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The Masala Chain Restaurants – Carrying Indian Food To The World

2010-01-31T06:42:00.000-08:00

Down the years, the Taj has been at the forefront of gastronomy in India. It has brought the world to India’s table through the Golden Dragon, the Zodiac Grill, Souk and Wasabi by Morimoto, causing a stir with each new idea. The Masala chain of restaurants including Masala Art at Taj Delhi, Masala Kraft over a year ago at the Taj Mumbai and Masala Bay at the Land’s End in Bandra are the realization of an eight year old dream, that of carrying Indian food to the world in a more contemporary avatar. Not surprising since India is the new flavor around the world.

Says chef Oberoi, who is the man behind all the initiatives, “I think every restaurant I ever opened had people saying ‘this will not work’ but if you are not ahead of the times you’re out or labeled a copycat!”

“About 90% of Indian food served around the world is rubbish and 5% is slightly better than rubbish. Very few – just a handful of restaurants serve good Indian food. We wanted to break the myth that Indian food is heavy, spicy and oily.” He further said.

The Masala Chain does not believe in spoiling classic dishes, so the food at Masala restaurants is Indian food presented in a more contemporary fashion. The chef draws on innovative approach to present food. The gourmet ‘dabba’ service displays the fast paced culture of Mumbai serving Gujrati, Maharashtrian, Bohri and Parsi meals in actual custom made tiffins allowing patrons to order their choice of food and serve themselves a quick lunch – the roti trolley rolls out hot phulkas for guests just like Indian homes and the dal trolley wheels around five different kinds of pulses, to present an opportunity for non Indians to learn about the sheer variety of Indian food. Oberoi nurtures a dream of opening Masala restaurants in at least six international cities. He made a beginning in 2006 when shared a kitchen table with celebrated international chefs such as Tommy Wong, Charlie Trotters, Michelle Nishan and Nobu, at the Rockfeller Foundation dinner in New York.

Taste Bengali Cuisine

2009-08-12T00:08:00.000-07:00

Bengali food is not very spicy but yes sweet as much as Bengali girls. Bengalis has this habit of adding sugar to every recipes. Some of Bengali exotic cuisines are made of jaggary (palm sugar), daab (young coconut), malaikari (coconut milk) and posto (poppy seed). Bengalis are inevitably non vegetarian or better say 'fisheterian'. They just love different kinds of fish. There are chingri (river prawns) and various fishes such as bhetki, illish, pabda more characteristic than meat. An excellent dish called bhetki paturi is made up of fish steamed in banana leaf.

Vegetarian lovers please don’t get disappointed. Bengal is food lovers paradise where every type of food is equally welcomed and appreciated. Although vegetarian cuisines are much different in taste than their northern counterpart. Most of the Bengali food are prepared by mustard oil, there are excellent vegetarian choices. Two exotic vegetarian recipes are mochar ghonto (mashed banana-flower, potato and coconut) and doi begun (brinjal mini-eggplants in creamy sauce). Most of traditional Bengali lunch starts with sukto (a fantastic item made from bitter gourd). A typical Bengali lunch comprise of rice, dal(mostly moong), something fried, one seasonal vegetable dish, another vegetarian dish(curry type), fish, chutney, and ubiquitous sweet(s).

Unlike north Indians, Bengalis are not prone to use butter and ghee in their cuisines, they use it little bit for some specific items. Most of the Bengalis Sunday breakfast starts with luchi (puri) and aloo bhaja (fried potato) and round off with sandesh and rossogolla (famous Bengali sweets). A traditional summer drink is aampora sharbat made from cooked green mangoes with added lime zing.

And how can one forget about Bengali desserts? Bengal is a home to countless types of sweets. Bengali sweets are legendary. Most characteristic is misti doi ( curd sweetened with jaggary), best when the crust dries to a fudge texture leaving the remainder lusciously moist.

Culinary Delight at Mumbai’s Colaba Causeway

2009-07-15T03:26:00.000-07:00

The old Colaba Causeway remains the same as it was 50 years back. The same ramshackle buildings, the same old buses ploughing through sultry conditions, the same deserted stores where the only buzz is that of flies and not to forget the same old restaurants serving cuisines that people in Mumbai have grown up on. Each food joint has its own singularity, though filthy but totally comforting.

Colaba Causaway is located in the southern part of Mumbai, earlier known as Old Woman’s Island because the place was constructed in 1838 and the two islands were joined to Mumbai. The place is embellished with many heritage structures like National Gallery of Modern Arts (NGMA), Regal Cinema, Khusrow Bagh, Gateway of India and Sasson Dock. The Colaba Causeway is also known as Cultural Square of Mumbai and quite famous among tourists from different parts of the world.

Apart from heritage flavour, Colaba Causeway is much known to locals for various culinary magic. Camy Wafers opposite to Kailash Parbat restaurant is a spicy and sweet delights. Whoever tastes the onion khakhras or kalakand will always remember the forever. The methi khakhras at Camy are the best, but need to check the timing as methi produces much heat in the body. The world of snacks brings people to Theobroma – a relatively recent Causeway bakery, so tiny that there is no space for your stomach to expand. Immensely popular from Byculla to Chinchpokli. Or at least from Breach Candy to Cuffe Parade. They do chocolate in very form, from brownies to pastries to brittle. Innovative ideas and top quality ingredients have made this place quite the winner.

Unfamiliarity is what the Causeway rules. The place is visible with everyone from different nationalists, touts, and tourists, beggars and hookers, branded stores and emporiums with mannequins frozen in the early 1950s. Add to the buttom-pinchers and drug dealers as you negotiate the broken footpaths and almost plunge into an open sewer.

Causeway was built by the British, a road to the southernmost islets of the archipelago from the Fort. Sepia-tinted photos show a narrow causeway, stretching out towards Colaba, with water on both sides. Soon these seas had been reclaimed, leaving this connecting road high and dry. The only sign that waves once lapped against both its shores remains in the name. The word Colaba Causeway would roughly signify the stretch between Regal Theatre and Sassoon Docks. Lined on both sides with stores and restaurants, this was, in its heyday, Bombay’s shopping paradise. Gradually, the world of retail shifted to Breach Candy, and then further, to Bandra, Juhu and the malls of Bombay’s suburbia. Causeway stores stayed frozen in time, the dust of years barely stirred by their old fans. Budget tourists descended in droves, but did little more for Causeway than litter its footpaths with hawkers peddling the ethnic Indian experience, from inlaid boxes to kurtas and kolhapuri chappals. Causeway was sinking, back into the sea from which it rose.

Synopsis - Indian Food, Indian Exotic Cuisines, India Best Food Experience

Culinary Discovery in Thailand

2009-06-02T04:08:00.000-07:00

In Thailand, it is the roadside that is almost always, uniformly home to the best food to be had. During the many trips I have made to the country, this truth has only been reinforced. Nowhere is this truer than in Bangkok, easily one of the culinary capitals of the world in general, and of street food in particular. Finding good, cheap street food in Bangkok is not a hard task, all one needs to do is follow one’s nose.

The Thais take their food seriously, and it being a communal affair, roadside eateries heave with people at meal times – adding to the chaos of the already congested Bangkok roads. Needless to say the smell of food permeates the streets too. A walk down a main thoroughfare and the olfactory senses are assaulted with myriad scents and smells – the sweet, charcoal-laden smell of grilled sausages, the pungency of the chillies that accompany any meal, the tanginess that accompanies the soups, the fragrance of lemon grass and basil foremost amongst the many herbs used to flavour the dishes…

From breakfast to dinner to snacks in between, there are no meals that can’t be had on the road. Even the variety of food available on the street is astounding. There are certain foods that are only to be eaten on the roads. The ubiquitous Pad Thai is one. Found literally everywhere, this dish is a thin flat stir fried rice noodles flavoured with eggs, chicken or shrimp, bean sprouts, fish sauce, tamarind juice, lots of red chilli pepper and garnished with even more chilli pepper and an overload of peanuts – a good Pad Thai is an explosion of flavours and textures.

Bangkok, through history, has always attracted migrants from across Asia, and this reflected in the street food as well. The insanely crowded, bustling China Town is home to everything from pork noodles to dumplings to glutinous rice wrapped in banana leaves, not to mention the array of seafood available. No talk of Bangkok street food can be complete without a mention sweets – coconut ice cream, Cendol ( a desert consisting of shaved ice, coconut milk, noodles and palm sugar with optional add ons of red beans, glutinous rice or grass jelly), mango with sticky rice, sandwiches with sweet kaya (coconut jam) or red bean fillings. Though most people don’t much delight South East Asian desserts and given the heat of the Thai capital, it’s the fruit salads that tempt more people. Raw mangoes and fresh juicy pineapples (often accompanied with a sugar and chilli topping, for an extra punch), rambutans, mangosteens, lychees flood the roads. Like everything else had on the street in Bangkok, they are bursting with flavours – fresh and completely satisfying.

Kochi Best Restaurants

2009-05-23T04:29:00.000-07:00

• Malabar Junction – To begin with, check out Malabar Junction…Chic and quaint, the restaurants at Malabar House Residency is a heritage building that once housed the tea traders and bankers of old Cochin. It is a clever blend of the old and the new, walls washed in contemporary colours and balanced out with a large collection of special antiques. The restaurant carries the same theme, is simple and extends from a veranda of sorts to a garden, a perfect setting for an evening of food and a glass of wine. Owned by a German-Spanish couple, the fusion food, a deliberate blend of Mediterranean and Kerala, is meant to cater to many tourists who visit the town.

Address – Malabar Junction, 1/268, Parade Road
Fort Kochi, Kerala

• Fort House – Located close the water, Fort House is best known for its seafood and homely cuisines. Part of a home run hotel, the interiors of the restaurant offer a rustic feel drawn perhaps from the thatched roof and old furniture. Interestingly, a part of it carries forward to a jetty that juts out into the sea. As expected, the view from this perch is spectacular and as you dine al fresco fishing boats and canoes ply across the waters. The cuisine is largely Keralite with flavours of Cochin’s foreign influences as well as from recipes of the Latin Catholics, fisher folk who live along the coast of Kerala.

Address – Hotel Fort House, 2/6A, Calvathy Road
Fort Kochi, Kerala

• Upstairs – Ideal for pizzas, Lasagna, fritto-misto or an array of salads, it is run by an Indian-Italian couple. The interiors are simple and essentially in white and blue. The restaurant is the upstairs of an old structure that has been converted into a one room diner – thus the name – with ample light and air flowing through. The menu drawn up by the owners, who personally cook everything, focuses on authentic Italian. There is freshly baked bread, celery-walnut salad, blue cheese pizza besides a choice of desserts like affogato or apple cake to be washed down with plenty of coffee.

Address – Upstairs, The Italian Restaurant
Next to Santa Cruz Basilica,
K B Jacob Road, Fort Kochi, Kerala

• Tea Pot – A quaint stop for that cuppa…this is a tea-room where one can savour the antiquity and charm of Fort Cochin’s Old Portuguese homes. Converted recently into a café, much of the structure’s original style and lines of architecture have been retained. The interiors are warm; tea crates act as tables, a collection of kettles and teapots adorn the place and tea stains decorate the walls. There is enough on the menu for a meal as well: prawn curry and rice or appam and stew. And if that still keeps you hungry, just ring the little brass bell on your table. The stewards would be glad to help.

Address – Tea Pot, Peter Celli Street, Fort Kochi, Kerala

• Kashi Art Café – Started for the sole purpose of art, it later saw the addition of a café…Kashi is where one can relax, almost endlessly. The ambience entices a visitor to stay, best with book for company. The décor is warm with red-oxide flooring and handmade furniture from local coconut wood. Aspects such as an old sewing machine placed as a table and an ancient tea-maker adds to the décor. There is plenty of contemporary art on the walls, mostly for sale.

Address – Kashi Art Café, Burgher Street. Fort Kochi, Kerala.

South Mumbai Restaurants

2009-05-15T03:33:00.000-07:00

Mumbai is the financial capital of India and suffering from gastronomic fever. With so many new restaurants coming daily, to pick the best one is not an easy job. In south Mumbai, there are real estate hurdles to overcome and, there are few restaurants, which emerges out a big eat out place in couple of years.

• Corleone – The gastronomic journey at Corleone will transport you to a bygone culture that left lasting impressions on traditional Sicilian fare. Mumbai’s gourmands are in for a pleasant surprise: the fragrance from cloves, pepper, cinnamon, saffron, rice, citrus fruits, will find instant favour with taste buds bred on spice. Minimalist interiors afford an unadorned look with the possible exception of paintings that include the chef’s very own creations. The best seating provides sea views, the best suggested orders include the chargrilled prawns, char-grilled reasts of chicken and the grilled king fish, all three flavoured with individually complementing herbs and, if you are inclined to kitty parties, the fun has just begun.

Address: - Corleone, InterContinental Marine Drive,
135, Marine Drive, Mumbai – 400020

• Monza – Monza Bar, Kitchen, and Lounge & Wine Boutique at Phoenix Mills is where everyone gathers on the weekends. For whatever reason, this restaurant has a high happiness quotient going by the leisurely attendance of Italian food advocators, also coming all the way from the burbs. Monza interiors are with the times, straightforward with very little room for over-the-top decorations. The floor lighting cheers and an otherwise light palette balances the black ceiling and dark furniture. A wall sofa that runs along the entire length, and tables placed in comfort threatening proximity ensure maximum use of space but take away the privacy. Top-of-the-mind recall is not simply because of Monza’s ‘appealing’ location. Rather, a desirable blend of exquisite New and Old World wines, delicately flavoured food and the occasional dance.

Address: - Monza Bar, Kitche, Lounge & Wine Boutique,
Garden Court, Black No. 16, Phoenix Mills Compound,
462 Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (West), Mumbai – 400013

• Taxi Fusion Kitchen – Taxi Fusion Kitchen, this is Prashant Choudhry’s obsession at Colaba. The restaurant has received valuable inputs from fashion photographer Sumeet Chopra, industrialist Manish Mehta and fashion designer Mohini Chabbria. The upshot deserves kudos for its careful consideration of every little detail. This restaurant has all it takes to be a high-end food destination, including the gasp-inducing prices. A ‘special’ lunch menu (special because the damages aren’t as nightmarish!) is supposedly an ‘exclusive offering’. But really, what Taxi displays is 2,850 sq ft of pure sensual ambience – a grossly indulgent experience within the heritage walls of a beautiful old bungalow and amongst some contemporary-plus vintage looking finery. Romantic trysts are entirely possible!

Address: - Taxi Fusion Kitchen, Jony Castle Building, Khatau Road, Off Wodenhouse Road, Colaba, Mumbai – 400 005

Bars & Lounges in Hyderabad

2009-05-09T03:22:00.001-07:00

In recent years, Hyderabad has opened up to a wide variety of entertainment options including bars, pubs, lounges and nightclubs. The timings do remain a bone of contention between the government and the bar operators, but the city today never had it better.

• BOTTLES AND CHIMNEY

Location – Near TMC Begumpet, Hyderabad – 16

B & C is one of the largest watering holes in the city. This twin deck night club has a swanky décor adorned with its chrome steel and glass look making it very international and appealing nightclub. This chill zone attracts a lot of the younger and IT industry crowd. B&C’s been around since 2003 and has hosted some of the most incredible shows and events making it quite a trendsetter. The large island shaped bar is also one of the largest island bars in the country.

• 10 DOWNING STREET

Location – 10, My Home Tycoon, Begumpet

10 Downing Street is synonymous with pub culture in the city. One of the oldest places in the twin city, it still retains its charm. This iconic pub, with its tanned leather sofas and lush décor, has a touch of elegance with that dash of hauteur that typifies the British. The efficient service makes it the most favoured pub of Hyderabad.

• LIQUID AGAIN

Location – Bhaskar Plaza, Road 1 Banjara Hills

Liquids Again, the name says it all. Hyderabad’s contemporary (and first) lounge bar, liquids, started out as a trendsetter. This sophisticated and chic watering hole offers a breathtaking view of the Banjara Lake and the skyline of the city through its large glass windows. The music does tend to get a bit loud.

• MARCO POLO

Location – ITC Kakatiya Begumpet

Stylish and with a corporate feel to it, and has gained the reputation of being a favourite watering hole for corporate high flyers. There is a great music, often a live band and good cocktails. It is the best place in town to have casual corporate meetings. Extensive wine list and selection of spirits and cigars.

• AHALA

Location – Taj Krishna, Banjara Hills Road No. 1

The drama lounge is spacious and has three bars scattered across the room. It also has a small dance floor by the DJ console. The interiors are quite stunning and the lighting brings it out. The menu boasts a variety of cocktails and a vast selection of wines and single malts. The snacks and bar eats menu is substantial and offers a variety of culinary options, mostly Indian and oriental in nature.

• XTREME SPORTS BAR

Location – No. ¾ Alcazar Plaza Opp. City Center Road No.1, Banjara Hills

Xtreme bar caters to the niche sports bar segment, features top notch digital sports entertainment and international selection of spirits and wines. A great place to meet up and cheer your team and enjoy many a happy hour.

• FIRANGI PANI

Location – City Center BJN 4th Floor Road No.1 and 10, Banjara Hills

English style pub with a spacious dance floor, murals depicting the Victorian pub scenes and paraphernalia of a bygone era, extensive menu for food and beverage. The music can get loud here and they play a mix of rock, house and Bollywood numbers. Good value for money bar.

Taste the Hyderabadi Biryani

2009-04-20T01:40:00.000-07:00

The list of Hyderabadi cuisines run deliciously endless, but undoubtedly who savour the taste of some of the dishes will agree with me that jewel in the crown is biryani. An authentic Hyderabadi meal is never completed without the biryani. Biryani is the dish that originated from Persia and introduced in India by Mughal emperor Aurangazeb, when he invaded Deccan in 1686. The Nizam of Hyderabad’s kitchen is said to have served 49 kinds of biryanis made with delicacies like quail, deer, prawns and hare. Historians also believe that the Nawabs of Hyderabad wore different turbans, each corresponding to a specific type of biryani.

The royal dish is also made by different royal ingredients such as basmati rice, spices, meat and yogurt, this royal dish is cooked in two different styles, namely the Kacchi Yakhni and Pakki Yakhni. In the Kacchi Yakni style (with raw gravy), the raw marinated meat and semi-cooked rice are layered and then baked by the ‘dum’ process. The ‘dum’ baking process consists of putting hot charcoal on top of the pot as well as the bottom so as to provide heat from both sides.

In the Pakki Yakhni style (with cooked gravy), the ingredients are precooked before they baked. The Katchi Yakhni Biryani is what is commonly served in the twin cities. Hyderbadi biryani is a full meal in itself, accompanied by mirchi ka salan and raita. It doesn’t require any other accompaniment.

Biryani is so synonymous to the Hyderabadi culture that both are said in one breath. There isn’t a single lane or bylane in the twin cities that doesn’t offer it. It is therefore, pure sacrilege to visit Hyderabad and not feast on its scrumptious biryani.

Top 3 Places to Feast on Biryani

• Hyderabad House
• Green Park
• Paradise Persis
• Fusion 9

Marrakech’s Jemaa el Fna

2009-04-15T03:14:00.000-07:00

Marrakech’s main square has always been the city’s showcase. When Queen Victoria sent the pasha an elephant as a present, this is where it was displayed. When the Glaoli, pasha of Marrakech for much of the first half of the 20th century, had his setting of scores, this is where his enemies were beheaded; their heads salted and hung on the nearby city walls. These days the Jemma el Fna serves a more peaceful purpose, as the centre of entertainment. At sundown, half of the square is covered by stalls and tables; benches are wheeled in and food laid out. Smoke from the first fires rises up in a string of thick plumes. Across the square, entertainers, including story-tellers, snake charmers, acrobats, musicians, old sages who can cure diabolical conditions with a range of natural remedies, will be warming up. Here, then, are the makings of a unique evening of food and diversion, a recipe recognised by UNESCO when it inscribed the square on its list of the world’s Intangible Heritage.

Street Food

Eating in the square is a brief but entertaining experience. Each stall has a number, its food (and prices) displayed, and a front-man to pull in the clients, many with Anglo-Saxon references that include M&S and Jarnie Oliver. Food is always fresh – nothing is kept over from one day to the next – and hygiene, although basic, is usually dependable. Sheep’s head and offal and a snail soup are among the more exotic offerings but there are also meguez (spicy sausages), fried calamari, chicken kebabs, kofta and a long list of other less challenging dishes.

Riad Dining

If you are staying in a riad in the medina that doesn’t have a restaurant, chances are you will still be able to eat at home. These can sometimes be the most delicious and most memorable meals, an opportunity to sample Marrakshi home-cooking. You will have a choice of what you eat- chicken or lamb, tagine or couscous, fruit or pastries or both, and while this is being prepared, you can be in the hamman or watching the sunset over the rooftops of Marrakech Magical.

Karnataka Culinary Magic

2009-04-07T05:05:00.000-07:00

The southern Indian state of Karnataka is blessed with an ancient culinary heritage. A traditional Karnataka meal is served on a banana leaf (patravali) or ‘muttuga’ leaves stitched together. A usually sumptuous spread, its menu items include protein-rich cereal salads like kosambri, playas and gojju (a vegetable cooked in tamarind juice with chilli powder), tovve (cooked dal without too much seasoning), huli ( a thick broth of lentils and vegetables cooked together with ground coconut, spices, tamarind and chilli powder) and pappad, all eaten with variety of rice based dishes, including vangibhath (spice rice with egg plants) and pulliyogare (rice flavoured with tamarind juice and spiced with groundnuts). Formal meals always culminate with the chitranna or rice flavoured with lemon juice, spiced with green chilli and turmeric powder and sprinkled with fried groundnuts and coriander leaves.

North Karnadas have a taste for wheat and jowar rotis (bread made of millet), which are savoured with a variety of chutneys and spicy curries most notable being the yenne badanekayi (brinjal curry). Mangaloreans combine fresh coconut and chillies to create wide variety of fruits and huge repertoire of rice preparations. It is the offerings of Udipi (also a town) that have become universal in India as South Indian food. The ubiquitous dosai has its origin in Udipi as do a plethora of South Indian vegetarian offerings.

The most distinctive Karnataka dish, however, is the bisibelebhath, a unique combination of rice, dal, tamarind, chilli powder and a dash of cinnamon. In rural areas, ragi(steam cooked finger millet rolled into large balls) is served either with mutton curry or soppina saaru.

The cuisines of Malnad is a fusion of Coorgi and Mangalorean fare, with signature dishes such as the midigayi pickle made from small raw mangoes, sandige, avalakki, (beaten rice) and talipittu (bread made of rice flour).

Savour European Cuisines at Lodi

2009-04-01T00:39:00.002-07:00

When going out, not only “what” to eat but also “where” to go are of the utmost importance. While the numerous restaurants have to say as far as the “what” is concerned, the Lodi takes pride for the “where”, at least with regard to eclectic location and attractive settings for casual meetings, receptions, seated dinners and general gatherings. Ideas are developed for the restaurant to make it as inviting as possible to the guests. It involves especially complex tangible parameters, namely that of creating an atmosphere or versatile moods for various occasions. The Lodi is a brand extension of Sewara Hospitality & Development.

Set in the midst of the historical Lodhi Gardens off Lodhi Road in Luyten’s Delhi, the Lodi positioning in the cultural heartland of New Delhi acts not just an avant-grade restaurant but non-institutional hub for cultural activities. Lodi – The Garden Restaurant is surrounded by number of tourist attractions of South Delhi; the India International Centre, India Islamic Cultural Centre and the National Bonsai Museum, Dilli Haat, Safdarjung’s Tomb and obviously the royal Lodhi Garden.

The Lodi restaurant has 180 cover seating arrangement that is divided into the Atrium, the Bar, the Terrace, the Garden and the Ground Floor. The lush botanical ambiance and a nice blend of traditional and modern architecture sooths the sensibility of our guests. Our menus are created around the availability of the freshest seasonal ingredients, and primarily consist of European cuisines with minimal influences from Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

The bar houses the finest of wines and single malts while our wide range of beers and cocktails tempts the tightest of tee totallers. Apart from that we host several types of events like fashion shows, art shows, theatre performances, and even product promotions. The restaurant is most preferred by both expatriates living in the city, and the International travellers, as it is, truly, the gateway the city has to offer.

Zync Café in Bangalore

2009-04-01T00:39:00.001-07:00

The best way to keep the vintage old bungalows from going under the wrecker’s ball is to convert them into restaurants, boutiques, and museums. Fortunately, it is a trend that has begun to catch on. The Zync Café in Bangalore was also a dilapidated bungalow, now rescued to on Hospital Road, the quiet, narrow street between Infantry Road and Dispensary Road. In the middle of the 20th century, the small bungalow served time as a Jewish boarding house. At the back, in a smaller house, lived the owners of the boarding house. Today the boarding has morphed into Sanctuary, a ‘lifestyle souk’ or bazaar where you can browse and shop for candles, artefacts, clothes, lampshades, jewellery, shoes and more.

It feels wonderful to walk down the narrow and bit desolate road and into this lovely new café. A retractable awning shades diners from the summer sun during the day, but at night, the café takes on an altogether more romantic aspect when the awning is rolled up and the candles come out. The café is perfectly positioned to serve weary shoppers coming off Commercial Street, which is very under-serviced in terms of nice restaurants and /or cafes where a girl can sit with a friend and her shopping bags and pass the time of day.

Zync’s menu is large, appetizing, wide ranging and wonderfully priced. The most sought after or otherwise called house specials are Nachos with beans and melted cheese, Lemon and Thyme Chicken, Lebanese Shish Touk, Prawn Satay. There are soups, noodles, salads, sizzlers, pasta, paella, and quesadillas. You can always an option to order Indian vegetarian or non-vegetarian cuisines, the kebab platter served with black dal and roti, or the, hold your breath, dal-chawal plain and simple.

Savour the Noor-Us-Sabah Recipes

2009-04-01T00:39:00.000-07:00

With the name Noor-Us-Sabah literally means ‘the light of the dawn’ one would expect the best view of rising sun but interestingly it the best place for the sightseeing of sun setting over the waters of the Bhopal lake, that is the most stunning sight that one can see from this magnificent palace.

The Noor-Us-Sabah Palace, now considered Bhopal’s most prestigious destination, offer 70 rooms including some elegant suites, decorated with carved period furniture and soft furnishings to match. The Qamar Taj Suite is the just the place for a couple ideal for a honeymoon or an anniversary. There are few pleasures as satisfying as sitting on the suite terrace with a cup of tea or a drink and watching the setting Sun as it turns the waters into liquid gold.

Recipes from Noor-Us-Sabah Palace

Pasanda Baadan Jaan

An elaborate recipe of eggplant, from the royal courts of Bhopal.

Ingredients

Brinjals large – 1 kg, Onion Sliced – 150 gm, Khopra (coconut grated) – 20 gm, Khuskhus (poppy seeds) – 20 gm, Til (white sesame seeds) – 20 gm, Channa roasted -50 gm, Garam masala powder – 10 gm, Red Chilli powder – 10 gm, Chironji – 25 gm, Sweet yoghurt – 250 gm, Oil – 500ml, Salt to taste, Mint Leaves – a sprig.

Method – Remove brinjal skins and cut into thin slices. Heat oil and fry brinjal slices, remove and keep aside. Make a paste out of coconut, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, chironji, yoghurt. Coat fried birnjals with the paste. Heat oil and fry onion slices till brown and add brinjal and rest of the paste. Cook on slow fire. Add roasted channa, red chilli powder and garam masala. Cook till oil separated from the brinjals. Serve hot, garnished with mint leaves.

Goliya Kebab Shiraji

Ingredients

Lamb mince – 1 kg, Garam masala powder – 10 gm, Coriander powder – 20 gm, Onion slices – 20 gm, Red chilli powder – 10 gm, Channa roasted powder – 30 gm, Khuskhus (poppy seeds) – 20 gm, Almonds – 30 gm, Yoghurt – 400 gm, Eggs – 2 Garlic Paste – 1 Tbsp, Oil – 3Tbsp, Salt to taste

Stuffing
Paneer (cottage cheese) – 150 gm, Mint leaves – 50 gm, Green chillies – 20 gm, Raw mango – 100 gm, Onion -100 gm, Ginger – 20 gm.

Method
Make a paste of khuskhus and almonds, add to minced lamb. Add coriander powder, garam masala, chopped onion, red chilli powder, eggs and salt. Mix well. Grate paneer, finely chop all other ingredients and mix well t make stuffing. Divide mince into 16 equal portions and shape into roundels. Stuff balls with the mixture. Heat oil, add onion slices and fry till brown. Add stuffed lamb balls and fry. Add yoghurt and garlic paste and cook till done. Serve hot with green chutney.

Finger Licking in a Traditional Manner

2009-03-31T05:06:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the country where potbellies are sought after as are burps. Leave all your table manners behind lest one offends one’s host by not licking one’s fingers or rubbing one’s stomach in the course of a meal. After every meal, you must feel slightly dizzy and definitely unstable on your feet. If you don’t, you have not eaten enough. Food is important. The more one eats, the plumper one gets and therefore, the fattest is often considered the most prosperous.

To enjoy the perfect Indian meal, one needs to be patient. Eating is important. It is less about the stomach and all about the palate. A typical Indian meal requires an adventurous consumer. One has to un-learn all one knows about food before biting into a ‘thali’. A thali (a large steel or silver or brass palate) serves a complete meal.

A good meal starts with sitting cross-legged, calm, relaxed and definitely starved. Each dish is served separately and second helpings are mandatory. The texture of food is almost as important as the taste, so one must eat with one’s fingers. Thankfully, washing hands before a meal is not considered a sign of disrespect! Rice requires to be mashed with either the lentils or the vegetables or both. As the grains of rice escapes from the gaps of one’s fingers, slowly changing colour on its way to being perfectly mixed, one can almost anticipate how great it’s going to be before it touches the tongue.

By the end of a typical Indian meal one generally fells full. By that I mean the kind of feeling which makes one swear never eat again. The licking of the fingers after scraping every last morsel from the plate soon follows. The finger having been licked, everyone nods their heads sagaciously and comments on what a good meal it’s been and how they’ll probably skip the next one since this needs time to be digested. A chorus of burps usually signals the end to such a meal. There are tones to the burping and the longest probably grossest one sets apart the most satisfied consumer.

So let go of your inhibitions. Dog into the unknown culinary experience that is India. Leave behind so-called sophistication. Overeat till you make yourselves sick. But do not forget to burp.

Indian Wines for Indian Food

2009-03-17T03:56:00.000-07:00

There was a time when wine drinking not only considered extravagant but also alien to our culture and way of life. But not any more. Tapping upon this changing drinking preference of people, large number of companies in India have ventured into wine making, producing some amazing varieties of White as well as Red wines at affordable rates.

Against the prevailing myths that wines are best savoured with continental dishes, these Indian companies have proved that wines can not only be enjoyed with typical Indian cuisine but also with numerous western dishes. Here listed some of the perfect matches in form of Indian food meet Indian wines.

Dish – Murg Punjai
Wine – Chateau Indage

The delectable chicken is a must part of any North Indian non-vegetarian dish and this time pairing with Chateau Indage results in a masterpiece. Chateau is best enjoyed with ‘chiken Punjai’, ‘chicken Afghani’, ‘salli boti’, or even the traditional vegetarian dishes.

Dish – Yellow Dal, Curd, Rice and Mixed Vegetables
Wine – Madera Red

This is the wine you can enjoy with simple home food. So whether you have a reason or not, this straight-forward, no nonsense wine, abound with fruity cherry and plum aroma serves as an ideal pre meal option. Made from perfect blend of variety of grapes, this unique wine abounds with herbal and woody flavours Comfort food, home-made dishes, unpretentious cuisines, Madera Red can be best savoured with a relaxed ‘thali’ meal.

Dish – Raan
Wine – Dindori Reserve Shiraz

Sometimes you pair dish with a wine and sometimes, the wine commands its own companion. This fragrant dark purple liquid, which has a will and flow of its own is best suited to Mughlai snacks such as raan, seekh kebabs, rogan gosh and such others. This graceful Dindori Reserve Shiraz, which is possibly India’s finest red wine is characterised by flavours of pepper and cherries and is incidentally best suited with murg kali mirch. On a nice cool evening, enjoy the non-vegetarian kebab platter with a chilled glass of this tantalising red wine that offers complex flavours of ripe dark fruit, red cherries, eucalyptus, herbs and spices that leave their taste behind.

Dish – Bengali Sweet Platter
Wine – Late Harvest Chenin Blanc

Served as a companion to a full meal and also as an elegant aperitif, late Harvest Chenin Blanc is heady infusion of lemon, pear, honey and tropical fruit. Thanks to its sweet taste and superb acidity, this unique gold coloured wine is best savoured with Bengali sweets like sandesh, abar khabo, jolbhora or Indrani. While at desserts, Late Harvest Chenin Blanc can also be enjoyed with cakes, pastries or and the entire range of Indian desserts.

Colombo Restaurants

2009-03-12T05:45:00.000-07:00

A land where people worship cricket, adore elephants and get pleasure from music. A combination of shopping, a stroke of art and coupled with its greatest passion – food. Sri Lanka emerged from a historical colonial rule to a modern day tourist destination. The capital Colombo, is one of the most exciting and interesting cities in the Indian subcontinent and it is quite natural for a food aficionado to get lost in the city; to want a taste of everything; to want to explore further – and one can. I’ve listed some of the best restaurants and cafes in Colombo, which accelerates your culinary journey through this wonderful part of the world.

• The Gallery Café – The best is lemon butter lobsters and unforgettable chocolate cakes to top designers, artists, architects, diplomats and expats would make for a hugely successful café. New art exhibitions every weeks and the availability of popular Paradise Road stores merchandise would make for an exceptionally good café.

Don’t miss – Mediterranean prawns with saffron risotto, calamari pasta and lemon Meringue Pie.

• Cricket Club Café – Cricket is the soul of the country and it’s no wonder that cafés themed after cricket are well popular. This particular café is hidden behind trees and ample tree spaces. There is a large collection of Sir Donald Bradman memorabilia, including his hat, tie, his bat, original pictures of his best innings and even a bar named after him. The innovative menu comes to your table as in the form of scoreboard, and the food and drinks resemble an extensive cricket thesaurus.

Don’t miss – Succelent chilli crabs along with The Googly. (This delivery will get you a wicket, melon liqueur, mango liqueur, lime juice and fresh mango blended with ice.)

• Mahaout Café – Mahaout literally means elephants and plush Mahaout Café understands that. The café is better designed and lighter in spirit than most organic cafes around the world. Food options include a vast selection of salads, juices and sandwiches; or go for a full whammy: salad, soup, main course and desserts.

Don’t miss: The alternative sandwiches.

• Barefoot Garden – Ironically, the main attraction is not the food but the coloured handloom shop. The garden café is equally colourful. Late afternoons at this frangipani-fringed café often translate into a live band providing background score, light lunch and Lion Lager beer. The atmosphere is deliciously relaxed and the tablecloths and walls are colourful enough to cheer up the weariest of travellers.

Don’t miss: Barefoot’s homemade ginger beer.

• Summerfields Café – If you only want superb food, this is the place in Colombo. Choose from glistening mounds of seafood and all other meats, pick your cuisine, let them know how you’d like it cooked and once you plate is loaded enough, dig in! The wine is impressively stocked with wines from Spain, New Zealand and America, besides the usual France and Australia.

Don't miss: Be at Summerfields for their elaborate breakfast or try the crab curry for lunch. Also worth relishing is the dinner on Saturdays, laden with just about everything with meat barbecued to perfection.

Aaziaano Garden Court

2009-02-14T00:45:00.000-08:00

Aaziaano is literally means wine courtyard but actually it is Mumbai’s one of the topmost nightspots. To some people it is purely a nocturnal ecstasy. The electric music with eclectic décor makes this place to loose your soul for a long time.

The Place

Aaizaano is not just a night club but a wonderful food hub stacked with all quality wines. The interior breaks stereotypes. The décor spells a mix of retro chic and city slick: the walls are dressed in bright gold. There is a special VIP area. The outdoor courtyard of Aaziaano is decked up like a tropical forest. A live grill and BBQ counter completes the show.

The Food

The recommended vegetarian starter is Cigar Role. For non-vegies, the char-grilled chicken goes well with almost all drinks.

The Bar

If it is a cocktail, the bartender will ask you three questions: what base do you like? What liquor do you want? What flavour? The best part is, you decide, you experiment and create a drink for yourself! Apart from regular knockouts like Kamakazee (Rs300) and Flaming Aaziaano (Rs 500), try its signature Six Wise Men (Rs1200). The six shots are served in test tubes and the 24 ft long bar is lit with fire – you are to take one shot after the other. The club also has a large collection of wines. A regular Chantilli Red/White comes for Rs 250 a glass, Rs 1200 a bottle.

The Sound

A long dance floor sees about four hundred people swaying their bodies to Hip Hop on Wednesday nights, Rocks on Thursday and commercial music on Friday and Saturday. The wall is mounted with two projection screens, even as DJ Asher spins his magic from the DJ Deck high above the crowds.

The Address

Aaziaano, Garden Court
Block No16, Unit No 4,5,6
Phoenix Mills Compund
462 Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (west)
Mumbai 400013

Smoking Hour in Smoke House

2009-02-13T02:19:00.000-08:00

It is all about Smoke House Grill, not so old classy restaurant of South Delhi has fast becoming one of the best places to wine and dine at in the capital. The place is ideal for sit back, relax and soak up in cool ambiance. Once you step in, muted lights, reflecting off orange glazed windows will make you feel like you have tumbled into a bright autumn day. In soothing contrast is the side wall panel, made of an installation of glass, paper, fabric and twigs. The ambiance is neo Japanese, with emphasis on minimalism. The walls are all covered with graphic art of comic books of greats Dave McKean and Todd McFarlane.

This sophisticated bar cum restaurant is located at Masjid Moth, Greater Kailash II, in Delhi. You can also book your sit in advance you are a frequent visitor. The place is recently won the Times Night Life’s Best Newcomer Award and raised the benchmark for all other aspirants. The collection of wine and liquors are impressive. You can even sample the entire range of Macallan single malts (30 to 10 years). You can also try out the beautiful smoke infused Melon Mojito(Rs 350 t0 450) or Herbal Citrus and Rosemary Martini(( Rs 550).

The food is predominantly modern European and emphasis on smoked food. The meats, cheeses and vegetables are exposed to smoke from smoldering hard wood such as oak, hickory, maple, apple and cherry wood. The music is basically limited to acid jazz, funk and blues.

Top 3 Delhi Restaurants to Feast on Tandoori

2009-02-07T00:12:00.000-08:00

What about a feast where dal simmering over the tandoor in a claypot, the chicken roasting slowly over the barbeque and rotis being prepared and served with dollops of butter. This is all exactly all comes into mind when thinking about a carnivore north Indian feast. A North Indian cuisine has been influenced by North Western Frontier. The traditional tandoor is especially a gift from Iran and the Mughal brought it to India in the 16the century. Not only carnivores but some herbivores also relish the North Indian dishes. There are sason ka saag, palak paneer and various other vegetable preparations that are famous not just home cooked meals but globally as special delicacies.

North Indian cuisines have a predominance of dairy products in their food. Milk, cottage cheese (paneer), butter, ghee (saturated fat) and other dairy products are predominantly used in cuisines. It surely makes the food fattier but if we talk about taste, it is fabulous! Despite of being so much saturated fat in the food, North Indian food is has gained much popularity in western palate.

1) Bukhara – Bukhara is ITC Hotel Maurya Sheraton best known specialty restaurant, which is renowned for western frontier cuisines. The restaurant is one of its kind and a cult followings. Although in a five star set-up but the ambiance is rustic yet gorgeously peaceful that allows guests not just to indulge in great food but also in great conversations. The best bets in the restaurant are ran and dal makhani.

Rating – 9.5/10
Damage – Rs 4000 per couple

2) Karim’s – It wouldn’t be an exaggerated statement if I say that Karim’s is carnivores paradise. To justify the Karim’s magnificent cuisines one has to savor the taste from original Karim’s restaurant that is situated near Jama Masjid. Their signature delicacies are mutton korma, mutton burra, seekh kaba, shami kabab, badam pasanda and roasted bakra…

Rating – 9/10
Damage – Rs 600 per couple

3) Punjabi by Nature – If you really love to have Punjabi food, this is the real place for you. The restaurant serves authentic, exotic and rich Punjabi cuisines. The best one is butter chicken but don’t miss the kebabs and tikkas. This place has made a strong statement with vodka gol gappas, which is what sets this tastefully done restaurant apart. Some unusual menus like tandoori broccoli and paneer tikkas, dahi ka kebab, pindi chole, Amritsari masala champ, tandoori prawns and much more..

Rating – 7.5/10
Damage – 1000 per couple

Banana Walnut Cake

2009-01-30T02:19:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
Bananas: 4 large Walnuts: 5-6. Butter or margarine: 10tbsp. Sugar: ¾ cup. Eggs: 3. Refined flour: 2 cups. Baking powder: 1tsp. Baking Soda: ¼ tsp. Coffee Powder: 1 tsp. Vanilla essence: 1 tsp. Cinnamon powder: 1 tsp. Lemon juice (freshly squeezed): 1 tbsp. Milk: 10 tbsp

Method of preparation

1) Shell walnuts and coarsely chop them.
2) Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy
3) In a separate bowl break the eggs one at a time and beat them well.
4) Add the beaten eggs to the butter and sugar mixture and mix well.
5) Sieve flour with baking powder and baking soda.
6) Mix walnuts, vanilla essence, coffee powder and cinnamon in a bowl.
7) Mash the bananas, add lemon juice. Mix it in the nuts mixture.
8) Add the flour mixture alternating with the banana mixture to the butter, sugar and egg mixture. Add milk. Mix lightly.
9) Pour the batter in a buttered, baking dish. Bake in a preheated oven at 175 degree C for about 1 hour.

Chocolate Mousse

2009-01-30T02:13:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
Chocolate: 150 gms. Coffee powder: 1 tbsp. Water: 2 tbsp. Eggs (separated): 2. Butter: 1 tbsp. Vanilla essence: half tsp. Sugar: 50 gms. Cream(whipped): for decoration

Method of preparation

1) Melt the chocolate in a doule boiler (bowl with chocolate to be kept in a bigger bowl with boiling water over heat. Stir in the coffee powder and simmer until slightly thickened.
2) Remove the heat and beat the egg yolks into the mixture one by one until the mixture thickens. Beat in the butter and vanilla essence. Let the mixture cool until tepid.
3) Whip the egg whites with the sugar until stiff and fold into the above mixture.
4) Pour into glasses and chill.
5) Decorate the top with rosettes of whipped cream.

Lemon and Tortilla Soup - A Mexican Way

2009-01-14T03:10:00.000-08:00

Lemon and Tortilla Soup

Ingredients
llas : 2 Tomato: 1 medium onion: 2 medium Green Chillies: 4 Lemon: 1 Saffron: a pinch Vegetable oil: 2 tsps plus for deep frying Vegetable Stocks : 4 cups Salt : to taste Lemon Juice: 1 tbsp Walnuts: 4 Cream: half cup

Method of preparation

1) Cut tortillas in 5 by 1 cm strips. Wash and chop the tomato. Peel, wash and chop the onions. Wash and chop the green chillies. Cut lemon into four. Dissolve saffron in warm water. Shell the walnuts and cut into four.

2) Heat oil in small saucepan and fry tortilla strips in hot oil until brown and crisp. Drain the oil and keep aside. Heat two teaspoons of vegetable oil in a large saucepan, add onions, green chillies and sauté until onion is soft.

3) Add vegetable stock and salt. Cover and simmer for twenty minutes.

4) Add chopped tomato and simmer for another five minutes, then stir in lemon juice, shelled walnut pieces and saffron. Take the soup off the heat.

5) Add fried tortilla strips and cream. Garnish with lemon pieces and serve hot.

TIP – To make vegetable stock boil roughly chopped vegetables like carrots, French beans, onion, leeks, celery, garlic in plenty of water. Once it comes to a boil simmer for 10 minutes. Strain.

Chetinaad Fried Chicken Recipe

2009-01-14T02:59:00.000-08:00

Chettinaad Fried Chicken

Ingredients
Chicken: 1 medium (800gms) Onion: 2 medium Ginger: I piece Garlic: 4-6 cloves Red Chillies whole: 4-6 Green chillies:4 Curry leaves: 10-12 Turmeric Powder: half tsp Lemon Juice: I tbsp Rice Flour: 2 tbsp Salt: to taste Oil: to shallow fry

Method of preparation

1) Clean, wash and slit chicken through the backbone and the breast into two equal halves. Make three to four half-inch deep cuts on breast and leg pieces.
2) Peel, wash and rough chop onion, ginger, garlic and grind to a smooth paste along with green and red chillies, adding a little water if required. Wash, drain and finely shred curry leaves.
3) Blend turmeric powder, lemon juice, curry leaves and rice flour into the masala paste and mix in salt to taste.
4) Apply this mixture thoroughly and liberally on the chicken and leave to marinate for two or three hours, preferably in the refrigerator.
5) Heat oil in shallow pan, add marinated chicken and sauté for two minutes on both sides to seal the exterior.
6) Reduce heat to minimum, cover with a lid and cook for fifteen to twenty minutes, turning over and basting frequently with the remaining marinade, if any or with oil. Sprinkle a little water, if the chicken starts drying.
7) The last few minutes of the cooking should be done on high heat, so that the surface of the chicken is crisp and golden brown.
8) Cut into smaller pieces and serve hot.