Recipes from the ramp
Former model, author and mother Shvetha Jaishankar has been an advocate of balanced and passionate living. In her new book Gorgeous: Eat Well, Look Great, she offers delightful recipes and tips from India’s top models on how to eat well and look great
By : migrator
Update: 2016-12-11 06:35 GMT
Chennai
A lot many models get asked if they eat at all. It is a myth that models don’t eat well and lead lives of denial and dieting. The reality is that they do gorge, but they gorge smartly, meaning, they know when to let go and when to eat right, says Shvetha. She adds, “I came up with this book, because I wanted to dispel the myths around what to eat in order to feel your best. It is a challenge to change this perception, but by chronicling my journey and those of several others, I hope to take on the challenge.” Her new book is a cook-book peppered with laughter, anecdotes and it is garnished with conversations with 25 top models from the country, who speak about their food, what they cook, what they like to eat... Some have even shared their favourite recipes. “It helped that I was a model because the book is based on my own observations and experiences. Because I am not a model any more, I understand the challenges of trying to remain fit and eating right, especially after motherhood. Some of the models are friends and I also made new friends as we shared our combined experiences of food, fashion and fitness,” says Shvetha.
Food plays a huge role in Shvetha’s life, she asserts. “I’m conscious about what I eat, where I source my food and I make plans centred around food, when I travel or meet people. On a recent vacation, my husband insisted that we drive 100 km out of the way just to try an award- winning restaurant. The food was simply divine,” she shares.
Talking about her diet plan, Shvetha puts forth, “I start the day with a regular sugary tea and lots of water. Breakfast is usually fruit or yogurt and eggs. I have a mid-morning snack of steamed sprouts or nuts or buttermilk. Lunch is usually Indian cuisine including two vegetables, sambhar , brown rice or quinoa. I have tea with an adai and chutney or a cup of soup. Dinner includes bisibele bath, usal, pulao or rotis. I usually end my dinner with a piece of dark chocolate.”
LOBSTER PHULKA POCKETS
Inspired by the lobster rolls popular in America, this ‘desi’ version uses phulkas instead of pita or bread rolls. Did you know that phulkas mean ‘light hearted’? Well, this recipe is quite ideal for life’s light-hearted moments. Take it along for a picnic and wash it down with something ice cold. If lobsters are hard to get or not your favourite shellfish, you can use prawns instead.
Ingredients:
2 phulkas
450 g lobster or large prawns
10 g (6 sprigs) fresh basil leaves
40 g (1½ tbsp) fresh mayonnaise
35 g lettuce leaves, finely chopped
5 g (1 tsp) chopped fresh parsley
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
1 large avocado, diced in large chunks
1 tbsp of pesto (optional)
Juice of 1 lime
Ripe mango, diced (optional)
Small bunch of mustard seed sprouts
Sea salt and white pepper powder to taste
For the phulkas
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ tbsp of sunflower oil
A pinch of salt
Method:
- Fill a large pot with three-fourths water and add 2 teaspoon of salt for every litre of water. The water should be salty like seawater. Bring the water to boil and add the lobster head first or the prawns. Cover the pot and bring to boil, then turn the heat off and let the lobster simmer for 15 minutes or so, depending on how large the lobster is. For prawns, simmer for 5 minutes. Once cooked, the lobster/ prawns become red. Remove the lobsters/prawns from the pot with tongs and place on a plate to drain and cool.
- Break open the shells and remove the meat. Cut into ½” dice and place into a mixing bowl. In a blender, add the mayonnaise and the chopped basil leaf and blend together until well mixed and the mayonnaise is a light green colour. Mix this paste into the diced lobster/prawns and season as needed. Next, mix in the diced tomatoes and avocado chunks along with lime juice and set aside.
- Make the phulkas by first kneading the ingredients into a firm dough by adding a little water. Add in the oil and knead further until smooth. Set the dough aside for 15 minutes. Divide the dough into 4 balls and roll each one into thin discs of 6 inches each with a rolling pin. You can dust the pin with some flour during the process to prevent sticking or you can place a clean zip-lock bag cut in half underneath the dough to help with the rolling.
- Pre-heat an iron skillet at medium heat. Place one of the discs in the centre of the skillet and once small air bubbles form on the surface, flip the disc over. Using a pair of tongs, cook the disc directly on an open flame so that it puffs up. Once it puffs up, immediately take out from the flame. Repeat this for the rest of the dough balls to make 4 phulkas in total.
To Serve:
- Tear each phulka in half to create two ‘pockets’. Place the phulka pockets, chopped lettuce, lobster/prawn mix, finely chopped fresh parsley and lime wedges in separate plates for serving.
- Just before eating, take a phulka pocket, spoon in some lobster/prawn mix, chopped lettuce and a bit of the fresh parsley, squeeze on some lime if you wish, and eat right away.
- Mangoes, when in season, can be diced and added to the phulka stuffing along with the avocados and tomatoes.
MICRO MINI CUPCAKES
You will need a mini-cupcake pan with 12 or 24 cupcake slots with liners or individual mini cupcake tins. This recipe does not have cocoa, like some modern red velvet recipes have. This is a red absolute.
Ingredients:
For the cupcake
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup unsalted butter - softened
¾ cup fine white sugar
½ tsp apple cider vinegar
½ cup unsweetened plain yogurt
1 large egg
A few drops of red food colour
For the cream cheese frosting
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup cream cheese, softened
4 cups icing sugar, sifted
Method:
- Sift the first four ingredients together and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the unsalted butter and sugar until both have blended well into each other. Add the apple cider vinegar, yogurt, egg and food colouring and beat until smooth and even.
- Add the sifted flour and beat only till the entire flour has been incorporated in to the mixture completely. Do not overbeat.
- Spoon the batter into the lined cavities of the mini-cupcake pan, filling not more that the three fourths mark for each cavity.
- Bake at 175°C/350°F for 10 minutes. Half way through the baking, when the cupcakes have just about risen, turn the pan around if you can for the remaining baking time. When the top of the cupcakes are nicely set and firm, they are pretty much done. Don’t over-bake them.
- These cupcakes rise up and bake very quickly, so keep a watch. Insert a toothpick in the middle of a cupcake to check whether it is done or not. When pulled out it should come out clean or have just a few crumbs stuck to it.
For the frosting
- Blend the butter and cream cheese together. Beat in the icing sugar, one cup at a time, until smooth and spreadable.
- If you feel the frosting is too thin, you could add a little more icing sugar and beat to a thick spreadable consistency. Use a blunt knife to spread generously over the velvets.
- These delicious morsels keep for 3 days without the cream cheese frosting.
The recipes have been taken from Shvetha’s book Gorgeous
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