The team behind We Are Kerala and Host Brunswick have joined forces to present a series of collaboration dinners, showcasing Indian food from the state of Kerala with a fusion twist.  Mischa Tropp together with Laura Neville create a beautiful 4 course meal, focusing on South Indian flavours and these are matched with curated drinks by the team at Host. The food is dominated by flavours of curry leaves, mustard seeds and coconut, but are complimented with a modern twist to bring them into the fine dining world.

Mischa is of Keralan descent, and both he and Laura have spent time in India learning about ingredients and flavour combinations, which was evident in our meal. Our dining experience commenced with a trio of starters. We were served a passionfruit half with chilli salt, a steamed South Indian rice cake known as idli paired with chickpea and  a parcel of goat’s curd, pickled pumpkin and curry leaf. There were also non vegetarian variants of these dishes, which included chicken liver instead of the chickpea gravy and boarfish to replace the pickled pumpkin. These dishes gave us a taste of what was to come and left us eager for the meal to continue.

The next course was a little more substantial and consisted of two small plates. The first was smoked tomatoes served with coconut, Kashmiri chilli and ruby grapefruit, with the non vegetarians served raw kingfish instead of the smoked tomato. This was a fresh dish, with punchy flavours. The second plate was grilled eggplant served with a spicy sauce made with a spice blend called recheado. There was a slight amount of heat in the recheado, but it warmed the palate up for the next course.

Main course was an array of dishes served on the table, almost like a mini banquet. We received a traditional cabbage curry, known as thoran, an okra pachadi, which is okra in a creamy yogurt based sauce, chickpea curry (or beef fry for the non vegetarians), and ghee rice. We were also served some epic sized pappadums which were amazing. The highlight of this course for me was the okra pachadi. Okra has long been one of my favourite vegetables, and when served in the creamy gravy with the strong flavours of spices, it really was a perfect match. I later found out that the recipe was from Mischa’s mother, so it was no wonder that it tasted so good, everyone knows that mums are the best cooks!

By this time we were getting close to ridiculously full, but we activated our dessert stomachs to enjoy the last course. Served on a ginger sable, was a ball of carrot sorbet (or halwa for the Indians!) coated in goat’s yogurt, and topped with cumin praline. The yogurt cut through the sweetness of the sorbet, and it provided a refreshing end to the meal.

Host provided the perfect surrounds to enjoy this meal and the curated drinks were also carefully thought out. We tried the iced soy chai mocktail, but there were alcoholic options on offer too. We Are Kerala are doing beautiful, creative food and I look forward to seeing what the menu holds at their next collaboration dinner in April! This dinner is already sold out, but keep an eye on the We Are Kerala website and Instagram to see what other delicious adventures they will be involved in.

Note: I was invited to dine at Kerala x Host , however all opinions are entirely my own. 

*A version of this article was first published on The Plus Ones website.

I should start with an apology. Yes, I have been MIA on the blog, but in my defence, I have been away! If you follow me on Instagram, you may have gathered that I was in Mongolia. Yes, you read correctly, Mongolia! Completely random, I know, but so amazing.

When Mongolia was decided as the holiday destination for this year, I had no idea what to expect. I’d like to think of myself as reasonably well travelled through Asia. I’ve been to Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Nepal and India. I can deal (sort of) with heat, I can deal with dust and pollution, I can deal with crowds, and I can definitely deal with Asian food. I had assumed that Mongolia would draw on my past experiences, and fit into my ideas of Asia but I couldn’t be more wrong.

Given the timeframe we were working with (I had three weeks of leave from work), and my lack of Mongolian language skills, we opted to go on a Dragoman tour. Going on tours can often be risky, you might not be able to see the things to you, you might get stuck with annoying people, and basically you don’t have full control of your holiday. But on the flip side, you have someone that organises everything for you, you don’t have to stress about anything, and if you get lucky, you can meet some pretty cool people. I have travelled with Intrepid in China and Peru with no issues, so I was comfortable going with Dragoman. I had actually booked my trip with Intrepid, but later found out that their Mongolian Overland trip was outsourced to Dragoman, but this was no issue.

Dragoman specialise in overland tours. What this means is that you get to travel the country in a huge truck, which is kitted out with all the necessities -  a fridge, some tables, charging points, speakers for music and lots of storage room.  You get to drive around, stopping where you want, and when night falls, you find a good camping spot, set up your tents and stay there for the night. It’s a great way to travel, to really experience the country, and venture off the beaten track.

Every night when we stopped, there was an allocated team that was responsible for cooking dinner. There was a lot of cooking equipment on board, including 4 gas burners, lots of pots and pans, and a well stocked spice box. The truck had previously been travelling through Kyrgyzstan, and there was an Indian on board, who had made sure that a decent selection of spices were purchased. So when a request was made for a curry night, I happily volunteered, knowing that I had ingredients aplenty at my disposal.

Mongolian cuisine is very meat heavy, and when I was travelling through the country I realised that despite the vast grassy plains, growing crops is not something that is common. Perhaps this is because of the harsh climate where it snows for a significant part of the year, but it means that most of the time vegetables are not even available, especially in the rural areas. On the night I was going to cook, the only vegetables I had access to were potatoes, onions, garlic, and some canned peas and canned tomatoes.

Based on what I had to work with, I decided to make a potato curry, or as the Bengalis would call it, alu’r dom. This is a curry I have grown up with as a child. My Sunday lunches were filled with alu’r dom, served with luchi or puri, and I would always try and outdo myself and eat more than my body could handle. The curry was always delicious, and as a result, I was apprehensive of whether my curry would even get close to the standards that came out of my mum’s kitchen. On top of that, I was to cook in a makeshift kitchen in the middle of Mongolia, for 23 people, with a significant amount of improvising. Still, I was really missing being in a kitchen and cooking, so I was eager to give it a go!

Much to my delight, the curry was a bit hit! I served it with rice, and yogurt sauce (raita) and by the end of the meal, the pot was scraped clean! Perhaps it was the fact that we were starving, but it was nice to know that my curry tasted good. Perhaps a little bit of my mum’s talent and ability to improvise in the kitchen has rubbed off onto me!

Below is the recipe of the alu’r dom that I made. I’ve included variations, which can be adapted depending on what ingredients you have on hand.

Potato and pea curry (Serves 4 - 5)

Ingredients:

1kg potatoes, scrubbed clean, and cut into 1 - 2 inch cubes (skin on)
2 tbs oil
1/4 stick cinnamon
2 cloves
2 cardomom pods
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 dried chilli
2 large, ripe tomatoes, chopped, or the equivalent in canned tomatoes
1 handful of fresh or frozen peas
1 large onion, either sliced thinly, or grated (or put through a food processor)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp chilli powder (or more if you like it hot!)
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 cup yogurt, coconut milk or cream
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Boil all the potatoes in water until they are cooked. Drain and allow to cool. Once cool, peel them and set aside. It is important to boil them with their skins, so that they don't fall apart.

2. Heat oil in a large pan. Once the oil is hot add the cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom pods, cumin seeds and dried chilli.

3. When the seeds start spluttering (should take less than a minute), add the onion and garlic. Fry this mixture off until the raw onion is cooked off. If you have grated the onion, this will be difficult to tell, but estimate about 5 mins. (Grating the onion will mean that the gravy will be nicer).

4. Add the tomatoes and mix well.

5. Add the boiled potato and continue to mix gently, being careful not to break the potatoes up.

6. Add the ground spices, turmeric, chilli powder and cumin and make sure they are combined through the curry.

7. Add the yogurt, salt and sugar. At this point it would be wise to taste, and make sure that the flavours are balanced. Adjust if something seems out of whack - add more tomato and cumin if it is too sweet, more sugar if the tomato taste is too predominant, etc.

8. Allow to simmer for 10 - 15 mins. If there is too much gravy remove the lid to the liquid can evaporate. If it seems to dry, add water and cover.

9. Serve with rice, roti, puri or naan bread 

And as a final note, put Mongolia on your travel wishlist. The food there isn’t very good, but the country and the landscape is seriously awesome.

Taste of Taj is our local Indian joint, and lucky for us it's always delicious! I guess it has to be, given that it's in a Clayton strip that's filled with other Indian places, but Taste of Taj is always the busiest. Last night, my mum randomly suggested that we should go out for dinner there, and who was I to disagree!

Usually when I go, I always have a thali meal which consists of rice, naan, 2 vegetarian curries (a dhal, and one curry of your choice), raita and pickles, all for a measly $10, but last night I decided to break tradition and have gobi paratha instead.

Gobi paratha is one of my favourites. The cauliflower is grated into the dough, and flat breads are rolled out and cooked in the tandoor oven to give it that smokey flavour. This was served with pickles, raita and butter. I never eat the butter, but I demolished the raita and pickles.

Taste of Taj is a trusty local option where the food never disappoints!

I've been bogged down with a cold since the end of last week, and I finally decided my body had to stop and have a proper rest, so I decided to take a day off work. Unfortunately days off from work very rarely involve rest for me, instead they are filled with errands, and getting tasks done that cannot be completed on the weekends. One this day off, my mum also suggested that we go out for brunch, and she specifically requested that we go to Gold Sweets and Chaat in Glenhuntly. This place had been highly recommended by a friend of mine, and had long been on my list to check out. 

As per most Indian suburban restaurants, this place was a little shop front on Glenhuntly Rd, flanked by other Indian restaurants on either side. It clearly had some competition! But it was the 'chaat' in the shop's name that won me over. Chaat is Indian street food, and it is amazing! Think spicy, tangy flavours, engulfing the crunch of beaten rice, or the softness of boiled potatoes, all eaten on the busy streets of Kolkata, with Bollywood music blaring from radio speakers. I couldn't think of a better way to eat food!

A scan of the menu and I knew I was in for a treat. There were so many things to choose from, but I couldn't go passed the pav bhaji. Pav is a bread roll, that is toasted and smeared with butter, and bhaji is a potato and pea mixture that is slightly running in consistency, full of flavour from a special spice blend, and then unapologetically dripping with butter. The idea is that you put the bhaji in the pav and eat it like a sandwich, bit by bit.

The Gold version of pav bhaji was delicious. I imagine everything else on the menu is too!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a recipe (possible the first one on this blog!) so I thought I would put this one up! It was a bit of an experimental recipe to use up an excess of capsicums bought cheap at the market, and it was a complete winner – quick and delicious!

Ingredients:

2 capsicums, cut into fairly large pieces, say about 1.5cm x 1.5cm

1 onion, chopped into large chunks

4 tbs oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

A sprig of curry leaves

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 tbs besan flour (chickpea flour, and can be found at all Indian grocers)

Pinch of turmeric powder

Chilli powder to taste

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

Salt to taste

Coriander leaves, chopped, half a bunch or so

1. Heat the oil in a kadai (or wok/skillet/frying pan).
2. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and wait for them to splutter.
3. When mustard seeds have popped, add the curry leaves and the cumin seeds and brown them. This should take about a minute.
4. Add the onions and fry until they are soft and translucent. Add the salt too.
5. Add the besan flour and stir constantly until the flour is browned. The should end up as a crumb like consistency.
6. Add the remaining spices and the capsicum, and mix through. Allow the capsicum to cook, tossing regularly. Do not put a lid on the pan, this will make the capsicum so soft and soggy. The capsicum should end up slightly charred, but not too soft.
7. Add the coriander leaves, mix through and remove from the heat.

This is is great served hot with rice, or any Indian breads, and also tastes great the next day!

I adore Indian food, which is probably a good thing since we have it just about every night! But in particular I love Indian street food, or chaat as it is known in India. Unfortunately I don't get this as often, and in any case, it can never taste as good as it does on the side of the road in India, made by a guy with dirty hands and non purified tamarind water! Nevertheless, I never cease to try and replicate that taste sensation at home. While it's never the same, this pav bhaji recipe comes close...


Pav bhaji is basically a curried vegetable roll. The filling, or bhaji, is made fom all sorts of vegetables and flavoured with beautiful, pungent spices that absorb into the mixture. The pav, or Indian equivalent of a bread roll, is a small white bread roll, but usually quite sweet, similar in taste to a Maccas burger bun, which is coated in butter or ghee and lightly toasted. Combined, the two make a party in your mouth happen...


Ingredients (makes about 16 small rolls):


3 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters

1 large carrot, peeled and cut into a simialr size to the potato

1 tbs oil

1/2 cup capsicum, finely chopped

Finely chopped chilli (optional, if you like it hot)

1/2 cup peas

1/2 cup corn kernels

1 tsp minced ginger

1 cup diced tomatoes

1 heaped tbs pav bhaji masala (this can be bought at any Indian grocery store)

1 tsp butter

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp chilli powder

Salt to taste

Lemon juice and finely sliced onions to serve


1. Boil the potatoes and carrots, and then mash them.

2. Heat the oil in a kadai. Once it is hot, add the capsicum and chilli and saute. After a minute, add the ginger and continue sauteing.

3. Add the tomatoes and mix well. Allow to cook until the tomatoes have become soft.

4. Add the chilli powder, turmeric and pav bhaji masala and mix well.

5. Add the peas and corn to this mixture.

6. Lastly, add the mashed vegetables, butter and salt. All the mixture to cook well, so the flavours can combine properly together. The mixture should be a thick, paste like consistency. If it is too dry, add some water; if it is too runny, allow it to cook on a high heat so that it dries off. Keep tasting the mixture to make sure it is the right balance of tangy (tomatoes) and spicy (pav bhaji masala). Once done, remove from the heat.

7. Take the bread rolls, cut them in half and smear the inside and outside with butter or margaring and put them in an oven to toast lightly. This can also be done on a non stick frying pan or tawa on the stove.

8. Once the bread is done, fill it with the pav bhaji mix and a squeeze of lemon juice. If you like, raw onions can also be added.

Note: I didn't have the correct bread rolls, so I just used wholemeal rolls we had in the fridge. Works just as well!

I love South Indian food, and I love rice. Makes sense really, given all the different sorts of rice the South Indians make. Lemon rice, tamarind rice, curd rice, the list is endless. One of my favourites though is tomato rice. It’s quick, easy and tastes amazing. It usually takes me only about 15 minutes to put together using left over rice from the night before, and the result is some amazing comfort food.

Ingredients (serves 1 – coz I eat a lot!):

250g tomatoes, diced (I usually use a punnet of cherry tomatoes, which have been halved)
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 dried chillies
6 or 7 curry leaves
1 whole black cardamom (bara elachi)
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp chilli powder
Salt to taste
1 cup of rice, cooked
1 tbs oil

1. Heat the oil in a kadai.

2. Once oil is heated, temper it with the mustard seeds, dried chilli, curry leaves and cardamom pod for about 30 secs.

3. Add the chopped tomatoes and mix well until the mixture has become mushy.

4. Add the garam masala, chilli powder and salt and mix thoroughly.

5. Add the cooked rice and remove from the heat. Mix the rice and tomato mixture well so that all the rice is coated.

6. Serve hot with yogurt.