that fitted on as a lid. 30 years ago it was unusual and uber cool. Anyway, I hated that grater because I'd be the one stuck grating that mountain of carrots. Okay. Honestly, it was probably just a kilo of carrots but to a 9 year old it was a mountain. I'm not surprised that I remember nothing about the process of making the halwa apart from the grating. I seem to have deleted it all out of my memories! 

Well I am past 40 now and I like to think I have grown up enough to get over the trauma of grating those mountains of carrots. And so I set out to make gajar ka halwa myself. No. I didn't grate any carrots - I got my cook to do that part of the job ;)

Having seen tons of Gajar ka Halwa posts on Chef at Large on Facebook I asked for a recipe. The answers were instantaneous and I had a whole load of fool proof recipes to choose from. Ultimately the Hubby selected one that he felt was the most authentic one and it appealed to me too because it had no short cuts.I like to do a recipe the correct way the first time and only after that pare down the method for an easier version for future use. 

Thank you Harpreet Bedi Chadha for sharing your recipe. 

Gajar ka Halwa (with my own tweaks)

2 kg Red carrots, grated

2 lts full fat buffalo milk

5 green cardamom, seeds removed and reserved. 

Pure ghee, as required

Sugar - roughly 1 cup. Use more or less according to how sweet you want the halwa to be

15 blanched and halved almonds

20 raisins and 10 cashew nuts for garnishing. 

Take a thick bottomed largish vessel to make the halwa. 

Put in the grated carrots and the full fat milk and bring both to a boil. Pound the cardamom seeds gently in a mortar and pestle or under a rolling pin and add them to the boiling carrot and milk. Reduce the flame and let the milk get absorbed into the carrots and reduce. 

Stir every few minutes ensuring that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the vessel. This is going to take a few hours so there is no option but to be patient. Keep stirring every five minutes or so.

In the mean time you can peel the blanched almonds and halve them. Put them aside. Heat a little ghee in a separate pan and fry the almonds very lightly. If you're using raisins or cashews, fry them too. Drain out the excess ghee and leave these aside. 

Eventually the milk in the carrot-milk mix will reduce and you will get to the final stages of the halwa. 

Add the sugar and stir well. The sugar will dissolve and the halwa will get watery again. 

Stir away patiently till the halwa reaches a nice thick halwa-like consistency. If you like you can add a few of the raisins and a few nuts (chopped) to the halwa. Pour in the ghee too. Mix well and your halwa is ready. 

Remove to a pretty bowl and decorate with the remaining nuts and raisins. 

Marathon Bloggers Project 52

Focaccia Caprese - My grand entrance into the We Knead to Bake baking group

Everyone knows I practically live on Facebook and I'm fairly active on a few food groups and have loads of food obsessed friends. I started noticing the same breads appearing on my timeline last year. Once it was a Hokkaido Milk Bread, the next time it was Bialys, then suddenly everyone was making doughnuts! I asked Saee about it because she seemed to be part of these mass baking events, and she told me about the We Knead to Bake group.

Some time last year I attended a bread class conducted by Saee at the APB Cook Studio run by Rushina and it was there that I finally realised that bread was not such a scary animal after all. In fact, bread was more flexible than cake which needs more precision. I tried out a bread or two now and then but on the whole I gave in to my lazy self and didn't stir too much.

Then suddenly we acquired a KitchenAid Stand Mixer. There was no way I could leave that just sitting on the kitchen counter doing nothing - I had to find things to make where I could use it. Bread and the We Knead to Bake group popped back in my mind and I dashed off a request to join. Aparna told me I had to wait for the new year to begin as that was when the round of bread baking would start.

2014 finally came and I was part of one more activity. A new bread every month sounded reasonably doable and since I lacked neither equipment nor easy access to ingredients, I was more than ready. Luckily for me the first bread for the year was a focaccia - an easy bread, perfect for beginners.

Aparna chose Focaccia Caprese as the bread for January.

I followed the recipe to the T and pressed the KA into service to do the kneading. I looked on in delight as the dough came together. However, as I watched in wonder, I did have some doubts. I remember stretching the dough in the bread class and though the KA was twisting the dough I didn't feel convinced that that was good enough.

I was right. I ended up with a disastrous leathery bread. My bread mad husband ate every last crumb but I knew that it hadn't worked. So I attempted it again on the next weekend. This time I just did the very initial mixing in the KA and once the ingredients had come together I took it out and hand kneaded the dough for a good 15 minutes. What a difference it made!

Here's the original recipe from The Kitchen Whisperer that inspired Aparna to choose this focaccia.

This is what I did.

For the Bread -

3.5 cups maida
1.5 tbsp sugar
2 tsp Instant Yeast
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup very good EVOO
1.5 cups warm water

Herbed Oil for brushing -

1/4 cup very good EVOO
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp minced fresh garlic
salt

For the topping -

1 large ripe tomato
1 pack Amul Mozarella/Pizza Cheese
Fresh Basil leaves
EVOO


In a clean bowl simply whisk together the herbed oil ingredients and keep aside.

I put all the bread ingredients barring the warm water into the mixing bowl of my stand mixer. First I started the machine on the Stir mode using the Dough Hook just to mix things gently and to prevent the flour from flying around in a cloud. After a minute I increased the speed to 2 and poured in a cup of warm water in two batches. I added a little more than another quarter cup of water till the dough came together into a ball and didn't stick to the sides of the bowl. I switched off the mixer and took out the dough to knead it by hand.

I kept warm water with me as I kneaded, pushing and stretching the dough and wetting my finger tips just a little to keep things going. After about 15 minutes of kneading I felt the dough was soft and just very slightly sticky, and quite smooth. I could stretch it about a foot without it snapping into two.

I oiled the mixer bowl with some EVOO and put my ball of dough to rise, covered with a pretty kitchen towel. The weather being slightly chilly I put the bowl in the microwave and left it there undisturbed. I DID NOT put on the microwave - just parked the dough inside.

After an hour or so the dough was nicely risen and as instructed, I divided the dough into two, flattened them out two cookie sheets and left them to rise again. In 20 minutes they were nicely puffed up. I poked dimples into the bread and slathered them liberally with the herbed oil mix.

The focaccia took about 17 minutes (at 200C ) to get a beautiful golden sheen. I forgot to take it out early enough to add the topping so the final bread was a little darker than I would have liked. Anyway, the bread was taken out of the oven and slices of mozarella and then tomatoes were piled on with a further lashing of herbed oil. The breads went back into the oven, this time at 220C for another 5 minutes.

I had perfect Focaccia Caprese and we had just that for dinner. The olive oil is the backbone of this bread - use the best you can find and I promise you, you will be quite happy to eat this bread on it's own.

Pork Shops in Mumbai - well, some of them

I love pork. I love it so much I started a group, The Porkaholics, on Facebook just to connect with other pork-mad people and drool over porkalicious pictures, photos, recipes and exchange information.

Many, many months ago I thought of doing a round of pork shops in Mumbai and simply putting together a list in one place, on this blog. However, I took the lazy way out and simply created a document on The Porkaholics page and left it at that. That was a good thing because many members added information and we have contributions not just from Mumbai but from all over the country!

Still, the blog post was due and here it finally is. The entire credit for all the research on this one goes to my friend Jubal who happily drove me around the city and helped me locate as many shops as we could. In fact, he'd sat with his Dad and Mum and compiled a list of shops and where to find them before we set out.

This list is far from complete but it was such fun wandering around Bombay, locating shops in alleys and by lanes, driving around from New Bombay till Mazgaon, and seeing much more than just the pork shops themselves.

The first shop we went to is the one where Jubal and his family regularly shop at, called Himalaya Cold Storage. This one's on Nahur road in Mulund.

This is the list of goodies available

And this is the man in charge, Mr. Kishore

I asked Mr. Kishore about other pork shops and he mentioned his brother's shop in Vikhroli. Another brother runs a shop in Vashi and that one is called Hilton and is very well known in all of New Bombay. An interesting thing that Mr. Kishore told us was that his family was in the pork business with many shops all over the place including one in Dahisar. The family shops can be recognised by the shop names - all of them begin with 'Hi' after his grandfather's name (which unfortunately I have forgotten)

The Vashi shop, Hilton Cold Storage is in sector 17. The phone number is 27880899 and the address is Shop no. 34, Raikar Bhawan, Sector 17, Plot 9, Vashi.

For those in Navi Mumbai Hypercity in the Inorbit Mall stocks a few imported cold cuts and a good selection of frozen pork products like Sumeru ham, bacon, sausages, and some other brands too. If you're in Nerul there's an excellent shop just outside the railway station called Modern Cold Storage. Tel - 27701582. This shop stocks fresh pork along with a good range of frozen and processed meats.

In Kharghar there is Jambon Stores in Sector 20.

Hilltop Cold Storage is in Vikhroli.

Jubal and I drove to Vikhroli and found D'souza Cold Storage which is bang opposite the church. Hilltop, pictured above, is just around the corner.

Jubal's Dad had highly recommended a shop in Sakinaka on the Pipe road. We hunted high and low and finally found the shop. The only tragedy was that it was no longer a pork shop but was selling Tshirts instead. Fortunately Jubal is the persistent type and he asked around in the neighbouring shops if there was a pork shop nearby and we hit gold!

After walking through an old wada like building we came upon a village neatly tucked in the heart of the crowded Saki Naka area. In this little village was the St.Anthony Pork and Meat Shop.

After our little adventure in Saki Naka we drove on towards south Bombay. It was afternoon and many of the shops on our list were closed. They would reopen in the evening.

We found the Wadala shop open. Poona Farm Products is another wonderful shop that stocks not only fresh pork and a variety of frozen pork products, they also sell pork vindaloo, sorpotel and a few other cooked goodies.

Further south at Dockyard Road we discovered a municipal market that houses a massive fish section, and separate mutton, beef and pork sections! Unfortunately the shops were closed for the afternoon. The place looked quite clean so if you're in the area or nearby don't hesitate to go there. Just ask anyone in the area and they will be happy to show you where the market is. It is across the BPT road that is parallel to P D'Mello road.

We doubled back and went to Kalina to nail down another pork shop. Modern Fresh Meat.

There are many, many more shops all over the city. Quite a few of them are listed here on this document that I have created on The Porkaholics page.

Marathon Bloggers Project 52

Not Quite Traditional Sorse Narkol Chingri - Prawns in Mustard and Coconut

My sister in law, K's sister, is quite fond of the few Bengali dishes she has eaten at my house and it was quite natural that I would cook something Bengali when she's coming for lunch. She and her kids love prawns and so I decided to make Sorse Narkol diye Chingri or Prawns cooked with Mustard and Coconut.

The mustard and coconut combination is a classic Bengali combination and it is magical with prawns. My recipe is not traditional at all but is my own tweaked version. It's easy, it's delicious, and I usually have all the ingredients at hand.

This is a simple preparation with a few ingredients and that is why it can be tricky, especially with the mustard paste. Be sure to soak the mustard powder before you add it into the prawns. I use the Sunrise mustard powder that's popular in Bengal. I have also had success using the Atlas brand mustard powder which is great for making table mustard and is easily available in Mumbai. Even bottled kashundi works quite well. However, English or French style mustards are not options.

The same sauce can be used to cook fish and paneer too.

Sorse ar Narkol diye Chingri

Prawns, shelled and de-veined
salt
turmeric
chilli powder
jeera or cumin powder
green chillies
2 onions, finely minced
sugar
garlic paste
mustard paste
coconut milk
mustard oil

Marinate the prawns in salt and turmeric powder.

If you're using mustard powder to make your paste soak in water and make a thin batter like paste 15 to 20 minutes in advance.

Heat oil in your wok or kadai and let it get really hot. Reduce the heat and add the green chillies. Slit them if you're okay with the pungency or leave them whole if you just want the milder flavour. Add the chopped onions and fry slowly. The onions must not brown. Add a sprinkle of sugar and let this cook on a relatively low heat for a good five minutes. Add garlic paste and cook for another minute.

Now add the marinated prawns, a dash of chilli powder and some jeera powder. Stir well and let it cook for a minute or so.

Pour in the mustard paste and and stir. And then pour in 200 ml of thick coconut milk. Add a little water if you want a thinner gravy.

Bring it all to a boil and let it bubble till the prawns are done. This should take 3 to 4 minutes at the very most.

Serve hot with plain rice.