Cakes n Chemistry, Mulund - Cool Place to Hangout - Restaurant Review

If I am allowed to say this.. Mulund has very less happening places to eat and hangout. Cakes n Chemistry is one of the few ones. I have stayed in Mulund for 25 years, the way this suburb has evolved is commendable. With Tea Villa Cafe and Cakes n Chemistry, it is surely transforming into a happening place. Cakes n Chemistry is a hidden cafe for youngsters in and around Mulund. Not just youngsters, even the 30s like me would enjoy.

Chocolate Fondue

Food - Innovative Desserts

It has some finger-licking menu to make you drool. Some cool Pastas, Burgers and French Rolls. Desserts are not to be missed. I did just that. Didn’t miss the dessert. I pounced on the Chocolate Fondue. The candle, liquid chocolate, little hearts to dip, wafer stick to swipe, oreo biscuits divided into 2 to dunk and of course small pieces of cake to prick and eat. What else can you ask for in a Fondue. But for a chocolate lover like me, who prefers the real taste of the chocolate plus some sweetness, the Fondue was way too sweet. With the props surrounding the fondue waiting to be dunked, it turned to be sweeter. So after few dips and dunks, I was put off the dessert all together. But to try some uniqueness in their food and approach, you got to taste some more delicacies that they serve.

Ambience and Service

Couch for Friends/Couples

The seating area is sadly hidden in the upper floor. Someone passing by from outside the cafe wouldn’t even know that upper floor exists. The main store display an array of cakes making the place look more like a Monginis and Brownie Point. But Cakes n Chemistry is hell more than them. Interiors and Music both contribute to an awesome experience for the foodie. Shape of You, Wine Slow were some of the tracks that were played. The couch for a bunch of friends or even lovers is a good section at the small cafe to relax. Currently accommodating 6 to 7 tables, this place might soon need a bigger space soon as it’s popularity grows. 

A good place to visit with best buddies for cool hangout and good food.

Pizza Hut Reviews - Inorbit Mall, Malad - Head for Pizza only!

It is a weekday, a not so busy afternoon and hungry hour of the day. I hopped into Pizza Hut in Inorbit Mall, Malad. I have been here a dozen times earlier and gulped down dozen pizzas. This time I decided to ditch the famous Pizza at this brand place.

So, I opted for a Cheesy Jalapeno Poppers, Cheese Alfredo Chicken Pasta and Belgian Choco Milkshake. And looks like chefs often mess up with food they are not known for.

Poppers were fine. A bit on spicy side though, but bearable spicy. They were served with Chilli Mayo.

The Pasta seemed like they were sun-dried. Some of the Fusilli Pasta hardly had any sauce over them. A little more sauce would have made my day better. Chicken were added in the form of Sausages. Well, I was expecting soft-yet-chewy Chicken pieces. The 2 toasts alongside the Pasta were terribly toasted. Looks like it forgot to pop out of the toaster at the right time.

The Belgian Choco Milkshake was may be prepared by a first timer. If you serve lesser chocolate in a chocolate milkshake to a chocolate lover (Ok that was a lot of Chocolate), the chocolate lover will go into depression! You cannot make this mistake! Lesser chocolate?? Least expected after paying Rs.169. The Crooked Spiral presentation of Chocolate Syrup wasn’t enticing either. May be that was indeed done by a first timer :(

A dried Pasta, burnt toast an be excused. But lesser chocolate, Noo!
Anything besides Pizza at Pizza Hut is surely not recommended.

Oats Green Poha Recipe

Well technically this shouldn’t be called a poha because it’s made of oats. But we have to name it with something familiar to those home cooks who want to cook healthy. So here is an all healthy oats green poha made of plain oats, coriander leaves and more.

Oats Green Poha Ingredients
You can easily guess most of its ingredients. But the measurements are most important.

Oats Green Poha Ingrediants

Serves 2-3 people

2 cup roasted Oats

1/2 cup moderately sliced onion

1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste (adhrak lasun)

1/2 cup finely sliced potato

1/4 cup raw/roasted/boiled peanuts (seeng)

1/4 cup green peas (matar/vatana)

1/2 cup ground coriander leaves (dhaniya pattha)

4-5 curry leaves

2 small green chillies

1/2 lemon

1 teaspoon oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds (rai)

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)

Salt to taste

How to make Oats Green Poha

Heat oil in a Kadai.

Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds one after the other.

Add onion and ginger-garlic paste.

Add potato, mix and add water enough to cook the potato slices.

When half cooked, add peanuts if you are using raw. If roasted or boiled it can be added later.

Add green peas and mix.

When the ingredients are cooked, add haldi powder, green chillies, curry leaves, salt. Add the peanuts now if roasted or boiled.

After few seconds of mixing, add coriander leaves paste and mix well.

Yet after another few seconds of mixing add roasted oats, lemon juice and water (if required)

Note: Add less water to make it less mushy.

Mix it well and your Oats Green Poha is ready to eat.

Oats Green Poha Ready!

If you try out this recipe, do let me know in the comments.
Till then, keep cooking, continue eating!

Vermicelli Vegetable Upma Recipe

We are so fond of Vermicelli Kheer. A simple mixup with milk and sugar makes it a delicious dessert. But instead if you are looking forward for a quick bite with evening tea or coffee, then Vermicelli Upma is an ideal dish to dwell in. Add some vegetables into it and make it a healthier option.

Vermicelli Vegetable Upma Ingredients
Serves 3-4 people

2 cup roasted Vermicelli

1/2 cup moderately sliced onion

1/4 cup moderately sliced tomato

1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste (adhrak lasun)

1/2 cup finely sliced capsicum

1/4 cup green peas (matar/vatana)

1/2 cup ground coriander leaves (dhaniya pattha)

4-5 curry leaves

2 small green chillies

1/2 lemon

1 teaspoon oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds (rai)

1/2 teaspoon urad dal

1/2 teaspoon chana dal

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)

Salt to taste

How to make Vermicelli Vegetable Upma

Boil Water in a deep pan. Put off the flame, add Vermicelli and a pinch of salt. Cover with lid for 5 minutes. Then drain all water and keep aside.

Heat oil in a Kadai.

Add mustard seeds, urad dal and chana dal one after the other.

Add onion and ginger-garlic paste. Saute for a min on high flame

Add capsicum and green peas. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes on medium flame with closed lid. Add few teaspoons of water if required

When the ingredients are almost cooked, add haldi powder, green chillies, curry leaves, salt.

After few seconds, add the Vermicelli and mix well

Put off the flame and add coriander leaves

Mix it well and your Vermicelli Vegetable Upma is ready to eat.
If you try out this recipe, do let me know in the comments.
Till then, keep cooking, continue eating!

California Pizza Kitchen Review – Infiniti 2

Burdened with load of work,
Looking at desktop screen like a jerk,
On a Friday already feeling sickened,
I stepped into California Pizza Kitchen.

Alright, that was a lame one. But that exactly described my Friday morning at work. To turn the day into something better, I stepped into California Pizza Kitchen in Infiniti 2 mall on link road, malad. I knew only a pizza can apply some cheese on my disturbed brain. There goes a lame one again!
CPK is surely a place that a pizza lover shouldn’t miss. This Italian cuisine can be made so creatively and eaten without getting your stomach full within the first few bites here, unlike other pizza restaurants. After going through a long list of pizzas, I landed over Kasturi Paneer Pizza which was quietly hiding in veggies section. Not that the chics have ever betrayed me, but I prefer paneer over any live food. After finalizing the pizza, I went on for some beverage. The red drink couldn’t slip away from my eye balls. And I ordered a cranberry juice with the kasturi paneer pizza.

After a couple of scrolls and thumb clicks on my phone, the glass full of cranberry juice appeared. Not being able to control my sense I pounced over the straw and took small sips. Then I realised I haven’t taken a pic for you readers. Here it goes…

Alright my whole purpose of ordering the beverage was to complement my pizza bites. But the pizza was nowhere seen for the next 15 minutes. I just wished that my pizza arrives before I need to order another glass of red juice. Finally it arrived with a big knife raising one of the pieces. I was like Ohh, now I eat away the plate, knife, pizza whatever has appeared in front of me.

But like the most disciplined child, I quietly lifted the piece of pizza and placed it on my plate. The thin crust pizza with kasturi tossed paneer, tomatoes, bell peppers, coriander leaves and lots of cheese as toppings made me drool at the first glance. Here’s the glance so that you can drool too 🙂

After this moment all I did was bite and sip. Pleasingly, the drink lasted till my last piece of pizza. The courteous men at the California Pizza Kitchen did make sure to ask me how was my meal. Well that made the whole experience better.

Now was the time when I had to let my wallet loose. After an awesome pizza, I wouldn’t mind that though. There came the cheque and 2 feedback forms. But surprisingly no ink! Was I supposed to give the feedback through the fork dipped in my blood? So the feedback never reached them on the paper. But being a blogger, I do not need a paper and pen.

My Rating: 4 out of 5

California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) review

Thumbs up for:
Huge list of choices. I had a hard time in selecting the one.
No compromise on taste. I couldn’t resist licking my finger at the end.
Quick feedback on the table. The gentlemen do not miss out asking about how was your meal.
Few turn downs:
Waiting period quite long for a pizza. If you are in a hurry think of some other place, as this CPK is the place of taste.
Feedbacks are on the tongue but not on paper.
Prices on the higher end, but worth the experience.

Basic Veggie Toast Recipe with left-over bread

So you bought a huge pack of bread slices. Had 70% of it. Now the rest of the slices are waiting in the refrigerator to become part of your meal. Ohh! Don’t do that to your bread. Don’t make them wait any longer. Here’s a simple recipe for your evening bites.
This is the recipe for toasts made of 3-4 bread slices. Serves 1-2 people.

 

Ingredients for Veggie Toast:

• 1 small sized Onion
• 1 small sized Tomato
• 1 tea spoon Ginger paste
• Half bowl Coriander leaves
• Half teaspoon Vinegar
• 3-4 white or brown Bread slices
• 1 teaspoon Oil
• Tomato ketchup

Veggie Toast Recipe:

• Fry long sliced onions in oil.
• Add finely chopped tomato and ginger paste.
• Fry till onions and tomatoes are cooked.
• Put off the gas and add chopped Coriander leaves & Vinegar and let it cook in the leftover heat.
• Keep the topping mixture aside.
• Let the bread slices enjoy a heated pan till they turn golden and hard.
• Cut the slices diagonally and fill it with your toppings.

Add cheese if desired. But if you worry about those extra flabs, just like me, enjoy them with ketchup on the top.

Chocolate Cake Recipe made of Bourbon Biscuits

“Baking a cake needs hell lot of work” – This would not be your opinion anymore. Here’s a simple chocolate cake recipe which can be created with the minimal efforts and a packet of bourbon biscuits. The biscuits contain maida, choco powder and sugar, hence your ingredients list for the chocolate cake recipe gets shortened and measurement cups need not be used.

Source: bbc.co.uk

Find below the Bourbon Biscuit Chocolate Cake Recipe. Do read the tips at the bottom before you start preparing your yummy cake:

Bourbon Biscuit Chocolate Cake Recipe Ingredients:

• 2 packets of bourbon biscuits
•  1 cup milk
•  1 spoon baking powder
•  1 egg
•  Half tea spoon Oil
• Chocolate sauce
•  Icing cream (cone)

Bourbon Biscuit Chocolate Cake Recipe:

• Crush the bourbon biscuits finely in Grinder and beat the egg
•  Pour the milk and beaten egg into the crushed biscuits
• Beat the mixture well for several minutes
•  Add the baking powder and mix again
•  Grease the cake vessel with oil
•  Pour the cake mix and bake in the oven
• To check whether the cake is baked properly, take a knife and insert into the cake. If the cake comes out clean, then it is done with baking
•  Allow the cake to cool down for 5-10 minutes
•  Remove the cake from the vessel by inverting the vessel
• Put chocolate sauce all over the cake. Spread with blunt knife or spoon if necessary
• Refrigerate it for 30-40 minutes
• Decorate it with the icing cream (if you wish)

Tips for Bourbon Biscuit Chocolate Cake Recipe:

•   After crushing the biscuits do not forget to double check if it is finely crushed
•  Keep your milk measurement based on how creamy the cake mix becomes. Do not restrict to 1 cup as mentioned in the recipe. The cake mix should be creamy enough to spill from the spoon easily.
•   Preferably beat the mixture with a blender. Mixing with your hand could be tiring.
•  Greasing the vessel with oil is necessary so that the cake comes out of the vessel easily after inverting it
•  If you are baking the cake in the microwave oven, then be sure to use Borossil glass bowl or any microwave safe bowl.
•  As the cake mixture will expand while getting baked, pour the cake mixture according to the size of the bowl so that it has space to expand and doesn’t spill out of the bowl.

Here are some yummy chocolate cakes which you can make:

Source: cookisses.blogspot.in

Source: food.uk.msn.com

Source: berries.com

Chinese Cheese Pizza Recipe

Pizza is something from which we can’t stay away for too long. Instead of waiting for 30 minutes and wishing for a free pizza, why not make one at home.Although that needs some hardwork, it’s really worth. Here’s the recipe for chinese cheese pizza. Below given image is not the one for Chinese Cheeze pizza. It's just an image to crave you for a pizza ;)

Source: Mainlinepizzaquest.blogspot.com

 
Ingredients for Chinese Cheese Pizza:

• 1 Pizza bread
• half teaspoon Butter

For Toppings:

• 1 small onion
• 1 small capsicum
• half tomato
• half cup Boneless Chicken pieces / Paneer cubes
• 1 tsp Vinegar
• 1 tsp Tomato Sauce
• 3/4th tsp Soya sauce
• 2 tsp Oil
• salt to taste
• half cup pizza cheese (mozarella)

How to make chinese cheese pizza:

For toppings:

• Heat oil in a pan
• Add onion and saute till half translucent
• Add tomato and capsicum and saute till half cooked
• Add chicken pieces (for non-veg pizza) / Paneer (for veg pizza)
• Saute till all ingredients are cooked
• Add vinegar, soya sauce, tomato sauce and salt and mix well
• And the topping for your chinese cheese pizza is ready.

Prepare the Chinese Cheese Pizza:

• Spread the butter on pizza bread and grill in microwave oven till it turns golden brown
• Remove the pizza bread from oven and spread the cooked topping on the pizza
• Grate the pizza cheese over the pizza
• Grill the pizza in oven till the paneer melts and turn golden

Tips while preparing chinese cheese pizza:

• Do not fully cook the vegetables in the toppings. Let it be 99% cooked :P
• Do not add too much oil to the topping, it might spoil the pizza taste
• Let the chicken pieces/paneer pieces be very small

Sabudana Vada Recipe

Be it a fast or just a way to celebrate the weekend, sabudana vada is one of the tempting snack for all. Here goes the Sabudana vada recipe for the tasty snack made at my kitchen .. Archana' s Kitchen :)

source:slurrpy.com

Ingrediants:

1. 1 cup sabudana
2. 1 cup water
3. 1 big potato
4. 2-3 green chillies
5. 1/2 cup coriander leaves
6. salt to taste
7. 2 cups oil

Recipe of sabudana vada:

1. Wash Sabudana with water thoroughly 2-3 times.
2. Soak Sabudana for 3-4 hours in water.
3. Boil and smash the potato
4. Finely chop green chillies and coriander leaves
5. Mix smashed potato, chopped green chillies, chopped coriander leaves and sabudana
6. Add salt to taste
7. Add water to make it slightly thin
8. Make small cutlets from the mixture and deep fry in oil until it turns golden brown in color.

Tips while making Sabudana vada recipe:

1. Do not add too much water and make the mixture very thin, as you'll not be able to give shape to the thin matter.
2. Heat the sabudana vada in medium flame. On high flame, the outer part of the vada gets brown, although the inner matter remains raw.
3. As the sabudana vada will be very oily use tissue paper to remove some oil. But put the vada on the tissue paper only after the sabudana vada cools down slightly.
4. Serve the vadas with tomato sauce or coriander leaves chutney.