Recipe Files: Make Lamb Vindaloo with Maria Goretti!

A few weeks ago Maria got in touch with me to come attend one of our classes. I must admit that when I first heard from her I was a bit intimidated (I mean she is an actor, model and also hosts this incredible show ‘’Do it Sweet’’ on NDTV goodtimes) but after speaking to her for 2 minutes I was completely at ease. She is so warm, so lovely and so so passionate about food that it completely bowled me over.

When I asked her to contribute to ‘Recipe File’ she gladly agreed. “Pooja, you have to take the lamb shank recipe from my blog because it’s my mom’s recipe and it means a lot to me’’ she said. And I couldn’t be happier.

When I got a hold of the recipe I was thrilled to see instructions to vindaloo masala. I absolutely LOVE vindaloo, so much so that even in Paris (read my travel tips!) I would go to little India every single Sunday and feast on poulet vindaloo and naan fromage. I can’t wait to try this one out!

Here is the recipe from the actor, baker, cook, blogger and supermom!

Ingredients

Pic Courtesy: http://www.mariagorettiz.blogspot.com/

12 lamb shanks

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Half cup water

Mummy's Vindaloo Masala

100 gms kashmiri chillies

20 -25 pods garlic

thumb size piece of ginger

2tbsp cumin seeds roasted

East Indian Vinegar


Method

1. Grind to paste all the above ingredients in a blender, but do not add too much vinegar, just enough to grind it to a nice thick paste.

2. Take about a dozen lamb shanks and with your fingers , smear the rich vindaloo paste all over it , till it looks all well covered and happy , add a little tenderizer to it and leave it to marinate for at least a day.

3. Heat the cooker , then add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil, when the oil is hot , add the lamb shanks into it , hear them sizzle and you can smell the vinegar hitting the heat.

4. Cook it like this for about 20 minutes, and once all the juices have sealed in, you add half a cup of water so that it does not burn, then shut the cooker and let it cook for about 20 minutes

5. Let it cool a bit and then transfer the contents into a shallow non stick pan and let it cook further and dry the gravy on a low flame (so what happens is that the meat is absolutely flavoured and succulent)

6. Make a simple salad with cucumber, tomatoes, onion, lime, mint, salt and some olive oil.

7. Serve it with a naan or you can just enjoy it with the salad.


Recipe from Maria’s blog (http://www.mariagorettiz.blogspot.com/)

“It is spicy and yummy, and I think I have nailed it, but still feel that it’s not half as good as my mum makes it...Feel like I’m at an East-Indian wedding , and so called for pav and eating it with pav and salad and scraping the non stick for the yummy residue and my mouth is watering as I’m eating...’’

La Rentrée – of new beginnings & Indigo's famous Jalapeño Chocolate fondant!

The average French person has 5 weeks of holidays per year (a reason why I didn’t want to leave the country!) August is the time all the Parisians leave the city and let tourists take over for the entire month. Come September all the tanned (sometimes, a little much) folks return, schools are now open and life goes back to being normal again. La Rentrée or re-entry is the season of re-newal and of new beginnings in Paris.

Since it feels like our blog has been en vacances (it is based on the French after all) September is rentrée for us as well!

So now that we’re back we’ve made a few changes. A new and exciting feature on the Le 15 blog is our ‘Recipe File’. We’ve managed to get famous chefs/hoteliers/bakers (and mothers, grandmothers, chaiwallas, paanwallas and street vendors) to contribute recipes for our readers. If you have a tried and tested recipe, something you swear by, and are willing to share with us, we will be thrilled to feature it in our Recipe File!

Also, we have realized how hard it is to find our Central kitchen (Elphinstone) and Dessert Counter (Worli) and hopefully these instructions will make it clearer! Click here to find our kitchen and here to find the goodies.

Et Voila! Go on now and read how to make Indigo’s famous Jalapeño Chocolate fondant!

The Recipe Files

5th September 2010 – Jalapeño Chocolate Fondant by Rahul Akerkar.

Chef Akerkar

Being a young chef myself, there are some chefs that I look up to, aspire to be and highly respect. The list is long and keeps increasing, but one chef that has constantly been on that list is Rahul Akerkar.

After training as a chef in the USA and working in some of the best restaurants and bars in New York for over ten years, Rahul returned to Bombay in late 1989, and set up his catering business, the Moveable Feast, and his initial restaurants, Just Desserts and Under The Over.

Along with his wife Malini, he started deGustibus Hospitality Pvt. Ltd., which owns some of the city’s finest and most treasured restaurants: Indigo, Indigo Delicatessen, Indigo Café and Tote On The Turf.

I am extremely happy that he was willing to share his most famous dessert recipe with us!

Jalapeño Chocolate Fondant

Ingredients:

Bitter Chocolate 225 gm

Sweet chocolate 225 gm

White butter 350 gm

Icing sugar 550 gm

Corn flour 8 table spoons

Egg yolk 8 nos

Whole egg 8 nos

Jalapeños 9 nos medium size

Method:

1. Deseed the jalapeños & chop them finely and dry it slowly under a heat lamp or in the oven.

2. Melt both the chocolate and butter together. Add the icing sugar, corn flour and jalapeño in the mixture.

3. Whip the egg yolks and eggs together until fluffy.

4. Fold the whipped egg in the chocolate very gently.

5. Grease a small cake tin and pour in chocolate mixture in the mould and leave it in the fridge for two hours

6. Bake in the oven for 8 to 9 minutes, and then unmold it carefully without breaking. Ensure that the center is not overly cooked & the chocolate is runny.

7. Savour each bite and enjoy!

Updates and more!

There’s been so much happening at Le15 that unfortunately our blog has taken a back seat. But this will change soon and you will find the blog in a new avatar. 

This month has been an eventful one for us: from conducting new classes, planning new outlets (stay tuned for more information!), designing new packaging and basically doing things we’ve never done before! We’ve even expanded our client base in other cities, and now bulk deliver in Delhi and Bangalore. 

On a personal note - I can’t even begin to describe the awesomeness of the food (white truffle risotto and fresh fettuccine to name a few!) that has been cooked in my kitchen every single day. I am so amazed with flavors, textures and the simplicity of it all, that when Chef Mukul decided to stay back in Mumbai (yay!) we HAD to form Le15 Gourmet Catering so you can also have a try. Just send me a mail for more information.

We also have loads of new classes coming up in August! Classes that include Thai, Moroccan, Mexican, Party food, Fresh Pasta making, One day cake decoration workshops and of course our most popular: Cupcakes! 

In an association with Chenab Impex (a leader in imported fine food) we have organized two workshops to show you the advantages and correct usage of Dolce Vita Olive Oil. Making salad dressings, pesto and tapenade has never been this easy!

Have a look at our class schedule for more details, and thank you, for all your support :)

New Classes!

After many requests to conduct cake decoration workshops we finally have something planned! Starting on the 26^th  of July, let Cake Decorating pro and Pastry Chef Christina Fernandes teach you how to decorate a cake from start to finish! Christina has a diploma in baking and cake decoration and has worked at several bakeries, restaurants, hotels in India and in Australia.

This 3 day program will involve making gum paste, flowers (Roses, lilies, carnations and more), royal icing and fondant techniques.

A hands-on class with only 6 people per session, so hurry up and register!

What: The Art of Sugar Craft and Cake Decoration.

Where: Le 15 central kitchen

When: 26^th, 28^th & 30^th July (12.30 pm – 3.00 pm)

Price: Rs 6500 (Includes all materials)

P.S : We also got Chef Mukul to extend his trip! Have a look at the updated class schedule for more details!

The Le 15 Outlet is Now Open!

After a lot of hard work we finally have our first outlet for all of you to go and buy some of our goodies!

We are proud to announce that a Le 15 Dessert counter is now open!!!

And in case you’re new to Le 15 desserts or are simply confused about what to buy, we suggest you try our best sellers, Belgian Chocolate Cupcakes and Rose Macaroons. They’ve been flying off the shelves ever since we opened.

Address:

Shama Hair and Skin boutique,

Shop no 4, Krishna Worli Sagar,

Co-op Hsg Soc, JN Palkar Marg,

Worli. Mumbai – 400 030 (view map)

Timings: 11 am to 11 pm, closed on Monday.

Cooking with Chef Mukul Tanwar!

Sorry for the delay with the latest schedule, we know it took us some time, but trust us, it's worth it!!!

Starting July 1^st, we’ve got an action packed week for you at the Le 15 Kitchen. Chef Mukul Tanwar will be visiting Mumbai to teach you recipes ranging from making fresh pasta to soufflés to making a white truffle risotto to learning new culinary techniques (like a sous vide machine!) 

In addition to the cooking demos we’ve scheduled two tea party sessions with the chef titled “Rendez Vous with the Chef”. This session is limited to 6 participants and the Chef will cover topics like how professional kitchens work, his experience at the 3 Michelin starred Pierre Gagnier, etc. Participants will receive a Le 15 goody bag and have an hour to talk about all things food with the Chef.

Click here to have a look at the complete schedule for sessions with Chef Mukul. Please note that some classes will be updated shortly

About Chef Mukul Tanwar: 

Chef Mukul Tanwar has lived in France for the last 8 years and will be visiting Mumbai with his lovely French/ Italian wife and two children. He has a degree in Hospitality Management from SHMS in Switzerland and a Diploma in French Cooking from Le Cordon Bleu, Paris. He has worked at numerous Michelin starred restaurants in Paris including the 3 Michelin starred Pierre Gagnier in Paris and the world famous Fat Duck in London, where he learnt new food techniques and cooking sous vide. Chef Mukul is currently on vacation in India with his family.

Hurry up and register because we have limited seats!!!

Note: To reserve your spot for the class you need to pay a non-refundable and non-transferable deposit of Rs. 500 per class.

Baking Tips!

click on the image to see notes on equipment

Baking is more like chemistry than regular cooking. A little extra pinch of this and a little less of that is much more dangerous. Substitute ingredients only once you've become adept with the recipe and can predict how the change might affect the baked good.

At almost every baking class we take, we’re faced by questions on egg substitutions by many hopeful bakers who’d like to replicate the dessert without the eggs. It’s hard to simply leave them out in recipes that use eggs because eggs coupled with flour are major structural ingredients that hold cakes, cookies, etc together. And if either is missing, the other becomes extremely important. That’s the reason why you cannot have a molten chocolate cake that’s eggless (it's made with barely any flour).

Here are some tips that will you help you along the way:

1. Measure very carefully - it does make a lot of difference. A tablespoon is not what you might think of a tablespoon as, it is a precise measurement: 15 ml in volume. Same goes for cups. Always use measuring cups and spoons or weigh the ingredients when you bake.
2. Dark bakeware absorbs more heat so whatever you bake in them will be baked sooner than light coloured bakeware so make sure to reduce the baking time by 10 minutes or so.
3. Test the efficacy of baking soda by putting a teaspoon of it in hot water. If you see rapid frothing, the baking soda is fit for use. This is especially important when you're not baking with eggs.
4. Changing cake pan sizes will definitely result in different cooking times. The smaller and less deep, the faster they will cook.
5. Line the cake tins with parchment paper for easy removal. If the pan has irregular edges, brush the sides thoroughly with butter and then sift flour over it. Turn the pan around so that the flour is evenly coated. For a chocolate cake, swap the flour for cocoa.
6. Let baked goods cool completely before covering or wrapping. The trapped steam will make the outside sticky.
7. Sift baking soda/ baking powder with the flour. Nothing is worse than getting that nasty clump of baking soda when you bite into your baked goody.
8. When placing the prepared tin/tray in the oven, position it as close to the centre of the oven as possible. This allows optimum air circulation.
9. Never over mix cake batters. It will get tougher as you mix as the gluten begins to develop.
10. Necessary equipment: assorted tins/trays, measuring cups/spoons/jug, scales, spatula, whisk, sieve, non-stick baking paper, mixing bowls,cooling rack.