Taste Melanger

Shahrukh Khan & Team Raees in Dubai

3:00 PM

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A bright morning with Vermicelli - Namkeen Seviyan

12:32 PM

With all the dwindling interests of mine, there’s only one that has stood the test of time. And that is my faithful sleep. It’s my favourite companion. In joy, in sorrow, when I’m tired or even I’m drunk, my love for sleep never leaves my side. Thankfully there’s lot of solace in knowing that.

Sometimes when I’m wide asleep I dream of waking up to hot breakfast served in bed, by my dear hubby. See I told you laziness has no limits. It even enters the domain of my dreams. But then even God knows when I’m being dreamy and when I’m being plain lazy, so anyways this desire has yet not been rewarded by hubby in this way. Though he has made breakfasts for me on many occasions, as and when I lovingly requested him to. I guess I should be happy for that!

So on such days when you desire for a simple breakfast in the bed or on dining table to start your day on good note, I would highly recommend trying ‘namkeen seviyan’. A delicious savoury Indian breakfast with a hint of sweetness and warmth of cardamom and nuts. Have it with green tea or ginger tea and your smile will be back for a great morning!

Namkeen Seviyan is vermicelli (a bit thicker variety) combined with mild spices and nuts or veggies to make a hearty breakfast or even a light lunch. Great for packing in lunchbox of kids or to serve when you have unexpected guests.

Namkeen Seviyan/ Vermicelli Pulao Recipe

Ingredients:
Seviyan - 1/2 pack or 1 cup (I used MTR pack, which is bit thick and lightly toasted)
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 3-4
Green chilly - 1 slit
Onion - 1 small, finely chopped
Oil - 1/2 tbsp
Boiled veggies - 1/4 cup (optional- like carrots, peas, potatao)
Nuts - 1-2 tbsp (I used cashews, raisins and peanuts)
Salt to taste
Black pepper - to taste
Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
Sugar - a pinch
Lemon juice - 1/4 tsp
Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method:

1. There are many ways the vemicelli is used for this. Some like to toast it before adding to spices. Since I use thicker mildly toasted one. I prefer to put it boiling water for 2 mins to soften it. And then drain it, just like regular pasta.

2. Heat a pan and add oil/ghee to it. Then add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add curry leaves and green chilly. Now add the chopped onion and saute it for a min or two, till its translucent. No need to brown it.

3. Now add chopped veggies, if using. Let it cook for a while and when almost done add the drained vermicelli. Add salt, black pepper, sugar and cumin powder and toss it all nicely.

4. Add toasted peanuts and other nuts. Add little lemon juice (optional) and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Ready to serve . Relish it!

And next time teach your husband too to make this dish. You never know when you get woken up to this tasty breakfast in bed by him!

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Asha Bhosle

Dubai Food Diaries - Asha’s Biryani & Kebab Festival

9:35 PM

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Dubai

Seafood lovers of Dubai. Urban Seafood – Review

10:41 AM

Urban Seafood came as a delectable surprise to me.

Being located right opposite the clinic where I take my kids for visit to the pediatric; I had noticed this outlet on many occasions. Then named as ‘Slapfish’. But not being a big lover of seafood, plus being tucked in the quieter corner of the mall, I didn’t get around to visiting it. Till recently, when I got invited to review ‘Urban Seafood’ restaurant in Ibn Batuta. And realized that it’s the same joint, which has been rebranded.

This time, I decided to cross the bridge & taste the grub, to know for real, what makes it ‘ modern seafood shack’. As claimed by the restaurant. And to get even more authentic review, I took along a hardcore seafood lover friend with me. Yes two to tango!

We visited the place on a weekday noon for lunch and it was very quiet. Not surprising for the timing of the day, week and location. We were welcomed pleasantly by the staff on arrival and were taken in to their bright modern style décor with some vibrant reds & warm yellows. The décor was bright & airy but lacked much of character or interest. The lack of crowd or music made the place much quieter too. Yet it gave us ample room to chatter freely, which many restaurants cannot boast of.

Soon we were busy scouring the menu, which had a nice variety with seafood as central ingredient. From ‘crab quinoa salad’, ‘fried calamari’ to ‘prawn kunafa’ in appetiser; ‘tandoori salmon’, ‘thai roasted seafood basket’, lasagna & crab in the main dishes. Alongside it also had ‘handheld food’ like ‘fish tacos’ & ‘grilled lobster cheese sandwich with fries’. Not to forget the fresh juices & drool worthy desserts that was showcased. The menu definitely was well thought of and offered tasteful variety and good mix.

We ordered very simple meal, since we wanted to try the freshness of ingredients and flavour of the dishes. For starters it was ‘crab cake’ & ‘fried calamari” and for mains it was ‘grilled barramundi fillet’ along with fresh orange juice & mojito. The dishes were served promptly, which always works great on a weekday. All the dishes were absolutely fresh and delicious. My favourite was the crab cake – it was extremely tender & flavourful. So was the grilled barramundi, a delightful light dish for lunch. And the 'fried calamiri' added the contrast in texture, though I would have liked even more crunch. The refreshing mojito made the perfect complement to my food. In the end I so wanted to try their sinful ‘chocolate cake in jar with caramel sauce & toasted nuts’, yet I felt highly satiated with the savory ones. But surely will do on my next visit. And I’m sure of one soon.

My friend too totally enjoyed the experience, and we felt we should have visited the place much earlier, specially since its located in the mall we frequent so often. Moderately priced, Urban Seafood can become a cooler place if they add some energy in the restaurant, in terms of warmer hospitality, cooler décor, music just to liven up the place a bit. I would recommend you all to try this place if you are around the area. And I’m sure you will not complain.

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Baking

Rendezvous with royal Chef - Carolyn Robb

3:45 PM

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Baking

Photoshoots and my learnings

7:05 AM

Wow we have moved to 2016...time has a pace that noone can match. Specially not people like me who like to soak the sun and daydream. Anyone else out there? But 2015 was different, it gave me a new direction, a new dream.

We have always read about following your heart. But many times the heart is as lost as the mind. And for many of the mums who left their corporate life at the threshold of motherhood, this might be a familiar territory. Of loosing their own self in the demands of kids, family and home. The same was my story too. And I used baking & blogging to pursue my interests and to create my little world of creativity and passion. Blogging has given me a lot, apart from a hobby. It gave me lot of friends, numerous interesting events, umpteen yummy dishes and it introduced me to something new - photography. A passion, which grew over the years and made me a better blogger. Till last year, when I ventured into it professionally.

After over a dozen of such family/kids/party shoots in last few months professionally, I'm still a beginner, who is trying to create her space & style. But the important thing is that the journey has started. And like anything which is unfamiliar or new, it gets daunting & overwhelming at times. So I thought it would be good to keep making notes of my learnings & observation after every shoot. And today I want to share them with you....who knows when it might be useful to someone.

So here's my top learnings/some pointers for any of you looking to venture in the trade. Please note that its not a technical post nor do I claim to be a pro. But a glimpse of my learning...

1. Set the expectations right - This is of critical importance to understand, discuss and agree on all aspects of the shoot, like:

Duration of shoot - (whether you are particular that 2 hours is 2 or max 2 hr 15 mins). Else someone might be free to expect you to stretch to 2.5 hr. Is that fine with you? So be specific for the duration

No of shots - whether you are going to give only 'x' number of edited pics of or going to share 'y' number of unedited pics as well. At least a good range should be decided upon. I have experienced that with a birthday party of same duration of 2 hour, some clients have been happy with 80-100 pics, which covered it all; while other client expected nothing less than 500. Of course I had to politely refuse that client, since I wouldn't have liked my quality of image to be compromised by capturing only quantity.
Location/Props/ Clothes
Style/ Kind of shots - Apart from location, which I'm sure would be agreed upon, the style of shots should also be well discussed. Whether its fun style, or posed portrait or a candid shoot...share enough references with client to make them aware of your shoot plan. And for this pinterest is your best friend.
Delivery timeline
Permission to share on your social accounts/website - Don't forget to get a written/email confirmation of the same
Payment date & mode

Be as detailed & specific in your communication as you can be, and it will save a lot of pain later.

2. Make a shoot plan - Once you have it all sorted with the client, then make your own shoot plan. Even if its for a quick family portrait shoot. Plan the sequence you want to do, for eg. - first group, then individual, then 2nd group in 2nd location/dress change. This helps me firstly to plan it in my head how to compose the shot, which lens to use, and how to use the lighting as per the location. Also if a small child is there, its a good idea to get the group shot quickly when he is happy & rested, and then to move to couple shots when he is napping. And of course the basic flow needs inputs from clients to know their dress change or kids schedule.

3 3. Review your shots - This might be a very obvious one, but in the flow of covering the event or family photoshoot, I myself am guilty of not doing enough of this. And that is - Click. Review. Retake. Once you review immediately, you would either find something that is totally wrong or something that can be improved. Like a blurry shot, or low lighting or eye blink....could be anything. But you can fix it there than to regret it later.

4 4. Change your angle - I'm discovering how much wonder a change of angle can do. Again an obvious tip, but only when you put it in practice you will notice the difference. It will make the mundane more interesting, like this one.

6 5. Have fun - Don’t forget to get some fun, unique shots to make the most of the shoot. I can bet that would be the best of the lot and make the experience memorable.