Chronicles Of The Sassy Fork

Went to the Kala Ghoda festival this year.Found it to have a more energetic vibe than last year.More exhibits,more colour and more people.The extra thing this year was the focus on food.There was a foodwriting workshop by Rushina like last year but there were also cooking demos at 5 All Day by various chefs including Alex Sanchez of the Californian cuisine restaurant The Table and Pooja Dhingra of Le 15 Patisserie who made French Macarons famous in Mumbai One of the stars of the show was a 3D picture.What moved me the most was the exhibit of fish hanging with trash inside...yes,our pollution is killing them.That's the best part of the Kala Ghoda Festival...it carries a social message.This is a festival attended by people of all ages,different economic and social background,all with smiles on their faces. I bought a painting for my parents from the stall by Mumbai Police that had paintings and photographs...how talented they are! The baby bird looked absolutely angelic amongst the ...

Our friends Radhika and Bala held a housewarming ceremony and to celebrate it they had a traditional Tamilian Brahmin Banana Leaf lunch in a hall opposite their home.Radhika is a Palakkad Iyer ...a sect of Tamilians who moved to Palghat,Kerala and are known for their intelligence We sat on chairs (some places, one has to sit on the floor) in a line...termed "pangat" in Marathi. The waiters trooped in with pans and buckets with dishes I had never laid my eyes on. At first we had to clean the banana leaf which had been splashed with water.Then the waiters put pickles and chutneys on the left along with a gram flour pattice(which I skipped).The selection of vegetables were astounding.....Pachadi made of cucumbers and curds,Pineapple Vegetable (stellar with its sweetness tempered with mustard seeds),Kootu made like a thick Kadi having chickpeas, Olan with pumpkin and coconut ,Pullisery with banana and Aviyal with vegetables and coconut.Papad was served as a veritable accessory. A...

It's time to say goodbye to 2011 and make place for new experiences and new people in the coming year.I feel blessed at having met so many like -minded souls through food blogging. Some introduced me to new ways of cooking,some to new ingredients and some a new perspective on life. As always,there were a host of festivals but only one food exhibition...the Upper Crust Food show.Spotted milk from cows fed in pastures and tasted it....wholesome! Saw Canola oil (rapeseed oil) used widely in the U.S,U.K and other countries because of its low omega 6 to omega 3 ratio which decreases the risk of inflammation in tissues. There were parathas made of wholewheat devoid of the harmful transfat (margarine or vanaspati) It's a treat to attend Farzana Contractor's show year after year. On the last day of the year,we had lunch at recently opened Smoke House Deli at the Phoenix Mills.The ambience in white bowled us over...the place has a positive buzz and in no time was full.This year h...

How delicious this pizza looks! How much better to hear that it is also nutritious! This is one of the products made available by Wellness and Homeostasis whose mission is health promotion. The reason for calling it nutritious is that it is made with whole wheat flour,vegetables rich in vitamins such as tomatoes and red peppers,natural herbs such as basil and low fat paneer. The Pesto Pizza is made with mung bean providing a good source of protein Recipes have been developed by Sveta Sanghani and Alexis Deavenport providing a low omega 6 to omega 3 ratio(to decrease the chances of inflammation in various tissues),zero trans fats and saturated fat less than 1gm/serving.Nutritivo Divino makes products on order This kind of food will entice the youth who are at great risk of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and heart diseases in the future,thanks to the junk food that's easily available.They need to be told what they can eat rather than what they can't.Taste and presentation a...

I always thought making bread was a daunting task till I attended Christina Fernandes' class at Le15 Patisserie at Lower Parel.This was a special class that macaron queen Pooja Dhingra organised for us at the request of Kalyan Karmakar who turned out to be the only male member in our class.Not some time long ago,the place had hosted a special baking class for men with Pooja as the teacher.I must say she has an immaculate kitchen... and above that a room that is ideal for a cooking class.We were nine of us with enough room for this hands on course. I have always believed people in Bandra to be lucky coz they get some of the finest breads in town.The purpose of this class was to be able to replicate that without any added preservatives or additives.Christina Fernandes, our teacher was patient and meticulous.She taught us the basics and painstakingly went to every person and helped them make each type of bread...Whole Wheat,Dinner Rolls,Potato Buns and Napolitan Focaccia. This is Arch...