02 | HINDUSTAN TIMES, MUMBAITUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015

Vishwadha Chander■ vishwadha.chander@hindustantimes.com

Remember when summer holidays weremade of lazy afternoons and raw man-goes stolen from the neighbour’s tree?Jam sandwiches and cold nimbu-paaniafter hours spent playing in the sun?

This No TV Weekend, take a trip downmemory lane with friends and family. Getthe little ones into the kitchen, call friendsover, and surprise them with much-loved favourites served with a twist.

“I can’t steal mangoes today,” says foodblogger and entrepreneur Amrita Rana,laughing. “But the memory of those kach-cha aam treats has stayed with me, so I make a raw mango mousse that bringsalive that flavour from my childhood.”

Cooking together is a great way tokeep the family away from the TV, addsfood consultant and author RushinaMunshaw Ghildiyal.

In fact, the family fun can start withdeciding the menu for the weekend.

A good way to get your kids on board,says Ghildiyal, is by asking each of themto suggest a favourite dish or recipe that they would like to help make.

“Then you can make a list and take them shopping for ingredients. This iswhen you can tell your kids stories aboutyour favourite meals, the veggies andfruits you liked and disliked,” she says.

Family time in the Ghildiyal homeis often spent in the kitchen, with her husband and two children, aged 13 and 7.

“We got rid of our TV three years ago,and that has given us more time for such activities, and few sights are as preciousas that wide grin of achievement on yourchild’s face when they realise they haveactually cooked a meal,” she says.

It’s not always the mother passing onthe love of cooking to the child, though.

Former banking executive DianaFernandes, 49, says her 17-year-olddaughter has taught her to have fun inthe kitchen. “She turns on her electronicdance music and bakes cakes from reci-pes she finds online. She enjoys cookinglike I never did,” says Diana, laughing.“Now I find myself doing a jig as I make dinner too.”

Food is also the ultimate way togo home.

Food blogger Kalyan Karmakar sayshe recreates his mother’s do-it-yourselfpasta recipes when he’s missing hismom, who lives in Kolkata.

“I was a fussy eater as a child andshe tried so hard... those are preciousmemories for me,” he says. “Like her, I don’t consult recipes. I just make thedishes based on memory.”

Mumbai-based cinematographer DevuNarayanan remembers hating vegetablesas a child. “But my grandmother madean irresistible avial,” she says. “Today, Icarry her kitchen secrets with me and inthe little kitchen of my rented Andheriflat, so different from her massive kitchenin Thiruvananthapuram, I experimentwith different vegetables in avial — a dash of basil, for instance, or zucchini.”

The best part about cooking is theknowledge that you are part of centu-ries of tradition, says Arundhathi Rao, a teacher with two grown children.Reinventing traditional Tamilian reci-pes is part of that tradition in her home. “My children made a face every timeI made sambar-and-potato curry, so I added cheese and used it as a sandwich filling,” she says. “My kids still love it.And now my daughter, a PR executivewho lives in Bangalore, has also start-ed experimenting in the kitchen. Sherecently told me she used my sambarpowder with oats, adding a further twistto the food I made.”

SWITCH OFF. UNWIND. EXPLORE

The No TV Weekend is almost here. In the run-up, we suggest ways in which you can celebrate with friends and family.Don’t miss: HT’s exciting events and prizes. Join the celebration on facebook.com/htnotvday and twitter.com/htnotvday

The Guide

Cook up a stormEAT Turn meal time back into family time this weekend. Prepare a family feast where each member contributes a recipe, or turn back the clock and revisit cherished childhood memories

TRADITION WITH A TWISTFor foodies, the HT No TV Weekend is the perfect time to turn off the box and tune in to your imagination. What was your favourite dish as a child, and how can you reinvent it? If you need a hand getting started, let our experts help you out

No matter how young or inexperi-enced your child is, if he can walkand talk, he can start his adven-tures with food.

A sandwich bar is a great start.You can prep the ingredients andlay them out — sliced vegetables,cold cuts, sliced meat, cheeses,dips and spreads, butter, chutneys, bread, bagels or burger buns,maybe even some fruit preservesand chocolate sauce. Then, let yourkids go wild. Lettuce and apricot?Why not?

Another thing that always works with kids is Italian food — a do-it-yourself pizza, lasagna or pasta, ora good old mac and cheese withgarlic bread. The key is to make itcolourful and let the child lead theway. That’s also the best way to end up with a quirky new recipe.

For older or more practised chil-dren, try cupcakes or a chocolate fondue served with cake, marsh-mallows and fresh fruit. Just cover the good upholstery before you getout the molten chocolate.

(Courtesy blogger andfood entrepreneur Rushina

Munshaw Ghildiyal)

COOKING WITHTHE KIDS

(Serves two)

Ingredients for filling: 45 gm lambmince, 1 tbsp hung curd, 2.5 gmturmeric powder, 3 gm caramelisedgarlic paste, 1 tbsp oil, pinch of cuminseeds, 1 black cardamom, 2 cloves,5 gm cinnamon, 2-3 black peppercorns,¼ onion roasted and chopped, 5 gmchopped ginger, 1 chopped green chilli,¼ tsp cayenne powder, ¼ tsp corian-der powder, pinch of fresh corianderleaves, salt to taste

Method: Marinate lamb, curd, salt,turmeric powder and garlic paste for2.5 hours. Heat oil in pan. Add cumin,cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, pepper-corns; sauté till fragrant. Add onionsand sauté till combined. Add ginger, green chillies, cayenne, corianderpowder. Sauté for a minute. Addmarinated kheema and cook on low flame for 2-3 mins.

Ingredients for Malabari paratha: 1 cupwheat flour, pinch of sugar, 60 ml milk,1 egg white, 100 ml oil, salt to taste

Method: Make a well in the centre ofthe flour and add salt, sugar, milk, eggwhite and 80 ml oil. Fold in walls of thewell and knead gently with a little coldwater to make soft dough. Cover withmuslin and set aside for 15 minutes.Smear oil on a rolling board and rollingpin. Roll out thin rotis, spread oil onand fold into a triangle, then roll into aball; repeat 2-3 times for layered effect.Cover with moist muslin and set asidefor 10 mins. Be gentle to retain the lay-ers when rolling into circles for cooking.

Place kheema in centre of each parathaand fold. Heat over low flame, cut eachparatha in half and garnish with corian-der, chopped chilli and hit of lime. Serve hot, with a salsa dip and fresh salad ofrocket, arugala and iceberg lettuce.

(Recipe courtesy Gaurav Dabrai,co-owner of Santé, Bandra)

(Serves two)

Ingredients: 4 raw mangoes, peeled & sliced; ½ cup sugar; 1 tsp freshlyroasted cumin powder; 1 tsp rock salt; handful of mint leaves; 2 cupswhipped cream; chilli powder to taste

Method: Boil raw mango in a little water until soft and mushy, addcumin powder, rock salt and sugar and cookfor 5-10 minutes, until sugar has melted and

water evaporated. Take off flame. Addmint leaves and blend until

smooth. Set aside to cool.Whisk cream until soft

peaks have formed. Fold inraw mango puree andtransfer to serving bowl.Garnish with raw mango

slices and chilli powder. Serve chilled.

(Recipe courtesy bloggerand food entrepreneur

Amrita Rana)

RAW MANGO MOUSSE

(Makes 12)

Ingredients: 1½ cups maida; 1½tsp baking soda; 1 tsp freshly gratednutmeg; 2 tsp powdered cinnamon; ½ tspsalt; 3 cups grated carrots; 1½ cups sugar; 1 cup sun-flower oil; 1 cup chopped walnuts;3 eggs, beaten

Method: Preheat oven to 220o C. Sift flour with bakingsoda, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt into a bowl. Blendcarrots, sugar, oil, walnuts, eggs in another bowl. Addcontents of first bowl and mix. Pour batter into 12muffin moulds. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 min-utes. Turn out on to a wire rack to cool. Decorate with butter cream or extra walnuts, and serve cold orwarm.

(Recipe courtesy blogger and food entrepreneurRushina Munshaw Ghildiyal)

CARROT-CINNAMON MUFFINS

MALABARI QUESADILLAS

■ Food blogger Kalyan Karmakar says he recreates his Kolkata-based mother’s do-it-yourself pasta recipes when he’s missing her. ‘I was a fussy eater as a child and she triedso hard. Those memories are precious to me,’ he says. Fellow blogger and entrepreneur Amrita Rana says she likes to recreate childhood favourites with a twist.

HINDUSTAN TIMES OFFERS YOU...On No TV Weekend, your favourite newspaper has lots lined up. Here’s a look at the schedule for Saturday

VIDYA SUBRAMANIAN/HT HELICOPTER JOYRIDESoar hundreds of feet abovethe city and see its stunning coastline from an all-new per-spective. Noon to 1 pm, at Pawan Hans, Juhu

OPEN-DECK BUS RIDEBreeze through south Mumbai atop an open-deck bus. Register on the same day and collect passes at CoomaraswamyHall gate of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj museum between 3 pm and 3.15 pm.Hop on for an hour-long ride at 4.30 pm

ODYSSEY IN THE OCEAN Explore the world of oceans and create your own giant under-the-sea collage with author Katie Bagli and artist Zainab Tambawala. 10.30 am to noon, at Kitab Khana, Fort

MADHUBANI WORKSHOP FOR KIDS Sketch intricate Madhubanidrawings on paper bags, colourthem in bright shades and take them home as souvenirs, atthis workshop by Maitri Katwa.12.30 pm to 1.30 pm, atChhatrapati Shivaji Maharajmuseum, Fort

TEST YOUR SKILLS AT FOOSBALL While your friends are busy sweating it out on the field, test your football skills with a game of foosball in games between two-member teams. 6 pm to 7 pm, at Kick, Powai

BEER-AND-FOOD PAIRINGGet tips from the experts at Irish House. Entry based on availability of space. 1 pm to 2 pm, at Irish House, Kala Ghoda

BERTOLLI INDIAN FUSION WITH CHEF RANVEER BRARAttend a demonstration of food-styling tips and unique ways of plating, and discuss the mod-ernisation of Indian cuisine with twists on classic meals. 5 pm to 6 pm, at Shiro, Worli

PIZZA-MAKING WORKSHOP Let Serafina show you how to roll out your pizza the Italian way. Entry based on availability of space. 5 pm to 6 pm, at Serafina, Kala Ghoda

ASH KING UNPLUGGEDEnjoy an Ash King performance in an intimate setting. 6 pm to 9 pm, Andheri Base

KICKBOXING WORKSHOP WITH LEENA MOGRE Get some high-intensity aerobics and resistance training for muscle-building and heart and lung fitness. 10 am to 11 am at Leena Mogre Fitness Centre, Bandra

HERITAGE BICYCLE RIDEGet on your bicycle and mean-der in the wee hours to see Mumbai in a different light. Ride past landmark structures and interesting bylanes. Assembly time: 6 am, at Kailash Parbat restaurant, Colaba

TOUR OF HOSPITALITY IN 19TH-CENTURY BOMBAYFind out more about the crum-bling mass of iron and brick known as Esplanade Mansions, once Bombay’s premier hotel, and the Taj at Apollo Bunder. Assembly time: 8.45 am, at Rhythm House, Kala Ghoda

UPCYLING WORKSHOPLearn how to make chic new things from those old knick-knacks lying around. 3 pm to 6 pm, at Eternity Mall, Thane

BIRD-WATCHING AND PHOTOGRAPHY TRAIL Get an inside view of an urban green lung. Assembly time: 7.30 am, at Tikuji-ni-wadi gate, Thane

To register for these events, go to notvday.hindustantimes.com

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