What military food is not – Cafe Military, Fort

This post is written by our monthly columnist – Rebecca D’Souza  based on her experience at Military Cafe and Bar

Very few of us can boast of having had the pleasure of working in Fort at least once in their life. Walking by Flora Fountain, past the majestic Bombay House and then up or down rickety, colonial style staircases to quaint little offices definitely adds a bit of romance to the monotony of a week day. But the real charm of working in Fort is the innumerable places to spend the sacred lunch hour we all eagerly look forward to.  One such lunch hour highlight was Military Cafe and Bar just behind the Bombay Stock Exchange.

What always amazes me is the diversity of diners here – Lawyers, college students, stock brokers, couriers, heyday Parsi couples, all giving what’s on their plate their full attention. As you walk in, you expect it to be like any other Irani restaurant in South Mumbai – a rude old man at the cash counter and bright pink pastries on the shelves. However I can guarantee you, after numerous visits, that it is nothing like you would expect. You are greeted with a warm hello and then given a table of your choice. The pink pastries are replaced with bottles of Foster’s and the gentleman serving you tries his best to make you feel as comfortable as possible.

       

This is a meat lover’s paradise, with not much of a choice for the vegetarians. The Mutton Kheema Pulao Dal is my favourite dish at Military. It is a no frill pulao mixed with greasy mutton mince topped with soft potatoes. It comes with a portion of Parsi Dal and is definitely not recommended if you have an assignment or client meeting post lunch. The Sali Boti is made the way it should be – tender pieces of mutton cooked in sweet and spicy gravy topped with crispy Sali. Another great recommendation for the die hard carnivores is the Bheja Fry Masala. I don’t mean to be offensive but you actually get the whole brain on your plate and it is yummy! I didn’t think the Mutton Dhansak was extraordinary, I prefer it at Britannia. Most importantly should not leave Military without trying their famous Caramel Custard! I am sure all of us have had our share of Caramel Custard but I reckon nothing compares to this. The custard is so creamy that even if you catch yourself doing a calorie count as you bite into, you still won’t give a damn! Military is easy on the pocket, with nearly everything on the menu priced between Rs. 100 to Rs 300. Forget about ambiance and fancy appetizers, here delicious wholesome food is given the first priority.

Photo credits: My colleague and lunch buddy Yohhan Pereira (www.instagram/yohhanp)

Rebecca D’Souza started her career in gastronomy with The Wine Society of India. She continues to travel to vineyards across Europe, explore new cuisines in Mumbai and bake till the wee hours of the morning!

Recipe – Banoffee Pie

“This is the recipe for banoffee pie prepared by Caroline Cardoz for our Easter lunch”

Banoffee pie is an English desert pie made from bananas and toffee (dulce de leche) either on a pastry base or crushed biscuits and butter. I have adopted my recipe from Sprinklebakes.com and Nigella.com. When I tried it earlier I topped the bananas over the caramel and the result was not as tasty as the way she does it at sprinklebakes. Also it can be done in a springform pan but I prefer doing it in a rectangular pie dish. Either way it is quite an easy recipe to prepare!

Bottom layer:

• 400g Digestive biscuits (I used about ¾ packet; you can use less)
• 8 tbsp butter melted
• ¼ tsp cinnamon powder
• If you use unsalted butter add ¼ tsp salt

Caramel layer:

• 2 tins condensed milk (400g tin)

Filling:

• 4 to 6 bananas (normal long variety)
• 2 tsps lemon juice
• 1 tbsp castor sugar

Topping:

• 2 – 3 cups whipped topping or whipped cream
• Chocolate curls or shavings

Preparation:

Crush digestive biscuits with a rolling pin. Add melted butter and cinnamon powder and mix thoroughly. Grease a rectangular Pyrex dish with butter. Add the crumbed mixture to the dish and line the bottom and sides of the dish. Put it into the freezer and chill for about 15 mins till nice and firm.

For the caramel layer, take two unopened cans of condensed milk and keep in a huge vessel. Add water and cover the cans. Let the cans boil in the vessel on a medium heat for about 1 ½ hours. Make sure the cans are covered with water at all times. Keep adding water to the vessel to make sure the cans are covered. After the required time, remove the vessel from the fire and let it cool completely. Open the cans, the condensed milk will be nice and caramelly. This can be done a few days before you make the pie. Stays well outside the fridge.

Slice the bananas into rounds, not too thin and toss lemon juice so that they do not discolour. Add some castor sugar and mix gently. Keep aside.

Beat the whipped cream till soft peaks form. Grate chocolate curls.

Assembly:

Remove the Pyrex dish from the freezer. Layer all the bananas over the crumbed mixture. /use all the bananas. Place dollops of caramel over the bananas to make the filling. Cover the bananas completely. I used about 1 and ¾ can of the caramel. I used the rest of the caramel for breakfast as a topping for pancakes. Yummy! Add dollops of whipped cream over the caramel. Cover completely. Sprinkle shavings or curls of chocolate over the whipped cream.

Keep it in the fridge till ready to serve. Tastes better after about 2 hours.

Enjoy!