RESTAURANT REVIEW: MAMAGOTO

For when you really want South East Asian Food and don't mind waiting

 

The pretty balcony at Mamagoto, Khan Market

I’ve found people have strong opinions about Mamagoto. I’m not entirely sure what to make of it myself. Unlike most places I’ve written about I’ve been to Mamagoto a bunch of times and it’s not easy to average out the experience for the review. The first time I went was for an office lunch and everyone had ordered one main course dish – we ended up with so much food to spare that a teammate doggy bagged 2 sacks full for the rest of the office. On the other hand we had food packed to go for my brother’s birthday and the portions were so measly we needed to order a pizza after.

 

With Mamagoto, I never know what to expect.

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

LOOKS LIKE

Mamagoto has a playful, family friendly theme and the decorator has used bright colors and manga style imagery artfully. The balcony upstairs is charming but can get a little crowded. If you’re sitting upstairs, be careful of the rickety two seater tables which tend to collapse on you while you’re seated.

 

Penang Street Vendor's Curry

TASTES LIKE

Mamagoto does a great Thai Green Curry – I’ve ordered it a bunch of times and it is worth going to Mamagoto for the curry alone. Their very filling Lamb Teriyaki in a Bowl and the peanut-y Penang Street Vendor’s Curry are also delicious. Generously proportioned and alive with the flavours of lemon, peanut and kaffir lime. Another recommendation is the Bacon Wrapped Prawns with its sweet sticky sauce – though I can’t make this recommendation without mentioning the time they forgot to devein the prawns they served us. Now I check each prawn but I guess it means something if I’m still ordering the dish.
 

Their Steamed Fish Fillet was a disappointment – insipid and bland. As was a lamb, rice and wonton dish that was part of their winter menu. When we complained, the waiter brought us a bowl of schezwan sauce to try to drown the soggy lamb. Just plain embarrassing.
 

The drinks are a mixed bag, the Cranberry with Kaffir Lime Leaves is upbeat with a generous helping of Kaffir Lime. On the other hand their Green Apple Mojito is amateur and sick with too many chemical syrups.

There’s a short list of dessert options of which the Coconut Ice Cream never seems to be available. The chocolate cake is not too sweet in a good way but not exceptional either.

 

Thai Green Curry with Steamed Rice

FEELS LIKE

The staff is not rude but they are spectacularly inattentive. The order process and food delivery is very slow. Particularly aggravating is the waiters standing in corners avoiding eye contact – since the restaurant belongs to a chain and isn’t particularly cheap I’m surprised at the quality of service being doled out.

Meal in a Bowl: Lamb with Wontons and Sticky Rice

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Should you go: For a relaxed dinner out with family if you’re not in a hurry or if you’re really in the mood for Thai Green Curry.

Vegetarian Options: Yes

Liquor License: Yes

Smoking Area: Yes

Address: 53, 1^st Floor, Middle Lane, Khan Market

Phone: 011 45166060

ONE YEAR OLD!

 

A lot has changed since I first started putting this blog together. I didn’t even really want a food blog. I had just moved back home from Bombay and started to pile on the pounds. After scrounging and scavenging for food for over two years, home cooked meals turning up on the dinner table again and again, was almost too much to process. Every day I shoveled more and more food into my pie hole and thought of living in Bombay, eating out or ordering in thrice a day.

In an ordinary day I’d skip breakfast so I was starving by 11. By 11:30 a.m. I wouldn’t be able to wait for lunch anymore and I’d order something terribly sugary from the coffee shop in my office building. By 1 my sugar rush would have faded and I’d run to lunch. Lunch was supplied by an enterprising Ms. Leela Verma who delivered bland, oily vegetables, dal and chewy chapattis unfortunately unfailingly. This would send me spiraling into depression which I would try to fix with more sugary confections from the coffee shop and some overpriced coffee. If I was still at work at dinner time, I’d eat whatever the late night stragglers were ordering. If I went home I’d order in pizza or Jafferbhai’s greasy, orange interpretation of Indian food.

When we couldn’t take it anymore and our eating habits started to make us physically ill, me and my flatmate started to cook. We had the tiniest kitchen in the world. It wasn’t actually a room, it was a corner with an exhaust and a sink but that worked well because you could cook and watch the television in the living room at the same time. There was a vegetable market across the street so we never had to bother to keep the fridge stocked. In retrospect it was a pretty good set up to start cooking in.

We cooked mostly simple Indian food. I suppose because that was the only kind of food we didn’t have access to. My flatmate was a far more talented and resourceful cook than me. My specialities were a really thick, sludge like dal and a rich pulao. On days I would be done with work reasonably early I’d go home and cook dal, a side of vegetables, rice and raita. Occassionally there was chicken. There were no rotis because I still don’t know how to roll those buggers into a proper circle. Cooking even this much was nerve racking initially and things often went horribly wrong. Very slowly, imperceptibly, I really didn’t even notice when it started to get easier.

With time I cooked at home more and more often. Sometimes I even cooked at friends' homes. By the time I came to Delhi, it had become one of my favourite ways to spend an afternoon. I figured I could put something together for reluctant, hesitant, ignorant cooks like me.
I photocopied and printed hundreds of recipes, borrowed cookbooks from everyone I knew and spent every waking moment out of office knee deep in recipes and food writing. When my mom suggested I start a blog while waiting for eager publishers to get around to breaking down my door, I wasn’t very enthusiastic. I didn’t think I’d be able to put in that kind of consistent effort.

It hasn’t been easy but it doesn’t matter because it’s been so much fun. All the people I’ve met, crappy photos I’ve taken and cupcakes I’ve burnt all add up to this blog. The formatting is (a little) better and I havn’t totally scorched anything in a while but I still show the enthusiasm and nincompoopery of a novice in a kitchen.

I look forward to more food related schemes and setting more stuff on fire during year 2!

NO BAKE EGGLESS MANGO CHEESECAKE WITH MANGO JELLY

“The preparation of good food is merely another expression of art, one of the joys of civilized living…”
― Dione Lucas

 

This cheesecake is so so good! The slight tang of the cream cheese with a crumbly biscuit base and the rich, glorious, yellow of mangoes all over makes this one of my favourite recipes!

And it doesn't need an oven. Or an electric whisk. Or eggs. And it's pretty without fiddling with icing and cream.

Also, I always worry about what dessert to serve to my hardcore vegetarian friends. Finally I have an answer! Such an incredible answer!

Ever made anything so good that days after the dishes have been wiped clean, washed and put back in the rack, you're still thinking about it? I'm going to have to make this again next weekend to get it out of my system. Just looking at the post is making me hungry.

Serves 8

Adapted from www.cookingandme.com

 

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

 

250 gms cream cheese

150 gm cream

1 cup mango puree

1/3 cup melted butter

½ cup sugar

1 ½ tbsp gelatin powder

¼ cup warm water

1 ½ cups digestive biscuits (crumbs)

 

HOW TO:

 

1. Beat the biscuits into powder and mix in the melted butter. You should have a crumbly dough. Line your serving dish(es) with it. Stick in the fridge

 

Note: Try setting these in individual ramekins or glasses for full effect. It’s quite difficult to slice in a cake tin because of how soft it gets.

 

2. Mix the cream cheese, cream and sugar till well combined.

 

3. Add the gelatin to the warm water and stir till dissolved completely. Add the mango puree and stir. Keep half the mixture aside.

Note: First time working with gelatin? Read my little note on how not to clump it up here.

 

4. Add the other half of the mango gelatin mix into the cream cheese and stir well.

 

5. Pour the cream cheese mix into your serving dishes and refrigerate for about half an hour.

 
 

Note: If you're going to stick it in the freezer, you may want to cover the dish with cling film so it doesn't start to freeze.

 

6. Add the only mango-gelatin mix on top of the cream cheese layer gently so the two layers remain distinct.

 

7. Refrigerate overnight.
 

 

 

THAI COCONUT MANGO PUDDING

“I hate people who are not serious about meals. It is so shallow of them.”
― Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

 

I learnt to bake long before I cooked anything savoury and even now I'm more comfortable mucking around with flour, butter and sugar than with any other kind of culinary endeavour. It's just been too hot and humid to bother with ovens though so I've been experimenting with chilling my desserts instead. The only thing I've found a little difficult has been dealing with gelatine or cornflour, often the base for puddings and souffles, which can get lumpy and ruin the silky texture you'd want.

 

How to deal with Gelatine/Cornflour: Mixing them in with just a little warm water/milk, stirring to get all the lumps out and then slowly adding the remaining liquid usually solves the clump issues though. If the mixture goes ahead and bumps out anyway then just run it through a sieve to get the pesky clumps out.

 

This super smooth, light mango pudding is simple enough for a child to put together and perfect for making in advance of a party.

 

 

Serves 4

Adapted from Thaifood.about.com

 

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

 

2 ripe mangoes

1 cup coconut milk

½ cup warm water

4 tbsp sugar (as per your taste)

3 tsp gelatin powder

 

HOW TO:

 

1. Squeeze out all the pulp from the mangoes and puree them till you have a smooth paste.
 

2. Add the gelatin to a little bit of warm water first and stir well. Add the rest of the water and stir some more. Make sure you don’t have any lumps.
 

3. Add sugar to the gelatin mixture and stir till dissolved.
 

4. Add the gelatin-sugar mix and coconut milk to the mango puree. Put the mix through another whirl in your food processor.

 

5. Pour into serving bowls and chill for atleast 2 hours. Preferably overnight.
 

 

MANGO LIME PARFAIT

“I am not a glutton - I am an explorer of food”
― Erma Bombeck

 

Yesterday I talked about my hopes for my own cooking and this blog, today I want to ramble a bit about what I'd like to see in people my age and their relationship with food:

1. The More the Merrier

I really hope more young people start to cook - that more parents teach their kids this basic life skill. Everyone should be able to put together a meal including basic pastas, salads, vegetable dishes and easy desserts. Cooking at home is cheaper, better for you and more satisfying than ordering in and maybe if we learnt the fundamentals when we were young, we wouldn't be afraid of it as we got older.

2. Stop Faking It

I'm a part of some great facebook food communities and I've found most to be encouraging, fun and helpful. Some of the ones I'm on currently include, the very fun DFT Food Porn Association run by Prashant and Ayesha Kalra, whom I will write more about one day; the informative EatTreat, the prompt Food Talk India and really helpful Epicurean Delights. Certain members though are just consitently pretentious, rude and critical. I wish somebody would tell them nobody likes a troll.

3. The Root of the Matter

Everyday I see people talking about pies, roux and braised salmon fillets but I'd really love to see people (including me) cooking and growing familiar with exciting Indian food.

4. The Lighter Choice

This might be the last thing on my list but it's the most important. More healthy options please! At restaurants, parties, cafes, movie theatres and everywhere else we eat.

 

Serves 6

Adapted from Martha Stewart

 

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

2 ripe mangoes (chopped up)

2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp lemon juice (add some zest, if you have it)
1 ½ cup ricotta or hung curd

HOW TO:

1. Toss together mangoes, honey, lime juice and zest.

2. Sweeten the hung curd with a little honey, if you like.

3. Layer mango mixture, then add a layer of curd. Then mango. Then curd. You get the idea.

4. Chill or serve immediately.

 

MANGO AND FETA SALAD WITH BLACK OLIVES AND MINT

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

I knew very little about cooking when I started this blog and I still have a long way to go. While the goal is to get better in front of the stove (or oven) over the course of the next year of food bloggery, I've decided to give myself a set of resolutions to follow:

1. Virtue is its own reward

My lifestyle is quite crap from a health perspective and I don't see it getting much better any time soon. Since I eat so much junk anyway, I'm going to try not to bring it into my kitchen too. Expect more salads, smoothies, fruits, vegetables and all around goodness in my posts.

2. From your own backyard

I'm sick and tired of recipes asking me to buy blueberries that have flown half way across the globe to reach my grocery store. These ingredients are expensive, bad for the environment, pretentious and completely unnecessary. India has a wide range of fresh, local, seasonal produce available which I'd prefer to focus on. The same goes for dairy and other products -I don't want to hear about your four hundred rupee German white butter when more often than not reliable, old Amul will do as good a job.

3. Fortune favours the bold

I havn't tried to make meringue, pies, pancakes, chinese food or dishes with red meat because I'm pretty sure I'm going to screw it up. I don't know this of course, since I've never tried but I'm scared. I think it's time to get over it and just cook.

4. Keeping it simple

My favourite kinds of food have few ingredients and strong, simple flavours. I want to incorporate more recipes that follow what I hope will become my style of cooking.

5. Have more fun

Coming up soon more party menus; long, aimless writing; (hopefully) better photos, restaurant and product reviews! I love putting up a post which I'm excited about and I have a bunch of new ideas that I'm hoping to get out of my head and on to this page!

Add black olives - it'll add more color. Also, as you can see I can't cube a mango. I just squish them into mush but it tastes as good.

Serves 4

Adapted from Martha Stewart

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
 

2 ripe mangoes

3 tbsp feta chunks

1 thinly sliced red chilli

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup lime juice

2 tbsp sliced olives

Handful of torn up mint leaves

Pinch of salt

 

HOW TO:
 

1. Mix together lime juice, salt, chilli and olive oil. Set aside.
 

2. Chop up mangoes and drop some feta on top. Add the oil dressing, sprinkle some mint on top and serve.
 

Note: You can easily sauté some shrimp (with salt and pepper) and add it to the salad to bulk it up.

THE RELUCTANT CHEF WILL BE ONE!

The  auspicious date of 22 June 2013 marks an entire year of being online for The Reluctant Chef . 

 

In celebration, I'm going to eat mangos all week and talk about all the good stuff that's gone down this year.

 

You're all invited.

 

On the Menu this week:

 

Mango and Feta Salad with Black Olives

Mango Lime Ricotta Parfait

Thai Coconut Mango Pudding

No Bake Mango Cheesecake

 



FROMAGE FRAIS WITH STRAWBERRIES

“Boy, those French! They have a different word for everything.”

― Steve Martin

 

I was having breakfast at my hotel coffee shop on a work trip recently when I noticed an elderly European man in a kurta taking tips on navigating Bombay from a waiter. He had run into a bunch of uncooperative taxi drivers the previous day and the language barrier hadn't helped. But he wasn't upset or agitated, mostly just fascinated with the way things work in a place so far from his home. It reminded me of some of my holidays - the dizzying excitement of landing in a new place with a suitcase and a dog eared Lonely Planet. Walking around, bumping into new things and not being irritated by inconvenience because each interruption is a story, because each tiny interaction is to be put lovingly into a pile of memories.

Unfortunately I work a day job that doesn't allow me the time to do as much travelling as I would like. It doesn't help that it's summer and everyone and their uncle seems to be on vacation. Best to take solace in food. Sometimes food can recreate for me, that surprise I feel when I run into something totally unfamiliar and lovely.

Fromage Frais is light, delicate, subtle and possibly the prettiest tasting dessert I've had in a while. I have no idea if there's anything particularly French about it but it was new to make and new tasting and till I go on vacation it will have to suffice.

Serves 3

Adapted from Good Food Magazine

What you'll need: 

1 egg white

25 gm icing sugar

1 lemon (zested and juiced)

200 gm strawberries

 

 

For the Fromage Frais Mousse

175 gm ricotta cheese

75 gm sour cream

½ tsp vanilla essence

 

How to:
 

1. Blend the ricotta, vanilla and sour cream till smooth. Set aside.

 

2. Put egg white in a double broiler (pan on top of a pan filled with boiling water) and add icing sugar. Whisk (keeping the pan on the stove) with an electric beater for about 5 – 7 minutes till the mixture holds peaks. It should look and taste like a melted marshmallow.

 

Note: This is tough but it's the only tough part really. Be patient – the whole usually comes together just a minute after you decide to give up.  

 

3. Take the egg mixture off the heat and add the lemon zest and juice. Whisk till the mixture cools.

 

4. Add the egg to the ricotta mix and whisk till smooth. Transfer to your serving container and chill.

 

5. Chop up the strawberries and keep some aside for the garnish. I kept almost half aside because I enjoy the chunks of strawberry more than just the puree. 

 

6. Puree the other half with some lemon juice and 2 tsp of sugar – you could slide it through a sieve to take out the seeds but I like the texture of the seeds.

 

7. Spoon on top of the fromage mixture and serve.

 

SCRAMBLED EGGS

"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully. "It's the same thing," he said."

― A.A. Milne

 

 

Enough with the truffles, the meringues and the layer cakes. It's time this blog got back to basics. I might have gotten carried away with the fancier, fluffier recipes but I havn't forgotten the principles this blog was founded on. Life, love and the pursuit of happiness. Maybe not. But reluctant chefs don't despair! This is a perfect first for people to start with in a kitchen.

 

Also, I love eggs, they're the simplest thing to work with and if you know your way around eggs there's no culinary mountain you can't climb. I may be getting carried away again. I'm going to stop.

 

 Serves 4 - 5

 

What you’ll need:

6 eggs

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp butter

1 chopped spring onion

How to:

1. Beat the eggs with the salt and pepper. Put a couple of tablespoons aside.

2. Heat a frying pan, add butter and swirl till the pan is coated.

3. Add the eggs to the melted butter and spring onion - let it sit till you see the eggs firming up.

4. Swirl the eggs around every time they start to settle for 3 to 5 minutes.

5. Add the remaining egg mixture and stir till it stops looking wet.

Note: This is some fancy technique that some fancy chef came up with to make sure that you don't totally dry out the eggs and end up with sawdust instead of scrambled eggs. I've clearly forgotten the name of both the technique and the chef so this does not seem as impressive as it should have.

6. Remove from the heat and season with more salt and pepper if you think you need it.



 

 

SNAPSHOTS: SPICE MARKET, OLD DELHI

When I first moved to Delhi in November 2011 I couldn't understand why the city was so amped up. Everyone was eating, travelling, partying frantically, desperately as if everything was going to be taken away from them and soon. Then the Delhi summer reared its ugly head. Now I understand that fear, the knowledge that this pretty balcony you're sitting in today in HKV will turn into a dusty inferno.

Before the weather started to feel like the center of a volcano I did a quick lap around Chandni Chowk to take some photos. I have lots but I figure the spice market photos are most relevant for this blog:

Yes I know I said Spice Market but the flower vendors were right there

I'm not sure what most of them are

Don't skip off to the Spice Market if you have asthma issues - the whole lane is hazy with the smell of powdered something or the other flying around. Best to wrap a handkerchief around your nose and wear sunglasses but then you'll look even more like you don't belong. It's a very rock and a hard place choice.

Someone said this was soap. I'm not too sure.

More spicy things!
 

I think this is Mehandi



No Idea



Ha! Something I recognize!



Beautiful Stephens Church