Amla Curry - Healthy Curry

This is also another of those fruit which I could not think where a curry would be made but here is the ingredient of the Amla Curry, very simple very easy.

Ingredients:

1. 6 Pieces of Amla
2. Oil
3. Salt, Red Chilli Powder, Turmuric, Jeera, Hing, Sauf, Sugar all things according to taste

How to Make:

1. First we will need to steam the amla this is an important process.
2. Take a pressure cooker and then pour water in the base. Take a plate with holes in it and put it over the water. Note that water should not touch the plate.  Do not cut the Amla just drop them over the plate
3. Close the pressure cooker lid and steam the Amla till 2 whistles.
4. Open the lid you will see that Amla is all soft and broken up. Clean up the seeds of Amla.
5. Keep it to cool in room temperature. 
6. Add Oil in another Kadai and then add 1 tea spoon of jeera, sauf and hing. 
7. Cook till you hear pop sound of Jeera.
8. Then add Amla in the Kadai
9. Cook for sometime and then add Red Chilli Powder, Turmeric and Salt according to taste.
10. Cook again for sometime and then add Sugar according to the taste just to give a sweet flavor to the Amla
11. Cook for a min and remove the kadai from the heat. Put the lid over the kadai just to that the flavors mix together. 
12. You can eat with Roti or Rice. 

You will have the typical Amla Taste with a bit of sugary flavor.

Food At Diveagar - Suhas Bapat Khanaval

A beach located approx 200 Kms south of Mumbai on the Konkan Coast known as Diveagar which is near the Harihareshwar and Shrivardhan. Not going to talk about this place but about the food we ate, for the details of the place it will come up soon on this blog.

Reached there around 11 am after a good 5+ hours of driving our lunch was at Suhas Bapat's Khanaval which was suggested by many bloggers and locals as well. The place is located just before Marathi School and 5 minute walk from MTDC. The most important thing about these places is you cannot just land over there and order your food make sure you call atleast 2 hours before so they cook accordingly.

We reached the place at 2 pm after dipping and playing in the nice and cool water. The place is nothing much to write about and you can miss it if you drive by it. So keep on asking the locals where the place is.
The entry is a big courtyard going towards a big shade where there are tables and chairs set up and Aunties serving food to the travelers/tourist. Get yourself comfortable and sit the plates will come and aunties will start serving you the food with a smile first comes the spicy green chutney which I did not try as I know my body and tongue cannot handle it, then the salads, then salt, then Jack Fruit Vegetable which I had for the first time, then Aloo Capsicum vegetable, Poli (which is sweet roti) and Dal

Everything was top notch and felt like I was having home food, wait, yes it was home food but cooked in large quantity. And everything was unlimited and aunties served us like their own kid not making us wait for anything. I must have had around 8 polis, I think and lots of Jack Fruit Vegetable. And to top it off we had told them create the special modak which was made of maida, jaggery and coconut.

And after having so much we were so satisfied and could not walk. And now to the best part cost of the unlimited awesome thali was on Rs.  60
So if you are at Diveagar this place should not be missed and also the most important part this place is open only for LUNCH!

It's Mirchi - Not so Spicy

It's Mirchi, rooftop restaurant of Ramee International (Juhu - Mumbai) is one of the places including Barbeque Nation in Bandra in which food is barbequed on your table. But the actual thing is, it is already hot and put on over a burning coal.

My cousin coming over and staying in Novotel, wanted to go someplace near we decided to go to It's Mirchi after lot of discussion. Located on the rooftop but it is an air conditioned rooftop so you won''t get any breeze from the sea. The seatings are like diwan style low and comfortable while there are few regular ones also.

Waiter comes in with the menu card of the day and how and what they will be serving to the table. One bad thing of the whole 5 Star Hotel is that they give you borewell water not the regular Mumbai ka pani one but the one which you get in the villages which has that different taste. How can a big hotel like that serve you such water I mean what..ok let me get back to what actually blog is here for Food...

Prawns, Chicken, Paneer comes in the skewers and we get Sheekh Kabab and Surmai Fish served by the waiter. Well the first 3 things were ok not that great but remaining two was cold which was duly replaced after we complained about it.

There are Pani Puri, Bhel Puri, Dosa, Pav Bhaji, Roti and Curries of Fish, Prawns and veg have live counters which are decent but the staff one number less as one has to wait once the place gets full. Ohh there are also Jalebis also whipped on demand..that is a uber cool feature.

Food was 2 Soup, 2 Non Veg, 4 veggies and 4 Deserts nothing to write about the regular basic stuff.

Yes they do serve alcohol..timing are from 7.30 pm to Midnight but until and unless you don't drink alcohol you won't stay more than 1.5 hours.

Cost is Rs. 435 exclusive of taxes which is ok enough for the food they serve.

How to Taste Wine

Image via Wikipedia

Learning how to taste wines is a straightforward adventure that will deepen your appreciation for both wines and winemakers. Look, smell, taste - starting with your basic senses and expanding from there you will learn how to taste wines like the pros in no time! Keep in mind that you can smell thousands of unique scents, but your taste perception is limited to salty, sweet, sour and bitter. It is the combination of smell and taste that allows you to discern flavor.

Here's How:

Look: Check out the Color and Clarity.

Pour a glass of wine into a suitable wine glass. Then take a good look at the wine. Tilt the glass away from you and check out the color of the wine from the rim edges to the middle of the glass (it's helpful to have a white background - either paper, napkin or a white tablecloth).

What color is it? Look beyond red, white or blush. If it's a red wine is the color maroon, purple, ruby, garnet, red, brick or even brownish? If it's a white wine is it clear, pale yellow, straw-like, light green, golden, amber or brown in appearance?

Still Looking: Move on to the wine's opacity. Is the wine watery or dark, translucent or opaque, dull or brilliant, cloudy or clear? Can you see sediment? Tilt your glass a bit, give it a little swirl - look again, is there sediment, bits of cork or any other floaters? An older red wine will be more translucent than younger red wines.

Smell: Our sense of smell is critical in properly analyzing a glass of wine. To get a good impression of your wine's aroma, gently swirl your glass (this helps vaporize some of the wine's alcohol and release more of its natural aromas) and then take a quick whiff to gain a first impression.

Still Smelling: Now stick your nose down into the glass and take a deep inhale through your nose. What are your second impressions? Do you smell oak, berry, flowers, vanilla or citrus? A wine's aroma is an excellent indicator of its quality and unique characteristics. Gently swirl the wine and let the aromas mix and mingle, and sniff again.

Taste: Finally, take a taste. Start with a small sip and let it roll around your tongue. There are three stages of taste: the Attack phase, the Evolution phase and the Finish.

The Attack Phase is the initial impression that the wine makes on your palate. The Attack is comprised of four pieces of the wine puzzle: alcohol content, tannin levels, acidity and residual sugar. These four puzzle pieces display initial sensations on the palate. Ideally these components will be well-balanced one piece will not be more prominent than the others. These four pieces do not display a specific flavor per se, they meld together to offer impressions in intensity and complexity, soft or firm, light or heavy, crisp or creamy, sweet or dry, but not necessarily true flavors like fruit or spice.

The Evolution Phase is next, also called the mid-palate or middle range phase, this is the wine's actual taste on the palate. In this phase you are looking to discern the flavor profile of the wine. If it's a red wine you may start noting fruit - berry, plum, prune or fig; perhaps some spice - pepper, clove, cinnamon, or maybe a woody flavor like oak, cedar, or a detectable smokiness. If you are in the Evolution Phase of a white wine you may taste apple, pear, tropical or citrus fruits, or the taste may be more floral in nature or consist of honey, butter, herbs or a bit of earthiness.

The Finish is appropriately labeled as the final phase. The wine's finish is how long the flavor impression lasts after it is swallowed. This is where the wine culminates, where the aftertaste comes into play. Did it last several seconds? Was it light-bodied (like water) or full-bodied (like the consistency of milk)? Can you taste the remnant of the wine on the back of your mouth and throat? Do you want another sip or was the wine too bitter at the end? What was your last flavor impression - fruit, butter, oak? Does the taste persist or is it short-lived?

After you have taken the time to taste your wine, you might record some of your impressions. Did you like the wine overall? Was it sweet, sour or bitter? How was the wine's acidity? Was it well balanced? Does it taste better with cheese, bread or a heavy meal? Will you buy it again? If so, jot the wine's name, producer and vintage year down for future reference.

*taken from http://www.mumbaiwinefest.in/basics%20_wine_tasting.htm