Girls at the Grill

If there is one other thing which attracts me on this planet – it’s a barbecue grill. Pure joy, filling up a hollowed out space with coal or wood, lighting that fire with a dash of fuel and seeing it start up with the first touch of a stricken match, fitting the grill while hungry flames lick and spit at metal finally reducing the coal to burning embers, followed up by the delicious sound of meat and vegetables being slapped on the hot grill all sizzling and smoking while being triumphantly coated with a variety of sauces, oils, butters or marinades.

What is it about grills, barbecues, raw meats and vegetables, marinated or slathered on-site that makes us go weak in our knees. Well, it goes back to the caveman era where our ancestors would hunt and cook their meals over open fires. It’s a natural instinct and a bit sexist to say that – well – grilling is a man’s thing. Throw in a couple of cold ones and it’s definitely a call out to a man’s ultimate world.

Barbecue is one culinary skill which comes naturally to most men. Not only is it easy since ingredients are available off the shelf, meats and vegetables are precision cut to make it easier for use right away and you really don’t have to spend a lot of time slaving over a hot stove with a host of ingredients and a recipe book lying open in front of you. Grilling also makes the food a lot tastier, high heat concentrates the natural juices of the meat or vegetable and cooks it right enough to impart a distinctive smoky flavor which we all love.

Open air and fresh natural locations such as a terrace or a garden are ideal spaces for barbecues. I do have a makeshift one on the terrace, but am planning to have a permanent one in place complete with a tandoor and grill section.

Now add girls to this scene and you are in heaven!

The Mumbai Food Blogger group was hosted by ITC Maratha, West View Bar & Grill – A state of the art, quite expertly resourceful dining restaurant at Mumbai’s finest hotel. Contrary to all what I said about grilling being a man’s feat, the restaurant is run by an all women crew including the chefs who create dishes in an international grill room serving up grilled delights with a host of marinades, sauces and tastes which make your tongues go crazy if not wagging. Chef Padmaja and her all-lady crew who graciously manned the kitchen with much enthusiasm, as it takes a lot to live-cook and feed the 15 odd food enthusiasts, was in complete hands-on mode. Rushina of A Perfect Bite had organized this perfectly as the many blogger get-togethers she has in the past in conjunction with Ms. Rini – I.T.C.’s charming PR head, whose acquaintance I had met with at a prior I.T.C. event.

The concept of West View is pretty simple, there are loads of pre-marinated or combination vegetables and exotic meats laid out, buffet style. You have to simply pick your favorite meats and vegetables under the sweet guidance of the lady who takes down your order and preferred choice of preparation – from rare, medium and well done to sauce and marination options, depending on your tastes. Your plate is quickly whisked to the open-styled kitchen where an all-lady team of talented chef’s (including Chef Padmaja) will prepare your grilled delights. Meanwhile you settle down with a plate of innumerable salads and cold cuts, served up with the soup tureen of the day and moist, warm, freshly baked bread. The table holds their signature flavored cold pressed extra virgin olive oil which is instantly appetite inducing while you wait, salivating, for your grilled meal to materialize.

I could not resist wandering into their special section before the others joined in – The Enoteca which boasts of the finest wines in the world, a chilled glass of Prosecco and parking myself by the cheese trolley which had my favorite smoked cheese apart from Edam, Gouda and Provolone, I was once in food heaven.

The meats and vegetables on display are a feast to the eyes and I shall leave you with some drool worthy pictures. My own selection for dinner that night was a melting pot of exotic meats and vegetables, considering it also came with a side of jacket potatoes doused generously with sour cream and a whole head of roasted garlic. It ended with a fine selection of their Pudding Club desserts two of my favorites included the Apple Strudel and the Basil infused Crème Brulee.

The one thing I noticed missing from the vegetarian grill section was Cottage Cheese, now probably it was not on the menu that day, but this is one ingredient which Indian’s go completely ga-ga over. Atleast the vegetarian ones appreciate cottage cheese – grilled style. Now I might sound a bit of a traditionalist here but I do like my cottage cheese once in a while, and I am sure a lot of my Indian friends agree. There were of course a host of other vegetarian preparations, but cottage cheese is one ingredient which is easily identifiable for home grilling. Easy to pick up, versatile enough to be used with any other accompaniments and marinades and a perfect option when you have people over and need to make some quick on-the-grill dishes.

I experimented a bit with my own little creation on-the-grill using Cottage Cheese and a barbecue sauce made from scratch. The only thing missing were one of those fantastic chefs’s from the West View, they would have made this recipe all the more interesting.

Grilled Cottage Cheese with House BBQ Sauce & Garlic Butter Braised Vegetables

Ingredients

• 500 gms Cottage Cheese (cut into thick squares)

For the Marinade Rub

• ¼ cup Olive Oil
• 1 green chili minced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1” piece ginger minced
• Sea Salt

For the House Barbecue Sauce

• ½ cup Worcestershire Sauce
• ½ cup Brown Sugar
• ¼ cup Brown Vinegar
• ¼ cup Oyster Sauce (you may use vegetarian oyster sauce)
• 2 tablsp Red Chili Paste (chillies to be soaked in warm water, deseeded and then pureed)
• 1 tablsp Prepared Yellow Mustard Sauce
• 2 tablsp Minced Garlic
• 1 tablsp Bourbon (optional)
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

For the Mashed Potatoes

• 6 Large Potatoes (boiled, skinned and mashed)
• ½ cup Milk
• 1 tablsp Butter
• Sprinkle of nutmeg
• Salt & Pepper to taste

For the Garlic Butter Braised Vegetables

• 2 cups Mixed Vegetables (Cubed – Carrots, Green Beans, Babycorn, Zucchini, Bell Peppers, Peas and Corn)
• 2 tablsp Butter
• 8 cloves Garlic (peeled)
• A small sprig of thyme (optional)
• 1 tsp White Pepper Powder
• Salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients of the marinade rub together and coat the cottage cheese chunks with the marinade. Leave aside for atleast an hour.

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, pour all the ingredients of the House BBQ sauce and simmer on a medium-low flame for about 25 minutes. Cool and refrigerate until ready to use.

Mash the potatoes well and keep aside. In a pan, heat the butter and melt it, add the nutmeg powder and sauté for about ten seconds until fragrant, pour in the milk and toss in mashed potatoes, season with salt and mix well till you get a nice rough paste. Keep aside till ready to serve.

For the garlic butter braised vegetables, steam all the vegetables for about 5 minutes. Take a large pan and melt the butter till it starts bubbling, wait for it to slightly settle down and brown. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute, add the sprig of thyme followed by the vegetables. Toss well and season with salt and pepper. Ensure you serve this hot.

To proceed with the plating of this dish, heat a barbecue grill till sizzling hot. Slap the marinated paneer cubes and quickly turn them around till they get nicely seared on both sides. Brush some house BBQ sauce and grill for a minute more. To plate, place paneer cubes and top with a spoonful of warmed house BBQ sauce, add a dollop of mashed potatoes and a healthy serving of garlic butter braised veggies. You have got yourself a meal

Tip:

Toss the steamed veggies on the grill (plate) and spoon the butter, garlic and seasonings on top, shake and toss well for a smoky side dish.

A lot of wine, fantastic company with the best of Mumbai Food Bloggers and a perfect ending with Jyotika & Snigdha doling our generous takeaways made for a fabulous night. Jyotika gave us a bag of puffed rice snack (called Layya Channa) with a mouth tingling sprinkling of her famed Papa’s masala (apparently twenty types of spices are powdered together, a special creation by Jyotika’ Dad – so versatile it can be sprinkled on virtually anything to make it savory) and Snigdha made specially handcrafted tea bags with exotic tea leaves she picked up personally on her travels to Sri Lanka. This combination made for a perfect breakfast the next day.