A unique culinary voyage , a delectable luxury dining experience that braces’ quality with accessibility, Shanghai Club is a discovery. The restaurant showcases a perfect blend of ancient Chinese tradition along with contemporary décor with touches of the symbolic red colour to emphasize upon the Chinese ambiance.

Like we experience in India, Chinese Cuisine too varies almost every hundred miles or so. There is the Szechuan, Hunan, Cantonese, Beijing, and Peking with umpteen other variations in between.

Cantonese cuisine, originally known in China as Guangdong Cuisine, is often referred to as Yue cuisine. This is the cuisine of China’s Guangdong Province, and more specially adheres to its Capital, Guangzhou. Cantonese is a Cuisine with a mild taste, the Cantonese enjoy the natural flavors of fresh sea fish and Sauces, including hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, plum sauce, sweet and sour sauce, and soy sauce. the flavours are well balanced and not greasy. To leave intact the flavours of the primary ingredients, which are at the peak of their freshness and quality, very little few and very little spices are used. The spice does not engulf the natural flavor of the main ingredients. Except the use of garlic and coriander, in order to retain the taste and flavours of the main ingredients, the Cantonese avoid the use of fresh herbs as against the  liberal use of the same in Sichuanese, Vietnamese,  Lao, Thai and European. In fact, garlic is often used as a vegetable in Cantonese cooking!

This makes Cantonese a popular cuisine in China and Cantonese Chefs are highly sought after in China. Chef Jia brought to India by the ITC being one of them. As required, he uses a variety of cooking methods from roasting, steaming to stir frying.

Cantonese cuisine, less spicy than the Sichuan and Hunan methods of preparation is yet a flavorful and delicious cuisine; far more delicate than other eight forms of Chinese food.

these 10 days at the Shanghai club Express traces the Cantonese route through two set menus – the Superior ticket and a First class ticket on The Shanghai Express. the Superior ticket @ Rs.1500 per person + taxes, avails the diner a four course meal including soup and dessert.

A soup from the choice of four—two pure vegetarian and 2 non-vegetarian. Our Jain friends had their choice too.

One main course from a choice of 4 vegetarians (including for Jains), 1 fish, 1 prawn, 1 lamb, 1 chicken. The Sliced Lamb in chili oyster Sauce paired with Guangzhou Glass Noodles from the vegetarian Menu was YUMMY! So was the enchanting flavours of Wok tossed noodles with pickle vegetables, Asparagus in Chili garlic sauce, Steam tofu in special hot black bean sauce, crispy baby corn salt and pepper at Shanghai Club.

One Noodles/rice from a choice of 3 vegetarians and 3 non-vegetarian.

One dessert from a choice of three. Apricot honey rice pudding with a sprinkle of Pista and julienne of Apricot, highly recommended.

The FIRST CLASS ticket is available for Rs. 2000 and the menu includes a choice of 4 Vegetarian and 4 N0n-vegetarian starters

The Cantonese experience will soon be followed by Beijing and Shanghai destinations on THE SHANGHAI CLUB EXPRESS.

So book your tickets now to experience delicately balanced flavours of yin and yang, dished out by Master Chef Jia.

Bafela Eeda Ni Akuri is a breakfast dish but can be used for a quick small meal. An Akuri is usually made from raw eggs scrambled with various herbs and potatoes. Irani restaurants of Bombay (Mumbai) serve Akuri all day as a Mini-Meal— filling, healthy and very, very tasty.

Bafela Eeda Ni Akuri, on the other hand, is not found on any Menu — from the 5 Stars to the humble ‘Irani Hotel’ as the ubiquitous Irani restaurants are spoken of in Mumbai. While the Akuri is quintessentially a ‘Parsi Household Dish’, the Bafela Eeda Ni Akuri is not often seen in our homes.

I chanced upon this recipe amongst some written down by my mother’s family for an introduction to the ‘new daughter-in-law’ (Navi Vau) to the family favourites in the Parsi Cuisine.

The recipe seems to be recorded around the end of 1800s before my Grandmother was born in 1889. The weights and Measures noted in there are old and ni longer in use – Tola, Ratal and such – I have converted these to the nearest Metric Weights and Measures for ease in cooking the Bafela Eeda Ni Akuri.

There is an ingredient mentioned therein which says chutney or ‘VILAYATI SAUCE’. Since I know no one in the family or otherwise who is more than a 118 years old, I have to depend on a good guess to decipher what is the ‘VILAYATI SAUCE’. Most likely, it is the *Worcestershire Sauce or as now termed ‘Worcester Sauce’ (pronounced Wooster), I’d think, from its use in some Meat oriented Recipes or plain old **Tomato Ketchup, if it existed then.

Though both sauces existed at the time this recipe was recorded, I’d lay my bets on Worcester.

* Worcestershire Sauce or as now termed Worcester Sauce, a recipe thought up in 1830 by Lea and Perrins but not marketed as they did not approve of the taste. The Barrels of sauce were set aside and forgotten. Months later, the barrels were rediscovered. The sauce had, by now, matured and the taste mellowed to a full and rich one. The sauce was first marketed by Lea and Perrins in 1837.

However, Lea and Perrins were never able to claim intellectual property rights on the patent for the recipe or on the trademark ‘Worcestershire Sauce’ because of a High Court order in a litigation challenging its origin.

**TOMATO KETCHUP: A sauce of Chinese origin. The word ‘Ketchup’ first appeared in ‘Dictionary of the Canting Crew’ in 1690.

The English colonists were introduced to the ‘kicap’ or ‘kecap’ (pronounced ki- chap or ke -chap) as a fish sauce in the early 18th century in the Malay States (now, Malaysia and Singapore). Somewhere along the way from Malay to England, and then to America (through English settlers) the ‘Kecap’ became ‘Ketchup’.

The sauce was obviously very popular in the British Isles and by 1742, the recipe found its place in a London Cook Book with a distinctly British flavour (addition of shallots and mushrooms).

The popular Heinz Tomato Ketchup was marketed in 1876.

INGREDIENTS:

4 eggs;

250 grams onions;

250 Gms potatoes;

3 bunch of coriander;

3 green chillies (reduce the number of chillies if preferred less heat);

10 leaves of mint;

1 tablespoon ***chutney or schezwan sauce or your favourite flavouring;

IF making Bafela Eeda Ni Akuri in the MANGO SEASON, replace chutney/sauce with 2 finely cut raw green mangoes, absolutely delicious!

2 tbsp Ghee or butter or preferred cooking medium (original recipe specifies Ghee or butter not oil);

½ level teaspoon salt or as per your taste.

METHOD:

Boil the Eggs and let cool,

Cut each egg into 4 slices horizontally or as preferred;

Peel and dice the potatoes to 1/2 cm cubes;

Preserve the potatoes in a bowl of water till required;

Peel and grate the onions or dice to miniscule pieces;

Pluck the leaves off the coriander and cut the leaves fine (only leaves no stems however tender);

Cut fine the green chillies;

Cut fine mint leaves; Now,

Fry the Potato cubes and grated onions in a pan of hot Ghee,

Stirring constantly till golden;

Add coriander, mint, green chillies and Green Mangoes/chutney/ sauce and fry till a light brown,

Lay oiled eggs on top of the fried mixture,

Mix gently so as not to break/damage the egg slices.

Return the pan to the fire, cover and cook the egg and herb mix for 30 more seconds taking care not to let it burn at the bottom.

Garnish with coriander leaves and eat immediately with preferred bread or chapattis Best with Portuguese Pau.

***If you do not have favourite CHUTNEY, try this:

GRIND together to a smooth taste: 1 tbsp grated coconut, 1 tbsp coriander leaves, 2 green chillies, 1inch piece of dried tamarind, a pinch of dry mint powder or 4 fresh leaves, 1 centimeter  piece ginger (peeled) , 2 cloves garlic (peeled),  ¼  teaspoon cumin seeds, ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds, 1 pinch sugar , A Pinch of salt. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Ambakalyo is not a preserve it is a recipe for a Parsi Ripe Mango sauce quick and easy sauce recipe.   Ambakalyo is a delightful, light and happy dish to be served in the heat of summer , the height of the Mango season in India. Ambakalyo is delicious; eaten with red/white rice or any bread — whether baked in an oven or cooked on a griddle including tortillas, chapattis, corn bread and pita . The bright orange colour of the finished dish of the Mango Ambakalyo only adds to its appeal. Ambakalyo, by itself, makes for a popular meal in a Parsi household and saves the mother from long hours in the grueling heat of the kitchen.

Ambakalyo also makes a scrumptious sauce for all roast meats and fowl — especially Roast Chicken and Pork; if you are so inclined to use it.  The sweet and slightly tart-chili tang of the sauce goes a long way in enhancing the flavours of your dish. Visually too, the translucent orange colour , reminder of scenic sunsets, and the thick consistency of the sauce is tremendously appealing.

Mango is the traditionally accepted fruit to make an Ambakalyo and the name itself “Amba” meaning ‘Mango’ in Gujarati and ‘Kalyo’ meaning ‘Grated, Shredded, made into a Paste’ suggests that the dish is essentially made from Mangoes cooked to the consistency of  a thick paste. The ingredients and the Gujarati name suggests that  the Parsi-Zoroastrians of India learnt to make the Ambakalyo after migrating to India. However, the word  ‘Kalyo’ is no longer found either in Persian or Gujarati; but in Filipino the word “Kalyo” still exists  the meaning has declined and is used to denote ‘a Shredder’.

If you are inclined to innovate, like I am, you may add oranges or other citrus fruit, or pineapple or green apple or passion fruit (yellow or purple) any tart fruit of your choice to the recipe at the stage where you introduce the sliced Mangoes into the melted Jaggery/sugar mixture.

Replacing Mangoes, altogether, with another tart and fleshy fruit or a combination of fruits would give you a Orangekalyo, Citrouskalyo, Pineapplekalyo, or green-applekalyo or passion-fruitkalyo or Kalyo of your choice. The entire Recipe will remain the same except that the Mango will be added onto or replaced by another fruit. This would make an equally delicious sauce and a seasonal sauce, at that!

INGREDIENTS:

6 Ripe Mangoes (Alfonso or Pairi preferred; but you may use your favourite);

250 Gms (½ lb) pearl onions (can replace with small red onions or diced regular onions. The taste with each will differ but all taste good);

250 Gms Jaggery as per original recipe;  (or Sugar, if you prefer. In which case take 200 Gms of sugar);

3 cloves;

1 inch piece of cinnamon;

Juice of 1 lemon;

1 tsp chili powder;

A pinch of Turmeric powder;

1 clove Garlic;

¾ inch piece of Ginger.

METHOD:

Peel and slice the Mangoes (you may also use the seed),

Slice the Ginger and Garlic,

If using large onions, quarter them,

Fry the onions lightly and place aside,

If using small onions fry them whole,

Now, boil the jaggery/sugar in 2 spoons of water,

Add chili powder, Turmeric Powder, Ginger, Garlic, Cloves and Cinnamon.

Boil till all the jaggery/sugar has melted,

Then, add the mangoes and onions and cook boil for 5 minutes,

Simmer for another 20 minutes or until mango and seed orange and translucent.

Your Ambakalyo is ready to eat.

SERVE: Hot or cold with chapattis, preferably made of rice flour.

Eggs (hard boiled) 6

Cloves of garlic 8
Red Chillies       4
Cumin seeds      2 tsp

Oil                     1 tbsp

Onions               3 small
Gram(chick pea) or wheat flour 1/2 tbsp
Water               4 cups
Vinegar            1/2 cup
Sugar               1/2 tbsp
Uncooked eggs 2

Green chilies    4
Curry leaves 6 to 8
Cherry tomatoes 6
(if using regular tomatoes take one cut in 8 pieces)

PREPARATION:

Boil six eggs, peel and put aside.

Grind fine, garlic, red chilies and cumin seeds.
Mix the vinegar sugar uncooked eggs together and put aside.
Grate the onions.

COOKING:

1. Heat the oil in a Sauce pan and fry the onions lightly.
2. Add the ground masala and fry well till golden.
3. Add gram/wheat flour and fry for a further 40 seconds till the flour gives off its aroma.

4. Slowly pour one cup of water stirring all the time to form a homogeneous mixture. Ensure there are no lumps.

5. Once mixed well, add the other 3 cups of water and boil still sauce thickens.
6. Quickly stir in the vinegar sugar and egg mixture ensure that the egg does not curdle.
   Or you may let the sauce cool to room temperature and then stir in the egg mixture and once again bring sauce to boil, stirring all the time.
7. When it once again reaches boiling point add boiled eggs, green chilies, curry leaves and tomatoes
8. Immediately put the stove off, cover, and let the chilies and tomatoes soften in the hot sauce.

9. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning.

10. Adjust the consistency before reheating. It should be neither too thick nor too thin. (See pics). If too thin add flour; if too thick, add water.

This sauce may be made in advance and can be reheated.

May be eaten with rice or rotis as preferred.