Trick Or Treat!

Do you want to throw a Halloween party but haven’t planned for it yet? We know it seems like an impossible task, but Dev Goswami & Sara Shah have a few great cocktail and snack ideas that you can throw together for your party this year. And for those of you who plan to go out tomorrow, we’re telling you what to expect across Mumbai

Halloween is on a weekend this year and the timing couldn’t have been better. You can plan a fun house party with offbeat cocktails and spooky treats, or don scary masks and wigs at one of the several Halloween parties, which are being organised at restaurants and pubs across the city. Read on as we help you plan your house party and tell you where to go in the city to celebrate this holiday.

SPOOKY POISONS
A Halloween party calls for some fun cocktails that may look scary, but are an absolute delight to sip on. Here, we share a few recipes from popular restaurants in the city, who are also celebrating Halloween at their outlets with just as much pomp!

Creamy Killer Cocktail — Light House Café, Khar

• Ingredients: 60ml pineapple juice, 60ml cream, 20g frozen raspberry, 35ml white rum, 15ml Malibu and 15ml raspberry liquor
   
• Method: Pour all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker along with a few ice cubes. Shake well until all the ice has broken down. Strain the mixture into the chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the pineapple wedge and raspberry syrup.

Hocus Pocus —  The Sassy Spoon

• Ingredients: 30ml tequila, 15ml triple sec, 30ml sweet sour mix, 30ml red wine (preferably Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz), 1tbsp castor sugar, 1tbsp grenadine syrup, some ice cubes
   
• Method: Lightly rim the martini glass with grenadine and dip the rim of the glass in castor sugar to get a red rim. In a cocktail shaker, add tequila, triple sec, sweet sour mix and ice, and shake well. Pour the mixture into the rimmed martini glass. For the red layering, use a spoon turned backwards to slowly pour the wine into the martini.

Black Devil — Zouk Bar & Grill, Andheri

• Ingredients: 30ml dry vermouth, 45ml light rum, 2 black olives, 1tbsp fruit sugar
   
• Method: Stir the rum and vermouth with cracked ice and pour the mixture into a martini glass. String the black olives on a toothpick and pop it into the glass as a garnish. Use grounded fruit sugar on the rim of the glass to add colour to your drink.

Wicked Witch — Zouk Bar & Grill, Andheri

• Ingredients: 30ml white rum, 30ml vodka, 30ml cherry liquor and fresh lime juice
   
• Method: Shake all the ingredients with ice till the mixture is chilled. Pour it into shot glasses and garnish with store-bought, edible googly eyes. You can also use eye ball Jell-o to give the garnish a scary look.

MONSTROUS COCKTAIL BITES
Do you know what goes well with scary cocktails? Some seriously creepy cocktail bites! Make sure to prepare some of these delicious cocktail bites by chef Suryakant of the Ramada Powai Hotel & Convention Centre and Light House Café in Khar.

Bloodied Mummy Toes

• Ingredients: 100g sweet corn cream, 120g American sweet corn, 25g diced red, yellow and green capsicum each, 15g chopped ginger, 30g chopped garlic, 1 big onion, 225ml chilli bean sauce, ketchup, 30g spring onions, 10ml dark soy sauce, 50g corn flour, 15g potato starch, 200ml oil, 10g seasoning broth powder and some Sichuan pepper.
   
• Method: Blend the creamed corn and sweet corn in a mixer with water and Sichuan peppers. Cook the mixture on a slow flame for 10 minutes. Thicken the mixture with some cornflour and set it on a greased tray to cool. De-mould the slab of corn mixture and cut it into rectangular logs. Dust it with potato starch and deep fry for a minute or two. Remove from pan and dab with a tissue to remove the excess oil and arrange it on a platter. For the sauce, take oil in a pan and toss chopped garlic, ginger and onion and add chilli bean sauce and ketchup to the mixture. Stir for two minutes and then add capsicum dices. Add dark sauce and broth powder to the mixture and thicken the sauce with corn flour. Remove and pour it over the fried logs of corn mixture. Garnish with chopped spring onion greens.

GETTING SPOOKY
Restaurants and pubs are going all out with themed parties that will ensure a memorable celebration. Here’s a guide to what’s happening in the city tomorrow.

A party for children
If you want to celebrate Halloween with your children, California Pizza Kitchen is the place to visit. The Lower Parel outlet is offering special treats along with art and craft, and a tattoo making session. They also have a make-your-own pizza event planned for tomorrow, and the best dressed child will win a prize! And, the best part is that since the party is between 4-7pm, it gives you plenty of time for your own celebrations with friends in the night!

For the comic book lovers
The Mumbai Comic Con has finally announced its first-ever Halloween celebration with themed drinks, music and décor along a screening of unseen footage from the film Goosebumps. Cosplayers who come in wearing horror costumes will get two drinks on the house and the entry for the party is completely free! The celebration will begin at 8pm at Santé on Hill Road in Bandra (w).

Party for a cause
At the Palladium mall in Lower Parel, you can begin your Halloween celebration on a feel-good note with their annual Halloween bash, which is being organised today evening. Hosted by the NGO Fundraiser for the Light of Life Trust (their objective is to empower Indian women and children with sustainable and supportive programmes), the event will feature games, masks, photo booths, face painting and a specially sculpted haunted house. They have also arranged a special feast for children and their parents along with prizes for the best dressed children. Entry is priced at Rs 1,000 (call 43339994 for tickets) and the proceedings will go to Light of Life Trust.

Go neon
Light House Café in Khar is celebrating Halloween over two days with a glow party and special Halloween-themed dishes and drinks. The party begins at 9pm on both days and you can groove under their UV and neon lights to the tunes of their in-house DJ Shampy. The entry is free and for reservations you can call 9987232423. 

Tempura Coated Egyptian Mummies

• Ingredients: 6 prawns, 20g red capsicum, 20g yellow capsicum, 50g glass noodles, 10g radish, 5g ginger, 30ml mirin, 2g hondashi, 10g bonito flakes, 100ml dark soy kikkoman, 200g tempura flour and 500ml water.
   
• Method: Clean and devein the prawns, and press the flesh so that they do not curl up while cooking. Make a batter with tempura flour and water. Heat oil in a pan, dip the prawns individually in the batter and deep fry them. Make sure to dip the bell pepper batons in the batter and fry them. Remove from the pan once they turn golden brown. Fry the glass noodles and arrange them on a plate. Arrange the prawns and bell peppers on top of the noodles. For the tempura sauce, take water in a pan and add the hondashi to it. Bring it to a boil and add bonito flakes to the mixture. Next, turn off the heat, strain the stock and put it back on heat while adding in the dark soy. Burn the alcohol of mirin in a separate pan and then add it to the stock. Finally, bring it to boil.

Slimy Cheese Gherkin Balls at Light House Café

• Ingredients: 100g onion, 30g garlic, 100g red and yellow bell pepper each, 50g leeks, 10g parsley, 200g gherkin, 50g raisins, 150g cheddar cheese, 100g processed cheese, 50g mozzarella, 2g Thyme, 8g panco crumbs and chilli jam for garnish
   
• Method: Sauté onion, garlic and chopped yellow bell peppers. Let the mixture cool down. Add the mixture to the cheese types and combine it well. Add in the rest of the ingredients and bind the mixture. Make balls, coat with panco crumbs and fry at 180°C for 4 minutes. Finally, garnish with chilli jam and serve hot.

Food, music, alcohol
Road House Bluez is a place known for its great playlist and for Halloween this year, they are adding to the ambience and fun with a range of  themed shots and cocktails that will make the celebration here an easygoing affair. If you want to enjoy with good food and music without burning a big hole in your pocket, this is where you should be heading.

A complete celebration
JW Marriott in Juhu has something for everyone — whether you’re in the mood for a brunch outing with your children or a memorable party with your partner. The JW Café will host special activities for children, which will be followed up with brunch. Their Italian restaurant, Romano’s, on the other hand, is organising a party where you can come dressed in your spookiest best and enjoy special cocktails such as the Zombie Slime Martini and Smoking Skulls. The brunch is priced at Rs 1,100 for children and Rs 2,111 for adults (call 28538656), while entry to the evening party is priced at Rs 5,000 and includes food and alcohol.