Happy Birthday + 5 Awesome things that happened this year + My fav food people + An Announcement!

April 11, 2013 by Amrita | 4 Comments

Last year, around same time I was writing my first blog post here. Well, In past, I had been writing on lifekirecipe’s blogspot account here and prior to that this was my first ever recipe post back in 2009, but it’s only last year I started taking food as my priority.

As I’m writing this, my laptop is not working and hence can’t access all my content, still whatever pics I had on my Blog/ Facebook page, I went through them and realized it has been a great food journey for me. I look forward to learn more in coming years.

Here’s 5 really awesome things that happened in this year that went by.

5. I graduated in terms of recipes and photo take outing. see this garlic bread from last year firsts post to this Oh-My-God-Can’t-Believe-I-Made-This Bailey’s Cheesecake to the last week’s Sangria cake. yes. that.

4. ‘There is no love sincerer than food’ and sharing the love with people is all the more awesome. I love hosting workshops because I get to learn as well. Party cooking Workshops, Glam Food Workshops, summer snacks workshops, personal baking sessions, all kept me busy. Mumbai. Indore. Bhopal. Delhi. Phew!

3. Met some amazing people in Mumbai who are related to food in some or other way.

Shirin, love her for her style! She trips on Old monk, Pancham Da and good food just like me.

Adarsh, whose reviews I totally trust!! He lives up to his blog’s name – The Big bhookad and that tattoo on his wrist. Super.

Ashrita, who will always be my fav dessert person. I still can’t get over the boston cream cupcakes that she made in one of the Glam food workshops.

Desh, who is Indori pet se. Enough said.

Shivani, though I havent tasted any of her Yellow butterfly’s products but I’m already in love with her style of cooking.

Richa, total fun she is! I love the (not-so) girlie time we always have spent together, we (Richa, I, Divish and Chandni) makes a kickass girl gang ;)

I have already mentioned my love for Rushina‘s style in my blogposts. I attended two of her workshops last year and I learnt lot of things from her ever since. Much power to her.

Saee, I have always drooled looking at her blog’s pics n videos. Loved the time when she baked pita breads for the shawarmas I made at Rushina’s cookup. She is an absolute sweetheart!

Nikhil & Saransh are amazing at what they do, very stylish and fun to hang out with. I am still mesmerised iwth Nikhil’s Hot chocolate bottled up and the soup he made for a potluck event.

Salonee, I used to check her blog for the reviews she use to write eventually we became neighbors, since then we have exchanged sugar-chai patti, sent dabbas of freshly baked cookies/cakes to each other and the pep talk she keeps giving me. Much love to you Salonee.

Aniruddha, for one question that he asks everyday three times. “Aloo-chapati for lunch. you?” and who on the earth said you can’t keep conversation going on? Plus he still owe me a treat for he won a brand new laptop because of me :D

There are many more names that I may seem to have skipped now. but I do look up to them as well.

2. Had a chance to try many unexplored cuisines, learnt about wonderful ingredients and got a chance to meet Industry’s biggies. Thanks to the PR companies who kept me inviting for Bloggers meet, tasting sessions, cooking workshops. Not all of those turned out as expected, always. But I always learnt something out of it. Not to forget, its fun to not pay for your food at times :P

1. I fell in love with food all over again. <3 <3

Few of my food high moments have been these -

Roasted bell pepper soup, Roasted Veggie biryani, Jalapeno cream chicken, Patatas Bravas, Deviled beet pickled egg, Roasted grapes and Ricotta crostini.Feta’Shrooms, Adraki Lamb Chops, Apple Pie pops, Pan Grilled Spicy sausages and Walnut cake.

Roasted strawberry Salad, Red Velvet cupcakes, Breakfast Pizza and 5 lettuces amaranth, dried cranberries salad.

Now the time for sharing an exciting news!!

If you follow me on twitter/fb, Well you already know I had been taking cakes/cupcakes orders. I was never into baking but gradually i fell in love with it… I still dont eat cupcakes but I love making them :D So i’ll be continuing taking orders for cupcakes/cakes/pies.

Here’s the thing, I have been secretly working in my kitchen laboratory (hahaha I love how its sounding) I had been trying lots of sauces, jams, dips, dressings basically awesome food that can be bottled up. Few have come out about okayish, while some have been amazingly awesome that I have to share with you all.

Coming Sunday, I’ll be officially launching Life Ki Recipe’s Kitchen products I have already told couple of my friends to come over for tastings.. yay!
I’ll also put up a blog-shop here and I’ll be open for orders Monday onwards :D I’m so excited already!
Also Lifekirecipe will have new logo and new theme also regular posts :)

Wish me luck. If you are in or around Versova this Sunday evening, come over to try some stuff and help me sharing the word around.

I’ll stop talking now and will go back in the kitchen where sliced onions are making me smile instead of teary ;)

Thank you for being there in front of the screen. I love you for reading this post and smiling with me. I really do :)

Happy Celebrating :)

Review: Royal Sindh, Versova

March 27, 2013 by Amrita | Leave a comment

When you get married, it’s just not the guy you get married to but to his family and also to the food that’s eaten in the family. Well I have come to understand it after 2 years of being married in a Sindhi family :) And did I tell you how beautiful this marriage is *ear to ear smile*

Coming to Sindhi Food, My MIL is super pro at cooking! She’d explain me techniques nicely over and over again, yet my koki would taste more like paratha/miss roti that I have grown up eating in my punjabi house! :P

So far, all my Sindhi food experience has been only in MIL’s house and other relatives (in laws). And trust me with every door the taste and technique changes. I was really glad when I got a chance to visit this beautiful small restaurant ‘Royal Sindh’ near my home in Versova, Andheri (w)

I along with my husband Vicky and Shirin (FoodChants) visited the place for dinner. I certainly was looking forward to Sindhi classic usual’s like Sindhi kadhi and Dal Pakwan, later found out that Dal Pakwan are only available on Sundays. But what unfolded ahead was simplicity and hearty experience.

The decor of the place is minimal and one is welcomed with a lovely smiles from the owners Harsha and Mohit. They told us about how they have grown up eating Sindhi food and find so much comfort in it, they wanted to make people aware about how simple sindhi food can be so tasty as well. Also, pretty thoughtful about young people staying away from their homes, they are focusing more on take-aways and home delivery (Areas covered: 7 bunglows, 4 bunglows, yari road) Since it’s nearby I surely see myself ordering from there in future frequently. Here are my picks:

Lahsuniya paneer:

(All Images courtesy Royal Sindh’s facebook page)

Paneer pieces sandwiched with Garlic masala, dipped in a thin batter and crisp fried. superyumm!

Tuk Aloo

Homestyle pan fried potatoes with sukha masala n dhania, can’t go wrong with it, right? This is a great side for Daal/Kadhi Chawal.

Then there was ‘Aloo tikki sindh Se’ as well, which was good too.

A little disappointment on mutton tikki though. Not too chewy, but lacked flavors. It also missed that kebab-ness, yes maybe!

Dhaniya Chicken

Up next was this Dhaniya chicken with all that lovely aromatic masala, but then again, the chicken was little stringy so didn’t go back for second.

Veg appetizers had won clearly. For mains, we ordered Bugha mutton (Semi gravy: tomato and two kinds of onions, deep fried and chunks) and Tali hui Bhindi.

Both were so delicious. That gravy of the mutton was fantastic, good marriage of tomatoes and onions in there! Just wished that mutton pieces were li’l meatier. Tali hui bhindi was exactly just what our moms make, loved it!!

We also tasted the sindhi kadhi chawal, Sindhi houses specialty. It tasted very diff from what my MIL makes I didn’t find it extraordinary.

Chashni Bread <3

What took my heart away was this Chashni bread, Just like Shahi Tukda, but rabdi was replaced with fresh cream that was perfectly complimenting the crispy sugar soaked bread. For that price (Rs. 40) it was like a steal for me! :P

While having dinner, we enthusiastically talked about Sindhi food that we have been eating and realized there were lot of sindhi staples absent from the menu. Like Doda(Jowar roti with fresh garlic), Lola (sweet roti like but super rich in calories) then Bhee or drumsticks that every sindhi household eats frequently. For that matter, Papad! There were no papad in the menu and I have always related papads to Sindhi food!

Harsha and Mohit told us about their future plans of adding more sindhi dishes to the menu, I wish them all the very best.

Versova, I love that you have variety when it comes to eating out.

Happy Eating out!

Look who’s talking! Review: The Baker’s Dozen, Mumbai + Recipe: Herb-Chilli Flavored Oil

January 19, 2013 by Amrita | Leave a comment

All our lives, we have studied that a dozen is 12 and then one day, the unlearning happens when a bakery err.. Artisan bakery hands you 13 breads even when you asked for just 12. We do love them more for that extra love they gave <3 But, hey did they tell you that it’s their dozen? Yes, Baker’s dozen = 13.

It’s kind of a custom among bakers of adding an extra bread as a way for them to avoid being blamed for cheating their customers. Apparently, there was a harsh punishment for a baker if he was found guilty of selling lesser weighing loafs. So, to be on a safer side they started adding an extra bread to the dozen. Detailed history behind the calculation of baker’s dozen can be read here. And future of the newly opened Artisan Bakery, The baker’s dozen is already written on their packaging bag! <3

Just a few weeks old, this artisan bakery is brainchild of Sneh Jain (An IIM alumni), his wife Aditi ( who has learnt the art of bread baking at the International Culinary Institute in New York) and her brother Siddharth.

They felt that breads have been taken for granted for a very long time now, and something needed to be done and hence, this kitchen happened.

Like their bread says “Most of you probably imagine I’m just brown or white, but I’m so much more versatile than that!” Couldn’t agree more!

Man! Seriously this bread is talking! So here’s what I experienced when I visited their kitchen in Wadala this Thursday.

Ok! Before that, Can I confess that the aroma of freshly baked bread is one of my weaknesses! It is just so comforting that I always give in to it! ;) BTW It’s a proven fact that the aroma of freshly baked bread makes us kinder to strangers.

Take a look at how beautiful this German four grain bread looks! :)

Four Grain Bread

The Baker’s Dozen is doing varieties of international breads, without any preservatives, chemicals, emulsifiers, etc. One of the most interesting breads is their French bread Pain Aux Levain with different variants: Walnuts & Raisins, Apricots & Cherries, Cereal and Cranberries & Blueberries.

Check out the making -

Pain Au Levain in making.

Also, they use interesting techniques for their Italian Focaccia with absolutely no oil and extra Olives in it! More Love to them for that!

Apart from above mentioned French, German & Italian Bread they do have interesting take on Indian Bread as well. With Ragi flour as the hero! Will try it next time :)

Here’s how I ate the breads from there yeasterday! And Why I loaf it so much! (You saw what I did there) ;)

The Pain Aux Levain has crusty top but it has chewy lighter interior. It tasted so good with those raisins and walnuts in the bread playing hide n seek in my mouth. I smeared the slices with my homemade Onion Marmalade & Green Olive Tapenade. And was it good? Hell yeah!

And I don’t have pic of the slice on which I brushed some homemade wine butter (recipe here) and topped it with fried egg.Do try that!

The Olive focaccia was cut into wedges and we ate it with some Herb-Chilli infused Olive oil. Have you tried that combination? It tastes really good!

Just Add coarsely grounded pepper, chilli flakes, Coarse Sea Salt and fresh chopped basil in some extra virgin olive oil. Let it infuse for few hours and Serve with bread/chips Maybe drizzle over your pizza next time for that extra kick :)

Olive Focaccia with Herb-Chilli infused Oil

*inserts promotion* you could totally use a Flavor and Oil Mister for even flavoring and spraying. Get one at Home Collective!! Buy it for free! (well, almost) Because I’m giving away Homecollective Voucher worth Rs.1000. Last date to send your entry is 23rd Jan. *ends promotion*

Now comes the hard part, I kind of hate the fact that the Baker’s Dozen is only delivering in Central Mumbai right now! They will be coming up with their retail outlet at Prabhadevi soon! I’m just praying that they should come to Andheri soon! Otherwise I’ll be called insane for travelling this far for just bread :P

They are already on Facebook and Twitter. Menu can be read here and if you meet them before I do next time, please give them a hug from my side.

Also please note that Bread shouldn’t be stored in refrigerator!! Please to read one of my very first articles on this blog.

Thank you Baker’s Dozen for having me there :)

Happy Bread-Loving!

First Ever Giveaway Announcement + Some Randomness! :) (update: winners announced)

January 12, 2013 by Amrita | 11 Comments

Heylos! I know, long time no see! I have been busy/lost/thinking/working.. yeah all of that was happening! Now, let me first give you quick update on what all happened in last few days!

a. The year changed! Yes, bring on the Thirteen! The party that we had on 31^st, where Vicky (husband) played was an absolute madness! One of his best shows till date! Oh boy, so proud I and his parents were!

DVJ Vicky n the Wifey!

This was clicked somewhere around 4:30 am!!

BTW the overcoat that I was wearing was borrowed from Mother-in-Law… It’s 40 years old and so beautiful and so vintage-y, I fell in love with it! <3 Thankoo Mom for sharing *hugs*

b. Party Cooking Workshop that I did in Andheri, Mumbai on 23^rd Dec went really well. I’m just so glad because there was a point where people couldn’t decide on what’s the best thing they liked on the menu! Well of course after the Red Velvet in Jar, a good sign right?

Red velvet in Jar. Love.

Check few pics from the workshop on Life Ki Recipe’s Facebook page.

c. I met this very talented photographer Baldeep Singh, who is one of the sweetest Surd I have seen in Mumbai!! Well, of course not forgetting Manpreet who gives me beautiful cutlery for all my workshops and listens to my endless talks so patiently :P

Deviled Eggs

But yeah, Baldeep clicked the food pics from my workshop (you see, how pretty these Classic n beet pickled deviled eggs look)

We intend to do lot of awesome stuff ahead together, so watch out!

d. I am shifting my house, a bigger n better place! Yay to that! :D Hence, scope of doing more personal cooking workshops at my place so once I’m settled in, Please come over and let’s cook up a storm!

e. I’m doing my first ever giveaway!!! :D :D All details neeche –

I was part of this amazing thing called Secret Santa this time on twitter. My wish list was clear I needed cool kitchen accessories; One can never have enough of those! Right? My Santa was sweet and kind enough to send me a Philips hand blender <3 <3 Thank you Santa! I owe you a treat! Please to reveal yourself!

Coming back to the giveaway, since it’s something I would like as a gift I would also want to share the love. Hence, *drumroll please* I’m giving away one voucher of *More drumrolls* Home Collective worth Rs. 1000! *crowd applause with cheers!!*

Well if you are into cooking or collecting beautiful things for your kitchen you already know they have amazing stuff!!

Think Herb scissors, Cheese graters, Salad spinners, Bar accessories, silicon baking equipment, Zesters, fondue sets…!! Endless choices!! See the products options on their website here.

So here’s what you need to do –

Like Life Ki Recipe Facebook page here.
Tell me about your most favorite kitchen/Food moment ever! Yes, I love listening to little joyful stories related to kitchen and food! :) The story that makes me smile the most, wins! Start talking already!

Ok, Can I start please, one of my favorite time was when I was trying to make Pie pops just before one of the workshops. Bhavya, a very good friend was at my house to help me n I thought I’ll make the pies a night before, freeze them and will bake them next day.

Pie pops that were tried earlier!

I had already tried them once so I knew the technique, the skewer to be used and everything else but that night was such a bitch, even with exact proportions, proper crust, the pops just wouldn’t stay. They would just get crumbled after baking and cooling down. We almost spent few hours, trying different crust, variety of skewers and baking modes! Well about 3 o clock in the night it came out perfect!! I and Bhavya, literally, danced then! Also woke up the husband to share the joy! :P In the workshop, everybody loved it! They were light, crust was beautifully perfect and filling was delicious! :’)

Pretty little apple Pie Pops :)

Share your story in comments section below :) Multiple stories are allowed! I’ll announce the winner on 23^rd Jan, it’s a special day! *wink wink* ;)

Happy StoryTelling!

I truly enjoyed reading what you guys had to say :) Heena n Shruti, I totally understand the joy of cooking for the first time :’) Raj, that doesn’t qualify :P Rajni, what a joy cooking along with people you love, right?! Pooja: someday!! Surendra: wish I could just like that, telll me more abt her what does she like to cook?

Ketki, I love your story because it seemed like I was writing that. Mujhe aisa laga meri kumbh ke mele me bichdi hui behan mil gayi :P yeah so you got it right that I’m a sucker for melodrama :D

Pratishtha: Beautiful!! I can totallly relate to it because I remember ogling at beautiful desserts in magazine while those ingredients were never available in Indore :( In fact I started cooking only when I shifted to Mumbai and had access to all beautiful ingredients :)

Now time to announce the winnner for the voucher!! *drumrolls please*

Congratulations Ketki!!!!! Get in touch with me i’ll send you the voucher!!

Also because it’s a special day, I completed two years of marriage with Vicky :’) I’m currently full of love and I also want to give two consolation prizes to Pratishtha and Sneha :) You guys win some homemade goodies hamper from me!!! Send in your details :)

Much Love.

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Bloggers Meet at Polpo Cafe at Shatranj (Video Review)

December 19, 2012 by Amrita | Leave a comment

Pretty Girls. Good Food. Sangria. Brilliant desserts. Sambuca Shots. Happy Time. Check out the video from the Bloggers Meet that happened on 8th Dec. So happy and high. Thank you Polpo Cafe for Calling us over :) Enjoy the madness that we had on a very long long lunch ;)

While you at it, Also check out few of these beautiful pictures that I clicked from my bestie’s Nupur’s iphone <3 Thankyou Purr, I’m so glad you came and I had superb time with you *hugs* Much Love to you.

Blushing Sangria <3

Steak Sandwich.

Word.

Good Looking Red Velvet

Bailey surprise Mousse <3

Blueberry Cheesecake.

Happy Drooling :)

Black Dog Easy (yet awesome) Evening!

December 19, 2012 by Amrita | Leave a comment

Kind Folks from Black Dog sent me this 12 year old Scotch.. Call me filmy but every time I hear about Black Dog I remember this crazily funny scene from the movie ShehanShah where Amrish Puri explains why he drinks Black Dog… I seek no such reason/fun :P but definitely it’s a smooth yet warming drink.. perfect for any occasion. The evening we decided to open it, a party started! Well, which never ended.

Here’s some random shots from that evening… A review isn’t a review unless you rate it, so yeah this one is about 7.5 on the scale of 10.

Happy Drinking! :)

buy cialis cheap

Review: Wine Bazaar at Cafe Pico… Tapas and Sangria. Love.

December 4, 2012 by Amrita | Leave a comment

I love the days when I teleport because of food! One such day that took me to Spain was few weeks ago, when I attended Spanish Wine Bazaar at beautiful Café Pico at Le mills. A huge spread of Tapas, Cold cuts, Cheese platter, Sangrias and Wine collection from Fratelli, Torres and Ixora welcomed us. I love Spanish Tapas so much.. Few months back I visited El Tablao in Bangalore and spent about 3 hours gorging on wonderful Tapas spread and Sangria.

bazar I love the fact that most of the Tapas spreads have so much variety and the bite size portions are just perfect to enjoy the food whilst not stuffing up too much. There are various theories to why it is called Tapas (Tapa: to cover)

My favorite one is the one where bars would cover up the drinks glasses with a piece of meat or bread to save it from the flies. Some time later they realized that the excess salt in meats was aggravating people’s thirst and hence, they indulged more into drinking, resulting in more sale at the bar. Interesting! Right?

At the entry, we got four coupons, one for the Sangria and rest three for trying a glass each from Fratelli, Ixora and Torres.

I am so big on cheese that I started with that from the spread! The sunny yellow was a mild cheddar, the one with eyes(holes) was swiss cheese while those pearl white balls were Gorgonzola (Blue Cheese). Walnuts and Prunes were scattered over the cheese platter.

*hums If I could date cheese..*

Seemingly, most Spanish people are non vegetarians. As a consequence, the food has not been adapted in this regard. The spread at Pico also had lot to offer for meat lovers, these were few of my favorites.

A Meaty Affair!

I also enjoyed few vegetarian dishes like that eggplant ravioli was so good! Spanish cheese – Manchego was stuffed inside roasted eggplant and topped with caponata was delectable!

Very few options for vegetarians but delicious ones.

Also loved this rendition of Chicken Wings -Deep Fried and served with Salsa Verde. Such a delightful change!

Chicken Wings with Salsa Verde

The most vibrant dish was this Baby Leeks & braised Iberian Chorizo with purple Romesco dressing on top! For a Romesco, it was tad too tasteless. Except the look, nothing came out together.

Love that color on it!

The showstopper for us was this Salmon paté! Lovely texture, Right amount of smokiness and those capers added the extra oomph to the dish.

Our most favorite from that day!

The photographer of all these dishes, Check out his work at http://www.lucidillusions.in/

Smears some more Paté

Chef who also plays great Spanish Music! wonderful! It was great meeting you Chef Gracian :)

And after a long brunch I walked around checking marvelous stuff at Le Mill. Isn’t this magnifying glass cute?

If you plan to have Tapas night at home. Make some nice Sangria and try my Jalapeno Cream Chicken in small parcels or Stuffed Mushrooms :)

Happy Spain-ing!

Review: Di Napoli (Video)

November 28, 2012 by Amrita | 2 Comments

Ffihhhhnally I’m using my handycam to shoot videos, you may have already seen the Glam food workshop n review videos earlier here.. This one is Di Napoli’s, a new Pizzeria in Town.

p.s. I’m still learning about camera handling, lighting and more importantly Editing so excuse the flaws :P Enjoy :)

Happy Pizza’ing :)