Gout De France - Good France at Cafe Swiss, Swissotel

Swissotel Kolkata Neotia Vista presented Gout De France - Good France at Cafe Swiss on 18th March 2015, presenting the best of French Gastronomic delicacies curated by Executive Chef Pranay Kumar Singh.

The buffet spread with the likes of Smoked Salmon and Avocado Verrine, the irresistible French Onion Soup, the legendary Lobster and  Seafood Thermidor, Asparagus and Ham Ballotin, Chicken Fricasse, Wild Camambert with wild mushroom, Vegetable Tian, Ratatouille were more than enough to drag people out of their current ongoing Cricket World Cup fever and crash on to the Good France celebration.

The traditional French Onion Soup was incredible with beef stock and flavours of sorted onions.

The Gigot D'Agneau  was another exceptional dish with lamb which was marinated a day before and slow cooked in fresh herbs like rosemary and thyme at a low temperature for an extended period of time, giving the dish the softness and robust flavours.

Seafood Thermidor as always remains my all time favourite. Seafood baked in white sauce and cheese combination leaves me mesmerized every time.

The dessert section was equally exotic with French delicacies like Opera pastry, Mini Eclairs with chocolate hazelnut filling, Classic Charlotte Cake in mango flavour, Creme brulee, Cherry Clafoutis, Apple Tarte Tatin etc.

Since pictures speak more than a thousand word, we captured a gist of the evening that is posted below. Of course for a culinary sedation one has to make a bee line at Cafe Swiss.

We at Kolkata Food Bloggers thank the Swissotel and their team for their kind invitation at the Good France celebration.

Starters and Salads

Vegetarian spread

Non Vegetarian spread

The Dessert section part 1

and part 2 

The specially plated Creme Brulee for us

Kesari Kheer

Desserts have always been a part of our daily meals when I was growing up, especially the milk based ones. Being a Sikh, milk has always been present in surplus in our house. I have memories of going along with my Grandmother, my Beji, to the milkman or gwala who would milk the buffaloes in front of us and give us fresh milk. From drinking milk as it is to using it in endless desserts, Beji would ensure her family is fed well with milk along with other things. I guess, there is just some connection with milk and being a Punjabi. 

Kheer is one of the most common milk based desserts found in most households irrespective of the region. Known with different names, the simple preparation of rice cooked in milk is called payesh in Bengal and is called payasam in the Southern states. Adorned with dry fruits and saffron threads, a simple kheer is made special for occasions. 

With Holi round the corner, I was reminded of this simple kheer preparation that has been part of my growing years. 

Ingredients : For 3-4 servings

• 500 ml full cream milk
• 1/2 cup rice (I used Gobindbhog)
• 1/2 cup or less sugar (according to your taste)
• cardamom powder
• saffron threads
• almonds
• pista

Procedure : 

Wash and soak rice for half an hour.

Take milk in a heavy bottomed vessel and bring it to a boil.

Add the washed and soaked rice to the milk.

Lower the heat and allow the milk and rice to cook for about 45 minutes or till it thickens to the required consistency. Keep stirring in between.

Meanwhile soak saffron threads in little warm milk. 

Add sugar to the milk-rice mixture and mix well. Adjust sugar to your liking.

Adding sugar will make your kheer a little thin so cook till it thickens again. 

Remove from heat and stir in the saffron threads and cardamom powder.

Allow to cool and garnish with chopped almonds and pista. 

Serve chilled. 

Happy Holi

Amrita

Magnum Mega launch, Kolkata

Magnum finally arrives in Kolkata.

Magnum is one of world's leading ice-cream brands and takes pride in the fact that they have collaborated with the finest Begian chocolate Callebaut. 

Kolkata Food Bloggers were invited to attend an evening of glitz and glamour for the launch of Magnum at Taj Bengal with the dapper chef Kunal Kapur and the pretty Soha Ali Khan.

The Magnum masterclass with chef Kunal Kapur began with the introduction to the world of Belgian chocolate and the composition of a dark, milk and white chocolate. The entire audience was enthralled with the chocolate facts. With a high percentage of cocoa, Belgian chocolates are certainly very rich and indulgent. 

Our tables were soon adorned with bars of premium ice cream and my pick was the Magnum Chocolate Truffle. 

A rich, creamy chocolate ice cream coated with world's finest dark chocolate, my Magnum experience was truly a chocoholic lovers dream come true. With each bite, I enjoyed the distinctive cracking from the coated chocolate on the ice cream. 

Chef Kunal Kapur prepared a patishapta, a traditional bengali dessert, and filled it with chunks of Magnum ice cream with some help from Soha Ali Khan. The dish was sprinkled with some colourful toppings.

The whole thing left me unimpressed as I found that it is best to leave Magnum in its original state to make the most of it.

The evening came to an end, with each table being given the chance to make their own Magnum Sundaes.

Kolkata will soon get to taste Magnum from March 1, 2015 and it will be available in three flavours-Classic, Almond and Chocolate Truffle. Priced at Rs 90/- for each bar, the ice cream is indulgent but definitely worth the money. 

Happy Magnum Indulging

Amrita

Fraisier-French Strawberry Gâteau

This Valentine's day completed 5 blissful years of my marriage with my best friend, my soulmate Vishal. Time has certainly flown by and it seems like just yesterday that we had limited time to spend with each other. We kept our distant relationship alive on letters and stuck by each others choice even with family's disapproval. It is really amazing to think back of those days and imagine at the conviction we had in each other. I guess that is the reason we were united with our family's blessings. And what better day for that!

Valentine's day is also my in-laws anniversary and therefore the choice of date for our marriage. My parents had no objection to it but since we had a Gurudwara wedding, it was important that it should be a Sunday. Sikh weddings rituals take place in the morning and Sunday being a holiday for all is naturally the most convenient day to invite people. Believe it or not 14 Feb 2010 was a Sunday!

With such a mushy story, I needed a mushy cake for the grand 5 year celebration. This particular cake caught my fancy as it more of the technique in assembly than the bake in itself. A fairly simple method with lovely results, is exactly what I wanted for the anniversary celebrations. Fraisier is a gâteau which has structure made up of strawberries and pastry cream supported by thin layers of sponge. The fraisier gets its name from the french word “fraise” which means strawberry. Traditionally this cake has a marzipan top. The elements can be made few days in advance which makes it easier to just assemble it a day before required. 

My maiden attempt, thankfully, went off well and once the gateau was out on a plate to be photographed, my daughter Vaanya kept pulling me asking for the chocolate decorations. With some hurried pictures, the gateau was all hers. There is no joy comparable to the one you get when you see your tiny one enjoy what you have made. Vaanya was all over the cake licking off the cream, pinching off the chocolate decorations and pulling the strawberry slices from its place. 

Ingredients : For a 6" round gâteau

Genoise cake:

• 2 eggs
• 25 gms butter, at room temperature
• zest of half a lemon
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup self raising flour (substitute with 1/2 cup all purpose flour+3/4 tsp baking powder+1/8 tsp salt)

Pastry Cream filling:

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 tsp vanilla essence
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 2 tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/2 egg (beat one egg in a bowl and use half the quantity)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tsp gelatin
• 1/2 tbsp water
• 1/2 cup whipped cream

Sugar syrup :

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water

You will also require:

• 9-10 strawberries
• Chocolate decorations

Procedure : 

Genoise : 

Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius.

Grease and line a 6" round baking tin.

Place sugar, eggs and lemon zest in a bowl and place it over a pan of simmering water as a double boiler. Take care that the water should not touch the bowl of eggs. 

Whisk the mixture over medium heat till it doubles in volume. You will know the right stage once the mixture forms a ribbon trail when the whisk is lifted.

Sift in 1/2 of the flour and gently fold in the whisked mixture with a metal spoon. 

Add the remaining flour and fold again.

Gently fold in the butter. 

Pour the mixture in the prepared tin.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Allow to cool and cut cake in half.

Pastry Cream filling:

Pour milk, vanilla extract and salt in a saucepan.

Place over medium heat and stir. Bring it to a near boiling point.

Add cornstarch and sugar in another bowl and whisk.

When milk is ready, gently and slowly add to the egg mixture and stir simultaneously. 

Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and continue to cook over low heat till it thickens and coats the back of a spoon.

Pass through a fine mesh and allow to cool.

Whisk in the butter. 

Cover cream with a plastic wrap pressing on top of cream to avoid skin formation.

Chill in fridge. 

Can be stored upto 5 days in refrigeration.

Sprinkle gelatin over water and allow to soften for 3-4 minutes.

Take 1/4 cup cream on a double boiler and heat it.

Add gelatin and whisk. Add in the remaining cream.

Mix in the whipped cream well and transfer the pastry cream in a piping bag and store in fridge till  further use. 

Simple Syrup : 

Combine sugar and water in a pan and bring to a boil. 

Allow to cool.

Can be stored in fridge for upto 1 month.

Can be flavoured too. 

Fraisier Assembly : 

Cling wrap the entire inside of the 6" round pan with some extra hanging out. This will be useful to pull out the gateau from the tin. You may also use a springform pan to make it easier in which case you will only need to line the sides of the pan with cling wrap.

Fit bottom cake layer in the pan and moisten with sugar syrup. 

Slice strawberries in arrange around the sides of the pan.

Pipe cream in between the strawberries and a thin layer across the top of cake.

Chop the remaining strawberries and place them in the middle of the cake.

Cover them with the pastry cream and smoothen top.

Place the second layer of cake on top and moisten with sugar syrup. 

Cover top with some remaining pastry cream or whipped cream.

Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Pull out the gateau carefully from the tin with the help of the overhanging cling wrap.

Place on a plate and decorate with strawberries and chocolate decorations.

Our anniversary celebration was made delicious with Vishal's Chicken biryani which followed by a visit to a newly opened cafe for some coffee and cupcakes. 

Happy Valentine's day

Amrita

Ajwain wali Gajar

With Winter bidding adieu, I was suddenly reminded of this recipe made by my Grandmother which she very lovingly prepared for the family. Beji, as we called her, was full of warmth and love and her sole mission was to feed her family very well. She was a wizard in the kitchen and would make sure not to waste anything. She had tonnes of patience to prepare everything from scratch and serve food fresh and hot. 

As a child I have memories of a small manji(cot) being laid in the sun which was used to dry the washed grains of wheat. Beji would get them ground to atta from the local chakki for rotis and all sorts of paranthas. I have no memory of her sitting idle. She was always found busy with something or the other. I remember her telling me stories of how she would knit sweaters at night so that the neighbour ladies would not copy the pattern. Stitching, knitting, cooking, she had the time and love for it all. 

She had the same consistent energy even after a shoulder dislocation. I remember with that stiff shoulder she still managed to do so many things. Her gentle face was always adorned with a sweet smile. She was truly my superwoman. 

Ajwain wali Gajar was my Beji's recipe which was served with soft Paranthas or as she would call 'Polae polae paronthe' as they were made with desi ghee. This recipe has no onion, garlic or tomato, the otherwise pillars of Punjabi cuisine. The sweetness and juiciness of the winter carrots along with the bitterness of the ajwain gives an amazing flavour to the dish. 

My Beji is no more but she is alive in my memories. Food is such a beautiful medium to keep stories alive.

Beji continues to live amongst us with her recipes. 

Last year I had shared my Beji's Matar ke chilke ki sabzi and pakode which will soon get featured on Rocky and Mayur's new food show.Will keep you all updated about it. 

As for now, while the winter carrots are still available in the market, do try my Beji's recipe.

Ingredients : For 2 servings

• 4-5 medium sized Gajar/carrots (Winter carrots are best)
• 2 tsp ajwain/Carom seeds
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1/4 tsp haldi/turmeric powder
• salt to taste

Procedure : 

Peel and wash carrots and chop them in small cubes. 

(The only time consuming part of the recipe)

Take ghee in a kadai/ deep pan and add the chopped carrots.

Cook the carrots on low flame. It should take about 5-8 minutes for the carrots to cook.

Add salt and turmeric powder and mix well.

Add ajwain and mix and remove from flame. 

Serve with paranthas/rotis and with some raita.

Happy Carrot Indulging

Amrita