I am a student, living with my parents in Bombay (ok, New Bombay). I have an allowance and all the produce at home is from the local vegetable guy. I don't have the luxury of buying organic foodstuffs because their price is just sky-high. I have to make do with the resources available to me.
In short, I guess what I am trying to say is that, I cannot afford to be a food snob. I use perfectly normal veggies and flour. So any kind of recipe which requires me to use blue-berries or any other berries, to pay for which I may have to sacrifice an arm and a leg, just gets adapted to fit what I have at home.
So instead of golden syrup, which Nigella uses all the time. I just use honey and sugar syrup. I suspect it is something which tastes like a mixture of the two.
No pecans? Use walnuts.
Of course in India we don't get a million varieties of apples. Just two, red and green. So while baking anything which asks you to use smith apples, just use ones which a hard. The results will not be the same but close.
Living on a budget also puts constraints on where I eat out. I mean I would love to frequent amazing restaurants which use A-grade ingredients, but I can't. Not all the time. So I like places which offer good food at a decent price. Though food is one thing I don't mind spending on, but Bombay can get extremely expensive and till I start earning such luxuries can wait.
Where do you all eat? Any place you would like me to review or eat at?
Firstly, HM Khosla's Pani puri (at sector 17 Vashi near Navratna hotel) is epic. the secret is in his hands I say.
ReplyDeleteBut I think you should try Yazdani cafe at Fort. Its ancient. Known for Apple pies. But since I have never had apple pies apart from here, I don't know if it tastes like it should.
Check it out and maybe we can try making it at home.
Yazdani is fantastic, but I'm not sure if they still do apple pies! If they do, I HAVE to try them soon!
ReplyDelete@paro: HM Khosla is epic no doubt. I have to try lots of cafe's at fort. Maybe I will do an Irani cafe marathon one day with you. As for Apple pies. A lot of what I have had is basically apple cake sandwiched between passable pastry. Not real home-made apple pie. I will try Yazdani though.
ReplyDelete@S: hello! :D I will try them and write a review, it will be like you are here.
Cafe Moshe's near Gateway of India! The best cheesecake in the world!
ReplyDeleteOh no. Moshe's. I know! I have to go there. Never found the time. I have to go there.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.iranichaimumbai.com/
ReplyDeleteLots of them have closed down, like Bastani and Co. but a few like Brittania, Kyani, Yazdani, Army and Military are just hanging on. Koolar in Dadar (oh boy, their black irani chai! Their akuri! *groans*) is doing decently. Sunday morning breakfasts there, fuck man. Anyway, this website should give you a fairly comprehensive list, if you're looking for one.
S: thanks so much. I needed a list so I can plan a day or weekend around it. I have already been to Brittania and Kyani, but I obviously will go again. SO many people don't like to frequent these places as much. It is just old Parsi uncles and a few tourists who may have read about it.
ReplyDelete