The Good Crane Weekend and a Crane making workshop!

A few weeks ago I got a twitter message from @acraneday about participating in a community project. I met Ria and Divya who handle the account and found out about this amazing project that they're working on! 

On the weekend of the 21st of June several restaurants and cafes in the city will hand out paper cranes to customers. Each crane will have a small deed on it. You get a crane, do the deed, try and capture it and post it on twitter, instagram or facebook. The girls will choose 5 of the most creative pictures and the winners get a sweet hamper from Le15. Easy right?

The deeds are simple and range from 'open the door for someone' to 'say hello to your watchman today'. The idea of this project is just to make you aware of the people around you, take a moment out of your busy life and do something for the greater good.

We liked the idea of this project so much that the entire Le15 Kitchen team helped making these origami cranes. It took me a while to get it right but I think I'm addicted to making cranes now. The team loved making them too and every minute that our hands were not in chocolate, we were making cranes.

Ria and Divya have volunteered to show you how it's done! So come by Le15 Bandra tomorrow from 4pm and 7pm. You can meet these lovely ladies, learn about their project and help us make some cranes. If you need more motivation - here are some benefits of Origami. See you there :) 

What- Origami Crane Making Workshop

When - Friday, 7th June. 

Where- Le15 Bandra

Time - 4pm to 7pm

The Brother's Birthday and a Nutella Cake.

A day before my brother Vaarun's birthday, I got a text from him saying, ''Dude, can you make me a Nutella cake''. This is obviously in addition to the cakes we had already baked for him at Le15 - a mixed fruit cake, a salted carmel chocolate cake and a macaron cake.
I wanted to make something completely different from what he's had before (he's my guinea pig, so he's had EVERYTHING on the menu, before it went on the menu). So I started looking for Nutella Cake recipes online and this Nigella recipe caught my attention. The technique was a bit different from what I usually bake. The recipe used egg yolks and whites separately, which I rarely do. I decided to give it a go. Here is the recipe, slightly modified by me. The cake is for his party tonight, and I hope he likes it!


Note: The recipe has no flour and is perfect for people with gluten allergies.

Vaarun's Birthday Cake
Ingredients
3 eggs (separated)
65g butter (I used amul)
200g Nutella
1 teaspoon water
50 g hazelnut powder (grind hazelnuts in a food processor)
50g dark chocolate (I used 53% Callebaut)


Method
-Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk softened butter and nutella together till smooth.
- Add the water and eggyolks to the above. Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave and allow it to cool. Once cool, add to the mixture.
- Whisk the eggwhites with a slight pinch of salt till it forms soft peaks.
- Gently fold the eggwhites to the chocolate batter.
- Pour in a 7 inch cake tin and bake at 180 degrees for 20-25 minutes or till the cake starts to leave the sides.

Once the cake cooled, I covered it with a dark chocolate ganache and tossed some roasted hazelnuts on it. You could even use Nutella on top of the cake (but I felt it would get too heavy).

7 Things to Try in Paris

If you follow me on instagram you'll know that I managed to escape my kitchen and finally take a short vacation. Planning holidays is my biggest motivation to work hard and when it came to this holiday I knew it had to be Paris. I ached to smell spring in the air and hear the crackling of a warm baguette. It was time to pack my bags and go to a place I like to call home. 

I planned a ten day break and managed to get my closest friends to visit at the same time. 8 people from 8 different countries led to an amazing mix of food (and wine). I also got to try some new restaurants and bakeries, this is a list of my favourite things from my vacation. Other Paris lists can be found here. 

1. Lemon meringue pie at Le Loir dans la Théière 

(3, Rue des Rosiers, 75004 )

The mother of all meringue pies! 

2. Seafood Ramen at Higuma

( 32 bis Rue Sainte-Anne, 75001)

Reasonably priced and SO flavorful 

3. Scallops baked in white wine, butter, garlic and herbs at Huîtres et Saumons de Passy
(17 rue de l'annonciation, 75016)

I finished an entire baguette soaking that buttery sauce. Drool. 

4. Vanilla and nougat eclair at L'eclair de genie
(14 Rue Pavée 75004)

Beautiful textures and oh so pretty.

5. Nutella Madeleine at Brioche Doree

(http://www.briochedoree.com/)

You had me at Nutella. 

6. Brunch at Twinkie Breakfasts

(167, rue Saint Denis, 75002) 

Norwegian Brunch

7. Chicken Burger and Cheesecake at Blend Hamburgers

(44 Rue d'Argout 75002)

One of the best cheesecakes I've had. 

Tasting Tuesday with i2cook

While the response at the last Tasting Tuesday was fabulous, we're so excited about the upcoming Tasting Tuesday with i2cook!

i2cook is a processing house set up in Mumbai. Founded by the lovely Megha Deokule, a former architect, the i2cook team is a team of four, of which two are mentally challenged and are trained in food processing and packaging.

Their mantra is to avoid GMO and pesticide based produce, and hence all their products are organic, besides, of course, being super delicious! They also believe in providing work opportunities to the mentally challenged.

Date: 7^th May 2013

Time: 5pm to 9pm

Location: Le15 Bandra

Products for Tasting and to be sold: Peanut Butter

                                                                  Pink Mustard

                                                                  Coconut Sugar

You don’t want to miss this!

                                                                         Peanut Butter

Pink Mustard

Tasting Tuesday with Yellow Butterfly

Thank you for making our last Tasting Tuesday such a success! Planning these tastings is extremely exciting and I get to meet and work with a bunch of amazing people. 

A few weeks ago I walked into my home kitchen and found a small jar with hot chocolate powder. Now, as surprising as it may sound, there is NEVER any chocolate in my house. My mother refuses to stock any at home. So obviously I was intrigued by this jar. A little probing and I found out that my brother (if you still haven't eaten at his restaurant, shame on you! Go NOW) had ordered it via twitter from a company called Yellow Butterfly.
Coincidently the following week at a pot luck lunch at Rushina's Cook Studio I happened to meet Shivani Tolia, who runs Yellow Butterfly. I knew then that she would be a perfect match for Tasting Tuesday!

Tasting Tuesday with Yellow Butterfly 

Shivani is an Interior Designer by profession but decided her love for food was greater and started making dips and salad dressings from home. Know more about her here

Date: 23rd April 2013
Time: 5pm to 9pm
Location: Le15 Bandra
Products for Tasting and to be sold: Strawberry Butter
                                                         White Bean Dip
                                                          Jalapeno Hummus
                                                          Dill Pesto

Oh, and I'm making Mango tarts for the 1st 50 people who show up for the tasting. Trust me, you don't wanna miss this :) See you there!

Strawberry Butter

Jalapeno Hummus

Le15 Mango tarts

Summer Class Schedule

Each class can accommodate 10 people and registration is on a first come, first serve basis. To reserve your spot for the class, we request you for a minimum deposit of Rs. 500 per class. This deposit is non-refundable and non-transferable. If you'd like we can conduct a private class for you and your friends at a time that suits you. We will need a minimum of 6 students for a private class. Please e-mail us le15classes@gmail.com or call us on 9769286544 for more details.

DATE	TIME & CLASS	PRICE
20th April Saturday Pooja Dhingra	Chocolate Love 11.30 am – 2.00 pm	2,500/-
21st April                            Sunday                                    Pooja Dhingra	Cupcakes & Brownies 2.00 pm – 5.00 pm	2,500/-
27th April Saturday Pooja Dhingra	Cupcakes & Brownies               11.30 am – 2.00 pm	2,500/-
28th April Sunday Pooja Dhingra	Chocolate Love 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm	2,500/-
4th May Saturday Pooja Dhingra	Cupcakes & Brownies 11.30 am – 2.00 pm	2,500/-

Description

Chocolate Love : Molten Chocolate Cake, Nutty Gooey Sticky Fudge, Passion Fruit Truffles, White Chocolate Mousse.

Cupcakes, Cookies And Brownies: Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache, Vanilla Cupcakes with Butter Cream Frosting, Nutella Brownies and Blondies.

Tasting Tuesdays! Meet the Baker's Dozen at Le15 Bandra.

One of the things I miss most about living in Paris is my ritual of stopping by at the neighborhood boulangerie after a long day at work. I don't know the name of the bakery but we just called it Boulangerie noir (it had a black signboard that just said boulangerie..go figure). I would leave work smelling like chocolate - my skin, my hair, my clothes (trust me, after a while it really isn't so pleasing). I would wait all day to make my trip to the bakery and buy a baguette and a swiss roll (vanilla custard, chocolate chips rolled in puff pastry! oh.my.goodness)
So you can imagine how excited I was when I heard about an artisan bakery opening 2 minutes away from where I lived. Dreaming of my pain aux cereals I stopped by Baker's Dozen in Prabhadevi. As I approached the store, I saw a big black name board. That had to be a sign!

I met Aditi and Sneh, who are 2 of the 3 partners that run this bakery. Aditi is the head chef and has studied at The French Culinary Institue in New York. Their philosophy is to make fresh bread without any preservatives, chemicals, emulsifiers, etc. For now they only deliver in Central Mumbai and so I thought it would be a great idea to invite them to our Bandra store and host a tasting session for all of you!

The first day I bought bread from TBD I almost finished the entire loaf myself. Slather some cream cheese on the raisin and walnut bread or toast the brioche and have it with butter and honey. This Tuesday (9th April) you can come and try their breads at Le15 Bandra (free tastings + the opportunity to buy the bread you like!). So, see you there?!

Tasting Tuesday: Meet The Baker’s Dozen
Location: Le 15, Bandra
Time: 5 pm to 9 pm
Breads to be tasted and sold: Pain Au Levain with Blueberries and Cranberries, Pain Au Levain with Walnuts and Raisins, Four Grain, Pain Au Cereal, Foccacia and Ragi Crackers