A Culinary Journey through the regal past of Hyderabad @ Cubbon Pavilion - ITC Gardenia, Bangalore

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I was in Hyderabad for the long weekend of Republic day. My line-up for food exploration was set and little did I know that this would extend on even after my return to Bangalore. The extension was by no means an ordinary extension; it was an exclusive 'Meet and Eat' invitation with Master Chef Kunwar Rani Kulsum Begum.

Born in the Hyderabadi royal Salar Jung family and married into a royal Awadhi family, she clearly has exposure to the best of the 2 most wonderful worlds - Hyderabadi and Awadhi. You don't need to be a foodie to know what this means!

Hyderabadi food is no ordinary food and when the food comes from the kitchen of Master Chef Kunwar Rani Kulsum Begum; it clearly spells 'Experience Royal'. With over 6 years of effort into crafting and mastering the royal Salar Jung recipes, she brings them to Bangalore to showcase them at ITC Gardenia's 'Cubbon Pavilion' till 1st Feb, 2015. To me it clearly means, 'Dawat-e-Khas - A Culinary Journey through the regal past of Hyderabad'.

Having arrived early I witnessed the lids on the buffet counter go open. In no time the aroma of various preparation filled the air. I took a quick sneak peak at what's on offer and settled down right away with a platter of kebabs and a glass of lovely red wine.

In a short time, we were joined by master chef Kunwar Rani Kulsum Begum for dinner. Over a wonderful meal comprising of a lot of vegetarian and non-vegetarian delicacies like kebabs, salan, haleem, pulao and more; we interacted on various topics which included her childhood, her food, biryani vs pulao, Hyderabadi vs Awadhi cuisine, food nuances in a royal family, evolution of the Hyderabadi food scene and more.

Over to my meal, the flavors were exquisite, meat really tender and succulent, gravies very rich and the spread in a word - 'Lavish'. The buffet spread offers cuisines from world over and it is the Indian section that is dedicated to Dawat-e-Khas - signature preparations by the master chef herself.

I really looked forward to the mains and when I did get to it, I hit it off with her signature preparation 'Haleem. Haleem was really light in color, mildly spiced allowing the flavor of the meat to stand out, the consistency was really rich - a result of the royal cooking techniques. The richness came from the use of high quality ingredients, dry fruits and meat. Top it with fried onion lime and voila 'A meal by itself'. It was a haleem like no other I've eaten before.

I also tried and loved the 'Lasooni jhinge';  a semi gravy preparation of shrimps, tomato, garlic, mustard seeds, shahi jeera and loads of curry leaves to bring out the flavor. Turai murgh again a semi gravy dish was bang on attractive in flavors. 

Lasooni Jhinge

Turai Murgh

I also tried the Fish kofta salan which was creamy in texture, rich in flavor and had a nice tang to it. The fish kofta was moist and flavorful. This preparation I best enjoyed with the very simple steamed rice.

What had me stunned this evening was the Mutton Hapsi Pulao. It was an excellent fragrant preparation with the mutton melting in my mouth. The rice used was a nice long grained rice and the spice blend along with the sweetness coming from saffron and some secret ingredients had me dumb struck for a moment. With the last weekend spent in Hyderabad over multitude of excellent biryanis, this clearly surpassed each of them. Now come to think of it, biryanis in Hyderabad versus this hapsi pulao; the pulao clearly wins for me.

There was a wonderful spread of vegetarian food as well both as a part of the buffet on the whole and also specific to Dawat-e-Khas segment. Here's a pictorial representation of the same.

For dessert, there was again a large spread but what I did try was just the Dawat-e-Khas section. With all the food downed, even an attempt to try the dessert seemed a task; but I had to. There was Thuli which was a nice and sweet halwa preparation, ande ki lauz, kala jamoon and a meethi pakodi which was a gulab jamoon baked with rabdi.

It indeed seemed like a food festival and with master chef Kunwar Rani Kulsum Begum one thing is for sure - She takes her food festivals very seriously and ensures that not a single dish is repeated over the span of the festival being hosted. This means over a span of 10 days of the food festival - 

 - There will be 1 biryani and 9 pulao each for vegetarians and non-vegetarians dished out. Guess what! All of these of Hyderabadi cuisine. Did you even know if 10 types of pulao/biryani existed in Hyderabadi cuisine?

 - In the mains too, there will be at least 40 different vegetarians and non-vegetarian dishes offered.

Why should you go?

 - All of the above reasons, and

 - If you think you have eaten a lot of Hyderabadi food and enjoyed it; it's time you re-evaluate your experience with some real Hyderabadi food from the royal kitchens of Hyderabad.

The buffet is priced at Rs. 1750 plus taxes and charges. Aptly named 'Dawat-e-Khas', this festival is on only for a short duration till the 1st February, 2015 at ITC Gardenia's Cubbon Pavilion. Do visit and take a culinary journey through the regal past of Hyderabad.

Address: No. 1, Residency Road, Bengaluru - 560025

Phone Number: +91 80 2211 9898

FoxLifeIndia: Launch Party of a new TV show - 'Tales from the Bush Larder'

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It's rarely that I spend hours together watching something on television and when it does, I usually spend my time watching food and travel shows. Talk of Kenya and one can't help but think of the wild. Even for me who first thinks of food, it's the wild that fills my mind when someone takes the name Kenya and this is the case only until very recently when I met Chef Kiran Jethwa for a short interview of his soon to be aired TV show - Tales from the Bush Larder.

Born to an English mother and an Indian Father, Chef Kiran Jethwa is a 3rd generation Kenyan. A chef and owner of Nairobi’s premier seafood restaurant, Seven Seafood & Grill; he traveled the world over to broaden his palate and professional abilities. His streak with success is not just limited to food and his restaurant but also with athletics on the Rugby field. He has played rugby not just at school at college level but also represented his nation on the same. 

Apart from food and rugby, he loves the game of cricket but is quick to get back to the topic he loves most - Food. Extremely enthusiastic of his soon to be aired (in India) TV show, Kiran says, "Kenya isn't exactly known for it's cuisines; instead it is the incredibly fresh, organic and unusual ingredients that are a main stay. " The TV show shot around beautiful landscapes focuses on the source and use of Kenyan ingredients and cooking techniques. 

Apart from the interview, Kiran also demonstrated the preparation of smoked lobster, toasted coconut, crispy limiri all stuffed in between a soft and juicy steamed bao. It was deliciously mind-blowing to say the least. Now having eaten some of his preparation at the launch party hosted at Shiro's Bangalore, I eagerly look forward to the show being aired on television.

With 3 seasons already shot and the first having been aired on Zuku sometime mid-September, watch out for it's India Premier -  

Show - 'Tales from the Bush Larder by Chef Kiran Jethwa

Channel - Fox Life India (@FoxLifeIndia)

Days - Every Thursday and Friday

Time - 20:00 hours (8PM IST)

Start date - 29th January, 2015

When I met the Rockstar of the World of Cigars

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For me who does not smoke any form of tobacco; relates cigars as a style statement of the rich, classy and sophisticated celebrities, big business tycoons and the likes. Talk cigars and my mind draws images from classic English movies where cigar in many conversations lead me to believe the notion 'Cuban for cigars' - Not true. Apparently, not a single Cuban cigar has been rated as the top 5 cigars (Year 2014) of the world.

In an industry (cigars) built on name, recognition and reputation; its really rare to find a man who has attained exceptional heights and built a business empire of $ 30 million which he started out with little if not no knowledge off. His passion for cigars has his business produce 16 million cigars each year, employs 3500 people and owns huge tobacco plantations in Nicaragua and Honduras. What makes it even rarer if not impossible is to find a man who was originally a lawyer and out of passion for cigars set an empire that has grown this massive. 

Rocky Patel, the man and the brand itself are gaining popularity and recognition world-over. Some of his cigars have been consistently rated really high at 90 + out of a 100 by authorities on cigars. End of December 2014 also saw the cigar 'Rocky Patel Royal Toro' bagging the 5th place in the world for the 'Best Cigar of the Year 2014' by Cigar Aficionado.

Travelling around the world for 300 days of a year, Rocky Patel is an advocate of his cigars and believes in giving his customers the experience of meeting the man behind their favorite cigars. Honoring his belief, Rocky Patel was here in Bangalore for an evening of Cigar and single-malt whiskey pairing which was hosted at the Leela Palace by Cigar Conexion - the exclusive importer  and distributor of finest hand made and machine made cigars in India.

Most of the evening was spent interacting with Rocky Patel who not only spoke about how he got started in the Cigar industry but also about the nuances of cigar, art of smoking a cigar and lots more. Ask Rocky Patel what makes his cigars the class apart they are from the rest and he is enthusiastic to share a very details that go into it's making, right from sowing the seeds, harvesting, treating, fermenting tobacco leaves, wrapping, binding all the way to packaging. All through this process, the ingredients and the activities go through rigorous quality control to make each cigar in a box taste exactly like it's supposed to consistently.

For this evening, what was also ensured is that each one of us had more than sufficient supplies of cigars - 'Rocky Patel Vintage 1990' and 'Rocky Patel Decade Cameroon'. Ranked twice among the top 25 cigars of the world, I tried the former which was very smooth right from the first puff and through the duration it lasted that evening. The evening was elegant and involved loads of learning, interactions, food, drinks and most important of all - 'Cigars'.

Over the course of the evening, it was quite interesting to learn how a cigar gets its characteristics. Being a wine-lover, here's how I could relate cigars and wine:

- Like a good wine, a good cigar to can take a long time from soil to a packaged state. In this case, the Rocky Patel cigars took about 5 years.

- Like wines gets its character from the oak barrels they are stored in; likewise a cigar too gets its character through the process of it's making - smoking, heating, fermenting of tobacco leaves.

- Like wines can be made from grape varietals, likewise Rocky Patel cigars are made from various blends of tobacco.

- Like geographic conditions impact the end result of the grapes and ultimately the wine, likewise good tobacco and cigars too are highly dependent on geographic conditions.

The list can go on and this evening has only made me more curious to learn more and also try different cigars. For now, I have a 'Rocky Patel Decade Cameroon' that I carried back home with me to try. 

If you are in India and would like to give cigars a try too or even buy cigars you love, do visit the website of 'Cigar Conexion' where you can purchase either singles or a box based on your need. 

Caution! Smoking tobacco is injurious to health. Smoke Responsibly.

Wish-Dish: Piri Piri Fries @ McDonald's India

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"Each one of us has a favorite dish that keeps us going back to a specific restaurant time and again."

Extending on this statement, it may also be true that you not only love to relish it when you have a chance but also love recommending it to others. I know it for sure, I'd do that and that's exactly what I do in my Wish-Dish segment.

I love french fries and the portions for me always come in a large size. Sharing fries is usually not my preferred choice but then maybe I'm quite considerate. A couple of months ago, passing through a McDonald's drive-thru, I picked up a portion of their newly launched Peri-Peri fries and was hooked on to them in no time not realizing that this was a special promotion and will soon not be available on the regular menu.

Guess what! The Piri Piri fries are back again.

Have you spotted the below hoarding as you drive through the city? I think the hoardings are all around announcing the relaunch of Piri Piri fries in Bangalore. 

Hoarding as I drive by...

I like this campaign #UnshareMyFries as it make me NOT feel bad about not wanting to share my fries. 'Weird english' but then I know you're getting my point. On noticing the hoarding(s), I rushed to the McDonald's outlet to grab my portion of large Piri Piri fries and the rest of the conversation was between the fries and my stomach. 

Piri Piri Fries - This is how they arrive

What I love about these Piri Piri fries is that the Piri Piri powder mix comes in an accompanying sachet along with french fries, a shake shake bag and each one can balance the mixture to their desired taste levels. Your piri piri fries are ready when you've shaken the bag of fries with the accompanying spice mix. 

Shaken or Stirred? Shaken Piri Piri Fries

Another Shot - Piri Piri Fries

Wondering what's Piri Piri? 

Well, it's an African spice mix made from Bird's eye chili. Yes, It's the same Peri Peri spice mix or sauce you might have got your hands on before. Then why 'Piri Piri'? I don't know and I don't care. All I care about is eating these delicious fries.

What are you looking at? Go get you PiriPiri-licious fries from a McDonald's outlet near you.

Price: Pay Rs. 15 and upgrade to Piri Piri fries

PS: I wont share them with you but I might buy them for you.

7 Reasons you should visit Monkey Bar this December

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As I keep hearing my family and friends say, "I only need reasons to visit Monkey Bar." This time, I won’t state why I made a visit again; instead, I'm going to give you 7 enticing reasons on why you should visit Monkey Bar this December:

 1.      Food Festival for the very first time:
All through December and surely for the first time, Monkey Bar is hosting a food festival showcasing the authentic Anglo-Indian food and also something it is famous for - 'A twist to the original'.

At this food festival, on service for lunch and dinner alongside the regular menu is a specially crafted 'Hobson Jobson Festival' menu. 'Yes' it is called 'Hobson Jobson Festival'. With a wide range of mouthwatering appetizers, mains and desserts on offer there are numerous more reasons to visit Monkey Bar this December. Read on...

 2.       Starters:

The regular menu at Monkey Bar is always there, This month however, you could be totally content and fill yourself up on just the starters alone from their festive 'Hobson Jobson Menu'. Here's what I think you should go have on your table when you head to Monkey Bar for the rest of this month:

Chingree Samosas - Prawn Balchao stuffed in flaky puff pastry - Clearly a highlight of my meal. Only wish the samosas were stuffed with more prawns (chunky prawns for a nice bite)

Panthras - Crepes stuffed with aromatic and spicy minced lamb filling

Chickpea and smoked fish Salad - Love fish and mustard? This has got to be on your table.

 3.       Beverages:

The Hobson Jobson menu has 5 new cocktails on the menu and off these I tried two and absolutely loved both of them. Ask me for my pick from the two cocktails and I'll say, "first have The Pink Gin and then the Oddenino's Hot Punch. 'True that', you've got to try both the cocktails and 'no', Hot Punch is not a warm beverage”. I love Angostura bitters and clearly a drink having Angostura will top my list. These 2 cocktails being concocted at their bar are surely a reason enough to visit Monkey Bar this month.

Oddenino's Hot Punch

The Pink Gin 

 4.       Mains:

While starters can fill you up, mains clearly cannot be left behind. You have got to try the famous Anglo-Indian dish called 'Kedgeree' and 'Dak Banglow Murgi Roast'. Kedgeree is a rice based dish with smoked flakes of fish, parsley, ribbons of egg and spices. You love fish? A lot of fish? Visit Monkey Bar and eat the Kedgeree.

Kedegree - Simple flavors; an absolute delight

'Dak Bunglow Murgi Roast' is skewers of lemon-yogurt roasted succulent chicken served with saffron and coconut pilaf. Love the flavor of caramelized onions? The pilaf is loaded with it. Combine it with chicken and mushy peas stuffed in a baked whole tomato and you have another reason to visit Monkey Bar this December.

Dak Bunglow Murgi Roast

 5.       Desserts:

Railway pudding is a very berry dessert and a big hit among diners at Monkey Bar. While this is a reason enough to visit Monkey Bar another strong contender is the ' Brown Bread Butter pudding'; served with a deadly coffee ice cream is a dessert which I personally love more than the 'Railway Pudding'.

Brown Bread Butter Pudding

Railway Pudding

 6.       Breakfirst @ Monkey Bar – Click here

 7.       A day out @ Monkey Bar – Click here

Note - Hobson Jobson Food Festival is on for lunch and dinner all days of the week at Monkey Bar, Wood Street.

Afghani Afternoons @ The Royal Afghan, ITC Hotels - Windsor, Bangalore

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A lot of things have been happening at #ITCHotels #Windsor, Bangalore. There was a Christmas cake mixing celebration, the super successful Afghani Afternoons at The Royal Afghan and also a new menu introduction at the South Indian specialty restaurant - Dakshin. The cake mixing celebration was a fabulous afternoon with Christmas joy spread in the air as if Christmas were tomorrow. I look forward to trying out the new introductions to the Dakshin menu; but for now, I'm all excited to share my experience of another great afternoon spent at ITC Windsor. They call it 'The Afghani Afternoons'.

A specially curated offer for the discerning diner saw a successful and fabulous response in October which had lead to its extension for the month of November and December. What's in store during 'The Afghani Afternoons'; every Saturday and Sunday is unlimited portions of melt in mouth kababs (vegetarian and non-vegetarian) and unlimited beverages which include the lovely Fratelli wine and Kingfisher beer. What better that enjoying all of this by the pool side in this lovely Bangalore weather!

End of November, I rushed to give this promotion a shot for I knew I could eat unlimited portions of my ever favorite Barrah Kabab, succulent chicken malai kabab, lovely chicken sheek, melt in mouth and perfectly spiced lamb sheek; and the list goes on to include a few more kababs from the highly regarded kitchen of The Royal Afghan.

Without saying much, here's me sharing with you a pictorial review of my rendezvous with Afghani food at a specially curated event called 'The Afghani Afternoon'

Mutton Sheek is what I'd naturally prefer but this plate of chicken sheek promised a burst of flavors and what must I say, "It did deliver the promise it showed; in each and every bite." A great start to a lovely Saturday afternoon.

Chicken Sheek Kabab

It was the first time I got my hands on the lamb sheek. It looked sinful and if eating it was a sin, I was all geared to committing it. The sheek was very well flavored with spices that hit the palate with the right notes. The marriage of the spices and the flavor of the meat itself married very well without overpowering the either. 

Lamb Sheek Kabab

Murgh Malai Kabab was down right succulent. It had a very rich texture and flavor coming from heavy cream and hint of coriander being used in its preparation.

Murgh Malai Kabab

Chilled Kingfisher Beer

Lovely Wine to go with the Kababs

My ever favorite is the Barrah kabab. I waited for this deadly plate of meat to arrive. It's Lamb marinated in a mixture of yogurt, various spices, malt vinegar and cooked in red hot embers. A bite into it and I know again that I can make a complete meal of just this one dish.

Barrah Kabab

Now here's the deal - A wonderful afternoon with unlimited kababs and unlimited beer and wine comes at a steal for just Rs. 999 for the vegetarians and Rs. 1499 for non-vegetarians. Taxes and charges extra. With all the delicious kababs served, you will not even see a need for a main course or probably have any space left for deserts.

In my perspective, this is an absolute steal and a food promotion that I highly recommend each one of you to visit while it lasts only till the end of this month. Do note, the Afghani Afternoons are on in ITC Windsor's The Royal Afghan only on Saturday and Sunday for lunch.

Quick Tips:

Go savor unlimited portions of the best North-West Frontier kababs in the company of unlimited wine and beer.

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

Mamagoto - The Fun Asian Dining

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Mamagoto is a Japanese term that essentially translates into 'to play with food'. It is a chain of restaurants spread across many major cities of India. While the food is clearly a success story, the very first thing to grab your attention is the famous yellow door which is a trademark of sorts at Mamagoto. I was recently invited to dine here and I gladly accepted.

At most restaurant (including Mamagoto) a guest is greeted by the staff but here, you are welcomed with the lingering aroma of the Asian herbs which are key ingredients to the Asian Cuisine. This aroma that fills up the air; in no time has you lost to the food fantasy land. With the aroma spread around, it's hard waiting for the food. 

I was recently invited to dine at Mamagoto to experience a wide range of delicacies that are dished out from the 'Fun Asian Kitchen' and also the innovative infused cocktails which again have a lovely Asian touch. We were provided with the menu cards which made one thing clear right away - the food (veg and non-veg) and beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) offering seemed really extensive. Having recently traveled to Thailand and Indonesia, my expectations were high and the flavors and tastes from the trip still lingered in the back of my mind.

With the help of the restaurant staff and our choices too, we started our food-trip which involved a round of Mamagoto special infused cocktails and starters. As we dined, what really worked well was my companion was a hardcore vegetarian and I was all into non-vegetarian. Okay I agree; 'hardcore vegetarian' is an oxymoron. :)

In non-vegetarian it was honey chicken with bell pepper and mild shezwan pepper, hot basil chicken cups and rock shrimp tempura. For me, honey chicken dish was a highlight in the starters and I could stop myself from polishing off the plate. Rock shrimp tempura is a simple preparation and came a close second in terms of the light batter, fresh and perfectly cooked shrimp. I generally like lettuce cups but in this case, I'd have preferred more flavoring in the chicken considering chicken doesn't really have a flavor of its own and usually adapts the flavors of the ingredients.  

Honey Chicken with Bell Peppers & Mild Shezwan Pepper

Rock Shrimp Tempura

Hot Basil Cups (Chicken)

My vegetarian friend called for vegetable basil cups, mixed veg tempura and Makati city discovery. He absolutely loved the light and crunchy mix veg tempura, vegetable basil cups followed and while the rice paper rolls served with a pineapple salsa was nice it was a little too bland for his liking. I didn't get to try the veg basil cups but personally liked the crunchy tempura vegetables and also the rice paper rolls stuffed with veggies.

Vegetable Tempura

Makati City Discovery

We surely needed drinks and decided to call for a couple of infused and signature Mamagoto cocktails. In the drinks what clearly stole the show for us was a Jack Daniel based cocktail called 'Cinnamon Whiskey Story' and two of house infused cocktails; 'Mexican Confusion' - a tequila based drink infused with Kaffir lime leaves and 'Thyme and elder-flower martini' thyme infused gin with an elder flower essence. What really surprised me with Mexican Confusion; and in a good way was though it contained lychee juice the drink was not overridden by the sweetness that lychee normally brings in. As for the martini, it was really smooth and went down the throat really well.

Cinnamon Whiskey Story

Mexican Confusion

Thyme & Elder-flower Martini

For the mains I was pre-decided on 'java grilled fish in red hot sambal salsa' and 'the laksa tribute - prawns' and my dining companion zeroed in on tofu teriyaki meal in a bowl and coal fired egg plant. First the non-vegetarian mains; the fish was a nice big and long fillet coated with the red hot sambal salsa and came wrapped in banana leaf. Steamed to perfection, the fish was soft, flaky and got a nice zing from the sambal salsa. This came portioned with a small mold of sticky rice. Overall the portion was quite generous and good to make for a main course.

There are no two ways - a noodle soup made with coconut milk, lemongrass, galangal, red chillis, prawns and more can have me slurping it off the bowl directly. That's 'the laksa tribute'. Had it not been for the enormous portion, I'd have swept it clean. Yes, even without the fish dish, I'd have easily split this laksa by two and walked out with a filled stomach; happy and content.

In the vegetarian territory, both dishes scored good points but off the two my friend loved the teriyaki meal in a bowl which again was a portion fit for two (not so very hungry souls). It didn't have meat but I still loved the flavors of this dish. It was a bowl full of sticky rice, veggies and teriyaki tofu. A perfect meal in a bowl with equally hearty portion.

With most of the dishes hitting the palate in the right way, we surely had a wonderful lunch and sipped some really good and not so good cocktails. The restaurant is well spread but gets really crowded. Like I mentioned earlier, please do make a reservation before you head here for a meal.

An average meal for two with food and a cocktail each at Mamagoto will cost around Rs. 2500 for plus taxes and charges. The pricing is pretty much standard and you surely will walk out happy and content with the food with out really making a hole in your pocket.

Address: 949, 12th Main HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, Bangalore - 560038
Phone Number: +91 80 4093 7237