The easiest Finely Chopped recipe ever ... Knocked up potatoes

I don't know if it's a good idea to post at 3 AM. I can write and go away. But some hapless person might try to read what I wrote.

I guess it's fine given that this post is about the easiest finely chopped recipe ever.

I have been finely chopping everything in sight in the kitchen ever since I opened the fantastic set of Ikea kitchen knives that S M gave me sometime back. I brandished them tonight when we realised that we were short of potatoes. Kainaz said that I can have the cooked potatoes in the fridge. We both love potatoes and and I could sense the pain behind her brave smile.

I returned before her from our walk. Was tired. and whipped up this effortless dish.

So here's the plot:

• Peel three potatoes


• Finely chop them to tiny, 1 inch bits


• Cut an inch of fresh ginger and finely chop it to small bits


• Ditto for a piece of tomato


• Finely chop 4 chillies (by now I was feeling like Rambo in First Blood)


• Put it together in a microwave proof plate.


• Add a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of crushed pepper and some chilly flakes (from pizza sachets) to the mix.


• Add a tea spoon of olive oil to this (so that the potato doesn't stick to each other). Toss everything with a spoon to mix. You can try lemon juice as an option


• Bung into microwave for seven minutes
  
• Watch some TV, stretch out, call a loved one, spot jog, munch a chocolate, have a drink, tidy your cupboard ...
  
• Open micro ... your dish is ready

We had it tonight and it turned out to be very tasty. Cutting the potatoes into tiny bits ensured that it cooked well. The ginger gave an interesting bite. While I did add oil, I didn't fry it so I guess it's healthy too.

And the little woman loved it.

I don't know how this post reads but the dish can definitely be made in your sleep.

Bhaap Eelish aka Steamed Hilsa gets even healthier

The first bhaapa eelish or Steamed Hilsa reciped that I had downloaded from the net included mustard oil and fresh cream.

I tried it first without oil and then substituted fresh cream with skimmed milk. It turned out quite well and got healthier as a recipe.

Then inspired by my experiment with eelish posto the other day I decided to try to make a bhapa eelish with pro- biotic curd. This experiment was a success and the result was quite delicious, no compromise on the taste, no tanginess and fish, healthy probiotic curd, can be made in a jiffy and no oil. How healthy can ecstasy get?

Recipe:

• Grind 2 teaspoons of whole mustard sees, 4 green chillies, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 tablespoons of curd together
• Marinate 4 slices of hilsa in this for half and hour




• Put it in a steel container and let it float in a sauce pan of boiling to simmering water for 20 minutes
  
  


• Open carefully as the lid will be very hot
• Have this exotic, healthy and easy to make Bengali work of art with steamed rice.
  

Note: I bought my hilsa, the river water favourite of Bengalis, from Pushpa's mom at the Khar Market in Mumbai for Rs 250 (5 USD) a kilo. It tasted much better and fresher than what they served in the Oh Calcutta Hilsa festival. Apparently eelish in Calcutta is retailing for Rs 2000 (40 USD) a kg. Can't stomach that.

Discovery, Ecstasy, Celebrations and some great food too... Oh Calcutta, Thai pavilion

Warning: Self indulgent and loooong post ahead... patience would lead to some food news too

Yesterday was a day of discovery, joy, great food and happiness. In fact a colleague told me that she'd never seen my smile so widely before.

Just to give you a bit of a context, I am a market researcher by day. My job involves looking through data and trends and giving solutions to clients, leading a team and getting business for the company. Very different from my other personas of a food blogger and cook. Yesterday I got to stretch my 'other side' a bit more.

I had recently worked on a research paper with a colleague which was selected to be presented for the World Congress of Esomar, a central research society in Switzerland next month.

I decided to create an AV (audio visual) for the presentation. AVs are tiny little films used in presentations and are made dime a dozen by folks in advertising. Not my playing arena though. So I had great fun thinking up of the concept, the situations, the movies scenes I would source stock from and the music track. Of course I had the advantage of a professional writer at home in K. Still I felt very tickled about doing this otherwise mundane thing. A bit like a chef doing a flower arrangement if you know what I mean.

Yesterday my colleague Ips and I hit the studio where we edited the film. It was a completely whole new experience seeing this film come alive. I was feeling quite film directorish taking calls on how to put the film together. It really felt like seeing my baby come being born as I saw our ideas take shape into a two minute film. Boys will be boys did I hear you say?

As we were reaching the end of our work, my colleague Ips, suggested going to Oh Calcutta for lunch. By now I was seeing myself on the Oscar stage (I've always been a day dreamer) so it seemed right to go to a restaurant which had photos of Bengali film makers such as Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen.

It was close to 3.30 PM and I called the restaurant. They said they shut at 3.30 PM. On my earnest request in Bengali they agreed to extend the last order time till 3.45!

The two of us rushed in. We were seated in the dungeon as the restaurant is still being renovated. So no pictures of my 'fellow' Bengal film makers.

We gorged on the usual favourites of the crisp outside, tender inside bhetki fish fry, luchi (which were very nice and fluffy this time) and kosha mangho (astonishingly soft mutton). Ips introduced me to one of her favourites shorshe chingri - an amazing dish of six succulent prawns, in a wonderful thick creamy sauce of mustard, turmeric and ground coconut. I had never had this before and I am definitely going to have it again. We were stuffed and yet gamely finished everything as the food was heavenly. And we got a couple of complementary Bengali sweets (sandeshes) at the end after we declined desserts. To think that I had come here less than a week back. That's the hallmark of a great place.

We headed sleepily to office. Soon after we reached Ips came to me screaming in joy. Our research paper had apparently got nominated in the best paper overall category. We were over the moon and couldn't believe our eyes.

As Kainaz said Oh Calcutta turned out to be lucky for us as she won an important assignment earlier in the week after our last meal at Oh Calcutta. And now the news of the nomination! I had used quite a few scenes and a track from Slum Dog Millionnaire for the AV and nearly did some Danny Boyle sort of sky jumps when I heard of the nomination.

Kainaz and I were supposed to go to the Thai Pavilion at night with Jamshed Uncle who has taken us for many lovely night outs. Thai Pavilion is the best Thai place in Mumbai which we discovered the previous Friday. It's expensive but worth every pie. We were looking for an excuse to return. With the award nomination one didn't have to feel like a decadent capitalist with money to splurge. I felt that this meal was well earned.

The meal at the Thai pavilion was another joyous journey of a perfectly fried (Japanese) prawn tempura with just the right amount of batter. We followed this with their signature dish of Thai Roast Duck on spinach. The duck was very soft and pliant. It had bits of fat and was an Epicurean's fantasy. The sauce complemented the meat and didn't over power the duck. We had Thai green curries with prawn as planned. As with the red curry the previous night, Thai Pavilion got it spot on with the green curry too. Expensive but I am sure that the flight to Bangkok for this authentic and creamy green curry would cost me slightly more. Steamed rice is complementary with the curries.

What added to my joy was that they served chopped chillies in fish oil at my request. Jamshed Uncle and I kept emptying this dip into our food. I have never came across this quintessential Thai condiment at Mumbai. I just love the salty taste of a fish oil. It was the boarding pass for my trip to Thailand.

The meal costs us a King's ransom.

But hey I was in a very happy place.

I had a dream ... Eelish posto

I was going to pack up after writing the post on the Oh Calcutta Hilsa festival.

But I am so thrilled with myself right now that I have to write this post.

Remember I wrote about going to the Hilsa festival at Oh Calcutta for inspiration? Well I went there, had the posto eelish, came back suitably inspired.

I tried replicating the dish today without the recipe. It turned out so well. Everyone who had it loved it and kept praising it. All right, 'everyone' was Kainaz and me but it was really tasty. At the risk of sounding vain I must say, from the bottom of my heart, that I am very happy with myself.

The posto eelish (hilsa in poppy seeds) turned out to be a creamy, lip smacking, very satisfying dish. The fish was much fresher than what Oh Calcutta served.

I had the base ingredients of posto, curd, hilsa from the menu and I knew that they used turmeric. I made up the rest by myself including the decision to steam it like bhaapa eelish.

Here's how I made this very simple, delicate tasting and oil free dish.

Step 1 - Whip 5 tablespoons of crushed posto (poppy seeds, khus khus), 4 split green chillies, 1/2 tea spoons of turmeric, 1 tea spoon salt, 1/2 tea spoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon jeera (cumin powder), 1/2 a teaspoon of crushed mustard seeds in a grinder. Marinade 5 pieces of Hilsa (Eelish) in this for an hour in a stainless steel tiffin box.

Step 2 - Take a wide sauce pan, partially fill it with water, put it on the gas and bring the water to boil, reduce the flame and put the tiffin box with the fish in it. Shut it loosely from the top. Let the container float in the water for twenty - twenty five minutes while the flame is on simmer

Step 3 - Gently take out the tiffin box using cloth pads. Open the lid carefully. Take out the fish. have it with steamed rice.

The result will be an elegant, exotic and effervescent sauce whose taste will linger with you long after the meal.

The Oh Calcutta original :

And in case you were wondering why cook at home, a single plate with two pieces in Oh Calcutta costs Rs 350 (7 USD). I got a 2.2 KG fish, much better quality, for Rs 500 (10 USD).... twelve plus pieces!

Mixed catch .... Oh Calcutta River Water Hilsa Festival

I bought a large, 2 kg eelish (Hilsa) from the market on Sunday.

So I headed to the River Water Hilsa Festival at Oh Calcutta for inspiration. We went there last year and discovered an amazing raw mango flavoured boneless hilsa and a hilsa in a coconut milk and cucumber curry. Dishes very different from the hilsa fry, steamed hilsa (bhapa eelish) and eelish in mustard curry which we make at home.

The Oh Calcutta section at Tardeo's Rosewood Hotel is being renovated. So we didn't get to sit in the tastefully decorated restaurant. We were bundled into a seedy marriage hall in the hotel premises instead... the glaring white lights which were as antiseptic and still as it could get were quite a turn off. They did have lame drawings of eelish (which liked like rohu) pasted on the walls. A far cry from the aristocratic 19th century Bengali house look of the regular restaurant. Thankfully the familiar faces of the staff and the warm smiles of welcome were still there to make one feel at home.

I went there seeking inspiration and inspired I was. We started with a posto eelish, a heavenly treat which won us over in the first bite. This was a very unusual pairing of the East Bengal (Bengalis originally from Bangladesh) favourite of Eelish and the West Bengal favoured condiment of crushed posto (poppy seeds or khus khus in Hindi). Years back Tagore celebrated Rakhi with a cry of Joy Bangla (long live Bengal) when Lord Curzon partitioned Bengal in the early nineteen hundreds. Oh Calcutta's posto eelish was the next big milestone in uniting the two strains of Bengalis. All brought together with a pinch of turmeric, fried chillies and the favoured Punjabi (!) binder of fresh curd.

Mixed identities? National integration would be more like it. You will see more of the gravy than the fish in the photo below. I chided Kainaz for that (she took it). But I later realised that it was natural given the standout quality of the gravy which was creamy, slightly tangy and had the intoxicating bite of poppy.

The fish (one peti piece - few bones, one gaada piece lot of bones) was quite fresh.

I am planning to make a version of this at home tonight. The menu card described it as Hilsa marinated overnight in fresh curd, posto paste and then slow cooked. Watch this space more.

We followed this by a tetulpata (tamarind leaf) eelish. I felt sorry for the poor thing. I don't think that anything could have held up to the standards set by the posto eelish that night. The tetulpata eelish had a slightly tangy touch from tamarind which is unusual to hilsa but didn't seem out of place. The gravy was a light, watery one. Delicate curries are typical of hilsa and one doesn't use heavy spices, garam masala or onions with Hilsa. The only time I came across onions in hilsa was at Bangladesh, the home of Hilsa. Must be a Muslim take on the Hilsa.

The tetul pata Eelish was a bit like a Paul Mc Cartney solo after the Posto Eelish's Beetles. And it didn't help that one of the two pieces of fish, the usually succulent peti piece was a bit stale and chewy. This, unlike the posto eelish, wasn't worth the Rs 350 (7 USD).

We had another rare mishap at Oh Calcutta that night. Hilsa, like most other fish, is had with steamed rice by Bengalis.

We always have this awkward moment when we go with Kainaz. She doesn't have rice. So we have to order luchis (soft Bengali puris) for her to have with the fish. This combination is like having a penne pesto with chicken tikka masala.

The waiter normally looks at us, raises an eyebrow, as if to say "are you sure" when I say luchi with eelish. I throw up my hands as if to say "I know!!!!".

The luchis took a very long time and I was teasing K about how the cook must be refusing to send it with fish and that the steward must be making it. Turned out I was true. The luchis were tough and yellow and looked refried when they came. Very different from the gossamer thin works of art that Oh Calcutta normally delights us with. This had never happened before. K left her plate unfinished. To think that we normally order seconds... AND thirds.

We declined desserts at the end as the house was full of pastries. Yet they very sweetly got two sandeshs (Bengali sweets) for us on the house.

While paying I noticed that they add a service charge. I never realised this before. Though as Kainaz said I doubt that I will ever tip them less because of this as the service is so warm and genuine. I rarely feel as welcome and valued as I do when I come to Oh Calcutta.

And that partially helped get over what Kainaz calls the 'servant's quarter' they made us sit in.

The festival is on till early September. Most hilsa dishes cost around Rs 350

The morning after ... Salt Water Cafe, Bandra

I recently waxed eloquent about finding true love.

But have you ever thought of what happens after that? Once the princess and prince charming move in together? When stubbles, smeared make up, puffed eyes, tousled hair, unbrushed teeth come into the picture?

Salt Water Cafe has become one of our favourite continental restaurants at Mumbai.

We decided to go there for breakfast on K's birthday. Their breakfast had closed by the time we reached. Can't blame them for that. They serve breakfast till 12.30. We reached at 1250, But hey you can't wake a girl up on her birthday. For the record, I woke up earlier had a coffee and cookie and waited for K to wake up.

Anyway this wasn't a big problem. With breakfast over, eggs and muesli went off the menu. Neither of us wanted these in any case. K wanted waffles which went off too. But she ordered a roast duck salad instead.

I wanted a croissant with air dried meats and cheese from the breakfast menu. With that gone I ordered a croissant with parma ham and ementhal from the all day menu.


The first thing I noticed was that the service was a bit slack in the morning. I was struck by the confidence with which they took our order the first time we went to Salt Water Cafe. The young boy who took our order in the morning was enthusiastic, new the basics but didn't inspire us. His answers to our questions left us usatisfied and loooking for help.

Here's a sample:

"What's there in the roast duck salad?"
"Duck sir"
"What else !?"
"Lettuce"
Sigh of exasperation "What dressing?"
"Asian sir".

Well you can't fault him on the facts. The salad was indeed awesome. The meat was tender and the seasoning was light and smacked of a light Far Eastern stir fry flavour. It's just that we struck lucky and he didn't excite the way the stewards here did in our earlier visits.




We asked him to get the cappuccinos with the food. He got it before the food came! But the cappuccino was pretty good. It was hot, steaming and gave a caffeine kick which is missing in most coffee shops.

The lazy service continued. We got a table inside and I requested them to get us a table by the large windows if a table got free. A window booth did get free half an hour later. I asked to be moved. But they'd offered it to someone who just came in. Frankly I wasn't feeling pampered for the price we were paying. Worse still, it was very different from our earlier visits when I kept praising the food AND the service.

Then came the shocker. My croissant arrived. I took a bite and smiled blissfully. The ham was as delicate as a bride's gown and the Ementhal had a solid, earthy bite to it. Heaven?

I was about to take my next bite when I saw a very loooong strand of hair. Much longer than mine. I was perplexed. Removed it in shock.

And saw another longer strand of hair. I was flabbergasted and didn't react. My mouth fell open.

By then the crack team of waiters began to troop out and one noticed my croissant. He came to us immediately and said that he would change it. I still didn't utter a word as I couldn't believe what was happening.

The promised replacements soon arrived. I checked for suspicious toppings and then begun my feast. And a feast it was. A celebration of meat, cheese, bread and fries ... as primordial as it gets. They gave two croissants to a plate which was too much for me and I packed one. We later had it while watching a movie in the evening. It stayed very well.


As we finally begun on our breakfast, Vinod came from the front desk and profusely apologised to us. He said that this had never happened there before. That this was their first hair mishap. Having come here earlier, I tended to believe him. Vinod insisted that we have a dessert on the house. When we declined then he requested to take one home at least. So I finally agreed and asked them to pack us a baked Philly cheesecake. Had that for tea the next evening.

So why am I not spewing venom? Why am I writing objectively rather than cutting them to pieces. Well I feel that people do make mistakes. And what mattered was that they themselves spotted the mistake and made amends and expressed remorse too. I guess that's OK. One can live with it.

The service was quite sleepy initially. That's sore given their prices (around 300 Rs/ 6 USD for the croissants). And they made a big blooper. But they did make up.

Yes, I will definitely go to Salt Water Cafe again. But only when we are all wide awake.

I wanna hold your hand... Thai Pavilion, Cuffe Parade

You have to be really fortunate to find your soul mate, or lobster as Phoebe calls them .

You feel an incredible rush when you come across the right person. Your world turns around. You wonder, where was she all this while. You try to catch up on lost times. To make up for all the years you existed without her. You forget the mishaps, heartbreaks and pitfalls of misdirected love. You walk around with a goofy smile. You write poems. You serenade her. Shower her with gifts. You throw away your rock songs and listen to love ballads instead. You think you are the luckiest person in the world. You know that your life has finally begun.

I had heard of the legendary Thai Pavilion at the Taj President Hotel at Cuffe Parade quite sometime back. It was amongst the first to introduce Thai food in Mumbai and in India. The brain child of chef Ananda Solomon. A bit like what Pizzeria was to Pizzas at Mumbai.

Surprisingly we had never been to Thai Pavilion ( T P) before despite being Thai food addicts. It is a five star of course. But we'd never even been there when we did highbrow stuff to celebrate or indulge ourselves. We tried a plethora of Thai places at Mumbai and rarely reached the culinary highs that we experienced in Thailand itself.

It was Kainaz's birthday yesterday and we were looking for special options for dinner. I put up a question of Facebook. A number of foodie friends wrote in with suggestions including Rahul and Soumik who gave Thai Pavilion a thumbs up.

Actually we did consider the Thai Pavilion sometime back for a special treat. We ended up at India Jones as some folks had told us that Thai Pavilion's days of glory were over. They were wrong. Anna and the King would both fall for Thai Pavilion. I can now safely say that Thai Pavilion is THE BEST Thai restaurant in Mumbai.

We headed to Thai Pavilion for dinner after watching the nice, but critically overrated film, Kaminey. I should have seen the signs as we had a most wonderful relaxing time at Aroma Thai, the Thai foot massage spa at Pali Hill, earlier in the afternoon.

We reached the Thai Pavilion and were offered the high chairs at the bar as the tables were reserved. That in itself was a nice, relaxed experience. Thai Pavilion is a much smaller restaurant than India Jones but looks much cosier and special with its mix of seating types, yellow lighting and wood furniture. And I would strongly recommend the bar chairs if it's just two of you. Especially if you are the type who gets a high seeing chefs plying their skills in front of you.



Soon after we sat down, someone came and explained the four sauces that were there on the table. I knew we were in good hands. Quite different from Tetsuma, the Japanese restaurant, where K took me for dinner last year. Japanese cuisine is a lot less familiar to most here than Thai and I was left to the memories of my Far Eastern travel trips to know what to do with bowl of wasabi and soy sauce.

T P didn't have fish oil with their standard sauces. When I later asked they said they give a chilly fish oil dip on request as many didn't like the smell. That was reason enough to come back because I love fish oil and used to empty the little bowls by the dozens at a curry place called Kiss Kiss at Pattaya. And never got it here.

I felt a bit emboldened by then at Thai Pavilion and decided to order a red curry with prawns. I never order red curry in Mumbai. Most restaurants here serve a starchy tasteless goop under the guise of red curry. Green curry is a safer bet. You get fluorescent ones at a few places but others are not that bad. Something told me that Thai Pavilion was the place to try out my luck with red curry.

The red curry came soon after some heady drinks. A successful foray with Single Malts, Johnnie Walker Blue Label which they recommended for me as I don't know much about malts. K had a Mango ice tea from the menu which they spiked with vodka at our request.

I took my first bite of the red curry with steamed rice and was transported straight to a restaurant called Soi 5 at Sukhumvit, Bangkok. I had the most incredible Thai red curry with prawns there. The curry at T P was it's Siamese (heh heh) twin. It had the right consistency, neither too thick... nor too thin, it was flavoured perfectly, the right level of salt. Each bite was a royal Thai celebration of the palate. AND Thai Pavilion turned out to be the only place I know here which added the lovely little rascals, Thai brinjals. In fact the absence of Thai brinjals and fish sauce in 'Thai' restaurants here is a big grouse of mine. I could just roll over and purr Khorb koon (Thank you).



I marvelled at the fact that I'd never come to Thai Pavilion before despite living in Mumbai for ten years. I had a lot of lost time to make up for. I began to make plans with Kainaz for future visits. and could think of a million excuses. K prudently took my credit card away.

The next dish followed... spare ribs with green sweet and sour sauce. The sauce was nothing like anything one had before. 'Sweet and sour sauce' in Chinese restaurants here is a thick, sweet ketchupy soup. The green sauce was more like a thick green paste. I am guessing that it could be basil. The spare ribs were the best I have had in my life. There wasn't an inch of chewiness in the meat. It was succulent and easy to cut with a table fork and knife. Almost like slicing butter. And there was more fat in it than in Cupid's cheeks. It had slivers of stewed fruit which helped break the saltiness of pork. And there was something about the taste which was so typical of Bangkok streetfood. It's hard to describe but it is a unique, slightly salty taste with a hint of sweetness.

As I dug into spare ribs with steamed rice I sensed a bit of what Romeo felt when he first set eyes on Juliet.



I knew I had come home.

We are planning our next visit soon and this time it will be green curry and spare ribs in a brownish sauce which we saw someone order yesterday. And I promise to take my camera next time.

Note:

• The price, as in India Jones, wasn't too different from an upscale restaurant like Tetsuma. Two main dishes, rice and three drinks came to about Rs 3,500 or 70 USD
• I later checked the bill and saw that they hadn't charged us for the steam rice. A prcatice that I'd noticed in a Thai restaurant in Kuala Lumpur too

A frantic Friday at work... Pizzeria, Marine Drive

I opened my mailbox in office today to see a mysterious mail from my colleague I, which said "what are you doing for lunch today?"

A bit later the phone rang. We have just got some very handsets in office, straight out of Star Wars. The phone sounded like a bull frog in heat. I jumped and scrambled madly till I figured out how to take the call.

I's sombre voice crackled on the line "Can I meet you for five minutes".

Project screw ups... fights at office... resignations... irate clients ...imagination boggled.

I barged in with A and S.

"A and S changed your ring tone yesterday when you were gone and will take you out for lunch", said I

"No we won't" said A and S, looking a bit apprehensive.

"But there's chilly chicken and fried rice at office. I don't want to waste seventy Rupees on bad food" said S with a tearful face.

The three looked at me and said, "It's Friday, let's go out for lunch".

I have long learnt not to argue with the stronger sex and the four of us with a couple of guys from the team, A and T, headed to Pizzeria at Marine Drive.

Pizzeria is the landmark pizza joint at Mumbai which was there long before pizza factories thought up of Frankensteins such as chicken tikka pizzas, kolhapuri mutton pizzas and shahi paneer pizzas.

Pizzeria is THE definitive pizza joint in Mumbai. I remember going there during my first trip to Mumbai in '96 as I strolled Marine Drive with wondrous eyes. There was a buzz which radiated from this cheerful place which just drew one in. The story is the same more than ten years later.

Pizzeria is at Churchgate and faces the sea at Marine Drive. It has big windows through which you can gaze happily into the horizon as you bite into a pizza of art. (very bad pun, apologies!!!).

Mumbai is considered to be the most progressive and open city in India. And Pizzeria represents the best of these values. It has a young, cheerful look which was ahead of its time. The Arabian Sea in front of it invites you to dream on and unwind. The crowd is young, full of life and relaxed. The red and white chequered table cloths are not only cheerful but are also a reminder of Mumbai's heritage Irani cafes. And the pizzas that adorn them speak of a global synthesis.

There have been many wonderful, world class cafes which have burst on to the Mumbai eating scene since the days of pizzeria. But a classic act is hard to beat.






It was a slightly damp and cloudy afternoon and it made the surroundings even more beautiful. Just the sort of thing to set the tempo for a nice, lazy weekend.

We had an All American (pepporoni and cheese) pizza with thin crust. This is the sort of dish which should be followed by a trip to the confession box. How can a pizza be so sinful? So decadent? Take a bite and you will feel like a Roman Emperor in an orgy. The pizza was cheesy and yet creamy, the slices of pepperoni were thin and complemented the cheese mix. It was more like a symphony of tastes rather than flavours trying to outshout each other. It had none of the tomato sauce excesses, sticky cheese dampeners which accompany many other local pizzas. The thin crust which was like a good crust should be 'seen not heard'. It wasn't chewy, it wasn't crisp ... it cheerfully and obediently got the riotous flavours and toppings of the pizza together.

The All American at Pizzeria makes you wonder whether Eve really tempted Adam with an apple. A slice of Pizzeria's All American pizza seems more likely.





We also had a Super Supremo which had an ocean of meat on the pizza. A carnal fantasy of succulent sausages, heady ham and chic chicken. Once again, the toppings were balanced just right and the crust was delicate and subtle. You didn't have anyone crying out for attention. It was one happy, tasty little pizza.

It is the sort of pizza which would make Joey of F.R.I.E.N.D.S say "How'r you doin?"



Frankly the All American was a tough act to follow. But then Godfather 2 has it's fans too.

As we left I kiecked myself for not coming back to Pizzeria earlier. Must thank S for suggesting the place. She was the youngest of the group but had a strong point of view on where she wanted to eat.

We were one, happy bunch at the end of it all and ambled down Marine Drive Mumbai's iconic sea front road to the Oberoi Cake shop. After all, as Hindi films have taught us, all good stories should have 'sweet memories'.

• There is a Pizzeria counter at Just Around The Corner at Bandra. You can enjoy the same great food at Bandra if you can't make it to town. You won't get to see the sea though.
• They serve pastas and risottos and salads too along with beer and wine. I have had their spgaggeti carbonara once at JATC and it was really tasty and rich.
• Contrary to what the post suggests, a love for food is not a hiring criteria for our team team

The Indianisation of Chinese Cuisine...5 Spice, Bandra

It was the Parsi New Year yesterday, 20th August.

Kainaz and I met upwith her paretns for dinner. Dinner forms a big part of the New Year celebrations. As do new clothes. And for once the jeans I bought K fitted!!!! The tee was a bit loose though. But it was the smallest size. She needs to eat more cake.

We'd been to a spate of continental places recently. When I asked my in laws if they had a preference, they sang out 5 Spice in unison.

So, as my Facebook status said, it was 5 Spice ma jaamva chaalo ji night. ('jaamvo chalo ji mean 'let's go to eat' in Parsi).

I went a bit apprehensively to the very popular 5 Spice at Pali Naka, Bandra. 'Apprehensively' as I've always seen a big crowd outside 5 Spice even though the restaurant keeps expanding and adds new floors.

As expected, I was told 'half an hour's waiting'. I made a very forlorn face and tried to play the sympathy card by referring to my Pa In Law's walking stick. And lo, we were called in in five minutes just as my in laws arrived, a New Year's miracle.

I must say that I was impressed by our steward's (a thin guy with curly hair and glasses) earnestness despite the rush. He cheerfully took our orders, responded to our questions on the dishes and accommodated our special requests (Warm Virgin Pinacolada, for my mom in law and ice tea with minimal ice for the little woman).

We started with a crab sweet corn soup which was unsalted. But was a treat to have once I fixed this. The crab meat was plenty and soft and fresh. And the soup was not lumpy and unsalted unlike in Asia Wok nor was it sweet and lumpy like in Mr Chow.

We had a burnt chilly fried rice which I believe is the secret of 5 Spices' fan base. It's a pulao disguised as a fried rice with big red chillies and crisp fried onions. It's a virtual treat to the Indian palate. Everyone I have recommended this to loves it!

There is a Chinese prof who has apparently floated a theory saying that the Balkanisation of India is in China's interest. He should taste 5 Spices burnt chilly rices. A Chinese dish which is more Indian than chicken tikka masala.

The red pepper chilly prawns were nice. There wasn't too much batter and the prawn tasted quite fresh and well spiced. I only got a fleeting taste of one prawn (7 to a plate) so can't say much about it. But it is definitely 'worth repeating' as my mom in law says.

We had a mixed hakka noodles which was soya based and had a nice zing to it. There was quite a bit left so I had the rest for lunch. It was so well flavoured that I didn't need a side dish with it.

We ordered a Hong Kong fish for my in laws who like gravy and fish. I am not too fond of gravies in Chinese resturants as I find the gravies to be too overpowering. But the gravy here was the perfect balance of yin and yang. It was neither thick nor thin. It was mildly salty thanks to the soya ginger base and complemented, rather than dominated the fish. And the fish, pomfret, was tender and succulent and very fresh. Just as the steward had promised. Very different from the stale tripe that we got in The Steak House. And this is remarkable given that this is not the fishing season in Mumbai and good fish is hard to get.

Imagine how good a dish this was given that it won over a non gravy loving, indifferent to fish person like me!

A nice meal which put us in a happy mood for the rest of the year.

So Navroze Mubarak as they say and have a great Parsi year ahead full of great food.

Note:

• 5 Spice gives you a burnt chilly option with noodles too even though they don't have it on the menu
• The portions at 5 Spice are HUGE. A good rule of thumb is one main dish amongst three.

There is no smoke without fire ... Cafe Royal, Colaba

Cafe Royal's claim to fame is that Bill Clinton went there during his visit to India when he was the President of the USA.

They have a sketch of him on their wall.

Kainaz treated me to dinner there soon after Clinton's visit.

They haven't put my mug shot on the wall though.

Clinton had come to meet some of the prominent next generation folks of India at Cafe Royale.

Kainaz and I went to Cafe Royal last week with our family elders in tow. Cafe Royale is famous for its sizzlers.

I never got the point of sizzlers. Is it for aesthetics? Or a bit of razmatazz?The Vegas touch to food? Or does having your food sizzle on your table add to the taste?

I have no answers.

Most of our folks were not too acquainted with sizzlers and I shared my Golden Rules of eating sizzlers with them:

• Be very patient. Wait till the smoke completely goes down. Take your first bite very very tentatively. (A friend of mine from Calcutta, fresh from the ship, took his girlfriend to a sizzler joint here. He bravely took a bite when they got the sizzler to his table. He BURNT his tongue and gums. There was no smooching for the rest of their trip. They were in college then and are married now... so thankfully the sizzler didn't do much damage)


• Don't start with the veggies. You will be full when you come to the meat (or paneer or veg cutlet) and will end up wasting it. (The first time I had sizzlers was at Yokos at Andheri with some office folks in the late nineties. I dutifully ate the spinach, cauliflower, beans, peas, fries and kept the the meat till the end. It remained on my plate when we left and I sobbed silently when I paid my share, sizzlers are expensive)


• Tell them to give you only French fries and fried onions instead of the other vegetables (I didn't promise to give health tips. But Kainaz and I very successfully filled ourselves with this combo when we used to eat out every night. You can then manage with one sizzler between two, sizzlers are expensive)

How were the Cafe Royal sizzlers?

I ordered a hamburger steak, well done. It was nice and mushy. Mama (K's uncle), who is a vegetarian, had his first tryst with a sizzler. I think it had a paneer (cottage cheese cutlet) sizzler and he quite like it. But I'd never seen Kainaz's eye light up when she had a sizzler like it this time. She had a lamb kebab sizzler. I took a bite and realised why. It was astonishingly soft and creamy, angelic... the sort of dish which makes you regret your own order. And as I said mine was quite good itself.

It was an evening of discoveries and my mom in law who asks us to order anything with 'lots of cheese' got a fondue. It came before the other orders and all at the table poked in skewers with bread into the cheese in wonder as I coached them on fondue. I am very overbearing at the dinner table. Luckily our aunt shared some of her sizzler with my mom in law who still grumbles about the 'excessive' amount of vegetables in the sizzler. Did I mention that I am married into a Parsi family? The only community who can give us Bengalis a run for our money in the non vegetarian stakes.

They also have sandwiches, bagels and stuff. My father in law who is a sandwich fan ordered a steak burger. I was going to ask him how he found it for you. But the huge burger was gone before I could ask him. I guess that pretty much says how good it was. There cheese chilly toast was nice and a bit genteel as it had herbs and paprika instead of just green chillies.

There was an awkward silence after the food got over. Who would bell the dessert? All eyes looked to the son in law and I dutifully got up and led my father in law to the dessert counter.

I am fond of apple desserts and chose an apple pie which came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. My father in law is a chocolate person and chose a chocolate almond cake. The chocolate cake was mousse based and had a nice nutty yet restrained taste to it. It had just the right balance of chocolate and sweetness.

The apple pie was one of the best I had. The dough was soft and not stiff. The apple mix was very seasoned and brought up visions of moms in American sitcoms with red and white checked aprons. The warm pie blended beautifully into the cool ice cream.

My pa in law, as I said, is a chocolate person. But he is an ice cream addict too. He is not allowed desserts on normal days now. So he kept lunging for my apple pie as the scoop of vanilla attracted him like a bee to a honeycomb. I couldn't do much. This is the man who gave me his daughter's hand after all.

And then we all rolled out of Cafe Royal looking like the proverbial Cheshire Cat.

Notes:

• Cafe Royal is at Colaba, near Regal Cinema
• The menu card says that they were opened in the early 1900s. It was an Irani cafe which has evolved over time and is now a sizzler place.
• Some of us wanted fish but they weren't serving fish. The fish is not the freshest at these times at Mumbai as the seas are rough. I appreciated their stand of not serving fish rather than serving stale fish like that stupid Steak House. And yes I am not fond of fish in any case
• They have valet parking
• The sizzlers cost about Rs 250 -300(6USD) each.
• And as Ruth of on my plate would have mentioned the loos were gender aligned and quite nice and clean and arty too.

Murg Mango Dolly... a saucy and easy chicken dish

There is a new Hindi film called Quick Gun Murugan coming up. This is apparently an Austin Powerish take on Tamil cinema from South India.

One of the characters in the film is Mango Dolly. She is supposed to be a gangster moll in the best traditions of Tamil commercial cinema - heavily made up, well fed, tight fitting garish clothes, melodramatic, LOUD.

I made a chicken dish on Saturday which used curry leaves, mustard seeds and had a sour taste similar to the South Indian cooking ethos. It was very easy to cook and I made it while making the more laborious kosha mangsho (Bengali slow cooked, dry mutton). We had guests over at night and my brief was to make the two dishes taste as different from each other as possible.

So here's a sneak preview into the making of Murg Mango Dolly... a Karmakar original

Cast:

• 750 g boneless chicken, cut into 3 inch pieces
• 4 table spoons oil, 2 table spoons if meant just for folks at home
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 1 finely chopped tomato
• 1 table spoon red chilly pickle, can use other pickles too. One table spoon East Indian Masala
• 10-15 curry leaves
• 1 tea spoon mustard seeds
• 1 tea spoon chopped garlic
• 4-6 split green chillies, try to get the light coloured, less fiery ones

I inaugurated a set of Ikea kitchen knives which a close friend of mine, SM, gave me sometime back. She's started food blogging recently and I think I can take a bit of credit for that. The knives were amazing. I kept chopping everything in sight and was going to start on my fingers soon. Felt like Jamie Oliver. I even chopped the meat again though the shop had chopped and sent it to me. What a wonderful gift to give to a foodie.

Story:

• Take 4 table spoons of oil in a pan and heat it. I don't skimp on oil while entertaining but you could do with half the amount
• Once the oil is hot, pop in a tea spoon of mustard seeds. They will crackle
• Add one finely chopped onion to this and let it fry till it becomes a bit soft and looks a bit transparent.
• Add a tea spoon of finely chopped garlic. I believe that garlic is used quite a bit in South Indian cuisine
• Add 10 - 15 curry leaves and let it fry for a short while. Curry leaves are the core taste binder on which the dish stands
• Add one chopped tomato, stir, don't let it over cook and go soft as we want to feel the bite
• Add four split green chillies

• Add a table spoon of sour Indian pickle. I used red chilly pickle. You could even use mango or mixed pickle. This will give a sour taste to the dish
• Add 750 g boneless chicken cut into 3 inch pieces. Add about a table spoon of salt and a table spoon of East Indian Masala or red chilly powder
• Stir the mixture. Some juice will come out initially. Stir this on a high flame so that the chicken turns yellowish and the sauce dries up. This will take about ten minutes

• End of story. Garnish with some curry leaves and split chillies and coriander (if you want to)
• You can have this with roti, paratha, bread or lemon rice.

I took the picture of the finished dish in the box window outside our kitchen. Got a bit of sunlight.

The dish was a big hit with our guests. This was no mean task as it was competing with the very popular cult dish, kosha mangsho. Even I liked the dish though I normally don't look at chicken if there is mutton around.

The full blown South Indian deal would have dessicated coconuts added along with the onions. Feel free to improvise, even I thought up the recipe as I went along/

Oh, and in case you are wondering, this is the original Mango Dolly ... now take your pick

And I would like to thank all those who wait patiently while I click the food

This is so cooooooool!

My first Blogger's award. I always use to wonder about Blogger's awards... and what they meant. And secretly wondered whether I would ever get one. And then I got a gmail update in the morning saying that I got the Super Scribbler's Award.



And what makes it special is that this is from Rushina. Rushina is passionate about food. So is just about everybody who comes to this blog. BUT she followed her passion and has even set up her company around food - reviews, tie ups with gourmets, books, food consulting... she is one busy foodie and very, very inspiring. And the great thing is that she has begun blogging again at The Perfect Bite. So you can head there for the real McCoy.

These blogger awards have rules so here they are:

For details of this award and its beginnings, visit the original post and blog that started it all: The Scholastic Scribe
As with all Bloggy Awards, there are rules that go with the award:

• Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to five most deserving bloggy friends.
• Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author and the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award.
• Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog and link to the original post at The Scholastic Scribe which explains The Award.
• Each blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit the original post at The Scholastic Scribe and add his/her name to the Mr Linky List. That way, we’ll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who wins This Prestigious Honor!
• Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules to his/her blog.

Phew... hope I did all of that.

Here's my list of five. These are what we call top of mind in market research. There are a number of great blogs that I read and I thought that the only way to put five is to not think too much. So here they are in no particular order:

• Jessica and Lon of Food Mayhem. This is the first food blog that I began to follow. The frequency of posts, the quality of pictures that draw you in and the way they make the blog so interesting even for someone who has never visited their city is really inspiring
• Shanky of Lotsafood ... an unabashed foodie who threw a party because he got mishti doi from Calcutta! His blog is witty and informative. My only complaint is that he doesn't write often enough and I am really hungry for more
• Sharmila of Kichhu Khon... I normally don't go to recipe blogs/ books unless I am looking for something specific. I like her blog for the simplicity with which she writes about recipes. And if that doesn't tempt you to try the recipe then the photos do. And yes, I read it even if I am not looking for a recipe
• Scarlett of Just Can't Get Enough, a non food blog! I've been reading her blog for a while for some frank, forthright, sage and humorous posts from someone who belongs to a profession where these are very rare qualities
• Parul of Bringing Up Adi, a hilarious not just Mommy Blog. I also put it on the list as she is a blogger whom I know who has published a book too. So it's not an urban legend

Those who didn't make it to the list... I am not that important.

Those who made it to the list, you didn't hear that.

PS Perhaps I should dedicate this to all the teachers who used to complain about my handwriting. Thanks to the keyboard, one can scribble, legibly!

Head to Delhi Haat for Paapri Chaat...Kailash Parbat, Phoenix Mills, Mumbai

I first had paapri chaat at Khan Market, Delhi a few years back. I fell in love with this heady mix of crushed paapri (won't even try to translate this), wadas, potatoes, curd, red sweet chutney, chilly powder, gaathias, bhujias and what have you.

Since then I have always made a beeline for paapri chaat sellers when I go to Delhi.

I was at Phonenix Mills at Sunday. All bruised and battered after hours of shopping in a Mall inundated with sales. My feet were aching and my body was aching all over. I stopped at the Kailash Parbat for a snack before heading home. This is in the food court outside PVR Cinema.

My eyes lit up when I saw paapri chaat and I ordered one.

What I got was an albinoed dish which had no connection the sassy, colourful Delhi delight. It had a limp sweetened curd base. No sign of the zesty chutneys. Pale paapris, different from the crunchy Delhi ones. Lots of boondi for some reason but no crushed pakoras, gaathiya setc. A complete waste of fifty Rupees (1 USD).

As we drove back home Kainaz said, "You told me that paapri chaat is a Delhi thing. Isn't it a better idea to have it in Delhi?

Can't argue with that

"One Raspberry please" - a one act play, Britannia

This is my fourth post on Britannia, the Irani restaurant at Ballard Estate, Mumbai

I love this mad little place. As do my friends. Some of who make it a point to go there when they return to Mumbai. My wife loves it. Her friends do too. As does just about anyone who enters this mad little overpriced, non air conditioned, with walls with peeling paint, open only in the afternoons, shut on Sundays place.

I was there yesterday with a friend, N, who has just shifted out of Mumbai and misses Britannia.

The genial soft spoken nonagenarian owner, Mr Boman Kohinoor, came to take our order.

This is what followed:

BK: Are you ready to place your order
Us: yes
N: One berry pulao please... (short pause) and a sali boti
BK: Very good combination, good order (writes the order down studiously)
N: And two Raspberries please (Note: Raspberry is a raspberry flavoured fizzy drink popular with Parsis and served in Parsi weddings)
BK: No Raspberry (with the same soft voice)
N: But I want Raspberry (She'd apparently been through this drill before)
BK: Have a fresh lime soda. Britannia's fresh lime soda is number one (does a thumbs up). Very good. Will go well with your food
N: But I want raspberry... I have come all the way specially for it
BK: No raspberry... (short pause, then whispers conspiratorially)... If I give you raspberry, it will get over... then some Parsis will come and ask for it and I won't be able to serve it
The Knife: But I am married to a Parsi ... that makes me half Parsi?
BK: (still very genial) No half Parsi, no quarter Parsi, no conversion, no raspberry
N: But I am staying with a Parsi friend ... I love raspberry
This called for desperate measures. I fished out a print out of my last post on Britannia
The Knife: I am a big fan of your restaurant. This is an article I wrote about it when I came here last time. My wife and I heard that you were closing and we had rushed here. We were so happy to hear that you weren't closing down
BK: Aah I remember... can I keep?
The Knife: Of course. This is for you. In fact my wife could not come today and asked me to pack cutlets for her
BK: That won't do... you must ask her to come here

BK still looked unconvinced. No sign of the blessed Raspberry. That's when I suddenly had a flash of inspiration

The Knife: I even made sali per eendu (a Parsi breakfast dish) myself for breakfast today (this was true)
BK: (breaks into a BIG smile and nods) Sali Per Eendu... (looks at N) hmmm he is Parsi
N: (taking advantage of the situation) Can we pleaaaase have a Raspberry
BK: (turns towards one of the waiters) Manish, two raspberries
BK: (looks at me) ... you are a very good boy
BK: (looks at N) and you are a veryyyy good girl

N tried her luck and got one more raspberry from BK, a photo with him, and a story about how BK asked two American guests a couple of years back to ask Mr Bush to stop fighting... but as he said, Mr Bush didn't stop till they finally threw a shoe at him.




Note: I have a strong feeling that you can't pack Mr Kohinoor and take him home

Motton roll rules ... Hangla

Kainaz took a detour to Hangla at Lokhandwala while returning from her mama's at Amboli. And She wants me to stress on the fact that the detour was fraught with possibilities of high traffic.

She was going to get three chicken rolls for us and one mutton (or motton as they say in Kolkata) for herself.

I moaned with ecstasy as I took each bite of the roll. The chicken was so pliant, soft and tender. Then we realised that the kind folks had packed three muttons and one chicken. What I just ate was muttone. The chicken, as expected, was chunky and a let down after the mutton.

Moral of the story... shut your eyes and have the mutton rolls at Hangla.

Note: Kainaz said that the folks were quite customer friendly and agreed to her requests of fried onions without a murmur. I guess that's the only un- Kolkata part about Hangla.

Raw deal ... Steak House, Bandra

I was a bit conscious of the fact that I'd not been to a new restaurant for a while. I realised that most of my recent posts were general features and recipes. Nothing for those who want new dining ideas.

We finally went out for dinner last night as our maid hadn't come for a couple of days and the dishes had piled up. That's when we made the mistake of going to the Steak House at Pali Naka. We'd been planning to try out this place for a while and this seemed to be a good opportunity.

We went in and saw that it was a small place with a bit of an identity crisis. There were about 6,7 tables with stark white walls and a minimalist decor. The owner hadn't stuck to the 'steak' theme. They served hookahs or Sheeshas which were Middle East than steak. This made the restaurant a bit smokey. The first 3,4 pages of the menu had Oriental dishes (Chinese, Thai) and we had to patiently turn the pages to reach the steaks and other continental dishes.

We started a spaghetti ali oili (not 100 p c sure of the spelling). We had it with penne though. We have earlier had this very light, tossed in olive oil pasta at Out Of The Blue and really enjoyed it. The one here was chewy and fried (!). It was almost an Indian tadka version. I think they had used dried Indian red chillies unlike paprika. Very cloyee and oily.



We followed this with a fish steak in lemon pepper sauce. We requested them to give us mashed potatoes instead of rice. That was a wise decision as the mash was the best and only good part of the dish. The fish seemed more fried than grilled. The fish was definitely geriatric and was as stale as an eighties Hindi film. The steak was quite hard and looked dark. Neither of us proceeded beyond a bite.

I think the maitre de figured out that we were quite disappointed with the food and came and asked us how we found the food. I muttered 'fine' under my breath, paid an outrageous Rs 700 (14 USD) for the two dishes and two ice teas and ran out.

There is a phrase in Hindi ... ghar ka mudgi daal barabar (chicken cooked at home seems as boring as lentil soup or familiarity breeds contempt).

Why bother with new places when one has the tried and tested Out of the Blue, Red box and Salt Water Cafe for continental fare at Bandra?

Wake up and smell the coffee ... Mocha, Churchgate

We went to the Mocha at Churchgate last evening.

They took FORTY MINUTES to get our order. That too after I got up and chased them twice.

The waiter apologised and said that there was no one to make the coffee so he had to make it himself. I believe him. The cappuccino tasted like the insipid, frothy stuff that you get in coffee machines.

Though to be fair, the food orders sali per eendu (with a lot of garam masala though) and the mushroom bruschetta (well flavoured, right amount of cheese, nice mushrooms) were quite tasty and the four of us enjoyed it.

I guess it's a good place to go if you have time to kill. Not if you are harrowed executives on the run.

Where have all the cookies gone?

A soft baked milk cookie full of big, mushy chocolate chips and macadamia nuts with a steaming cup of coffee is my idea of heaven.

Unfortunately this is very rare pleasure in Mumbai.

The Brownie movement is well and truly entrenched here and you get lovely brownies at places like Candies at Bandra, Theobroma at Colaba and Brownie Cottages all over. Mad Over Donut has started the donut revolution now and people just can't stop raving about their donuts.

No such luck with cookies though. Most coffee shops (Glorias, Barista, CCD) and bakeries (even Candies!) fall short on their cookies which are normally too chewy, too crisp, too thin or too milky. The heart of a cookie should be soft and cherubic. Most cookie sellers don't seem to get it.

American Express Bakery (Hill Rd, Byculla) has a slightly nice cookie which is round and dark brown in colour. It is slightly soft in the centre. I prefer my cookies to be milky with chocolate chips. The Amex one is a full chocolate one. So not entirely up my street. But highly recommended.

Subway has fairly nice cookies - both in a milk base and and in a chocolate base. These are fairly soft, fresh and addictive.

An equivalent of Brownie Cottage would be Cookie Man. They have stalls selling a plethora of cookies - milk, chocolate, fruit, hard, soft. I really love their cookies for their variety and texture. Their stuff reminds me of the Captain Amos outlets of the Far East.

The problem is that Cookie Man outlets are not as easily available at Bombay. And they are not there at Bandra! I normally used to pick them from Chennnai airport when I used to travel there on work. I've seen quite a few sprinkled over malls at Delhi, Gurgaon and Calcutta too. Mumbai has one at Inox at Nariman Point. I heard that there is one at Malad.

Another option is buying imported cookies. We recently bought some cookies from a brand called Merba at Regal Stores at Pali Naka, Bandra. Regal Stores is a wonder land of foreign branded food products. Chocolates, cheese, sauces, dips... name it and you will get it. They also sell oondhioon and local Gujarati snacks and diet crackers!

The Merba cookies were exorbitant but really good. They have huge, soft chocolate chunks in them. The cookie base, in contrast, is lighter and not too chocolatey. The only problem with foreign cookies is that they sometimes crumble or become too soft during the trip to India.

Which gets me back to, there's nothing like fresh, soft baked cookies.

So where do you get yours?