Food

5 The Moments

Posted on by kismitoffeebar

A week or two back, K and I had been to Duxton Hill for a Mexican refill (more about it later) and then walked down to Tanjong Pagar in search of a dessert that would call out to us. In no way did we think we would stumble upon a beautiful film photography cafe that now houses ice-creams and other desserts with coffee! I have to give this to K, amidst all the distraction on the street, he spotted this and said, “Let’s try this out”. I know we will be going back again.

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The shots are all taken in the night and pretty half-heartedly because really, all I wanted to do was drink coffee and stuff my face with waffles. Also, I have tried my best to cut off faces from the photos. Now that am done with my lame excuse for bad photography, let me tell you more about the place and what we had.

A play on the phrase, “find the moments”, this cafe has beautiful photos on the walls and a very  grey-meets white meets blue vintage feel that I totally dig. also, some of the tables were apparently sewing machines that were converted to serve a different function altogether. Fascinating, no? I absolutely loved the metal chairs that went so well with the decor. I admit some can be a bit(a wee bit) uncomfortable to sit but hey, sometimes prettiness comes at a price.

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Can you see all the vintage camera on display? I love how it feels a regular kopi-shop and yet takes it to an altogether different level. These little art pieces from different parts of the world added to the charm and somehow felt totally in place and not overdone.

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We were sitting right next to this pretty sight. I don’t know what caused it, but these days am a huge huge fan of white backgrounds with minimal art against it. I follow pretty much every instagram account that has such photography and so much that I photograph every little thing against my white kitchen platform.

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Too bad that I don’t like ice cream. This cafe had super unique flavours panetella, dark truffle, ebony (!) and what not. I will make a note of those names when I go next. They keep changing the flavours and source the key ingredients from across the world. K (as usual) had a classic vanilla scoop and loved it – not too sweet, creamy and just perfect, he said. Well, I had grand plans. I went with the buttermilk waffles with a drizzle of chocolate sauce. I like waffles with maple syrup or vanilla sauce but they had neither, so chocolate sauce it was.

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Crispy on the exterior, soft on the inside and a very faint flavour of butter – perfetto! I loved every bite of it. I don’t like my waffles too sweet and this waffle seemed to be made for my palate. K and I also tried a bit of this waffle with vanilla ice-cream and it was really good though I much prefer the version sans ice-cream. We noticed people queuing to get a seat and so like good kids, decided to come for coffee another time and let the others “find their moments”.

I must confess. I am a cafe junkie. If there is one place where I can be studious, poetic, lost, happy, tranquil, in love, lonely – it has to be a cafe. I can spend days in a cafe. There have been instances where I have accompanied K on his business trip and spent entire days cafe- hopping while he works. This cafe by virtue of its location in CBD is not going to be a quiet place but rather vibrant, artsy and inspiring in its own way. And I am glad to have found this gem that tickles my love for art, tucked away in one of the busiest streets of Singapore.

You can find the cafe here:

Closed every Monday
Address: 73 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088494
Tel: +65 6222 5336
Email: 5themoments@gmail.com

C for Cucumber Hasigojju

Posted on by kismitoffeebar

My recipe for the alphabet cookathon is coming a bit late though I must hurriedly add that I did make it last week 😛

You know those recipes that you churn in no time at all? Those recipes that taste like they were the effort of long labour or some secret recipe? The ones that are passed on from one generation to another? And that can be boxed in small boxes as snack or eaten as a side-dish? Those that people praise you for but only you know how incredibly simple it is?

This is exactly one of those.

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What you need:

Cucumber, finely chopped. I used 2 medium sized cucumbers

Salt to taste

 To grind:

Coconut  grated ( one cup)

Green chillies (4 medium sized or more if you like it spicy!)

Some hing (asafoetida)

Corriander leaves (a bunch)

A spoon or two of the chopped cucumber

All you need to do is:

  1. Blend the ingredients under “to grind) section to a coarse paste
  2. Add it to the chopped cucumber
  3. Add salt and mix it all (Add salt in the end so that it doesn’t become watery)
  4. Enjoy a piece of my heaven J

And the recipe is over before it began!

 

B for Beans kooTu

Posted on by kismitoffeebar

Smell of curry leaves. Clink of bangles while doing the taDka. Smell of coriander and hing. I don’t know whether it was all of these or something inexplicable that changed my hatred for beans into a newfound love and longing even. I remember carefully screening out the smallest piece of beans from kozhambu much to the dismay of my mother who would try her best to “cheat” me by crushing or making teeny bits of the vegetable to make sure it went into my tummy unnoticed, by me. By me. The hater of beans. My mother never ever understood why anyone would hate beans. But then, there I was, a bindle of contradictions.

I can’t tell you how it all changed because I really have no clue. But I can tell you that beans kooTu is now one of those dishes I can eat anytime. Like rice, dal and potato fry or curd rice, it is my other comfort food. It brings back my memories with a suddenness that I can’t place. It makes me long for those days when the first rays of sunlight made their way through the lattice and lit up my mother’s kitchen as she made the taDka for the beans playa when I sat waiting for her to make my hair and making desperate pleas for jam with chappati instead of beans. It is funny how things change and memories hit you with an unimaginable force and make you long for that dish you once despised.

The thing about memories is that you can also re-create them to some extent. Like, when I made this beans kooTu with amma on Skype for the alphabet challenge. 

You need:

  1. Nostalgia or a sudden urge to make the dish
  2. French beans (I used 300 gm) finely chopped (or if you are in the mood to disobey, chop them in large chunks)
  3. Moong dal (1 cup)
  4. Salt to taste

To grind:

  1. Desiccated coconut (according to your taste, I used about 2/3 cup)
  2. Corriander leaves (a bunch)
  3. cumin seeds
  4. Green chillies (2)
  5. Dried chilies (2) – change as per your preference

All that you need to do is:

1. Boil moong dal in water (I used about 2 ¼ cups of water) until the moong dal is almost cooked.

2. Add the chopped beans to the moong dal and let it boil.

3. Meanwhile, grind the ingredients under the “to grind” section.

4. Once the beans are cooked, add the ground paste and add salt.

5. Let it boil a bit and you will know when it is done.

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I think one of the biggest reasons why I love cooking is how it takes me back in time with such ease. It is amazing how churning up a meal in less than 30 minutes can take you to a place thousands of miles away. Right from the smell of the taDka to the way I arrange the ingredients on the kitchen platform to the sound of the mixer to how I finely select the best coriander leaves – just about everything reminds me of how much my mother resides within me. And that, is one amazing feeling I can’t get enough of.

Aloo sandwich Bombay style!

Posted on by kismitoffeebar

If you haven’t heard about our Alphabet Cooking from her on her post, let me tell you right away. We decided to churn out something in our kitchens every week. Condition: We follow the alphabetical order. We thought we would make something new, some long forgotten cherished recipe , something that we enjoy making and so on! We may even make the same dish. Cool, right? Yeah, I know.

I decided to go A for Aloo sandwiches, the Bombay style. I have heard a lot about Bombay street food from K. K was in Mumbai for a major part of his life while I have been there for a week for some study related conference and came back without trying even vada pav. Ya, can you believe it? And to make up for it, I had vada pav on the train.Anyway, there is always time to set things right to some extent.

And that’s how the aloo sandwich was made after reading some recipes online. Lots of memories+nostalgia+longing +excited shopping for ingredients + punching out earlier from work to come home and them+ the excitement of the alphabet week = aloo sandwich. If you have even one of the above, the below procedure is a cakewalk. Don’t let the picture deceive you but instead understand the spirit behind it. It s because I didn’t have the patience to click a good one.

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Get set:

A) For the chutney:

  • Mint leaves ( about ½ cup)
  • Corriander leaves (1 cup)
  • Ginger (1/2 inch piece)
  • Black salt ( as per your preference)

B) For the filling:

  • Potatoes ( I used about 4 medium, but you can also roll by “the more, the merrier”)
  • Onion (1 medium size)
  • Tomato (1 small – medium size)
  • Turmeric powder (a pinch)
  • Asafoetida
  • Green chilly chopped finely (1)
  • Curry leaves  (1/2 sprig) optional
  • Cumin seeds (1/4 teaspoon)
  • Mustard seeds (1/4 teaspoon)
  • A few chopped coriander leaves
  • Red chili powder ( ¼ teaspoon) optional
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil (1 – 2 tablespoons depending on your diet)

C) Other:

  • 8 slices of bread – I used a combination of wholemeal and white and we loved wholemeal! So, go wild with the variety.
  • A few thin round slices of onions, tomatoes and capsicum
  • A stick of butter
  • Chaat Masala

Ready:

  • I made the chutney first by just throwing in all the ingredients for chutney into a blender. As simple as that.
  • Try some chutney on your finger tips. Boy, they taste good. Taste some more. Do a jiggle wiggle to celebrate the chutney.
  • Take a deep bottomed pan and pour some oil. Once that heats up, throw in the cumin and mustard seeds and watch them pop and splutter.
  • Add some asafoetida and soak in the aroma that fills your kitchen.
  • Add the curry leaves, chopped chilli and onion. This is the smell of early mornings when ma made upma. This smell means everything will be right with the world.
  • After the onion turns translucent, add the tomatoes and give it a good toss. Marvel at how they make an awesome pair (onions and tomatoes).
  • Add the turmeric powder.
  • Add the boiled potatoes and mash them left, right and centre till they are all mixed so well that you can’t tell one from another.
  • Add the chopped corriander leaves and salt to taste (remember that the chutney also has black salt)
  • Stuffing is done – tada!

Bringing them all together:

  • Take a slice of bread and spread some butter on it.
  • Spread the chutney (I was generous with the chutney coz’ spicy is the way we roll here)
  • Spread the potato mix evenly.
  • Add some onion rings, tomato slices. Capsicum slices and give it a small shower with chaat masala.
  • Cover this with another slice of bread on which you again spread some butter and some chutney)
  • Repeat with all slices and you should have 4 sandwiches ready to be toasted.
  • Toast them in your sandwich-maker or pan.
  • After toasting, spread some butter on the toasted side and watch it melt while you drool.
  • Quickly snap a picture or take a bite and then snap a picture. After eating, you may realise that the picture is blurry because you were obviously in a hurry.

Go!

Dip it in ketchup or sauce or whatever floats your boat. That first bite of crunchy outside, warm and soft insides and the heavenly butter will tell you why this street food is so popular. We munched on ours while catching some Fifa moments. Turns out Fifa gets more exciting with this toast.

Want to be covered in more drool? Have you checked out her post yet?

 

 

 

Cheese and cheese crackers !

Posted on by kismitoffeebar

Isn’t it amazing how we learn to have good breaks between endless hours of work? I have noticed that while I sometimes forget to work, I never seem to forget to take a break. The past weeks have been full of work and I am always wishing for more hours before I logout from work simply because, I have so much left. But once am out, I hardly let that thought bother me for long. I really think of this as a strength and as my own coping mechanism. Everyone has a coping mechanism and mine is to just let it be by finding something else to do. I must admit that this isn’t always easy. Sitting in a ferry on the way to Indonesia and thinking of that impending report  does happen to me. But, all I need is to look outside, look at happy faces and realise that everything is achievable and nothing merits worry. I constantly seek to spend time with people I like and people who fill me with a lot of positive energy. Books, movies and people have that power of lifting you to such delirious heights that it becomes an addiction, a mandatory ritual even.

Today was one such beautiful day where I realised how life in its little moments has its own way to telling you that needlessly worrying and making a mountain of a molehill is outright ridiculous and a shameful waste of time. I went to the eldercare today for a session of volunteering. As always, it warms my heart to see elderly people happy and welcoming and so friendly forgetting all their ailments. Some cannot raise their hands to wave a hello and yet they make all the effort in the world to convey that through their eyes and smile and the way they lean forward when they see you. I know a few of them quite well and yet, I am always close to tears when I see them – they are beautiful people inside-out; they put all their pains and sorrows aside just for those few hours of happiness they get by spending time with others.

We took them on a kopi trip – a small outing where we take the elderly residents for coffee and food to a nearby food court that is followed by a shopping trip where everyone has an equal budget within which they can choose whatever they wish to buy. It is a 1:1 event where one volunteer takes care of one elderly person. So, I was with a very bubbly Mr. W. I have often seen a lot of pictures on the facebook page of him singing those peppy numbers in Mandarin. I was super excited to be spending time with him. We had a delightful time at foodcourt where he requested for kopi-o with extra sugar (he made sure that it was as per his liking) and pork mee with extra chilli. His hands are weak and he needs to be fed. His diet also needs to be soft and noodles cut into bits. I don’t even want to mention this but I have to because if you had seen him enjoy his meal and coffee today, you would have cried at how easy it is to attain happiness.I just placed the cup infront of him and asked him to enjoy. I did not want to assume he needed help. He had me in splits when he said “I would enjoy it if a young lady fed me” – so cheeky and charming that I couldn’t refuse him. After a good time, we went shopping where he requested for “Tiger beer” – talk of enjoyment! Well, I coaxed him to buy coke and enticed him with some pringles and chilli sauce (to make his everyday porridge spicier). We took lots of photos and shared many a smile that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I felt absolutely no sadness when I said bye to him. I loved his company and respected him for his ability to be happy and make everyone happy. I don’t know when I will get a similar chance but I always want to think of him with a smile. I love how these little moments give us much more than the other way round. Selfish though it sounds, I think it has become addictive, in a good  way.

Just like these cheese crackers. I came back home in such high spirits that I had to channel them somewhere. Call to parents and Chintu + a smile on K’s face was the obvious choice. So, I made these cheddar cheese crackers from her blog. Please excuse me while I go stuff my face with some more. They are awesome! I loved the simplicity of the recipe, the smell that I could sense just by reading the recipe that I HAD to make them. Please go make these coz’ they are done before you even begin!

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I have always been fascinated by cookie cutters. Apart from using them on playdoh, this was the first time, I used them to make crackers – I kind of went wild with frenzy as you can see above and below.

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2 batches have been devoured already. With another batch on the cooling rack, life is good.

Goodies from Japan

Posted on by kismitoffeebar

A couple of weeks back, K was away in Japan for a 10 day business trip. I usually make a big fuss over his business trips but this time, I had ma around, so it wasn’t that bad 😉

Anyhoo, K brought home some amazing goodies, most that fell under the category of “melts-in-your-mouth”.

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Apparently, the salesguys gift wrap pretty much anything for free. And who says no to unwrapping gifts?

He even got some beautiful stuff for an aquarium we don’t have (Yea. Right) and heavenly Japanese incense sticks. Lots of cakes, biscuits, chocolates were devoured. That explains why I haven’t been able to post this for a while. I was busy, you see. I wonder when K will embark on the next trip.

If you happen to go to Japan, please don’t miss out on Tokyo Banana (the last picture) – it is a spongy banana-shaped cake with banana-ey goodness inside that makes you go bananas! Seriously. I had to be coaxed into eating the last one because I couldn’t bear to part with them.

Go on. Feel jealous. That was the purpose of the post, anyway.  

Enjoi your weekend 🙂

Day 6: This means a lot to me

Posted on by kismitoffeebar

I just returned from a fabulous dinner of sarson ka saag and makki di roti now. With all my nose and taste buds blocked for a while now, I was really craving for something nice today. And so,

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We went to one of our pet Bengali- Punjabi restaurants and indulged totally! I love makki ki roti and sarson ka saag.  And this really meant a lot to me today 🙂

Labrador National Park (Project National Parks/ Reserves and Project Brunch, Singapore)

Posted on by kismitoffeebar

A few weeks back, K and I went to the Labrador National Park. We have taken it upon ourselves to visit every national park/reserve there is in Singapore and trek every trail as long as we are here. If you haven’t noticed, there is a page I created for this in my header as Project National Park/ Reserve of Singapore.

K and I are also huge fans of brunches. It also just falls in line with our love for excessive and obnoxiously long hours of sleep over weekends. Why I say obnoxious is because, we sleep so late into the day at times that we need all day brunches in Singapore. Yes, we sometimes break our fast at 3 P.M. And then I was like, “Hey! Let’s do this. Let’s go to all brunch places.”. Nobody would need coaxing because with waffles the colour of gold and pancakes that melt in your mouth and egg benedicts that mean sunrise in your world, nobody would want to miss brunches here. Hence, Project Brunch.

It was just nice that we got to kill two birds with one stone when we went to Labrador National Park. We first devoured nature and then promptly settled for something more human except that the food was ambrosial.

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Saying that the weather was amazing will be an understatement. Though a bit humid owing to the beachy locale, we loved being there truly. Spotting random turtles on our way was a bigger plus. If you are here, then I would highly recommend these walks. And honestly, this is what I love about Singapore; not those big malls, though I like them a fair bit too.

We spotted a beautiful cafe (Can you believe I missed the name?) and immediately wanted to try their brunch. It started raining pretty heavily and we could not have found a better place to sit and savour the food. A place where the rain and breeze ever so gently caress your love for life, peals of laughter from a nearby table where girlfriends are meeting up for a surprise birthday party and egg scrambled. And K, ofcourse.

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Honestly, I could do with 4 day weekends.