Goa

This weekend, my family and I flew to Goa to celebrate my mother’s birthday. Goa is a coastal city in Maharashtra which is about an hour and a half away from Bangalore, by plane.
The food in Goa is always good especially the seafood because it is so fresh.
Here is a small documentation of the meals I particularly enjoyed.

Day 1: We flew into Goa before lunch and headed down south to Utorda for lunch. We went to a seaside restaurant called Zeebop. Zeebop is my favourite restaurant in Goa and we have been going there for years now. They are famous for their delicious crab.
I ate Stuffed Crab which is basically the crab cooked and shredded with vegetables. They serve it in the shell after baking it and add a square of cheese on top.
Next I ate an assortment of Butter-Garlic Calamari, Batter-Fried Calamari, Masala Rava Prawns, and Mild Rava Prawns. Rava is similar to semolina, and gives the prawns crunchiness and flavour.
Finally, I ate a typical Goan Prawn Curry and Rice. The Prawn Curry at Zeebop is the best I have ever tasted. It is packed with flavour from the crushed spices and coconut milk, and is creamy. They add something called Kokum which gives it a hint of acidity and sourness.
We then went into the water!

Day 2: We went to Pine Tree Shack- a shack that we have been going to for years as well. I ate Masala Rava Prawns here as well!
For dinner that evening, we ordered takeout from Bomras, a Burmese restaurant in Candolim (right next to our house). Although it was dark, it was extremely worth writing about!
I had a Rare Beef Salad for appetisers and a Slow Roast Crispy Pork Belly for mains. The pork was absolutely, indescribably, delicious. The meat was pale and tender, it fell off my fork as I cut through it, and the crackling on top was the crispiest I have ever eaten. The whole dish was flavourful and it was served with a Sweet Potato and Spice Mash, and a Mint and Spinach Puree, which just added and enhanced the flavour.

Day 3: It was my mother’s birthday, so we went to the Taj Holiday Village for the day as a treat. We ordered small plates like Fritto Misto which is Italian for Fried Seafood. It had prawns and calamari fried in a herb batter, and was served with a garlic tartar sauce.
For mains, I ate Penne Arrabiatta.

Crispy Pork (left), Penne (right)

We went back in the water, after which we took a shuttle to Fort Aguada, which is right next to the Holiday Village. At Fort Aguada, we went to the ‘Latitude’ Bar and Lounge to watch the sunset and have tea and cakes. I had a Baked Philadelphia Lemon Cheesecake with Berry Coulis and Coconut Ice Cream.

This was my last day in Goa, unfortunately, as I had to leave early the next morning. I watched the sunset with my family, and then we headed home. Although this trip was short it was a much needed break and completely enjoyable throughout.

Serafina

My uncle Raj took me out for lunch on Sunday with my aunt Mala and my cousin sister Keyaa.

We went to an Italian restaurant called Serafina. It is a quiet place, and is famous for its pizzas because there is a wood-fired oven.

To begin with, we ordered two pizzas. One Smoked Salmon Pizza with cream sauce, buffalo mozzarella and wasabi, and one Bianca Pizza (a Serafina classic!) with Fontina, buffalo mozzarella, arugala and Parmigiano.

I preferred the Smoked Salmon pizza to the latter because I liked the texture better and I am generally a fan of Salmon.

For mains, I ordered a plate of homemade spinach and ricotta Ravioli ‘Alla Salvia’ with butter and sage. I was really surprised by how filling such a small portion could be!

Raj has always been telling me about how delicious the chocolate mousse is, so finally for dessert, we ordered the Chocolate Mousse with a sesame praline, and chocolate crumble. It was divine.
The mousse was so dense and uniformly silky. It was placed over a more firm base of what seemed to me like a chocolate shortbread base. All the same, it really was as good as I had been told.

Smoked Salmon, Bianca, Ravioli, Mousse

My weekend was set!

Olive Internship - Day 12 (last!)

Today was my last day!

I went to the kitchen early in the morning because I wanted to take the earlier bread shift with Chef Sumanthu. We made a Whole-wheat Loaf, Mild Crackers, two batches of Caramelised Onion Buns, and of course the Tomato Pesto Rolls.

I was then given a lot of free time, where I silently watched how the kitchen worked.

When I went back into the bakery, I made Dark Chocolate Ganache.  Adding liquid glucose gives it a runnier texture as well as sheen when it is poured over the desserts.

Chef Girish then asked me to zest and juice several limes to make Lime Cupcakes.
If you have read my earlier posts you would see that I have mentioned the addition of yoghurt in the cupcakes at Olive.
This helps keep it moist and improve its shelf-life for longer. It also helps bind all the other ingredients together, to form a network frame the cupcake bakes into.

Once I was done with the Lime Cupcakes, I made Dark Chocolate Cupcakes as well.

Finally, before I could break for lunch, the last dessert I made in the kitchen was Tiramisu.

Tiramisu (top), Cupcakes (bottom)

My experience at Olive has been that of a positive one. I have really learnt an immense amount, and it has left me eager to absorb more. I was able to see my stable improvement throughout, and that for me is the most important thing.
Although the hours were long and the work hard, I truly loved every minute of it. The rush you get when you prepare all the components whether it be standing in the bakery and listening to ACDC or at the order rail plating up desserts brings an indescribable satisfaction once you are done, and that really confirmed that this is what I want to do.
I had such an amazing time, and I’d like to thank Chef Babul, Chef Sumanthu, and Chef Girish for mentoring me, and of course Chef Manu for putting me in touch with Chef Girish initially.

Keya, me and Chef Sumanthu (top), Chef Babul, Keya and I (bottom)

I then broke for lunch, down to Monkey Bar again but this time with two of my friends as a sort of celebration, to mark the end of my internship.

I ate a Mobar Burger (it is the best burger in Bangalore- with beef, bacon, and caramelised onions!), Devils Fries (how could I not?), we shared Baked Potato Skins with BBQ Chicken and Onions, and finally for dessert a Vanilla Bean Cheesecake with toasted marshmallow (Monkey Bar makes them) and Truffles.
I thought it was presented really casually but cute- in a mason jar.

And that’s a wrap.

Olive Internship - Day 11

Today was short but insanely busy. As soon as I entered the kitchen, Chef Girish got Keya and I started on Macarons.
We had to make four batches. When we were testing the castor sugar and water syrup to make sure it was ready to whip into the egg whites, we brought it to a ‘Soft Boil’ state (where the bubbles that form are relatively small), and kept a glass of iced water ready.
I took a spoonful of the sugar syrup, and after placing it in the iced water tried to roll a ball with it. If it held, it was ready and vice versa.

We mixed each batch with different colours, and Chef Girish piped them onto a large silicon mat placed over a baking sheet.

Next, I had to make four different types of ganache. I had to chop two portions of white chocolate, one of milk, and one of dark chocolate.

I started with a Vanilla Bean Ganache using the white chocolate. All I had to do was boil cream with glucose and the vanilla beans, pour it over the white chocolate, stir it until all had melted, strain it to make sure it has a silky texture, wrap it, and place it in the fridge.

I then went on to make an Olive Oil Ganache. I first boiled cream with glucose, and poured it over the second portion of chopped white chocolate. Once I had stirred and strained it, I mixed in 30g olive oil, wrapped it and left it to cool. The process was slightly different in this one in comparison to the vanilla bean ganache.

Next, I made a Mocha Ganache. I first boiled cream and glucose, then in the pan I added a double shot of espresso and let that boil. After that I poured it over the milk chocolate, stirred it, strained it, wrapped it, and left it to cool.

Finally, I made the Dark Chocolate and Sesame Ganache. I boiled the cream and glucose together as per usual, and poured it over the dark chocolate. This one was similar to the Olive Oil ganache, as once I had strained the dark chocolate, I added 30g sesame oil and stirred some more. Then I wrapped it, and set it aside with the three other bowls of ganache.

I was all done with my work, and could go for lunch. Keya and I walked down to Monkey Bar again, and I had sticky pork ribs with BBQ sauce and ‘Devils Fries’ (fries tossed in chilli, galangal, herbs, etc) with a peach iced tea.

The Devils Fries were particularly good; they were not greasy at all, and were packed full of flavour especially from the galangal which is a type of ginger root. They were so crisp on the outside and so soft within; I was really, pleasantly, surprised!

After lunch I headed home.

Recipe: Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients:

400g cream
250g dark chocolate (chopped)
350g water
250g castor sugar
75g glucose
180g cocoa powder

Method:

Boil the cream and pour over the chocolate to melt it.
Set aside.

Put the water, sugar and glucose in a saucepan, bring to the boil.
Add the cocoa powder and simmer for 5 minutes, whisking constantly.

Pour the cocoa mixture over the cream and chocolate and whisk (off the heat) till everything is combined.
Strain the sauce, and let it cool.

Olive Internship - Day 10

This morning, Chef Babul handed me a huge tub of Maltodextrin powder, and asked me to make Olive Oil Powder, and Nutella Powder. Olive Oil and Nutella both have one thing in common- they contain fat. Maltodextrin acts in such a way that it can develop anything with a fat content into a powder, all you have to do is mix it together.

Next, I made a sheet of brownie again (the dense and thin kind). This went by super quickly, and I found that using icing sugar can actually improve the taste and the texture of the brownie as opposed to castor sugar.

After that, we made Florentine Tartlets. We started by heating the butter, honey, etc and mixed in the nuts (pistachios, chopped pecans, and flaked almonds). Then, we poured them into tartlet shells that Chef Sumanthu had prepared right before.

Florentines are also called ‘Dolce Firenze’ which is Italian for Florence Dessert, as that is where it originates from.

Then, Chef Sumanthu showed me how to make Bacon and Egg Quiches. First he baked the bacon in its own fat, and let it sit to truly absorb all the flavour. He said that it really helps bring out the smokiness of the bacon when eating the quiche.

Finally, I made Lemon Sorbet. As usual, this too had CMC Powder and Milk Powder to help gelatinise, cream, and hold the mixture together (CMC acts as a stabiliser).

My shift was done and I could go home for lunch.

Olive Internship - Day 9

This morning the kitchen was the most hectic. We started off by making a simple Chocolate Sauce; I will post the recipe soon.

Then, we made Brownies but the thin, dense ones that they use as bases in their desserts (they bake them in large sheets). I learnt that once you add the flour, you should beat it (by hand) until it has JUST been incorporated, else the texture of the brownie may feel quite hard if overworked.

Third, I made warm Dark Chocolate Fondants. At Olive, they pipe the batter into each cylindrical mould that they first line with a Chocolate Crumble, which, when it comes out of the oven, is a fragile shell, that once you crack into you find warm, gooey fondant.

There is a party that is happening at Olive tomorrow night, and one of the requests was to make Coffee Cupcakes, but place a chocolate in the shape of lips over each one. So that was what we made next, Lip shaped Chocolates for the cupcakes (that we would be making tomorrow). 

These were very simple, all I did was melt white chocolate, mix in different tints of food colouring to create a ‘lip’ shade, pour it into the moulds, level it with a palette knife, and place it in the deep freeze for about 30 minutes for it to set, in order for it to pop out with ease (and of course stability).

Later, when the chocolates were cooled and set, we dusted them with Copper coloured luster dust which gave them a distinct sheen and looked almost like lip gloss over the lips!

 

Next, we made a Honeycomb Toffee. The same one I made on my first day! The trick is to obviously whisk in as much air as possible after the addition of the baking soda, as that is how the bubbles are formed within the toffee. We left that aside to set on a silicon mat in a mould.

Chef Babul made me puree bananas and make another banana cake because he was going to make Banana Puddings later on at night (the same ones I made a couple of days ago).

Finally, I went to the main order rail to assist Chef Babul in the immediate preparation of the components for some desserts. We glazed the Snicker Bars (logs of peanut butter mousse) with the Chocolate Sauce made earlier today over a wire rack, and placed it in the deep freeze. Working with the mousse was so fragile and you could not touch it with your hands and your body heat would begin to melt it, and cause it to lose its shape.

It was late and there was no more work to be completed.

Olive Internship - Day 8

This morning was quite busy; there was a lot of prep work to be done. 

First, I made Chocolate Ganache (dark), the usual way. Boiling of cream and glucose poured over chopped dark chocolate, stirred until melted, and strained to make smooth.

Then, I helped Chef Babul prepare a Mango Mousse, and some Almond Cream.

After that, Chef Sumanthu got me started on the cheesecakes. Keya made the batter (she added lime and orange zest for tanginess) while I prepared the bases. Since these were individually baked cheesecakes, I had to measure exactly 20g of crumble into each mould and level it with a flat presser. Then I filled 90g of cheesecake batter into each mould and placed it in the oven to bake.

I broke for lunch with Keya, we went down to Monkey Bar again.

Over there, we ordered Wild Mushroom Bruschettas which had about 4 different types of mushrooms and a sliver of molten cheese on top, Cheese and Vegetable Wontons with Sriracha sauce (of course), Italian sausage filled Pirogies, and finally a flourless ‘XS Chocolate Cake’ served warm with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

After lunch, we made a sort of a Strawberry Cake, where we sliced strawberries and placed them over a layer of sweet milk bread and almond cream.

The last thing I needed to do was make Tiramisu! I have made this at least 5 times already, since I’ve worked in the kitchen so I could finish it relatively quickly. 74g Kahlua, 84g egg yolks, and 94g castor sugar, whipped over a bain-marie. Add 250g mascarpone cheese, and fold. Add 6g gelatine (dissolved in 24g warm water), fold and strain. Then add 250g whipped cream (whipped to the same viscosity as the coffee mascarpone mixture), fold, fold, fold, wrap and place in the fridge.

I was done, so I cleaned up and went home.

Olive Internship - Day 7

Today I went out for lunch with my cousin sister Keyaa, and my friend Nayna. We had Chinese food! I ate the most amazing Hunan Chicken Wonton Soup, with Spicy Dragon Rolls and Fried and Chilli Chicken Wontons.

 

The kitchen felt quite empty tonight, since there wasn’t anyone in the bakery. However, Chef Babul was there and we got started almost immediately.

First, we made a Pistachio Ice Cream. We prepared the normal vanilla bean ice cream recipe except substituted the vanilla beans with crushed pistachios.

Then, I had to zest and juice an orange to make orange sorbet. In the sorbet, we added CMC powder which acts as a stabiliser to hold the ice crystals in the sorbet together when frozen, and Milk Powder to thicken the sorbet liquid and give it a distinct creaminess.

Next, I made Banana Puddings.  I sliced thin rectangles of banana cake (the one we had made a couple of days earlier and kept in the deep freeze) and placed one each in six rectangular moulds that I based with cling wrap. Next, I piped Almond Cream over it to form another layer after which I sprinkled shards of toffee. Then I caramelised banana slices in a sugar-butter caramel sauce, and placed a few pieces in each mould. I crumbled a bit of the banana cake over this, and covered it with another slab of banana cake. Finally, I piped another layer of the almond cream over the top to cover and sprinkled white crumble on it.

After this, I went to the main order rail with Chef Babul and watched him plate the signature ‘Snicker Bar’ dessert.  He first placed a glazed log of peanut butter mousse and adorned it with several other components such as a ring of dark chocolate and nut praline, caramel coated popcorn, and chocolate crumble.

Finally, Chef Babul and I candied Rose Petals. It is actually an easier process than I thought it would be. First we peeled the healthiest looking petals from roses, then we lightly beat egg whites, just enough for froth to begin to form. We brushed each petal with the egg white, shook them in a dish of castor sugar, and placed them on a baking sheet to dry out.

All the work for the evening was done, and I could go home.

Olive Internship - Day 6

This morning, I went to the bakery quite early; at 8:30. There was nobody except Chef Sumanthu, the man who bakes all the bread. He made me a cup of coffee, and we began to make the first batch of bread. We started with Wholewheat Onion rolls. once we formed balls and laid them on a baking sheet, we left them out to double in size. Chef Sumanthu then poked each roll with his finger, and put a teaspoon of caramelised onions on top of each.
Then we made Pumpkin seed rolls. Chef Sumanthu brushed the tops with olive oil to help the skin become slightly crunchier.

Pumpkin Seed rolls (left), Wholewheat Onion (right)

In all the bread dough, Chef Sumanthu adds 2 grams of gluten, and 2 grams of bread improving powder. This helps the bread develop maximum flavour.

The last bread we made was Tomato-Pesto Rolls.
The dough was very pale and soft, and Chef Sumanthu rolled it out to about 1.5cm thickness, and used a round cutter to cut circles. We laid these out on another baking sheet, put half a teaspoon of pesto sauce on each, and finally a thin slice of tomato absolutely on top, covering the pesto.
Then we left it aside to rise.

Then, I churned the previously made Vanilla Bean ice cream in the PACO machine. Churning the ice cream is important, as it keeps it soft by constantly moving it around. If it wasn't moved around so much it would just freeze into one solid ice crystalline structure. Churning the ice cream in the PACO machine also helps make it creamy.

My work with Chef Sumanthu was done.

Then we (Keya- the other intern, Chef Babul, and I) began to make Tiramisu. This was made the usual way; kahlua, egg yolks and castor sugar over a bain-marie, and whisked until thick. Fold in the mascarpone, and fold in the whipped cream after that (both liquids have to have equal viscosity).

Next, I made Chocolate Ganache. It's very simple to make, all it requires is cream, glucose (or corn syrup as a substitute), and chopped dark chocolate. First I boiled together the cream and corn syrup (we ran out of glucose to use), then I poured it over the chocolate, and kept stirring till it was all melted. Then I strained it, wrapped it, and put it in the fridge.

Once that was done, we started on the Chocolate Mousse.

For this, we beat egg yolks and castor sugar over a flame until all the sugar had been dissolved, then we folded in melted chocolate, and then whipped cream. This was wrapped and kept in the fridge.

Then, using the Vanilla cupcake sheet cake I made last night, we made an Apple Crumble Cake. Over the sheet cake, we spread previously made Almond Cream, and sprinkled diced apples which we rolled in cinnamon sugar. Over that, we crumbled sweet pastry with our fingers, and put it in the oven to crisp up. 

Finally, I made Pastry Cream. I never realised how much I actually enjoy making it, and how quick I've become with more and more practice.

I boiled the milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla bean over a bain-marie, and tempered it with a mixture of egg yolks and cornflour. Then I strained it, and directly placed cling wrap over the surface to prevent a skin from forming and ruining the texture of the cream. 

The pastry cream would then be used to fill the eclairs that Chef Girish had made for the party yesterday. 

Since it was already past lunchtime and all the work to be done was done, Keya and I headed down to Monkey Bar for lunch.

We ordered starters, a burger, and peach iced tea. The starters were small but filling enough. The first one was a soured cream and chilli Pierogi dish served in a cupcake pan which I thought was a fun idea.
The second was a plate of "Spiked Nachos" which basically had jalapeno peppers, molten cheese, tomato salsa, avocado, re-fried beans, and spring onions.
The third starter was a plate of "Kung Fu Rolls" which was a mixture of lightly spiced noodles and vegetables in springroll wrappers and deep fried. They were crispy and delicious, and they were not greasy at all.
I ordered a cheeseburger with coleslaw and fries. The fries at Monkey Bar are hand-cut, and are crunchy on the outside yet not greasy at all, and that is why I like them.

When we were done, and completely satisfied, we paid the bill and left.

Olive Internship - Day 5

Last night was my sister Alia's 12th Grade final Graduation ceremony, and it was a Sunday so I had the day off. She looked beautiful in her sari, and we are all so proud of her! There was a dinner too; crispy potato wedges, salad, herb rice, paneer stroganoff, and mushroom quiche.

Alia and I

Tonight, I finished work fifteen minutes early.
When I first entered the kitchen, I noticed a pan on the counter. Chef Girish was experimenting with some leftover eclair dough that he fried and immersed in a spiced berry liquid.

Chef Girish had made eclairs for the party tomorrow, and said that he would fill/ice/garnish them tomorrow, on the day, so that they remained fresh.

First I made a large vanilla sponge sheet cake for tiramisu, which is basically the same recipe as the lady finger biscuits except they are piped out. The batter only has eggs (separated), sugar, and flour. It is very aerated and dry, which is why it is soaked in coffee to moisten it up.

Then Chef Babu and I made another sheet cake but with vanilla cupcake batter. This was made the usual way, cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs one at a time, add the yoghurt, add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and beat for a minute. At this stage, you have to add all the flour at once. If you beat it for too long after you add the flour, the batter gets tough.
There was some batter leftover so I mixed it with about 10 grams of coffee decoction, poured it in a loaf tin and put it in the oven.

Next, Chef Babu and I made Herb Butter which is rolled in butter paper and packed in a cylindrical shape, and frozen. When they serve it, they just slice a round and serve it with meats, etc. For this, we beat 500g butter with 15g chopped parsley, the zest and juice of 1 lime, and 15g mustard.

After that, Chef Girish and I made Mango Parfait.
They are testing out a new dessert I mentioned in my post on Day 1, with the mint and vanilla bean marshmallows. What they do is they mix the mango parfait with orange sorbet and place a cube of it in the middle of a rectangle of marshmallow.
When beating the egg whites, it is important to add castor sugar because if you don't, the egg whites get whipped to their last peak and immediately split whereas the sugar holds them together.
When beating the egg yolks and the sugar, you have to keep beating till it becomes extremely pale (off-white almost), creamy, and doubles in volume. This helps in forming the texture of the end result.
When you fold the egg whites into the egg yolk and mango mixture, you have to do it gradually, in sections however when you add the whipped cream after that, you have to add all at once.

Finally, Chef Girish and I made a Berry Granola.
I mixed oats, pumpkin seeds, flaked almonds, sesame seeds, and crushed pistachios in a bowl. In a separate saucepan, I added olive oil, brown sugar and honey, and brought it to a boil. Then I mixed everything together, laid it out on a baking sheet and put it in the oven.
When I took it out, I crumbled it using my fingers and added the chopped berries.
Chef Girish even packed a bit for me to take home!

The granola mix before and after baking.

I was done with all my cooking work, and went to the order rail to assist Chef Babu in plating.
Tomorrow evening, there is a party at Olive and one order called for a layered Chocolate Ganache Cake. Chef Babu left it to me to assemble it.
First I placed a round of cake on a base. Then I poured chocolate ganache over it and spread it around. I piped lines of caramel sauce over that, and sprinkled some sea salt. On top of that, I smeared some chocolate mousse. Then I crumbled some dark chocolate, almond and pistachio praline over it. Chef Babu gave me a bowlful of thin brownie pieces which I assembled fittingly (almost like a jigsaw puzzle) so that they formed a layer of their own. Then I placed another round of cake, poured and spread more chocolate ganache, and repeat the whole process once more.
Once that was done, I covered the top of the cake in chocolate ganache, wrapped it, and placed it in the deep freeze.
I was free to go home.

At home, I found my post-dinner dinner on the dining table; Crab Risotto Roulettes. (We made fresh crab and spinach risotto day before yesterday and had some leftover, so we formed balls, rolled them in corn crumbs, and pan fried them).

And my day was done!