“He who controls the spice controls the universe.”
Frank Herbert
The Masala Dabba #2. February 2016. It’s strange how often we connect spices to savoury foods, often in India spice is synonymous with a curry! Delightfully enough, as we blog on, reading more, breaking new ground and exploring our palettes, ingredients take on new meaning. For instance, there is always so much more you can do with spices, enough to make them leap out of the masala dabba or spice box!!
Yes I’m back with the second version of our collaborative spice journey with exploring or rather ‘shooting’ spices, a fun interaction called by the ever sweet Dolphia, seconded enthusiastically by my soul sister Simi and yours truly. We’ve collected a new spice girl along the way. Meeta joins us this month as we delve into the fascinating world of spices. It’s only about styling and shooting spices, yet for me, the inspiration often goes a step further. It’s impossible to just shoot spices without following my nose to the simmering pot, hence a recipe is born now and then!
It began with shooting spices, and eventually turned into a winter inspiration. I desserted with spice! The three found their way into this absolutely smooth and delicious Gur Panna Cotta With Candied Walnuts. Talk about flavours that compliment each other! If panna cotta is not divine enough on it’s own, this version turned out to be sublime, a recipe I contributed for my column on askme.wellness.com.I couldn’t just stop there so I then drank or sangriad with it! The Sangria Mocktail was great fun to shoot. You could go down the red wine way with this of course. I mean, after all a recipe is often a springboard for further creativity. With cinnamon it’s difficult not to think of warming, comforting wafts of sweetness in the air. I plan on making bite sized cinnabons some day soon. They really call my name. I think the mini dessert trend happening now, along with my recent spice overdrive, might well be the culprit!Our spices of choice for the first month to challenge us – Cinnamon + Cloves + Star Anise. Three spices, cinnamon I use often, cloves a little rarely, and star anise possibly never. While I love how star anise looks, one of the prettiest spices ever, the flavours are often overbearing. Yet, surprise, surprise.I used star anise in a the trio of spices to make aSpiced Strawberry Wine Jam for this Chocolate Berry Wine Fallen Gateau and I was rewarded with beautiful lilting flavours. As I begin to use star anise more often, or rather infuse it, keeping it at a minimum, the gentle undertones are rather endearing.
Cinnamon The inner bark of a tropical evergreen tree, harvested during the rainy season when pliable and then dried into curls sold as sticks or ground into a powder.With its warm, sweet flavor, cinnamon is one of the biggest workhorses on the spice shelf. Cooks often use it to flavor baked goods and drinks, but cinnamon also works wonders in stews and sauces. Matches: apples, berries, chicken, chocolate, coffee, custards, fruit, lamb, oranges, pears, rice
Cloves Native to Indonesia, cloves are small nailed shaped flower buds that are dried and have a sweet, somewhat penetrating flavor. They can be bought whole or ground. Ground cloves are commonly used in baking. Matches: apples, beets, game, ham, lamb, pumpkin, sausage, tea, tomatoes, walnuts, wine
Star Anise A star-shaped, dark brown pod that contains a pea-size seed in each of its eight segments. Native to China, star anise comes from a small evergreen tree. It’s flavor is slightly more bitter than that of regular anise seed. Asian cooks use star anise to give a licorice flavor to savory dishes, particularly those with pork and poultry. Matches: duck, eggs, fish, leeks, pastry, pears, pork, poultry, pumpkin, shrimp.
Do stop by our other spice girls as well as we share this charming journey from one month to the next! Hope you enjoy it as much as we are.
“Once you get a spice in your home, you have it forever. Women never throw out spices. The Egyptians were buried with their spices. I know which one I’m taking with me when I go.” Erma Bombeck
The Masala Dabba. A name that paints a spicy picture. A fun food styling experiment born out of a conversation one day in December last year. Spices are something that intrigue us, and are sometimes challenging to shoot. So Dolphia floated the idea, and it was instantly lapped up by Simi and lazy me. It’s always great to have something that gives us inspiration, or maybe focus to shoot. The idea was to shoot the spices, in sets of three, month after month.
Doing something creative as a group is always fun. Makes you want to reach out for the elements time and again. Makes you also impatient to see how different minds style and shoot. It’s another new creative start, one that should see a few months of spicy good fun! This month we each picked a spice…
Nigella {not Lawson 😉} sativa or kalonji Fenugreek or methi daana Caraway or ajwain
A step back into the history of the world, and in many ways spices were central to exploration of uncharted territories, to discovering exotic lands. Spices led to wars and empires being built, and then eventually being lost! Nowhere in history would you find the same ingredient common to being celebrated as an aphrodisiac, holding proven medicinal qualities, yet being an inherent part of the ‘recipe’ for embalming! Such great properties can only be SPICEY!!
Spices are an integral part of the Indian kitchen and each one adds punch and flavour to the pantry. Even though I’ve never used the three of these together, individually they pop up every now and then when I cook. Ajwain shows up a great deal in radish or mooli ke paratha, in root vegetable stir fries and in curries. I use it often as a substitute for oregano in my pasta sauces, giving the seeds a good rub between the palms before throwing them in. They have huge digestive properties.
Fenugreek finds itself more often than never in pickles and curry powders. My mother’s aam ka achaar or mango pickle always had fenugreek, and I still remember the slightly bitter aftertaste after biting into the soft firm seed once pickled. I use fenugreek the most in the tempering or baghaar for kadhi, a yogurt curry with dumplings, which is a huge favourite at home. Fenugreek too offers great digestive properties, is used to treat diabetes, reduces blood pressure, congestion and a host of other illnesses.
Nigella of course lands up most often on the naan, sometimes in a ‘paani ke station wale aloo‘ ki recipe {a water based no oil potato curry served with puri at railway stations in India}, and an inherent part of paanch phoron. Paanch phoron is a five spice blend quintessential to Bengali cuisine. Nigella satvia is one of the five, the others being fenugreek, mustard, fennel and cumin, all seeds.
Shooting spices is always challenging but quite addictive. Already looking forward to what we can do next month with the spice girls!!
Do stop by and explore the dabbas/spice boxes of my other two partners in crime spice Simi @ Turmeric n Spice Dolphia @ Story of Cooks
…and if you’d like to learn a bit of food styling, do check out my next workshop with Darter below
“It’s the same principals of great photography. Even though it doesn’t move, food still has a moment.”
Penny De Los Stantos
Remember when I said “There’s something about food photography that makes the heart skip a beat. It’s a truly rewarding experience, a visual delight, an instant connect. Food photography and food styling are best friends forever. One cannot excel without the other, and it’s an endless learning experience. The net is never ceases to amaze, showcasing the vast talent that lies before us. Food blogs are an important contributors too, some who have inspired me endlessly for so many years.”
I was talking about the online food photography event DMBLGiT. Well it’s back with another edition, the Jul 2015 edition, and this time it’s evolved a bit, trying something new. We are co-hosting the event! By co-hosting we attempt to spread the contest and invite more participants. The contest quality improves and winners get more exposure and wider reach. More details on co-host and July event here.
Three of us,Passionate About Baking, Lemon in Ginger.com and The Spice Train, are co-hosting the event with Neel @ Learn Food Photography. Only good and yummy can come out of this delectable combination, so keep ’em entries rolling in. We’ve got just a few days to go to the deadline –July 20th at midnight C.S.T (Chicago Time)
The rules once again. quite simple and straightforward. Ping me in case of any double, or if you need anything else.
Criterion for judging:
Aesthetics: composition, food styling, lighting, focus, etc.
Edibility: “does the photo make us want to dive in and eat the food?”
Originality: the photograph that catches our attention and makes us want to say “wow!”, displaying something we might not have seen before.
Overall Winner: top overall scores in all three categories combined.
There are three overall winners for photographs with the highest point totals in all three categories combined, and one winner in each of the three individual categories.
To be part of DMBLGiT, email me your best photograph taken in June ’15 using the submission instructions below.
Photo Submission Requirements:
Send your photos as an attachment to dmblgit[at]learnfoodphotography[dot]com with Subject “DMBLGiT Jul 2015″. It is critical that subject of the email matched exactly to what’s mentioned above. You will receive an email confirmation of submission.
Include this information in your photo submission:
Your full name:
Your blog name and URL
Title of your photograph
URL to blogpost where submitted photo is posted
Agreement from you agreeing to let us display your photo on host website, learnfoodphotography.com and DMBLGiT contest gallery. We won’t use your photo for any other purpose outside DMBLGiT.
Important: File format needs to be jpeg format and longest size should be no longer than 500 pixels. This means for horizontal or landscape format max 500 px width and for vertical or portrait format max 500 px height.
Photo must not have any text.
General DMBLGiT Contest Rules:
Only one entry per person. One photograph. No diptychs
This photo should be taken and posted in the month of June 2015
This goes without saying but I will say it anyway – you must have taken this photograph and should have copyrights to this photo.
Entries must be received by July 20th at midnight C.S.T (Chicago Time) using all requirements described in the photo requirements section.
More information and FAQs if required can be found here.
“Keep props tasteful and simple. Remember the food is the star!
Robin Zachary
Food photography and food styling are best friends forever. One cannot excel without the other, and it’s an endless learning experience. The net is never ceases to amaze, showcasing the vast talent that lies before us. Food blogs are an important contributors too, some who have inspired me endlessly for so many years. Does my blog look good in this {DMBLGiT} …. or this……maybe this … or this? Styling and shooting food is music to my ears, thoughts that fill my head all day long. Call it an obsession, call it wasteful pleasure, call it developing a skill set or hobby, even shooting for clients, shooting is what I like to do best. I could spend hours with the camera, just whiling my time away, clicking colours, angles, produce, cakes … anything food. These are simple pleasures in the life of a food blogger. Where else would you find such a large-hearted community that is brought together by pure food porn?
And that brings me in to announce the winners of the DMGLBiT {Does my blog look good in this} April 2015. I am eternally grateful to the sweet Sophia Terra-Ziva and Ludmila Slokoski for taking time out of their busy schedules to judge this event. It means a lot to the food bloggers community when stalwarts like you who inspire us through every frame connect with us like this. Also HUGE thanks to Neel @ LFP who has resurrected this event and agreed to judge it too, despite traveling across continents!
Thank you ALL, the wonderful food bloggers for whole heartedly joining in. This event is on it’s feet only because of you. The enthusiasm, the spirit and the ‘wanting’ to learn is heartening to see. The judges have enjoyed looking at the submissions, and have offered feedback/comments on what you sent in. If you wish to hear how they felt, or how you can improve, then do drop me a line. I will be happy to share it with you. And now, time for the drumroll as we announce the well deserving winners.
DMBLGiT April 2015 Winners
Each DMBLGiT event has 6 total winners. One in each of these categories Edibility, Originality and Aesthetics – so that’s three. And three positions for overall winners.
Congratulations to all of you. Brilliant stuff! Thank you so much for participating.
Don’t forget to congratulate the winners by leaving a comment on their blogs. Also, do participate in May contest at Deepali from Lemon in Ginger. Official announcement should come soon.
“Food photos are never just about food. They’re equally about people, landscapes, capturing moments, and a sense of place.”
Penny De Los Santos
There’s something about food photography that makes the heart skip a beat. It’s a truly rewarding experience, a visual delight, an instant connect. The immense sea of talent that food blogs now offer hits the ball out of the park. It fills me with pleasure to have the privilege of hosting this months DMBLGiT, a food photography contest, on PAB.
DMBLGiT – short for Does My Blog Look Good in This, is a community run food photography contest that was established in 2005, 10 years ago. It’s a one of its kind contest that is hosted by different food bloggers every month and is judged by outstanding food photographers who love DMBLGiT. I still remember the shock at picking up a badge many years ago while timidly blogging in my little corner of the world. That was a post in November 2008. It’s really been a while…
In 2014, Neel @ LFP “acquired” this food photography contest from Andrew who was running this contest for several years. I’ve known Neel for several years, and was thrilled to catch up with him in Bangalore last year at the IFBM. He has done more for food photography than anyone can imagine to ‘capture’ food in frame! DMBLGiT was relaunched last month … and the announcement filled me with nostalgia. It was but natural that he would revive DMBLGiT some day!It’s a simple contest. Photographs are reviewed by a panel of judges, who score them in three categories: edibility, aesthetics, and originality. The host {me in this case} then compiles the scores to determine the winners. I have invited 3 food photographers I admire to be part of the panel this month.There is the very talented Bulgarian born Sophia Terra-Ziva from Sydney whos work I hugely admire. She has a very clear perspective, plays with colours beautifully and has won several food photography awards. Her frames tell a compelling tale, her energy amazes!
Our second judge is the sweet and uber talented Ludmila Slokoski, coincidentally again from Bulgaria and based in Sophia. She is the author of one of Bulgaria’s most popular food blogs Salted Lemons which reflects her love for the tastes and colors of great food. The last two years Ludmila has been working as the editor-in-chief and photographer of BBC GoodFood Bulgaria magazine.
… and last but not the least, our third judge is Neel who really needs no introduction as he is the force behind resurrecting this beautiful DMBLGiT concept! Neel is also the star {with his better half G} who has successfully run Learn Food Photography for the past so many years. From an old Russian 35 mm film camera, Zenit, to plugging in his memory card, Neel, the hobbyist photographer and professional engineer, is living a dream life!
The specific things the judges will be looking for are as follows:
– Aesthetics: composition, food styling, lighting, focus, etc.
– Edibility: “does the photo make us want to dive in and eat the food?”
– Originality: the photograph that catches our attention and makes us want to say “wow!”, displaying something we might not have seen before.
– Overall Winner: top overall scores in all three categories combined.
There are three overall winners for photographs with the highest point totals in all three categories combined, and one winner in each of the three individual categories. So… ready to participate? To participate simply email me your best photograph you took in Mar ’15 using the submission instructions below.
How to Participate – Photo Submission Requirements
Send your photos at an attachment to dmblgit[at]learnfoodphotography[dot]com with Subject “DMBLGiT April 2015″
Include this information in your photo submission
Your full name
Your blog name and URL
Title of your photograph
URL to blogpost where submitted photo is posted
Agreement from you agreeing to let us display your photo on host website, learnfoodphotography.com and DMBLGiT contest gallery. We won’t use your photo for any other purpose outside DMBLGiT.
Important: File format needs to be jpeg format and longest size should be no longer than 500 pixels. This means for horizontal or landscape format max 500 px width and for vertical or portrait format max 500 px height.
Photo must not have any text.
General DMBLGiT Contest Rules
Only one entry per person. One photograph. No diptychs.
This photo should be taken and posted in the month of Mar 2015.
This goes without saying but well … you must have taken this photograph and should have copyrights to this photo.
Entries must be received by Apr 20th at midnight I.S.T (Indian Standard Time) using all requirements described in the photo requirements section.
Saffron Pistachio Indian Bread Pudding {eggless} …. this is a post about bread pudding, the festival season, travel, cookware, memories, possessions, obsessions, food props & styling, connects and so much more. To begin with, a bit about the dessert. Fascinatingly, almost every culture across the world has it’s own version of bread pudding. In many cases, eggs are an intrinsic part as they help to firm up the custard to offer a rich pudding. That version is often baked. We grew up with a no bake eggless version, quintessential in this part of the world. Locally referred to as Shahi Tukda, its translation quite literally ‘the royal bit{e}’! Inherent ingredients … bread of course {day old if possible}, clarified butter, sugar, full cream milk, often khoya {milk solids also known as mawa}, dry fruit. Saffron if you want to add to the flavours and give it that special touch. I love using saffron. A nice generous teaspoon and you have seductive, lilting flavours in your dessert.
Pistachio slivers, rose petals, beaten silver foil, more saffron … anything to make it even more festive. I thought it fitted right in with my newly acquired {read received as a gift} Mauviel1830 rectangular roasting pan. And there begins another connect … a food prop connect!
I am fascinated by food props. Metal, stone, wood, ceramic, stoneware. However, metal is my first love. Copper to get even more precise. Most folk who know me know well of my love for food props, vintage mostly. A trip to the Kashmir valley in March this year left me virtually breathless. The people, the places, the architecture, scenic beauty, an old world charm … Also old markets, spices and of course copper-ware. Loads of it. Old Srinagar market is filled with the most beautiful intricately engraved copper. The natives use it in everyday cooking; it’s a part of their life. There was only so much I could carry back. I had been warned about excess baggage!!
And then last week came something that I had never imagined. More copper. A gift all the way from Normandy, France. Not vintage, but something that left my heart going THUD THUD THUD!! A set of the most beautifully crafted, stellar quality copper and steel cookware form the iconic French brand Mauviel 1830! Take a look.
Srinagar means a lot to me. A childhood connect, copper-ware, shikaras, houseboats, snow, saffron, rogan josh, goshtaba, bakeries, fruit, beautiful people … For the recipe, I wanted to use saffron. I’ve done a really nice Caramel Saffron Panna Cotta earlier, so this time opted for a simple eggless Indian Shahi Tukda or bread pudding.
This Mauviel1830 rectangular pan offered me a perfect choice even though it’s a roasting pan. You can bake an egg custard bread pudding in the pan for a variation. Here is what I did. I tried to use as many of the beautiful creations from Mauviel1830 in this simple recipe. The adorable little pan was used to melt the clarified butter in. The copper bowl for whisking the milk, cream, and condensed milk, the heavy bottom saucepan for reducing the milk concoction…and of course the rectangular pan for final plating.
It’s a really nice set, and using Mauviel made my experience totally memorable. I felt royal. You got to experience it to believe it. Each piece screams quality, feels great to hold, is crafted with care, and beautiful to look at of course…… as a friend rightfully commented on FB, Mauviel1830 is an investment.
Do head off to Sharon @ The Keybunch to find my simple, rich and indulgent yet rich Indian Shahi Tukda or Saffron Pistachio Indian Bread Pudding {eggless} recipe. It’s a quintessential Indian dessert, kept light by toasting the bread. Feel free to play around with spices and or/ingredients. The recipe is pretty basic. Use cardamom or star anise, maybe nutmeg for a change in flavour. Skip the condensed milk and use ricotta, mawa/khoya and sugar instead.
