Swedish Gastronomi in Mumbai

B.Shankaranarayan

Ms Fredrika Ornbrant welcomes the guests

The success of the Nov.2012 Swedish meet in Pune convinced the Swedish Consul General Ms. Fredrika Ornbrant that a similar meet in Mumbai would rock!

Ms Ornbrant, an enthusiastic and accomplished cook, suggested a few dishes and also offered to arrange for a few typical Swedish ingredients - Sprat fillets for Jansson's Temptation, Gravad Lax for the salmon and Lingonberry jam - to ensure the meal had the authentic touch. The search for a venue ended as soon as it began. One phone call and Pawan Raina, ceo of Mocha chain offered Mocha Mojo on Hill Road, Bandra as the venue. Another call and Shailendra Pai of Vallonne Vineyards stepped forward to sponsor the wines.

Shailendra Pai, Shankar & Anil Arora

Ms Ornbrant took time off from diplomatic duties to sit down with Mocha Mojo's Executive Chef Gaurav Gidwani to plan the food trials. Only one dish needed  tweaking. It was decided to use chicken mince in the Kotbullar - the classic Swedish meatballs dish - instead of the traditional mix of pork and beef mince.

The final menu promised a delightful culinary journey. Since it was PGC's first event in Mumbai, I was a bit unsure of the response. But between the Consulate and PGC, we managed to attract nearly 65 persons, far in excess of the restaurant's capacity of 50. The meet fulfilled all three PGC criteria - the food was not on the restaurant menu, PGC members cooked part of the meal and the lunch included wine.  

Mrs. Ornbrant, in her welcome address, informed the guests on how to enjoy the meal. There is a method to every madness and a protocol needs to be followed to enjoy different flavours and textures. This Smörgåsbord had a mix of pre plated dishes and buffet.

The pre plated entree consisted of dill cured salmon with baby potatoes,mustard sauce and pickled herring. Mrs. Ornbrant guided the guests to have a bit of the salmon and herring in between sips of Akvavit - an anise flavoured snaps - and chilled beer. All the Doubting Thomases who wondered how they could enjoy a cold platter without a hint of spice were completely zapped by the flavours unfolding on their palate. The beginning augured well.

The rest of the meal was in traditional Smörgåsbord - a buffet.

Dr. Alpana Nabar, a home cook par excellence and Doubting Thomas who wondered how on earth one could make tasty meatballs without any spices was amazed by the Köttbullar served with creamed potatoes. Score 10 for Swedish meatballs!

Janssons Fretelse aka Jansson's Temptation, said to be named for Pelle Janzon, a food-loving Swedish opera singer of the early 20th century, is a Swedish classic. The creation of this creamy potato and ansjovis casserole was supervised by the Consul General herself. The Swedish ansjovis which refers to sprat is often confused for  anchovies. Sprat has a less oily but more even and smooth taste. Thanks to the Consul General, we served the real thing. No shortcuts at a PGC lunch!

A vegetarian sandwich quite unlike anything created by Mumbai's sandwichwallas was the smörgåstårta - a reinvention of the Great American Sandwich of the '70s and now a staple in Swedish cuisine. You name it, it had it - artichoke, bread, butter, mayo, cheese, veggies, olives, crème fraiche, mustard, spinach .... Displayed as a cake, it was cut into squares and served.

My search for an Indo Swedish dish led me to Sanjoo's Lax Nam Nam - a Swedish Indian crossover dish created by Sanjoo Malhotra, a Sweden based travel agent and food enthusiast. This unique dish of grilled salmon with zucchini, carrots and mango aioli was a hit with the guests.

The bread basket included both home made and store bought offerings. There was Rye made by Mocha, store bought Spelt and multi grain and typical Swedish  knäckebröd - a crisp flatbread made by yours truly. I substituted rye flour with whole wheat and used a meat mallet to replicate the effect of the traditional Swedish rolling pin. The breads were served with flavoured butters.

The venue was packed to the rafters and many Swedes chose the option of sitting outside in the warm weather.

The food and weather were perfect for a glass of Vallonne's Rosé or Sauvignon Blanc served nicely chilled. Unlike other Indian Rosés this one is just a shade sweeter than dry. Perfect for a pickled herring and dill potatoes. The Sauvignon Blanc was crisp and fresh.

There was much clinking of glasses and most conversations revolved around the food. 

No Swedish meal is complete without a Fika (technically a coffee break). Where there is coffee, can cake be far behind? And what a spread it was.

Chef Gaurav created the iconic Princess Cake complete with green marzipan dome and a pink rose on top. The original concept is credited to Jenny Åkerström, a teacher of the daughters of Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland. The princesses loved it so much, that the original green cake became popular as "prinsesstårta" - the Princess Cake. The much loved Swedish Cinnamon pastry was also made by Gaurav's team.

PGC members brought their contributions to the table. Meghna Gajool presented sand tarts and spiced cookies, Sheela Narayan served up a spiced cake and Vandana Inamdar brought in an almond cake.

The event attracted a veritable who's who of the food world. BBC Good Food India editor Sona Bahadur spent the afternoon with us as did food bloggers Raul Dias and Romi Purkayastha and Sula brand ambassador Cecilia Oldne. The august company included two chefs from the the world's top three restaurants. Garima Arora of Noma, Copenhagen and Michelle of El Celler de Can Roca of Girona, Spain spent the entire afternoon with us.  A little advance notice and maybe we could have got Garima and Michelle to cook for us!

PGC thanks Mrs. Fredrika Ornbrant, Consul General of Sweden in India for the untiring efforts to make the event so successful, Shailendra Pai for sponsoring the wine, Pawan Raina of Mocha for the venue, Chef Gaurav Gidwani for a super meal far removed from Mocha Mojo's fare and Mobin for keeping the wine, Akvavit, beer and wine flowing!

Fiesta Time

Ashvina Vakil

Anyone assigned a cooking task for a PGC meet faces the meal with some trepidation, lest the Grand Master (aka Sangria Shankar, a little birdie tells us) disapproves of one’s culinary efforts. Of course, by the end of the meal, one has usually had enough wine to have forgotten all one’s initial fears and all is well till the inevitable post mortem! This time however, Shankar had a benign smile on his face throughout the Spanish feast, and the post mortem that followed was almost equally kind.

So, let’s raise a glass to that before we relive that wonderful meal. Salud!

Having said that, PGC members didn’t really have much to do this time, except for soup, salad, and some tapas. Shekhar & Ketaki Pimpalkhare’s ‘Bohemian’ restaurant, and his team led by Chef Dinesh, took on the major tasks, leaving PGC members to enjoy their meal in a pleasant wine-induced haze. Ravi Gurnani of York Winery and his team are to be thanked for that happy circumstance; they ensured that the wine kept flowing.

The Chenin and Sauvignon Blanc were already being quaffed by the time the tapas were brought to the table, and the attractive array momentarily stopped conversation. Team Bohemian’s Patatas Bravas (oven baked potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce) and Chorizo (sausage) Braised in Red Wine set a lively tempo that was offset by the Salt Baked Fish (Muriel Pinto, Rohan Thacker) and mildly flavoured Chickpeas and Spinach (Rohan Mankani, Mrunmayee Kulkarni, Sangita Jagtap, Parag Sane, and Sushama Kulkarni).

Salmorejo, a cold tomato and bread based soup from Cordoba followed (Ashvina Vakil, Rohit Arora, Pradnya Pradhan, and Ilena Ashish). Thanks to Rohit’s enterprise we were treated to a choice of garnishes, ranging from Serrano ham, to tuna, and hard boiled eggs, and they definitely added bite to the soup. The lazier ones among us had only bothered to slip in some capsicum and onion with our soup contribution!

The Orange and Red Onion Salad (Namrata Agarwal, Dipti Desai, Vikas Kumar, and Vinita Mohoni) with its scattering of nuts, sunflower seeds and raisins was a great way to freshen the palate before we got to the serious business of the Valencia Style Seafood Paella. Replete with mussels, jumbo prawns and calamari rings, and boasting a suitably burnt bottom, the paella filled up every crevice in already full stomachs, which was unfortunate because there was still more on the menu to get through! With a little help from the Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz Reserves, we managed to appreciate the fragrant Caldereta de Cordero (Moorish influenced lamb stew), albeit in mini doses.

Special mention must be made of the assorted country style breads and flavoured butters created by Team Bohemian, which had everyone nibbling away between sips and courses. The sangria was eminently forgettable – obviously our Grand Master had neglected to lend his magic touch, distracted as he was by all the wonderful food!

As always, the crowning glory of any PGC meal is dessert and Shankar’s French Vanilla Ice Cream, made from vanilla beans sourced all the way from Kochi, was the perfect companion to Bohemian’s Zurracapote, dried apricots and prunes simmered in sweetened, spiced red wine. Some of us managed to sneak in second helpings, obviously reluctant to end a delightful meal that had already stretched to over three hours!

As they say in Spain, Olé! to a great experience! And many thanks to all who made it happen.

To view all pictures of the meet, click here

2nd PUNE WINE TASTING FESTIVAL 2008

The 2nd Pune Wine Tasting Festival 2008 organised by the Pune Gourmet Club was held on Dec. 13 & 14, 2008 at Rohi Villa in Pune's exclusive suburb of Koregaon Park.India's only wine tasting festival modelled on international events held in California, Australia and Europe offered the visitor the opportunity to taste some of the best wines crafted in India including prize winning ones and reserves. Wine enthusiasts were also offered a tasting of Seagram's yet-to-be-launched Rose.

13 of India's finest wineries werewell represented with their entire range of wines. Century Wines of Baramati who won many fans with their delightful Zinfandel in the 2007 festival came with their new offerings.

Chateau d'Ori who won a sliver medal at the India Wine Challenge for their Cabernet Merlot 2007 debuted with their entire range but alas not their prize winner which had sold out. Chateau Indage poured out their Marquise du Pompadour by the fluteful while Diageo & Four Seasons filled stemware with their whites and reds. Nine Hills didn't stint with their exclusive Shiraz & Cabernet Sauvignon Reserves. Nira Valley brought their Celeste range & Sula's late harvest Chenin Blanc found many new fans. Tiger Hill left their pugmarks for the future and Vallee de Vin's Paul Bailey held forth at an exclusive wine tasting session. Vin & Vouloir delighted their fans with their award winning Rose. Vinsura gave generous tastings of their entire range from Chenin Blanc to Zinfandel including their sparkler. Vintage's Reveilo Reserves drew oohs and aahs and they sold out their entire stock. There were Merlots, Chardonnays, Reserves, Sauvignon Blancs and Zinfandels. A wine for every palate.

Each visitor was wristbanded, given a wine glass, a wine guide & a pen and let loose on the lawns of the majestic Rohi Villa to imbibe to their fullest. The ambience was relaxed, casual and festive. Parag Kanhere held court with his hugely popular 'Cooking with Indian Wine' shows while Clive Castellino and Sujata Patil walked visitors thru wine appreciation sessions. We even had wine festival souvenir tee shirts and aprons. Silk Route served Teppanyaki and the PGC stall sold kababs and even grilled lobsters! There was a Tapas Bar with a wide selection to suit every palate and preference from veggie to seafood.

The huge lawn of Rohi Villa was dotted with gazebos. Visitors could walk around and sample from each and every stall. Seating was under umbrellas and tall palms. Many wineries gave away freebies from wine glasses to buy one get one free. There were smiling faces all around. The festival attracted nearly 2,000 wine enthusiasts not just from Pune from as far as Mumbai and Aurangabad.

1st Ann Meet Sept 30, 2007

Expressly Orient!

Ashvina Vakil

Seven corks popped almost simultaneously and the first anniversary meet of the PGC was underway! As befits a gourmet club we have to admit to opening bottles of sparkling wine to celebrate the occasion, but while it wasn’t genuine champagne, the Vinsura Brut 2007 rose admirably to the task.

“Watch the bubbles rise,” advised Shankar and while we exclaimed over their perpendicular path, volunteers put together the first lot of starters. Unpronounceable names and uncommon ingredients are usually enough to lend a meal a gourmet touch, but that Sunday meal was certainly more than that. Weeks of behind the scenes activity had segued into what promised to be an unforgettable meet. Raw material came from as far as Singapore, and adding valuable support to the commendable efforts of our own members were the Sawhneys of Silk Route and their enthusiastic staff.

South East Asian was the theme and a record 70 people turned up to indulge in delicacies that ranged from Japanese and Korean to Thai, Balinese and Vietnamese. Rita Sawhney and Sangita Jagtap put together attractive platters of Miang Khum (betel leaves stuffed with dried shrimp, nuts and herbs). Regular paan eaters looked decidedly uncomfortable faced with the task of spreading shrimp paste on their paan, but most enjoyed the unusual concoction! Shubha Nafrey provided interesting little munchies as an aside, and dried squid and wasabi coated nuts added to the mélange of flavours already bursting on our tongues.

Each table had a designated wine bottle-in-charge, who was equipped with a corkscrew and the task of ensuring that everyone had the right wine at the right stage of the meal! Vinsura Chenin Blanc 2007 accompanied the first round of starters, which also included Shitake Nikozume (mushroom caps stuffed with ginger flavoured ground chicken) put together by Mrunmayee, Harshada and Rohan; and Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms (mushroom caps stuffed with ginger flavoured minced tofu) made by Sheel Rege. Parag Agarwal’s Kimchee (cabbage pickle) provided a pleasantly tart accompaniment to the mushrooms.

The piece de resistance of this part of the meal was undoubtedly the sushi. Created by the chefs at Silk Route, the platters were a visual delight and the salmon, prawn, and veggie sushi went down extremely well. There were some watering eyes and smoking ears from those who’d been too adventurous with the wasabi, but even they reached for seconds.

Platter number two, served with Vinsura Rose 2007, took us to Bali and Vietnam. Shalini Kagal was dispatched to the grill to watch over the Be Pasih Mepanggang (whole surmai marinated in Balinese style spices and charcoal grilled) and when the fish came to the table it rendered most of us speechless with its exquisite texture.


One bright spark likened it to a Balinese patra ni macchi but luckily there were no Parsis around to take offence. The Gai Cuon kept us all busy; stuffing the fresh cold rice paper rolls with crispy sliced roast duck or vegetables, was a delicate task. We’d left preparations for this to the experts and Silk Route did us proud. The duck was cooked to perfection and nestling in a bed of thinly grated cabbage and carrots and flavoured with Hoisin sauce, the Gai Cuon was another highlight of a meal that was growing more exotic with every course.

The Vinsura Zinfandel 2007, to be served with the main course, had been decanted in advance to allow it to breathe. Shubha Gadkari and Mabel Patwardhan had the task of marinating lamb slices in spices for the Korean Bulgogi; Shankar provided the vegetarian alternative of aubergines, both of which were destined for the grill. Accompanying the Bulgogi was Sigumchi Namul (seasoned spinach) made by Sandhya Potdar, Dipti Desai and Sharon Fernandes. Indonesian Chicken Curry (boneless chicken marinated in spices, coconut milk and slow cooked) accompanied by steamed rice came from Jaya Kibe’s kitchen, while Bok Choy a la Shanth (vegetarian offering) accompanied by steamed rice was Shanth Mannige’s contribution.

Single-mindedly eating our way through this amazing medley of flavours and textures, we arrived at the dessert stage, not sure whether we had the courage to eat one more bite! The novelty of Gauri Nafrey’s Kao Neow Dam (black and white rice pudding served with mango) had most of us succumbing to it however while Rita Sawhney’s Coconut Jelly provided the final delicate touch.

It was not all about eating and drinking and exclaiming appreciatively as every course was served. Each member also rated the wines according to appearance, taste and overall finish. We had guests from Vinsura, including the managing director Kishore Holkar, and master winemaker M.P. Sharma who fielded some questions on the winemaking process. Members made some impromptu speeches, applauding the club and the indefatigable Shankar, who looked the picture of satisfaction in his sommelier’s apron.

A truly memorable end to the past year’s incredible gastronomic journey, and one that will stir us to greater culinary exploits!