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by Priya Bala
If your idea of a good Italian meal is pasta, pizza or both, then here’s the place
Just when you thought not another restaurant could possibly fit into 100 Feet Road, Indiranagar, along comes La Tagliatella. It’s a Spanish brand of Italian restaurants spread across the globe – from the US of A to China — and now we have one right here in Bangalore.
by Priya Bala
Try baking this moist cake that’s ruling the charts right now
Some years ago, we hadn’t even heard of red velvet cakes, let alone eaten them. Now, they are the darling of dessert menus and sharing shelf space with that other trendy goodie, the wildly decorated cupcake.
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by Priya Bala
The ongoing seafood festival is another good reason to visit this authentic Goan restaurant
There it was, on the platter of fresh seafood held out for me to inspect. The mud crab was huge and I could already imagine it, full of sweet flesh, wrapped in a contrasting spice paste. So, a Crab Masala it would be. And there was rawas, also known as Indian salmon, which the server said would be good cooked in a rechead masala. I didn’t protest.
by Priya Bala
Break all the rules and make this no-cheese, cheesecake.
I’m the sort who likes to make idli batter, pizza dough and paneer from scratch. No convenience foods and instant mixes for me. But once in a while, I turn to a recipe that’s all about cheating on the real method and using short cuts and substitutes.
by Priya Bala
Wrap up the coolest meal for a summer evening
It’s more than just the usual summer-time grouse; this year is infernally hot in Bangalore, hotter than we’ve ever known it to be. As a consequence, appetites are sluggish and the thought of a hot meal is not the tempting prospect it is in cooler months.
So, there I was, trying to think up a weekday dinner that wouldn’t completely put me off. Which is when I hit upon the idea of fresh spring rolls, Vietnamese-style, or summer rolls as they are also known. I happened to have a packet of rice paper sheets lying in my pantry, one of those things you buy without really knowing when you might be using them. In other weather, these would’ve been turned into deep-fried spring rolls stuffed with minced prawns. But this time, no-cook fresh rolls it would be.
by Priya Bala
If you’re up to it, Monkey Bar is the place to start the weekend real early
I went to a preview of the Monkey Bar weekend breakfast the other day and realized once again what a pleasure the first meal of the day can be. I don’t believe in Kelloggs K and Safola Masala Oats breakfasts, preferring instead my dosa-and-molagapodi staple or even toast with real butter and eggs with runny yolks. Still, who gets to eat the full Brit breakfast or warm waffles that often?
One thing’s for sure: participants at our Ultimate Pizza Master Class conducted by Priya Bala are unlikely to be ordering from the pizza chains anytime soon. The reason being that they got everything they ever wanted to know about making their own pizza at home.
by Priya Bala, Editor, PoshVine
There’s no underrating the goodness of eating produce that’s in season. You could begin by looking at the unpretentious pea…
Vegetable-buying becomes extra pleasurable in the winter. While we may not have extreme season changes here in Bangalore, the colder months see vending carts and vegetable stalls stacked with veggies that look crisper, brighter, juicier. Think of orange carrots, greens bristling with goodness and, best of all, piles of plump green pea pods.
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The world is sitting up and taking note of the wines from this Mediterranean island
If you think ‘The Godfather’, when you hear anyone say Sicily, then the little island at the tip of the Italian boot, will surprise you with its real treasures. I, for one, came away with a whole new idea about its wines after a recent interaction with members of the Sicilian Institute for Wine and Olive Oil who were in town.
Susan Hulme, a Master of Wine —apparently, there are only some 200 of these knowledgeable souls around — led us through a professional tasting, first dwelling on what sets Sicilian wine apart from, say, its more famous Italian equivalents. According to the expert, in a world awash with Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, the indigenous grape varieties of Sicily make wines that are remarkable on account of their individuality and attitude. Grapes native to Sicily, many of them dating back hundreds of years, include Frappato, Nerello Mascalese, Nero d’Avola.
These grapes acquire their characteristics from the terroir, and this varies immensely in Sicily – from the coastal areas cooled by sea breezes all the way up to the foothills of Etna with its lava-rich soil. It is this vastly varying terroir and weather that creates grapes and, from them, wines with such different personalities. The sharp diurnal differences in temperature on this Mediterranean isle help to create white wines which keep their acidity and allow the reds develop their tannins, which is always a good thing.
At the master class organized by the Sicilian team and the Indian Wine Academy we had a taste of these wines with strong personality and unique character. There was the Ottoventi Zibibbo from Western Sicily — dry and aromatic with a nose of honey and flowers; the Benanti Rovittello with hints of vanilla and the Valle dell’Acate Frappato, bursting with berry notes and light, but persistent on the palate.
The two olive oils we tasted were splendid, too – green and gold and huge on aroma and flavour.
So, the next time you’re looking for a new wine, you might consider a Sicilian. It’s perfect for when, perhaps, a Bordeaux seems overwhelming. By the way, I had the privilege of a meeting with Bordeaux royalty recently. But that is a story for another day.
Priya Bala is a noted food critic, writer, cook and an enthusiast.
Warm, buttery scones smeared with passionfruit jam; cinnamon rolls studded with raisins; luscious cupcakes with creamy frosting; brownies to melt the chocaholic’s heart.
Sounds delicious? It was. These were the goodies at our Best of Baking workshop by Priya Bala this weekend. The participants who exchanged their Sunday siesta to sign up for this fun class held at Cilantro were only too glad they did.
The enthusiastic ladies were led through the basics of baking, with guidance on how to choose and use ingredients and the various techniques employed to make scones, cupcakes, brownies and yeast rolls. Priya answered questions and shared useful tips about baking as well.
After the baking lesson, everyone tucked into the scrumptious goodies and took some home, too.
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