Recipe: Onion Pakoras

My Mother’s recipe, it’s easy and is a great treat for tea time or as an appetizer (even better served with cold beer!)

Ingredients combined in a bowl:
1 cup corn flour (fine corn flour) or chickpea flour

1 large onion

1-2 green chilies (according to your taste)

1 tsp cumin seeds

Salt to taste

Water for consistency

Batter:

Combine all the ingredients and make sure it’s a thick enough consistency that you can drop by the teaspoon into the hot oil (oil must be hot).

In a small saucepan, that’s deep enough, add oil

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Serve with a cilantro or mint chutney or hot sauce

Savannah: Back in the Day Bakery

Location:

2403 Bull Street

Savannah, GA 

31401

One thing at the very top of my Savannah list of places to visit was the Back in the Day Bakery. I'd seen it on Jamie Beck's blog and she highly recommended it on the list of must-sees she gave me.

On a rainy day it was an amazing, indulging breakfast pit stop.

I mean, biscuits and jam? I could have those every day.

(Also, who knew that I could have been sitting so close to one of my Instagram connections - wow, small world!)

Boston: Pauli's

Location:

65 Salem St, Boston, MA 02113

The North End of Boston is one of my favorite parts of this city, it's great for photoshoots and of course, for the food. So, I couldn't believe I had never been to Pauli's before.

Guys, it really is WICKED fresh and CRAZY GOOD!!

The lobster grilled cheese sandwich was not only massive, it was chockful of fresh and huge chunks of LOBSTAH and lots of melted cheesy-goodness (don't worry, I Lactaid-ed myself out).

The catchy "Pauli-tician" sandwich caught my eye, for it's name and for its ingredients (chicken cutlet, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar). Those are my must-haves for literally everything, plus, it's approved by Paul himself! I could eat it again, right now.

Another not to be missed sandwich is the Vito. Why? Because it was created by the "Vito" from The Sopranos.

That's right.

Looking for breakfast? Lunch? Dinner? Pauli and his team have got you covered. If that's not enough, they also have a full catering menu, as well. Want to order online for delivery? They've got you covered there, as well. I knew the battery powered bikes were there for a reason!

And the team there? They're awesome!

Thank you Paul and the team for treating us to an incredible dinner!

Cambridge: Beat Hotel

Location:

13 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA (below The Gap in Harvard Square)

It takes a certain type of restaurant to get me out on a weeknight after work in this city. The Beat Hotel is that type of restaurant. A grand opening party at a bohemian American brasserie inspired by the Beat generation of the 50s Paris, with live music and cockails named "Electric Sidecar"? Well, the food was just the icing on the cake at that point.

The restaurant features live music e'ry night with jazz, blues and world adding to the bohemian vibe. This night we were treated to Kate McGarry along with Steve Santoro and the Tim Ray trio.

Throughout the evening, our host and co-owner Bertil Jean-Chronberg suggested a variety of American artisanal wines and craft beers to complement the items on the menu. 

Serving a very eclectic menu of seasonal dishes to tempt both the carnivorous palate as well as the herbavore, our table covered the entire spectrum.

We began the evening with flavorful craft cocktails; my favorite was the American Breed, complete with Maker's Mark and St. Edler's elderflower liqueur and apple cider...it felt like the perfect drink for an Autumn evening.

We started with a slew of appetizers, spanning the entire table. A must-try dish is the Hamachi (yellowtail) Sashimi, served on avocado, sambal and black olives...literally melts in your mouth.

There was crispy calamari and tempura veggies, crispy tuna spring rolls, a bohemian platter of hummus, cheese, veggies, pickles, enough for everyone to share.

If that wasn't filling enough, we moved onto our mains, I decided on the 1/2 roasted natural chicken with frites, mustard jus and pickes, generous in portion and robust in flavor.

The Tandoori spiced halibut with lentils and cucumber raita was a tasty alternative to the chicken, and the Earth Bowls (options vary from vegan, shrimp, chicken, steak and salmon) are yet another satisfying choice.

Don't get me started on the desserts...the bread pudding is to die for.

It's the best when you can share in a food experience with food lovers, and amongst these, at my table it was great to meet Tiffany and see Elizabeth who I hung out with in Miami!

If you're looking for a lively spot to wine and dine with live music every night, be sure to check out the calendar at The Beat Hotel.

Thank you to The Beat Hotel for treating us to an incredible evening in Harvard Square.

All photographs ©Hogger & Co., processed with VSCO Film 04

Product: TILDA Basmati Rice

We have this joke about how I love me some rice. There's normal portions of rice and then my portion of rice (imagine, if you will, a pyramid).

It's ridiculous because it's TRUE.

And Tilda's Basmati is rice royalty. Fluffy, long-grained, and non-sticky.

I was ecstatic to collaborate with Tilda on their latest two minute rice packets.

I opened this one up right way and literally two minutes later, pilau (indian masala-spiced rice) was standing up to the other indian dishes on my plate, dishes that took way longer than two minutes, mind you!

If you've ever cooked rice on the stove or in a rice cooker, you know it doesn't take two minutes. And this is no Uncle Ben's two minute rice, this is gourmet, fluffy, long-grained, no-preservatives, BASMATI rice.

It's portioned to serve two (one, if you're talking about me).

I can't even tell you how pumped I am about this product. The other packets didn't last long enough to even try various recipes, I was just happy eating them as is.

And excellent addition to the pantry, well worth having, and so tasty, you may just start eating rice like me.

Recipes to try with Tilda's Steamed Rice Pilau: Tilapia Curry and Indian Style Beets.

TEA WITH: Ana + Alaina at Tatte

Location:

318 3rd St, Cambridge, MAI had the pleasure of having tea with these two lovelies recently, after a wonderful afternoon at this place.

Here we are at Tatte Bakery, one of the cutest bakeries in Kendall Square. A bakery that is not new to my Instagram feed!

As part of a new series, here I am having tea withAna and Alaina.