The Ant Blog

I recollect this evening with a lot of fondness. The Monsoon season has kicked in , and the showers are typically incessant in Mumbai. On this particular day however the rains were intermittent. We had driven down to South Mumbai to the one end of the city at the  NCPA for an evening performance. The show got over at 9:15 pm and left us with a myriad choices to catch a grub from. After debating for a while, we drove to one of the closest eat-outs The Tea Centre. I had heard of this place a lot, so was happy to pay a visit. The place has an old world charm, and has the look and feel of an era gone by. The name of the place  reciprocates in their menu, where the first few pages are dedicated to various kinds of flavors and blends available. It was late and the diners were all having their dinner. So we thought of trying our ' chai ' at the end of the meal. We ordered for our starters, Chicken with sauteed mushroom and onion , and Chicken Catchatori.       ...

It took me less than 10 minutes to bring this together over a Thursday, and I was over the moon with the final product! Sangria and wine are the two things I absolutely adore, and when I came across this recipe I knew I had to try it at home.  Deby and I have been partners in crime for too long to keep a count, so who better than her to share my recipe with! Ingredients for Red wine Sangria Red wine- 1 Bottle,  preferably Merlot   Lemon- 1, cut into wedges Orange- 1, cut into wedges Sugar- 2 Tablespoon fine sugar (Castor sugar works well) Apple- 1, Peeled and cut into small pieces Brandy- 1 shot (optional) Ginger Ale or Club Soda- 2 cups Method for Red Wine Sangria: Pour wine in a pitcher and squeeze in the lime and orange wedges (ensure you remove the seeds out). Toss in the fruit wedges in the pitcher. Add in the apple pieces. Now add the sugar and brandy. Chill this mix for a good 3-4 hours (preferably overnight)...