Big month August!

With Madhuri Dixit at the Press Conference

Maha Challenge is just round the corner! There is super excitement all around, in my office and the channel office and we are definitely gearing up for a hectic few weeks ahead…

Yesterday addressed a press conference regarding the new show on FoodFood, Maha Challenge at Taj Land’s End in Bandra with Madhuri Dixit, where I presented the format of the show. More than hundred journalists from print, electronic and online media were there to cover it. It will have thirteen episodes, telecast beginning from September 1, 2011. Contestants from all over India have been chosen through auditions and roadshows held across many major cities in the country. I’m sure you all must’ve been following my past blogs where I’ve been writing a lot about this entire event. Coming back to the format of the show, two teams, each with eight individuals and their mentors will be competing every week. There will be a panel of judges as well as jury who’ll be deciding on the winners from the final competitions. The jury will consist of star chefs and celebrities from various fields.

Apart from this, the Press Conference had a fun filled session where there was a roti rolling competition between Madhuri and me. This became a photo opportunity for most of the journalists. All this was followed by high-tea and the event successfully got over by the evening.

With Shashi Bellamkonda

By the time the event got over, I had to rush back to office to finish a portion of the shoot for Secret Recipes, and managed to catch a good night’s sleep just to return back to office today morning for a workshop on ‘Reputation Management and Branding through Social Media’ by social media expert Shashi Bellamkonda. Shashi, settled now in the US, is a very good friend and as he is holidaying in Mumbai just now he graciously accepted my invitation to address my team. The workshop was attended by all my staff alongwith Alyona and the representatives from the rest of our business partners like Popular Prakashan, Wonderchef, Indian Cookery Private Limited, indiancookery.com and FoodFood. Thanks Shashi for the information imparted, it will definitely help us as an organisation to reach out to wider audiences. We wound up with some snacks and coffee and that I will share here!

Chocolate Brownie

Khasta Kachori

Machurian Roll

Till I write again.

Sanjeev Kapoor

Today a delight awaits for the residents at Vikhroli for there is a live demonstration of cooking being done at Home Stop using my WONDERCHEF range of bakeware and cookware. The timings are 5 pm to 7 pm and my colleague Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi will show you how to make cakes, pizzas and biryanis using his own flamboyant style.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the launch function of my new set of books named KITCHEN LIBRARY VEGETARIAN COLLECTION at Korum Mall in Thane. Soon it will be available at www.sanjeevkapoor.com. In this Vegetarian Collection comprising of five volumes, I have a banquet of delicious vegetarian Indian and international foods ranging from the everyday to the exotic, from heritage fare to the hot and happening. All these books will help to make every meal a gourmet’s delight with tried and tested recipes from our kitchens!
I get a lot of enquiries from food lovers settled outside India about what they can use as substitute for khoya in mithai. I can only suggest the options of condensed milk and/or milk powder.

Well, I guess, staying in India makes us lucky as we get readymade khoya! If one wishes khoya can be made at home. Just be prepared to burn a lot of gas and have patience. It is easier said than done. Khoya can be made at home, though the method is little tedious. It is prepared by boiling and reducing the milk to a semi-solid stage. The milk is to be boiled in a large kadai on a high heat and stirred occasionally. The heat is reduced as the milk thickens. When the mixture is in a semi-solid stage it is removed from the heat and set into moulds.

There are different types of khoya depending on the use of ingredients and moisture content. When you use full cream buffalo milk to make khoya, every litre of milk yields 200 grams. This khoya is used in burfis and laddoos. There is a different khoya that is made with low fat buffalo milk. The process of making it is the same as shown above but it is removed from the heat slightly earlier. It is loose and sticky in consistency with higher moisture content. It is suitable for making gulab-jamuns and gajar ka halwa. The dandedaar khoya which is excellent for kalakand is also made from full cream buffalo milk. The difference is that khoya is curdled slightly by adding a little tartaric acid. The milk curdles slightly hence the khoya is soft textured.

Let’s look at some recipes that use khoya:

Ananas ka meetha
Mawa Roll
Mawa Cake

Have a happy sweet weekend.
Sanjeev Kapoor.

Wonderchef event in Pune

Driving down to Pune today and it will be lovely drive as the rains have washed all the greenery clean to a sparkle!

The Wonderchef event begins at 9.30 am at S.M.Joshi Auditorium, Near Patrakar Bhavan, Ganjve Chowk , Navi Peth, Pune – 411 030. It’s all about healthy cooking using top of the line cookware and bakeware. You can look forward to chocolate cake, dosa, pan pizza and chicken dishes.

Healthy cooking is a real passion with me. I have not only answered numerous queries about how everyday cooking can be made simpler and healthier, but I have also enjoyed compiling recipe books on this topic. There are more on the anvil now and as time goes by, you will have access to newer techniques of simpler cooking.

That is my mantra, really. To make the process of cooking as simple as possible so that when one reads the recipe it motivates the reader to try it out….with confidence and with the feeling that “I can do it”. Every step brings one to success or failure. And success is only another definition of failing but forward every time. If you do not get a good result from the recipe the first time around, try again…and again…till you are satisfied.

I will give you the simplest of the recipes today and the weekend is the best time to try them out.

Steamed Dosa

Mixed Vegetables in Coconut Kadhi

Chocolate Yogurt

Till I write again

Sanjeev Kapoor