Baked Mediterranean Vegetables - Chef's Signature recipe from Twenty.21

Baked Mediterranean vegetables with light tomato and cheese sauce- Mediterranean vegetables like olives, crougettes, peppers tossed in tomato sauce and topped with white sauce and aged cheddar cheese and gratinated in oven

Ingredients
For the Baked vegetables

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red capsicum, chopped
2 zucchinis, sliced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 tbsp tomato pasta sauce
2 tbsp white sauce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
¼ teaspoon salt
2 small aubergines, cut into 2.5cm chunks
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil (extra)
50g vegetarian Parmesan, finely grated

For the White sauce
2 cups milk
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp vegetarian Cheddar, coarsely grated
1/2 tsp white pepper powder

To make the white sauce, melt butter in a heavy-bottomed pan and stir in the flour.Cook for four to six
minutes over low heat till fragrant. Whisk in the milk till smooth. Cook for 4-5 minutes, Stirring
continuously, till the sauce thickens.Add salt and white pepper powder and mix well. Add grated cheese
and mix well. You can cool and store this too.

Preparation

Heat oil in a saucepan and sauté onion, capsicum, eggplant and zucchini until soft. Add mushrooms and sauté for 1 minute. Stir through pasta sauce, basil and salt. Heat through. Add 2-3 tbsp white sauce. Pour mixture into a oven proof casserole dish.  
Sprinkle it all with the Parmesan cheese and bake in a moderate oven, 180ºC, for 30 minutes or until
golden and bubbling. Serve with garlic bread and salad.

I was invited to review "Twenty.21" which is famous for its European and Mediterranean cuisine!

As the world grows more digital, borders blend, horizons flatten, degrees of separation become
tighter and we all see ourselves in a global melting pot. With experiences from the Spanish coast to
the Mediterranean seas, the European continent has some wonderful culinary traditions to offer our
palate. Twenty.21 brings you a veritable medley of European cuisine that transcends borders – all
thanks to the immense love that we have for continental food today.
From the smoked ham, to the use of organic vegetables, to stuffed poultry, to melting mozzarella
pizzas and finally to mouth-watering fresh pasta, They offer everything your taste buds could
desire.

Parveen Kumar - Executive Chef - Continental Kitchen (Twenty.21)

Chef Parveen Kumar started his promising career with the Oberoi Group of Hotels. His career
spanned 4 years of working under the supervision of a Michelin-star awarded English chef.
He then moved to London to work as sous chef in a top seafood restaurant within Sheraton Hotel.
He also worked with the legendary Chef Pascal Proyart – listed as one of the top 10 chefs in the U.K.
– specializing in contemporary French fine dining and seafood. Chef Parveen then tried his hand at
molecular gastronomy as well before finally zeroing in on his skills as a continental food specialist.
He is truly the master of his culinary domain.

These are some of his other Signature recipes which he had prepared for us with lots of care!

Watermelon and feta cheese salad-Chilled slices of watermelon layered with feta cheese, mint and extra virgin olive oil and finished with balsamic treacle

Apple and beetroot salad with rucola and goat cheese-Roasted beetroot, green apple and goat cheese tossed in redwine vinegar dressing and topped with rocket lettuce and balsamic reduction

Roasted pumpkin and rosemary soup with crème fraiche-Soup made with oven roasted pumpkin and rosemary and finished with sour cream. This soup have very little amount of cream unlike other soup.

 

 

Cream of broccoli with toasted almond-Fresh broccoli soup has a good flavor of broccoli which is well complimented with the nutty flavor of almonds

 

Assorted bread basket

Starters I picked up from the Buffet table for my daughter- Corn fritters!

Mushroom and Risotto croquettes with creamy tomato dip

Mushroom duxelle with garlic bread-Chopped mushroom cooked in white wine, cream and Parmesan cheese served with garlic bread

Med platter veg-Assorted dips from Mediterranean region (hummus, babaganoush, tomato onion relish, guacamole) served with freshly made pita bread

Gnocchi with sun dried tomatoes, pesto and cream-Freshly made potato gnocchi tossed in pesto sauce, sun dried tomatoes and olives

Baked cheese cake with fig compote-Cream cheese cake baked in oven and flavoured with lemon zest (slightly) and served with fig compote

Tiramisu-Classic Italian dessert which is layered with mascarpone cheese, khalua and coffee.

 

These desserts are served during lunch buffet !

Treat to the eyes:)

 

This one is for me and my daughter:) 

The Decor and Ambiance is kept simple and elegant.

Twenty.21 has Awesome food  which one should definitely try. The prices are very reasonable and the best part is the food right from breads, salads, to soups everything is served very fresh. Being a vegan I had many choices and did not feel like I was compromising.  For more details on the restaurant visit http://www.orangetomato.net/

Shahi Paneer a Royal Delicacy!

Shahi paneer is a Royal delicacy of paneer  in a thick, creamy and slightly spicy gravy of tomato, onion and cashew nuts paste. 

 

 

Ingredients

 

200 grams of Paneer-cubed

3 tbsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 small Onions, finely copped

2 Tomatoes- pureed

2 tsp Ginger garlic paste

1 Green Chili slit lengthwise

1 tsp Cumin Powder

1 tsp Coriander Powder

1 tsp Garam Masala

¾ cup Cashew Pieces

1 cup Milk

1 to 1 1/2 cup Water

Salt to taste

2-4 sprigs of Coriander / mint , finely chopped for garnishing

 

Preparation

 

Soak the cashew nuts in milk for about 15 minutes.

Heat 2 tbsp Oil in a pan on medium heat. Add cumin seeds and let it splutter.

Add Onions and fry until slightly golden.

Add Ginger-Garlic paste and Green Chilli and cook for 1 minute.

Add Tomato puree and stir well and cook until oil separates.

While Onions/Tomato mixture is cooking, blend soaked Cashew nuts and milk in a blender until smooth.

Once Onion/Tomato mixture is ready, add Cumin powder, Coriander powder and garam masala and mix well. Add cashew nuts and milk mixture and mix well. There should be no lumps in the gravy. The heat should be on low as the gravy will thicken fast. Add water, Salt and bring to boil.

While waiting for the gravy to boil, slightly sauté cubed paneer in 1 tbsp oil, on medium to high heat in a non-stick pan.

Once paneer is slight golden brown in color, drain excess oil.

Once gravy comes to a boil, add in paneer and mix.

Garnish with fresh coriander, mint or additional broken cashews.

If you like thicker or thinner gravy, adjust the amount of water accordingly.

Serve warm with Rotis or Naan.

Bliss Luxury Chocolates - Review

"The Mayans believed chocolate to be the food of the Gods, and our veneration of chocolate is nothing less!" is what the creators of Bliss Chocolates have to say.

Bliss is India's first luxury chocolate brand and has brought the first Chocolate Lounge to India.They are dedicated to crafting exquisite handmade European chocolates & desserts. The first Chocolate Lounge was launched with great success at the Whitefield Forum Value Mall in Bangalore, India in June, 2009.
The Founders of Bliss chocolates are NRIs from Australia who have vast experience in a variety of fields ranging from the Hospitality Industry to Finance, IT and HR. Founded in 2008, Bliss currently has four lounges across the city – the Bliss Luxe Lounge in UB City, the Bliss Lounge at Mantri Square, Bliss Chocolate Lounge at Forum Mall and Forum Value Mall.

I and my dear friend Sweatha of  "Tasty curry leaf" were invited to the lounge for a review and how blissful is that!! 

Bliss is a premium brand that creates unique Luxury Chocolates, Cakes and Desserts. Their raw chocolate is sourced from all around the world and Their recipes are unique and created by world renowned chocolatiers and patisseries.

It was truly a blissful treat to our eye and soul. I loved the chilly and Masala chai flavor and my daughter loved strawberry flavoured chocolates:)



 The Bliss executives greeted us very warmly with these lovely spread of chocolates and desserts. We were served  Balloon brownie -A chocolate balloon over the brownie sizzles in front of you once the hot chocolate is poured over, Belgian Chocolate Truffle Cake, Chocolate mousse cake, a Chocolate Marquise -A dessert that has dark chocolate mousse layered by chocolate brownie  and chocolates with signature flavours like Rum truffle, Cardamom, Raspberry, Strawberry  Masala Chai, Cumin, Praline passion, Pina colada, Almond Sensation, Cinnamon, Honey ginger, Hazelnut and many more..

Blue berry mousse layered with vanilla sponge and topped with blueberry puree, Strawberry Mousse Cake, Mango Passion- A mixture of mango and passion fruit yogurt based dessert for the fruity lovers.

The Belgian Chocolate Truffle cake which had sponge cake layers stuffed with Belgian Chocolate Ganache is completely eggless.

They also have sugar free chocolates. Diabetics and weight watchers can now enjoy without guilt the sugar free range of chocolate bars, in which sugar has been substituted with Maltitol.

They have lovely Gifting ideas and hampers in their website.

Bliss also has launched its new range of gourmet boutique breads at Gourmet West at the Forum Mall, Koramangala, Bangalore. Gourmet West has got multigrain breads, burger buns, Whole Wheat breads, lavash, bread sticks, muffins, croissants, tea cakes and much more!!

It was truly a blissful journey into the world of chocolates especially when you get to taste Indian flavours in a chocolate!

DISCLAIMER: All the views in this post are my own and done by tasting the product. This is not a paid review.