Add mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes.  While waiting for the ‘always-late’ train in Jammu, omelette sandwiches were the staple, and pakoras of every vegetable available in the season with green chutney made journeys through Punjab so much more delightful.The potato jaaliPeel, wash and make a laccha with help of turning slicer and shallow fry over medium heat and cooking oil until crisp. Garnish with almonds and you could serve hot with a dinner roll. Add almond essence.Melt butter, add onions and sauté until light golden.Almond velvet soupIngredients15 to 20 almonds   3 cups white stock  2 tbsp butter  1 tbsp maida1 cup milk  1 tsp almond essence  2 tbsp fresh cream  Salt and freshly ground black pepper to tasteMethodSoak almonds in hot water for 7-8 minutes.The royal breakfast served on the fast trains, which can still be found in the Shatabdi, begins with warm milk, then cornflakes, a toast or two, some eggs and then some more! Interestingly, it is the British who brought to India both the extensive rail network and the concept of dining cars, which evolved or downsized into pantries subsequently. Remove from heat. Serve with potato jaalis, and optional rice. Given a choice, I’d still travel by train for the fun of long journeys, food chats, various stations and their culinary offerings but the luxury of time isn’t on my side. Pour over the mixture created in the first step. Every once in a while the pantry car would  dish out delicious chicken cooked in local spices — a rail car rendition of a chicken chettinad with appams.Mutton curryHeat ghee in a pan, add onions and curry leaf, saute over low heat.Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the cutlets until golden brown.Stir in cream.

 Now, add stock and salt, bring to a boil and then reduce to low heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the meat is cooked. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. It  will thicken as it cools. Cook on medium flame for 5 minutes and keep stirring. Anecdotal tales passed among friends say that the origin of the Railway mutton curry lies in the days of the Frontier Mail when a troubled British officer searched for  a midnight snack, and the Indian chefs whipped up a desi dish, amended to his palate by being laden with yoghurt.Add milk, almond paste, butter, cream, salt and pepper. The most anticipated part of the journey was the food that we’d discover on our way. Uncover and bake for 15  minutes. l Add dry nuts to the mix, caramelise and it’s ready to serve.Often on short trips back to Delhi, we’d find the menu dotted with Veg Au Gratin, or a fish orly.Season to taste.  Take out the dish, add the remaining cheese and bake for 5-7  minutes. Butter a large deep casserole dish.Add tamarind, bring to a boil, reduce to low heat simmer, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes. Divide the mixture equally into small balls.Lower heat to medium-low and add mushrooms. Repeat step with coconut milk and simmer till gravy is medium thick. Take them out, peel and blend in a mixer.I discovered the joys of this dish on several journeys across Northern Indian in the late ’70s and ’80s, savouring it with toasted buttered bread amidst a game of ‘tic-tac-toe’ or a round of antakshri.  Add stock and mix well, cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Ltd. Serve hot.Mushroom puffIngredients1 tablespoon olive oil  1 small onion, minced  1 pound assorted wild mushrooms, sliced2 cloves roasted garlic, minced1 cup grated Parmesan cheese1 bunch fresh thyme, leaves stripped and chopped  Salt and black pepper to taste½ cup cream  500 gm puff pastry, you could buy a pre-mixMethodPreheat the oven to 200°C. Stir in roasted garlic, Parmesan cheese, and thyme.

Mix Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs.Add potatoes, stir-fry for a minute (adding a little water to prevent  sticking).  Lay down a layer of sliced potatoes and sprinkle salt and pepper. Serve hot or at room temperature.  Wash the vegetables and finely slice them.The writer is a chef and founder, Under One Roof Hotel Consultants Pvt. The sheer magnitude of serving hot appams to a whole train set really high standards of cooking and food service!Dinner was all about the Madras spicy curry with rice, and every once in a while if the whole bogey comprised of the families of a unit of the Indian army, then a full roast chicken with brown sauce brought squeals of delight amongst all the young ones. Leave aside for an hour. Fold pastry over filling to form a circle.Unfold pastry sheet onto floured surface and lightly roll into round shape.The flair of dishes and courses can be credited to them.  Layer one by one with carrots and zucchini, followed by onions and  mushrooms, then grated cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Add chilli flakes and vinegar.

 After step 8, empty the Au Gratin into the pineapple, season and add cheese. Add onion, cook and stir until tender for about five minutes. Serve hot. Each train journey had its own special culinary story and was replete with familiar sounds of the vendors selling ‘cold drinks’ at the railway stations, tiffins packed for ever-hungry boys that my mother had to nourish.Railway chicken cutletIngredients200 gm chicken/mutton, minced15 gm ginger5 gm green chilli2 gm coriander  1 tsp salt   1 egg l 2 gm roasted jeera powder and garam masala  40 gm onions     Bread crumbs 30 gmOil for fryingMint chutney2 wedges lemonMethodMix all the ingredients of marinade — ginger, green chilli, green coriander, salt, egg, jeera powder and garam masala with the chicken/mutton mince. Bake for 12 to 16 minutes, or until golden brown.  Heat oven to 180ºC. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Dot with butter.  Heat the butter in a saucepan, add flour and mix well — cook for a minute.Railway Mutton curryIngredients800 gm shoulder of lamb  16 baby potatoes, peeled1 big potato  90 gm desi ghee  150 gm chopped onionsCurry leaves  5 tsp garlic paste2 tsp ginger paste  5 tsp red chilli paste3 tbsp dhania  2 tsp jeera  1 tsp haldi  4 cups clear, lamb stock  China Laminated Aluminum foil Factory l Salt to taste  50 gm imli  180 ml coconut milk  Cooking oilMethodThe tamarindPut tamarind in a saucepan, add 1 cup of water, bring to a boil, and simmer until reduced to a quarter.  Add the meat, increase to high heat (to sear) and stir-fry for 7-8 minutes (adding small quantities of water to prevent sticking).A trip down South meant idlis with exotic chutneys for breakfast and unknown villages with their names written in unrecognisable dialects rushing by. Bake for 7  to 10 minutes within the pineapple.  Cover with a foil and bake for 30 minutes. Stir till it reaches a boil,  pour into a soup bowl..Spiced NutsIngredientsWalnut 50 gm  Cashew nuts 50 gm  Pistachio 50 gm  Almond 50 gm  Sugar 300 gm  Chilli flakes 20 gm  Celery 10 gm  Vinegar 5 mlMethodTake a pan and caramelise the sugar. 

Cut into 3 such pieces. And so, on their favourite stretches especially in the East, Railway cutlets were the staple, and an almond soup, as dusk approached. So it’s the air journery that rules the roost but that’s a food journey for another occasion. Cook and stir until  mushrooms reduce by half for about 15 minutes.  Repeat the steps to create 2-3 layers. Once while travelling from South till Mumbai, we found ourselves indulging in mutton biryani or railway biryani, as the khansamas on the trail liked to call it, and even kebabs inspired by the shammi kebab, with an accompanying raita.I  love to travel! Possibly, as an Army officer’s son, travel was in my DNA and a routine of life… passing through quaint, little towns that were completely unheard of while going for summer and winter vacations to our grandparents’ houses. Remove from heat and allow mushroom mixture to cool.Veg Au GratinIngredients2 cups milk  3 eggs  ¼ cup Parmesan cheese  3 cups breadcrumbs  2½ cups grated Cheddar cheese  1 tbsp olive oil  1 tbsp butter  1 medium onion, chopped  1 cup sliced mushrooms  1 large carrot  1 zucchini  1 small broccoli  1 small cauliflower  3 medium potatoes  2 tbsp butter  Salt and pepper, to tasteMethodTake milk and eggs and beat together.Add garlic paste, ginger paste, red chilli paste, coriander, cumin and turmeric and stir-fry until the moisture evaporates.Place a mounded teaspoon of mushroom filling in the centre of each square.  For a twist in the presentation, take a pineapple, halve it and hollow it out. Serve with mint chutney, and lemon wedges.