Siri's Eat Outs | An Evening at Cafe Coffee Day

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"This coffee falls into your stomach, and straightway there is a general commotion. Ideas begin to move like the battalions of the Grand Army of the battlefield, and the battle takes place. Things remembered arrive at full gallop, ensuing to the wind. The light cavalry of comparisons deliver a magnificent deploying charge, the artillery of logic hurry up with their train and ammunition, the shafts of with start up like sharpshooters. Similes arise, the paper is covered with ink; for the struggle commences and is concluded with torrents of black water, just as a battle with powder."

~Honore de Balzac, "The Pleasures and Pains of Coffee"

fresh espresso, brewing

...and you thought Cafe Coffee Day (CCD from now on) is just for kaapi? Let me tell you, gone are such days as they have launched a brand new Summer Menu, to quench your thirst and refresh you from the hot summer heat. Thanks to my dear blogging pal, Mads I have got an opportunity to taste their summer drink collection and here I am with a review of what I think about each one of them.

Be prepared to get surprised and expect the unexpected. Literally speaking. Let me give you a teaser. Ever thought of Kokum in a drink? or Keri (Raw Mango) with jaljeera?.. How about desi thandai? As I said before, expect the unexpected. :-)

I love CCD just for its ambiance. Best place to meet up friends over a cup of coffee and yap to glory.

This post is a review cum photo journey about my experience at CCD. A picture is worth a thousand words, so I made sure I had enough of them to entice you and give you a sneak-peek of what is available at CCD today. It all started with we meeting Felix, manager of Food & Beverage at CCD, an amazing and knowledgeable guy who won the World Barista Championships twice. :-).

You can see him below where he very shyly modeled  for our cameras. The drink in his hand is ahem.. "Kokum Jhatka". Yes you heard it right. and it would be an understatement if I said, I was pleasantly surprised. 

Felix, the guy who developed all these amazing drinks at CCD

..and you will love it, if you like Kokum. It is one such thing where either you love it or hate it. there is no middle ground. That is Kokum for you. Personally speaking, I liked it and the taste just grows on you over time. You can get it with soda (Kokum Jhatka: Rs 80) or as a slush (Kokum Crush).

Kokum Crush

Kokum Crush is a little more milder version than the Jhatka. I liked the Jhatka ;-).

Kokum Jhatka

We take our job very seriously *wink*. There is Mads trying to get that perfect shot.

Coming up next is - Keri (Raw Mango). Capturing the flavor of Aam Panna. This again is served two (in fact three, if you count the sundae) ways. - Keri Pop : Rs 80 (with fizzy soda) and Keri Crush (with crushed ice)..Yet again, both taste great, but my personal favorite of all the drinks tasted tonight is - "Keri Pop", a tangy refreshing drink. It has jaljeera which gives it even more interesting taste which is hard to resist. Unlike Kokum drinks where either you simply love it or hate it, this Keri drink is much more appealing-to-the-mass-types.

Keri (Raw Mango) magic

a closeup shot of our favorite drink of the night.

You would want with soda or with ice, it is up to you. Don't miss out on this Keri goodness

Now, now - good news for ice cream lovers. You can have the same kokum, keri or thandai sauces drizzled over a scoop of vanilla ice cream and enjoy it as a sundae.

Felix is serving us ice cream with keri sauce. Yummyville!

this is how it looks, best of both worlds - ice cream with keri sauce.

The third offering is "Cafe Thandai" - their signature espresso ice cream blended with the iconic thandai and topped with whipped cream.

Last but not the least is - "Thandai Chiller". this is perfect for those who love desi thandai and who want to enjoy the same taste in the form of a delicious drink. It can't get better than that. :-)

After tasting so many drinks and knowing that I don't have that much of a sweet tooth, we got ourselves some warm samosas paired with imli (tamarind) ketchup. Delicious-o!

If you are at CCD and talking about coffee, then one would be curious to know about - how the frothy, beautiful looking latte art is done over the coffee. It is not as easy as it looks. The milk is blended until frothy and with perfect, tactful up-and-down motion of espresso with the milk is what forms these shapes.

these are two leaves and a flower on your coffee. Isn't it cute?

Latte Art, as it called is a fun way to make our everyday coffee a tad bit more interesting.
 

All in all it was fun evening spent over many fun conversations, tasting summer drinks, few samosas and a cup of coffee.

Finally I leave you all with a famous saying by F. Scott Fitzgerald-

"First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you."

..of course I was referring to a summer drink here ;-).

You got to visit your nearest Cafe Coffee Day and enjoy summer with their desi summer flavors.

Will ya?

until next time,
Siri 

Amma's Recipes: Poori Bhaji [Poori Koora]

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"Poori-Bhaji" (Poori-Koora, as we call in Telugu) is like a comfort food at its best since I was a child. There are zillion versions of the same potato bhaji served as an accompaniment for the crispy, deep-fried pooris. Some make it as an  aloo-matar combination or a dry potato bhaji version and some make it out of  memories during their train journeys. Whichever way you choose to go, you will reach one place i.e *Yummyville*. :-).

Today, I am sharing my mom's version of it. It is not spicy but mild with much less oil, which works best with its deep-fried counter-part. and this time, I pestered my mom that I would take step-by-step photos, this time around. Though she was all shoo-ing me away in the beginning, after couple of mins, she had to give in as I was adamant on capturing every action of hers. Of course my sister had call me one crazy-lady to shoot so many pictures and ultimately delaying our leisure Sunday breakfast. (you see, she is still mad ay me that I didn't put up the picture where she modeled for me holding a mysore bajji. ;-))..

Now, lets just dive in as we have a delicious photo-journey of poori-bhaji ahead of us...

The Ensemble

The Making of Poori

Step 1: Heat oil in a wide pan, preferably not a non-stick pan as research says at high temperatures they release unwanted and sometimes poisonous substances, which we really don't want in our food. Isn't it.

To test if it is ready, make a very tiny poori out of the dough and drop it. it should fluff up and rise to the top.

Step 2: Knead about 2 cups of wheat flour with little salt, 1 tbsp of oil and enough water (not more than a cup). Mix just like a chapati dough. Make lemon-sized balls out of the dough.

Step 3: Immediately roll into small pooris. Don't stack them, spread them on a paper or a plate, so that they are easy to remove while frying.

Step 4: Slide one-poori-at-a-time into hot (not smoking) oil and it almost instantly rises up. For puffy pooris, the trick is to press down slightly.

Step 5: Turn on the other side. Let it become slightly golden brown.

Step 6: Drain all excess oil and drop them onto a paper towel. Serve immediately to enjoy them at their best taste.

..moving on to the potato bhaji...

The Making of Bhaji

Step 1: Cut 3-4 potatoes into quarters and pour water until they are completely dipped in water. Pressure cook until 3 whistles.

Step 2: Remove skin and keep aside.

Step 3: Heat a 1 tsp of oil in a pan and add 1 tsp of each - urad dal, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once they start to splutter, add 1/2 tsp of ginger-garlic paste, 3-4 green chillies, few curry leaves and 1 finely chopped onion pieces. Saute until translucent. Season with turmeric and salt.

Note: My mom doesn't use red chilli powder in her recipe. It is only the green chillies. You can adjust the spice levels according to your taste.

Step 4: Lightly mash the boiled potatoes and add it to the onion mixture.

Step 5: Add about 1 cup of water and adjust salt if necessary. Mix well.

Step 6: Cook on low-medium heat for 6-7 mins until everything comes together.

Finally turn off the heat and add lemon juice if desired.

Note: Make the bhaji first and then start making the pooris. that ways, you enjoy them almost immediately..

The poori and bhaji is ready to enjoy!..

Did you like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow me on Facebook to be the first to know what I am are up to. Interested in just photo blogging? 365 days of Siri is my one other blog where I share a slice of my life through my lens. Cya all there. :-)

 until next time,
Siri

Free Spirit Cooking: Mysore Bajji / Mysore Bonda

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You all must have read this post sometime last month. It was Mads who was introducing to the world about we, the *free-spirit-bloggers*...

..."Free-spirit Bloggers (FSB) is a closed-group of 8 bloggers. (Mads, Anu, DK, Nags, Lataji, Deepti, Mittu and myself) Every month, the FSB group will pick a theme and share eight appropriate tongue-ticking recipes with you by the month-end. Be it dishes/bakes, we’re all going to be sharing different recipes each but we will still be sticking to the central premise of the theme that month. Let me give you examples of the kind of exciting themes you can look forward to in the coming months – We each pick a personal favourite Chef and cook a signature dish of his/her’s. We each share a family heirloom recipe. We each choose a personal vice and create a dish/bake based on it (How about a slow-cooker dish from the lazy-bum? Or an eye-popping chocolate treat from the sinner?!!). You get the drift? It IS different. The themes chosen will just act as a guide and not suffocate those creative juices. It also gives each blogger the flexibility to cook/bake according to their personal choice, style and palette so every month, we churn out a potpourri of veritable recipes for you guys to devour from......" 

I had to miss the first edition of FSB as were in amidst of moving countries and as of today, still settling in Bangalore, what we call our new home. :-). I couldn't afford to miss the second one which was chosen by dear Nags.

Here is the challenge, in brief in her own words -

- I want us all to cook (or bake) up *savory* appetizers.
- The appetizer should be easy to make in bulk (think party for 50 people)
- Mark the preparation and cooking time separately in your post if you don't already
- You can make the preps over a day or more, but cooking or baking on final day should be relatively quick.
- It can be baked, deep fried, pan fried, steamed, all up to you.

Only two conditions is that it should be savory, an appetizer, and fit for a party.

Mysore Bajji [Mysore Bonda]

Now, that is an interesting one. Isn't it as we all are in constant look out for such recipes whenever we have to cook for a (potluck) party. Though I don't have yet, a kitchen which I can say as my own, I borrowed my mom's kitchen for couple of hours to make this appetizer. She always whips up this absolutely delicious bajji/bonda every time we ask for. It is deep-fried. It is savory. It is very easy to make in bulk - a perfect fit for any occasion. that said - it meets both the conditions of Nags challenge. :-)

Let's dig in then....shall we....

Mysore Bajji [Mysore Bonda]

Mysore bonda or Mysore bajji, as it is popularly known is one of the favorite snacks from Mysore cuisine. These are usually made for breakfast/brunch, so does my mom since we were little. It tastes the best when it is served with coconut chutney that is normally accompanied with idlis or dosas.

Recipe Adapted from my mom.

Ingredients:

2 cups of all purpose flour (maida)

1/4 cup yogurt (perugu)

1/2 cup shredded coconut (fresh or frozen) (kobbari turumu)

1/2 tsp baking soda (soda uppu)

2-3 green chillies (pachi mirapakayalu)

1 inch ginger (allam)

salt - to taste (uppu)

neutral tasting oil such as canola - to deep fry (noone)

Preparation:

1. The night before you wish to make these bajjis - Soak flour, yogurt and add about 3/4 cup of water little by little and mix. Note: Donot add the water all-together. Make sure the consistency is like a loose (chapati) dough not like idli or dosa batter. You should be able to make a small ball out of it. Keep covered.

2. The next day, coarsely grind - 1/2 c shreded coconut with green chillies and ginger. 

3. In a medium-sized bowl mix well (without any lumps) - flour-yogurt mixture with coconut-green chilli-ginger paste, baking soda and salt.

4. Heat oil in a wok. To test if it is ready, make a very tiny ball of dough and drop it. it should fluff up and rise to the top.

5. Lightly water your hands and make small lemon sized balls out of the dough. Drop them into the oil, carefully. Fry them until golden brown. Put them on paper towels so that the excess oil is drained off. Serve with any chutney or just as-is.

This is how the mysore bajji looks, when split open - 

These can be made anytime of the day. All that needs to be done is soak the flour a night before. If you are short of time, use self raising flour to make the dough instead of the normal all purpose flour. No need to ferment then in yogurt and alternatively water can be used, though I would recommend yogurt for that slight tanginess.

Now, who wants to grab these little beauties right out of the screen and pop them into their mouths..I sure want to.

Don't forget to check out which of the tasty appetizers did the other FSB members make for you all - 

Mads 

Anu 

DK 

Nags 

Lataji 

Deepti 

Mittu

Enjoy..

cya all next time,
Siri

Did you like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow me on Facebook to be the first to know what I am are up to. Interested in just photo blogging? 365 days of Siri is my one other blog where I share a slice of my life through my lens. Cya all there. :-)