Attention! Attention! Attention!

Hey My lovelies, 

A quick letter type post to inform about my most recent interview!! No i didnt mean a job interview, (remember- antarachocolates.com; so no job interviews pls) but a Question Answer type interview by the amazing team of Smart Indian Women -E magazine. This was the very first time I talked to someone as Antara Roy, a blogger and a foodie. I was quite surprised when the interview mail came to me. After all, its not everyday that you get to boast about being you!! 

Link to the full interview- 

http://www.smartindianwomen.com/blog/an-interview-with-blogger-antara-of-zouqh/

 An Interview with Blogger, Antara of “Zouqh“

Posted on September 22, 2014 by admin

Thanks for taking the time to chat with SIW. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your blog.     

Antara : I am a simple kitchen-ista in search of an elusive food nirvana. I am the ever smiling typical bong with big eyes and even bigger cheeks! I am the metropolitan home-maker and the new age mommy! I am the classic example of a risk taker, who left the blitzy alleys of mainstream media to become a ‘work-from-home entrepreneur’. I am the taste behind Zouqh, the brain behind antarachocolates.com and the lady luck/unluck behind two of the most awesome boys in universe! I am Antara roy…

What makes your blog so unique and why should people read it?          

Antara : My blog chronicles episodes of my life, which is almost always about food and drinks and merry times with friends and families. Every recipe I develop comes with a story of its own, and that’s my USP. I recipe develop for companies, using their products, which people love to try out as well. I also do restaurant reviews which people refer to before going up there. I also write articles about relevant food queries I get, such as how to be ready to cook on weekdays- http://antaras-zouqh.blogspot.in/2013/09/work-and-food-dilemmas.html or a modern spin on Ganesh chaturthi prasad- http://antaras-zouqh.blogspot.in/2014/08/lord-ganeshas-prashad.html.. so that’s how i stand unique to the rest!

How often do you blog?              

Antara : I try to target 2-3 times a week, but it heavily depends on my work schedules and appointments.

What has been your most successful blog post to date and what was it about?

Antara : I have achieved the biggest success while blogging recipes for a Mumbai based milk company. These recipes were also carried by the company and pasted on the bottle backs. Apart from these, last month I did a modern take on Ganesh Festival Prasad, which also gathered quite much attention.

What do you find most challenging about blogging?     

Antara : To blog on time, as you always end up delaying the post, and it somehow loses its credibility.

What are some of your favorite author blogs and why?               

Antara : I don’t have a favorite that I visit all the time. But yes Foodwishes.com and 15spatulas.com are a few I refer to when in search of a recipe.

Can we really make a living by Blogging? If yes, how we can do that?

Antara : I have not opened my blog to advertisements. But yes, I do feel you can earn a decent amount by doing that. Also food companies pay to recipe develop, which is another form of earning for food bloggers. In recent times, a lot of companies and restaurants alike really look forward to blogger’s opinions, and hence send invites to check out their products and comment on it. Product give-aways also happen. These might not be monetary earnings, but you do end up earning in kinds.

What advice would you give to young women readers of SIW who want to follow a similar career path as you?              

Antara : Blogging is fun and de-stressor… these are reasons enough for you to start blogging. its a wonderful way of venting out your knowledge, and keeping it open for the world to read. its addictive and it will provide you with that much needed break, that you crave for. Cheers!!

Blog URL : antaras-zouqh.blogspot.in

Category : Foodie

All images are property of “Antara” and required permissions have been taken to publish it on www.smartindianwomen.com website.

A Weekend Trail thru Food!!

It was one weekend trail that was worth every penny of bragging, as possible. I had a rather busy week and even busier weekend this week. And as usual it had to do all with food! More and more glorious food!

Taste Of Europe- Botticino

I have always been a fan of this concept of Restaurant Week. A three course meal, specially curated on half the prices, what’s not to like about it?  And the good part is, a lot of companies and restaurants alike are taking to this concept. It brings the common us closer to fine dinners and lunches, while not creating a huge blow on the wallet! When European Union got together city restaurants to start with a festival, #TasteofEurope- showcasing the European cuisines, I couldn’t help but try it out. I chose a 5 star setting- Trident BKC played a gracious host to my very satisfying and generous portions of Lunch.

All that Jazz and Spirit!!

Those were the days when you would go to an uncle’s house and have uncle chips and cold drinks while the adults chill with a cup of tea. Parties meant something easy, an easy not bothered atmosphere was created without much of a problem. The ladies were busy in kitchen, men in the drawing room and kids chilling in the bedroom watching TV, looking at western parties with flowing bars and awesome music. Cut to this generation, and we have successfully got all of those enactments to life, in an Indian setting. Today every house I get invited to has an impressive bar, and alcohol flows freely and heartily. After all, in this day and age, alcohol is the spirit of a rolling party.

When

A Weekend Trail thru Food!!

I hate Mondays, and hate it even more when it comes after a very long weekend as the last. What a lazy monsoon type weekend it was, where I just played with my toddler, made good food, ate good food (thanks to the festivities around) and actually got confident to share my interpretation of sambhar with my ever so generous and sambhar expert, my neighbour-Aunty! It was a lazy-lazy time, where I didn’t log into my computer or any of my social media, or stepped out of my building compound.  

Friday started with a Ganesh Chaturthi bonanza. So many social visits, different idols of Ganesh and yummy Prasad to eat. That summed it all.

Lord Ganesha's Prashad!!

We all love a perfect bite of cake, don’t we? But we are never adventurous enough to try and offer it to our darling Hindu gods, during their days with us in our house. We are about to celebrate a 11 day long festival to mark the presence our most lovable elephant god, Lord Ganesha! Let’s entertain him this season with a good dose of lovely soft and healthful cakes, which I am sure his sweet tooth is going to devour heartily.

Freezer, Meats and all that Jazz!!

This post is quite a revelation of the changing food scenes of an average, metropolitan kitchen of India. I can count many households where roti is not made every day, while traditional rice has taken a healthy overturn of being brown and fibrous! Did we ever stop to notice our refrigerators grow, little by little! 3-4 decades ago, Indians didn’t even know the term refrigerator. Then suddenly to have chilled water or a cold drink, fridge became popular. The freezer was a tiny frosty compartment with some paltry ice trays. It was hardly used for keeping anything sans the occasional treat of ice cream. I remember of the time when fresh food was bought every day, especially non-veg, and cooked. Even today I know of families in Kolkata who go out fish shopping twice a day, every day. 2 to 3 pcs of a fresh cut fish, made and served fresh each meal, every day. They don’t understand the power of a freezer, and frankly they never should. The taste of fresh cooked soft morsel of meat is far superior that the best qualities of imported frozen meat. But, it’s a luxury, not all of us are privy of.

#BeautifulFood

A year long journey of good food and Borosil.

Now hands up from all who have and adore their borosil vessels… I am sure there are thousands of hands up now. It’s not a company that was born yesterday. We all have thoroughly loved using their beakers in the chemistry labs, and its cookware’s in our kitchen labs! Today, as the last part of this participation in #BeautifulFood contest with MyBorosil.com and Indiblogger.in, I present to you a journey of my sprouting love with the ever glamourous borosil. Every picture below is close to my heart, clicked in vessels that I possess through half a decade long collection time. 

Toddler Steps: An Indian's Guide to Toddler Food

TODDLER ALERT!! I have one right now on my feet, trying to chew my clothes. They are such adorable little creatures. Walking around the house like a drunk penguin, smiling and uttering words in alien languages. They just make a working day go by in a breeze, with half the work done, but keeping you doubly tired at that. I sometimes wonder, what the secret behind their energy is. A HEALTHY DIET goes a long way in keeping them active and gaining weight at that. And more so for us in India, where we are blessed with fresh fruits and vegetables, much lesser in price than their tinned varieties.

My beautiful food-story!

Mumbai is finally raining! Ahh… Such relief from the hot and humid. It’s cool now, and I have a view of green covered mountains from my window ledge. I just want to sit on it with a steaming transparent cup of white leaf tea, the perfect brew- which shines golden in the cloudy sun outside; and remember that beautiful time when we were together! The perfect candlelight dinner I made for u to surprise you. You craved for that cheesy lasagne for long. I delivered it with just the perfect amount of naughtiness in the form of 2 well rounded cheeses- cheddar and parmiggiano. Perfect amount of tang in the form of the ruby red tomato-meat sauce that I made from the scratch. And not to forget, was the sweetness of grilled veggies that I lined on to add a twist of nutrition just for you! It was layered perfectly, but would have looked much better in a borosil lasagne dish, but I didn’t think of it then!

I was busy kneading back then rather to think of presenting my food. You remember, I also made the fluffy and dented, olive focaccia. Ah the romance of the yeast rising, the aroma of the fresh olive oil, the madness of the all-purpose flour. How wonderful would it have looked in a transparent vessel, I wonder now. The little pockets of air, which transformed the flour into a pillow, all visible from the sides. And the best would have been the fact that it would be perfect to put in the oven, and get it to the table too. If only that day I had realised! With you inside me, the comfort of such bake and serve would have been the greatest!

And for the sweet dish, ah, my homemade Peanutella Mugsy with a dollop of cool ice cream on top. I made peanutella, rather than exposing you to store bought nutella. Noise of the blender excited you, but smoothness of the sauce calmed you. And when I made the flourless cake after the very carb enriched dinner, you were beyond yourself in joy! I could feel your excitement when you saw the mugsy batter rising in the microwave to the brim of the pretty dessert cups. Your kicks of joy sent flutters down my spine. Yeah not one of the super nutritious meals, but definitely one of the most celebratory one! The hot, out of microwave cake, combined with cool, out of freezer ice cream; heaven in a bite!

You loved it then, and today, when you have developed your own little 1 year old taste buds, your mom is curious. Yes, the candlelight dinner that we had was when you were literally a part of me, 7 month old inside me. But today you are out. And you have distinctive likes and dislikes. Hopefully your mom’s food will always be a part of the former, and not the latter.

Today I am trying to do something I have never done before. I am trying to unleash the storyteller in me; on to you but without pictures! This is my entry post to #BeautifulFood hosted by MyBorosil.com and Indiblogger.in.

Cheers!!