Made In Punjab - Extravagant Punjabi Fare

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Coming from the celebrated family of Kalra's the launch of Made In Punjab was much awaited and when it did it was with all pomp and show in true Punjabi ishtyle. Invited to experience the offerings from their menu, a friend and I headed one evening for some hearty Punjabi fare.

We started off with the legacy tandoori champ which were succulent lamb chops in a special house mix of spices. The evening surely did kick start on a really high note. Soon giving us company on our table was 'Bhatti  Ka Murgh' which was perfectly spiced tender chicken leg.

Appetizers continued to flow in with a melt in mouth 'Paneer Barrel Tikka' which as the name goes resembled barrels with an in between filling of spinach and cheese. Not usually a fan of mushrooms, the restaurant staff did insist we try 'Jau Mushroom Chakli' and it sure did have us asking for more. It was deep fried parcel with a filling of barley, minced mushrooms mildly seasoned and came served with a mustard-garlic chutney.

Punjabi evenings are never sober and hence the liver got it its fair share of job to perform. We had some interesting cocktail concoctions which had fancy Punjabi naming conventions. In order of preference I loved the 'Nayaa Zamana' which was MIP's take on the classic 'Old Fashioned' cocktail which concocted with a base of bourbon whiskey, caramel, citrus and apple. This was closely followed by 'Nashili Chai' a concoction of various white liquor and in house tea infusion.

Nayaa Zamaana

Nashili Chai

Heading to our next course 'Main Course' I had to have the much talked and heard about 'Nalli HardKaur'. It was a visually pleasing sight and even more enjoyable to eat; all the way through the last morsel of the intense lamb shank and finally sweep clean the plate to not leave a drop of the silken curry. The meat was cooked to fall of the bone consistency and exuded intense flavors.

I can go on about 'Nalli HardKaur' but let's move on to 'Luxury BC'. Let's cut the thinking, this is the luxury butter chicken; succulent chicken chunks in an ultra rich and delicious gravy. Both the dishes were best enjoyed with the traditional Punjabi breads like butter naan, paratha, tandoori roti and likes.

Finishing with a dessert, we tried the dates Rasmalai. The dates added a nice flavor to this dessert but for me this dessert lost out on the texture for it was too spongy unlike the traditional rasmalai which usually just melt in mouth. As I said, "this did not work for my palate but my dining companion relished this dessert."

An average meal for 2 at MIP will cost around Rs. 2000 ++ inclusive of food and a beverage each. I know I'm going back here often for delicious Punjabi fare and kick-ass cocktails. The menu is vast with some extravagant offerings and apart from repeats I look forward to trying more off their menu.

Address: Made In Punjab, UB City, Bengaluru - 560103

Phone Number: +91 81309 55899

Note: This visit to Made In Punjab was on invitation but the opinions expressed are solely mine and are absolutely unbiased nor influenced by the brand in any way.

Event Alert!!! Citi Chef's Table Week 2014 is Back, Bangalore

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It's that time of the year when Citi Chef's Table Week makes a comeback. This week long festival features Chef's 6 course tasting menu at 10 of the city's (Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi finest restaurants. This format works wonderfully as it not only facilitates you to savor the signature dishes from Chef's kitchen but also prevents you from the hassle of deciding what to order. Of course your dietary preferences are well cared about.

Citi Chef's Table Week is a dinner only event and will be on from the 14th to 20th July. Reservations open on 9th July and guess what? It is 9th July meaning, reservations are Now Open.

One cuisine just doesn't work for me and it is a joy to see the diversity of cuisines on offer which is evident from the restaurant listing. What's also nice is that I have visited 5 of the participating restaurants and each of them cover a very distinct cuisine ranging from Italian to my West, Indian/Lucknowi at the epicenter to Japanese on the extreme East. Here's sharing with you a list of participating restaurants from Bangalore that I have visited:

1. Blue Ginger, Taj West End

Having celebrated its 10th anniversary this Vietnamese restaurant is known not just for it's ambiance, service and food but also for holding the title of being the oldest Vietnamese restaurant of India. I have been here a couple of times and undoubtedly this restaurant figures as my best Vietnamese dining experience. 

Leaving you with some images from my dining experience here and also a link to the reservations page.

2. Dum Pukht Jolly Nabobs, ITC Windsor

A power house of indulgence, exquisiteness, extravagance and elegance, Dum Pukht Jolly Nabobs is an experience to be lived. Serving the finest of the Lucknowi cuisine in a setting that's  unmatched thus far, Chef's Table Week is a perfect time to make a visit to this restaurant that is housed in ITC Windsor Hotel.

Again, some images from my dining experience here and also a link to the reservations page.

3. Edo, ITC Gardenia

Edo the fabulous Japanese restaurant at ITC Gardenia is an institution of sorts for Japanese cuisine. The resident master chef 'Sensai Kikuta San' lays high emphasis on procuring ingredients fresh and of the highest quality and this emphasis is clearly evident from its taste. The interiors here are really simple yet very elegant and make for a wonderful dining experience. Japanese food paired with their tradition drink 'Sake' only completes the experience of dining at Edo. I cannot think of a better time to make a visit to this restaurant.

4. Ottimo - Cuicina Italiana, ITC Gardenia

Translating to 'Excellent' in english, Ottimo is the most recent restaurant offering from ITC Hotels in Bangalore. Resident Chef Vittorio Greco of Italy, takes centre stage in the kitchen of Ottimo. Inclined towards traditional Italian cuisine, Chef Greco at Ottimo offers a rare fusion of traditional Italian with emphasis on both nutrition and fresh ingredients which are sourced both locally and internationally. While maintaining simplicity and keeping food at its authentic best, plating of food at Ottimo is exquisite and in true sense signifies 'food porn'. 

Leaving you with some images from my dining experience here and also a link to the reservations page.

Yauatcha, 1 MG Mall

A London based dim-sum tea house serves up the finest dim-sums I have had thus far. Be it their Chicken and Prawn Shui Mai, Crispy Prawn Cheung fun, Crispy Duck Rolls, mains, or the Raspberry Delice for dessert - This place has stolen my heart. 

Leaving you with some images from my dining experience here and also a link to the reservations page.

What I look forward to from this event is being able to visit at least one of the remaining 5 restaurants that I have not paid a visit so far:

Alba, JW Marriott Hotel Bengaluru

For me, it has been Italian cuisine for quite a long time. Having eaten this cuisine extensively I only geo fonder of the same with every passing day. I'm definitely spoiled for choice and am only curious now to see if Alba; housed in JW Marriott on Lavelle road makes it tougher for me? Yes, it is a speciality restaurant of one of the worlds most famous cuisines - Italian and here's the page I'd go to for a reservation.

Oko, The Lalit Ashok
Off lateA Pan-Asian restaurant close to home is nestled on the roof top of The Lalit Ashok. The food and ambiance are much spoken about and is on my list of places to visit.

Rim Naam, The Oberoi

Known to be one of the oldest Thai restaurants in Bangalore, Rim Naam is not only famous for its delicious and mouthwatering food but also very popular for its alfresco dining set up. If you love Thai food, Rim Naam is surely a name that instantly rings the bell. If you wish to reserve the table I'm sure you know where to click.

Riwaz, The Ritz-Carlton

On my wish list? Of course it is. The food of the North-Western Frontier has always intrigued me. It has the appeal to get me hungry even after a really satisfying meal. Is it because of my love for food or the character of this cuisine? I don't know myself. Anyway, Riwaz at the much spoken about The Ritz-Carlton serves up exactly the cuisine being spoken about. Looks like now's the time to make a visit.

Zen, The Leela Palace

I've been to Citrus at Leela a couple of times and en route to Citrus have spotted this wonderful looking restaurant that serves Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Korean cuisines in a setting that is heavenly. A restaurant that needs no introduction, is a place I look forward to visit and experience the goodness that has been doing the buzz. 

This specially crafted tasting menu is on offer at Rs. 2000 plus taxes and charges in Bangalore at each of the above restaurants only from 14 July to 20th July, 2014.

Tiffin Box etc, Bangalore

Working in Whitefield, Many of us are in a lookout for a quick meal and buffet lunches fit the bill for the following few reasons:

- No hassle of reading through the menu, 

- Waiting for the food to arrive post preparation,

- Covers various meal courses.

What becomes difficult is to find the right balance between spread and pricing. Most of the times, the spread is too large for what can be enjoyed in a quick meal or the pricing is too high for the spread that is being offered. 

Being in close vicinity, I decided to give 'Tiffin Box Etc' located inside 'In Orbit Mall' a shot and must say, "I am happy to have dined there." It is a fast paced restaurant offering delicacies from various regions of India. The emphasis lays on the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western specialties represented by major cities of the regions. In addition it also has a focus on Brimingham which is famous for Chicken Tikka Masala.

Menu:

Tiffin Box Etc boasts of being the first of its kind restaurant that offers novelty tiffin box options like Bangalore Tiffin Box, Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi tiffin boxes on the menu. Each of these boxes contains delicacies specific to the respective regions. In addition this, there is a fair listing of A-La Carte selections and a lunch buffet that offers diners a fair spread at decent prices.

What We Ate:

We mostly focused on the buffet but also called for two of the tiffin boxes to get an idea of the offerings in it. The lunch buffet available Monday to Friday, includes a fairly sufficient spread of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. This spread includes a soup, a few salads, pickles, an appetizer each for both the vegetarians and non-vegetarians, mains, breads, rice and desserts.

Like always, my focus remains on the non-vegetarian food but based on the recommendation of my friends on the table, I tried the soup of the day, some papdi chaat and moongfalli vada from the buffet.

On the non-vegetarian front, I relished 'Chicken Tikka' - an appetizer was a nicely marinated boneless preparation from the tandoor. It was soft, juicy, succulent and went very well with mint chutney.

In the mains, it was 'Chicken Kohlapuri', 'Mutton Korma' that were delicious and were best enjoyed with fresh and hot butter naan which is served on the table.

Desserts offered on the buffet were blueberry cheese, caramel custard and butterscotch ice cream. Simple yet classic offerings. My favorite of the lot was the butterscotch ice-cream and the caramel custard.

While this was all about the buffet, in between we also tried a vegetarian Delhi and non-vegetarian Kolkata tiffin box. The Delhi tiffin had paneer butter masala while the Kolkata thali offered 'Kosho Mongsho Mutton' in the mains in addition to the rice, chapatti, yellow dal and gulab jamun which come with every tiffin. 

I absolutely loved the Kolkata signature; tender mutton in the 'Kosho Mongsho'.The flavor of the mustard with the other spices was bang on. The food was very much like home cooked food and the portions in the tiffin box were more than sufficient for two (may be with a side call of a few more chapatis).

Available on the a-la carte menu, the Nalli Nihari was another wonderful preparation from the kitchen of Tiffin Box Etc. Slow cooked mutton fell of the bone effortlessly and the gravy was rich in flavor. This makes for a delicious meal in the company of steaming hot white rice.

Verdict:

The buffet was really nice and did not go overboard in terms of the spread. Having said this, "I'd have loved to round of my mains with a serving or two of chicken or mutton biryani which apparently was not on the buffet that given day." Being an ardent lover of biryani, for me this was the only negative point in the buffet spread. The a-la carte presents some interesting dishes and the tiffin box concept is really nice and makes for a nice fixed meal menu for 2 in the company of some additional phulkas or chapati.

The ambiance is very simple yet very attractive with a lot of wall art, tiffin box lighting and more setting or representing the whole theme of TiffinBox etc. Very thoughtfully placed is a take away counter on the food court side of the restaurant where folks can do a quick grab and go lunch.

The buffet is priced well at Rs. 350 and an average a-la care meal for 2 will cost anywhere about Rs. 750 both exclusive of taxes and charges.

Quick Tips:

- Buffet is a great option for a quick meal with a nice spread to keep you content. 

- A-La Carte is available only for dinners on weekdays and both lunch and dinner on weekends. 

- Tiffin box is a great concept and the portions are large enough to share between two.

- Stay tuned to hear about the door delivery service of the TiffinBox meal...

- The counter in the food court is a nice option for a 'Grab N Go' meal.

Address: 1st Floor, In Orbit Mall, EPIP Industrial Area, Whitefield, Bangalore 560066

Phone Number: +91 80 2802 9599

Punjabi By Nature, Bangalore

Of late, it's been a lot of food belonging to the north-west part of our country or the north-west frontier itself. This spree continues with me now sharing with you my experience of dining at Punjabi by Nature in Koramangala. It had been on my list of restaurants to visit for a very long time and finally made a visit to this restaurant 2 weekends back to back. I'm sure the back to back visits speak about my experience but read on to know more.

Menu

It is a mouth-watering listing of delicacies from the state of Punjab. There is a lot to choose from for both the vegetarians and non-vegetarians. You will find the classics listed right from the start and all the way through to the end. The vegetarian and non-vegetrian food is well classified. I'm sure both the vegetarians and non-vegetarians will drool.

Punjabi By Nature is not just about food but also has an interesting Beer Garden; as it is called. Here, they brew their own beer and if you like brewed beer, you will find some interesting options.

What we ate:

Having made two visits back to back, I have been able to try both the non-vegetarian and vegetarian preparations. In vegetarian it was 'Tandoori Paneer Tikka' for starters which was 4 humongous chunks of paneer or cottage cheese. It was well marinated and well seasoned, the paneer was soft and fresh. The accompaniment with it was the lovely, creamy and rich mint chutney.

Moving on to the mains, we called for 'Amritsari Tawa Chicken' and 'Daal Punjabi By Nature' aka 'Daal Makhni'. All of this was eaten in the company of 'Laccha Paratha', 'Mutton Keema Naan' and 'Aloo Kulcha'. The breads here are quite large so please be cautious when calling for these. If you have a reasonably good appetite and prefer not to have left over food, the apt order might be 2 breads being called for 3 diners. 

The 'Aloo Kulcha' was nicely buttered, filled well, really soft and served fresh from the tandoor. It was delight eating this with 'Daal Makhni' which was equally rich in flavour, texture and composition. I'm a hardcore non-vegetarian but I can make a full meal of this combination. Again, this combination only gets better with some mint chutney and slivers of onion drizzled with chaat masala. I'd soon be in food coma.

Aloo Kulcha

Daal Punjabi By Nature

The 'Mutton Keema Naan' needs a special mention for its flavour and generous filling. If you love mutton keema, this has gotta be on your table. Its stands well by itself and needs no accompaniment if you wish to enjoy the flavor of the keema. The laccha paratha was nice and flaky. The image below I hope does justice and requires me to write no more.

Laccha Paratha

Mutton Keema Naan

'Amritsari Tawa Chicken' was delicious too. The chicken was tender and succulent. The gravy had a nice thick consistency and was best enjoyed with assorted Indian breads. This didn't end our meal; there was more to come and it had to be 'Lamb Yakhini Dum Biryani'. I know, you must be thinking I'm a sucker for biryani; I must tell you that, "Yes, I am." The biryani was aromatic made with tender lamb cooked on dum with basmati rice. The flavor was addictive. I wouldn't say it was one of the best biryanis I have had but it did make for an enjoyable and satisfying finish (No picture though).

For desserts, we had none but for me there is no better way to end a meal that with lamb biryani and that is how I did.

Verdict:

It was a great dining experience right from service to ambiance to the food. Punjabi by Nature is spread on a large floor area with some interesting seating options in it open roof, under roof and waterfall section of the restaurant. Whats even more interesting is you can choose to be seated by the bar. 

I'm in all awe of the food at Punjabi By Nature. I know this is the place I am heading to always for a North Indian meal. An average meal for 2 here will cost around Rs. 1300 ++ and this does not include any beverages. Of course it's expensive but you pay for the amazing food, good service and the wonderful ambiance.

Quick Tips:

Looking for wonderful punjabi meal? Head here. Do not miss to try their Mutton Keema Naan, Aloo Kulcha and Daal Makhni. 

Address: Near Forum Mall, Krishna Industrial Layout, Kormangala, Bangalore

Landmark: Between Forum Mall and Christ College

Phone Number: +91 80 4913 8800

The Royal Afghan @ ITC Windsor, Bangalore

“What is common between me and prominent personalities like US President Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, UK Ex-President Tony Blair, Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Bryan Adams?

Well it’s gotta be food…”

If you’ve been following me on FaceBook or Twitter, you might have noticed the above communications. Now, for what’s common is that, last week at ‘The Royal Afghan; ITC Windsor Bangalore - I had the privilege of dining at the table of renowned Executive Chef JP Singh of the legendary restaurant Bhukara; ITC Maurya New Delhi.

Without spending too much time here, I’ll move on and share what awaited us for the evening.

Menu

What’s interesting and also an achievement by itself is that the menu at The Royal Afghan has not changed for the last 2 decades or so. Well, to me it’s a testament of the legendary listing on their menu. 

Drifting away from it, we had a specially crafted menu for the evening. The menu listing was delicious and included select dishes from it’s legendary menu. There was a separate menu for the vegetarians and us non-vegetarians. The non-vegetarian menu included Tandoori Jhinga (prawns), Malai Tikka Kebab and Barrah Kebab for starters. In mains, it was Murgh Makhani, the famous Sikandri Raan, signature Daal Bukhara with assorted Indian breads. Desserts had Phirni and Gulab Jamoon. 

Trust me, if paper was edible, I’d have eaten it too. 

What we ate:

It all started with a bang with the arrival of Tandoori Jhinga. Perfectly cooked in a tandoor with a marinade of Indian spices mixed in yogurt. The prawns were easily the most tender and succulent I have ever eaten. Most of us on the table couldn’t resist but ask for more of it though we knew the evening had just begun and there was deliciousness awaiting to arrive all through the evening.

So yes, the expectations were set and were set really high. Soon to follow was ‘Murgh Malai Kabab’. Made with loads of cream cheese and a mild flavour of coriander, the richness was evident. Chicken was moist and tender.

Barrah Kabab was chunky leg pieces of Lamb marinated in a mixture of yogurt, various spices, malt vinegar and cooked in red hot embers.  I was busy photographing this on my plate and I heard all my blogger friends exclaim praises of this preparation. It seemed as if it all came out in a chorus. Was it good? Trust me, it was outstanding, tender, addictive and had well balanced flavors. In fact, for a couple of us it was the show stopper for the evening. I love Lamb and if it's so good, I can make a meal of it; meal after meal. You now know how good it. Please read the following recommendation from me atleast twice - "No visit to Royal Afghan is complete if you have not eaten the barrah kabab."

We had executive chef JP Singh give us company on our table all through our courses speaking on various topics like catering to the world renowned personalities, the tradition behind cutlery not being served at The Royal Afghan, Bukhara and the likes at ITC Hotels, kitchen management, the scrutiny process and the criteria of selection of meat, his years with ITC Hotels and more.

Our mains came after a bit giving us a good break and gear up for this course. Most of the food followed in quick succession which included the famed Dal Bhukara, Murgh Makhani and Sikandri Raan. The preparation of 'Daal Bhukara' was exquisite and rich in taste and texture. The much anticipated dish of the evening 'Sikandri Raan' was on my plate too - nicely shredded boneless pieces of lamb meat (leg of lamb). While it was nice, it did not live up to the anticipation as I found it a bit too dry and very mildly flavored unlike the Barrah Kabab.The Murgh Makhani is a classic and just cannot go wrong.  All of this was eaten in the company of 'Pudina Paratha' - nice and flaky classic laccha paratha topped with a melange of 6 ingredients. I think Chef JP Singh let out 4 of them but said the other 2 were secret ingredients and could not be let out. 

We were savouring the food and suddenly we notice a gentleman from the staff standing with a naan which is easily the biggest I have ever seen. It’s called the ‘Naan Bhukara’ and is usually called on a table with a reasonably higher family size by count. It was cooked to a wonderful fluffiness on the edges and perfect crispiness on the center (just the way my dad likes his bread to be). Back to the size, it was huge. I'd prefer you take a look at the picture below instead of me even attempting to write more about it.

For desserts we had Phirni and Gulab Jamun. Given a choice to eat one of the two, my choice anywhere at anytime will be Phirni, thats how much I love phirni over Gulab Jamun in general. So did I like the Phirni? Yes, I loved it. served in a clay saucer, the phorni was very well flavoured with cardamom, and the consistency was rich; exactly the way it’s got to be.

The words gulab jamun rings a bell in my mind of a specific sweet stall on commercial street. That’s the limitation to my love for gulab jamun. Why? Not because they are the best but because it seems to be a childhood problem - I ate it there, loved it and created a mental block. Anyways, the gulab jamun here was nice too. It had a filling of pistachios and cardamom in the center with the spoon easily sliding through the gulab jamun.

In between, all this I sipped on white wine by Sula and also tried a couple of vegetarian starters which included paneer tikka and tandoori aloo. I enjoyed both these preparations but couldn’t have tried more as there was lots of non vegetarian food too and justice had to be done. ;)

Verdict:

You walk into ITC Windsor and you are first by the aroma and in not time you begin to feel the magnificence of the hotel which has a chandelier suspended from the roof right in the center of the lobby. Walking through the corridors of the hotel is no less than walking through a beautiful palace. The restaurant as a matter of fact is equally ambient if not more with a spreading Peepal tree over it and a lovely swimming pool right by it. On the table, do not be surprised to not find cutlery as the team here insists the food is best enjoyed when touched and eaten by hand.

The food here is delicious and a meal experience at The Royal Afghan is something one is sure to remember for a really long time. At ITC Hotels, this particular style of cooking requires a very high level of expertise on the part of the chefs. For instance, it may take chefs years of training to master the art of even making the breads perfectly. No wonder the food served here has gotten me hooked to the cuisine of the North-West Frontier. When at ITC windsor, quality is a word that is best experienced and never mentioned or uttered. 

An a la carte meal for two at The Royal Afghan will cost anywhere around Rs. 3500 + taxes and charges. The restaurant is open for dinners all days of the week between 7pm to 11:30pm and for lunch between 12 noon to 3pm only on Saturdays and Sundays.

Quick Tips:

Go here for a wholesome dining experience, the best of North-West Frontier food.

To make reservations please call 080 - 4140 1205

Address: The Royal Afghan, ITC Windsor, 25 Golf Course Road, Bangalore 560052

Phone Number: +91 80 4140 1205