Recipes

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Sussegado - Goan Food Fest, Hyatt, Bangalore : Restaurant Review


I readily agreed to review the Goan Food Fest along with a friend last week at the Hyatt, Bangalore for two reasons; Vegetarian Goan food is a challenge, and I wanted an afternoon of suseg – meaning relaxation in Portuguese.

The outdoor terrace seating facing a water body, palm trees, a beach shack-like grill and catchy Goan/Konkan music created the perfect setting on a cloudy/windy Bangalore day.

Chef Edrige Vaz from Park Hyatt, Goa was at the helm of the Goan spread. There was a dinner buffet with a variety of seafood and an a la carte menu for lunch. For us, a special three course menu was served by the Chef.


For vegetarian starters, there was home style crisp vegetable cutlet, a cheesy croquet and mushrooms in spicy peri peri masala. The cutlet and croquet were decent – nothing Goan though. The mushrooms however, were delightfully spicy and cooked right.




Moving on, for the main course we were served two varieties of rice and curries. Regular white rice and the boiled Goan rice. The yellow pumpkin curry was slightly sweet, with a tempering of mustard seeds, curry leaves and onions in thin coconut milk gravy garnished with a generous helping of fresh grated coconut – relished the wholesome and delicate flavour along with Gaon rice. The mixed vegetables in red curry – Tarkarachem Hoomand, had an over dose of masala and was rather pungent.



The dessert platter included three types; Bebinca - the traditional layered pudding, Dodol – a halwa kind of sweet made of rice flour, black jaggery and coconut milk that I enjoyed and a payasam/kheer made of sago and channa daal. The kheer could have cooked a little more and a scoop of vanilla ice cream with the bebinca would have completed the dessert.

Summing it up, it was a decent experience for vegetarian costal cuisine, although the menu was limited. 

Verdict: 3.8/5

Monday, July 15, 2013

Vanilla Sponge with Caramel and Peanut Butter Frosting

Peanut butter craving & two birthdays in the family called for a home-made cake! If you like peanut butter, you will love this topping. The creamy smooth texture of peanut butter and gooey stickiness of caramel make a fantastic combination on a bed of moist vanilla sponge cake.  

I had a jar of Kirkland soft caramel toffees sitting in my shelf for long time. On impulse, I decided to combine it with peanut butter and yay! It was a hit!




For the cake:
Ingredients
1 cup sugar ( Indian granulated white sugar or brown sugar)
1 cup melted unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 and 1/2 cup all purpose flour (maida)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla essence or extract
1/4 cup hot milk

Method
Pre Heat oven to 350 degree fahrenheit / 180 degree centigrade. Beat the butter and sugar till fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time with vanilla extract and whisk untill well combined. Add the flour, baking powder and soda and hot milk and beat again for a few minutes. Pour this batter into a greased baking tin and bake for about 30 minutes or till a tooth pick inserted comes out dry.

For the frosting:
4 tbs peanut butter
3/4 cup caramel (I melted caramel toffees in the microwave)
1/2 cup icing sugar
4 tbs butter
Combine all the ingredients and whisk until light and smooth. I dint make it too think as I wanted it to drip over the sides.

Once the cake is completely cool, over turn on a flat surface. Pour the frosting from the middle of the cake and lightly spread with a spatula. Allow it to drip over the sides.