Cafe Istanbul

Cafe Istanbul is a little Turkish haven, somewhere in East Atlanta. To call it a restaurant would be doing this fine, Middle-Eastern Mecca a grave injustice. For Café Istanbul is so much more! The succulent kebobs strike the right note with all those who visit but it’s the ambience – the traditional floor seating, dim ornate lamps, pots and earthenware that authentically decorate every wall, the belly dancing, thick Turkish rugs that trim the walls and cover every inch of the floor and the ubiquitous hookah, that make Café Istanbul an out of the ordinary experience.

We took M&S here, while they were visiting Atlanta. I tried a pomegranate martini and absolutely loved it. They sure do know their alcohol here, that’s all I can say. SK downed a couple of cold Turkish beers. We ordered a sampler from the appetizer menu. The couscous salad, the hummus and the baba ghanoush were my favorite. For the main course, we split a couple of plates of lamb & chicken kebobs. This was served with fragrant jasmine rice.

The highlight of the whole evening though was the apple flavored hookahs that we ordered and the gyrating belly dancer. Ah! To have that figure and fluidity! SK, of course, was a sport and went up and did his version of the shimmy shake with her.

I give this place a big G star.

Happy Birthday SK

Today is my darling SK's 30th birthday. I baked him a simple Devil's Chocolate Cake. While I would have much rather baked him something more flamboyant, I must confess that I'm no pastry chef. So a two tiered chocolate cake, straight out of a box, in a heart shaped mould it is. I did use some chocolate frosting and for a amateur like me, the outcome was pretty good.

Happy Birthday, my sweet boy.

TGIF

This picture was taken a few months ago at TGIF - a platter of barbeque ribs & fries. You can see me salivating, can't you?

Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant is SK's favorite vegetable. I've exhausted my repertoire of 'baingan-barta', stuffed-brinjal & brinjal bhujiyas. There's just so much you can do with an eggplant - unless you venture into the world of Italian!

I followed to the T the recipe from - http://elise.com/recipes/archives/000220eggplant_parmesan.php

Eggplant Parmesan Recipe
Ingredients
2 lbs (about 2 large) eggplants
1 28-oz can whole peeled tomatoes
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
Olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
4 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 lbs of fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
1 cup grated high quality Parmesan cheese
1 packed cup fresh basil leaves

Method
1 Cut eggplants lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices. Arrange one layer in the bottom of a large colander and sprinkle evenly with salt. Repeat with remaining eggplant, salting, until all eggplant is in the colander. Weigh down the slices with a couple of plates and let drain for 2 hours. The purpose of this step is to have the eggplant release some of its moisture before cooking.

2 While the eggplant is draining, prepare tomato sauce. Combine tomatoes, garlic and 1/3 cup olive oil in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper to tasted and set aside.

3 When eggplant has drained, press down on it to remove excess water, wipe off the excess salt, and lay the slices out on paper towels to remove all the moisture. In a wide, shallow bowl, combine flour and breadcrumbs. Mix well. Pour beaten eggs into another wide shallow bowl. Place a large, deep skillet over medium heat, and pour in a a half inch of olive oil. When oil is shimmering, dredge the eggplant slices first in the flour mixture, then in the beaten egg. Working in batches, slide coated eggplant into hot oil and fry until golden brown on both sides, turning once. Drain on paper towels.

4 Preheat the oven to 350°F. In the bottom of a 10x15 inch glass baking dish, spread 1 cup of tomato sauce. Top with one third of the eggplant slices. Top eggplant with half of the mozzarella slices. Sprinkle with one third of the Parmesan and half of the basil leaves.

5 Make a second layer of eggplant slices, topped by 1 cup of sauce, remaining mozzarella, half the remaining Parmesan, and all of the remaining basil. Add remaining eggplant, and top with the remaining tomato sauce and Parmesan.

6 Bake until cheese has melted and the top is slightly brown, about 30 minutes. Allow to rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.

SK loved it, need I say more.

Thanksgiving 2009

Happy Thanksgiving! Indeed it was. This year, for the first time, we had a Thanksgiving potluck and I should've known that like all our other potlucks, this one too would be a rip-roaring success!

The Menu:

Turkey

Stuffing

Mashed Potatoes & Gravy

Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Beans & Cranberry

Sauteed Brussel Sprouts

Corn Bread

Dessert:

Pumpkin Pie

Pecan Pie

Of course, there was apple cider and plenty of wine. But Thanksgiving would not have been Thanksgiving without the most important ingredient - a bunch of good friends.

Happy Turkey Day!

Achar Gosht

This recipe is courtsey Aunty R. She made & packed a dabba of Achar Gosht for SK & myself last week. A day later the recipe was in my inbox :-)

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds of Mutton (boneless)
5 Whole Red Chillies
¾ cup Onions (pureed)
1 tsp. Ginger Paste
1 tsp. Garlic Paste
1 tsp. Cumin Seeds
1 tsp. Mustard Seeds
1 tsp. Fenugreek Seeds (Methi)
5 Cloves
15 grams of Jaggery
1 tsp. Aniseeds / Saunf
½ tsp. Turmeric Powder
1 tsp. Red Chilli Powder
Salt
1 cup yogurt

4 cups Water
½ cup Mustard Oil

Method:
1) In a dish whisk the yogurt with one liter of water.
2) In a microwavable dish heat the mustard oil until hot in the microwave. Add to the oil: the ginger paste, garlic paste, onion puree, cloves, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, nigella seeds, fenugreek seeds and aniseeds. And microwave on high for 8 minutes.
3)Then mix in the red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt and microwave for another 2 minutes.
4)Add the mutton, whole red chillies, jaggery and curd water mixture and cook in a pot on the stove for about 15 minutes, or until well done.

YUMMMMM. That's all I can say.

Goldfish

Goldfish is a fabulous seafood restaurant located right at the Perimeter, Dunwoody. It's another feather in the hat of the "heretoserve" chain in Atlanta. For the longest time Goldfish remained one of those restaurants that's right around the corner but you never visit. Until two months ago, that is. Thanks to SK, we celebrated my last birthday at Goldfish.

Our love for seafood made our choice for appetizers & entrees so much more difficult. I had the gumbo and we split a very delicious sauteed mushroon appetizer. For the main course we had the Tom Tom Tilapia and Pepper Grouper. The food was great as was the ambience. The only down-side was the service. They were pretty busy for a week-day and our food took rather long to arrive.

A must for seafood lovers.