Fun FOOD Frolic

Gujarati Khatta Dhokla is steamed rice and lentil fudge seasoned with curry leaves, mustard seeds with splash yellowish red of turmeric and red chili powder. Gujarati Farsans (Snacks) have unique persona each with distinguished cooking method, peculiar taste profile, appetizing presentation and low on calorie count. One such traditional snack from the Gujju land is Khatta Dhokla though the name sounds very similar to Khaman Dhokla but both are quite opposite in all sense from making to flavor, the only similarity I guess is cooking method - steaming.

Steaming is a fascinating cooking method so quiet, hassle free and tranquil withdrawing minimal nutrients from the food, no wonder it's one of the most favorable cooking methods in some of the first world countries. Those who like to keep tap of fat/oil used in daily meal steaming is one solution to splurge into variety of dishes in a guilt free manner. Recently while I was reading in detail about steaming technique I stumbled on the fact that most of ingredients can be cooked through steaming and could be transform into nourishing tasty meals.

When successful brands like Tupperwarework towards food for thought it should be appreciated, last year Tupperware Team launched Care4food Campaign (read here) to reduce wastage of food by better storage I whole-heartedly agreed to be part of such a thoughtful crusade. Tupperware Steamer is an engineered revolutionary product with features for safe and hygienic cooking. The steamer has two steam vents on the cover which life the steam away from the handle for safety and a grooved water drainage channel on the inside, prevents water droplets from dripping back onto the food surface. Solid food items can be placed directly over the spacious plates of the steamer or metal plates can also be used as well, like for Khatta Dhokla I used medium size baking tray to steam the batter. So now make steaming a habit in your kitchen as it retains all the nutrients, taste, aroma and color of the food - a healthy way of life with Tupperware Steamer.

Recipe: Khatta Dhokla

Steamer Used: Tupperware Steamer

Recipe Adapted from Archana’s Kitchen

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients:

For dhokla batter:

1 cup rice, any variety

1/2 Cup urad dal

1/2 Cup Bengal gram

1/2 Cup sour curd

1 green chili

1 inch piece of ginger

2 tsp enos fruit salt

Salt, as per taste

1 tbsp oil

For tempering:

1/4 tsp asafoetida

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

5-6 curry leaves

½ tsp turmeric

½ tsp red chili powder

Method:

To prepare the batter for Dhokla, clean, wash and soak rice, and lentils in water for 6 hours or overnight.

Grind the soaked rice, lentils along with green chillies, ginger using curd to blend the mixture. If the batter is too thick than 2 to 3 tbsp of water can be used to grind it.

The consistency of the batter should be such that when you use a ladle to pour it does not pour itself but falls in dollops. Stir in the salt and allow the mixture to ferment in warm place for 8 hours or maybe overnight. Fermenting time usually depends on the weather outside. During summer season it takes less time than winters.

Once fermented you will notice the dough has increased in volume and a sour aroma will release once you bring out the batter. Gently stir in the 1 tbsp oil.

Grease one flat plate with oil all round the sides and the base.

To heat Tupperware Steamer, fill wide large pan with water and put it over medium to high heat. Once water starts simmering arrange Tupperware Steamer over it (as directed in the instruction manual).

Add fruit salt to the batter and stir to combine evenly in batter. Immediately pour in batter to the greased plate. Leven the batter with the back of a spoon.

Place the dhokla plate in steamer and steam for about 10 minutes on high heat, until the Dhokla is cooked that when a tested inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove Dhokla from the steam, and let it sit for 10 minutes before tempering.

For tempering, heat oil in a small pan on medium heat; add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida and allow them to crackle. Then add turmeric and red chili powder fry for 1 - 2 second. Turn off the heat.

Pour the seasoning over the Khatta Dhokla.

Cut the Khatta Dhokla into desired shapes and serve with Green Chutney.

Thanks for stopping by

Hina

Since the time I have shifted to the city the diverse and dynamic food market of it has always surprised me, whether it is the gourmet stores, food ventures, conventional eateries, local brew pubs or high end sophisticated global cuisine restaurants, a food lover is never short of choices. The interesting profession of food blogging bestowed me the opportunity to dine in few of the best restaurants in Bangalore, these are the places which I always prefer going back to again and again for their world class food quality, delicious food, consistent & hospitable service and the genuine approach towards the particular cuisine. My taste buds, delicate palate and the hungry soul always come out satiated from these restaurants and at the same time looking forward for the next delightful meal.

Often asked by readers of the blog, friends around about my favorite dine-in restaurants in Bangalore the answer to this question is never easy as each good restaurant has it's own unique persona and essence but still some manage to outshine in the crowd because of their strong well executed ideology and philosophy. While I was penning down this article all those delicious food memories of meal at these restaurants clogged my mind and made me nostalgic for few seconds, after re-collecting food embellished beautiful thoughts manage to list down favorite five of them. Here they are:

1) Dakshin, ITC Windsor

Cuisine: South Indian

Dakshin is one of the fine dining restaurant in ITC Windsor serving authentic South Indian Cuisine. Dakshin started it's journey in the year 1989 and since then it has always been benchmark for South Indian Cuisine in the city, and as they say "legends are not made in a day" Dakshin also is the result of years of research and trials across the four southern states of India, by the team of trained chefs and culinary experts. The menu at Dakshin exhibits 'Celebrated Tastes of Southern India' and each dish is prepared under the expertise guidance of grand master chef. Read more about Dakshinhere

 
2) Monkey Bar, Wood Street

Cuisine: American, Asian, European

Rustique interior, quirky posters on wall, bright and stylish glassware are some, delectable burgers and unusual beverages these are some of facts that best define Monkey Bar. Once you enter Monkey Bar the simple yet stylish interior will transport your soul and mind to the era of Gastro pubs in the late 20th century. Monkey Bar is always full of delectable surprises when it comes to food, each and every dish/beverage in the menu is a well crafted gastronomical piece of art, bursting with flavors and a true delight to one's culinary senses. Read more about Monkey Bar at Wood Streethere

 
3) MTR, St. Marks Road

Cuisine: South Indian

MTR (Mavalli Tiffin Room) was established in Bangalore in 1924 since then brand became a legendary name in South Indian comfort food. MTR is one stop solution for my Saturday morning breakfast, simplicity of food at it's best and affordable prices is the backbone of MTR. It’s the core reason for its survival over the decades. Whether it’s food or conduct in business, emphasis is on ethics and fair play. Over the years brand has expanded into the business of packaged foods but still eating at one of the MTR restaurants is an experience on it's own.

4) Toscano, Whitefield

Cuisine: Italian

Toscano Restaurant & Wine Bar, is a fine-dining Italian restaurant with branches in UB City, Orion Mall & Whitefield. Times Food award winning restaurant Toscano is one of the best places in town to revel gourmet Italian meal bursting with freshness of ingredients, beautiful plating and quintessential flavors. Whether it is their monthly food festivals, weekday three-course business lunch or cooking demo each portrays only one thing - pure love for good food. Read more about Toscano Cooking Demohere

5) Yauatcha, MG Road

Cuisine: Chinese

I always heard stories about fine dining experience at Michelin Starred restaurants from food connoisseurs and aficionados but somehow never got the chance to experience it myself. Then a Michelin-starred restaurant from London, Yauatcha opened in Bengaluru in 2013 and on the first rendezvous it made it to the list of my favorite places. They serve near about 45 varieties of dim sums each equally delicious, unique and well presented, for the vegetarians as well the spread of dim sums is fairly vast. They are among those few restaurants, which take pride in showcasing an open kitchen to maintain transparency for the diners. Read more Yauatcha Sunday Brunchhere

Disclaimer: These are the personal views of the author, her opinion and words are unbiased and totally based on the experience at the restaurants mentioned above. But as they say, "Food is Subjective" so kindly exercise your own discretion, with the understanding that this is writer's personal opinion.

Thanks for stopping by

Hina

The Royal Afghan, is one of the ITC Windsor’s restaurant unfolding the cuisine of North West Frontier, located under a spreading ‘Peepal’ tree by the side of the swimming pool, offering the most picturesque view of the of the property. Copper candle-stands with glass chimneys, rustic tumbler like shades suspended from the ceiling and conventional style wooden furniture it all combines simplicity with serenity to create one mesmerizing scene. The British demarcated the North-West Frontier Province in the year 1900, which comprised parts of Afghanistan and the Northwest part of pre-independence India. The cuisine has been inspired by the essence of North West frontier tradition, of camaraderie around the warm glow of a campfire – succulent tandoori fare, low on oil and high on authenticity.

The food at Royal Afghan is still cooked in clay pot ovens known as tandoors, the basic rule of Afghani Cuisine. The earthy aroma of the burning clay and appetizing sweet smell of roasting meats fill up the surrounding air and keep diners excited about the meal ahead. The Royal Afghan offers an ethnic experience along with the authentic food served, flatware on the dining table are not accompanied by the cutlery, to let diners enjoy the delectable kebabs conservative way. The view of the busy kitchen with chefs skewering kebabs for roasting add to the whole dining experience.

The great news for the food gourmands of the city is Royal Afghan has opened its doors for the weekend lunch called as "Weekend Afghani Afternoon". Afghani afternoon is all about spending loaf time with family and friends in the company of unlimited delicious kebabs, supreme quality Indian wines and chilled draught beer. The menu for Afghani Afternoon consists of kebab dishes from the main menu, the same menu that is not been changed since the inception of the restaurant, so the quality and the consistency of flavors could be easily defined with this fact. The menu at The Royal Afghan has a strong persona of its own, painted on a block of solid wood, it compliments the name of the restaurant.

Being the meat lover I could not resist the temptation of tasting all the kebabs from the menu - Barrah Kebab (mutton kebabs), Tandoori Jhinga (Jumbo Prawns Kebab), Murgh Malai Kebab(Chicken Kebab), Murgh Reshmi Kebab (mince chicken kebab), Sheekh Kebabserved with coriander mint green chutney and loads of sliced onion. Each variety of kebab is equally succulent, tender and bursting with delicate flavors, due to long hour marination masala penetrated into the deep layers of meat making kebabs uniformly flavorsome. The charcoal scented kebabs were cooked to perfection and there were no signs of dryness in the meat. It is tough to pick one as favorite but if asked which one I would like to taste again then my vote stands for Tandoori Jhinga Kebabs, those prawns were jumbo in real sense, rare sapor and tender. Though the world renowned Dal Bukhara is not part of Afghani Afternoon menu but dining at Royal Afghan and giving Dal Bukhara a miss is a sin for me so ordered Dal Bukhara with tandoor baked Khasta Roti, Pudina Paratha and Naan Bukhara. Dal Bukhara has it's roots in Delhi based ITC Maurya restaurant called Bukhara, the humble whole black urad dal is cooked overnight in the traditional Bukhara way on the tandoor, simmered all night with distinct ingredients and spices to create mouth melting pot full of dal.

And as all great meals end with dessert, we had creamy, saffron flavored, pistachio laced Kulfi plated with rosewater, kewra splashed falooda. That Kulfi is surely one of the best Kulfis I have tasted so far, with no ice crystals in the center, engulfed with pleasing essence of saffron, pistachio, and rosewater, it was real sweet treat. You can now enjoy this world famous cuisine sitting by the shimmering blue pool with the regal old world charm of ITC Windsor as a backdrop between 12 noon and 3:00 pm every Saturday and Sunday at INR 1499++ for non vegetarians and INR 999++ for vegetarians.

My sincere thanks to Chef Uchit Vohra, Chef Riyaaz, Harsh Shenoy (Restaurant Manager) and Murthy for sharing such insightful information about The Royal Afghan and making the whole dining experience so memorable.

Disclaimer: The review was done on an invitation from The Royal Afghan - ITC Windsor, my opinion, and words are unbiased and totally based on my experience at the restaurant. But, as they say, "Food is Subjective" so kindly exercise your own discretion, with the understanding that this is writer's personal opinion.

Thanks for stopping by

Hina

Gobi (Cauliflower) Manchurian another vegetarian variant of popular Indian-Chinese Chicken Manchurian, deep fried tender cauliflower florets stir fired in an array of oriental sauces to create an appetizing dish. Cauliflower is robbed off its monotony and clothed with a garment of thick batter, later graced with stir fry to assemble a plate of luscious, sinful Gobi Manchurian. For a country where vegetarian diet is an equally essential part of the food culture, vegetable versions of the meat dish are inevitable and no surprise in the community dinner table, the last name of the dish explains it's origin lineage and the idea behind it.

Gobi Manchurian is one of those dishes that perfectly satisfy all the checks in the criteria of an ultimate comfort food but unfortunately at most of the local eateries the dish is quite abused by the cooks. In general, Gobi Manchurian, is a poor thing, poorly treated, more often than not it is cooked in so unthinking and ignorant manner as to make one feel that it should never be tasted again. From scary red to loud orange in color, soggy oil soaked florets to garam masala spiced stir fry, I have tasted all sort of substandard styles of Gobi Manchurian served with pride under the Indian Chinese menu at most of the restaurants. I should be thankful to strong digestive system which never gave up in any of these extreme tasting expeditions. Though I agree the dish in itself is sinful and indulgent in nature but that does not mean it should be deprived of the right to taste good. Sorting out recipe for Gobi Manchurian is no culinary art, easily found one over the internet then back home begin the trials get perfection in the art. Not all the trials were triumphant but finally I had one recipe in hand, which could give me pleasure as a cook, like the small exaltation of a painter who unexpectedly finds himself in a picturesque landscape.

So here is the recipe of Gobi Manchurian and another recipe for #thekitchendivas monthly theme of Indo-Chinese

Recipe: Gobi (Cauliflower) Manchurian

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the batter:

1 medium size cauliflower

1 cup all purpose flour

3 to 4 tbsp cornflour

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

Salt, as per taste

1 tsp soy sauce

½ tsp black pepper powder

¾ cup water, at room temperature

Oil for shallow frying

Other Ingredients:

1 medium size onion, finely chopped

1 capsicum cut into small cubes

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 inch piece of ginger, fine chopped

2 green chilies, finely chopped

1 tbsp soya sauce

2 tbsp tomato sauce

1 tbsp green chili sauce

1 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

To prepare the florets for manchurian, wash cauliflower in water and pat dry with kitchen towel. Cut cauliflower into bite size florets.

For the frying batter mix all the ingredients except cauliflower florets in a bowl and make thick batter of dropping consistency using water. Dip the florets in the batter mix nicely and let a batter sit in the fridge for ½ hour.

Meanwhile heat oil in a frying pan to shallow fry the batter dipped florets. Take out florets from the fridge and in small batches shallow fry until crisp from outside.

Transfer fried florets into a plate lined with kitchen towel. Once all the florets are fried keep aside while the sauce is getting ready.

From the same pan transfer excess oil to a bowl and leave only 1 - 2 tbsp in pan. Heat pan over medium heat. Add chopped onion, garlic, ginger, green chilli and stir fry till the you can smell aroma of these in the air. No need to brown onion or garlic.

Now add chopped capsicum and stir fry for 2 - 3 minutes over high heat.

Add soy sauce, tomato sauce, green chili sauce black pepper and salt. Stir and add ¼ cup of water. Let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes or till it becomes little thick

At last add the fried florets and stir to evenly coat florets with sauce. Cook for 1 - 2 minute.

Garnish Gobi Manchurian with the spring onion greens.

Serve hot with noodles or Fried Rice.

The "Gobi Manchurian" is part of the endeavor to create a collection of recipes of Indian Cuisine in collaboration with a few bloggers who share the same passion of cooking. Here is the Pinterest Board collection of recipes.

You can find more Indian Chinese Recipes by #thekitchendivas:

Tofu/Baby Corn Chilli Stir Fry by Saffron Trail (http://saffrontrail.blogspot.in)

Crab Rangoon by WhiskAffair (http://www.whiskaffair.com)

Rice Paper Spring Rolls by Archana'Kitchen (http://www.archanaskitchen.com)

Thanks for stopping by

Hina

Potato and Red Beans Chinese Stir Fry is an easy to make oriental inspired stir-fried appetizer, addition of red kidney beans provide a healthy dimension to this dish. During weekdays when house help takes a day off such easy to make appetizing dishes make my quick weeknight meal. This stir-fry is a one pot meal in itself, can be enjoyed as an snack as well, both the ways it is quite fulfilling and fits perfectly well in the criteria of wholesome supper.

Once again, another monthly theme of #thekitchendiavs (endeavor to create a collection of recipes of Indian Cuisine in collaboration with a few bloggers who share the same passion for cooking) comes to an end. As a reader of the blog you might have noticed an array of Indian-Chinese recipesone after the other on the blog, it was all a conscious effort to create delectable popular recipes from one of its's kind cuisines in India - Indo-Chinese, which has made a distinguish place for itself among the food lovers. Here is the last recipe in the series - Potato and Red Beans Chinese Stir Fry.

Recipe: Potato and Red Beans Chinese Stir Fry

Yield: Serves 2

Ingredients:

4 potatoes, boiled firm

1/3 cup red kidney beans, soaked overnight

1 large red chili seeded, finely chopped

2- 3 cloves of garlic, grated

3 spring onion whites, finely chopped

2 tbsp dark soya sauce

1 tbsp tomato sauce (ketchup)

salt and black pepper to taste

2 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp sesame seeds

Juice from one lemon

Method:

To make Potato and Red Beans Chinese Stir Fry Recipe, first boil the potatoes and beans until they are tender and yet firm in a large saucepan. Since we are making a stir fry, potatoes should not be mushy and too soft that it will crumble.

Potatoes and beans can be boiled in the pressure cooker as well

Drain the excess water from the beans and potatoes. Peel the skin of boiled potatoes and cut them into big chunks. Keep aside until required.

In a large wok heat sesame oil over medium-high heat; add in the spring onion whites, the red chili, and stir-fry for about 1 minute. Next add the garlic and saute for a few more seconds.

Add potato chunks and red beans along with soya sauce, tomato sauce, salt and the pepper.

Stir-fry for 2 - 3 minutes more until beans and potatoes coated well with sauces and seasoning. Turn off the heat and the Potato and Red Beans Chinese Stir Fry is ready.

Sprinkle sesame seeds before serving over the stir fry. Drizzle lemon juice and serve hot.

The "Potato and Red Beans Chinese Stir Fry" is part of the endeavor to create a collection of recipes of Indian Cuisines in collaboration with a few bloggers who share the same passion for cooking. Here is the Pinterest Board collection of recipes.

You can find more Indian-Chinese Recipes by #thekitchendivas:

Egg Fried Rice by Saffron Trail (http://saffrontrail.blogspot.in)

Chili Garlic Chicken by WhiskAffair (http://www.whiskaffair.com)

Chicken Momos by Sinamon Tales (http://sinamontales.wordpress.com)

Wonton Soupby Archana'Kitchen (http://www.archanaskitchen.com)

Thanks for stopping by

Hina

Dahi Vada is simply fried dumplings made of lentil swimming in the flavorful curd, embellished with sweet and spicy chutneys at last some spices sprinkled over it to complete the medley of flavors in a single bowl. If you travel in the Central India, there this particular dish is also known as Dahi Bhalla, do not get intimidated by the word Bhalla, it is the same deep fried lentil fritter.

These vadas are made from the batter of skinned black gram, soaked till each lentil grain is plump enough, then grind to smooth paste in one of those modern day gadgets called as mixer, once again the batter is whipped to incorporate some air in it, and finally the vadas take shape. The dal batter seems to have a mind of it's own, which most of the times behave like a disciplined child except on few bad days when it completely refuses to be in harmony. Despite the hard work of labor, the end result is totally worth it, each spoonful of spongy, airy, savory vadas is blissful and soothing for the gustatory cells.

The occasion to make these fancy savory snacks is the festival of Holi, which is the green signal of freezing winter season coming to an end, with this festival of colors, the shades of spring are also embraced with delectation. On such cheerful festive occasions an array of elaborate conventional delicacies from my kitchen are expected, so far every year I try best to fulfill those yearning anticipations about the Holi menu. The menu for such celebratory affairs is no complicated or gourmet, mostly tried and tested crowd-pleasing recipes make it to the menu with some mis en plac for the dishes taking shape behind the scene a week before the festival. Last year the blog was swooned with saffron, pistachio laced posts talking about Kesar Pista Thandai and Kesar Mawa Ghujia, this time sticking to the brightness of Indian Chaats with Dahi Vada and Papdi Chaat.

Recipe: Dahi Vada

Yield: Makes 8 to 10 small size vadas

Ingredients:

For the vadas:

1 cup dhuli urad dal (split black gram)

1 green chilli, roughly chopped

½ inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated

a pinch of asafoetida

2 - 3 tbsp of water

Salt, as per taste

Oil for deep frying

Other ingredients:

2 Cup thick curd

1 tsp chaat masala or as per taste

1 tsp cumin powder

¼ tsp black salt

Salt, as per taste

2 tsp sugar

Lukewarm water to soak the vadas

To serve:

2 tbsp Sweet Tamarind Chutney

2 tbsp Coriander & Mint Chutney

red chilli powder, as per taste

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tbsp pomegranate pearls

Chopped coriander

Method:

To make batter for vadas, first clean, wash and then soak dal in water for 6 hours or overnight.

Next day drain the soaked dal in a colander, let dal sit in the colander for 15 minutes so that all the excess water drains out.

Transfer dal to the grinder with chopped green chillies and grated ginger. Grind dal in mixer without using water, stop mixer in between, stir dal with spatula and then grind. Keep doing this at regular intervals. If still dal is not turning into smooth paste, add 1 - 2 tbsp of water, then grind. The idea is to use minimum water to grind the dal. Grinding dal usually takes 10 - 15 minutes depending on the mixer.

Once dal is turned into smooth paste, transfer to a large bowl. Add salt, asafoetida and whisk batter briskly for a couple of minutes or till it is light and fluffy. I prefer to use my KitchenAid Stand Mixer or electric hand blender for the purpose, at medium speed churn the batter for 10 - 12 minutes.

To test, whether batter is light enough, add a drop of batter in water. If the batter floats then it is fluffy enough, if it sinks to the bottom then it need more churning.

To deep fry vadas, heat oil in a deep frying pan over medium heat.

Take water in a small bowl and keep it near the batter. Wet your fingers with water, take a small portion of batter in you fingers and try shape it into flat tikke like ball. This requires little bit of practise. If this method seems tough, then take small portion of batter in a spoon and using another spoon try shape it into a round.

Now carefully transfer the shaped dough ball into the hot oil for deep frying. Don't be in a hurry to turn the vadas. Let them turn golden from one side.

When the vadas turn pale golden from the base and sides, you can turn them. Fry the vadas till they become golden and crisp.

Transfer fried vadas in a plate lined with paper towels. Once all the vadas are fried, turn off the heat.

To soak the vadas, take enough water in a wide saucepan. Add the fried vadas into the lukewarm water. Give enough space for the vada’s to breathe, as they tend to expand more in water, if pan is small add them in batches. Let the vada’s soak in water for about 10 minutes or until have turned soft. Once all the vada’s are soaked and softened scoop out, drain out excess water from each vada by gently pressing between your palms. Keep aside in a plate.

To assemble the dahi vada, first take curd in a bowl. Add salt, cumin powder, sugar, chaat masala and whisk to form lump free smooth mixture. Adjust the consistency of curd by using little water, if it seems too thick. Taste and adjust the seasoning as well.

Arrange vadas in a serving bowl. Pour the flavored curd over the vadas, curd should be enough to soak the vadas.

Top with the green chutney and tamarind chutney as required.

Sprinkle the red chili powder, cumin powder, chaat masala as per taste.

Garnish dahi vada with chopped coriander leaves and pomegranate pearls. Serve chilled.

Recipe: Sweet and Spicy Tamarind Chutney

Yield: Makes 200 gram

Ingredients:

½ cup seedless tamarind pulp

1 and ¾ cups water

1 tsp ginger powder

2 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp red chili powder

¼ Cup jaggery, roughly chopped

2 dry red chillies, broken into halves

Salt, as per taste

1 tsp oil

Method:

To make sweet and spicy tamarind chutney, soak tamarind in water overnight or for 4-5 hours in a small bowl.

With your hands, squeeze the pulp from the tamarind in the same bowl or pan. Strain the pulp in a sieve and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and let them crackle. Then add dry red chillies, fry for few minutes.

Add ginger powder, red chili powder, asafoetida and stir to fry.

Now add the strained tamarind pulp. Fry for 2 - 3 minutes, add chopped jaggery along with salt. Stir to combine. Add little water (approx. ¼ Cup) and then stir once again to combine. Let chutney simmer over medium heat till it thickens and turn into thick liquid of dropping consistency. Taste and adjust the spice level, sweetness accordingly. Turn off the heat.

Transfer Sweet and Spicy Tamarind Chutney to a bowl. Once it cool downs to the room temperature, store in airtight container in the fridge.

More Holi Recipes:

Homemade Thandai Masala

Kesar Pista Thandai

Kesar Mawa Ghujia/Gujia

Whole Wheat Moong Dal Stuffed Khasta Kachori

Moong Dal Mini Samosa

Homemade Papadi (Savoury Crackers)

Thanks for stopping by

Hina

Matar Ki Kachori, the puffed and stuffed fried Indian bread, the pastry on the outside is firm, and crisp while the viridescent filling inside is bursting with vibrant flavors. The round discs of dough packed with freshly stirred up peas filling, neatly rolled into perfect round with fingers like a skilled potter shaping the piece of pottery. Then the kachoris are deep fried in hot oil until and the kachoris are transformed into stout and definite saucers, light brown in color.

Kachori has many variants widely popular across different Indian states, some like to stuff the flattened dough balls with caramelized onion and call it Pyaaz Ki Kachori, on the other hand some keep the filling simple like Moong Dal and they call it Moong Dal Ki Kachori. Over the ages, white flour is used to make the crunchy and frangible pastry for the kachoris but no more I can afford that indulgence with the slowing metabolism rate and couch potato like routine. Then came out of the cabinet some measuring cups and very carefully the equal amount of whole-wheat flour replaced the white one. And I applied some pastry baking experience by using ice-cold water to bind the dough, to maintain the crumbly attitude of the pastry. While kachoris were puffing up in the kadhai after soaking in the hot oil, my face had an oily glee on the success of this minor experiment.

Aloo - Tamatar ki Sabzi along with some homemade pickle on the side, usually accompanies Kachoris in the house. Similar kind of indulgent flavors from the Awadh region will be the highlight of the month in the blog. Awadhi Cuisinefrom the by-lanes of Uttar Pradesh is the subject of interest for#thekitchendivas (an endeavor to create a collection of recipes of Traditional Indian Cuisines in collaboration with the few bloggers who share the same passion for cooking).

Recipe: Matar Ki Kachori

Yield: Makes 6 to 8 Kachoris

Ingredients:

For the dough:

2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

¼ tsp Salt

2 tbsp Refined Oil

Chilled water to bind dough

Oil for deep frying

For the peas stuffing:

1 Cup peas (fresh/frozen)

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 green chilli, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp cumin powder

Salt, as per taste

1 tsp mango powder

1 tsp chaat masala

¼ tsp Garam Masala (see recipe here)

Method:

To bind dough, mix the flour, salt and oil. Rub gently oil and flour between your fingers until bread crumb like consistency is achieved.

Add the chilled water slowly, mixing with your fingers as you pour. Always add water in small portions

Do not knead the dough too much. The dough should be soft yet firm. Cover the dough with a wet muslin cloth and let it sit for at least fifteen minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling for the kachori. To prepare the filling, heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and allow them to crackle.

Once seeds start crackling add chopped garlic and green chilli. Saute for 2 - 3 minutes or till garlic start releasing aroma, add peas, salt and spices. Stir to combine.

Cover the pan with lid and cook over medium heat till peas turn tender. Turn off the heat.

Allow the masala to cool down before grinding. In blender grind the roasted peas to coarse paste. Transfer to a bowl and keep aside until required.

To shape the kachoris, divide the dough into equal small sized balls.

Take one part of the dough and with your fingers flatten the edges and make into 3-inch circle just like a small poori. Leaving center little thicker then the edges.

Place 1 teaspoon of pea filling in the center. Pull the edges of the dough all the edges and join them all together at one place like a potli. Proceed to make all the dough balls.

Let the stuffed dough ball sit for 3 - 4 minutes before flattening.

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan over medium heat. To check if oil is ready put a little piece of dough in the oil. Dough should sizzle, and come up very slow.

Set the filled balls on the kitchen counter surface or on your palm with the seams facing up. Using the base of your palm, slowly and gently flatten them into about three inches in diameter. Use rolling pin to roll out and flatten the dough balls but do not apply too much pressure else stuffing will ooze out of the outer crust.

Fry kachoris on medium-low heat. After they start to puff, slowly turn them over. Fry until golden-brown on both sides. If the kachoris are fried on high heat, they will get soft and will not be crispy.

Serve hot with aloo ki sabzi.

The "Matar Ki Kachori" is part of an endeavor to create a collection of recipes of Indian Cuisine in collaboration with a few bloggers who share the same passion of cooking. Here is the Pinterest Board collection of recipes.

You can read more traditional Awadhi Recipes by #thekitchendivas:

Badinjan Burani by Saffron Trail (http://saffrontrail.blogspot.in)

Sultani dal by WhiskAffair (http://www.whiskaffair.com)

Zarda by Sinamon Tales (http://sinamontales.wordpress.com)

Veg. Shammi Kebab by Archana'Kitchen (http://www.archanaskitchen.com)

Thanks for stopping by

Hina

Planning to make an elaborate gourmet meal at home? but agitated after seeing the list if ingredients required, now Chefkraft is the answer to all your gourmet meal related worries. In Bangalore, a new food venture called Chefkraftis facilitating the food lovers to cook fancy gourmet meals at home without wasting time on grocery shopping and chopping of vegetables. Chefkraftdelivers at your doorstep nicely packed DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Recipe Box containing an array of ready to use quality ingredients and the recipe card with detail step-by-step instructions to prepare the dish.

The idea behind Chefkraft is not new to the Bangalore but the unique feature of the Chefkraft is the supreme ingredients already washed, chopped and packed in different boxes. At Chefkraft, the expert chefs curate exciting new casual dining and main course recipes every month, each recipe is tried and tasted before making including in the final menu on the website. Chef Xerxes of Red Fork fame specializes in Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Italian cuisines and Chef Shubhankar in Indian and Pan-Asian, are the two talented chef behind all the recipes shared with the customers.

The menu at Chefkraft is segmented into four broad sections - Salads, Minis, Casual Dining and Main-Course, each section has an ample choices of vegetarian and meat dishes to select from. Then there are monthly meal plans as well who want to subscribe for the regular recipe boxes on a long-term basis. We planned to order the Chefkraft box for the weekend so that we can enjoy fabulous meal at the luxury of sitting at home. We selected Curried Red Snapper (A delicious Asian preparation of red snapper with coconut milk, chili and vegetables) with Jasmine Rice from the main-course section and Thai Style Chicken Salad (This salad brings forth a nice bang of spice and sour flavors, typical of Thai food with the crunch of peanuts) from the salad section for our Sunday lunch. The reason behind selecting fish for the order was to test the quality and packaging of the seafood.

Our order came nicely packed in a cardboard box, very intelligently the delivery staff explained that the box containing fish is been accompanied by an ice-pack to keep the seafood fresh, which is quite impressive. Once I opened the packages there was not even a slight smell of fish in the box, fish was very well cleaned, cubed, packed and placed above the ice pack in a sealed packet. Mise-en-place for the fish curry was so beautifully cut and organized that anybody can get motivated to cook it right away. Ingredients for the Thai Salad were packed in a separate container all together, which was also accompanied by the ice pack to keep the salad greens and chicken fresh.

The instructions mentioned on the recipe card were easy to understand and follow, but I wish the method to prepare Red Snapper Curry could be explained more in detail, sometimes all the customers are not so familiar with the nuances of cooking seafood/meat at home. The quantity of ingredients and seasoning was quite accurate and spot on, except a teaspoon of salt and pans for cooking nothing additional was required to prepare the entire meal. The portion size of both the dishes were more than enough to serve two adults. The fish curry, rice and the Thai Salad took almost the same time as mentioned in the recipe card.

The family favorite was the Thai Style Chicken Salad, with bursting sweet and sour flavors and the topping of roasted peanuts gave the required crunch to the salad. And the quality of the red snapper as well as jasmine rice was extremely superior. If you want to be innovative in your kitchen or want to surprise your family with gourmet meal but not willing to spend a fortune on buying all the ingredients then Chefkraft is the solution to cook sophisticated meal from the global cuisine in your kitchen.

Thanks for stopping by

Hina

Suji (Sooji) Ka Halwa is simple, uncomplicated Indian style semolina pudding, made with basic ingredients - semolina, sugar, and ghee. Regardless of these humble ingredients, the pudding tastes simply divine and provides a kind of comfort to the one's culinary senses. The process of making Suji Ka Halwa is quite straightforward, elementary, undemanding but not effortless. The only secret mantra behind the triumphant bowl of Halwa is the slow roasting process of the semolina. The more semolina is slow roasted, better the flavor and color of the pudding. There aren't any cheat shortcuts to fast forward the roasting process of semolina, and the whole Halwa making exercise in itself is very calming and therapeutic.

Halwa is a common variety of pudding widely made across the Indian sub-continent, it could be made with divergent combination of day-to-day ingredients and then sweetened with natural sweeteners to taste. Suji Ka Halwa is no modern day fancy pudding on the contrary it is been made in every Indian kitchen since the time immemorial, yet every household has its own peculiar individual taste of this pudding. I have learned making Suji ka Halwa from my mother but still mine tastes so different from her preparation of the Halwa. My mother was never very familiar with the western baked desserts, she is a simple lady coming from a humble background but she always has this sweet tooth, which my brother and me have inherited from her. To satiate our sweet cravings every now and then, she would stir up some halwa during the cold winter nights and Kulfis for the hot summer holidays.

Suji ka Halwa was a staple dessert during my growing up years, no festive meals, birthdays celebrations, rainy days, gloomy days, were considered complete without the large bowl of Suji Ka Halwa on the table. But all this while I never considered this pudding something which requires a certain skill set, the reason being, my mother making it so frequently and with much ease that I assumed there is not much to learn behind the scene. When I first made Suji ka Halwa as a newly wedded bride, it was nowhere near to perfection. Since then every time I make Suji Ka Halwa it improves one step ahead, and I am still learning it hard way. Here is one simple, classic recipe of making Suji Ka Halwa

Recipe: Suji Ka Halwa

Yield: Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients:

1 Cup semolina

¼ Cup ghee

1/2 Cup sugar or to taste

2 - 3 green cardamom pods, crushed

2 glasses of water, at room temperature

2 tbsp raisins

To Garnish:

2 tbsp of sliced almonds

Method:

In a heavy bottomed pan heat ghee over medium heat. Once ghee is heated add raisins and fry for few seconds, transfer to a bowl and keep aside.

In the same ghee add semolina and crushed cardamom pods. Reduce the heat to low and saute semolina over low heat till it turn deep brown in color, stirring continuously in between. Stirring is essential while roasting semolina so that it gets evenly roasted.

Roasting semolina over low heat is a time taking task, for more efficiency I usually keep myself engaged with other chores in the kitchen while semolina is getting roasted.

Some people like to add equal amount of ghee as semolina but the end result with less amount of ghee is delicious too. The secret to make spoon-licking Halwa is slow roasting the semolina till it changes the color to deep brown.

Once semolina is roasted add water and move away from the pan as there is lot of bubbling and splashing.

Once semolina calms down a bit after adding water stir once and then add sugar. Stir once again to combine the sugar. Keep the flame to low.

Cover the pan with the lid and let halwa cook for few minutes.

Remove the lid of the pan, stir, turn off the heat. Halwa is of dropping consistency, if it seems too liquid, let it simmer for few more minutes over low heat.

Transfer to serving bowls. Garnish with sliced almonds, fried raisins. Serve hot.

The "Suji ka Halwa" is part of an endeavor to create a collection of recipes of Indian Cuisine in collaboration with a few bloggers who share the same passion of cooking. Here is the Pinterest Board collection of recipes.

You can read more traditional Awadhi Recipes by #thekitchendivas:

Tilwale Aloo by Saffron Trail (http://saffrontrail.blogspot.in)

Mughlai Zaafrani Murgh by WhiskAffair (http://www.whiskaffair.com)

Yakhni Pulao by Sinamon Tales (http://sinamontales.wordpress.com)

Arbi ke Kebab by Archana' Kitchen (http://www.archanaskitchen.com)

Thanks for stopping by

Hina

Palak Shorba, the deep green thick sloppy soup packed with nutrition of spinach and milk. Shorba is the Persian term for thick consistency soups though the word is Persian but is commonly used in Indian culinary circuit in reference to the variety of traditional soups. Spinach in my kitchen is always been confined to curries or stir-fries, this time I decided to step out of the stereotyped comfort zone and create wholesome soup with spinach. The end result was much more than comforting; it has healthful taste to it with milk providing it a creamy texture.

Since the time I cooked the Palak Shorba, there is a drastic increase in the temperature of the city, and there are no more cravings for a hot bowl of soup before the dinner. With the mood of the weather, the menu in the kitchen is on a constant rotation. Also, till few weeks before the market was full of those lustrous green spinach leaves, and I could spot them right, left, at every corner of the local market. Now the supply is slowly confined to the morning slot only, one has to rush to the market early morning to get hands on the spinach leaves. And by the time I am writing this post and sharing it with you, green leafy vegetables will become a rare sight in the bazaar.

Those spring onion flowers garnished over the soup are the gift of the season gone by as well. While the soup was ready and served in bowls, spoonful of cream on top was not much visually appealing. Suddenly these white onion flowers blossoming in one corner of the kitchen counter caught my attention as if they were waiting to be ornamented on the soup. Here is the Palak (Spinach) Shorba garnished with cream and spring onion flowers made using Fortune Rice Bran Oil, rice bran oil is considered to improve the blood cholesterol, skin-tone and stimulated hormonal secretion. Rice Bran oil is not some newly discovered oil, it has been around for hundreds of years in the far east. It is infact extensively used all over the world and is popularly known as "heart oil" in Japan and "health oil" in Western countries.

Recipe: Palak (Spinach) Shorba

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 bunch of spinach

1 medium size onion, roughly chopped

6 cloves of garlic, chopped

4 - 5 mint leaves, chopped

Salt, as per taste

2 tsp black pepper

1 Cup full cream milk, at room temperature

½ litre vegetable stock

2 tbsp Fortune Rice Bran Oil

To garnish:

2 tbsp cream

2 tsp roasted cumin

Method:

To make palak ka shorba, first wash spinach leaves in water to remove dust and dirt particles. After washing roughly chop spinach and keep in a bowl until required.

Half fill large size saucepan with water and heat over high heat. Once water starts boiling add chopped spinach leaves. Blanch them in water for 2 -3 minutes or till leaves turn tender. Turn off the heat and drain spinach leaves in a colander. Set aside.
Meanwhile heat vegetable stock over medium heat.

In another saucepan heat Fortune Rice Bran oil in a pan, add chopped onion, garlic and saute over medium heat till onions turn translucent.

Add blanched spinach leaves with mint leaves and saute till all the moisture evaporates from the spinach leaves.

Pour in milk, hot vegetable stock stir and let spinach simmer in liquid for 5 - 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes turn off the heat. Let soup cool down to room temperature. Once soup cooled down blend in processor to get smooth soup.

Before serving soup heat it in a saucepan over medium heat. Adjust seasoning as per taste. Garnish with cream and roasted cumin.

(To dry roast cumin seeds, heat pan over medium heat and add cumin seeds. Toss till cumin start releasing aroma. Turn off the heat and transfer to a bowl)

This blogpost is in association with Fortune Foodsas a part of their Desi Health Bites activity– The Hunt for the Best Rice Bran Oil Recipes. For more updates and healthy recipes using Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil, follow Fortune Foods on Facebook at and on Twitter at @fortunefoods.

Thanks for stopping by

Hina

Methi Brown Rice Pulao is an ideal combination of delicate flavors packed with nutritional benefits. Fresh fenugreek leaves sautéed with brown basmati rice and then cooked till aroma of the cooking rice fills up the kitchen with an inviting aroma. The pulao has a pungent hint of fenugreek, earthy aroma of spices and sour taste of curd, with each spoonful of pulao a medley of rare sapor is created in the palate. The hot steaming Handi full of Methi Brown Rice Pulao is accompanied by a chilled bowl of onion and tomato raita to balance the heat quotient on the table.

The similar Methi Pulao I tasted in one of the food festivals at Cubbon Pavilion, ITC Gardenia. The taste of that pulao fascinated the food lover in me so much that I could not resist myself from asking the chef of the evening Master Chef Kunwar Rani Kulsum Begum for the recipe. The Begum Sahiba very generously and graciously accepted my request to share the whereabouts of the pulao. But as she started narrating the method to cook the pulao as usual I had no diary to note it down, very sheepishly I pulled out one old receipt of dry cleaner from my bag and scribbled her instructions on the back side of the receipt in barley legible handwriting. And once the dinner get over that piece of paper got back into the dungeon inside my bag and sat there for many months until recently when Fortune Rice Bran Oil launched the campaign to create some delicious desi health bites recipes. Somehow I managed to dig out this particular piece of paper from the trash inside my handbag, sadly with time the ink got faded making half of the words hardly visible. With some long lost vague memory of the pulao along with few faded words written on the paper managed to put the pieces of the recipe puzzle together.

Here is the Methi Brown Rice Pulao Recipe made using Fortune Rice Bran Oil, rice bran oil is considered to improve the blood cholesterol, skin-tone and stimulated hormonal secretion. Rice Bran oil is not some newly discovered oil; it has been around for hundreds of years in the Far East. It is in fact extensively used all over the world and is popularly known as "heart oil" in Japan and "health oil" in Western countries.

Recipe: Methi Brown Rice Pulao

Yield: Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 bunch fenugreek leaves, roughly chopped

1 Cup brown basmati rice

1 large onion, sliced

1 tbsp ginger - garlic paste

5 - 6 mint leaves, roughly chopped

2 green chilies, sliced

⅓ Cup curd, whisked

Salt, as per taste

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp red chili powder

1 star anise

2 green cardamom pods, crushed

1 tsp Garam Masala (see recipe here)

5 - 6 cashew, sliced

4 tbsp Fortune Rice Bran Oil

Method:

To make methi brown rice pulao, first clean and wash brown rice in water. Soak rice in enough water for 15 minutes. Keep aside until required.

In a heavy bottom saucepan heat Fortune Rice Bran oil over medium heat. Add sliced cashews and fry until light golden on both sides. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

In the same pan add star anise and crushed cardamom pods, fry till you can smell aroma of whole spices. Now add sliced onion, fry over low heat till onion turn golden in color.

Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 5 minutes over low heat. Then add chopped mint leaves, green chili and fenugreek leaves. Stir and saute over low heat for 5 minutes, till fenugreek leaves softened.

Now add soaked brown rice and saute for few minutes till rice grain turn translucent. Add spices, whisked curd and saute for 2 - 3 minutes. Fill saucepan with enough water to cook rice. In my case I used 2 Cups of water but amount of water depends upon the variety of rice you are using. Brown Rice takes little longer to cook than usual rice and is little bit chewy in texture.

Once water is added let rice cook over low heat till all the water has evaporated. Cover the pan with tight fitting lid and let rice cook in steam for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes turn off the heat and let rice sit in the saucepan for 10 more minutes.

Remove the lid and fluff the rice with spoon. Mix fried cashew slices in the cooked pulao.

Serve Methi Brown Rice Pulao hot with curd or raita.

Thanks for stopping by

Hina

Shahi Dal, as the name advocates, is creamy, aromatic and rich urad dal stew cooked with milk, ghee and fistful of almonds. The split black lentils are soaked overnight and rubbed between the figures to gently scrub off the dark outer covering from the dal. Then the favorite kitchen aid pressure cooker takes its routine place over the gas stove, in which lentil along with other dairy accompaniments are cooked under pressure until al dente. While the pressure cooker exhales like a steam engine releasing the moisture, tadka for the dal is prepared by sweating onions and tomato. At last the tadka and the dal are incorporated into one sizzling, bubbling plat du jour called as Shahi Dal.

The memories of our most awaited trip to Agra last year were reanimated with this delicious dal. Those grandeur Mughal architecture painted in the shades of red and brown are always a wanderer's delight. The scorching sun and the soaring high noon temperature also could not hamper our spirit for sightseeing the city of Taj Mahal. Like the true traveling enthusiasts, we pulled out our summer shades, camera and with distilled water bottles in hand marched out of the hotel for site seeing. After inhaling the gulps of hot dry air we reached on the historic location sweating, panting and exhausted but the mere glimpse of these majestic, glorious royal structures transported us to the era we have only read about in the school history course books.

With the sun changing its position by each passing hour, one get to witness the different shades of beauty of these monuments; somewhere dark and moody, while on the other side bright and hopeful, standing tall with pride and glory below the umbrella of light blue sky outshining from the crowd. The stories of our trip are endless and I can talk relentlessly when it comes to Indian history, but for now this Shahi Dal is the quintessential culinary souvenir from my trip to the city of Mughals.

Recipe: Shahi Dal

Yield: Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients:

1/2 cup urad dal (split black lentils)

8 blanched almonds (badam), cut into halves

1 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)

2 cardamom pods crushed

salt to taste

1 cup milk

2 tbsp ghee

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 medium size onion, finely chopped

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 medium size ripe tomato, finely chopped

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp garam masala (see recipe here)

Method:

To make Shahi Dal, first clean, wash and soak the urad dal in enough water for 6 hours or overnight.

Combine the urad dal, turmeric powder, cardamom pods, a tablespoon of ghee, milk, salt and 1/2 cup of water in a pressure cooker, mix well to combine and pressure cook for 2 whistles over medium heat or till urad dal gets cooked. Make sure urad dal does not get over cooked and turn mushy. Allow the steam of pressure cooker to escape naturally before opening the lid.

Gently whisk the dal with the spoon to thicken it.

Next heat the remaining ghee in a deep pan and add the cumin seeds. When the seeds crackle, add the onions, garlic ginger paste and sauté on a medium flame till onion turns soft and light brown in color.

Add the chopped tomatoes, chilli powder and garam masala, mix well and cook on a medium flame till tomato pieces are soft and mushy, while stirring occasionally.

Once the oil starts separating from the masala, add the whisked dal, stir to combine.

Taste the dal and adjust the salt accordingly. Let the dal simmer over low heat for few minutes. Turn off the heat.

Garnish Shahi Dal with blanched almond slices and coriander leaves. Serve hot with jeera rice or chapati.

The "Shahi Dal" is part of an endeavor to create a collection of recipes of Indian Cuisine in collaboration with a few bloggers who share the same passion of cooking. Here is the Pinterest Board collection of recipes.

You can read more traditional Awadhi Recipes by #thekitchendivas:

Awadhi Arbi ka Qorma by Saffron Trail (http://saffrontrail.blogspot.in)

Bakarkhani Roti by WhiskAffair (http://www.whiskaffair.com)

Tikkia and Alu by Sinamon Tales (http://sinamontales.wordpress.com)

Broccoli Malai Kofta by Archana' Kitchen (http://www.archanaskitchen.com)

Thanks for stopping by

Hina

Looking for some serious cocktails? Then Drinks on MG is your place. Right in the middle of the humdrum of MG Road is a newly opened placed called Drinks. Drinks, rightfully tagged Cocktails and Conversations, was conceptualised by Puja Singh with a single point agenda, a beautiful space that will make you feel welcome, a place where you can have a conversation, whether you are catching up with an old friend or a business partner, and drinks that can be customized according to your taste buds. Drinks on MG is exactly where you should be if you want to try out made-to-order customised cocktails over a leisurely chat.

Never judge a book by its cover holds true here as Drinks looks very basic from the outside. The bar has an understated and elegant ambience, with comfortable and stylish seating, and some interesting wall décor. And I was very happy that music was not interfering in our conversation. If you lucky enough to get seated near the window then with cocktails you can enjoy the evening view of the hustling and bustling MG Road.

The bar and food menu at Drinks has been designed, keeping in mind the blend of the lounge and restaurant in one place. One of the main attractions at Drinks is Alfonso, an award-winning bartender, who has created a range of cocktails that are refreshing, and trendy, using top-of-the-line spirits and fresh ingredients. The bar is stocked with imported liquor of all kind, especially smooth single malts and the bitters brought in from the United States. It was bright and sunny afternoon and I was feeling quite thirsty hence ordered The St. Germain Martin (Smirnoff, Rose water and elderflower essence), which came in a tall glass beautifully styled with fresh elder flowers. The other drink cocktail I had was Kalimotxo(Red wine, coca cola, lime and creme de mure), it was my favorite cocktail of the day. The pricing of the cocktails starts from Rs. 300 and then going upto the price range of Rs.3000 depending on the premium variety of the components used in the cocktail. The cocktail menu is segmented into different categories based on the alcohol used, which makes it easy to browse through.

The food at Drinks is mostly modern European, and without losing the essence of classic recipes, each dish has been created to give you an innovative experience. To nibble on small bites with our cocktails we ordered Olives & Herbs (Warm Spanish Olives Marinated With Garlic, Thyme and Rosemary, Citrus and Bay Leaf), Tempura Fried Calamari and Shrimp (Served with Lemon, Aioli), Chickpea Falafel, mint garlic and sweet pea hummus and Arancini (Saffron, and Manchego Fried Rice Croquettes, Tomatillo Relish, Pimiento Aioli). The appetizers were delicious and the portion size was sufficient enough to share between the two. There are sufficient choices for the vegetarians as well in the menu. The price range of food section is quite reasonable considering the quality and taste factor of the dishes. For the main course we settled for a Classic Margherita Pizza, which was near about 8 inch, thin crust pizza as expected loaded with cheese priced Rs.250 only.

Drinks on MG is an exclusive cocktail lounge that is sure to draw in a slightly matured and refined crowd. The location of the Drinks on MG is a big plus point to draw some good business in the near future. And being a person who loves her cocktails I was pretty satisfied with the place.

Thanks for stopping by

Hina

Kulfi is a creamy, dense and rich frozen dessert from the Indian subcontinent, rightly called as the traditional Indian ice cream. This full-flavored dessert was introduced to India through royal feast of Mughal Era; there are also certain entries about Kulfi in the Mughal Emperor Akbar's Ain-i-Akbar. Since then Kulfi never failed to charm the taste buds of the food lovers in India. There is a particular season to relish Kulfi, when the afternoons are prolonged and summery, the evenings are loaded with humidity in the air, and then is the right time to enjoy this particular dessert. Kulfi is one of those few good things about the scorching Indian summer that cheer up the sweating and sweltering souls.

Kulfi is traditionally prepared by evaporating, sweetened and flavorful, milk via slow cooking, with almost continuous stirring to keep milk from sticking to the bottom of the vessel. The distinctive taste of Kulfi comes from the long caramelization process of milk and sugar along with other aromatics that imprint their distinct aroma and flavors into the dessert. Then this semi-condensed mixture is frozen in airtight conical seal molds or in the Kulhads, the earthen potwares, which provide a distinct earthy rare savor to the dessert set in them. Kulfi, thus prepared via slow cooking and freezing, also renders a unique smooth mouth feel that is devoid of ice crystals.

My early memories of Kulfi are that of an exclusive dessert that will make a well-ordered appearance post dinner during the summer vacations, rarely homemade. The sealed tins of Ram Prasad Ki Falooda Kulfi were a regular sweet affair in our joint family, every alternate day a fresh batch of Kulfi was regularly supplied to the house from Ram Prasad's shop. And the elderly ladies of the house were responsible for keeping those empty Kulfi tins safe and sending them back to the Kulfi shop the next day. Lately, when we shifted to our new house as a nuclear family, it was no longer feasible to furnish ourselves with the uniform supply of Ram Prasad Falooda Kulfi, we quite happily shifted our Kulfi loyalties to those expensive branded ones but somehow our taste buds always longed for the Ram Prasad's Kulfi. Now after years, I wonder why my mother was never keen on making Kulfi at home despite of being an proficient cook, as in my opinion it is an utterly simple dessert to prepare at home irrespective of lengthy cooking time.

There are many sweet shops in Bangalore offering a wide variety of sweets and delicious Kulfi throughout the year. Sweet shops in Bangalore are laced with traditional Karnataka sweets as well as sweets from across the country, sweets in Bangalore are truly a food lover's delight. For this time, after tasting one spoonful of homemade Kulfi we unanimously declared it as one of my unparalleled creations and before the proportions fade out of my memory I noted down the recipe in my diary. Here is the no cornflour, no condensed milk Pista Badam Kulfi Recipe

Recipe: Kulfi Recipe (Pista Badam Kulfi)

Yield: Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients:

1 litre full cream milk

200 gram khova/khoya/mawa, grated

¼ Cup regular white sugar or to taste

¼ Cup unsalted pistachio

¼ Cup almond

¼ tsp fennel seeds

3 - 4 green cardamom pods, crushed

1 tsp ghee

3 - 4 strands of saffron (optional)

Method:

To make Kulfi, first in a blender grind sugar, pistachio, almond, fennel and half of cardamom pods to the powder. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Now in a heavy bottomed saucepan heat milk over low heat. Add remaining cardamom pods and saffron strands to the milk, keep on stirring the milk occasionally.

While the milk is simmering, start roasting khoya, in a heavy bottomed pan heat ghee over medium heat, add grated mawa and turn the flame to low.

On low flame stirring occasionally let mawa turn into light golden in color. At this stage mawa will leave it’s own ghee and start leaving sides of the pan, keep on stirring the mawa to prevent it from sticking to the pan. Once mawa turn pale golden in color, turn of the heat. Set it aside until it cools down.

Once mawa cools down mix in sugar and nuts powder to the mawa. Using your fingers mix all the ingredients nicely crumbling to a coarse texture powder.

Now add the mawa and sugar mixture into the milk, stir nicely to evenly combine the mawa and the milk.

Keep on stirring the liquid mixture in the saucepan at regular intervals over the low heat.

Once the milk is reduced to almost half in quantity, turn off the heat. Let the kulfi mixture cool down to room temperature.

Pour the liquid into the Kulfi moulds or in an airtight stainless steel or plastic box.

Set Kulfi in the freezer for 6 - 8 hours or best overnight.

To serve, scoop out Kulfi into the serving balls or to unmould the Kulfi, allow the

moulds to remain outside the refrigerator or rubbing between the palms for few seconds, then unmould by inserting a wooden skewer stick and pulling it out.

Garnish with fine chopped pistachios and almonds, serve chilled.

Thanks for stopping by

Hina

Gobi aur Soya Keema is grated cauliflower vegetarian dish cooked with soya granule, potato and peas. The word Keema is usually referred as Lamb Mince Curry but Gobi and Soya Keema is a vegetarian version of the same dish with a healthy twist of soya granule. This recipe comes from my mother's kitchen, who was a meat lover eventually turned into a vegetarian. In her daily cooking she always try to create versatile menu out of humble vegetables and basic ingredients, Gobi and Soya Keema is one of her such signature dishes which always top the charts of the dinner parties at our house.

These days my recipes are from the "back to basics" school of cooking, or you could say from the family journal of food memories. Gobi aur Soya Keema or Sooji Ka Halwa is the kind of food I have grown up eating, there were no fancy cheese or imported vegetables around, still everyday our dinner plate was loaded with an array of mouth watering dishes. If you ask me, I still find comfort in mopping steamed rice with Dal Tadka and pickle using my fingers. As a cook I find more thrill in churning Kulfi than whisking the eggs for meringues. And to discover more about the roots which inbuilt in me the love for good food, bidding adieu to the jazzed up metro life and relocating to the place where I truly belong, is the first stepping-stone in that direction. Like a circus animal newly shifted to the forest, adjustment with slow paced small town life initially will be a challenge, but soon my kitchen and blog will blend well with the provincial colors. Till the next post where I will share more about my experiments in the new kitchen, here is simple Gobi and Soya Keema Recipe

Recipe: Gobi aur Soya Keema

Yield: Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients:

500 grams cauliflower, grated

1 cup soya granule

6 baby potatoes, peeled and cut into half

1/2 cup peas

1 medium onion, roughly chopped

1 green chili, chopped

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

Salt, as per taste

2 tbsp ghee

1 tsp red chili powder

2 tsp Garam Masala (see recipe here)

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 bay leaf

a small bunch of fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped

juice from 1 lemon

Method:

To prepare for Gobi and Soya Keema Recipe, first clean, wash and pat dry cauliflower. Remove the green stem with knife and cut cauliflower into three parts. Small size pieces make grating much easier.

Now grate the cauliflower either in food processor or hand held grater.

Meanwhile in a pan boil 1 Cup of water, once water comes to boil add soya granule. Let it boil in water for 1 - 2 minutes. Switch off the flame and drain on a colander. keep aside until required.

In a heavy bottomed saucepan heat ghee over medium heat now add bay leaf and once the aroma of bay leaf starts releasing add chopped onion. Saute over medium heat until onion turn light brown in color.

Once onion turn brown in color add chopped green chili and ginger garlic paste with 1/4 Cup water to avoid masala sticking to the pan. Saute over medium heat for 2 - 3 minutes.

After 2 - 3 minutes add baby potatoes, peas, salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder and give it a nice stir. Saute for 5 minutes over medium heat.

Now add grated cauliflower, boiled soya granule and garam masala. Give it a nice mix, reduce the flame to low, cover the pan with a lid and let it cook over low heat for 10 - 15 minutes or until vegetables are cooked through especially potatoes.

Just before serving drizzle lemon juice on top.Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
Serve the Gobi and Soya Keema hot with Naan (see recipe here).

The "Gobi aur Soya Keema" is part of an endeavor to create a collection of recipes of Indian Cuisine in collaboration with a few bloggers who share the same passion of cooking. Here is the Pinterest Board collection of recipes.

You can read more traditional Awadhi Recipes by #thekitchendivas:

Tahari by Saffron Trail (http://saffrontrail.blogspot.in)

Arhar Dal with Lahsuni Tarka by Archana' Kitchen(http://www.archanaskitchen.com)

Thanks for stopping by

Hina

Matar Ki Kachori, the puffed and stuffed fried Indian bread, the pastry on the outside is firm, and crisp while the viridescent filling inside is bursting with vibrant flavors.

Planning to make an elaborate gourmet meal at home? but agitated after seeing the list if ingredients required, now Chefkraft is the answer to all your gourmet meal related worries. In

Suji (Sooji) Ka Halwa is simple, uncomplicated Indian style semolina pudding, made with basic ingredients – semolina, sugar, and ghee. Regardless of these humble ingredients, the pudding tastes simply divine

Palak Shorba, the deep green thick sloppy soup packed with nutrition of spinach and milk. Shorba is the Persian term for thick consistency soups though the word is Persian but

Methi Brown Rice Pulao is an ideal combination of delicate flavors packed with nutritional benefits. Fresh fenugreek leaves sautéed with brown basmati rice and then cooked till aroma of the

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Review of Chefkraft (DIY Gourmet Meals At Home)

Suji Ka Halwa (Indian Semolina Pudding)

Desi Health Bites - Palak (Spinach) Shorba

Desi Health Bites - Methi Brown Rice Pulao

Shahi Dal Recipe (Urad Dal Creamy Stew)

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Matar Ki Kachori Recipe (Peas Stuffed Fried Indian Bread)

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Suji Ka Halwa (Indian Semolina Pudding)

Desi Health Bites – Palak (Spinach) Shorba

Desi Health Bites – Methi Brown Rice Pulao