Quick Bytes : OktoberFest at Feast, Sheraton

One of the most popular German festivals, Oktoberfest is celebrated from late September through early October every year. Filled with fun and frolic, it has been made famous by the gallons of beer flowing in throughout the 16 day period. And where there is beer, there has got to be food !! The cuisine of Germany represents its love for meat, right from the sausages to the roulades and the stews. Invited for the fest at Sheraton, Bangalore, I got a taste of the same in one meaty evening.

Roast Beef at Feast, Sheraton

We started of with the Lentil soup which was thick and chunky. Although many different types of pulses are used in the making of the soup, the one at Feast, Sheraton used red masoor dal and had frankfurter slices in it which played a good foil to the lentils in the soup.

Serviettenknödel mit Pilzen in Rahm
( Bread Dumplings in Mushroom Sauce)

With more than 1500 different types of sausages available in the market, the sausages form an integral part of the German dinner. Unlike the ones commonly available, German sausages pack loads of meat and is mostly ground beef or pork. Called as wursts, which is German for sausages, we got to taste two different types of them at the festival, the Bratwurst and the Knackwurst.

Bratwurst Sausage

While generally most of the Indian food is marinated and cooked into a gravy, the Germans prefer their meat a bit more rare, usually served with mustard and mayonnaise. The Bratwurst was a pan fried sausage and much thicker than those available to us locally. It can be enjoyed with the mustard sauce which brought out a fresh flavour in the sausage. The Knackwurst was a bit different, made from ground pork, the outer casing was a bit more tough and the sausage on the whole felt more fibrous than the Bratwurst.

Knackwurst Sausage

Another dish which received a lot of praises was the Beef Roulade. In a sour but spicy marination, the dish had chunks of beef with bacon and pickle wrapped around it. The gravy was poured over the dish to let the meat fully soak up the marination and was quite delicious. The Chicken Schnitzel served along with the other dishes, is boneless meat coated with bread crumb and served with sauce. An Austrian version of fried chicken, it goes really well with the beer.

Beef Roulade

Almost drawing to a close, the German Oktober Fest continues till the 4th of October at Feast, Sheraton. The festival is a fun filled affair for those who love the beer-meat combo, although a few options of German Beer would really lighten up the entire scene.

Address:
Feast
Sheraton Grand Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway,
26/1, Dr.Rajkumar Road, Rajajinagar,
Malleshwaram, Bangalore

Phone: 080 42521000

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Underdoggs Sports Bar and Grill: Wings Of Fire

In a city filled with the young working people, the presence of bars, breweries and pubs are quite the necessity to maintain work-life balance and relieve some stress. In Bangalore, there is no shortage of such options and posing as Underdoggs <pun intended> in the already long list of pubs, the famed Sports Bar from Delhi NCR has finally made its way down south and has recently opened up in JP Nagar.

While the expectation from a typical Sports Bar is that they have a huge white screen for telecasting matches, Underdoggs provides much more. Spread over two floors in the same complex which houses Brewsky, the insides are quite big and spacious with tons of indoor sports arrangements like foosball tables, carom boards, pool tables, dart boards, table tennis and various board games which shall make sure that one has a good time no matter what.

Foosball at Underdoggs

Invited for the preview of the Sports Bar by VIPTable, a portal offering table bookings in restaurants, and the management, we started off with the Cinnamon Whisky Shots. A creation quite close to the Jagermeister's Spice Cinnamon and Vanilla Blend or the Fireball Cinnamon Whisky, the shot burns right down the throat with the cinnamon adding a distinct aftertaste. The most beautiful part is that the recoil time of the shot, which is quite low and even though I had just gulped one down, I was ready to shoot more almost immediately.

Cinnamon Whisky Shots

The main attraction of the evening was the signature chicken wings unique to Underdoggs. Available in 14 different varieties marinated with sauces, they were served up char-grilled or fried. My favourite of the lot was the Harissa Chicken Wings. Made with the goodness of chilli peppers, the wings were extremely spicy, but the taste buds eventually adapt to the spice and the flavour grows on you.

Cajun Alfredo Wings

Other interesting flavours included the Cajun Alfredo, Honey Chilli Garlic and Butter Chicken. The Cajun Alfredo Chicken Wings as the name suggests was a bit on the sweeter side with a more creamy texture than the others. It would be perhaps better named as Alfredo Chicken Wings as the Cajun spices felt quite mellowed down and overpowered by the Alfredo sauce.

Harissa Chicken Wings

The Butter Chicken Wings were something that I was tasting for the first time. Quite a unique dish, it combined the flavours of the American style wings in a marinade of the Indian Butter Chicken. The dish tasted extremely well when it was served hot but goes horribly wrong when it is cold, so its better to clear the plate sooner rather than later.

Butter Chicken Wings

A new offering at Underdoggs, Naan Rolls, is a must try for all food lovers. The presentation is that of a small naan with a mound of curry on it and is available in both vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian variety. Rish, the CO-CEO of Underdoggs Sports bar and Grill explained that it is meant to be eaten by folding the naan up, much like an Indian taco. While the taste is exquisite and packs quite a punch, it would be better with the naans being a bit harder and the quantity of the curry on the naan being a bit less as it is too easy to spill out the contents while folding and eating.

Naan Rolls

One of the many sports bars in Bangalore, Underdoggs hasn't yet been tapped by any football fan club to showcase its matches but shows great potential in becoming one of the more well known ones along with Dugout and Xtreme.


Cost for 2: Rs 1800/-

Address:
Underdoggs Sports Bar and Grill
Goenka Chambers, 19th Main Rd, 2nd Phase,
J P Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560078

Phone: 070226 66677

VIPTable: www.viptable.in  offers reservation of tables at Underdoggs and many other vrestaurants in Bangalore and Hyderabad. Download their app on your mobile and start reserving your tables in select restaurants.

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Radisson Blu at Banjara Hills celebrates Goan Cuisine

A few days back a friend was discussing Indian regional cuisines available in Hyderabad. He mentioned that he was surprised that there were no Goan restaurants here, despite the fact that many Hyderabadis love to frequently travel to Goa and enjoy vindaloo, bebinca and xaccutti. The discussion set the craving in me to revisit Goan cuisine and soon after I was extremely happy to see Radisson Blu Hotel at Banjara Hills organizing a Goan Food Festival at their Chill Restaurant and Terrace.

Invited to preview the food festival, I was pleased to meet Chef Leon Dexter from Radisson Goa, who has specifically come down to Hyderabad to organize this festival.  Chef Leon explained that he has crafted the menu in this festival in such a way that the dishes represent all three influences on Goan cuisine – the Hindu, Catholic as well as Portuguese. Also, he has chosen some special dishes which are not usually showcased in festivals but represent the food from Goa’s homes. The spices have been brought from Goa, and they are freshly prepared for each dish.

Squids and Chicken Peri Peri

The starters that were served on the table illustrated what the Chef said. The Chicken Peri Peri served has an African-Portuguese origin. These chillies were introduced into the Indian cuisine by the Portuguese along with other stuff like tomatoes and potatoes.  The red ground masala on the succulent chicken pieces tickled my tastebuds and seemed to be a spicier version of the Rechaedo paste. There was a paneer version for the vegetarians too. The accompanying squids were also soft and nice.

Paneer Peri Peri and Veg Fry

Another starter where the magic of Goan spices was on display was the Chicken Cafrael, where there was a strong flavor from the green chillies. Presenting the Prawn Balchao on rusk like a bruschetta, was a good idea as the pickle like taste of the prawn masala was a perfect foil to the bread.

Chicken Cafrael

One of my favourite Goan food has always been the Chorizo Sausages. The sausages here were crumbled in sliced onion and tomatoes and served with soft buns. For a pork fan like me, the spicy sausages were a true delight, and I especially liked the masala with it as well as the potato in the gravy.

Pork Chorizo in onion and tomatoes

Fish Rawa Fry is a delicacy of Gomantak Hindu cuisine. The crust here was nice and crispy with the fish soft. Though personally I would like my rawa fried fish to be boneless.

Fish Rawas Fry

In the main courses too there were dishes which were off beat.  Crab Xec Xec was for me the best dish of the night. The name xec xec has come from the word shake shake which is literally tossing the crabs in roasted coconut based masala. Again here the well balanced combination of masala stood out as strikingly different from other preparations.

Chicken Guisado and Crab Xec Xec

Chicken Guisado was another special item. We were told that the chilli based masala is similar to the one used for vindaloo, but the dish is mellowed in coconut milk. Chef Leon advised me to try it with the aromatic Prawn Pulao kept next to it and the combo worked out really well.

For the vegetarians too there was a bonanza. The Caldeen was cooked with paneer and peas, the Foogath had cabbages tossed in mustard and coconut while the Portuguese Mergol was prepared with pumpkins.

The Dessert Platter - Pinaca, Doce, Bebinca and Dodol

Any Goan fest must have Bebinca and today was no exception. The multilayered dessert with flour, ghee eggs and coconut milk tasted divine. The jaggery based sweets – Pinaca and Dodol, both prepared with rice flour and jaggery looked and tasted quite different. And finally I ended with Doce, a gram based mild sweet.

What struck me about the festival was that the Chef has not gone for usually popular Goan dishes and rather he presented lesser known but delicious food from Goan homes. Also the range of masalas used in Goan cuisine has been showcased through different dishes, with no two items tasting similar. A well-researched food festival, it is on only for dinner till 27th September, 2015.

Address:
Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel
Road No 6, Banjara Hills
Hyderabad
Telephone: 67331133

Dinner Buffet: Rs 1550 (All inclusive)

Also read: The Sunday Brunch at Radisson Blu, Banjara Hills

Disclaimer: The review is based on an invite by the restaurant. However the opinions expressed in the post are honest and unbiased.

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Quick Bytes: VIPTable and the Curated Set Menu at Via Milano

Over the last few months many startups related to food are making their presence felt. There are some that facilitate restaurant reviews or deliver food, while others organize themed foodie meets or present home chefs to the world. VIPTable.in operates in a different area – it ties up with restaurants so that you can book tables at your favourite place and avoid the disappointment of being turned away on a special day, or even on a regular weekend. If you want to visit a busy restaurant for a quick lunch, VIPTable may be your answer too. Not only can you book online, you also have a nice app from them for your smart phone.

Whisky Sour

The Starter Platter

Apart from just reserving tables, VIPTable has started working with partner restaurants curating a special and exclusive VIPmenu, which presents some of the best dishes offered by the restaurants at a special price. They have curated a set menu at Via Milano, one of my favourite Italian restaurants in Hyderabad. I was invited here as part of a bloggers table to try out this menu.

On the appointed Saturday, five of us assembled at the restaurant. One look at the menu and I was bowled over. At a place like Via Milano – a cocktail/mocktail, soup, a starter platter, main course and a dessert was being offered at Rs 620 All inclusive (Rs 499 plus taxes). At this price, it was not just a deal, it was a steal (You can have a look at the menu at the end of this post).

Grilled Chicken

Beef Tenderloin

Via Milano serves some great cocktails. Couple of us went for a Sangria whereas another friend vouched for Whisky Sour.  The Cream of Chicken Soup which I selected among the three choices was a thick chicken soup which was extremely flavorful as well as tasty. The starter platter provides small portions of four different starters (you can choose veg or non-veg). There were couple of medium sized shrimps which were fried with a batter, and this went brilliantly with the accompanying reddish sauce. The Chicken salad with veggies was pretty simple and nice. The Brochettes (Chicken and Tomato Mozarella) were par for the course.

Sea Bass Fillet in Lemon Sauce

For the main course, couple of us opted for Beef Tenderloin. The tenderloin was served with potato puree and red wine sauce. The sauce again was a winner and my beef steak made medium, tasted decently juicy. Another friend opted for Grilled Chicken with potato wedges and herbs in a balsamic dressing. I tried out a part of it, and it was again a masterpiece. There was some debate on which main course was the best and it ended without any conclusion, though my vote was for the tenderloin. I had a bite of the sea bass fillet in lemon sauce from another blogger's plate, but frankly wasn’t much enthused by the sauce which tasted quite bland.

Tiramisu

Caramelized Nougat

The Tiramisu here is always a winner, and today was no exception with its strong coffee taste. I had the Caramelized Nougat which was not very sweet and suited my palate.

Overall, an excellent curated menu at a very attractive price courtesy VIPTable and ViaMilano. I will make sure that I use the mobile app to check for more such offers in future and also to reserve my table at select restaurants. The current offer at Via Milano is valid till 25th September, 2015 for both lunch and dinner.

Contacts:

VIPTable: www.viptable.in
Telephone 040 44334292

Via Milano
1259/A/1 Road No 36, Jubilee Hills
(Near Skoda Emporium)
Hyderabad
Telephone: 040 66556677

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Times Passion Trails: The Royal Maratha Cuisine of Madhya Pradesh

In the eighteenth century Maratha chieftains under the Peshwas took control of most areas of Madhya Pradesh, and over a period of time established their own kingdoms. Prominent among the Maratha kings in this region were the Holkars who ruled the Indore region,  Scindias of Gwalior and the Puar Parmars of Dhara. The cuisines of many of these royal families have evoked interest in last few decades, and the food lovers have especially been exposed to them from an engrossing book written by Maharaja Digvijay Singhji of Sailana.

Dinner Table at Ahilya Fort and Palace

The Palace Food Trail organized by Times Passion Trails took a group of enthusiastic food lovers  from all over the country to Maheswar, Dhar and Indore to get a firsthand feel of the Royal cuisine in some of these places.

Our first stop was Maheswar, a quiet place next to the Narmada river.  The 250 years old Ahilya Fort and Palace is now a heritage hotel and our stay was planned here. The property, constructed in the Marathi wada style, has an old world charm and you get a scenic view of Narmada river from the main courtyard. The Ahilyabai temple is just next door leading to the river ghat.

Jackfruit Biryani at Ahilya Fort

H.E Richard Shivajirao Holkar of the Royal family owns the property. He himself is a food lover as well as a chef. I was told that the menus for the guests here are decided by him, and in some cases it is his own recipes too. He had also co-authored a book on Royal recipes. Naturally I was looking forward to the food served here. I was told that often the food served here has a lot of contemporisation of the traditional Holkar cuisine.

Dinner was soon served in an open courtyard adjoining the rooms on beautifully laid out tables. We started with Poyee Bhajji, a stir fried recipe of spinach. Another highlight was Bhutte Ka  Kees, a Maharastrian delicacy of grated corn.

In Indian vegetarian cuisine, often jackfruit is substituted for mutton using the same masalas. Here we had a version of Jackfruit Biryani where the spices well balanced and the kathal cooked to perfection.

Duck in a Pomegranate Gravy

Baked Apples served with white sauce

But the preparation which bowled me over was Duck Cooked with Pomegranate.  Supposed to be a Dogra Kashmiri recipe, the thick gravy with anardana was brilliant and the duck meat soft. Chicken Survedar the other non-veg dish served was a favorite of Maharaja Yashwantrao Holkar. It was again a delicate preparation with chicken with a subtle coconut flavor. The desserts was Baked Apples – served with a secret white sauce.

For the breakfast next day again some local dishes were served – my particular favorite was Maheshwar style masala scrambled eggs with lots of vegetables and the poha prepared in traditional Maharastrian style.

Maheshwar Style Scrambled Eggs

The lunch, which was the last meal there was again quite sumptuous – the standout dish being a version of Mutton Rogan Josh, which was cooked using a small goat. Though it tasted more like mutton curry to me, the taste of the curry was so delicious that it forced me take couple of extra helpings. Among the vegetarian items, the homestyle potato sabji  was a perfect foil for the puris.

Lunch at Ahilya Fort and Palace

After lunch, we proceeded to the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. Our dinner was arranged at the guest house of the Maharaja of Dhar, another erstwhile Maratha kingdom close to Indore. To give it a festive touch, all the male participants in the trail were in safa – the traditional Marathi headgear.

The guest house of the Maharaja in Dhar town was well lit up. We as guests were invited to the durbar of the King, which was specifically set up for us. I have never been to a King’s durbar and was very impressed with the proceedings, including the kulgeet and the speeches.

The Royal Durbar at Dhar

The Maharaja of Dhar HH Hemendra Singhji is a food enthusiast, in fact he himself prepared couple of dishes for the dinner. We had access to some of the recipe books of the family, which has clearly documented all the Royal recipes. Some of the recipes had been handwritten by the King himself, who took it down from his mother.

Arvi Ka Vadi

The menu for the dinner here was quite impressive too. Among the starters my favorite was Arvi Ka Vadi, colocasia leaves rolled with a besan and garlic based masala and then steamed before cutting them into pieces.  The Keema Samosa was well stuffed and also delicious.  There was a fish fried in a red marinade where the freshness of the fish caught my attention.

Kadaknath Chicken

I have heard about Kadaknath Chicken for a long time. These are fowl with black feather, black bones and blackish blood found in parts of Madhya Pradesh. The meat of this variety has high demand as it is allegedly known to have medicinal use. The Black Fowl Chicken Curry here was cooked in lots of ghee and a ginger and black pepper based masala. I was told that this masala can be prepared and stored and used over a period of time.

Dhar Style Prawn Curry

The other impressive dish was Dhar Style Prawn Curry cooked in a red colored masala which went with the Jowar Rotis served.  There was another type of roti which had two separate rotis sticking to each other – I think it was called Do Phool Ki Roti.  The dawaat had some nice tasting mutton pickle too.

A Handwritten Page from the Royal Dhar Recipes 

I had a long chat with the chef who had prepared the vegetarian items here. He said that recipes in this region are simple and easy to prepare. It is never spicy and chilies are hardly used. A bitter gourd dish with a nice flavourful masala caught my attention. I was told that this special masala has coriander, til, poppy seeds and garam masala among other ingredients. The Bharwa Mirch here had a special masala containing amchur. There were quite a few types of uncommon chutneys served as condiments – peanut based, copra based, and poppy seed based.

The dessert platter had the famous halwas of Dhar – one prepared with corn and the other egg. Both were absolute hits with the diners.

I was told that Laccha Rabri is another famous dessert of this area where milk is condensed into lacchas of malai at the side of the vessel and then other ingredients such as saffron and nuts are added. However it was not in the day’s menu.

The evening really impressed us with the grandeur and the warm hospitality extended by the Royal family.

Goolar Kabab

Our final stop of trying out the Royal Cuisine was at the Daly College Indore where a sumptuous lunch was organized by Mr. Sumer Singh the Principal of the college.  Mr. Ravi Pratap Singh Ranavat, a renowned chef of Indore who specializes in Royal cuisine had prepared the food. Mr. Singh told us that he had conducted food festivals specializing in Royal cuisine for the Taj group at different parts of the country, and he has chosen a few unique dishes for the day.

Dahi Kabab

Goolar Kabab was easily the most popular. The kabab has a round shell of mutton keema wrapped around diced onion and vegetables and then fried with a khus khus coating. It was hard outside and soft inside, presenting a myriad of tastes which burst in the mouth.  The other starter of note was the soft Chicken Sula Kabab, prepared with a Rajasthani masala on charcoal.

Shikari Aloo

Among the main courses, I loved the Kadhi Gosht or mutton cooked in a yoghurt and besan based gravy. Among the vegetarian items, Shikari Aloo was a simple dish of baby potatoes prepared in onion and red chilies with very little masala, normally the little spices carried to a shikaar.

Kadhi Gosht 

The dessert had Gulab Ki Kheer. The kheer here was quite different from the version at Bhopal. We were told that a little bit of sugar is normally added to it. A nice end to a good meal.

The series of dawaats helped us get a significant overview of the Royal food of Maratha Kings of Madhya Pradesh. There were distinct difference in style and ingredients from place to place. Whereas the Holker food had quite a bit of fusion element in it, Dhar and Indore were much more traditional. Overall, it was an extremely enjoyable experience with Times Passion Trails.

Also See: Times Passion Trails - Royal Cuisine of Bhopal and the Palace Dinner

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Quick Bytes : The New Rasta Cafe

Rasta Cafe, one of the vibrant destinations on Mysore Road, is a popular stopover and is thronged by the masses throughout the week. Fully packed even at night, it became popular during the ban of hookahs in Bangalore (being outside city limits) and has grown many fold since then.

Rasta Season 2 Episode 1

Owing to its increasing popularity, Rasta Cafe has opened its second outlet near Kalyan Nagar close to the ORR and cleverly named it as Rasta S02E01, cashing in on the popularity of American TV series. The establishment is huge and is spread over two floors, a cafe section on the ground floor and the bar on the top one with indoor and outdoor seating available. As soon as you enter you are welcomed by a huge stone lion, which seems a bit out of place.

Crispy Chicken Tenders

The Cafe section serves a variety of savouries like pastries, waffles and coolers. They also have some limited breakfast options which you can choose from. My favourite dish in the food menu is the Crispy Chicken Tenders; well marinated boneless chicken breasts, fried in a breadcrumb batter. The dish goes extremely well with a mug of beer and is optimally spiced.

Other dishes worth trying include the Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Herbed Chicken with Rice. The Jamaican Jerk Chicken was prepared with a spicy marinated chicken in the so called jerk sauce. native to Jamaica, served with rice and veggies. It was spicy but tasty with the marination having penetrated through. The sauce in the herbed chicken was thick and flavorful, and went well with the perfectly cooked rice.

Herbed Chicken with Rice

In the cocktails, they have a pretty strong Long Island Iced Tea, made with the goodness of five different types of alcohol as is the norm. Though their pitchers are a bit on the pricier side, going through one of them would definitely leave you tipsy.

Unlike the original parent establishment, this outlet doesn't serve hookahs and shuts shop at 11pm. While this may be their attempt at commercializing the restaurant, the original thrill of the drive and the hookah is missing and leaves a severe gap in the experience that one was used to in Rasta Cafe.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

Meal for two persons – Rs 1000/-

Address : 402, 7th Main Road, 1st Block,
HRBR Layout, Kalyan Nagar, Bangalore

Telephone : 080 49652581

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