Making Maki at Meisei (Sushi 101)

To constantly learn is to constantly evolve into something higher, stronger and better.  In my own quest of learning new, wondrous things about food, I have resorted to the online world most of the times. But sometimes, you need that hand holding especially when it comes to learning a new cuisine. Japanese has been and will be my most favourite cuisine outside of Indian cuisine ( ofcourse!).  Few weeks back, I was invited to a ‘Maki ‘ assembling demo at Meisei which I gladly accepted because I wasn’t going to pass up such a wonderful opportunity to learn how to make Maki from an experienced Chef such as Chef Micheal Sang -Kyu Lee.

Source: Google image

Meisei in Adliya, opened in early 2013 and offers its diners a combination of gourmet  Asian flavours and an elegant surrounding to enjoy them. The diverse Japanese-Korean-Chinese fusion menu is prepared by top chefs to create an exceptional dining experience, with dishes that offer an interpretation of modern Asian cuisine that can be enjoyed across cultures. When I reached Meisei on a boiling Wednesday afternoon, I was too exhausted from the heat. But the cool interiors and the smiling staff put me in a good mood instantly. They were just about to begin the demo and I realized I had the company of  5 other ladies who looked very eager to learn.

Chef Micheal has a sense of humour that put us all in great mood. I wasn’t overly intimidated to learn how to roll the Maki but his easy -going manner definitely helped enjoy the task more. I observed that we had a table with prepared ingredients in front of us and all we had to do is to assemble the Maki. That was so simple!

I underestimated.

Japanese is a cuisine of refined, subtle and balanced flavours. Other than the Wasabi’s pungent, powerful attack on the senses, nothing else really screams for attention. It is almost like sitting in meditation and enjoying  ‘being in the moment‘.

  The demo began with Chef Micheal explaining to us about the important elements of Maki – making:

1. The balance of flavours is key

2. Prepare in advance – chop the vegetables/ fruits/ fish/ into  julienne and ready to use

3. It is the rice that lends all the real flavour to the Maki ( The cooking of the rice wasn’t included in the demo. It was provided to us, ready to use)

4. Finally, the most important element is to be gentle and subtle with your fingers. (Chef Micheal had an funny trivia to share about his own Maki making experience where he said it makes his wife very jealous when she watches her Chef husband handling the Maki  with such tender care and love). So that is how nimble -fingered one has to be while attempting to learning this art of great finesse.

Uramaki – rice on the outside and the seaweed paper and filling on the inside

We tried creating two types of Maki –

1. The hand roll – which is the regular Maki has the Nori( seaweed paper) on the outside and the rice and the filling vegetables/fish inside

2. Uramaki – (the inside out roll) – This is the type of Maki with the rice on the outside and Nori ( seaweed paper) and the filling of avocados/cucumber/ cooked white fish on the inside

I followed Chef Micheal’s instructions very carefully and tried to emulate his actions but obviously as a first timer, my Maki was not the best. But I enjoyed working with my hands.

Making Maki is like craft. 

But like all craft, Maki demands its share of practice and intuition.

Chef Micheal has collected in his culinary repertoire, a world of experience ( literally). His Maki flavours are reminiscent of the different cultures and of different nations that he has worked in. All the flavours play together so well that, not only does the Maki look like ‘work of art’ but also indulges the tastes buds, making it quite addictive. My own amateurish attempt tasted wonderful with all the flavour notes in place to enjoy after an hour of rolling and assembling.

From the picture above it is quite evident that even while you roll your Maki well, cutting on it into pieces is actually quite tough. However careful you are, the knife slips and the Maki roll gets squeezed. That is when I take home a lesson; it is the simple looking things in life that demand so much attention and care. And if we give that love and tenderness, it cannot help but blossom.

All in all, it was great experience learning how to assemble the Maki under the tutelage of Chef Micheal and also interacting with the other ladies at the demo. Since I am the only Maki lover in the family, I doubt I am going to practice this at home. If you are interested in learning how to make beautiful Maki, you ought to immediately enroll after Ramadan at Meisei. 

Meisei Address: Building 951, Road 3830, Block 338, Adliya

Phone number: 1700 7770

Website: http://www.meiseirestaurants.com

Social Media: @MeiseiBahrain

The last of my bucket list : Khandvi

How much I enjoy cutting off items on my list! I don’t regard myself as some one with an OCD yet when it comes to making plans and lists, I may just be one. The final item on my list which I finished before the end of the year was Khandvi. Khandvi is a savory snack from the Indian state of Gujarat. I am extremely fond of Gujarati food because I was brought up there. Though my roots are in Kerala, my heart is with Gujarat. I speak and write fluent Gujarati but not my mother tongue which is Malayalam. Every October, during Navratri, I pine to go to Ahmedabad (where I did my Engineering degree) to enjoy the 9 days of festivity. Then comes Uttarayan, the festival of kites in January which I miss more than ever. When I think of Gujarat, I think of vibrant colours, cheerful and hospitable people and lip smacking food. Gujarati food tends to be sweet, even the savory ones. It is believed that a meal is not complete until it encompasses all the tastes of savoury, pungent, sweet, bitter and tangy. This holistic approach to food makes Gujarati food satisfying.

My mother mastered a lot of typical Gujarati recipes including dhokla and handvo. I have never managed to get any of these right at the first attempt. It only means these recipes are a bit tricky to master and require considerable practice. I had a similar experience while making Khandvi where it took me to two back – to- back attempts to get it right.

Khandvi is prepared usually from bengal gram flour but it can also be made using moong dal/ mung bean flour as well. The flour is mixed thoroughly with yogurt or butter milk and spiced with tumeric and ginger-green chilly paste. This is cooked on a low flame until the flour-yogurt mixture is done well. There is a test to figure out whether the Khandvi will roll without breaking. For that, you need to scoop a spoonful of Khandvi batter and apply it on a greased plate ( with oil). Let the Khandvi cool and with delicate fingers try and roll it out. If the Khandvi does not roll it means the batter is not done and needs more cooking. Sounds easy? Its NOT!! After rolling out the Khandvi, it is tempered with sesame seeds, mustard seeds, dried red chillis and curry leaves. The final touch is to garnish it with chopped, fresh coriander leaves and fresh grated coconut.

Khandvi should melt in your mouth! Mine did and I was happy the way it turned out.

I used the Late Tarla Dalal’s recipe – the pioneer MasterChef of India. She passed away last year leaving behind a legacy of amazing regional recipes and ‘Continental’ ones too. If you want to take a look at Tarla Dalal in action, here’s the link.

Here’s the recipe for people who are intrigued enough to try it themselves. It is a great recipe and so simple too. But simple doesn’t always mean easy.

Now that I cleared my bucket list, I was meandering  around my statistics and discovered what my top 5 recipes posts have been in 2013.

1. The Apple turnovers

2. The Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake

3. Poached eggs in baked beans

4. Flourless Chocolate – Orange Cake – Nigella recipe

5. Chocolate Mousse

It has been a fantastic year for me as far as my culinary achievements go. Crossing off a culinary bucket list, visiting France and enjoying oysters  on my birthday, contributing recipes and other food related articles to magazines and attending several food related events in Bahrain have been the highlights. All this reflection and contemplation on the year gone by only tells me that there is so much to do in 2014 that I can hardly wait to start. I take this opportunity to thank each one of you readers of  my blog who take time out to come to my space and leave your thoughts in the comments section. Reading these comments always, ALWAYS  makes my day. It only means that you do enjoy my words and this creative space of mine. Thank you again!

……and I learnt how to pipe and frost

I am happy to announce that I completed the last of my culinary bucketlist items yesterday. So the 2 posts that would follow after this one would be all about my culinary bucketlist for this year and I have quite some stories to tell.

At the risk of repeating myself over and over again, I  have to say this again, when you truly want something the Universe will find a way to make it happen. Given my hectic work schedule it was nearly impossible for me to attend any piping classes because most of them happen either in the morning or in the afternoon. Since I am not the most artistic person on earth, I could never grasp the subtle art of piping by watching youtube videos. Must I also add, I never had a lot of patience to do so either. So the piping exercise on my bucketlist seemed like the most daunting one for all the reasons mentioned above. But then like I said – the Universe came to my rescue. Through a colleague of mine, I stumbled across Gehna’s wonderous Facebook page. I gasped and sighed at the beautiful piping work and the creative fondant work that Gehna has showcased on her page. I made up my mind to ask her to help me out. Even if it meant I had to beg and plead.

A rosette with a 2D star tip

Well, I didn’t have to do any of that. Gehna was kind enough to oblige and she offered to help me with the basics. Gehna runs a home cake baking business in Bahrain. Her Facebook page will give you details of how you can contact her. Her specialty is eggless cakes and her pretty fondant ‘concept’cakes/cupcakes. Make sure you check her facebook page and book orders with her for your next big celebration. I guarantee you that you wouldn’t be disappointed.

Bouquet with a 18 star tip

Now back to my piping class-

Gehna and I spent nearly 3 hours going over the basic piping and frosting concepts. I learnt essential basics like :

• How to fill a piping bag;
• How to hold it and maneuver it;
• The different types of piping tips and the effect that they produce such as the

1. Star tips – 1 m , 2D, 18, 21 ( are useful to make rosettes, bouquets and shells etc)
2. Round tips – 2, 12 ( make rose buds and beads)
3. leaf tip – 352 ( leaf designs)
4. petal tips- 104 ( rose petals)

• The different types of support paraphernalia meant for piping such as – nails, stoppers, couplers, turntables etc.;
• How to pipe – ofcourse!
• Practiced different designs over and over again;
• Learnt how to pipe cupcakes with designs that would suit them;
• Learnt how to ‘crumb coat’ a cake before frosting it;
• Made decorative chocolate flowers; – my favourite!

Shell design (left hand side) and petal design (right hand side)

Chocolate Rose in bloom

Frosting the cake and then decorating it with chocolate roses and sprinkles

There are various technical points to be kept in mind while piping such as the angle at which you would hold the piping bag, the amount of pressure to be given, the distance between the cupcake /cake and the piping tip, the consistency of the buttercream/frosting etc. A 3 hour session was like a movie trailer for me; just enough to whet my appetite. With Gehna’s help and guidance, I felt confident that I am not completely hopeless as I thought I was. I feel inspired to do a ‘Wilton cake decorating’ course in the future when I have some time on my hands but in the meanwhile, I can hone my newly acquired piping skills by practicing as much as I can on the cakes and the cupcakes that I bake at home.

A big thank you to you, Gehna. I am grateful that you ever so kindly agreed to help me cross this tough one off my culinary bucket list. I dedicate this post to you. Cheers to your future cake empire!!

P.S. you are yet to let me know what you want!

A Macaroon Masterclass at Culina Bahrain

How many of you believe in the law of attraction?

I do completely and have done so way before ‘The Secret ” or any such book came about. It was a quiet sort of an understanding I developed while growing up where I believed that if I wished too hard, what I imagined may most definitely come true. As a child it meant, squeezing my eyes as tight as possible, stopping my breath for a bit ,focusing hard on the subject and wishing very, very hard. In that moment of focus I could clearly imagine it coming true and lo, behold it did!! (well, most of the times). When it didn’t I conveniently forgot about the wish and got on to wishing for something else. Somehow in my growing up I have left behind my innocent musing and wishing technique. I do not squeeze my eyes, don’t stop breathing and I don’t focus too hard anymore.

But when I got this email from Fabrice of Culina asking me if I would like to do a Macaroon class…I squeezed my eyes shut and stopped breathing. I didn’t have to focus very, very hard because my wish had already come true. If you have been following this blog you would know I have been obsessed with my bucket list lately. One item on the list filled me with great fear – Macaroons. Oftentimes I thought I have taken on way more than I can handle. But then Universe has its own sweet way to bring to you what you so fervently want. And the Universe knew I was scared of the task and I needed help which came in the form of Fabrice’s invite to attend his infinitely enjoyable Macaroon Masterclass.

The class was to be at the end of a work day. Despite that, none of the trials and tribulations at the work front could dim my excitement of attending the class. I arrived a bit late due to some insane traffic problems to find that the class was already in progress.

The Chef conducting the class was none other than Fabrice. With his infectious enthusiasm it was difficult to keep any reservations ( not that I had any) towards getting on with the task on hand.

All the attendees were given their own copies of Macaroon recipes and we were free to choose our equipment from the handsomely equipped kitchen at Culina. The pantry was stocked with all kinds of chocolates and other baking staples. I chose to make the Chocolate Mocha Macaroons and under the expert guidance of Fabrice, quickly made the chocolate ganache filling and kept it aside to cool. He told all the tips and tricks required to make any macaroon baking attempt a success.

Starting from the right way to measure ingredients,  to mix the dry ingredients, the do’s and don’ts with respect to mixing the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients – Fabrice told us all. To make the shell of the macaronage /shell of the macaroons, he gave us individual attention till we all got our macaroons in the oven.

Piping was another aspect of Macaroon making that filled me with dread. I don’t have the most delicate way of going about this exercise and am a master at making a mess… and a mess I made. But I piped, nevertheless. Tiny shells blossomed into shiny ones once they were baked.  Once the shells cooled down, we piped the filling into the macaronage/shell marking the end of our endeavour.

In my write up, I may have made it sound easy but it is far from it. Macaroon is perhaps one of the most technical recipe I have ever tried. If I would have attempted making them  on my own, I would have most certainly failed. Now, armed with the Culina experience, I can imagine attempting Macaroons at home.

As for the recipe, we attempted the Italian meringue recipe which makes amazing Macaroons. To see our Macaroons find their feet/crown was a culinary joy equal to no other. All the Masterclass participants ooh-ed and aah-ed over the end result. Ofcourse none of this would have been possible without Fabrice’s expertise and engaging teaching style.

The class lasted for 3.5 hours and it was a blast! I made some friends who are just as mad about baking as I am. Plus a certificate at the end of the course was like the cherry on the proverbial cake.

For all who are interested to try, the recipe is as follows:

Chocolate Mocha Macaroon

Ingredients

Ingredients for the filling

250 gms dark chocolate  53%

50 gms dark chocolate 70%

320 gms liquid cream

1 tsp Nescafe

60 gms butter, room temperature

 Ingredients for the shell

Macaronage- Part 1

270 gms almond powder

300 gms icing sugar

100 gms egg whites

30 gms cocoa powder

8-10 drops of red food colour

Part 2

110 gms egg whites

300 gms custard sugar

80 gms water

Preparation

Prepare the filling first

1. Boil the cream with Nescafe
2. Pour on the two chocolates and mix well till the chocolate dissolves.
3. Then add the butter and allow it to cool down before you can pipe it. We put it in a refrigerator for the time it took to make the macaronage.

Preparing the Shell

1. Sift the almond powder and dry in the oven for 45 minutes at 100 C before use. This is to remove any moisture that might be trapped in the almond powder.
2. Sift the icing sugar and the cocoa powder and mix together with the almond powder. It would be easier to do it with your hands. We were provided vinyl gloves to do this. Make sure all the three are thoroughly incorporated
3. Add the egg whites (100 gms ) and the red food colouring in the almond mixture. Thorough mix it to form a slightly hard dough and keep it aside.
4. Heat water and sugar in a sauce pan and use a candy thermometer to check the temperature.
5. Pour the remaining egg whites (110 gms) in the mixer and wait till the sugar – water mixture shows a temperature of 115 C. When it reaches 115 C, start the mixer and beat the egg whites at high speed.
6. Let the sugar-water mixture cook until it reaches 121 C( and strictly not more)and take it off the heat and pour the hot sugar syrup into the mixer that contains the egg whites (beaten).
7. Beat the meringue until it is cold ( or atleast until room temperature). You can test the temperature by touching the base of the mixer container.
8. Add the fluffy meringue mixture into the Macaronage in two times and mix well. I thought it was slightly strenuous but the dough that was very tough to start with became soft and pliable by the time I had finished.
9. Pipe the mixture with 9mm piping tip over a silpat or parchment paper spaced 3 cm from each other.
10. Bake at 140 C for 12 mins precisely.
11. Let it rest to cool down or alternately or you can refrigerate it for some time
12. With the help of a piping bag pipe the filling into one half of the macaronage and use the other to sandwich the filling.

About the Institute

One of its kind in Bahrain that is professional in every aspect of its operations and a brain child of Chef Alain Michel and Chef Fabrice Perrin

Culina is as much for  budding cooks/bakers as it is for the seasoned ones to learn the new tricks of the trade.

They have imported all the latest equipment from France and Italy that only professional Chefs use at work which would be available to students

Culina will ensure that once you enroll you will have the opportunity to explore a world of over 20 global cuisines—from the classics to those emerging in popularity

Some of the courses Culina offers are – Basic Training Kitchen, Bakery & Confectionery, Quantity Training Kitchen, Advanced Training Kitchen and Advanced Bakery & Pastry

(info from – http://www.culinabahrain.com)

For further enquiries, you can contact

Culina Cooking Art

Bulding No:715,Block 701
Road No:122, Tubli, P.O.Box: 616, Bahrain

phone: 17178951

fax: 17178952

email:info@culinabahrain.com

Facebook- www.facebook.com/culinacookingart

You can contact their Office From 8AM – 9PM