caldron magazine, july 2014

CaLDRON Magazine July 2014 1

CaLDRONJuly

201

4

Magazine

20recipes

Tiffin Ideas for the kids / page 28

White or brown rice?

tried adding tea to your food?

point, click and eat!

pampered bengali sons-in-law

a discourse on tex-mex food

seven whiskies, one conclusion

do you really know your beer?

Hotel Grande 51, checked out

Should you visit the Pullman Spa?

An app to drink beer? Seriously?

2 CaLDRON Magazine July 2014

how do you decide What to wear at a

restaurant?

Original question: Does your attire reflect the type of restaurant (casual / fine dining etc) or the prices it charges?Respondents: One hundred and ninety four (194)Link to Poll: http://bit.ly/whattoweartonight

73%

27%

0%

Type of restaurant

I dress the same, wherever

The prices charged

MEMBER POLL

A restaurant is a perfect excuse to unwind, swig back a couple of drinks, enjoy some great food – all while being at your relaxed best. Or is it? We asked readers whether they dressed up depending on the type of restaurant they visited or the prices the restaurant charged. Of the nearly two hundred responses received, a whopping 73% said they choose their attire according to the type of restaurant they were visiting and 27% said they dress the same regardless of where they're going, with only one respondent choosing to dress as per the restaurant's charges.


OTHER CREDITS

Cover image by Sangeetha Priya of Nitha's Kitchen.

All other recipe photos used are from the sources mentioned in the article.

Contributors for this issue:Poorna Banerjee, Shreenivas Gadewar, Sachi Kumar.

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EDITORIAL & CREDITS

The Chef at Large Team

MANAGING EDITORSID KHULLAR (Delhi/NCR)

ASSOCIATE EDITORNATASHA ALI (Bangalore)

CONSULTING EDITORVINITA BHATIA (Mumbai)

EVENTS EDITORPARUL PRATAP SHIRAZI (Delhi/NCR)

SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTSSANDEEP SRINIVASA (Coffee)

JASWINDER SINGH (Wine & Spirits)

SPECIAL PROJECTSRITUPARNA MUKERJI

SHRUTI ARORACHARIS ALFRED BHAGIANTHAN

I remember sitting astride a pink stone bench at the ripe old age of 10, accompanied by my brother, a massive, insulated tiffin car-rier at our feet, its contents arranged across

the bench. This was a daily routine, the eating of a full lunch - dal, sabzi, roti, dahi, salad and per-haps something sweet. That was then, when there was still a little time left to the adults of the world

and this particular memory comes from the sleepy city of Bikaner in Rajasthan, which is probably still a sleepier city than most. Of all our attributes and assets, Available Time is probably the one that feels the pinch of the current times the most with little or no time for what were considered essentials.

Relationships are fast tracked, holidays are seldom more than three to five days (I remember month long vacations, though usually with one set of grandparents or the other), daily leisure time is a rarity and our food suffers, oh how our food suffers. We choose careers over the right sort of calories, the maintenance of self images over the maintenance of our bodies and minds, and would much rather have a shiny new set of wheels than a clean colon.

A simple indicator is what our children eat at school; what we pack for them. Fried chicken nuggets, fried French fries, sandwiches made using commercial available bread that's mostly refined flour... a diet our children faithfully maintain when they grow up to be unhealthy, obese adults with awry plumbing.

This issue's cover story sheds a little light on how we can bring back a little more nutrition and health to our kid's lunches.

Remember to write in! :)Stay wellSid Khullar


Contents

Have you ever infused tea into your food? Read the story on page 42 to know more.


SnippetsPoll: How do you decide what to wear when dining out?, 2

Born this Month: Wolfgang Johannes Puck, 6Ask the Experts, 76

Listings, 96

ReviewsCuisine Nouvelle in our Backyard, 8

A Tale of Four States, 10Till The Fat Man Sings, 12

The Irish, They Are A-Coming, 14The Goan Serenade, 16

The Tuck Shop: An Anytime Treat, 18A Spot of Sunshine on a Rainy Morning, 20

For the Love of Biryani, 22Call of the Wild, 24

SpecialsShould it be Brown or White?, 26

Beer Tapping Tech, 29Reader Spotlight, 33

Hit the Streets, Asian Style, 34Eat that Kiwi Now!, 40

Tuck some Tea into your Food, 42Point, Click, Eat, 46

It Pays to be The Son-In-Law, 50Part American, Part Mexican, All Tex Mex, 52

Quick TakeStaying Hydrated, 55

Golden Strips of Delight, 60Zee Khana Khazana Launches Snack Attack - Firangi Twist, 65

Ready to Eat Meals on Long Distance Trains, 75

EventsDiageo Reserve World Class 2014 Concludes India Finals, 56

High Fashion Meets High Tea, 57Taste of Britain Curry Festival, 58

Soleil by La Plage Opens at Sula, 59

Cover StoryLunch Box or Pandora's Box, 30

Spiritual QuestWhiskey Does the Talking, 62

A Beer Pilgrimage Across Germany, 66Bubbling Forth, 71

Roaming Rover / Spa ScapeNo Frills Attached, 88Loungin' at the Spa, 92

Food PornInspirations, 78

RecipesFood

Date and Honey Bars, 21

Ultimate Biryani, 28

Palak Mathri, 31

Chicken Idli, 32

Singapore Laksa Rice Noodle Soup, 35

Singapore Chili Crab, 36

Seafood Horfun, 37

Ayam Lemak Puteh, 38

Soya Sous Vide Lamb & Kiwi Salad, 41

Kiwi Bruschetta, 41

Chai Phirni, 43

Barisaler Sorshe Illish, 51

Shyambajarer Mutton Kosha, 51

Santa Fe Fajitas, 54

Honey Chili Potatoes, 61

Choco Nut Madness, 64

Drink

Aniseed Orange Sparkler, 71

Sparkling Mojito, 72

Rosebud, 73

Glitter, 74

CONTENTS


Wolfgang Johannes Puck (July 8, 1949)

Wolfgang Johannes Puck (born Wolfgang Johannes Topfschnig) is an Austrian-born American celebrity chef, restaurateur, and occasional actor. Wolfgang Puck restaurants, catering services, cookbooks and licensed products are run by Wolfgang Puck Companies, with three divisions.

Puck was born to Maria Topfschnig and a butcher. Wolfgang's father left before their child's birth. In 1956, Maria married Josef Puck, who adopted Puck. The marriage produced another son and two daughters.

Puck learned cooking from his mother, who sometimes worked as a pastry chef. He trained as an apprentice under Raymond Thuilier at L'Oustau de Baumanière in Les Baux-de-Provence, at Hotel de Paris in Monaco, and at Maxim's Paris before moving to the United States in 1973 at age 24. After two years at La Tour in Indianapolis, Puck moved to Los Angeles to become chef and part owner at Ma Maison restaurant.

Puck is active in philanthropic endeavors and charitable organizations, co-founding the Puck-Lazaroff Charitable Foundation in 1982. The foundation supports the annual American Wine & Food Festival which benefits Meals on Wheels and has raised more than United States $15 million since its inception.

BORN THIS MONTH

“I learned more from the one

restaurant that didn't work than

from all the ones that were

successes.”


Faces in this Issue

Christina Doubli-chevitche, Regional Nutrition and Health Manager for Unilever, North Africa and Middle East, believes that it is not possible to adopt healthy lifestyle habits overnight - these have to be inculcated patiently over time. One such habit is drinking lot of water to stay hydrated - irrespective of the season.

CONTRIBUTORS

With over three decades of experience in the hospi-tality industry, Michael Winkelmann has been involved with Brinker brands (the internation-al parent company for Chili's chain of restau-rants) for over 14 years. He joined Chili’s with the UK franchisee in 1999 as the culinary manager for five restaurants and was is today responsible for the restaurant chain in Eu-rope, Middle East, North Africa and Asia.

Oliver Schauf is better known as the man behind Pune’s now-famous Beer Olympics. The master-mind behind the hand-crafted beers at Doolally microbrewery in the city, he loves travelling the world, exploring different varieties of the beverage and to create craft beer the traditional way so that they actually have taste, aroma and body.

An advertising profession-al-turned-restaurateur Sanjay Mukherjee of Kol-kata Callin’ enjoys talking about his native cuisine - Bengali. Often credited for its desserts and fish-based dishes, he feels there is a lot more to be explored about Bengali food and gastronomical cultures that revolve around it.

His is a name that is syn-onymous with TV cook shows. Sanjeev Kapoor has several firsts to his name, besides making cooking more than a chore for millions of Indians. Conferred with ‘Best Chef of India’ award by the Government of India, he was also chosen as Indian ambassador for the United Nation’s Clean Cook-stoves campaign for the underprivileged people in developing countries.

Chef Varun Inamdar of The Chocolate Factory enjoys enticing children with chocolate during the various workshops he organizes for them. At the same time, he advises that the young ‘uns should be exposed to different types of food, including fruits and vegetables, especially in their lunch boxes.

Gunjan Pandey, GM-Marketing of Mc-Cain Foods India gets envious glances from her friends. After all, she gets to sample various delicacies before McCain launches in India, and many more times later. She loves talking about the transformation the humble potato undergoes at the company’s facility in Mehsana.


REVIEWS - DELHI

You do not expect an obscure highway to have a resort, at least not the kind you encounter

enroute hills and are called ‘Fun-tastic’. But we found one called Dusit Devarana, which is lavishly spread across eight acres of lush foliage, with spacious greens and water bodies accentuating the layout. The sense of serenity begins as you get off the horrid NH8 and drive up to a languid body of water and trees that look like weeping willows.

The resort is encompassed by over 1000 luscious trees, some

fruit-bearing ones too. The architec-ture is starkly contemporary and it took me ages to realize that the walls of the entire lobby were bare! As you enter the lobby, the minimalism is ob-vious and for me, extremely inviting. After an abundance of luxe lobbies that showcase art like wallpaper and flowers, this is visual relief.

NOUVELLE CUISINE MEETS INDIAN SENSIBILITIESDusit Devarana also has a fine dining that serves up nouvelle cuisine that is deeply influenced by Indian food. Kiyan, the signature restaurant, pres-ents a menu furbished by farm fresh produce (a lot from their own proper-ty) and picture perfect plating.

I met Chef Nishant Choubey, whose food I have tasted before albeit not in this avatar; his menu includes farm fresh, seasonal produce packed with his take on classic dishes. We started with a delicate and wonderfully fla-voursome Beetroot, Grape Fruit, and Goat Cheese Salad (INR 650). I loved the portion size because there is no such thing as too much Rucola, which is more potent than Arugula. Yet the Pomelo Salad was where I kept finding new flavours with each bite. The sheer boldness of it was startling especial-ly since there was an array of tastes, from burnt garlic to roasted peanuts. We enjoyed these with artisan rolls, with tapanade of olives or mushrooms acting as a substitute to butter.

Cuisine Nouvelle In Our Backyard

With Kiyan, world class dining is now easier to find and more affordable

to enjoy than ever before. However, it takes nerves of

steel to dig into the beautifully plated

food!

Canadian Lobster bake Thermidor

style and served with seafood risotto.


For appetizers, we wanted dishes that reflected the many facets of the multi cuisine menu. Chef Nishant suggest-ed Hyderabadi Pathar Ke Gosht and Keema Aur Dal Maas Ki Kachori (INR 900), a new take on an old classic. I enjoyed the taste memory of the

Pathar Kebab but the Kachori didn’t work for me as much. Then came the Home Cured Norwegian Salmon (INR 950); with refined flavours of wasabi, melon Carpaccio, Mesclun greens and black olive powder, this was a world-class starter. The only dish I would choose over the Salmon has to be the Masala Pork Belly, Baby Back Ribs (INR 1200) served with tamarind grape chutney.

We thought about skipping soups, but I am a sucker for wild mushrooms, so I tried the Wild Mushroom Soup (INR 550), with an earthy combina-tion of Enoki, Shimeji and shavings of black truffle, as well as the Roasted Tomato Clementine Soup (INR 550). I loved the sweetness the Clementines brought to the dish and these soups are delights for vegetarians!

A BIT OF THIS, A BIT OF THATThe menu is divided into Indian, Thai, Italian and European. Even though the Chef said it was a small menu, we didn’t think so at all and asked him to choose the main course! The Pla Neung Ma Now (INR 2000), with steamed Chilean sea bass, bok choy, cilantro, garlic and Thai lemon, is very elegant dish perfectly execut-ed. The lobster stole the show though. It usually has a subtle yet annoying bitterness that peeves me but my plat-ter had none of it!

Though there is a Coastal Indian variant, I loved the Canadian Lobster, baked Thermidor style and served with a seafood risotto (INR 1400) – what a burst of the entire sea in a bowl! For dessert, I strongly recom-mend the Devarana Signature Toffee Pudding (INR 650) – the espresso caramel sauce, orange sesame crisp and crème glace is complete happi-ness on a plate! I wished I had space for my favourite, Khao Niaow Ma Muang, fresh mangoes with sticky rice, but I will definitely return for it soon.

Kiyan is well lit, spacious and a pleas-ant mix of Indian and contemporary decor. Diner style, cozy booths dot the interiors with a tree to break the monotony. They also have a private dining room for about eight and the service is cheery. Kiyan offers world class dining and thankfully makes it more affordable to enjoy too.

Parul Pratap Shirazi

REVIEWS - DELHI

The lobster stole the show though. It usually has a subtle yet annoying bitterness that peeves me

but my platter had none of it!

Rating: 4 out of 5Price: INR 5000++ (meal for two)

Address: Dusit Devarana, Samalka, National Highway - 8, New Delhi - 110037Phones: 011-33552211

Kiyan is well lit, spacious and a pleasant mix of Indian and contemporary decor.


REVIEWS - DELHI

Dakshin has been a favour-ite for years. As the iconic restaurant completes 25 years, I am actually startled

by the fact! Unlike other ITC restau-rants, Dakshin has aged extremely well, mainly because the menu is dynamic and they have regular food festivals. Other veteran restaurants from the ITC stable are so steeped in heritage that their menus have not been changed in over 25 years!

The other win for Dakshin is Chef Velu. Ask him about food and watch his face transform as he excitedly shares every bit of its planning and preparation. When a chef loves his work this much, you can be sure the meal will be something to look for-ward to.

I try never to miss a food festival at Dakshin, since I know the regular menu like the back of my hand. These festivals satiate my cravings for new-ness. We dropped in for the Master-chef ’s Special Menu, on from 22nd to

29th June, which showcased unique dishes from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. After a quick look at the menu it was evident that plenty of research had gone into this spread and some of the dishes were brand new for me – something I enjoy exploring!

WHEN NOVELTY STRIKES A CHORDWe started with Pachakari Pettipathiri, which is a Moplah preparation from the Malabar coast. These vegetable filled puff pastries were strangely Anglo in nature; the casing was pastry but the filling was fragrant and spiced. This would qualify as ‘new’ for me and I quite liked the surprise of an Indian filling inside such an obviously conti-nental savoury.

The other ‘new’ was the hand pounded lamb dumplings with Chettinad spices

A Tale of Four States

There are very few restaurants where you can be completely certain of the quality of food, service and dining experience. Dakshin’s temples-que ambiance and welcoming staff always make a meal memorable and since the food is the star,

it is always a rewarding experience.


and coriander, the Dhanedhar Shun-di. This patty like dry starter was not mince lamb but what looked like shredded lamb melted like pulled lamb; very unusual and very appetiz-ing. My favourite, however, was the Mirapakai Kodi, a dish I know and make – succulent morsels of chick-en pan tossed in green and red chilli paste and spices, with a topping of sautéed green chillies, hot and heav-enly. The chicken was beautifully cooked, almost as if it was confited!

Our main course was world class. The Vendaikai Thair Curry was a pleasant surprise and highly recommended for Dilli-wallas. This is how tempered yo-gurt okra curry has to be; the okra was taut and not squidgy and the curry was cooling despite the spices. I would have skipped the Samagadda Fry, dry masala fried colocasia, asarbi is not a friend of mine, but the masala was great with the delicate Neer Dosa.

MEAT PREPARATIONS RAISED THE BARAnother Pondicherry dish, apart from the okra, was the Vodumai Kurma, vegetables cooked in an almond based gravy, very reminiscent of regular korma from south Indian fare. How-ever, things got really interesting with

the meats. If you haven’t had Sannas with Pandi Curry, a Coorgi slow cooked pork curry, then you haven’t experienced pork nirvana. This was a fantastic prep and one worth keeping on the main menu, but I do plan to replicate it at home.

The Kaima Undae Curry, a Thorwad style kofta was like a shammi kebab in curry but with a definitive accent of ginger and garlic – the kofta itself had good body and flavour. The other star of the menu was the Chemeen Papas, prawns cooked in coconut milk but it was the tempering that made all the difference; mustard and chillies, a typ-ical combination for Kerala, but the Syrian Christians always made local food with less pungency and accentu-ated meat flavours.

For dessert we tried the Pal Kozhu-kattai, rice dumplings steamed and cooked in milk, I loved the milk part but I am not much for dough-y desserts that are steamed. The Mangai

Rasayana, however, was the dessert to root for; mango puree sweetened with milk and flavoured with coconut ‘malai’ and finished with fresh mango cubes, lovely!

There are some restaurants that you keep returning to regularly, because you are confident you will always experience courteous service and amazing food. Add to it Dakshin’s temples-que ambiance and welcom-ing staff and you know this is a place where every meal is memorable – another reason I am already looking forward to the next festival they will organize.


REVIEWS - DELHI

Rating:4 out of 5Price: INR 3000++ (meal for two)

Address: Sheraton New Delhi Hotel, District Centre, Saket, New DelhiPhones: 011-66575747

The Vendaikai Thair Curry is highly

recommended for Dilli-wallas. This is

how tempered yogurt okra curry has to

be; the okra was taut and not squidgy

and the curry was cooling despite the

spices.

When a chef, like Chef Venu, loves his work this much, you can be sure the meal will be

something to look forward to.


REVIEWS - MUMBAI

10 years ago, when he started his company, ‘Plan B Entertain-ment’, Rajiv Tandon

was a lanky youngster. A decade of regular partying at his clients’ nightclubs resulted in a much rounder figure. Acquaintances would tell their friends to check with ‘the fat man at the door’ to gain entry into these clubs. So,

when Rajiv decided to open his own café in May 2014, he figured the best name for it would be ‘Fat Man’s Café’!

You can expect quirkiness in abundance at this small eatery in Bandra. But the kitschy décor designed by Rixi Bhatia does makes you ignore the space constraint of this café and instead enjoy it cheery ambience. With white washed brick walls, a pencil etching of a window on one wall, a row of posters of the Fat Man engaged in various activi-ties, brightly colored furniture and equally colorful wall paint – Fat Man Café exudes a cosy welcome to

Till The Fat Man

Sings

Just a couple of days after it opened its doors to the public, The Fat Man’s Café was running

full. This even surprised the owner, who called in his friends for reinforcements. Soon, they were acting as hosts, servers and waiters, all

rolled into one!


guests. The café is located on a stretch that has several other eateries and pubs, so it will attract lot of spillover crowd. We visited it just three days after it opened and noticed several people looking into

the brightly lit café out of curiosity and staying back to check out its offerings. Not expecting the café to run to full capacity within a couple of days of opening, Rajiv has to call in his friends, who could be seen taking orders and serving custom-ers.

BREAKFAST AND MOREThough it’s an all-day diner, the menu is heavily skewed towards breakfast dishes, because Rajiv wants to tap people who would like to grab a quick, yet healthy bite be-fore heading out to work. They can choose from a range of egg prepa-rations – from Scrambled Eggs to Fat Man’s Special Baked Egg Bowl, as well as waffles and pancakes with some coolers, teas and coffees to go with it.

While perusing the menu, we decided to try the Seasonal Fresh Fruit Juice (INR 125) and Mixed Vegetable Juice (INR 125). The latter was sadly unavailable, and the former was cool and refreshing,

just the way we hoped it would be, though a few mint leaves could make it perfect.

For appetizers, we tried the Jacket Potatoes with Chipotle Corn (INR 240). Well cooked, the creamy corn filling ensured we did not have smoke streaming from our ears, though this is one hell of a greasy dish. The Bacon Wrapped Prawns (INR 360) with side salad were just as greasy, and we wished the prawns were bigger because they were entirely overwhelmed by the saltiness of the bacon rashers.

The Portobello Mushroom Sliders (INR 330) are served prettily on a doily inside a wooden serving tray. High on taste courtesy the meaty and earthy smoked mushroom

mixed with pesto and molten moz-zarella, eating it calls for some skills in balancing because the mushroom tried its best to slip from between the buns. The salty shoestring fries served alongside make for great munchies and before we knew it, we had polished off the entire jar.The Grilled Rawas (INR 475) is definitely worth a mention. Served with some veggies on the side, the dish itself is not unusual. But the freshness of the fish and the thick-ness of the chargrilled fillets as well as the tangy notes of the lemon caper sauce in which it is tossed, hit the right notes.

The Filet Mignon (INR 475) also deserves a mention, more for the accompanying apple and beetroot salad. It perfectly complemented the tender and juicy steak, which is served with a mound of mashed potatoes and some lettuce leaves tossed in balsamic vinegar. Stuffed as we are, we decided to give the desserts a miss. This will also give us the opportunity to revisit the café again, and soon.

The dishes at Fat Man Café are pretty run-of-the-mill. But if you are looking for a quick bite, then it fits the bill. The highlights of this eatery are its vibrant, colorful décor, welcoming and unobtrusive staff and the fuss-free food, making it a great place to catch up with friends for long chats.

Vinita Bhatia

REVIEWS - MUMBAI

Rating: 3 out of 5Price: INR 1200++ (per person)

Address: Shop No.9, ONGC Building No.3, Bandra West, Mumbai - 400059Phones: 022-26402055

Jacket Potatoes with Chipotle Corn.


Spread over an expansive (for Mumbai) 4000 square feet, the newly opened Irish House can accommodate

134 covers. The bar has a charming rustic décor with a high wooden roof, wooden flooring, wooden tables and natural brick walls. Quirky posters cover these walls expounding on the Irish fondness for their tipple displaying their ap-titude for witticism. The loud mu-sic can make conversation a little difficult, but you will find yourself humming along some of the retro, blue-sy and contemporary songs. AN EXPANSIVE MENUAs with any self-respecting bar-room, the beverages menu at The Irish House takes its liquor seri-

ously. Perusing it took us a good while, so we moved straight to their signature cocktails section.Since it would be sacrilegious to omit beer in an Irish pub, we opted for the Ginger Beer Fizz (INR 480). The beer was flat instead of having a refreshing and smooth flavor. The Irish Trash Can (INR 495) was interesting presented with a crushed Red Bull can upended in the beer mug. The combination of rum, vodka, peach schnapps, li-queur, triple sec and Red Bull gave it an eerie green hue, but we would

have liked it to pack a more potent punch. One sip of the Jalapeño Margarita (INR 480) and we won-dered why people choose to make a fuss over Cosmopolitan. This cocktail had sweetness, spiciness and sourness in equal measure and the addition of brine water, in which the jalapeños are stored, throws in some saltiness as well. BUTTON-POPPING PORTIONSVegetarians at The Irish House might be disappointed with the limited options for them.

But then again, it’s a pub and it’s Irish – surely, one can cut them some slack on both those counts. We requested Chef Bishal Unal, Sr Sous Chef of The Irish House to

give us small tasting portions and he thankfully obliged.

The dishes on the menu are quite incongruous to the rest of the Irish feel one encounters at The Irish House. Instead of Irish Stew, Bangers and Mash, Corned Beef, Mussels and Fries, or Chowder, there are Japanese, Mexican and Italian food galore.

Opt for the Grande Nachos (INR 350) - a generous portion of tortillas tossed with baked beans,

molten cheese, bell peppers and jalapeños along with three top-pings – guacamole, sour cream and tomato salsa - only if you intend to share it with a couple of friends. The Cheese and Chili Cigars (INR 340) is a must-have. The drizzle of honey mustard sauce over the phyllo pastry enveloping the cheese and chopped chillies is per-fect with a mug of stout beer.

The Armagh Mushroom Bites (INR 375) had us wondering who would want to have cheesy mush-room ragout in a scooped out

REVIEWS - MUMBAI

The Irish, They Are A-Coming

The Irish House opened its fourth

outpost in Mumbai. Head there to soak

the feel of a rustic pub that fosters warmth and camaraderie.

And stick to ordering comfort bar food than the fancier dishes on the expansive menu.


REVIEWS - MUMBAI

muffin? Especially when you can go for Irish Lions Chicken Ten-ders (INR 350), which are chick-en tenders rolled in panko and deep fried, or Prawns On A High (INR 450), which are tiny prawns cooked in harissa paste with some vodka and served on toasted bread? We know we wouldn’t! A CONFUSING MELANGE OF FOODThe food menu has several clever statements to segregate sections, one of which went ‘Appetizers are little things you keep eating un-til you lose your appetite’. Truer

words were never spoken. On Chef Unal’s insistence however, we de-cide to try tasting portions of some main course dishes.The Russian Czar (INR 395) was confusing at best. The asparagus flavored risotto served on mush-room stroganoff explains why Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler fought on opposite sides of World War II – they were not destined

to be together! Separately though, they would have worked wonders.The Drunken Fettuccine (INR 375) fared better with the sharpness of fresh basil leaves, enlivened by presence of the tequila lime sauce.

Don’t miss the fresh, plump and crusty garlic bread accompanying it – you will regret if you do, we promise! We also liked the Beer Can Chicken (INR 575), where juicy chicken legs with skin on are grilled, then cooked in a beer-in-fused stew and served with some sautéed vegetables and roasted potatoes.

We loved the feel of The Irish House with its carefree vibe and attentive service. The next time we are here, we will sift through the menu carefully to try the tradi-tional Irish fare we spied in it, like the Steak And Kidney Pie. Because return to The Irish House we will, that’s for sure!

Vinita Bhatia

Rating: 3 out of 5Price: INR 3000++ (per person)

Address: ALevel One, Fun Republic, New Link Road, Andheri Lokhandwala, Andheri (W)Phones: 022-61046161

The Russian Czar (INR 395) was confusing at best. The asparagus

flavored risotto served on mushroom stroganoff

explains why Benito Mussolini and Adolf

Hitler fought on opposite sides of World War II – they were not destined

to be together! Separately though, they would have

worked wonders.


Food festivals equal visit-ing chefs and a set multi-course menu or buffet. The Food, Feni and Football

Goan food festival at The Lalit Ashok had a chef who does one better. Apart from the dozen or so dishes on offer as part of the dinner buffet at 24/7, the coffee shop, she was also ready to make any Goan dish that a visitor might desire during the festival between 1st to 10th June, 2014.

Chef Martina, visiting from The Lalit Resort & Spa Goa, brought all her spices and mixes with her from Goa and wanted every guest to enjoy the true flavor of Goa. To this end, she was willing to cater to requests that came. So, if the buffet had Chicken Vindaloo and you wanted Prawn Vindaloo, or Fish Caldin or Lamb Balchao, no wor-ries! Chef Martina ensured your whim was catered to. She also

REVIEWS - BANGALORE

The Goan Serenade

As with any buffet, we were spoiled for choice at the Goan Food festival at The Lalit Ashok. However, a visit to this festival to sample the Goan offerings was totally worth it, and we are glad that we did not miss out on the Feni!

I’ve not really been into Bebinca, but Chef Martina’s version was really good and I polished off the entire

piece.


carried Bebinca and Dodol, two ubiquitous Goan desserts, with her from Goa. I could only imagine the weight of the duo as she had to carry enough to accommodate requests during the 10-day festival. Since the fest included Feni, either as part of a cocktail or straight, she also lugged along bottles of the famous Goan potion. She smilingly insisted that her first priority was giving guests an authentic Goan feel and taste, and substituting in-gredients with locally sourced stuff would not have helped her achieve this end.

FIERY GOAN FAREChef Martina, who has no formal training but just a love for cooking, began her culinary adventures by offering cooking classes. She was a delight to meet, because she was keen to talk about her native cui-sine and its unique aspects without any fanfare.

Now, I have never been a fan of Feni, finding it pungent smelling and strong. However, the barmen at 24/7 whipped up a delectable Feni-based Cosmopolitan that both my companion and I loved, and which completely changed our opinion about the liquor. A lovely, light chicken consommé started us off, followed by starters (non-Go-an) from the buffet, both brought to the table.

We chose to exclusively investigate the Goan offerings for the main course: boiled rice, Prawn Xacuti, Mutton Vindaloo and a Portuguese style pork and beans curry in a feisty sauce, as well as an okra and grated coconut vegetable prepa-ration. Everything was delicious, flavored well, and not excessively fiery. Guests ordering a la carte could also dictate their spice level. For my medium spice loving pal-

ate, the dishes off the buffet were just right.

There was a good selection of desserts, of which the two afore-mentioned Goan ones mingled with a range of Indian and West-ern choices. I tried Dodol, and the strong jaggery flavor did not find my favor. However, my friend who loves the stuff, enjoyed it immense-ly. Thus far, I’ve not really been into Bebinca either, but Chef Mar-tina’s version was really good and I did polish it off the entire piece.

I indulged in a few other non-Go-an sweets as well, and thoroughly enjoyed them all. As with any buffet, one is always spoiled for choice, but this particular one was worth a visit to sample the Goan offerings and boy, are we glad we did not miss out on the Feni!

Natasha Ali

I have never been a fan of Feni, finding it pungent

smelling and strong. However, the barmen at 24/7 whipped up a

delectable Feni-based Cosmopolitan that both

my companion and I loved, and which completely changed our opinion

about the liquor.

REVIEWS - BANGALORE

Rating: 4out of 5Price: INR 1195++ (per person)

Address: Kumara Krupa High Grounds, Kumara Park East, Sheshadripura, Bangalore - 560001Phones: 080-30527777


The Tuck Shop - the very name evokes memories of childhood and school. Tuck shop, aka the can-

teen, was the place where treats awaited, where you paid for from the few rupees you’d either conned from a parent or painstakingly saved pocket money. Fast forward to today, where The Tuck Shop all-day diner lives up to its slogan ‘Reliving the Tastiest Memories of Your School Days’.

The brainchild of two young hotel management grads, the eatery recently celebrated its first anni-versary. Though I didn’t grow up in Bangalore, the food here reminded me of a childhood favorite called Cakes n Bakes in Chennai, that I frequented for my burger and fast food fix, before international fast food chains appeared on the scene. Brightly colored walls with hand painted images of Homer Simpson, Spongebob Squarepants and others

cartoon characters create a cheery and vibrant atmosphere. The wooden benches and open space make you want to hunker down for the afternoon, catching up with friends or working on your lap-top as a steady stream of fun food makes its way to the table. And you will be spoiled for choice, from all-day breakfast plates to burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, steaks and a range of desserts and milkshakes and flavored iced teas and fizzy lemonades that are homemade, resulting in just right, un-sugary drinks.

GOODNESS IN A BUNHaving taken along a companion with an appetite as hearty as mine, we managed to work our way through the different sections of the menu. The names are inventive, from Lay N Egg (INR 120) and Classy English Dictator (INR 280), the most expensive breakfast item, to our first order of the day, Cu-

pid’s Arrow (INR 150), deep fried chicken skewers wrapped in bacon and with a hearty BBQ sauce on the side – oily but delicious and with an option of beef.

The burgers took up four pages of the menu including a make your own page, and I would have liked to try a few different ones, but set-tled on the Swiss Cheese & Mush-room (INR 250) in order to sample the homemade mushroom sauce. This was a juicy beef patty with melted cheese and a well-flavored mushroom sauce, and served with turmeric-infused potato wedges (almost everything came with a side of thick cut, beautifully crisp on the outside wedges). The burgers included options with vegetarian, fish (Fried Nemo, INR 250), chicken (Kick Ass, INR 190) and lamb (Mary Had A Lil Lamb, INR 220, and Mountain Goat, INR 220) to name just a few. I do love a good lamb burger and it is on my go-back-to list to get a few more Tuck Shop ones. That their buns and sauces are all made in-house is a big plus. Nothing sadder than a great burger or sandwich demoted by mediocre or hard bread, now is there?!

DECADENT MILKSHAKESWe indulged in a chicken steak named Titilating Twins (INR 250), where two generous chicken breasts had been given a salt bis-cuit and spices coating, deep fried and smothered in a sauce – this dish was tasty but mild. I noticed that like the burgers and sandwich-es, there were plentiful options for chicken/lamb/beef lovers.The star of the show for both my friend and I was the hot dog – we ordered Bratwurst, which was

REVIEWS - BANGALORE

The Tuck Shop: An Anytime Treat

If you happen to be in Koramangala, and are in the mood for nostalgic ‘conti’ fare or a

hearty brekkie, then The Tuck Shop is for you.


enticing given the description of apple juice beer boil and came with sauteed onions and mustard. I love hot dogs, don’t find them often enough in menus locally, and I think Tuck Shop’s version warrants full marks.

Quite full by now, we still made room to try their Waffles (INR 100), choosing maple syrup top-ping, which came in a cute little jar. The waffles too, were the real deal and not the cardboard imita-tion that one is wont to find in so many places. Nutella Toast (INR 50) and Gypsy Toast (INR 80) caught my eye and I SHALL return to try ‘em.

I loved the food and ambiance of The Tuck Shop and appreciate two guys in their early twenties with the passion to start this venture. Head there if you happen to be in the vicinity and are in the mood for that kind of fare.

Natasha Ali

The names are inventive, from Lay N Egg and Classy

English Dictator to Cupid’s Arrow – deep fried chicken skewers wrapped in bacon

and with a hearty BBQ sauce on the side – oily

but delicious and with an option of beef.

Rating: 3 out of 5Price: INR 800++ (meal for two)

Address: 98/A, 17th B Main, 5th Block, Koramangala, BangalorePhones: 080-43692713

REVIEWS - BANGALORE

Swiss Cheese and Mushroom burger


Most folks presume that MoMo Café specializes in South East Asian cuisine –

a misconception the staff of Court-yard by Marriott Pune City Centre has to repeatedly dispel. Instead, it’s an acronym for ‘Modern Liv-ing, Modern Dining’, which means nutritious food, served up quickly for professional guests, always on the go.

That explains why MoMo Café has created a healthy menu and ex-tended it to the MoMo2Go bakery and cake shop. We wondered if healthy = tasty = quick is an equa-tion they can actually prove right. We tried Beverage Manager Rohit Awate’s special creations, Chatka Mary (INR 450). This smooth and citrus-y cocktail shares an uncanny resemblance to Bloody Mary, yet possesses a profoundly unique but familiar flavor.

JUGALBANDI OF FOODThe enticing aromas from the buf-fet table promptly me to head

REVIEWS - PUNE

A Spot Of Sunshine On A Rainy Morning

When in a rush, if you still want to grab a healthy meal without compromising on taste, then head to MoMo Café or MoMo2Go at

Courtyard by Marriott - Pune City Centre. And get set for some homely fare and attentive service.


straight to the entrées. The delicate and crumbly Galouti Seekh Ke-babs maintained their fine balance, while the Vegetable Shikampuri Kebabs though similar in tex-ture, were delightfully different in taste and flavor. No sooner had I popped a Firdausi Aloo in my mouth, it started to drizzle - a double treat!

Next to arrive was the Italian Pan-zerotti, a savory stuffed pastry that surprisingly flowed fluidly into the meal after the Mughlai delicacies. Not wanting to over-eat, I decided to sample the main course and settled for the Lamb Biryani – and boy, was it scrumptious! Spotting someone savoring pizza at a neigh-boring table, I tried Margarita Piz-za (INR 475) with bell peppers and olives, and it was just as I imagined it to be; crisp and flavorful yet light on the tummy.

I was floored by the varieties at the dessert counter at MoMo Café. Though my stomach moaned that it could handle no more, I coaxed it into taking a little of the creamy Lamington, a sinful dark chocolate pastry. While the stomach be-grudgingly went about its business,

I had a smile plastered on my lips for quite some time.

SOME FOOD TO GOAt MoMo2Go, Courtyard by Marriott – Pune City Centre’s bakery, I met Chef de Partie, Gerwin D’souza. Its menu fea-tures in-house bakery delicacies, baked fresh several times a day, and packaged, ready-to-eat items. I tried Chef Gerwin’s signature New York Cheesecake, Shortbread Cookies, Date and Honey Bar and the Coconut Slice. What impressed me about these delicacies was the

localized menu and approach to international staples. For instance, had I not known that the Tiramisu I tried was eggless, it would have been hard for me to detect that fact – that is how rich it was!

The bakery also stocks Puneri brands of savories with racks of chivda vying for attention besides imported tortilla chips. One can even order customized breads or cake, for pick up, and choose from the variety of baguettes, ciabatta, focaccia or multi-grain breads.MoMo Café not only provides an awesome option for busy business travelers, but Courtyard by Mar-riott – Pune City Centre is doing its bit to promote Indian culture by making its restaurant and cake shop approachable, reasonably priced, and creating awareness about Puneri cuisine in its own small way.

Shreenivas Gadewar

Spotting someone savoring pizza at a neighboring

table, I decided to try out a Margarita Pizza with bell

peppers and olives, and it was just as I imagined it to be; crisp and flavorful yet

light on the tummy.Rating: 4 out of 5Price: INR 699++ (per person)Address: MoMo Cafe, Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre, Bund Gar-den Road, PunePhones: 020-67248181, 67248250

REVIEWS - PUNE

Date And Honey BarsMakes: 20 bars • Preparation time: 10 minutes • Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:• 250 gm butter• 163 gm sugar • 4 eggs

• Few drops of vanilla essence• 50 gm self raising flour • 125 gm honey

• 250 dates

Method:1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.2. Cream the butter and the sugar until the sugar has dissolved

evenly in the butter. Ensure you do not melt the butter.3. Add the eggs one at a time into the butter and sugar mixture

along with some vanilla essence.4. Fold in the flour carefully into the mixture taking care not to

overmix the batter.5. Finally, add the honey and dates into the batter.6. Grease a baking tray with butter and line it with parchment

paper.7. Pour the batter into this tray.8. Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes. Let it rest in the

oven and then cool it on a wire rack.9. Cut into small triangular shapes and store in airtight

containers.

Recipe courtesy: Chef de Partie Gerwin D'souza of Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre.


I would not bore you with the intricate details about Biry-ani coming to Bengal. S®ure, Wajid Ali Shah ensured that

Bengal had its own version of Biryani with the foreign addition – potatoes, which was a Portuguese introduction. However, apart from the fact that there was a scarcity

of ingredients in Wajid Ali’s time, the humid weather combined with high heat kept the Bengali Biryani from being overly spicy. Rather, it relied on the addition of - apart from the humble potato, and after the 1990s, the egg - something known as aatar. In Kolkata, a good biryani needs a dose of the sweet biryani aatar, which gives it a dis-cerning scent, quite different from the rest.

An avid Biryani lover, I recently visited one of my favorite places for Biryani in Kolkata – Ta’aam – one of the few places where you can get a plate of Biryani and a drink at very reasonable prices.

Starting off as a Mughlai restau-rant, Ta’aam branched out to serve Chinese and continental as well. Nevertheless, the taste of the Biry-ani remained consistent through time. My friend opted for a Boti Kebab (INR 225) and Chicken Biryani (INR 175), while the other companion chose a Mutton Biry-ani (INR 200) and Chicken Am-ritsari Kebab (INR 190). I settled for the Chicken Korma Pulao (INR 225), which is a specialty and off their menu.

While we sipping our drinks and waited for our food to arrive for a good 25 minutes, our fourth friend walked in. On learning that the Boti Kebab would take around 30 minutes to be served, she decided to go with the Barrah Kebab (INR 225) along with Mutton Biryani.

TYPICALLY BENGALIThe biryani is made Kolkata-style, which means unlike its Awadhi or Hyderabadi counterpart, it is light-er, with less oil and spices, smelling

faintly of kewra water and meetha aatar, and has a potato and a boiled egg nestled beside the meat in the bowl of long-grained aromatic Basmati rice. Both the chicken and the mutton biryani came with a fairly decent portion of meat. While the mutton was very soft, the chicken was drier, slightly chewy, but overall, quite edible. A bowl of raita was served with it – we were not big fans of eating our biryani with it, so it went mostly untouched, and after tasting a tea-spoon of it, I felt it was a touch too watery for my taste.

The Chicken Korma Pulao was Ta’aam’s take on the classic Morog Polao from Dhaka. The rice in this case was short-grained, fragrant and sticky Gobindo Bhog rice, smelling of cinnamon and green cardamom, and bay leaves. The consistency was not fluffy and dry, but rather, slightly sticky and quite soft – a typical thing to happen to a well-cooked pulao back home. It came with small bits of chicken, cooked till very soft.

THANKFULLY NO SURPRISESThe Boti Kebab, a dish I have had on a number of occasions, has never disappointed me so far. The melt-in-your-mouth meat had a nice amount of char to it, which adds to the smoky flavors. It is not overly spicy – all it needs is a squeeze of lime and a dash of the excellent mint chutney that is served alongside, and life is a happy place.

The Chicken Amritsari Kebab was actually surprisingly good. We were expecting something similar to a Fish Amritsari, I guess. To our pleasant surprise, the kebab came

REVIEWS - KOLKATA

For The Love Of Biryani

Ta’aam might have expanded its menu to include Chinese and Continental

fare keeping populist demand in mind.

However, if you are a biryani lover, then this is a must-visit

restaurant, seeing as it serves the typical Kolkata biryani, which is distinct from its Awadhi

counterpart.


as chunks of chicken cooked in a tandoor, smelling of mace, cumin and coriander, and was perfect-ly seasoned. My friend however, looked forward to the Barrah Kebab, because she is eternally fas-cinated by meat with bones in it.

Our server, once he had served our food, had retreated quietly. He now returned with the Barrah Kebab, and it was three large chunks of rib meat which, again, fell off the bone. However, here came our disappointment – the Barrah and the Boti had virtually the same flavor. The only difference that we found was that the Barrah Kabab had bones.

Service is not something to look forward to at Ta’aam, seeing how it took them ages to get our food and later, our bill. Though the latter was delayed due to a technical error, it still put a dampener on a good meal. However, if a value for money meal is on your mind, then Ta’aam remains a nice option in the city.

Poorna Banerjee

The Chicken Korma Pulao was Ta’aam’s take on the

classic Morog Polao from Dhaka. The rice in this case was short-grained, fragrant and

sticky Gobindo Bhog rice, smelling of cinnamon and green cardamom, and bay

leaves.Rating: 4 out of 5Price: INR 1300++ (meal for two)Address: Rash Behari Ave, Sahanagar, Kalighat, Kolkata - 700026Phones: 033-40440060

REVIEWS - KOLKATA

Chicken Amritsari Kebab


A walk through the air-conditioned envi-rons of the extravagant Dubai Mall can some-

times cause confusion on where to dine, given the wide range of restaurants to choose from. So, when we came across one that resembled a tropical rainforest, we did a quick double take. It piqued our curiosity and we decided to check it out.

That marked our entry into the Rainforest Café, a mid-size restau-rant where you gaze at plastic monkeys suspended from a chain of overhanging branches and have a vicious looking gorilla stare at you while you dine on continental fare.

The elaborate vegetation, the cas-cading waterfalls and rainstorms complete with thunder and light-ning give the café a real jungle feel. These animals come to life every 15 minutes by letting out calls that

make this place even more en-trancing, especially for the younger crowd.

A WILD FOOD SAFARIWe took a glance at the menu and noticed a wide range of regular café food, which ranged from pastas and salads to burgers, steaks and seafood. As we start-ed our wildlife culinary journey, my health conscious companion ordered the Cha Cha Detox Juice (AED 35). This low-fat cooler is prepared using mint, lemon and cucumber and one felt virtuous just sipping on it. I ordered the Tropicano (AED 35), a mixture of strawberry, banana and vanilla ice cream and the perfect concoction in the intolerable Dubai heat.

We skipped the nutritious salads and soups, and headed straight for a plate of Raging Thunder Buffa-lo Wings (AED 55). Staying true to its name, the boneless chicken wings were spicy and flavorsome. My companion, who I suspect has

REVIEWS - DUBAI

Call Of The Wild

If the sight of a giant boa constrictor staring at you while you tuck into your meal does not bother you, then you will be perfectly at ease

dining at Rainforest Café at the Dubai Mall.


a tongue made of asbestos sheets, could not stop gorging on them. She equally enjoyed the Amazon Fajitas (AED 99), which are a mix-ture of sizzling chicken and beef served with crunchy onions and bell peppers. With the chicken and beef pieces cooked until they were extremely tender, who could fault her?

The Parmesan Chicken (AED 85) was my personal favorite and I could see the young ones also opting for it. The breadcrumbs crusted chicken pieces topped with marinara sauce and moz-zarella cheese and accompanied with linguini was something that would find favor with guests of any age. It had a beautiful crispy crust, while the chicken was succulent and well spiced. Unlike many other Parmesan chickens I have tasted, the crispiness of the meat did not interfere with the juiciness of the chicken.

AMBIENCE KEEPS THINGS INTERESTINGBy this time, even wild horses would have faced severe resis-

tance if they compelled us to try another dish, but we could not call it a night without tasting their desserts! On the recommendation of our attendant we asked for the Nile’s Quagmire Pie (AED 35), in-trigued by its very name! What we got was a chocolate and coconut pie, topped with vanilla ice cream, caramel and vanilla sauce. The combination of coconut and choc-olate is one of the best and most satisfying combinations – that is exactly what this was. We were pleased with the dessert, since it was not heavy on our stomachs

and was the perfect ending to our little jungle adventure.

Apart from the mesmerizing am-bience and the great food, what we enjoyed during our meal at Rain-forest Café is the fabulous view of the Dubai Aquarium from our table. The sensation of sitting in a tropical forest while gazing at fish languidly swimming by in a vast aquarium somehow makes for a compelling experience.

The restaurant even offers an ex-citing shopping experience selling wildlife themed merchandise. So let your inner child out and go wild experiencing a menu filled with enticing dishes and whole-some goodness.

Sachi Kumar

The elaborate vegetation, the cascading waterfalls and rainstorms complete

with thunder and lightning give the café a real jungle feel. These

animals come to life every 15 minutes by letting out calls that make this place

even more entrancing, especially for the younger

crowd.

Rating: 4 out of 5Price: AED 320++ (meal for two)Address: Ground Level, Near Dubai Aquarium, Dubai Mall, DubaiPhones: + 971-04-3308515

REVIEWS - DUBAI


MYTH BUSTER

Should It Be Brown Or White?

Is brown rice really the new-age miracle grain it is cracked up to be, or is it just another marketing gimmick thought up by companies convincing

us to shift from white rice to this alternative? We get celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor to demystify brown rice vis a vis white rice.


MYTH BUSTER

There was a time when fitness gurus and di-eticians would forbid their clients from eating

white rice and insisted it should be banned from their dietary charts. Demonizing this cereal, which is a staple in most Indian homes, they vociferously argued that after the refining process, it was devoid of iron, vitamins, zinc, magnesium and other nutrients. What helped their case was research results like the one from Harvard School of Public Health, which claimed that with every forkful of white rice, the risk of getting Type 2 diabetes could go up.

The standard counter-argument to these statements was that white rice has always taken center stage in any Indian meal, especially in southern parts of the country, which interestingly have the lowest incidence of diabetes. However, with changing times, where people are lot less physically active and embrace a more sedentary lifestyle, eating rice-heavy meals could con-tribute to weight gain and thereby lifestyle ailments.

As the debate about brown versus rice rages on, we get celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor to help us under-stand whether rice is really the ogre on a plate it is made out to be and bust some popular myths about it.

MYTH # 1: All rice is unhealthy, be it brown or white.Sanjeev Kapoor: During its refining process, white rice loses its hull and bran, which are rich in proteins, thiamine, calcium, magnesium, fiber, and potassium. Since brown rice is not polished, it

retains these essential vitamins and minerals, which ensures it has high fiber and zero cholesterol. This means it has lower glycemic rating, which reduces insulin spikes. Tak-en in adequate quantities neither of the rice is damaging, but brown rice is a healthier alternative. MYTH #2: Brown rice takes lon-ger to cook as compared to white rice and therefore is not an ideal choice for urban families, where speed is of essence in the kitchen.Sanjeev Kapoor: Usually, brown rice takes about 45-50 minutes to cook. However, there are some brands that take much lesser time. One example is Daawat Brown Rice, which is processed with Hy-dration Enhancement Technology (HET). HET moisturizes the bran layer and helps water penetrate the grain easily while cooking, so you can serve wholesome brown rice goodness in just 15 minutes.

MYTH #3: Brown basmati rice lacks the aroma and flavor of white basmati and hence can’t be used in every preparation.Sanjeev Kapoor: There is a differ-ence in taste and aroma of brown basmati as compared to white basmati. The former has a more

subtle aroma and nuttier taste and it gives a healthier twist to most recipes. However, it can easily be used in any dish, especially biry-ani, because other ingredients lend their individual fragrance to the final preparation.

MYTH #4: Eating white rice makes you feel full for a longer period of time.Sanjeev Kapoor: On the contrary, since brown rice is high in fiber, it satiates you quickly and keeps you full for a longer time. This helps if you are trying to lose weight, but only if you supplement your di-etary habit with an active lifestyle. At the same time, by eating brown rice, one consumes fiber that results in better bowel movements, which in turn leads to a healthier lifestyle.

Vinita Bhatia

DID YOU KNOW?

90 per cent of world’s rice produc-tion, consumption and trade take

place in Asia, and India is the world’s second largest rice producer

after China.


MYTH BUSTER

Ultimate BiryaniServes: 4 • Preparation time: 30 minutes • Cooking time: 40 minutes

Why not start your journey down the brown rice road with something as wholesome and fulfilling as biryani? Simply follow celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor’s cues!

Ingredients:• 1½ cups brown basmati rice, soaked

and drained• Few saffron strands• Few drops of kewra water• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped• 4-5 green chillies, chopped• 1 medium-sized carrot, cut into ½ inch

cubes• 1 tsp red chilli powder• 10-15 French beans, cut into ½ inch

pieces

• 1 tbsp coriander powder• ½ tsp garam masala powder• 2 tablespoons oil + to deep fry• ½ tbsp caraway seeds • ½ tbsp ginger paste• ½ tbsp garlic paste • 1 tsp turmeric powder• 1 black cardamom • 2-3 green cardamoms• ¼ kg medium-sized cauliflowers, cut

into small florets

• 4 medium-sized onions • ¾ cup yoghurt • 2-3 cloves• 1-inch stick cinnamon • 1 bay leaf • ½ cup green peas• 2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped• 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves, chopped• 2 tbsp ghee• 1-inch piece ginger, cut into thin strips• Salt, to taste

Method:1. Chop 1 onion and slice the others.2. Soak the saffron in kewra water.3. Cook the rice in 4 cups of boiling salted

water with 2 green cardamoms, black cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf, until it is half done. Drain and set aside.

4. Parboil carrot, cauliflower, French beans and peas in 3 cups of salted water. Drain and refresh under cold running water. Set aside.

5. Heat plenty of oil in a kadai and deep-fry the sliced onions till golden brown.

Drain on absorbent paper and set aside.6. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a thick-

bottomed pan, add the caraway seeds. When they begin to change colour, add the chopped onion and sauté until golden brown. Add the ginger paste, garlic paste and green chillies and stir.

7. Add the coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and yoghurt and mix well. Add the tomatoes and cook on medium heat till the oil separates. Add the boiled vegetables and salt and mix well.

8. In a handi, arrange alternate layers of cooked vegetables and rice. Sprinkle the saffron-flavoured kewra water, garam masala powder, coriander leaves, mint leaves, fried onions and ghee in between the layers and on top. Make sure that you end with the rice layer topped with saffron and spices.

9. Cover and seal with aluminum foil or roti dough. Place the handi on a tawa and cook on low heat for 20 minutes. Serve hot with a raita.


TECH TALK

The Beer Café recent-ly launched a mobile app on the Google Play Store and the App store

(iOS). Developed by SnapLion, it allows users to browse through the brand’s menus, photos, upcoming events and weekly promotions, with its simple user interface. The app also includes a playlist wherein you can choose to download or buy the featured songs. There are special offers for loyal customers as well, who can order ‘Beer on Wheels’ directly from the app by lifting a finger!

Rahul Singh, Founder and CEO of The Beer Café, says, “We wanted to tap into technology to reach out

to our customers directly, keeping them up to date with all our events, promotions and exclusive offers at The Beer Café. We also have a loyalty program to increase repeat visits." The Beer Café, a ‘Pour your own beer’ chain, with a range of 50 different varieties of beer from across 17 countries currently has 10 outlets ‘pouring’ and 21 more

locations planned for this year. CHOOSE YOUR MUSIC AND YOUR BEERThe Beer Café also launched a jukebox app with Hopp-Mylo. Scan the QR code and you can now control the jukebox at The BeerCafé location you are visit-ing. You can choose three songs on each visit/per hour from their featured playlist.

"With the Hopp app we want to engage our customers by allowing them to play their favourites or dedicate a tune. Hopp is jukebox re-invented that queues every song request. We have popular rock and commercial songs playing at the outlets and the playlist gets updat-ed every 15 days," adds Rahul.

The Beer Cafe app is available for download on the Google and App stores and carries details about all the outlets. Hopp app is also available on the Google Play store. It is currently active at the outlet at Ambience mall, Gurgaon and will soon be introduced in all The Beer Cafe outlets. Getting a chilled glass of beer was never this much fun!

Team CaLDRON

The Beer Café had launched two new apps for beer enthusiasts. Now get details about upcoming promotions, offers and menu, at the tap of a

finger.

Beer Tapping Tech!

“We wanted to tap into technology to reach out to our customers

directly, keeping them up to date with all our events,

promotions and exclusive offers at The Beer Café.”

Rahul Singh, Founder, The Beer Cafe


COVER STORY

Packing a child’s lunch box is no child’s play. With the awareness that they need to steer their kids away from junk fare, parents throughout the country, and the world, are putting a lot of thought into what goes into those boxes. It is a tightrope walk offering the kids healthier lunchtime options that they will enjoy eating while keeping the fun element alive.

lunch box or pandora's box?

Last year, the world listened with rapt attention when Michelle Obama, the First Lady of the US, opened

a summit on curbing junk food advertising aimed at children and urged food manufacturers to use their powers to convince children and their parents on the need to eat healthy. Noting this cultural shift gradually taking place in her country, she was delighted to see even chain restaurants serving kale salads and filling kids’ menus not just with nuggets and fries, but with broccoli and whole-wheat pasta. “I see this shift in schools where students can’t wait to tell me about their new salad bar or how they ate a radish or tried cauliflow-er for the first time, and actually like it,” she added.

Recently, the Ryan Internation-al Group of Institutions in India passed a circular amongst students

in their schools, stating that junk food would not be permitted in their lunch boxes. The school also circulated a menu of sorts for chil-dren to follow, exhorting parents to send home cooked meals like upma, idli, dosa, sheera, dhok-la, thepla, paratha, khichdi, etc., instead of packaged junk food. The

objective behind this initiative is to not just introduce children to the idea of healthy eating but also to the rich and diverse culinary treasures of India.

Most parents, like Chennai-based Anita Grace, welcomed this move. “If only all schools insisted like

Sohini Datta Biswas offers myriad

varieties ranging from - sabudana

battered fish fingers, steamed vegetables,

dry pineapples, plum, melon balls,

apricot yogurt, cheddar puzzle

or raisins for her daughter’s tiffin box.


this, it would be so much easier than to keep worrying about what healthy food to include in the lunchbox,” she said.

Nutritionist Dolly Gehi Karmani says how she has often worked with schools helping them for-mulate strict dietary guidelines because there are parents out there who still think that packaged po-tato chips are healthy or that bread and butter is a satisfactory break-fast. “Also, small kids usually have a tendency to eat specific food and a meal plan from the school en-sures kids are exposed to different types of food. More importantly,

if all children get the similar food during lunch time, it helps avoid mealtime chaos, which happens when one kid gets cake, while the other has roti-sab-ji in his lunch-box!” she adds.

We live in a complex world where the younger set of school-going children want their tiffin boxes to be stuffed with chocolate-y and cheesy goodies, while the older set, especially weight-conscious girls at the cusp of youth, want nothing but lettuce leaves and salad.

How does one ensure that chil-dren of all ages develop healthy eating habits, especially when they are at school where they are most susceptible to trade their healthy home-cooked fare for junk food in the school canteen or their class-mates’ tiffin?

Chef Varun Inamdar of The Choc-olate Factory suggests some easy tips to ensure that packing your child’s tiffin box is not a hassle anymore:

#1: Strive for a balance of healthy food with something the kids will like. Make some green chutney of mint and coriander leaves and lather it on whole wheat bread slic-es. Cut a couple of jelly chocolates into thin pieces and place them between the sandwich.

#2: Use the incentive of a reward. Prepare some high-fiber granola bars at home and give it as a treat if your child polishes off his or her tiffin box for three days in a row. Throw in a few extra bars that they can share with their friends.

#3: Go exotic. The popularity of a child who brings pita bread with different dips like Hummus and Tabouleh for lunch will surely rocket.

PALAK MATHRIMakes: 20 mathris • Preparation time: 45 minutes • Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:• 400 gm all purpose flour• 100 gm semolina• 1 bunch spinach leaves

• Salt, to taste• ½ tbsp carom seed• ½ tsp peppercorns

• 25 ml refined oil• Oil, for frying

Method:1. Wash and clean the spinach leaves. Put it in a blender or

mixer and make a puree of it. Keep it aside.2. Mix the flour, semolina, salt, carom seed and peppercorns

with oil.3. Then add pureed spinach slowly to form a stiff dough. Add a

little water if needed.4. Cover this dough with a damp cloth and leave it for at least ½

an hour.5. Knead the dough again and divide it into 20 small balls.6. Roll the dough into small rounds with a rolling pin and prick

them with a fork so they do not puff up while frying.7. Heat oil in a frying pan. Fry the mathris on medium heat till

golden brown, and place them on a paper towel to drain the excess oil.

8. Let them cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Recipe courtesy: Chef Varun InamdarImage courtesy: Sangeetha Priya of Nitha’s Kitchen

Kanwaljeet Chhabra selects theme to spice

up her kids’ tiffin boxes. Here is her green

theme with coriander and pea rice,whole

wheat flour cake with pandanus green leaves

flavour ,peas stuffed idli, spinach paratha in interesting shapes and coriander curd chutney.

Chef 's Tip:Pack these with

freshly made spicy fruit salsa or hung

curd dip.

COVER STORY


#4: Make it fun. Use a cookie cut-ter to cut a Methi Thepla or even the regular roti into interesting shapes of animals or stars. Kids love fun-shaped food, so use your imagination to make the lunchbox something they can look forward to opening.

#5: Variety is the spice of life, be it for adults or kids. Instead of giving just one food type, try giving smaller portions of varied food-stuff. For instance, give multi-col-ored fruits like grapes, chopped strawberries or orange slices along with some Muthia or Palak Mathri.

#6: A little bit of this, a little bit of that. Kids love novelty. So give their lunchboxes a little bit of whimsy. Instead of just sending a regular cupcake, why not bake a corn and zucchini cupcake or pack taco pockets stuffed with spinach and paneer filling?

#7: Ignorance is bliss, especially when it comes to food. If your child is fussy about eating his greens, try camouflaging it. Knead cooked sabji with flour and then make small rotis or mathris of it. Pack it with a hung curd dip or homemade fruit jam and watch your child devour it happily.

#8: Make lunch time an adventure. Build a story around the foodstuff you have packed for your child’s tiffin box. You could also write a simple ‘I Love You’, draw a smiley face or put in some code words on a butter paper and stuff it inside a paratha or muffin. Ask your child to collect a certain number of these papers to redeem for a chocolate bar.

#9: Inculcate the habit of taking the right decisions. Once a week, let your child decide what he or she wants to eat in their lunchbox, and give in to their demands.

#10: Healthy food need not be boring. Try making pasta salad with some bacon bits or shredded chicken, or combine whole fruits with a honey-chilli flakes drizzle. Pack some homemade curd that has been mixed with a fruit puree and your child has enough nutri-tion to be active all through the school day. Better still, mix a little tomato ketchup in dry sabji and roll it within a thin roti and voila, your child can enjoy a Kathi Roll!

Ultimately, the idea is to pack a nutritious lunch that will also get eaten, rather than come back untouched. Keep coming up with surprises, so that the child does not know what to expect every time he or she opens that colorful lunch box.

Vinita Bhatia

Neha Saxena Gulati believes mothers

the world over pack their love in a tiffin

box. Here is the okra vegetable, heart-

shaped multigrain roti and biscuits she often packs for her

child.

CHICKEN IDLIServes: 4 • Preparation time: 30 minutes • Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:• 100 gm maize flour• 200 gm curd• 2 tbsp vegetable oil• Handful fresh green coriander,

chopped• 10-12 curry leaves

• ½ tsp mustard seeds• 1 tsp chana dal• 1 tsp urad dal• 1-inch ginger, grated• Salt, to taste• 1 tbsp fruit salt

• 100 grams grated vegetables (for eg. bottle gourd, carrots, peas, sweet corn, coconut)

• 50 gm boneless chicken breast, finely diced

• Ghee, for greasing moulds

Method:1. Heat oil in a pan and temper mustard seeds, chana dal and

urad dal.2. Once they splutter, add curry leaves, ginger and maize flour.

Stir and roast, till it gives a nutty aroma. Transfer it in a bowl.3. Once cooled, add whisked curd, salt, chopped coriander and

mix well.4. Stir in all processed vegetables, diced chicken and add 60 ml

water. Adjust the consistency and check for seasoning.5. Keep covered for 10 minutes.

6. Prepare an idli steamer or a pressure cooker. Grease the idli moulds with ghee and set aside.

7. Stir the idli batter and add fruit salt. Mix well and pour into each greased mould.

8. Place in the steamer and allow to cook for 10-12 minutes.9. Remove and let it cool till it reaches room temperature.

Demould and pack with your child’s favourite chutney.

Recipe courtesy: Chef Varun Inamdar

COVER STORY


READER SPOTLIGHT

We feature readers and their creations in this section, curated by Sushma Ayyalasomayajula. Residing in the United Kingdom, Sushma is a keen cook stressing on healthy eating. She is always willing to use her medical training to help fellow food lovers.

It has been a long time coming. Sonal Gupta has been silently creating the transition for many homes with her baked version of recipes. Her easy approachable manner has had many try her simple and hassle free recipes with a fairly strong health quotient. I can very well visualise someone sitting there saying, "Doctor says not on the script" but enter Sonal and with her baked versions she really has opened those closed doors. She blogs at http://simplyvegetarian777.wordpress.com/.

In spite of being a vegetarian I thoroughly enjoy all the food that comes from Priyadarishini Chatterjee's kitchen. I also relish the way she blends many cuisines and cultures. A case of can cook and click it too. It also amazes me that not many seem to have discovered this treasure but then gems do need some digging. Priyadarshini blogs at http://allthatsdelicious.blogspot.in/.

Baked Vegetable Manchurian

Punjabi Kadhi with baked pakode

Tandoori Murgh Tikka

Queijadas de Sintra, a Portuguese delicacy from Sintra


RECIPE CORNER - SOUTH EAST ASIAN STREET FOOD

The monsoons are here – a time when everyone wants to dig into some street food. But why stop at the Indian street delights? Why not try some

Malay, Singaporean and Thai street food dishes too? Chef Girish Kumar, Executive Chef of Courtyard by Marriott Pune Chakan shows how you can prepare authentic Pan-Asian dishes that will make your family ask

for more!

Hit The Streets, Asian Style!



SINGAPORE LAKSA RICE NOODLE SOUPServes: 6 • Preparation time: 15 minutes • Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:For Spice Paste• 5 red onions, sliced• 15 gm garlic, diced• 1 ¼ tbsp dried chili paste • 7 lemongrass stalks• 15 gm blue ginger• 2 ½ tbsp dried prawn paste • 2 tbsp ground turmeric

For Laksa Soup• Oil, for frying• 250 gm spice paste• 2 cups chicken stock• 2.5 ltr coconut milk• Salt and sugar, to taste• 500 gm dried shrimps• 150 gm thick rice noodles• 1 quail egg, boiled

• 50 gm bean sprouts• 4 large prawns• ½ Crayfish, cut half lengthwise• 1 fish cake, sliced• 1 kaffir lime leaf, finely

julienned • 2-3 Vietnamese mint leaves, finely

julienned

Method:1. Blend all ingredients for spice paste until fine. Set aside.2. Blend the dried shrimps until fine and set aside.3. Heat oil in a wok over a medium heat and stir-fry the spice

paste till fragrant.4. Add stock and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Season

with salt and sugar and add the dried shrimp paste. Simmer uncovered for five minutes and adjust taste and thickness, as required.

5. Blanch the noodles and beansprout separately in boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain them and place in a bowl.

6. Blanch the prawn in the soup together with crayfish till cooked through.

7. Place this prawn, along with fish cake and crayfish, on top of the noodle in a wide mouthed soup bowl. Pour coconut soup over seafood and noodle.

8. Garnish with Vietnamese mint and kaffir lime leaves.

Calling this dish a soup would be doing it a great disservice. With the coconut milk base with shrimps and noo-dles, it is a one-bowl meal by itself.

Chef 's Tip:You can

substitute the quail egg with chicken

egg.



SINGAPORE CHILLI CRABServes: 4 • Preparation time: 20 minutes • Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:• 1 kg Sri Lankan green crab• Oil, for frying• 4 onions, sliced• 12-14 garlic cloves, chopped

• 4 tbsp ginger, chopped• 3 tbsp Thai Sriracha sauce• 8 tbsp tomato ketchup• 600 ml water

• Salt and pepper, as per taste• 3 eggs, beaten• 4 tbsp peanuts, chopped• Half bunch coriander leaves, chopped

Method:1. Remove the shell of the crab and discard the lungs and

fibrous tissue. Cut the main body in half down the centre with a sharp cleaver, and then cut each half into two pieces. Separate the claws from the body and crack them lightly with a mallet.

2. Heat oil in a wok over high heat and deep fry the crab in batches. Drain and set aside.

3. In another wok, stir fry the onions until they soften. Add the

garlic and ginger and continue stir frying till fragrant.4. Add Thai Sriracha sauce, ketchup and water to this mix and

adjust the seasoning to taste.5. Add in the beaten egg, stirring the batter constantly.6. Add the crabs, stir well and let it simmer for two minutes.7. Sprinkle the peanuts and stir. Garnish with coriander leaves

and serve with deep-fried mini Mantao buns.

One of the most famous Singaporean dishes, the Singaporean Chilli Crab has a lusciously thick and spicy gravy.

Chef 's Tip:Mix some

cornflour in water and use this to thicken

sauce, as per your preference.



SEAFOOD HORFUNServes: 2 • Preparation time: 15 minutes • Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:• 5 tbsp oil• 2 eggs• 150 gm noodles, boiled and cooled• 1 ½ tbsp soya sauce• 50 gm Pak choy• 20 gm spring onion, chopped

• 20 gm Chinese chives• 50 gm squid• 30 gm prawns• 10 ml sesame oil• 10 ml rice wine• 20 gm bean sprouts

• 1 carrot, julienned• 250 ml water• 2 tbsp potato starch• 2 red chillies, chopped fine

Method:1. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and fry the eggs. Add the noodles and

sauté well with a dash of soya sauce. Place the noodles in a serving bowl.

2. In another pan, heat the remainder oil. Add garlic, all vegetables and the seafood. Sauté well till they get cooked, then add water and simmer for some time.

3. Once it boils, add some potato starch mixed in a little water to bind the sauce.

4. Drizzle rice wine and sesame oil over this gravy.5. Pour this gravy over the noodles and serve hot with chopped

red chili.

This Cantonese dish is easy to whip up and is nutritious, which makes it a popular street dish amongst working people heading back home after a long day’s work.

Chef 's Tip:You can substitute potato starch with

corn flour as a thickening agent.



AYAM LEMAK PUTEHServes: 6 • Preparation time: 20 minutes • Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:For Spice Paste• 3 large onions, chopped• 25 gm garlic, chopped• 25 gm blue ginger• 5 tbsp coriander powder• 5 tbsp cumin powder• 1 ½ tbsp fennel powder

• ½ tbsp white pepper powder• 4 tbsp water

For Chicken Curry• 3.5 kg chicken• Salt, as per taste• 3 tbsp oil

• 1 ltr thin coconut milk• 3-4 lemongrass stalks, chopped• 1 cup water• 25 ml fish sauce • 30 ml lime juice

Method:1. 1. Cut the chicken into big pieces and trim off the excess fat.

Rub salt all over chicken and keep aside.2. Blend all ingredients for the spice paste until very fine.3. Heat oil in a wok over medium heat and fry the spice paste till

thick and fragrant.4. Add half the coconut milk and stir fry for five minutes.

5. Add lemongrass and chicken and continue stirring until chicken is partly cooked from the outside. Add water and bring the gravy to boil. Add fish sauce and remaining coconut milk.

6. Simmer and cook until chicken is cooked through.7. Drizzle lime juice just before serving and stir well.

A wholesome chicken dish cooked in coconut curry, this Malaysian preparation can be enjoyed with rice or noo-dles or both.

Chef 's Tip:You can use the spice

paste to add a spicy punch to your other vegetable or

meat gravies. Make in small batches and refrigerate in airtight containers. Use within a month after it

is made.

Courtyard by Marriott Pune Chakan held a Pan-Asian street food festival in June, 2014, where it featured these and other dishes from Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Chef Girish Kumar, Executive Chef of Courtyard by Marriott Pune Chakan had to use his ingenuity to come up with recipes that will appeal to the Indian palate.


Hard as it is believe the kiwi is not originally from New Zealand, even though inhabi-

tants of that country are also called Kiwis. In fact, kiwi, also known as Chinese gooseberry, is from precisely this country – China! It grew in the wild in that country for years and it was in the early 19th century that some New Zealand traders who visited China bought its seeds back to their country and began cultivating it. This explains why kiwis are strongly associated with New Zealand.

Until a few years ago, this green-fleshed fruit with a brown hairy exterior was considered an exotic ingredient. Now that it is easily available in India, it might not be the hot fruit on the block, but buyers nevertheless appreciate it for its tart flavor since the tiny

dots speckled fruit can heighten the drama in any dish and make it visually appealing. However, not many know that it has several essential vitamins and minerals.

Kiwis are high in vitamins C, E, K and are packed with folate, ca-rotenoids, potassium, fibre, and phytochemicals, which combine to help the body absorb iron, increase high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, decrease triglycerides and also prevent blood clots and elevated blood pressure. It also contains actinidin, which aids digestion and relieves bloating. In fact, this is one of the few fruits that can be enjoyed by diabetics as well as health conscious individu-als, because it is low on fructose.

CHOOSING IT RIGHTKiwi is grown in the hills of Hi-machal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,

Jammu & Kashmir, Sikkim, Me-ghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh, typically in the cooler regions, and farmers in these regions even prefer to grow the green and gold-en kiwi to the traditional crop of apples. These growers attribute the preference ecause cultivation of these two kiwi varieties because it is resilient to pests and insects and also easy to transport. Cultivators transport the kiwis when they are raw and hard to the touch. Howev-er, while purchasing the fruit, feel it to ensure it is not too hard or too ripe.

Nutritionist Aarti Batavia Mehta, founder of US-based Nutrition & Wellness Consulting LLC suggests you look for plump, firm or slight-ly tender, but that are not soft fruit. “Ideally, you should be able to slice it into firm, yet slightly tender

FOODWISE

Eat that Kiwi Now!

… after all, it is packed with health benefits.

Know your KIWIA medium sized kiwi contains:• Calories: 42• Protein: 0.8 grams• Total fat: 0.4 grams• Fiber: 2.1 grams• Vitamin C: 64 milligrams

• Vitamin A: 3 micrograms• Iron: 0.2 milligrams• Potassium: 252 milligrams• Folate: 17 micrograms

Courtesy: Aarti Batavia Mehta, nutritionist and founder of Nutrition & Wellness Consulting LLC, USA


pieces. Avoid kiwis that shows signs of shriveling, bruises, mold or are excessively soft. If you buy some hard kiwis, speed up the rip-ening process by placing them in a paper bag with an apple or banana. Fruits like apples and bananas produce natural ethylene gas, and ethylene accelerates fruit ripening,” she explains.

One reason why kiwis are now finding a prominent place in fruit baskets of Indian households is due to their versatility. Chef Indra-jit Saha, Executive Chef of Sofitel Mumbai BKC says, “Chop some kiwi and use it in cereals, smooth-ies, shakes or salads, besides desserts, of course! You can even use it for salsas, smoothies or pop-sicles.” He adds that the fruit can

be cooked and used in jams, jellies, pies or muffins. In fact, he suggests that home cooks experiment with this fuzzy fruit and use its tart em-erald inside imaginatively in any recipe. After all, the great kings of China lusted after its subtle flavor, so why not explore how to get your family to fall in love with it?

Vinita Bhatia

Soya Sous Vide Lamb And Kiwi SaladServes: 2 • Preparation time: 20 minutes • Cooking time: 2 hours

Ingredients:• 50 gm lamb loin• Salt and pepper, as per taste• 15 gm red chilly, julienned• 30 gm green apple, sliced

• 30 gm red apple, sliced• 2 spring onions, julienned• 40 gm kiwi, sliced• ½ tsp sesame seeds

• 1 tbsp soya sauce• 1 tbsp sesame oil

Method:1. Rub the lamb loin with salt and pepper and keep aside for half

hour.2. Place the lamb in a sealed plastic bag and cook it in hot water

at 70°C for an hour and half. Let it cool and then slice the lamb loin and cut it into thin slices.

3. In a bowl mix soya sauce, sesame oil, red chilly and spring onion well. Add the lamb pieces and mix to coat the meat with this sauce.

4. Add the apple and kiwi pieces. Avoid over-mixing as the fruit pieces might break or turn mushy.

5. Spoon out in a serving plate and sprinkle some sesame seeds before serving.

Recipe and image courtesy: Sofitel BKC Mumbai

Kiwi BruschettaServes: 2

Ingredients:• 2-3 coriander leaves, chopped• 2-3 green chillies, chopped• 50 gm avocado, cut in cubes• 50 gm kiwi, cut in cubes

• 1 tbsp lemon juice• 1 tsp salt• 4 French baguette slices• Olive oil, for drizzling

• 3-4 rocket lettuce leaves• 10 gm Parmesan cheese• Goji berries, for garnish

Method:1. Mix the coriander leaves and green chillies gently with

avocado and kiwi.2. Sprinkle salt and lemon juice and keep the mixture aside.3. Slice the baguette and lightly toast it. Drizzle with olive oil.4. Place rocket leaves on the bread slices. Spoon out the mixture

on the toasted baguette and garnish with few Goji berries.

Recipe and image courtesy: Sofitel BKC Mumbai

FOODWISE


FOOD FAD

Tuck Some Tea Into Your Food

Tea is trending and this growing interest is extending to food. Infusing tea in food imparts it a very delicate flavor, putting it right up there

with the other artisanal delicacies on the menu.

If there is one thing that is unchanging when it comes to food, it has to be the fads that keep coming and fading

away. Some have managed to hang around for a while now, moving from a food trend to mainstream choices. But there are others that have you wondering what to make of them!

One such trend-in-the-making is infusing tea in food. Yes, you read that right. Forget sipping on it, using tea leaves in your food is the latest fad on the block.

Of course, it is not quite sure how many people are apt to take a liking for it, given that the coffee chains like Starbucks, Café Coffee Day and Barista have made it so much more fashionable to be seen palming a cup of coffee; something

Neetu Sarin of

Tea of Life


FOOD FAD

that has dented the popularity of teas, especially amongst the urban crowd. Though there are multi-tudes that can’t do without their daily cup of tea, just how many of them would be willing to push the envelop and include tea leaves in their food?

Quite a few, according to Kavita Mathur, co-owner of Tea Trails, a chain of tea lounges in India. “Es-pecially those who are aware of the health benefits of tea and actually appreciate tea by itself, without the addition of milk which is the right way to drink it,” she adds.

So what are these benefits of drinking tea? Well, according to a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry the EGCG found in green tea can

prevent eye disease, while another Japanese study published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, found that people who drink more green tea are less likely to have a stroke. Some of these benefits are passed on to the food infused with tea. In many cases, cooking with tea retains many of the essential vitamins and antioxidants as well as its HDLs (good cholesterols). In some cases, it even reduces the formation of carcinogens, especially in fatty cuts of red meat.

NOT A NEW FADThough it might appear that infus-ing food with tea is a new fad, this trend has been prevalent in many parts of the world for a long time. Neetu Sarin of Tea Of Life gives the example of Japanese cuisine, where tea has been used in cooking. “The Japanese use tea in desserts, ice cream, stews and other savouries, while other south Asian countries use tea leaves, especially green tea, for salads and stews,” she explains. Even Indian households have been using tea leaves to infuse a dark color to gravies like the Punjabi Chole!

POPULAR WAYS TO INFUSE TEA WITH FOOD

• Use it in water for cooking food to give the dish a dense-dark colour.

• Use the Chinese Lapsang Souchong tea leaves to give a wonderful smoky flavor to meat and poultry.

• Use powdered Matcha green tea as garnish or spice rub on grilled meat.

• Poach fruits in black tea with honey and spices to enhance the flavor.

• Use tea infused milk in ice cream, gelato and desserts.

• Use tea infused water for sorbets and frozen granitas.

Courtesy: Chef Amit Puri – Corporate Chef, Pan India Food Solutions

CHAI PHIRNIServes: 4 • Preparation time: 2 hours • Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:• 1 cup rice• 1 ½ liter whole milk• 50 gm sugar

• 2 tbsp Darjeeling whole tea leaves

• A pinch of cardamom

powder• A handful cashew nuts

and almonds, slivered

Method:1. Soak the cup of rice in 2 cups of milk

for a couple of hours. Grind in a blender until fine.

2. In another pan, boil the remaining milk. Add 50 gms of sugar.

3. Tie the tea leaves in a clean muslin cloth and place it in the pan.

4. Reduce the heat and add the ground rice, stirring continuously for about 15 minutes. Remove the tea ball from the pan.

5. Continue to cook over low heat, until the mixture reduces and coats a wooden spoon. Keep stirring

occasionally to ensure no lumps are formed.

6. Remove the pan from heat and let the phirni cool.

7. Garnish with cardamom powder, cashew nuts and almonds, and refrigerate.

8. Serve in a flat earthen pot, chilled.

Recipe courtesy: Tea Trails

Tea infused cookies by Tea Trails


FOOD FAD

Cafés and restaurants in oth-er countries are following their example and this trend is gaining popularity in restaurants in Italy, Australia, America, UK, France, New Zealand as well as India. Part of the reason for this interest is because it is novel and therefore trendy enough to feature on the menu.

However not all these restaurants have witnessed success with this venture, partly because tea is very delicate in nature and needs to be dealt with care. Neetu explains that tea, depending on the variety, can become bitter if steeped in very hot water for long duration of cooking and therefore needs to be balanced by other ingredients in the recipe. Kavita agrees with her saying that it is very important not to overdo the tea flavors as it should add sub-tle depths but not overwhelm.

To know what tea goes best in a recipe, it is important to know their attributes. “Black tea, which is popular in the West, has very strong and robust flavor and aro-ma. Japanese green tea when roast-ed is mild, subtle and mellow. On the other hand, Japanese green tea when steamed can be strong and

packed with flavor. Oolong tea (from Taiwan and China) leaves can be complex as they have a wide range of flavors,” points out Chef Amit Puri – Corporate Chef, Pan India Food Solutions, which runs The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf chain of cafés.

Dishes that are simplistic with subtle flavors go best with tea, rather than heavily spiced prepara-tions, since the spices often end up overpowering the taste of the tea. “Tea can be infused in any kind of dish; however the kind of tea used is very important. Tea must compliment or enhance the taste of the food rather than overpower it,” Kavita adds.

With close to a thousand varieties of tea with varying flavors and aro-mas, it is often best to stick to the tried and tested types while includ-ing it in cooking. It is preferable to try drinking the tea first before cooking with it. Like Chef Amit points out, if you would not cook with a wine you would not drink, why not extend the same premise while cooking with tea? Why not, indeed!

Vinita Bhatia

SAME TEA, MANY USES

• Tea as a spice: Grind tea leaves in a pepper mill and combine with white pepper. Use this as a delicious steak and barbeque rub.

• Tea as a marinade: Try adding leftover Earl Grey to your favor-ite meat/tofu marinade.

• Tea as a tenderizer: Tea is an efficient meat tenderizer. Try adding some tea while marinat-ing meat.

• Tea as oil: Tea oil is slowly mak-ing its way into western cuisine. Made from the seeds of the tea plant, this relatively neutral-tast-ing oil can be used to make subtle salad dressings.

• Tea as an aromatic: Adding a touch of Jasmine tea to a simple rice dish will add many different interesting levels of smell and flavor that are sure to impress.

• Tea as a dessert: This trend is quickly building in popularity in the food industry and is revolu-tionizing the way we think about our after-dinner sweets. Many bakers and chocolatiers are adapting and adding new recipes to include the wonderful hints that tea can bring.

Courtesy: Chef Amit Puri – Corporate Chef, Pan India Food Solutions

Burmese Tea Salad by Tea

Trails

Chef Amit Puri


Food portals in India claim to be doing good business, as people opt for the

convenience of ordering takeaway food online. But is there a market for companies that help you recreate a gourmet meal in your kitchen, or bring you choice dishes

from relatively unknown chefs? We look at two companies that believe the answer is

yes, and let you take a judgment call.

Imagine this scenario. Your friends call up to say they will pay you a visit the coming day and expect to be treated to a

gourmet meal. You decide that going to restaurants is passé and ordering food in is impersonal. Cooking a gourmet meal from scratch might not be your forte, especially because you do not have all the requisite ingredi-ents in your pantry. So do you eat the humble pie and settle down to getting food from a fancy restaurant?

Actually, there are some food portals that empathize with your dilemma and help you plan a gourmet meal without having to be dependent on a restaurant. They might be relatively unknown, but their promoters believe that they are onto a good thing, since they offer quality and convenience in a package that is hard to refuse.We take a closer look at two such entities – FoodCloud and CookFresh – that are putting their money where your mouth is.

COOKFRESHAs college students, Anshul Narang and Raghav Kohli hosted parties where they cooked for their friends by trying out new recipes. Post-college, they began cooking only on week-ends, due to paucity of time and that is when they realized that lack of time to shop for ingredients is one of the reasons people become disenchanted with cooking.

“We did a brief survey to study cook-ing habits and found that the nuisance of sourcing ingredients or finding the right recipe deters most people from getting into the kitchen. Even though most ingredients are now readily available, it makes little sense to buy a bottle of rice wine when all you need is a tablespoon,” Raghav explained.

BUSINESS OF FOOD

Point, Click,

Eat


BUSINESS OF FOOD

That is how Cookfresh was born, as an ingredients delivery service, to make cooking a fun process rather than a headache. The site has 33 dishes on its multi-cuisine menu from India, Thailand, Bur-ma and Mediterranean regions, including salads, main course and desserts. Cookfresh sources the ingredients for each recipe, which are then washed, portioned, chopped, labeled and delivered fresh to its customers. The Cook-fresh box includes everything you need for your chosen dish, right down to the rice and olive oil.

“We did a brief survey to study cooking habits and found that the nuisance of sourcing ingredients or finding the right recipe deters most people from getting into the kitchen. Even though most ingre-dients are now readily available, it makes little sense to buy a bottle of rice wine when all you need is a ta-blespoon,” Raghav explained. That is how Cookfresh was born, as an ingredients delivery service, to make cooking a fun process rather than a headache. The site has 33 dishes on its multi-cuisine menu from India, Thailand, Burma and Mediterranean regions, including salads, main course and desserts. Cookfresh sources the ingredi-ents for each recipe, which are then washed, portioned, chopped, labeled and delivered fresh to its customers. The Cookfresh box

includes everything you need for your chosen dish, right down to the rice and olive oil.

All you have to do is follow the instructions on the recipe card. The company has tied up with various vendors to source fresh meat and vegetables daily. Cook-fresh currently delivers for free to most parts of Delhi and Gurgaon and offers same day deliveries for orders placed before 2 pm. “Our service is very useful for people who don't have much experience with cooking or if someone wants whip up a fancy meal for their date or friends,” Raghav adds.A Greek Salad on CookFresh.in is priced at INR 339, a Thai Red Chicken Curry costs INR 439 while a Classic Cheesecake is for INR 749; which is cost-prohibitive in our opinion. However, Raghav argues that using CookFresh works out to be cheaper than ordering in from a restaurant as the portion

sizes for each recipe is for two. While agreeing that it may not be as economical as cooking from scratch, he points out that buyers also have the convenience of not having to shop, chop or think. “Cookfresh provides a unique service in India for people who enjoy cooking. It saves them time, reduces their effort and prevents wastage,” he notes.

However, it is an uphill ride for CookFresh to differentiate its of-ferings from restaurants that offer takeaway services, especially since the latter is cheaper and more convenient. Raghav empathically points out that his company is not competing with restaurants and has instead created a platform that enables people to use their hands in their own kitchens, thereby giving them greater stake in what they eat.

REACTIONS FOR COOKFRESH

• Pallavi Dutta, NOIDA: I will not use Cookfresh’s services because almost every ingredient is available in gourmet food stores and recipes are available on the internet. Why should I pay so much just to get the ingredients and recipe?

• Ritika Suraj Makhija, Pune: I will use Cookfresh for one simple reason: convenience. In Pune, one has to run multiple stores, through crazy traffic, to buy ingredients even for a simple dish like Tandoori Chicken. This option is a big yes and relief for a foodie like me.

Our service is very useful for people who don't have much experience with cooking or if someone wants whip up a fancy meal for their date or friends.

- Raghav Kohli, Cookfresh


Before naysayers dismiss Cook-Fresh on the grounds that it is not viable, take a look at a simi-lar ingredient delivery service in the US, Blue Apron, that closed a $50 million round of funding by Stripes Group. The company delivers 500,000 meals a month and is operating with a $60 million revenue run rate. Will CookFresh be able to pull off a similar feat in India?

FOODCLOUDA passionate foodie, Shamit Khemka, owner of SynapseIndia, wanted to create a platform where people could enjoy culinary expe-riences within the comfort of their homes by sourcing meals from home chefs. Why home chefs, you ask? Because the food from restau-

rants often feels like assembly-line fare, whilst home chefs add their own bit of whimsy to every gour-met dish. Private caterers often have a minimum requirement, while customers can order for two or more people on FoodCloud, all with a click on the site.

The website lists each chef ’s profile along with their menu, portion sizes of the dishes, prices, pictures of the dish and the time the chef will take to prepare the food. You choose everything online and pay when the food is delivered to your home, which makes it a very con-venient process.

Explaining the business model, Vedant Kanoi of FoodCloud.in says, “Our strategy is to offer fresh home- cooked gourmet food, unlike commercialized restaurants. The chefs on our site belong to different cultures and provide food such as Austrian, Goan and Kash-miri, which one can’t easily find in a restaurant. The food is healthier as well, since no preservatives and no excess oil is used.” He adds that this model is definitely cheaper and healthier than ordering food from a restaurant. Currently, the 150-odd chefs on the site cater to orders from Delhi,

Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Farid-abad, and some of them, like Nutty Gritties, offer packaged food rather than meals. Some small-time restaurants have also jumped onto this site, for instance Ramu Kaka’s Kitchen, offering dishes at much lower cost than home chefs. Some might view this as internal canni-balization, though the site’s pro-moters believe that ultimately the customer has the right to choose between one or the other.

“These chefs are experts in their fields and you might not be able to replicate their dishes at home, es-pecially given the amount of time and effort that goes into it. We have a standard process to bring chefs on board and as a part of the process, we interview all chefs and do the food tasting personally. So far, we have received repeat orders and rave reviews for our chefs – be they home chefs or small time caterers!” Vedant emphasizes.

He adds that running FoodCloud is challenging as he is organising an unorganised sector of home chefs or home based catering ser-vices. But he is confident of pulling it off and plans to take the site pan-India soon.

Vinita Bhatia

BUSINESS OF FOOD

REACTIONS FOR FOODCLOUD

• Raj Sheth, Mumbai: There is a reason we have F&B licences for restaurants. Who is going to inspect hy-giene in every home chef 's house? The idea behind FoodCloud.in is absolutely perfect. But the point-of-sale system would end up becoming really complicated with individuals specializing in certain categories in ev-ery area of every city and every state. My main concern is the hygiene at the home chef ’s residence, if I were to opt for this service.

• Antara Roy, Mumbai: For a regular tiffin service, FoodCloud’s model works beautifully. If it is for a small gathering, I might try their menu instead of spending time cooking or getting someone else to cook in my kitchen. But, if I am hosting a party for many people, I would rather stick to my own tried-and-tested cater-ers, because I am assured of the results.

Our strategy is to offer fresh home- cooked gourmet food, unlike commercialized restaurants."

Vedant Kanoi, FoodCloud


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CULTURALLY SPEAKING

It Pays To Be The Son-In-Law...

... at least in Bengali households! Every year, in the Jaishto month of the lunar calendar,

sons-in-law are invited over for a lavish meal that will make them fall in love with their wives all over again.

There was once a glutton in Bengal who would eat her way through all the food in the kitchen and

blame the cat. The cat complained to Goddess Sasthi, who decided to teach the woman a lesson by hid-ing all her children. The contrite woman tried to please the goddess by cooking delicacies and the god-dess relented.

Sons-in-law all over Bengal can thank this lady for the honor and love lavished on them every

Jaishto month, when their wives’ families invite them for an elab-orate meal that can literally leave anyone gasping for breath. “After all, a family that eats together, lives together and happily ever after,” laughs Sanjay Mukherjee, owner of Kolkata Callin’ in Mumbai, as he talks about this tradition.

A LONG-STANDING TRADITIONThe planning for Jamai Sasthi begins almost a week in advance in most Indian households. “My

mother would pester my dad to book the best Hilsa with our reg-ular fishmonger, days before the festival. She felt that only the big-gest-sized fish in the market would show my husband his importance in our household,” explains Palomi Chattopadhyay, rolling her eyes. “She would personally supervise the coloring of the auspicious yel-low thread to be tied on his wrist when he visits the house, wanting it to be the perfect yellow – neither dark nor light.”

BARISALER SORSHE ILISHServes: 2 • Preparation time: 40 minutes • Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:• 75 gm yellow mustard• 6 green chilies

• 40 gm fresh curd• 300 gm Ilish or Hilsa fish

• 2 tbsp mustard oil• Salt, to taste

Method:1. Make a smooth paste of mustard, five chilies and curd.2. Marinate the fish with this paste and keep aside for half an

hour.3. In a frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of mustard oil lightly and

then gently fry the fish along with the marinade on a low flame. Keep stirring slowly so the fish doesn't break.

4. Once the fish is cooked properly, add salt and the remainder chili, cut in half, to the gravy. Stir it a little and add a tablespoon of mustard oil as a final touch. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Recipe courtesy: Kolkata Callin'


CULTURALLY SPEAKING

But jokes apart, the meal for Jamai Sasthi is serious business. It better be, given the variety of delicacies that is served to the jamai, with the Sorshe Ilish taking place of pride on the table. He is welcomed with a soothing summer drink, usual-ly Aampora Shorbot, and then a plate with five varieties of fruits is presented to him.

The meat-dominating meal usually has at least 13 dishes, with a couple of appetisers like Fish Chop or Jhuri Alu Bhaja. "The smart guys just nibble on these, saving their appetite for the real deal, which would usually include Maccher Maatha Diye Mugger Daal (light-

ly spiced dal with crushed fish heads), Maccher Jhol (fish cooked in thin gravy), Tel Koi (an oily fish gravy), Doi Macch (fish cooked in yoghurt), Daab Chingri (prawns in coconut gravy), Barisaler Sorshe Ilish (fish fillets in mustard gravy), Dhakai Chicken (spicy chicken gravy) along with Steamed Rice or Pulao", adds Sanjay. Since no Bengali meal is complete without the signature desserts from the re-gion, Payesh, Sandesh, Rosgulla or Chamcham form another integral part of the meal.

Keeping pace with changing times, many families now prefer taking their sons-in-law for an elaborate

dinner at a fancy restaurant rather than cooking at home. Restaurants have also started offering special Jamai Sashti thali on the day, and are often packed well through-out the day. After all, irrespective whether he is treated at home or elsewhere, the idea behind the festival is to foster a harmoni-ous relation with the son-in-law, prompting him to treat the daugh-ter of the house like a queen. And the success of the Jamai Sasthi tra-dition only proves that the way to a man’s heart indeed lies through his stomach!

Vinita Bhatia

SHYAMBAJARER MUTTON KOSHAServes: 2 • Preparation time: 10 minutes • Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:• 2 tbsp mustard oil• 250 gm onion, sliced• 10 gm turmeric powder• 20 gm red chili powder

• 80 gm fresh curd• 60 gm ginger garlic paste• 20 gm cashewnut and charmagaj paste• 400 gms mutton, chopped

• 4 tbsp water• Salt, to taste• ½ teaspoon soya sauce• ½ tsp garam masala powder

Method:1. Heat cooking oil in a frying pan.

Add onion, turmeric powder, red chili powder, curd, ginger garlic paste, charmagaj-cashewnut paste and mutton pieces. Sauté it till the oil leaves the side of the entire gravy.

2. Add the water to ensure the masalas don't stick with the pan.

3. Cover the pan with a lid and keep stirring often till the mutton is well cooked.

4. Then add salt to taste, soya sauce and a hint of garam masala and give it a final stir. Take it off the heat and serve it hot with steamed rice or bread.

Recipe courtesy: Kolkata Callin'


INTERNATIONAL FLAVORS

Part American, Part Mexican,

All TexMex

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, said Aristotle. He could well have been talking about TexMex cuisine, which is a curious and

convenient amalgamation of Texan and Mexican cuisines.


It is not American cuisine. Nor is it Mexican. And yet it is one of the most popular cuisines not just in the US, but in-

creasingly throughout the world. Say Hola! to TexMex food, the go-to cuisine that has found place of pride in many fast food restaurants and bars globally.

It is unclear when exactly this cuisine came into being. Most food historians believe it evolved grad-ually when Americans, especially Texans, started doing business with Mexico and when Mexicans started settling in Texas in the later part of the 18th century. These set-tlers introduced their indigenous food to Americans while tweaking it slightly to suit the latter’s palates.Over time, TexMex cuisine came to be defined as the amalgamation of flavours from places like Mex-ico, Arizona and Texas. A typical dish uses of herbs, spices and meat freshly produced in the Southwest-ern regions of the US.

MIXING HISTORY AND HERITAGETexMex food, especially that served in popular restaurant chains like Chili’s or TGIF, is based on the traditional flavors of America’s Southwestern region. Consid-ered one of the oldest cuisines in the United States, it represents a mixture of the culinary heritages of Spain, Mexico and Native Amer-ican tribes. The most common Southwestern flavorings are onion, tomato, oregano, cumin, cilantro and coriander, and the seeds of the cilantro. A variety of seeds and nuts provide both texture and flavor, and basic meats, such as chicken, beef and pork are used.

These flavors have made their way into TexMex food, while still retaining the Hispanic habit of using chilis to flavor food and corn to thicken sauces, and make for delectable fillings. Corn and beans, ubiquitous ingredients in any Mexican kitchen in different variants, are the basis of many TexMex main-dish specialties, be it

enchiladas, quesadillas, tostadas or burritos. THE BEST LOVED DISHESSome of the more famous TexMex dishes are Terlingua Chili and Fajitas, which are known to have originated in the Southwestern area. Most TexMex dishes use a lot of freshly sourced ingredients - herbs like cilantro, spices like cajun, peppers like jalapeno and chipotle and vegetables and fruits like tomatoes and avocados.

The cuisine also borrows from each distinct origin. For instance, Southwestern Americans treat barbecued cow heads, or Barba-coa, as delicacies, while Hispanics love experimenting with kid goat and dried beef. All find themselves featured in various dishes of Tex-Mex fare. While rice does make a cameo appearance in this cuisine, it plays more of a supporting role than that of a leading protagonist.

While rice does make a cameo appearance in this cuisine, it plays more of a supporting role than that of a leading protagonist.

TexMex cuisine relies on ingredients like tomatoes, pepper, avocado, onions, etc. to balance the meatiness in the meal.


INTERNATIONAL FLAVORS

Grilling and frying are the most common cooking techniques employed, as is marinating on all proteins and even small ingredi-ents like onions, to bring out the flavour. The underlying essence of all dishes is the high level of spici-ness in them.

TexMex cuisine also relies on smaller ingredients like tomatoes, pepper, avocado, onions, etc. to balance the meatiness in the meal. Be it guacamole or salsa, these

condiments are a must-have in ev-ery meal. Over the years these dips have actually gone mainstream and are even available in specific flavors in the packaged form.

POPULARITY OF TEXMEX FOODToday it is not uncommon to find restaurants specializing in TexMex in the US, and also around the world. In fact, the trend is spread-ing faster than you can say tacos with guacamole! One reason for the popularity of these restaurants is not just the cuisine, but the en-tire package – loud music, easy to maneuver menus, the barroom feel of the décor with American bric a brac on the walls. It makes for an enlivening dining experience that fits well with the cosmopolitan culture in most metros. Heck, it even makes guests feel uber-cool by virtue of being regulars!

Another reason for its popularity is that TexMex food is not ritzy. You can easily use your fingers to finish off a burrito or tamale, with-out having to worry about fancy cutlery. This is why the cuisine has been able to cut across most cultural boundaries and emerge as popular food at bars and pubs as well as street side eateries. It is wholesome, filling and absolutely fuss-free eating on-the-go, where a snack can easily pass of as a meal, given its portions. So at the end of a hearty TexMex snack, don’t be surprised if you find yourself exclaiming “Ay Caramba”. Because TexMex food can do that to you!

Vinita Bhatia with inputs from Chef Michael Winkelmann, Global Culinary

Contact, Chili’s Grill & Bar

Corn and beans, ubiquitous ingredients in any Mexican

kitchen in different variants, are the basis of many TexMex main-dish

specialties, be it enchiladas, quesadillas, tostadas or

burritos.

SANTA FE FAJITASImpress your guests with this dish of tortillas, fajita chicken and grilled vegetables, topped with some salsa and served on a

sizzling skillet. Let this recipe from Chili’s in Dubai show you how.

Ingredients:• 1/2 cup bell peppers, sautéed• 142 gm fajita onions• 170 gm fajita chicken

• 2 tbsp peppercorn spice• 1/4 cup corn relish• 1/2 avocado, sliced

• 43 gm oz salsa• 3 pcs flour tortillas• 8-10 pcs cherry tomatoes, cooked

Method:1. Season one side of the chicken with 1 tsp peppercorn spice.2. Place seasoned side on grill and sprinkle the top surface with

1 tsp additional peppercorn spice.3. Cook chicken for approximately 2 1/2 minutes. Using

stainless steel tongs, rotate by 1/4 turn to set diamond grill marks and cook for another 2 1/2 minutes.

4. Turn chicken over and cook for approximately 2 minutes, then rotate by 1/4 turn and cook for another 2 minutes (the chicken should be juicy). Total cooking time is approximately 9 minutes; cook to a minimum internal temperature of 75°C.

5. Place cooked chicken on a cutting board and slice chicken crosswise into 1/4 inch strips.

6. Place the cherry tomatoes in the hot pan with oil and cook for approximately 30 seconds.

7. To serve, place the bell peppers around the rim of the heated skillet. Mound the hot fajita onions at the center of the skillet. Place the cherry tomatoes and corn relish on top of the

onions and peppers.8. Place the sliced fajita chicken on top of the tomatoes and

corn. Place the sliced avocados lengthwise (fan style) on the center of the chicken meat. Serve with salsa in a ramekin on the side.

Recipe courtesy: Chili’s Dubai


Think hydration and most folks assume they need to stay hydrated only during summers. This is

not true. One needs to stay hydrat-ed in the monsoons as well. After all, there is lot of humidity in the air, which can drain the body of its water content.

Water accounts for around 70% of body weight, and losing even as low as 2% of this water content leads to dehydration. Dehydration is the loss of water and salts that are essential for normal body func-

tion. It is essential we consume enough water every day to stay healthy and fit.

Dehydration is a common problem during the summer, and other sea-sons, especially in places that have a humid climate, yearlong. Some of the symptoms of dehydration include thirst, lethargy, headaches, dizziness, and disorientation.

DRINKING RIGHT TO STAY HYDRATEDWater plays an important role in our body. It is a medium for all chemical reactions in the body and helps in regulating body tem-

perature. Maintaining hydration provides vitality and flexibility of joints. It also helps maintain the elasticity of the skin, and the spar-kle in the eyes.

The best way to avoid dehydra-tion is by drinking lot of water to replace the loss of fluids through sweating. Around 20% of our daily fluid requirements come from foods we eat; the rest we need to get from water and other healthy beverages. It is recommended that we have eight glasses of water daily yearlong, and more in hot months.Besides water, one can also in-culcate the habit of drinking tea to stay hydrated, especially clear

green tea without milk and sugar. Each cup of green tea hydrates you, boosting your energy levels.You can also include water-rich fruits and vegetables in your diet to stay hydrated. Lettuce, oranges and apples are some examples of high water content foods.

Follow these lifestyle habits re-ligiously and don’t wait for your body to signal that it is low on flu-ids. That is the key to good health.

Courtesy: Christina Doublichevitche, Regional

Nutrition and Health Manager at Unilever North Africa Middle

East

QUICK TAKE

Staying HydratedEven a fluid loss of 1-2% of our body’s water content can have an adverse affect on our physical and mental performance. It is not necessary to stay hydrated only in summer; one can suffer from

dehydration even in monsoons, especially in areas with high humidity.


EVENTS

Diageo Reserve World Class 2014 Concludes

India FinalsVarun Sudhakar from Mumbai won the Diageo Reserve World Class India Finals 2014 and will go to Great Britain for the global finals.

Varun Sudhakar from Four Seasons Hotel, Mumbai is the nation-al winner of Diageo

Reserve World Class 2014’s India edition. Gaurav Dhyani and Dilbar Singh from Delhi’s Taj Palace Hotel secured the second and third posi-tion respectively at the 6th edition of Diageo Reserve World Class. Varun will represent India in the World Class Global Finals sched-uled to be held in Great Britain from 28th July to 1st August, 2014.

Announcing the winner, Bhavesh Somaya, Marketing and Innova-tion Director, Diageo India said, “World Class is a celebration of flair and creativity in the craft of bartending, the initiative aims to nurture the rare talent of bartend-ing and enable young aspirants with an ideal platform to further hone their skills.”

20 VIE FOR THE TOP SLOTSince February 2014, the all-India regional rounds were conducted in nine cities – Mumbai, Delhi, Chen-nai, Bangalore, Pune, Gurgaon, Noida, Hyderabad and Kolkata. 20 mixologists from prominent bars

in India competed in these region-al levels before descending at JW Marriott, Mumbai for the national finals.

An expert panel consisting of Shivam Misra, Commercial Di-rector at Diageo; Adam Dever-mann, Brand Ambassador, Grand Marnier; Raveen Misra, Diageo Reserve Brand Ambassador, West India; Pedro Rafael, Diageo Brand Ambassador, South India and Zbigniew Zapert, Diageo Brand Ambassador, North India judged on four modules on various pa-rameters to test the participants’ ingenuity.

Sharing his big win, Varun Sudha-kar said, “I am honoured to have won this prestigious title for the second year in a row. It is extreme-ly gratifying to be competing with the best in the world and I am excited to experiment with some innovative ideas at the finals.”`The Diageo Reserve World Class aims to nurture the potential talent of local bartenders and enable them with the right knowledge. In the past, it has successfully helped local talent emerge as influencers and creators of fine drinking expe-riences the world over.

Team CaLDRON

Varun Sudhakar (Nation-al Winner) with Gaurav Dhyani and Dilbar Singh


For the first time, the iconic Sea Lounge at Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai hosted a champagne afternoon tea

inspired by the themes and colours of the fashion world. The high tea on 14th June, 2014 was attended by the city’s fashionable elite, who were welcomed into the iconic Sea Lounge with a glass of Taittinger champagne. Guests sipped on fine tea while taking a sneak preview into Jimmy Choo’s 2014 Pre-Fall collection. Guests happily slipped into the shoes, shoulder tested the bags and pampered themselves with nail art by experts from the Taj Salon, during the style-domi-nated event.

Talking about this event, Hemant Oberoi, Grandmaster Chef – The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai said, “In our continuous endeavor to pioneer new experiences, we conceptualized the Taj Afternoon Tea at the Sea Lounge. Like the Taj, Jimmy Choo is an iconic luxury brand defined by an empowered sense of glamour and hence we felt it was the befitting partner for this bespoke experience.”

A SPECIAL MENUThe Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai’s pastry chefs specially created a range of dainty culinary treats, such as Raisin Scones served with

Raspberry Preserve and Clotted Cream, Macaroons and Molecular Fruit Caviar. However, what stole most hearts were the Jimmy Choo Stilettos made from chocolate, something that every fashionista could have without worrying about the price tag. The fashion After-noon Tea was served with first flush teas and guests could select from Assam, Darjeeling, Organic Green Tea, Lemongrass and Gin-ger, to name a few.

Sea Lounge is repositioning itself as a fashionable destination in the city, where guests can enjoy the crisp notes of Earl Grey while gazing out on the Arabian Sea. It encourages guests to lose them-selves in their thoughts and return

to reality to enjoy signature dishes like the Bombay Toasty and Bom-bay Chaat, while ensconced in the charming colonial room with art deco furniture and live piano mu-sic wafting through.

Sea Lounge is a favourite for its light lunch and dinner fare and Mumbai street food including Bhel Puri, Sev Puri, Kheema Ghota-la Toastie and Vada Pav. In the evenings, guests may choose to opt for a quiet glass of Champagne or a cocktail as they watch the lights from the moving ships on the harbour.

Team CaLDRON

High Fashion Meets High Tea

The legendary Sea Lounge at Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai hosted a fashionable tea in association with the luxurious Jimmy Choo brand.

EVENTS


With the popularisa-tion of the ‘curry concept’ all over the world and

especially in Britain, Park Hyatt Hyderabad and Curry Life Mag-azine proudly hosted the Taste of Britain Curry Festival 2014. British chefs, including Michelin star chef Dominic Chapman, brought a special twist to this festival of age-old Indian curries and more, with some British flavours.

The Taste of Britain Curry Festival marked its presence in Hyderabad for the first time. A team of the

UK’s best chefs produced 80 dishes, including high street favourites like British Chick-en Tikka Masala and Balti, between 12th June, 2014 and 21st June, 2014 at The Dining Room, Park Hyatt Hyderabad.

Priced at INR 1500 plus taxes per person, this array of delicacies included a set menu with a round of beer. At Tre-Forni Bar & Restaurant, a special spread was arranged at INR 2200 with specialties by Dominic Chapman and a glass of wine.

SUPPORT FROM THE STALWARTSFestival founder and the Editor of Curry Life, Syed Belal Ahmed, said, “Taste of Britain Curry Festival pro-motes the skill and creativity of British curry chefs and this was also a celebration of the amalgamation of two very diverse cultures.” Chef Dominic Chapman, who made his second trip to India, added, “I loved my last visit

to India and jumped at the chance to return. It was a great personal experience and also the chance to work alongside some experts of

Indian cuisine. I enjoyed meeting my counterparts and flying the flag for British cuisine in this amazing country.”

Sven Hoffmeyer, General Manager of Park Hyatt Hyderabad called the event an interesting festival where folks in Hyderabad could see authentic Indian curries getting a British touch. Lars Windfuhr, Executive Chef, Park Hyatt Hy-derabad added, “Indian cuisine is close to my heart and witnessing it experience a British twist excit-ed me. We were happy to be the proud venue for this festival and enjoyed some delicious curries and a great experience.”

Team CaLDRON

EVENTS

Taste Of Britain Curry

FestivalIndia has left a big

imprint on the British culinary map, starting with curry. Park Hyatt Hyderabad hosted the ‘Taste of Britain Curry Festival’ in June 2014,

presenting Indian recipes seasoned with English

flavours.

A team of the UK’s best chefs produced 80 dishes,

including high street favourites like British

Chicken Tikka Masala and Balti, between 12th June, 2014 and 21st June, 2014 at The Dining Room, Park

Hyatt Hyderabad.


Sula Vineyards has an-nounced the opening of Soleil La Plage at their vine-yards. This is an outpost of

the popular La Plage restaurant in North Goa, which is a brainchild of Morgan Rainforth, Florence Tarbouriech, and Serge Lozano. This French trio have created a charming space with an aim that a visit can easily become a three-hour affair overflowing with food, wine and conversation.

Many well-known people from Mumbai were part of the opening of the restaurant, sharing their

enthusiasm for the newest addition to the vineyards as well as indulg-ing in the exquisite fare that Soleil has to offer. These guests were also given a VIP tour of the sparkling cellars and an exclusive tasting of the new released Chenin Blanc Reserve 2013. Among those pres-ent at this lovely Sunday afternoon were Sula’s Master Winemaker Kerry Damskey and Global Brand Ambassador Cecilia Oldne, Nar-endra Kumar, Anil Chopra, Mona Juneja, Prahlad and Mitali Kakkar, Jamal and Pravina Mecklai, Pervez Damania, Abhishek Kapoor and Nell Freudenberger, to name a few.Speaking on the occasion, Rajeev Samant, Founder and CEO of Sula, said, “Five years ago I had a dream that I would have La Plage at Sula, it took me 3 years to persuade them. Finally the dream

came through, and now we have taken things to the next level as we always do at Sula.” He added that Sula has emerged as an ideal weekend getaway in Nashik, with great food and a fabulous resort – Beyond and India’s first Tasting Room – set amidst the beautiful vineyards.

Soleil’s unique menu includes classic French dishes including the most popular ones from La Plage, along with Chef Morgan’s take on classics of Indian cuisine. A defining feature of the menu is the extensive use of the farm’s own organic produce with ingredients like asparagus, goat’s cheese, free-range chicken and much more. The objective of this initiative is to offer a true farm-to-fork dining experi-ence in India.

Team CaLDRONSoleil by La Plage Opens

At Sula

Restaurateurs Morgan Rainforth, Florence Tarbouriech, and Serge Lozano have opened an

outpost of their popular Goan restaurant, La Plage at the Sula vineyards in Nashik. Called Soleil by La Plage, the restaurant serves French food from Goa’s La Plage menu as well as some Indian fare, albeit with an international twist.

EVENTS

Soleil’s unique menu includes classic French

dishes including the most popular ones from La Plage,

along with Chef Morgan Rainforth’s take on classics

of Indian cuisine.Rajeev Samant, Florence Tarbouriech, Serge Lozano, Cecilia Oldne & Morgan Rainforth


Think burgers and you

automatically think of fries. In fact, irre-spective of

wheth-er they are cut into thin strips, grated into shoe-strings, moulded into curls, golden brown fries com-ple-

ment any dish, be

it of the fast

food

va-riety or of the

gour-met

genre. Is it any

surprise then that every year

13th July is celebrated as

‘French Fry Day’ in Canada, Unit-ed States and India?

While most send a prayer of thanks to the French while biting into fries, they should also thank the Belgians. After all, it was the Belgians who introduced fries to the world back in the 17th century. However, the French argue that potatoes were grown on a wide scale in France during the 17th and 18th century and fries became popular as French ‘frites’. Since both nations speak French, the name mix up might have occurred during World War I when French soldiers moved through Belgium and encountered pommes frites, or fried potatoes.

Around 1680, locals of Belgium’s Meuse Valley had to substitute their staple diet of fried fish with potatoes, when the river froze. That is how the world was ac-quainted with fries. Who knew that something as delicious as fries and as easily available might actu-ally have a registered history!

CULINARY TRADITIONS

Golden Strips Of Delight

The golden world of French fries has an

interesting history. In fact, this side dish that

most folks squabble over while sharing with friends also has several

equally interesting culinary traditions

attached to it.


FRIES BY ANY NAME TASTE JUST AS GOODInterestingly, French Fries are called frites, patates frites or pom-mes frites in French. In cooking terms, the verb ‘to French’ means ‘to cut into long slender strips’. Once the French introduced these to Americans and the British, they dubbed these frites as French fries.

Fries have evolved over the years – from spirals to squares to strips to crinkle cuts – as potato lovers experimented with their favorite snack. Today, they come in all shapes and sizes; as waffle fries, thick-cut steak fries, curly fries, tornado fries, etc.

While people patronized French fries for decades, a formal cel-ebration in its name is a recent phenomenon. Every year, the town of Florenceville-Bristol (popularly known as the French Fry Capital of the world) and McCain Foods host National French Fry Day celebra-tions for fry lovers. They organize fun activities such as French fry cutting competition, potato print-ing competition and an interesting art competition where participants create aesthetic design patterns from French fries.

There is a creative element at-tached to French fry dips that vary from country to country. For in-

stance, Americans prefer ketchup, while the British like malt vinegar and in other parts of Europe, may-onnaise tops the list. You can also add your own dips to the classic recipe and get the eye-tempting and palate-pleasing exotic feel. There are many ways to enjoy French Fries; they are the most perfect unquestionable appetizers for any dish, and even the main food, when the mood is right.

Gunjan Pandey, GM-Marketing of McCain Foods India

Some French Fry Traditions From All Over � In Brussels, small vans — the Belgian version of a chip truck — serve fries topped with mayo or thick yellow curry sauce in paper cones. �Every Belgian menu, whether in small bistros or high-end eateries, offers fries along with steaming plates of beef stew or with mussels (the famous moules-frites dish). � If the garlic fries become any more popular at AT&T Park, home of baseball’s San Francisco Giants, they may need to create a special section for fans who indulge. The crispy fried potatoes topped with loads of fresh garlic are sold at Gilroy Garlic Fry stands throughout the park. �You would be spoilt for choice at Pommes Frites in New York City that gives you as many as 26 different sauce op-tions to pour over your fries.

HONEY CHILLI POTATOESPreparation time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:• 100g McCain French Fries• ½ tsp red chilli paste or sauce• ½ tsp vinegar

• ½ tsp soya sauce• ½ tsp honey• 1 tsp corn flour mixed in 1 tbsp water

• 1/4 tsp salt• 1/4 tsp pepper

Method:1. Deep fry McCain French Fries for 3 minutes or until golden

yellow and keep aside.2. In a pan, combine all ingredients for the sauce and cook on

low heat in a saucepan until sauce thickens.3. Remove sauce from heat and just before serving, pour the

sauce over the fries and toss until combined.4. Serve immediately.

Recipe courtesy: McCain Foods India


SPIRITUAL QUEST

Coming from a family of whiskey drinkers, I learned how to pour the perfect peg on the rocks

or with a finger of water before I hit double digits in years. However, the very smell of whiskey, irrespec-tive of whether exclusive Scotches or blended stuff, was anathema to me and I never enjoyed whis-key even in a cocktail, much less straight up.

This state of affairs changed re-cently and after more than a year of turning down whiskey-related events, I accepted my first whiskey tasting invite with enthusiasm. My good fortune was that the Ameri-can Whiskey Trail was conducted by Shatbhi Basu, one of India’s better-known mixologists, who also represents the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.

A ‘SPIRITED’ HISTORY LESSONThough I spent 13 years in the US, I never once managed to visit the South – and so, a fascinating history and spirits lesson about the whiskeys and bourbons of the Southern United States was deeply interesting and a tad bittersweet. Suffice it to say, I learned a whole lot about the way the spirit is made, its standing and positioning in the country, and I also got to taste my way through seven differ-ent American whiskeys.

However, let’s start with some fact-finding fun. Did you know that the American constitution has something to say about the

Whiskey does the Talking

Who would have known that American

whiskey has an intriguing history? Or that its very making

is defined in the American constitution?


SPIRITUAL QUEST

country’s bourbon whiskeys? As of 1964, the spirit has constitu-tional recognition as a distinct and unique product of the United States. Now, being thus recognized comes with responsibilities and conditions – by law! For one, no coloring can be added to American

whiskeys. For another, if the whis-key is aged for less than 4 years, the maker must state this fact right on the label.

And did you know that while bourbon can be made anywhere in the US, anything bearing the

name Tennessee can only be made in that state? Last but definitely not least, American whiskeys must be matured in oak barrels and these barrels cannot be reused for anoth-er batch. The spirit only comes out of the barrel when it is ready for bottling, and then those barrels are sold to other countries that make whiskey (Scotland, Ireland, Japan) to age their produce!

LEARNING MORE ABOUT WHISKEYNow that the history lesson is over, lets talk a bit about the whiskey making process. Corn, Rye, Barley and Red Winter Wheat are used in the US to make whiskey, in varying permutations and combinations that create differing colors, flavors and compositions. Maturing whis-key is not just a time dependent event – the spirit’s interaction with the wood is also a factor.

Shatbhi informed us that Amer-ican whiskeys get their unique flavor from being processed in

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EVENINGHere are the seven tasting portions of American whiskeys:

■ Jim Beam White Kentucky Bourbon: This 4-year aged whiskey is lighter with tasting notes of crème an-glaise and pepper. I felt it was kind of raw, though it smelled sweet and lovely.

■ Jim Beam Double Black: Aged 8 years with honey, vanilla and butterscotch tasting notes, it was a more layered drink than the first, but still not my cup of tea.

■ Maker’s Mark: Well, hello lover! This was my favorite taste of the evening, and something I would actually buy a bottle of to enjoy on quiet evenings at home. The tasting notes were maple, chocolate and a nuttiness that made me nuts for it, with a deep caramel on the nose.

■ Woodford Reserve: This strong and powerful spirit has tasting notes of vanilla, mint, toffee, fruits, spice and leather! Thought too strong for me, others might appreciate it.

■ Jack Daniel’s: The best known of the night’s offerings, this had tasting notes of banana and caramel with a tinge of smoke.

■ Gentleman Jack: Twice filtered through maple charcoal as opposed to the single filtration process given to JD; tasting notes of banana, raisins, apple and spice.

■ JD Silver Select: The highest proof of the lot, this was a rich, spicy and smoky affair; one to remember.

The oysters that complemented the whiskey tasting session.


copper stills. And let me leave you with this last factoid: a year in the US is equivalent to between 2.5 and 4 years of aging in the signifi-cantly colder climes of Scotland, Ireland, etc. So, while an American whiskey might be good at between five to six years, the Irish and Scot-tish spirits will take 10-12 years.

SOME FOOD TO GO WITH THE WHISKEYNow lest you think I spent all my time listening and none of it imbibing, let me assure you oth-erwise. This was, by the way, one of the best-organized events I’ve attended in a long time, and the selection of starters that the Vivan-

ta by Taj on MG Road served up were exemplary. We began with an oyster on the half shell, followed by a fresh and crisp watermelon, basil leaves and cheese starter, and later a perfect tomato and Mozzarella amuse bouche rounded things out.

Post the tastings, we enjoyed a Twisted Whiskey Sour cocktail; Bourbon/Tennessee whiskey, lime juice, sugar syrup, OJ, and a couple drops of bitters made for a beauty – whiskey sours or other whiskey cocktails with citrus have become my new go-to drink, and this version will be a benchmark! The other cocktail was Shatbhi’s inven-tion, Choco Nut Madness. When I heard peanut butter, vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and cream as the additional ingredients, I was all ears and it was an oh-so-fabu-lous way to end my first whiskey tasting!

Natasha Ali

CHOCO NUT MADNESSServes:1

Ingredients:• Crushed ice, as required• 35 ml Bourbon or Tennessee Whiskey• 1 bar spoon peanut butter

• 1 scoop of vanilla ice cream• 200 ml chocolate sauce• 30 ml cream

• Chocolate stick for garnish

Method:1. Fill half a cocktail shaker with crushed ice. 2. Add all the ingredients and blend it together until you have a

smoothie.3. Pour this into a Martini glass and garnish with the chocolate

stick. You can also decorate the side of the glass with chocolate syrup, before pouring the drink into it.

Recipe courtesy: Shatbhi Basu

SPIRITUAL QUEST


QUICK TAKE

In the second season of his flagship show, Ripudaman Handa’ will take viewers through a culinary journey

discovering global street food from the world over. ‘Snack At-tavck – Firangi Twist’ will air on Zee Khana Khazana from 17th July on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:30 pm – the perfect time when ravenous kids return from school and demand quick bites. Ripu will try to simplify international snacks like Japanese Nikuman or Greek Gyros so you can present it at the next house party.

Delhi-based, 24-year old Ripuda-man's passion for cooking helped him win the 'Master Chef ' title in the third season of 'MasterChef - Kitchen Ke Superstar'. The young-est contestant on the show, he was awarded INR 1 crore and a chance to publish his own cookery book,

and he also appeared in the dance reality show, ‘Nach Baliye 6’. RECREATING INTERNATION-AL DISHESCommenting on the show, Amit Nair, Business Head at Zee Khana Khazana said, “After the success of the first season, Zee Khana Khazana is happy to foray into the second season of Snack Attack. The next season, with a whole new avatar, has Ripu on board who is

equally excited to serve our view-ers a new twist in their daily snack-ing routine.”

Ripu expressed his excitement say-ing, “My funda for cooking is sim-ple. Make it with love, serve it with love and eat it with love and that’s exactly how I have recreated the dishes in the new show. I hope to inspire people from all age groups to try their hand at different snacks people enjoy globally.”

The show will also witness celeb-rity guests such as director Sajid Khan, actor Vir Das, MJ5 and oth-ers who will lend a helping hand whilst having a lot of fun. So watch and learn how to recreate exotic delicacies to impress your family and friends and also spice up your family’s mealtimes.

Team CaLDRON

Zee Khana Khazana Launches ‘Snack Attack – Firangi Twist’

Tune into Zee Khana Khazana to watch

Ripudaman Handa give world street food a new twist on his new

TV show.

Ripudaman Handa prepares for a shot of his new TV show.


A Beer Pilgrimage Across Germany

BEER CHRONICLES

When you have a love affair that stretches back almost 300 decades, is it surprising that Germans are so passionate about their beer? Or that beer

is part of the great German legacy and heritage?

Beer is not just a drink in Germany, it is part of the nation’s history. In fact, it would not be wrong

to say that this beverage is part of its tradition and heritage. I doubt there is any country in the world where the populace is so emotion-ally aligned to its brew as Germans are to beer. Radeberger Gruppe once said, “Beer is sacred. Every-thing else can change – but not beer.”

The first thing you need to know when you are in Germany, is that when you are thirsty, ask for a Bier, not Beer. The second thing you need to bear in mind is that on en-

tering a German pub or restaurant, do not wait to be seated. Germans are social eaters and drinkers.

While in most countries, restau-rant patrons expect to be seated separately, Germans pick their own seating in restaurants, preferring vacant seats at an already occu-pied table to the solitude of single dining. GETTING ON THE BEER TRAILNestled in the southeast of Germa-ny and home to some of the oldest breweries and brewing styles in world, beer is taken incredibly se-riously in Bavaria! An edict issued

by Wilhelm IV, the Duke of Bavar-ia in 1516 mandated that the only ingredients that can be used in the production of beer are malted barley/wheat, water and hops.

From the Reinheitsgebot or the Ba-varian Beer Purity Law and chest-nut shaded beer gardens of Mu-nich to the monumental excesses of the Oktoberfest, the Bavarians

The saying 'Mind your Ps and Qs' comes from

the time when alcoholic beverages were served or sold in pints and quarts.

Thus, to mind your Ps and Qs meant to be careful how

much you drank.


BEER CHRONICLES

have almost single-handedly invented the very idea of ‘German Beer’ and all that it stands for.And this inventiveness is amply visible in the four dozen odd beer styles that are native to this region. From the pale blonde and hugely quaffable Helles to the heady and brooding Bockbier to the cloudy and spicy Hefeweizen, the Bavar-ian beers offer a range of sensory experiences that will delight and seduce any beer pilgrim worth his salt.

The one beer that deserves a spe-cial mention is the Rauchbier, the speciality of the town of Bamberg. If there is any city in the world that understands the importance of ‘challenging’ beers, it must be Bamberg! And while the brew-ers here do produce variations of other styles, it is famous for a much older, indigenous type: the smoked-malt brew called Rauch-bier. The malts are roasted on an open fire with beechwood logs, giving it a robust smoky aroma and flavour that will, well, explode in your mouth! And the best place to

sample this style is the Schlenkera brewery’s taproom above the Reg-nitz River - poured from wooden barrels propped up on the bar and into sturdy ceramic steins!

QUIRKINESS IN A BEER MUGTravel out of Bavaria and you will see the iron grip of the purity law

loosen up and some quirkiness starts being evident in the beers! Travel northward to the cities of Leipzig and Berlin and you will find this strangeness on full display in the beer styles that are native to these two cities - The Berliner Weisse and the Gose.

WHAT’S ON THE MENUWhile beer lends itself to any dish, here’s a quick look at what dishes go best with a particular beer type.

Crab Meat Croquettes with Apple Cider: Apple Cider traditionally works well with dishes that have an element of seafood since it’s light enough to not to overpower the delicate flavours. The natural sweetness in the Apple Cider is a good accompaniment with the crabmeat and potato bullets that are flavoured with rosemary and served with a piquant barbeque sauce.

Oregano Tandoori Potatoes with Hefeweizen: Tandoori Baby potatoes served hot from the clay oven mirror the spices that are found in the Hefeweizen. The banana and clove flavours that are the Hefeweizen’s calling cards will pair well with the potatoes and the smoky flavours

will pick up on the char of the tandoor.

Murg Lasooni Tikka with Hefeweizen: Indian foods find similar affinities to wheat beers like the Hefeweizen. Succulent pieces of marinated chicken, infused with garlic and cooked in a clay oven is a perfect accompaniment as the hefty beer can handle heat while complementing the meat.

Lamb Shammi Kabab with Rauchbier: Rauchbier, better known as smoked beer, pairs well with dark meat dishes. The smoky flavours of the beer balance well with the shallow fried lamb mince patties that have been prepared with Bengal gram, Indian spices and condiments.

Chilly Lotus Stem with Rauchbier: Smoked Beers works well with Chinese dishes as the beer picks up on the smoky flavours in the Chinese sauces and caramelised flavours from the wok. Crispy fried and served with chilly oil, this dish also goes well with Apple Cider.

Cottage Cheese Shaslick with Kolsch: The bright flavours of the marinated cubes of cottage cheese, onion and bell peppers find a good companion in the straw-yellow light and fresh beer. The Kolsch will pick up on the smoky flavours from the grill and strike a good balance with the acidity of the cottage cheese.


Brewed first in the city of Goslar from which it derives its name, the Gose is the most deceptive beer I have sampled! Even though it looks like any ordinary wheat beer, it does things to your taste buds that no other beer can. The sharp lemon tartness, a herbal character-istic and a strong saltiness dance a tango on your tongue that you will remember for a long time!

The Berliner Weisse, on the other hand, doesn’t even look like beer! Brewed in Berlin since the 16th century, it is a cloudy and sour

wheat beer at about 3 per cent Alcohol by Volume (ABV) with a wicked twist in the way it is served! It gets its sharp sour flavour from the use of lactobacillus (the same bacteria used in making yoghurt) in the making process. To mask this sourness, the Berliner Weisse is served in goblets doctored with a shot of sweet syrup (Raspberry or Woodruff). Yes - if you order a pint of Berliner Weisse don’t get startled if what arrives at your table is vermillion or garish jade in co-lour! It is exactly what you wanted!

A PRACTICE STEEPED IN TRADITIONThe last stop on this leg of our pilgrimage will be the cities of Cologne and Dusseldorf. Located in a region that is broadly referred to as Rhineland, these two cities have old and venerable brewing traditions.

Kölsch is the style of beer that is native to the city Cologne. This pale golden ale with a prominent hoppiness and crisp finish is the epitome of a summer beer.

BEER CHRONICLES


Historically brewed only within the municipal limits of Cologne, this beer is served in the tall, cy-lindrical glasses called stange. An

integral part of the of the ‘Kölsch experience’ is the inevitable ‘dress-ing down’ you will eventually re-ceive from the Köbes as the waiters who will serve you the Kölsch are called! I will very seriously advise you against engaging in any sort of frivolous banter with these folks!

That brings us to Dusseldorf, my birthplace and the place where I learnt my craft! This city is home to famous Altbier (Old Beer), a deep amber coloured, full bodied ale. The name Altbier first ap-peared in the 1800s to differenti-ate the beers of Düsseldorf from Kölsch that was gaining a hold in the region and thus began the fabled rivalry! This copper bronze ale with distinctive fruity notes of its English cousins and the crisp

finish of its German brethren is a very personable beer that one can spend long summer evenings with.And always remember two things - never ask a guy serving you the Kölsch in Cologne for a glass of water for he will definitely ask you to take a dip in the Rhine and nev-er ever ask for a Altbier in Cologne or for a Kölsch in Dusseldorf!

Oliver Schauf

BEER CHRONICLES

TRIVIAFor Germans, Oktoberfest is what Diwali is to Indians. All Oktober-fests began as harvest-time country fairs, and over 6 million people attend the event every year. Other fun festivals include Canstatter Volksfest (Stuttgart) in October and Fasching (Bavaria) in Febru-ary. Märzen is the historic forerunner of the Oktoberfestbier. Märzen is German for March, so the beer came to be known for the month in which it was brewed.

DID YOU KNOW?

In the Middle Ages, monks brew-ing beer were allowed to drink five quarts of beer daily. Those amongst them who were fasting sustained themselves on beer.


Bubbling forth!

There are those who make a beeline to bars to make the most of happy hours. Then there are those who would rather lounge languorously with their aperitifs. After all, after a hard and hectic day’s work, why should one rush that hour when you

nurse your drink?

L’Aperitif has now become a time honored European tradition. Le Meridien Hotels and Resorts launched a Sparkling Cocktail Program inspired by this

aperitif culture. Here is how you can bring this culture to your home, without too much fuss and fanfare.


APERTIFS

ANISETTE ORANGE SPARKLER

Ingredients:• 150ml sparkling wine• 15 ml Anisette

• 45ml fresh orange juice• Orange zest spiral, for garnish

Method:1. Chill a Margarita glass in the refrigerator.2. Mix fresh orange juice and anisette in this chilled glass.

3. Pour sparkling wine till the top.4. Garnish with orange zest spiral.

Nagpur oranges lend a pleasant tang to the zesty combination of this Anisette flavoured sparkling wine. Be prepared for a delicious burst of bubbles with every sip.

Chef 's Tip:You can substitute potato starch with

corn flour as a thickening agent.


APERTIFS

SPARKLING MOJITO

Ingredients:• 30 ml white rum• 5 lemon wedges• 12-15 mint sprigs

• 120ml Italian sparkling wine, chilled• 1 teaspoon brown sugar• Crushed ice, as required

• Mint sprig and lemon slice, for garnish

Method:1. Take a Pilsner glass and rim its edges with a few grains of

brown sugar.2. Mix all the ingredients in a mixing glass and muddle gently.

3. Place the ice in the glass.4. Strain and pour the mixture into the glass.5. Garnish with the mint sprig and lemon slice

The antiquity of this famous cocktail gets a contemporary touch with Italian sparkling wine, rendering this aperitif with the goodness of old-fashioned comfort.


APERTIFS

ROSEBUD

Ingredients:• 60 ml cranberry juice• 10ml fresh lime juice• Crushed ice, as desired

• 12 – 15 mint leaves• 4 lemon wedges• 10 ml sugar syrup

• Tonic water, as required• Lemon wedge, for garnish

Method:1. Chill a Pilsner glass in the refrigerator.2. Muddle the mint and lemon gently. Add lime juice and sugar

syrup along with the crushed ice. Mix well.

3. Pour this in the chilled glass and top it with tonic water.4. Garnish with the lemon wedge.

Summer might now be a memory, but this drink will help you revive sunny days this monsoon. Put that rose syrup in your pantry to good use with this aperitif that is a soothing thirst quencher.


APERTIFS

GLITTER

Ingredients:• 60 ml passion fruit puree • 150ml sparkling wine • Kiwi slice, for garnish

Method:1. Chill a champagne tulip glass in the refrigerator.2. Roll the passion fruit puree in a shaker and pour out in the

chilled glass.

3. Top it up with the sparkling wine.4. Garnish with the kiwi slice.

This effervescent aperitif gives the staid cocktail hour a fresh twist, even as the passion fruit lends it a tangy and tasty twang.

Recipes courtesy: Le Meridien PuneMain image courtesy: Wikipedia


Ready-To-Eat Meals on Long Distance Trains

The recently announced Railway Budget proposed that reputed brands be permitted to intro-duce their ready-to-eat meals on long-distance trains. While pre-senting the Railway Budget for 2014-15, Railway Minister DV Sadananda Gowda said that this will improve food quality on-board trains. He also proposed that a 'quality assurance mechanism' be introduced in railways that will further improve catering services and hospitality vendors who were unable to adhere to the service contract would be penalized by the cancellation of their contracts.

In 2013, news channel CNN-IBN accessed an Indian Railways report that exposed how the food served to passengers was often cooked in dirty, smelly and waterlogged pantry cars, where insects like cockroaches abounded. Accord-

ing to the expose, the water used for washing Shramjivi Express’ coaches was also used for cooking, while in the Bihar Sampark Kranti samosas were found kept in a dirty basket along with mops. News of a Chandigarh resident finding a dead cockroach in her meal tray of the prestigious Shatabdi Express had gone viral, drawing condem-nation on the catering mechanism of the Indian Railways.Expressing his concern about these instances and the current catering services for the railways, Sad-ananda Gowda proposed, “…the introduction of pre-cooked (ready-to-eat) food in the railways to im-prove quality, hygiene of on-board catering services and to provide variety, from reputed brands in a phased manner."

QUALITY CONTROL MEA-SURESTo bring about a perceptible im-provement in catering services, the Minister proposed a quality assur-ance mechanism through a third party audit by National Accredita-tion Board for Certification Bod-ies. A system of collecting feed-back through IVRS mechanism from the travelling passengers on the quality of food served will be launched shortly. "If the service is not up to the standard set, espe-

cially in the hygiene and the taste, severe action would be initiated against the vendors including can-cellation of contract," he said.

Gowda also proposed to set up food courts at major stations to provide the option of ordering regional cuisine while on-board, through emails and SMS. It is expected that a trial of this service will begin in trains plying between New Delhi-Amritsar and New Delhi-Jammu Tawi. It will be rolled out in phases for other trains as well.

Team CaLDRON

QUICK TAKE

If Railway Minister DV Sadananda

Gowda has his way you will soon get pre-

cooked food from well-known brands while travelling on long distance trains. You can then wave goodbye to smelly,

insipid food cooked in unhygienic

conditions.

To bring about a perceptible improvement

in catering services, the Minister proposed

a quality assurance mechanism through a third

party audit by National Accreditation Board for

Certification Bodies.


ASK THE EXPERTS

"I made rasgullas for the first time and followed the instructions mentioned in a recipe. Despite this, something went wrong. The rasgullas broke up and scattered while being boiled. Why did this happen? And how do I avoid this from happening the next time I attempt this dish again?"Priyanka Choudhary, Kanpur Chef Vishal Kothawale: When you make rasgullas the next time, ensure there are no cracks on the surface of the balls. If you require, dust some flour on the rasgulla to keep it dry and evenly covered. You should also cook rasgullas on a high flame. Keep on sprinkling water on the surface of the sugar syrup to ensure that the syrup froths all the time while cooking the rasgulla.

"I tried making a cheesecake, using curd and hung cream. But the texture was just not right. It looked and felt like hard ice and was not at all soft and cheesy like a cheesecake usually is. What did I do wrong?"Sneha S Rao, New Delhi

Chef Vishal Kothawale: Why don’t you try mascarpone cheese instead of curd? You will get the right tex-ture you want for the dish.

"I am planning to steam some mo-mos. Can you suggest some good vegetable stuffing for momos?"Vandita Trivedi, Kanpur

Chef Vishal Kothawale: With momos you only need to use your imagination. Make a filling of any of the vegetables, finely chopped, you like, be it cabbage, carrots, spring onion, french beans or mushrooms.

"I am trying to prepare icing for cake. I don’t have an electric mix-er. I want to know whether I can make whipped cream from Amul fresh cream."Shweta Srivastava, New Delhi

Chef Vishal Kothawale: Yes, you can make icing using Amul fresh cream. Take a bowl and fill it with ice cubes. Take another bowl filled with 1 liter cream with 250 gm of grain sugar and place it on the bowl having ice. Whisk it continuously till it gets frothy.

"I have a microwave and I am interested in making Chicken Tikka. Is it possible? Can I get a recipe to make this in my micro-wave in a jiffy?"Susmita Nanda Dash, Pune

Vishal Kothawale, Executive Sous Chef of

InterContinental Marine Drive, believes that the

success of a popular kitchen is reinventing ordinary dishes

with a quirky twist. He practises what he preaches and keeps innovating with

various creations at Long and Short gastrobar in the hotel. And he suggests that home cooks do the same, to keep

coming up with dishes that are rich in flavour and yet can be considered the ideal comfort

food.

Stumped about a dish that did not turn out right? Unsure about trying out a particular recipe? Let our expert chefs guide you through all your cooking dilemmas so that you can create the dish of your dreams.

Q&A


Chef Vishal Kothawale: Of course, you can make Chicken Tikka in a microwave. Wash 200 gm of chick-en leg pieces and cut it according to your size preference. Rub 15 gm of ginger garlic paste on it and keep it aside for an hour. Take 75 gm whipped curd and add a little salt, green chilli paste, garam masa-la powder, cumin powder, white pepper powder and some mint leaves along with a teaspoon each of mustard oil and sunflower oil. Mix to make a smooth paste. Apply this over the chicken and let it rest for another 15 minutes. Place the chicken pieces on tray and grill in

the oven until tender and brown. Turn the chicken pieces occasional-ly. Once it is cooked, sprinkle some chaat masala and melted butter and serve hot.

"Whenever I make biryani I wonder how I can give it multiple colors. I don’t want to use artifi-cial color. What are my options if I want to get the rice in red, green and yellow color?"Supriya Belchada Saliyan, Mumbai

Chef Vishal Kothawale: Dissolve saffron in hot milk for yellow color and red chili powder in hot milk

for red color. Blanch some spinach leaves, cool it and then puree it. Heat some oil in a pan, add spinach puree and cook well till it leaves the oil. Take this spinach oil and pour over the rice for green color.

"I've been dying to make mango cheese cake. What is a good sub-stitute for cream cheese?"Shama Nehra, New Delhi

Chef Vishal Kothawale: You can use either mascarpone cheese or hung curd, though I prefer the former.

ASK THE EXPERTS


InspirationsVenue courtesy: Infinity, Crowne Plaza, Mayur Vihar, New Delhi

Photos by Sid Khullar


Summer Salad


Pan fried Prawns with Asparagus


Smoked Salmon with Her-bed Yogurt and Pan fried

Potatoes


Mushroom Pasta


Tiramisu Cake


No Frills Attached

ROAMING ROVER

Hotel Grande 51 is an economical option for working professionals on a business trip in Navi Mumbai as they can stay there for a fraction of the cost charged by the more prominent hotels in town. Of course, this means you will get utilitarian rooms sans fanfare, so choose judiciously.

The term ‘boutique ho-tel’ is one that is open to interpretations. It is often used in reference

to small, well-curated hotels with fewer rooms, where the property is constructed in a stylized fash-ion. In addition to an eye-catching architectural design, these bou-tique hotels often boast of luxuri-ous amenities for their discerning clientele.

When we heard about Hotel Grande 51 in CBD Belapur in the satellite town of Navi Mumbai, we were curious, especially consider-ing its location, which is more of a commercial hub with small busi-ness houses. It is a long drive from Mumbai and therefore most of the crowd it draws is the local popu-lace of Navi Mumbai.

Don’t get us wrong. We are aware that several starred properties opened up in Navi Mumbai over the past couple of years, like the Park Hotel, Royal Royal Tulip or Regenza by Tunga. As more busi-ness shift to this town, the need for hotel rooms have shot up as well. However, how successful would a boutique hotel be in CBD Belapur, a suburb in this growing town?

“Very”, according to Satish Anand, GM of Thapar Group Hotel Inc, which opened this Hotel Grand 51. He justifies his optimism based on his expectation on the new inter-national airport starting operations in two years as well as the setting up of JNPT and the courthouse nearby. “These will mean more people will travel to CBD Belapur and stay here as well,” he opines,

while talking about the expansion plans the company has for its hotel – the first in the group.


LEAVE THE FANFARE AT THE DOORThe single storey (for now) Grand 51 hotel is located on a cul de sac of Sector 15 of CBD Belapur. Cheek-to-jowl with a few watering holes and restaurants, it is easy to miss the hotel’s signage. However, what isn’t easy to miss are its two restaurants – Great Wall and Moti Mahal Grand – two well known establishments over the last seven years. In fact, the Thapar Group is banking on the goodwill and loyalty of these two restaurants to ensure good occupancy at its hotel.The small foyer of the hotel is flanked by these two restaurants on either side and only those in the know will be able to figure out that the building houses a hotel too. A walk up a short flight of stairs takes one to the 14 rooms, which are segregated into three categories. All rooms have single or double

occupancy with the rates for the latter costing INR 1000 more in every category.

The first category constitutes six rooms, and the only thing that separates it from the second cate-gory of another six rooms is that the latter comes with an attached terrace. Interestingly, this terrace is almost half the size of the room, and it would be an ideal place

to relax after a long day at work, except for the noisy exhaust system of the restaurant. Anand however, assures us that these exceptionally loud fans will soon be moved to another location of the property to offer guests more comfort. Two rooms have interconnecting doors, aimed at professionals travelling with their family who need more staying space.

The third category of rooms are fashioned to be a mini-suite. This description stumped us again. On checking it out, we realised it denoted a room that had a bed with barely enough place to navi-gate around, with a small cordoned area with a sofa-cum-bed situated less than 4 feet from a TV screen – masquerading as a suite area! The tiny size of this room notwith-standing, it would have still ad-hered to the definition of a suite

The Thapar Group is banking on the goodwill

and loyalty of its two restaurants – Moti Mahal Grand and Great Wall – to ensure good occupancy at

the Grande 15 hotel.

ROAMING ROVER


had there been a collapsible par-tition between the two sections to ensure some privacy.

Another odd thing that struck us is that unlike boutique hotels that are usually positioned in a location where guests can get a grand view, Grand 51’s rooms look out to the back of a commercial building. Now imagine unwinding with a drink on the terrace while staring at the dark brown exterior of a building. Hardly an enticing prospect! BASIC AMENITIESAll rooms have the standard amenities one can expect from any hotel – toiletries, free WiFi, mini-bar, safe, etc. The slightly barren look that greets you when

you walk into the rooms can be disquieting, even for a business hotel. The buffet breakfast is served in the ostentatiously named, but strictly functional, Upper Club coffeehouse. This sans-frills eatery also has some offers going on from 11am till late evenings to attract youngsters on a budget, who can buy two drinks and get the third one complimentary.The one amenity that Grande 51 is proud to offer its guests is free pick up and drop chauffeur services ei-ther in a Mercedes Benz or a Skoda car. It also has a small gaming zone called Bull’s Eye that offers a pool table and a dartboard. Keeping in mind that its clientele will expect other services, the hotel plans to start a health club as well as a

beauty salon, as it expands from 14 rooms to 30 rooms. Sadly, the hotel does not have a swimming pool and does not intend to develop one in the self-owned building.

The hotel has been designed from a very utilitarian perspective and in hindsight, this works for corpo-rate houses and professionals on a budget. Of course, if they want a more luxuriant option, there is always the Park or Four Points by Sheraton in Vashi – business hotels with a little more oomph.

Vinita Bhatia

ROAMING ROVER


Loungin' At The Spa!


Serene and comfortingly quiet, the Spa Lounge at Pullman Hotel, Gurgaon, helped ease the tired muscles with a relaxing spa massage.

There was a time when few ho-tels had salons, much less spas! Thankfully, that has changed and a spa is no longer a cheesy massage session in the parlour next door or a whimsy that’s satisfied on a trip abroad. A spa date is now a way of life for many. At least in good ‘ol Gurgaon, most of us enjoy a spa visit every fortnight or so!

I am deeply partial towards Asian massage techniques while Ayurve-da is more of a winter option. At the Spa Lounge, you can enjoy a bit of both. Nestled in the under-belly of the looming and centrally located Pullman Hotel, Gurgaon, the Spa Lounge is no longer a fran-chise but a spa facility operated entirely by the hotel since January 2014 and I felt this control has helped it turn a new leaf.

SERENITY THAT ENVELOPS YOULike most hotel spas, the Spa Lounge is serene, fragrant and comfortingly quiet. Clichéd as it may sound, you do feel like the city had been left far far behind! It is not grand in terms of space but it offers all the basic spa services in a fairly compact zone. After a quick tête-à-tête with the spa manager, it was clear that the new Spa Lounge was more steeped in hospitality and had a better menu than the brand handling the space earlier.

The USP of Spa Lounge is defi-nitely the Shirodhara Ayurvedic massage, where aromatic oils are poured, rather dripped over the forehead, and it is said to aid men-tal clarity and even provide relief for certain medical conditions. At the Spa Lounge, the special sum-mer Shirodhara is done with but-termilk and includes 40 minutes of Abhyanga massage too. Apart from in-house guests, the Spa Lounge seems quite busy with walk-ins – there were two ladies pouring over the menu as we browsed.

The Spa Lounge has therapies between 30 – 80 minutes. The 30 minute packages include hand or back and shoulders, the lon-ger duration therapies are Warm Stone (60 mins, INR 3500) and Shirodhara (60 mins, INR 3500). I needed stress relief over clarity so I was suggested the Balinese (50 mins, INR 2900) and I chose 50 minutes. I would have chosen the longer session but sadly the spa

At the Spa Lounge, the special summer Shirodhara

is done with buttermilk and includes 40 minutes of

Abhyanga massage too.


has a Steam Room but no Sauna, which I prefer a stint in after a massage, pity!

My therapy room was impecca-ble (which ought to be a given at hotel spas) and my therapist was very well spoken, courteous and as time passed, excellent with her hands. The massage was perfect; I was asked about the pressure at intervals and I could ask for spe-cific areas to be worked on and 50 minutes were over in what felt like five minutes!

I was happy to note that the show-er was in my room since I don’t

like traipsing across corridors for a shower, not as an oily mess at least. The bath products were thankfully individually packed and not in-stalled on the wall. However, I did miss a hook for my towel, which lay soaking wet on the marble seat inside the shower. As I enjoyed a cup of hot green tea, I wondered if I ought to have chosen a longer massage!

The Spa Lounge has an adjoining salon as well, called ‘Cutting Edge’. Equipped with all the basics for a quick spruce up, I popped in for what they call an Express Mani-cure and it was a revelation. No

water, no soap, just a dry scrub and massage, nails cleaned and filed and buffed to a sparkle and I was done in less than 20 minutes. It is a bit of a short cut but then I didn’t really have an eternity to spare. I’m planning to go back for the Sports Massage (50 mins, INR 2900) and also try their Honey and Almond Scrub (45 mins, INR 2900) but to be honest what sounds most promising at this junction is the Unwind Yourself (120 mins, INR 5499) package, now that’s a good prospect!



LISTINGS - NATIONAL

AMUL LAUNCHES ‘CRèME RICH’ PREMIUM ICE CREAM

Amul has introduced ‘Crème Rich’ with 16% fat content, which is higher than regular ice cream thereby giving it a richer taste and more volume. It also has premium nuts, fruits or flavor offering customers more value for money. It is available in 125ml and 500ml tubs at all metros, priced at INR 30 and INR 100, respectively.

The flavors introduced include Almond Fudge, Caramel and Vanilla. The products would be marketed by the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd, an apex body of 3.3 million milk producers of Gujarat.

FIFA FRENzY AROUND THE CLOCK AT GRAND HYATT GOA

Capiz Bar at Grand Hyatt Goa plays host to the FIFA World Cup from 13th June to 13th July, 2014. The spirit of FIFA gets turned up a notch with live entertainment from artists like Nezz and DJ Peppy.

Cheer your favourite team while relishing the new pub menu, which includes Crispy Fried Squid, Tuscan Bruschetta, Australian Hamburger and Spicy Pepperoni pizza; as well as unlimited beverage packages, while watching the games live on the screen from 9 pm onwards.

Make the most of the 25% discount with a round of pre-game drinks between 7.00 PM to 10.00 PM daily.Grand Hyatt Goa also has special beverage packages starting from ‘Beer Buckets’ (which consist of five beers) at INR 750++, ‘Capiz Governor’s Two Hours’ package at INR 1500++,

‘Beverage Package’ of four premium selections from sparkling wine, white wine, red wine, standard spirits, beers and other soft bever-ages or the ‘Capiz Grand Package Two Hours’ at INR 1200++.

TASTE SOUTHERN SPICE AT COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT PUNE CHAKAN

Courtyard by Marriott Pune Chakan invites foodies to indulge in some authentic South Indian street food delicacies from 14th July to 25th July, 2014. The lunch will offer is an array of street food dishes from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Pamper your taste buds to some popular South Indian dishes at MoMo Café, Courtyard by Mar-riott Pune Chakan for INR 699 plus taxes.


LISTINGS - NATIONAL

CITI CHEF’S TABLE WEEK RETURNS THIS JULY

Desi Restaurant Week Events has announced the return of ‘Citi Chef ’s Table Week’ across Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai. This one-week culi-nary event is now open to all credit and debit card-members and will be held between 14th July and 20th July, 2014, giving diners a unique opportunity to experience a six-course customized chef ’s tasting menu as well as interact with the Head Chef of some of the finest restaurants.

Citi cardmembers will have the exclusive privilege of making reserva-tions starting 7th July, 2014, exclusively through the Chef ’s Table Week website (www.chefstableweek.com), while general reservations will commence online from 9th July, 2014. At all participating restaurants, diners can enjoy signature dishes as well as off-menu specials as part of a six-course Chef ’s Tasting Menu experience.

These bespoke menus are priced attractively across restaurants at INR 2,000 in Bangalore and in Mumbai and Delhi at INR 2,500 per diner, exclusive of applicable taxes and service charges. Diners can enhance their experience with GH Mumm Champagne and Jacob Creek Reserve wines, which will be available by the glass or per bottle at half the restau-rant’s wine list rate.

MONSOON DELIGHTS AT PEBBLES

It’s that time of the year, when all you crave for is a hot bowl of soup! As Mumbai welcomes monsoon, Pebbles fine dine seafood restaurant in Andheri give you chance to soak yourself in the spirit of the season with their warm and comforting range of soups. Savor these soups with some crunchy delights introduced especially for the season.

The Monsoon Soups include Vietnamese Sour & Pepper soup, Burnt Garlic Soup, Paya Zakhni Soup and at all-time favourite Tomato Soup. Crunchy Delights include Mix Vegetable or Fuits Bhajiya, Vegetable Cutlets and Fish Cutlets.

HILTON JAIPUR LAUNCHES AURUM

Hilton Jaipur launched Aurum, a stylish grand gold and copper-themed all-day global cuisine restaurant that features an extensive menu of innovative Indian, Pan Asian and Western specialties. Offering a unique theatrical culi-nary experience with interactive live cooking stations and a spectacular speciality tandoor kitchen, Aurum is located at the main lobby level of the recently-opened Hilton Jaipur. The striking tandoor kitchen has three imposing detailed brass bells, suspended from the ceiling to serve as chimneys, with each bell weighing 300 kg.

Aurum’s extensive menu provides a range of signature items and gourmet treats prepared at the restaurant’s live cooking stations. Some popular items on the menu include fresh-ly-baked thin crust pizzas from a wood-fired oven, a variety of dim sums, Martban ka Chicken and Mutton Tarkorma as well as A la Sorrentina that offers scrumptious kebabs. The menu also includes a range of delectable pastas, delightful salads and irresistible des-serts. For greater privacy as well as special occasions, guests also have the option of booking one of the two impressive private dining areas that seat 16 people each.


LISTINGS - INTERNATIONAL

FRENCH AFTERNOON TEA AT FOUR SEASONS HOTEL SHENzHEN

Guests at Four Seasons Hotel Shenzhen can enjoy the revival of sweet decadence from award-winning pastry Chef Owen Xiao and his team as they introduce the new selection of French After-noon Tea set. The French Afternoon Tea Set is available between 2:30 to 5:30 pm daily for CNY 228.00 plus 15 percent tax, per person at Yi Bar & Lounge on the hotel's 6th floor.

One of China’s foremost talents in desserts, Chef Owen won the prestigious World Chocolate Masters China 2011 and represent-ed the country at the Asia Pacific Selection in Taiwan. His me-thodical approach coupled with an artistic flair has served him well in his 12 year career. “I wanted to do a traditional English high tea, but I also wanted to create something that can please both locals and international travellers.”

SHAREABLE GOURMET COMBO APPETIzER AT STUDIO MASR

At Studio Masr, each dish is influenced by the heritage of Mid-dle Eastern cuisine, bringing you an assortment of delicious recipes. The restaurant boasts of cinematic-themed decor and serves Middle Eastern dishes, including the Studio Masr Grill Shawaya, its signature offering.

EARLY BIRD OFFER AT AQUARA LOUNGE, DUBAI MARINA YACHT CLUB

It pays to be the early bird. This summer, take advantage of the extended early bird offer throughout the night at Aquara Lounge in Dubai Marina Yacht Club. And get rewarded with a complimentary side dish or dessert with every main course. This offer is available every night till September between 7pm to 11pm.

Whether you are dining with friends and family or entertain-ing business colleagues, Aquara is ideal for enjoying the sea-food-inspired menu with an Asian Twist while chatting happily on the unforgettable al fresco balcony.

POP-UP KIDS SPA AT SHANTI MAURICE

Shanti Maurice at Mauritius is offering its younger guests, aged 5 – 15, a taste of the re-sort’s award winning Nira Spa with access to an outdoor, cabana-style pop-up spa set under the calming shade of the resort’s ancient Badamier Tree. This spa, presented on be-half of Shanti Maurice’s Les Petits Dodos kids club, will offer little ones a range of yummy treatments priced MUR 900 upwards. These include ‘Choco Boo’, a gentle exfoliation and massage for hands and feet with a chocolate soak and mask.


LISTINGS - INTERNATIONAL LISTINGS - INTERNATIONAL

MELBOURNE STAR OBSERVATION WHEEL LAUNCHES STAR EXPERIENCE PACKAGES

Melbourne's love affair with the classic afternoon tea has reached a new high - literally. The Melbourne Star Observation Wheel has launched a range of Star Experience packages, offering guests a private cabin with a selection from a gourmet food and beverage menu, delivered and served by Peter Rowland Catering.

Topping the list of dining options is a classic High Tea, where homemade scones, finger sandwiches, petite chocolate éclairs and other pastries can be enjoyed while taking in unobstructed 360-degree views across the city's CBD and Port Phillip Bay and as far as Mount Macedon and the Dandenong Ranges.

Melbourne Star’s CEO, Chris Kelly, said, "These packages have been carefully developed to cater to a wide range of guests look-ing to enjoy fine local food while taking in a unique perspective of Melbourne.”

MELIA HOTELS INTERNATIONAL OFFERS FAMILIES A EURO-PEAN HOLIDAY TO REMEMBER

Gran Meliá Rome had introduced an innovative and dedicated offer for children travelling and visiting the eternal city: the Kid’s First & Very Important Kids (VIK) program. The VIK takes the young guests on an adventure into the city of Rome. The program includes entertainment both inside and outside the hotel with a gift book crafted entirely for children encouraging them to explore the historic city. The promotional rate at Gran Melia Rome is €350 euros per room per night (based on

three nights) and €300 euros per room per night (based on seven nights). The KID’s First – Loft Junior suite costs €900 euros per room per night (based on three nights) and €780 euros per room per night (based on seven nights). Tours are not included in the stay.

GET READY FOR FUN FAMILY TIME WITH SIX SENSES zIGHY BAY

Six Senses Zighy Bay in Oman unveils an array of programs specially crafted keeping family travelers in mind, which pro-vide a series of unforgettable experiences for the entire family to enjoy. The hotel accentuates the value of family by extend-ing complimentary dine and stay benefits to children under 12 years old when sharing their parent’s pool villa accommoda-tions for a minimum of three nights.

The resort’s young guests can hang out at the Chaica’s Club, an exciting destination for children from 4 to 12 years old. There is watersports, Zighy Cinema, cupcake and pizza making classes, sand castle building, treasure hunts and learning about Arabian history and local culture. Parents can relax knowing that their children are embarking on their own adventures, supervised by expert staff. The Family Friendly package is valid until Septem-ber 30, 2014 excluding Eid holidays.

EARLY WORKING BREAKFAST AT 25 55 CAFé BISTRO

Walk into the Dubai Marina Yacht Club and enjoy an early summer midweek breakfast at 25 55 Café Bistro. Order a main course breakfast and receive complimentary coffee or tea and a fresh juice to get your day started on the right note. Just quote ‘Summer Breakfast’ when ordering and the servers will help you avail the offer. You can also make the most of the complimentary valet parking and WiFi available to get a headstart on the hectic day ahead. This offer is avail-able for AED 85 between 7am to 11pm between Sunday to Thursday.


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caldron magazine, july 2014

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