Some More Restaurant Rants from Kolkata

For a Bengali born and brought up in Kolkata, but living outside, a visit to the city brings back fond memories of the food one has enjoyed during childhood. Apart from the local Bengali fare and the Chinese food from the Tangra area, the city has its own delightful versions of Mughlai and Continental cuisines.

The Mughlai cuisine of Kolkata has evolved from the kitchens of  Awadh (stemming from the chefs of Nawab Wajed Ali Shah, who was detained here by the British), khansamas from UP/Bihar as well as the Nawabi cuisine of Murshidabad. The restaurant which has got iconic status serving this food is Arsalan at Park Circus.

Mutton Chaap at Arsalan

On a Sunday afternoon, there was a queue of waiting people on the footpath in front of the restaurant which is bang on the Park Circus crossing. It took around 15 minutes to be ushered upstairs to a table. The place was congested, not well lit, with a funny blue lighting.  Since we were clear about what we wanted to order, it did not take much time for the food to be served.

The Special Mutton Biryani was fragrant and mild. It is a huge departure from the spicy Hyderabadi version which I am accustomed to. The biryani had two pieces of medium sized soft and succulent mutton, one large potato and one egg. The long grained basmati rice had the flavor of ghee and kewra water, and did not leave an aftertaste of vanaspati which is the norm with many places serving Kolkata biryani.

The Mutton Chaap and Mutton Rezala were the other dishes we ordered and they did not disappoint at all. The sweet and sour, curd and cashew based gravy of the rezala soaked into the soft tandoori roti was sheer heaven and the spicy and oily chap found its perfect foil in the roomali. At Rs 700, Arsalan provided another unforgettable experience which I will savour till I come back next year.

Awadhi Biryani at Aminia

The second Mughlai restaurant we went to was Aminia, at Gol Park. The ambience of this place is better than most Mughlai restaurants in the city. We had heard a lot about the Awadhi Biryani here. So we ordered the same with Chicken Chaap with tandoori rotis. The Awadhi Biryani had enough rice for two persons and apart from two pieces of mutton, boiled egg and a piece of potato, it had few pieces of mutton keema balls on top. The biryani was not as spicy as Arsalan, with stronger flavor of vanaspati. The chaap was decent in taste though here also there was excess dalda in it, which was a put off. The above dishes cost us around Rs 500.

Chicken Chaap at Aminia

Kolkata is also famous for its own adaptations of continental food including the famed Anglo-Indian cuisine, made legendary by restaurants like Mocambo in Park Street. We bumped into a new restaurant called The Blue Door near Southern Avenue.  Situated in a residential house, the restaurant is spread over multiple rooms of a house, in a very cozy environment.

Spicy Roast Chilli Pork at The Blue Door

We took help of the wait staff in ordering and were not disappointed. Spicy Roast Chili Pork, the starter ordered, had very good quality pork with onions and capsicum. The soft meat blended well with the fat and the spicy sauce. Chicken A La Kiev was presented very well, served with mashed potatoes, broccoli and baby corn as sides. As usual I was delighted to see the butter oozing out as we dug into the breaded chicken breasts.

Chicken A La Kiev at The Blue Door

Roast Lamb was soft and succulent presented in a very appetizing way. I liked the thick dark sauce in which it was served. Fish Florentine, the baked fish dish disappointed us.  I thought it was a bit overbaked with too much cheese and less of fish. The only redeeming feature was the garlic bread served with it. The bill for the above came to Rs 1500, and overall we were quite satisfied.

Roast Lamb at the Blue Door

Near our apartment in Gol Park, a small eatery Mango People was hosting a pork festival, and a pork lover like me could not help but pay them a visit. The special menu had about a dozen of pork items. The Mushroom and Bacon soup was thick and creamy – with a lot of fried bacon pieces. The starter Pork Roasti was a mashed potato pancake stuffed with cheese and bacon. It was a wait staff suggestion, and we kind of liked it with the dip served with it.

Pork Roasti at Mango People

However, best of the lot were the Grilled Pork Ribs. Served with sides of bread and veggies, the pork meat was so soft that it slid off the rib bones. This was unexpectedly one of the best dishes we had on the trip. The bill for the above three dishes came to around Rs 800.

Grilled Pork Ribs

For a foodie like me, it was a great fortnight of eating out in Kolkata. But for exhausting my wish list, I need to spend at least a year there.

(This is the second part of the post Random Restaurant Rants from Kolkata)

Addresses:

Arsalan
7 Point Crossing
Park Circus
Kolkata 700017
Telephone 22813921

Aminia
57, Ballygunge Gardens
Golpark
Kolkata 700029
Telephone 9007326429

Blue Door
P-537 Raja Basanta Roy Road (opposite Tyagraj Hall)
Near Southern Avenue
Kolkata 700029
Telephone 30990474

Mango People
23/31 Gariahat Road
Telephone 98306 30801

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Seven Deadly Sins of Komatose

A new and upcoming bar and lounge at Holiday Inn Express and Suites, Komatose does an excellent job in redefining the concept of cocktails in the twin cities with the sole purpose of putting customers in a drunken Koma - a state of incoherent speech or thought, which all of us have experienced at some time or the other.

Invited for a review, we found their menu is presented in an innovative manner with quippy snippets tracing the origin of Koma through the legend of Chena Mama and funny names of drinks like Mary Koma, The Hobbit and The Battered Bum which matches well with the casual ambience of the place.

Komatose Bar

The Seven Deadly Sins of Koma, which is one of the main attractions in their menu has garnered great adulation and appreciation from the audience . Modeled after the actual cardinal sins from the Christian ethics, the drinks are cocktails made with a combination of fruits and alcohol.

The most appreciated of the seven was the Lust, a concoction of chilli infused vodka, strawberry puree and lime cordial. The vodka used for making it needs to be putted with chilli for a long time thus allowing it to develop a natural spicy aftertaste. While the cocktail has a fruity strawberry taste, it was the intriguing balanced burning aftertaste that awed us all.

Lust and Envy

Lust came along with Envy, a khus syrup based cocktail with vodka. Khus syrup, owing to its natural sweetness is a favourite ingredient among mixologists for experimentations in cocktails. The one at Komatose was no different and was a sharp contrast to the spiciness infused by Lust.

For the Rum lovers, Komatose presented Wrath, which was a combination of rum and plum.

Pride

Sinning away, Pride was next on the list. A raspberry and litchi flavored drink with the goodness of gin, the liquorice aftertaste was quite different from the previous vodka flavoured cocktails and is very susceptible to personal preferences. The 'gin'thusiasts will definitely agree with the cocktail while the others may choose to opt out.

Greed is another cocktail served at Komatose conceptualised from the deadly sins. Made with brandy, white rum and citrus essence, the cocktail has a good soothing effect. As brandy, which is most commonly used in Indian households as a cure for cold, doesn't work well standalone it was combined with white rum, a merry combination along with orange zest.

Gluttony

Of all the seven sins, Gluttony was the fruitiest. A creamy passion fruit cocktail mixed with vanilla vodka, the cocktail is essentially a summer delight typically conceptualized for a lazy sunny afternoon.

Sloth

Sloth was the last of the cocktails which we got to taste; might be a sheer coincidence but definitely makes the drink live up to its name. Made with a combination of blueberry and vodka, the drink needs to be tweaked in terms of the quantity of the ingredients as it was really overpowered by the bitterness of the vodka.

Complete Koma

Another attraction of the pub is the Complete Koma - a combo of 60ml shots of vodka, tequilla, white rum, baileys and whisky. Though the package is on the expensive side, it is considered to be extremely potent as each shot is of a different type of alcohol. To reward the ones brave enough to complete it, they have the Wall of Fame, also known as the Emeritus Wall.

Red or Dead

Other than the seven sins, a must have is the Red or Dead, a rum based cocktail spiced with pineapple and orange juice. While cocktails and drinks form an important part of the bar, food is another aspect which is not to be taken lightly. Komatose which shares its cooking space with Jonathan's Kitchen has a limited but lip smacking menu including thin crust Margherita and Lamb Pepperoni pizzas which are a must try.

Margherita Pizza

Their menu also features traditional items like Old Fashioned, Margarita and Sangria. Though these drinks are quite impressive they lack the innovation factor which is one of their major selling points in the drinks menu; when going to Komatose why not experience the effect of a Complete Koma.

Address: Komatose
Holiday Inn Express and Suites
Near Wipro circle
Gachibowli Hyderabad

Telephone 040 32910555

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Rivaayat: A Revisit of Traditional Indian Cuisine at The Trident, Hyderabad

Kanak, the specialty Indian restaurant from The Trident, Hyderabad was recently adjudged the best North Indian restaurant in Hyderabad at The Times Food and Nightlife Awards, 2015. A couple of weeks after that, the restaurant is playing host to “Rivaayat” – a festival that revisits the traditional Indian cuisines.

Many heritage recipes of India starting from Nawabi cuisines to the traditional street food have hardly been documented so far. As a result, many recipes have gone into oblivion and some are restricted within a select few families. Rivaayat, which in Persian means revival of tradition, has aimed to recreate these recipes. A team of master chefs across the Oberoi Group has worked in collaboration with Khansamas and well known experts of these cuisines to bring these recipes back and present them to the discerning food lovers of the country. Recipes have been culled out from deep interiors of Delhi, Awadh, and Rampur to revive dishes which were on the verge of fading away.

The festival had made its mark in Trident and Oberoi locations all over the country. A couple of my friends had experienced it at Gurgaon and gave rave reviews. So I was more than happy when I was invited to sample some of the delicacies of the festival at a session organized by the restaurant.

Rampuri Paneer Tikka

For the sit down dinner with a set menu, we were served some delectable starters from North India. Rampur, a kingdom close to Lucknow was the place where a variant of Mughlai cuisine evolved under the patronage of its Nawabs. Aptly, we started with the Rampuri Paneer Tikka.  The paneer, served on a bed of capsicum, tomato, lemon wedges and slit green chilies was soft and layered with yoghurt based masala and had a distinct flavour of clove.

Macchi Amritsari

The Macchi Amritsari, (boneless bhetki fillets marinated in ajwain and masala and batter fried) was served next. The flavorful masala on the nice and soft fish made a nice jugalbandi with the green mint based chutney, though I felt it was slightly low on salt.

Purani Dilli Fried Chicken

I have spent considerable time in the by-lanes of Old Delhi, sampling the non-vegetarian street food out there, and for me the Purani Dilli Fried Chicken was a hit. The chicken was soft and the special masala sprinkled on it really enhanced the taste. The festival is bringing out many other secret recipes from the Purani Dilli area.

Galavat Kabab

Galavat Kabab (more popular as Galawati or Galouti) served on small parathas is a must have Awadhi dish. Legend goes that this kabab was specially created for the Nawab who lost the ability to chew after losing his teeth, but did not want to give up his passion for his favourite meat. At Rivaayat, the masalas used in the minced lamb preparation were very fragrant, and the kabab was true to its name which means soft and melting.

Soya Ke Tootak

I had a tough time negotiating the Soya Ke Tootak with my cutlery. The sooji or semolina based exterior crust was hard and you need to use your hands. However the inside soya based filling was spicy and delightful.

Purani Dilli Ki Nihari

On with the main courses, the Purani Dilli ki Nihari, was a very light and delicious lamb curry, slow cooked to let the masala penetrate the soft meat. This was my top pick for the night, and one can visit the festival just to try this one dish. It can challenge the best Delhi Niharis available at Matia Mahal and the Urdu Bazaar Road.

The Maratban ka Meat was a lamb dish prepared and stored in an earthen pot (called maratban) resembling a pickle jar. A spicy and an oily preparation, this was a new dish which I hadn't tasted before and went well with the naans served with it.

Bharwan Amchori Bhindi and Pyaz

The look of the Bharwan Amchori Bhindi and Pyaaz made me nostalgic. The amchur stuffed bhindis had the right amount of spiciness and reminded me of the similar versions which had been my favourite during the student days in Banaras.

Kadai Paneer

The Pindi Chole and Kadai Paneer were well prepared too – rarely have I been to a place where I liked all of the main courses. The Awadhi Chicken Biryani was quite flavorful though the rice was a trifle dry.  A special mention should be made of the light daal served as an accompaniment. It tasted great both with the naans as well as the Punjabi Mattar Pulao.

Gulabi Phirni

The desserts of the day were Gulabi Phirni (Rose flavored broken rice pudding) and Dry Fruit Dudhi Halwa (a nut rich lauki based sweet).

Executive Chef Manik Magotra was on hand to fill us in on the cuisines and explain the nuances of the preparations. Rivaayat is commendable, not just for the recipes and their taste, but also for the initiative taken to identify and document the heritage recipes. The niche menu has a range of traditional delicacies, which you do not get to try out in regular food festivals.

The a-la-carte festival is on at Kanak from 22nd March to 5th April, 2015, 19:00 pm onwards.

Address:

Kanak
The Trident
Hitech City (next to Shilpa Kala Vedika)
Hyderabad
Telephone: 66232323

Approximate cost: Rs 2000+taxes for 2 persons.

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Quick Bytes: Breakfast at Karim's

A morning breakfast at Chandni Chowk is not complete if there is no Nihari on the table. Karim's, one of the most established restaurants in the Gali Kababiyan is critically acclaimed for serving a great Nihari though there are others like Kallu, Bilal and Haji Shabarati Nihari Wale which do an equally if not a better job.

Nihari at Karim's

Served with Khameeri Roti, which is a soft and fluffy roti made with the fresh smell of yeast, the Nihari is basically a calorie laden meat stew garnished with ginger and green chillies. Karim's welcomes customers in the morning with the sight of handis on coal fueled stoves, in which the Nihari dishes are slowly cooked. Though the authentic versions are made of beef, the restaurants in the Urdu Bazaar road primarily make it of buffalo while Karim's uses mutton, majorly for sensitivity issues.

Khameer Roti and Nihari at Karim's

Nihari, in general, comes loaded with oil and is definitely not for the health conscious. Ours at Karim's was no different and had a garnishing of slivered ginger and chopped chillies which cut the richness of the dish. The meat had been cooked slowly for hours before being served and the thick consistency of the dish was simply amazing. Karim's also serves Paya for breakfast which is essentially the slow cooking of the goat trotters till the gelatine seeps off the marrow.

Address:  16, Gali Kababiyan, Jama Masjid, New Delhi
Telephone  011 23264981

Also read: Street food around Jama Masjid

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The California Boulevard, Gurgaon: World on a Platter.

The California Boulevard has definitely cheered up the Gurgaon food lovers by opening its recent outlet in Sector 29, Gurgaon. From a compact restaurant in Rajouri Garden, it has raised its capacity to a huge two floored restaurant with a big façade that is brightly lit up at night.

California Boulevard, Gurgaon

The restaurant will welcome you with its iconic Harley placed just outside the restaurant, tempting you to have a picture clicked with it. The bar in the restaurant too resembles a train coach in all its adulation with different types of cocktail glasses adorning the shelves. The restaurant also has an outdoor seating which I simply loved.

California Boulevard Bar

Apart from the stylish interiors and lavish restaurant design, the chef has made innovative changes to the menu, adding The World On A Platter, which consists of small quantity of 8 different dishes from around the world, making you relish the gastronomic journeys from Turkey to Thailand, from China to Canada, from Italy to India, and from Japan to Jamaica. The platter is available both in Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian versions.

Restaurant Interiors

We started off with Beer Batter Fish. It is river sole fish fried in a beer batter and is crispy on the outside and soft and melt in your mouth from the inside. Accompanied with tartar sauce, this makes a perfect finger food to have with drinks and cocktails, which in our case were Long Island Iced Tea and Easy Rider (Beer, Bourbon and Cola).

Beer Batter Fish

Next, we tried Prawns Spring Roll, from the Thai cuisine. The plating is similar to their Gandheri Kebab and does justice to the dish. The rolls, which are perfectly fried are served inside a shot glass, resting along the sides of the glass wall with absolutely no traces of oil. The stuffing is of prawns, glass noodles, shiitake mushrooms, pepper and carrot and are served with a sweet and spicy sauce in the bottom which go hand in hand with the fried rolls.

Prawns Spring Roll

The Spring Rolls were followed by the Peri Peri Crispy Chicken, from Portuguese Cuisine. While the looks of the dish is quite plain and doesn't stand out much, the juicy and perfectly cooked chicken is quite spicy with all the flavors creating a riot inside your mouth, adding to the already delightful gastronomic experience. Although it was accompanied with Chipotle Mayo dip, it is quite delicious even when eaten standalone.

Peri Peri Crispy Chicken

The Crab Sushi, Japanese vinegared rice rolls, served here is a Makizushi, which essentially translates to being a nori (seaweed) rolled sushi. The crab meat is surrounded with white rice prepared in and wrapped in a sea weed, accompanied by wasabi kikkoman soy sauce and some pickled ginger scrapes.

Crab Sushi

The Barbecue Pork Ribs served here is really juicy, coming of the bone. Served on a bed of mashed potatoes, it is served with some extra barbecue sauce. It is divine and is a must have here.

Barbecue Pork Ribs

For desserts, we ordered their famous TCB Gazzak Kulfi which as usual is out of this world. Wishing to try a bit more from their menu this time, we also ordered a Chocolate Nutella Torte which is heaven for all the sweet tooth out there. It is a multilayered cake with chocolate cookie crust and nutella ganache. Even though I was full I was not able to resist myself from having a spoon after another.

Chocolate Nutella Torte

The California Boulevard, with nice ambience and great music, is a place to spend special occasions with family and friends with a huge lavish menu spread of the world cuisine.

Price for 2: Rs. 2800/-

Address : 

The California Boulevard

Sector 29, Gurgaon

5 min away from IFFCO metro station.

Also read: The California Boulevard, Rajouri Garden

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Vegetarian Delicacies from the Telangana Kitchen

With the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh into two states, there has been lot of interest generated about the cuisine of Telangana and how it is different from the generic Andhra dishes. So, when fellow food enthusiast Purushottam Chanda organized a vegetarian Telangana Daawat through Feazt, I jumped at the opportunity to taste the wares of the newest state of India.

The Telangana Daawat

Organized in his house at Alwal, this Telangana daawat was priced at Rs. 226/- per person. There were around 10 more people eager to savour his delicacies, some of whom I already knew and was delighted to meet the others.

We started with Ambali – a ragi flour based thick drink with oats, served in earthen glasses. I was told that this is a favorite of the farmers in the afternoon, after working in the hot sun. The drink was quite heavy, and is nourishing given the benefits of raagi.

Ambali

The starters came next of which the salted ones were Sarvapindi, Sakinalu and Makka Garelu. Sakinalu is possibly the most well known snack from Telangana, Shaped like a jalebi, it is a fried snack made of rice flour and can have many versions with different spices like ajwain, garlic etc. It can even be sweet. The sakinalu served here was crunchy and I thought this is the ideal snack to go along with a hot cup of tea. I was told that this is normally savoured with pickles.

Sakinalu

Sarvapindi is a flat circular pancake made of rice flour with abundant chopped onions and spring onions, lentils and spices. In villages this snack is prepared in sarva, which is the vessel for milk. The snack has round holes in it through which ghee is poured. The pancakes were spicy, soft and extremely tasty.

Sarvapindi

Makka Garelu is the Telangana version of corn vada. A treat to try by itself, one can also combine it with spicy veg or non-veg curries, where the vada soaks in the pulusu. There were some sweet snacks also, but as in typical Bengali style, I opted to try them out at the end.

For the main course I started with Bagara Annam and Kaddu Ka Dalcha. The combo was quite different from what I tried in Hyderabadi restaurants like Shadab. It was less spicy but more flavorful, like home food. The bottle gourd gets a unique taste soaked in the lentils.

Kakarakaya Potlalu

Next, I shifted to plain rice. The traditional chutneys (thokkus – normally eaten with rice) were delicious – one made from tamarind (chintakaya) and other from a leafy vegetable called Chenangaaku. People know me as a huge thokku fan, who habitually tries any thokku he sees, but these were among the best ones that I had had. These were followed by the combo of Mamidikaya Pappu (mango dal) and Kakarkaya Potlalu (stuffed bitter gourds). I especially liked the masalas inside the bitter gourd.

Vankaya Alu Gadda 

Pachi Pulusu is a light curry where none of the ingredients are cooked. It looked like a rasam type curry with tamarind, raw chopped, onions and chilies. It was explained that this is the staple food for relocated students, who can easily prepare it at home and combine with rice. The more affluent ones can add couple of chicken fry pieces with this combo to go as sides.

Badeela Koora

The vegetarian sides were a sabji made of potato, peas and brinjals (Vankaya Alu Gadda Koora) and a methi chickpea combination (Badeela Koora). Both were the perfect foil for the rice  and Pappu Charu (a sambar like lentil based dish).

Polelu

Finally I tried the sweet snacks. Polelu – very similar to puran poli/bobbatlu – is a paratha stuffed with dal and jaggery. Maleeda, a laddoo shaped sweet normally offered for pujas and made of crushed chapathis, ghee and sugar  was new to me along with the Khowa Garijelu which is a fried dumpling stuffed with khowa.

Maleeda

The food was excellent and to enhance it further, I learned a lot about Telangana cuisine from the host as well as other participants –  especially Gopi Kishore, the founder of Feazt and Ravikanth Reddy, a good friend and fellow food enthusiast.

About Feazt
Feazt is a startup in Hyderabad and Bangalore which provides home chefs a platform to display their culinary skills to a wide range of food lovers. Home Chefs can make a list of items they can cook, and tie up with Feazt (who will run the requisite checks before enlisting) to start a prepaid event for a number of participants they are comfortable with.

The concept of Feazt opens up huge possibilities for food enthusiasts to try out different cuisines from home chefs.

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