Comfort Food - Tenga Dal

UK should definitely register its Winter Flu as a certifiable weapon of mass suffering. Every year, come September, there is a deluge of cold and flu sufferer sniffling and sneezing their way through life. I myself have suffered through a particularly bad one last year which lasted for 18 miserable days. Apparently there was a bad viral strain doing the rounds last year. This year, it was my husband's turn to  suffer, and when you are sick, your taste buds off, nothing feels better than some good old comfort food. Comfort food by definition is a bit tricky, it depends on geography, family traditions and most importantly, taste buds. For example, my grandmother's roast chicken is the ultimate comfort food for me. An awesome dish, but a bit tricky to make when you have a fever. So since last year, I have been making my own comfort foods, borrowed heavily from my grandmother's cooking. A taste of the home but with no fuss.

First up is the Tenga mogul dal, or lentil soup. Nothing else will do for me when I have a running cold. Like all comfort food, this one too has a story. In Assam, lemon or lime also known as Kaji Nemu is an essential part of your lunch or dinner experience. The Kaji Nemu especially has a most aromatic smell and for me it is the most exotic accompaniment to any dish. When I was a child, this was often made at home with the fruit and the leaves used from our own lime tree in the back yard. I have since jazzed it up a bit for a bit more grown up version. Depending on your larder, this will either be kitchen essentials or something warranting a special shopping trip. For me its the former, so its an easy dish to cook.


What you will need

1 cup dal (you can use mogu or mosur)
A slice of lemon
1 stalk of lemon grass
A couple of frozen lime leaves (I get this from a local Chinese store, its not Kaffir leaves, just regular lime leaves. Although you can use Kaffir leaves as well)
Green papaya (optional)
1and 1/2 teaspoon regular cooking oil
Panch phuran or kalonji (optional)
Garlic

I rinse the lentils once and put it in a pan with 2 cups of water, papaya and lemon, lime leaves and lemon grass (also sliced into 1 inch pieces). I put this on medium heat, lid on for about 20 minutes. If you are worried about the water boiling over then partially cover the pan. After 20 mins, the lentils should be soft enough. Give the whole thing a good stir. This ensures that all the flavours get meshed in well.

If you want, you can fish out the lemon now and add a little water if you prefer a more soupy texture. The magic ingredient is actually the lime leaves, the moment you add this, this dal becomes a show stopper.

At this point I generally decant the cooked lentils into a bowl and in the same pan add the oil and panch phuran or nigella seeds and garlic. Once the seeds start popping, I add the lentils back in and season with salt as per taste. And your dish is ready. For me, the lemon and lime combo is a bit of heaven when I am down in the dumps.

Where to eat- 4Rivers Smokehouse

Since we are on the subject of food, let me introduce you to the sandwich from heaven otherwise known as the Southern Pulled Pork sandwich from 4Rivers Smokehouse. In Scotland, its a bit difficult to get a good man sized smoked meat sandwich, so I didn't waste time heading off to the 4R. I was craving some comfort food after a long flight and went a bit crazy with the amount I ordered.

Everything on the menu looked good and we finally settled for a bit of everything: smokehouse prime ribs,  southern pulled pork sandwich and the messy pig, pulled pork with slaw, jalapeño, pickles and smothered with 4R sauce. For sides we selected the sweet potato mash (loved it), smoked jalapeños (a bit meh), french fries (perfect), corn on the cob (sweet and tender) and a huge blueberry cupcake.

The eating area is an open patio with old fashioned fans lazily going round, and since the portions are so huge, there are take away containers kept on the side in which you can pack and dash if need be.  Am quite proud to admit that we managed to clean our plates. I won't lie, it was an effort resulting in a most ungracious waddle back to our car. But it was worth it.

My verdict, if you want a burger, go for Five Guys, but if its man sandwiches you crave, especially a melt in the mouth pork one, then it doesn't get better than 4 Rivers.

Joe's Stone Crab, Miami

There's some sense in shunning touristy eating joints and gunning for a local gastronomical meccas when you are holidaying, but when a restaurant becomes an institution, you just have to go, touristy or not. And that was the case with us when we went to Joe's Stone Crab in Miami. Now this is a place notorious for not taking reservation, but, it is still jam packed with people patiently waiting for their turn to eat the famous stone crabs. A word of warning, dress up, really. I went there after a day on the beach and an afternoon hauling faux Cuban cigars (America has a trade ban with Cuba, hence all Cuban cigars are not made in Cuba but in-store factories in little Havana). So when we landed up at Joe's, the hubby was in wrinkled cotton shirt and shorts and I was in a sun dress circa 2008 and rubber flip-flops. And we were surrounded by a Pucci-Cavalli mass. And there's a difference when Europeans do designer beachwear, the vibe is more casual and boho-luxe. But the Americans, boy when they play dress up, its the every piece of hair in place kind. It's very disconcerting. I took comfort from the only thing I had going, a hot pink-red lip courtesy Georgio Armani Lip Maestro, this is something that every lip girl should try, the texture and lasting quality is amazing. And the fact that I still fitted into a dress bought five years ago.  

Back to the restaurant, our wait time was somewhere around 30 minutes, pretty reasonable for a weekend I think. We we were ushered into the bar area, which was jam packed with fellow would be diners. We somehow managed to order our cocktails and squeeze into a corner and people watch. The hubby was a bit bemused by my fashion policing, especially my reaction to a pair of Louboutins on the spindliest legs and the knobbiest knees possible. Seriously ladies, baggy knees don't do a Léger dress credit. The cocktails were okay, I had better ones out on the Miami street, but the stone crabs, ah they were the jam. I didn't fill up on breads and starters which was just as well because the stone crabs are huge. We weren't very clear about the helping and ended up ordering for four people, but, nothing was wasted, trust me. One of the most helpful trick when you over order is to take some time out in between, sit, relax, sip your wine, and then, go for round two or three, as may be the case. 

For me, this was a stand out meal and I highly recommend a visit if you are in the area. Just make sure that the restaurant is open. Stone crab harvesting is legal only from the 15th of October to the 15th of May. And please dress up, not in a bandage dress, you are going there to eat, but in something that allows you to tuck in well. 

Where to eat: Tampa Bay Brewing Company, Ybor City

Do you watch cooking shows, I do. The Nigellas, Steins, Jamies and Blancs make regular appearances in my living room and both me and Captain ogle at the food cooked to perfection on screen. But one of my favourite show is the Diners, Drive-ins and Dives hosted by Guy Fieri. I love American food in all its excess, lots of flavour, no delicate knife-fork handling and huge portion servings. So while we were in Florida, we made a trip to Ybor. Actually what we had was a sort of comfortable road trip crisscrossing Florida. And while we were in Ybor, we made a trip to the Tampa Bay Brewing Company for a long and lazy brunch.

As the name suggests, Tampa Bay Brewing Company is actually a microbrewery. I remain loyal to my Desperadoes, so for me, more than the beer it was the food. Oh the food. To be honest, we ordered more than we could eat, but no complaints. In the DDD show, Tampa Bay's chef Ryan Kelly spoke of his cooking as "comfort food with a gourmet touch" and really there is no better way to describe it. For starters, we ordered the Cider Wings with blue cheese sauce. The chicken is tangy because of the cider but the sauce balances it out with its creamy sweetness.

 For my mains I went in for the Wild Warthog Thai Style Spicy Curry Mussels served over udon noodles. And boy was it good. Till date, its been the best mussels dish ever.

I forgot what the hubby order, either the Onion Porter Pork Chop or the New York Strip Steak, my guess is that its the steak.

My only meh was the dessert, I ordered the Cherry bread pudding which I had to get packed. the pudding was nice but I have had better desserts so that's not making it into my list.

If you are visiting that part of the world, haul yourself to Tampa Bay Brewing Company and order the mussels. And yes, you are welcome.

Skin aid kit for beginners

I am not a frequent flyer and I have had precisely two long haul flights. And by long haul I mean really long ones, where you need to have stopovers and cross an ocean before reaching your destination. For the first trip, I didn't have any in flight skin care kit. I was travelling with my cousin and both of us had stuffed our face with chicken rolls before boarding the flight. Once aboard we consumed copious amount of complimentary wine and had middle of the night meeting in front of the toilet with my mom and aunt where we proceeded to make fun of my father who was sleeping with his mouth open. Suffice to say, by the time I reached Down Under, my face had a distinctly puffed look. In my defence, this was a pre youtube era where a long haul skincare vid wasn't de rigour.

My next long haul flight was a totally different ballgame. For starters, I had an extremely painful and angry cyst on my cheek which no amount of concealers could cover. I was also travelling in the peak of winter, from a sub zero temperature to a certainly plus degree one in Miami. And so when push came to shove, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. I plugged into the staples, Caroline Hirons, Makeupalley and Ruth Crilly and made my own skin aid kit. The list is as follows:

Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm decanted into tub with spatula. Hot towel would be kindly provided by the airlines (not ideal, but I refuse to carry a dirty wet towel in my bag). La Roche Posay glycerin based toner, decanted into stopper. My most effective under eye gel by Ole Henriksen, a glycolic based treatment in a travel friendly tube. Indeed Labs Hydraluron, a hyaluronic based serum for maximum moisture retention followed by a travel sized cream (I used the Alpha-H hydrating cream). And finally a bit of Elizabeth Arden eight hour cream for lips, elbows and cuticles. All popped into a clear zip bag to prevent the grope in the bag syndrome. 

And yes, I was a good girl on the flight. No wine, I compensated by having two ice lollies while watching Pitch Perfect, and no my husband wasn't interested in the nail art of the 65 year old twins who were sitting on the aisle seats. Men just don't get it, do they? 

Where to eat - Burger & Lobster London

Going by the number of tweets and instagrams, I can safely say that Burger and Lobster has become a London institution. Concept wise its pretty neat, serve only burgers and lobsters with chips and garlic butter sauce, add a good mix of cocktails/beers/wine, and you will be guaranteed to never find an empty seat in the restaurant. Everything is for £20 (with sides) so price wise its a bargain in London. They don't take table reservation unless its a party of 6 or more so the wait line is huge. My suggestion is that you pop in before the rush hour, around 5-5.30ish in the evening, grab a drink and enjoy your meal in peace. Location wise, B&L have four branches, Soho, Mayfair, Farringdon and the City. I went to the Soho one and here's what I ordered.

I went for the Lobster instead of the burger and it came with chips, salad and garlic butter sauce. You need to get a bit grubby with your hands while eating this so don't be shy. I had a trendy Topshopy set on one side and a YSL and Chanel flag bearer on the other, and trust me, they were all getting down and dirty with their meal. So bib on and attack. 

Just a word of warning, this is not a place for vegetarians unless you are happy with chips and salads. Another thing I really liked about this place was that they never hurried us, even when there was a huge waiting line outside. Burger & Lobster is a lively place where you can catch up with friends or just unwind after a long London day. If you are visiting London or planning to, pop in for a meal. You won't be disappointed.   

Traditional cooking: sambhar

One of my favourite dishes to cook is the Sambhar which is a south Indian lentil dish. I make this on days when I want to have something tangy and comforting while vegetating in front of the telly. This is a pass it down recipe from my mother which I have simplified to a great extent. I am dividing the ingredients into two To make this dish you need:

Basics
Toor or Arhar dal (available in all supermarket stores)
Vegetables of your choice
Cooking oil

Spices/eastern goodies
Asafoetida
Coriander seeds (whole)
Dry chillies (whole)
Fenugreek seeds (whole)
Curry leaves (you can get fresh leaves at most indian stores. In a crux you can use the dried leaves)
Tamarind (I soak just a bit more than a quarter of tamarind in 1/2 cup of water for about 20 minutes. I take out the seeds before using it. If you want to be more fancy then you can strain the liquid and get rid of all the roughage.)

For starters I soak a cup of Toor Dal for a good 2 hours, this softens the lentils and washes away artificial colouring and other impurities. I then wash it once and bung the lot into a pressure cooker. Its of course a known fact that every Indian owns a pressure cooker. Mine is on its last leg, but there's no denying the fact that it halves the cooking time for most Indian dishes. If you don't own a pressure, then just use your normal pan. Now then, back to the recipe. For every cup of dal, I add about 21/2 cups of veggies. You can use whatever vegetables you want, but if you want a bit of exotic going on then I would recommends adding okra (found in larger Tescos/ indian stores), and drumstick (found only in Indian stores).

My favourite vegetable combo for this dish are tomatoes, aubergines, okra, drumstick, onions and carrots. I roughly chop the veggies, add it to the cooker along with 2 cups of water, put the lid on and two whistles later your dal is done.

Now comes the fun part. In a hot pan, roast the coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds and dry chillies for about a minute. Alternatively, you can use the microwave for this. Just be careful with the time otherwise you will end up with burnt instead of aromatic spices. I roughly grind the roasted spices in a mortar and pestle (you can use a dry grinder) and put aside for later. In the same pan, I add about a tablespoon of cooking oil and when the oil heats up I add half a teaspoon of Asafoetida. The Asafoetida does a fizzing thing, don't be alarmed by it, its supposed to happen. I add a generous handful of curry leaves, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder for colour and sometimes a few fresh chillies to make it extra hot.

I then carefully pour the tarka onto the cooked dal and veggie mix, add the tamarind water (sans the seeds), the roasted spices and salt. Have a taste and if you are happy with it, then its good to go. Sometimes if I find it too tangy, I add a pinch of sugar just to balance it out. Before serving I garnish the dish with some more of my roasted spice mixture.

Best served with a bowl of rice or if are a whiz, then dosa. Happy eating.