KYLIN EXPERIENCE IN CHANDIGARH

Although Chandigarh  has more than its fair share of eateries proffering Asian cuisine, the dishes at Kylin are more than good enough to warrant it sharing a piece of the pie (… or should that be star anise ice -cream?!). All the dishes we tried successfully managed to blend distinctively Oriental flavours with some just a bit Punjabish, resulting in not so authentic but delicious creations that weren’t just the same old standards found elsewhere. You can expect to find Thai, Japanese and Chinese influences on the Kylin menu; we skipped the Live Sushi bar section and instead kicked off proceedings with a deliciously addictive assorted Dimsum basket. Served with a spicy sauce, you’ll find that these gorgeous little morsels disappear from your table very quickly given the chance!

The wok tossed sole with bullet chillies was also impressive; the fish was cooked perfectly and had a beautiful clean taste that anchored the riot of Asian flavours on top. However, the standout dish was the sliced pork in angel pepper sauce; the meat was melt-in-mouth tender, the sauce gloriously rich, dark and sticky, and a final kick of pepper kept us coming back for more. And yes the Kung Pao chicken was spicy, savory and delicious with steamed rice.

Most dishes are priced very reasonably and given the generous serving sizes, are ideal for sharing – prices which seem neatly on par with the surrounding restaurants in the area. Combined with a quietly cool atmosphere and warm and inviting staff, Kylin is a member of the family we definitely want to see more of!

 

Where? - Kylin Experience 312 A, 3rd Floor, Elante Mall Industrial Area Phase 1 Chandigarh

Reservations- +91 9501654007

Timings - 11.30 AM to 12 Midnight

Eat Stay Chill with Rupali & Sailesh (India's first show on YouTube for travel/food/leisure video reviews) ...

Rupali Dean Started this Channel with friend Sailesh Ghelani (Editor of renowned web magazine Minority Review )
Video Review of Marriott Executive Apartments & Renaissance Hotel Powai. 

Eat Stay Chill with Rupali & Sailesh (India's first show on YouTube for travel/food/leisure video reviews) will continue to bring you our unique reviews of hotels, restaurants, leisure spots and interviews with celebrity chefs and more on our journeys of ESCape.

http://youtu.be/B6UIkC5_-SQ

THE WINTER BRUNCH AT K3 @ JW MARRIOTT, AEROCITY

Treat yourself to international flavours and free flowing spirits in style and globe trot across the cuisine map with Cantonese, Tuscan and North Indian kitchens to relish the various specialties at K3 ‘s Winter Sunday Brunch

Those of you who have seen ‘Sex and The City’ would remember the four iconic New Yorker girls got together over brunch to talk about each other’s love lives and whatnots! To me it feels as if the idea of a Sunday brunch has become the metropolitan ritual to hang out over sumptuous food before heading back to work on Monday !The Winter Brunch at JW Marriott's K 3 is one of the most popular brunches in Delhi. And yes, it’s not only for the metropolitan girls, but also for families to have a delightful meal together.

I have friends, who religiously book a brunch deal every Sunday, and I am talking the free-flowing champagne variety, some have their favourites. Others pick a different hotel or restaurant every week. …Last Sunday I visited K 3 and was not let down!

MY BUFFET STRATEGY: I first tour around the space and make a mental note of each station’s highlights so I don’t end up in an ordeal with no space to enjoy the plethora of offerings that far too many never make it to.

THE K 3 BRUNCH EXPERIENCE: This period-perfect all day dining food theatre on the lobby level of JW Marriott Aerocity looks like it could have been here forever ( read because it is buzzing with people) , though it only opened last spring. Executive chef Girish Krishnan’s locally sourced and seasonally adjusted carte which explores a whole gamut of gastronomical delights from all over the world is equally timeless. He’s even more creative at brunch, where the sea food bar featuring Kerala Prawns, Pomfret and other sea food made to order with an array of marinades, is a real treat for fresh catch from the backwaters. His ‘Eat street’ is  fashioned like a bustling street serving authentic street food like Moong Dal Vada, Scrambled Carrot Cakes, and Fritto Misto stays true to the spirit of Delhi.

Specials like steamed Chinese Bao get amply stuffed with more of that gently pulled pork, an over-easy egg and a splash of sweet hoisin. But Krishnan’s knockout punch comes with the courtyard section featuring the back yard barbeque, adopting age-old rustic cooking methods from the far west to conjure up delectable roasts with a choice of meats and vegetables, traditional sauces and accompaniments. And be sure to save room for the dessert station which takes centre stage with an decadent variety of home-made ice creams (my favourite  ...Masala Tea), warm Belgian waffles, brioche pudding, chocolate delicacies and lip smacking freshly baked tarts, cupcakes and Chef Narendra’s ( bakery chef) signature creations……YOU will thank me!

DID YOU KNOW?

The term brunch was first coined in Great Britain in 1895 by writer Guy Beringer who described it as, ‘Instead of England’s early Sunday dinner, a post-church ordeal of heavy meats and savoury pies, why not a new meal, served around noon, that starts with tea or coffee, marmalade and other breakfast fixtures before moving along to the heavier fare? By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday-night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well. Brunch is cheerful, sociable and inciting. It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.’

DAMAGE: The wholesome Sunday Brunch includes three different price options:

Food, unlimited soft beverages& fresh juices (Price- INR 2250++)

Food, soft beverages, unlimited premium spirits and sparkling wine (Price- INR 2750++)

Food + Champagne+ Premium Spirits, soft beverages (Price – INR 3950 ++)

The K3 Sunday Brunch can be enjoyed from: 12.30 p.m. to 3.30 p.m.

For reservations call: 91 11 4521 2121 Extn: 2120

THE PROFESSOR TEACHES A SPECIAL RECIPE THIS DIWALI FROM THE TELLICHERY REGION

Professor Avin Thaliath (Christ University, Bengaluru) teaches us a special recipe this Diwali which is from the Tellichery region using his favorite KitchenAid stand mixer…read on and Happy Baking!

COCONUT AND CARDAMOM CRUMBLE SPONGED IN TELLICHERY CREPE

Coconut and Cardamom Crumble

Butter-100 grams

Coconut grated-100 grams

Cardamom Powder- a pinch

Flour-30 grams

Castor sugar-40 grams

Preparation

Weigh all the ingredients. Pre-heat the oven.  Using KitchenAid paddle

Mix Butter, sugar and coconut in a low speed till it combines itself into a crumble mass. Add in the cardamom powder. Spread it on a baking tray and Bake it in a slow oven. If not in an oven it can be lightly cooked on a nonstick pan. When slightly brown it resembles a crumble. Take it out and cool it on a wire rack. Once cooled powder the crumble and keep it aside.

Saffron Milk

Milk-200 ml

Sugar-30 grams

Saffron –few strands.

Boil the milk with sugar. Once boiled take the pan off from the flame and add in the saffron strands and refrigerate.

Tellichery Crepe

This is called as tellichery crepe, as it is from the tellichery region of Kerala. It has an egg version also. But we are doing an eggless version. Flour used is refined flour which can be substituted using millet or whole wheat flour.

Flour (refined/whole/millet) - 300 Grams

Milk-300 ml

Sugar- 45 Gm

Roasted and powdered Pistachio-to roll the crepe

Rose petal to Garnish

Preparation

Combine Flour, sugar and milk. To see if the  batter is thick lift the batter using a spoon and back side of the spoon if it coats and can write the name using your small finger the batter is good enough to be cooked on a nonstick pan. Using a ladle pour in the batter and cook in on both the sides. Little melted ghee can be spread on individual liking. This recipe will fetch 15 crepes

Assembly

Take the crepes, apply the powdered crumble, and stack one more crepe on the crumble. Roll the crepe tight and place it inside the fridge. Rest it for half an hour. Take the crepe and trim the sides. Roll it in pistachio powder. Pour the saffron milk, place the tellichery crepe and garnish with rose petal.

  

CHEWPAN ASIAN CAFÉ, DELHI

Making Asian food eating fun… a true International concept in India 

Chew is a delicious mix of funky ambience echoed in the exciting walls adorned with the eye-catching black and white Aztec-patterned tiles which have been carefully contrasted with Dholpur stone and cosy seating and interesting Asian elements like pop-colored posters with wooden furniture that includes tables with swings and turquoise blue chairs. 

Coming to the food, the Hot and Sour soup is a must have. I began my culinary sojourn with the Crystal Dimsums, which were absolutely succulent; make a beeline for the Salt & pepper corn water chestnuts, and the pork belly with Teriyaki sauce. Delightfully delicate artistry seen in the handiwork of the chef on the Sushi whets your appetite for more. There are a number of dishes that allow you to sample widely. The mind boggling varieties include delicious wok fried delicacies as meal in a bowl, with your choice of noodles, sticky or steamed rice, and hand tossed Asian Salads. Sea-food has been the downfall of many oriental restaurants in this not so coastal city. Thankfully ‘Chew’ has steered clear of that pitfall. The ‘Steamed fish’ with a choice of sauce is gleaming fresh, and a pleasure to eat, just lightly steamed with a tasty sauce. Tantalizing desserts range from Chocolate Lava cake with ice-cream to the proverbial Tiramisu. Service is exceptional, as is value in these price conscious times. All in all Thumbs Up!

FAST FACTS

Chew Pan Asian Café , First floor, M 16, Outer Circle, Connaught Place, Delhi

Tel: 011 33036614

Meal for two: Approx. INR 1500

Timings: 12:30 pm till 11:30 Pm

published in Statesman

AN OUT OF THE BOX DIWALI RECIPE

We all wait for our Diwali holidays don’t we? I guess it also seems to be the most widely celebrated festival in India. It is a festival of fun, frolic and fizz with family, friends and feast. And when it comes to Diwali Mithai, obviously all the spirit has to be there in abundance. Why not? And serving home cooked Mithai when people come over to wish you is a great idea. This can be a whole lot of fun and extremely easy with KitchenAid appliances! Here is an easy yet out of the box recipe for a Diwali Mithai Enjoy!           

RECIPE BY CHEF APOORVA KUNTE, STARWOOD HOTELS

DUO OF KARANJI

Ananas and coconut, chocolate and cashew nut

Cooking time: 5 mins                                     

Preparation time: 90 mins               

Serves: 8 people

INGREDIENTS:

For the dough:

Refined flour: 500 gms; Semolina: 125 gms; Ghee: 1 tbsp; Water: 200 ml; Salt: ¼ tsp

For the filling:

Ananas and Coconut

Fresh pineapple finely chopped: ½ cup; freshly grated coconut: 1/2 cup; Khoya: 100 gms; Cardamom powder of 2 pods; Fine grain Sugar: 1/4 cup

Chocolate and cashewnut:

Chocolate (dark):100 gms; Condensed milk: 100 gms; Cake crumbs: 40 gms; Cashewnut (roasted and broken):30 gms

For frying: Refined oil

For garnish: Gold/silver leaf, chocolate ganache

METHOD:

1. Take a KitchenAid stand mixer bowl; bring in together the Flour, salt, semolina. Put the bowl on KitchenAid mixer with the dough paddle/dough hook attachment.

2. Start the mixer @medium speed and add water slowly to form dough.

3.  In the mean while the dough is formed, heat the ghee and add into the dough mixture.

4. The dough should not be too soft, so use water in discreet quantities.

5.  Once the dough is formed, take it out of the KitchenAid mixer bowl, plastic wrap and rest for half an hour.

6. After resting, using the pasta roller attachment on the KitchenAid stand mixer, roll it out into a sheet, about 1 cm in thickness.

7.  Using a round cutter (8-10 cm Dia), cut through the sheet to get discs.

8.    Plastic wraps and keep aside in a cool place.

Method for the filling: Ananas and coconut

1.Warm a pan, add the chopped pineapple (I used a KitchenAid food chopper), khoya, coconut and sugar, sauté on a low flame, till the mixture caramelizes. Add the cardamom powder and mix well.

2.  Cool and portion into 20-30 Gms dumplings.

Method for the filling: Chocolate and cashew nut

1. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler.

2. In a bowl, mix the condensed milk, cake crumbs and nuts.Pour the melted chocolate and mix well.

3. Cool the mixture and it would set into fudge, portion in 20-30 Gms dumplings and keep.

Bringing it together

1.  Bring out the earlier cut discs, place the ananas mix/chocolate mix in the centre and fold over to form a crescent shape, dip your fingers in water and line the edges moving the fingers around, make the two edges meet and press to seal, alternately you can also use a fork dipped in flour to press, so as to forma a pattern and seal the edges at the same time.

2. Repeat the same to get 10- 15 karanji’s.

3. Heat oil to a moderate temperature and fry the karanji’s to a golden hue.

4. Drain on a kitchen towel.

5. Garnish with gold leaf, chocolate sauce and serve hot or at room temperature.

TIAN ASIAN CUISINE STUDIO

Tian Asian Cuisine Studio, Delhi, the latest hotspot at ITC Maurya, is well worth a visit, offering ambitious Asian cuisine, made using top quality ingredients. The truly unusual, elegant decor provides the perfect foil to the slightly exotic food. The charming front of the house team completes the picture with its professional and attentive service.

A JOURNEY INTO A NEW DIMENSION OF TASTES

In a wonderful setting at the rooftop, overlooking the terrace garden, the new Asian studio at the ITC Maurya gives free rein to gourmet reverie; and the contemporary and sophisticated décor exudes a peaceful atmosphere.

Chef Vikramjit Roy who helms the restaurant offers a sumptuous and sensual Asian cuisine enhanced by excellent quality produce and stylish presentation. His creations flatter the taste buds and this journey into a new dimension of tastes, is present now, looks at the future but cares about the past.Tian overwhelmed me with dishes of amazing taste, texture, and presentation. The menu on offer is the way to go, offering a gastronomic road trip through the best of Asian cuisine.

Don’t come expecting comfort food: the flavours here may be Asian, but their preparation and presentation are brazenly modern, yet all the flavours have been preserved and enhanced to the utmost. First came one of the most ethereal food experiences I have ever had. This dish was there one minute and gone the next but the flavours lingered and the sheer perfection of the dish will stay with me for a long time. …this was the Amuse Bouche - the ‘Domestic duck liver with truffle candy floss with Cointreau compressed watermelon’! The flavours in the ‘Californian apple salad with betel leaves roasted pine nuts and puffed rice on Chinkiang vinegar reduction’ were amazing. The whole dish was a study in lightness and flavour - it captured exactly what we crave in food; restraint, technical excellence, flavour, lightness and above all deliciousness. Technical wizardry is for nought if the end result doesn’t taste wonderful - this did! Next came the Mushroom soup served as a broth accompanied by a variety of mushrooms and truffle powder. On Chef’s advice I mixed it together and got one of the most amazing renditions of the dish I have ever experienced. The signature Red Duck curry is rich and deeply satisfying, comes with Californian grapes and thread-like slivers of kaffir lime appear alongside as garnishes. Prepare for a standout dessert, which the chef actually creates o your table just like an artist and finish off with aromatic jasmine tea….Aah Bliss!! I would like to add that Tian is reflective of the strong focus ITC Hotels lays on its cuisine Research & Development...a clear enough reason for success of most of its restaurants ( Bukhara & Dumpukht being my favorites).

My job really spoils me and I eat far more amazing food than my waistline can handle, but for me Tian easily gets a top ten spot in my favourite Delhi restaurants list. I will be talking about the food for weeks to come and taking my favourite people here when they visit.

MY FAVOURITES

Soft shell crab infused with peanut glaze

Sichuan style prawns on a bed of guacamole, spiced pineapple, olive miso and smoky Sichuan sauce

Chilean pork spare ribs two ways – barbecued and kochujang glazed

FAST FACTS

Tian Asian Cuisine Studio

Rooftop, ITC Maurya, Diplomatic Enclave, New Delhi

Timings- 7pm until 11: 30 pm

For Reservations: 011 26112233

The 'Bomba Bomba Paella Paella' Song, by the musical group ' Peligro'

Home style Filipino in a fine dining setting.

PHILLIPINES

La Cocina da Tita Moning,

315 San Rafael St., San Miguel, Manila, Luzon, Philippines.

Tel. +632.734.2146/+632.734.2141

www.lacocinadetitamoning.com

Cuisine: Home style Filipino in a fine dining setting.

Cost: A meal for two would cost approx. 6,000 INR excluding alcohol.

Reservations: Strongly advised.

Not a restaurant you are easily going to stumble across, it was fortunate that a local recommended it to me. We virtually drove into someone’s driveway and parked our car in their back garden as this incredibly unique eatery is set up in the heritage house of a Filipino Doctor and his wife.

Their granddaughter Suzette Montinola runs the place now. I fell in love with the format, a sit-down welcome alongside a refreshing lemongrass tea to have the menu explained, followed by a tour of the ancestral house built in 1936, with well-preserved original structures, furniture and fixtures and even the lifestyle and hobbies of the doctor during the American and Spanish era. It was interesting to see old cameras, a quaint library, an old clinic replete with a human skeleton and an old X-ray machine. The radio room was used by the owner to communicate with his relatives abroad was my favourite.

Coming to the food, the table setting is regal and elegant. Being an exclusive place, it’s popular for private business meetings and family gatherings. The background music is very relaxing, playing the oldies…a total package of the Bygone era. And no surprise, the place offers sumptuous Neo-Filipino, Spanish dishes. The warm and creamy potato-leek soup is incredible. Followed by their traditional Filipino dishes of chicken relleno, braised lamb shank, lengua cooked in white wine and whole baked lapu-lapu.The paella is to die for. The polvorones with fresh mango and ice cream is a decadent concoction of two beloved Filipino dessert favourites while their quezo de bola cheesecake is one of the best I have ever eaten. The servers wear the traditional Filipina patadyong and kimono. Dining here is truly an experience not to be missed.

published in India Today Travel Plus

THE PERFECT WEDDING GIFT….THE VERSATILE KITCHENAID STAND MIXER….

Though the traditional bridal registry has been around for years, the needs of modern brides have evolved beyond just the standard formal, fine china….the iconic KitchenAid stand mixer that comes with attachments for every imaginable task including  pasta making, cheese shredding, sausage stuffing etc. it is the ultimate kitchen tool available in eight exciting colours in India and is the hottest new wedding gift as one wants to fill one’s home with pieces that are an expression of their own style, just like building one’s own wardrobe…..

DID YOU KNOW?

The KitchenAid Stand Mixer is expertly hand assembled in Greenville, Ohio, home of KitchenAid since 1919.

A NOSTALGIC CONNECT

Brides to be lust after and look forward to get past the wedding so they can spend more time with the love of their life: a shiny, colour of their choice KitchenAid stand mixer. Like many brides of generations past and present, most brides put the iconic mixer atop their gift registry abroad.

For girls who grew up watching their grandmothers or mothers make homemade meringue and bread, the KitchenAid mixer is just as much a symbol of nostalgia as it is a kitchen tool to be passed down through the generations. These brides say the best thing about getting married; besides falling in love is finally being able to satisfy their thirst for nostalgia and adorn their countertops with this wedding present. Sample this, the mixer enthusiast’s devotion runs so much so from naming the appliance and working it into divorce agreements, to getting a tattoo and taking it with her to the grave. Today, many to be married couples are mixing different styles; incorporating both casual and formal elements to create an environment that they love to come home to and Wedding registry gifts a timeless trend is catching up in India as well as what could be a better way  for your loved ones to honour a milestone in their life. Simply put, this is the greatest indispensable appliance of all time and it will last forever like a good marriage one hopes for!

TIP

For a more creative and personal touch a good idea is to include some family recipes with the stand mixer gift.

  

WHAT MAKES IT TICK?

The mixer has had a long time following and continues to be a coveted wedding gift, according to wedding industry experts. Owing to the fact that not only is it a very useful tool to have, but it comes in fun colours. Even people who don’t cook all that much want the KitchenAid to stand proudly on their counter and accessorize their kitchen. In India KitchenAid offers the mixer in colours such as Tangerine, Raspberry Ice, Candy Apple, Onyx Black etc. The most popular colour for newly married couples, however, is the Empire Red. One of the newest improvements to the KitchenAid stand mixer is their sturdiest wire whip yet. Unlike the dough hook and paddle attachments, the whip have several different parts affixed together, making it the part that takes the most abuse literally. When the couple already has the mixer, the pasta roller attachment is phenomenal for making fresh pasta a regular event rather than a special chore. Other attachments include the ice cream maker, a meat grinder, and a citrus juicer. Known as the workhorse and the ‘John Deere of the kitchen’, the appliance is valued by most users because it makes cooking easy and fun. It saves the hands so much time to continue prepping other ingredients as one need not stand and watch as things mix together. Basically this decadently versatile stand mixer is a smaller version of commercial-size models; and is designed with enough power and capacity to prepare large batches of cake batter or cookie dough without compromising one the kitchen counter space. ‘Food should be fun’ as Thomas Keller once said and the KitchenAid Stand mixer just does that…. as the KitchenAid mixer can turn any novice to a bonafide chef. Happy Cooking on that note!

FUN FACT

The KitchenAid mixer company got its name when the founder of KitchenAid Herbert Johnson gave the wives of the executives at his company a prototype model and one of the exclaimed, ‘I don’t care what you call it, but I know it’s the best kitchen aid I’ve ever had!’

THE CHEMISTRY

Retro styled and easy to use, the KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer is the perfect kitchen companion. Employing a unique tilting head to facilitate bowl and content removal, this mixer is undeniably handy

THE BIOLOGY

The Planetary action allows attachments to spin independently while making continual rotations around the bowl for thorough mixing. Ten speeds range from very slow stirring to very high beating. Head tilts for easy removal of work bowl and beaters. Has a Power hub for use with optional attachments. 5-qt. stainless-steel bowl locks to base and Includes flat beater, dough hook, wire whip and pouring shield.

  

A BRAND NEW MAGICAL & MUSICAL FANTASY FOR LITTLE CHILDREN AT KINGDOM OF DREAMS

Adapted for stage from a story by Roald Dahl the magical musical set in a mad wonderland is completely bewitching for little children ..

This magical musical fantasy ‘Wizwits’ is the third and latest production from the House of Kingdom of Dreams and marked their 4th anniversary last Tuesday. Scripted and directed by well-known theatre personality Lushin Dubey and Bubbles Sabharwal an ample dose of song and dance in this musical drama comes with the social message –‘victory of good over evil’.

ROUGH AN EDGE OF THE SEAT ROLLER COASTER RIDE

Staged at their newly opened venue, ‘ShowShaa’, a 250-space auditorium, the audience transports into a wonderland as fantasy is recreated. So replete with LED backdrop walls, side wings, LED framed walls that transform the entire ambience into different settings the show begins. At the Poo Poo Hotel, a strange place where each object springs to life at just one touch is where the story begins. Characters are as interesting as the ‘piano man’ who plays by itself, the 'lady vase’ whose arms are always in motion and affable receptionists ‘Mr. Kake and his wife Sunita’. Under the very same roof, the scary Wizards and Witches (the Wizwits) are holding their annual convention. And it is the same time when a mother arrives at the hotel with a group of children. These bat winged creatures hatch a bizarre plan to destroy children all over the world by feeding them poisoned chocolates and turning them into mice! But a few children with the help of the hotel owners overpower these witches and kill them. And they also change the mice into children again by pouring a magic potion they had snatched from the witches into a drum, along with the mice. In the end Good wins over Evil! What I loved most about the show is the juxtaposed western elements with everyday Indian sentiments, for example the peppy number ‘Who Let the Dog's Out’ for the witches on one hand and the mother of the children in the play dons the garb of a Delhi woman - loud and stylish on the other and all through fun & frolic, song and dance, keeps the little children glued to their seats!

FAST FACTS

Wizwits will be played at ‘ShowShaa Theatre’ at the Kingdom of Dreams from Tuesday to Friday at 6:00pm and Saturday and Sunday at 12:30pm and 6:00pm each on weekends.

If you are an adult you may prefer the ‘Zangoora’ or ‘Jhumroo’ but if you are a parent of a 5 to 6 year old child, you would enjoy the show too as it would bring out the child in you when you see yours totally involved.

AABAR KHABO (meaning it's so good that you would eat it again)

The Bengali’s love for food is legendary and at Amaranta, the new address for quintessential Bengali cuisine from the 5^th Until the 21^st September is all set to offer the ‘true taste of Bengal’, right here in the Capital

A beautiful panoramic view of a serene water body is bound to making dining here an experience of a lifetime. Amaranta means ‘Unfading’ or ‘a flower that never fades’ in Greek, and truly lives up to its name by following its culinary philosophy of everlasting freshness. On offer is a celebration of India’s varied coastal cuisine. For epicureans this is a restaurant not to be missed and for those new to Coastal cuisine, there is no better introduction with superb service and ambience to match. Staying true to its coastal roots this time round Amaranta is showcasing a special menu of authentic delicacies inspired by the subtle flavours from the courts of the Nawabs of Bengal to its riotous counterparts found on Park Street. The menu has been curated by Chef Gopal, the Bengali Master Chef at Amaranta & Chef Sirajul, a specialist in Bengali Muslim food with a cooking experience of over 19 years from Kolkata.

An enticing invitation to indulgence where one is spoilt for choice with the aroma of nostalgia wafting through the menu. The various Bengali dishes on the menu, synonymous with the varied and rich food-culture are an attempt to diversify typical, mouth-watering Bengali delicacies. Tickle your taste buds with the delicious appetizer, ‘Chingri Kabiraji’ jumbo prawn cutlets with an egg drop batter, or the delicious ‘Fish cutlet’ an age-old Bengali delicacy of fish pauppietes stuffed with shrimps and fried. Start your meal with ‘Kolkata street box’, a mixed bong bento box of street food delicacies like ghugni, phucka and more.

Try the prawns especially the eternal favourite ‘Dab Chingri’ prawns tempered with mustard and cooked inside a tender coconut. Contrary to popular belief Bengali cuisine also has much to offer to vegetarians, and especially so at this promotion. There are ambrosial dishes out of the often times rejected peels, stalks and leaves of vegetables! The ‘Mochar Ghonto’ stir fry of banana flower, coconut and new potato, and ‘Jhinga aloo posto’ Ridge gourd in a khus khus gravy are a must try. The Bengali Mishthi has carved a valuable niche among the sweet-lovers across the globe…so a piece on Bengali, food and eating wouldn’t be complete without a mention of a couple of the fabulous Bengali sweets on offer here like the ‘Sandesh Platter’, ‘ Rosogulla’,  ‘Cham cham’ to name a few… I would say share your desserts as all are gratifying!

FAST FACTS

Amaranta is at The Oberoi, Gurgaon

Timings: It serves lunch from 1230 hours to 1500 hours and dinner from 1930 hours to 0000 hours. The restaurant serves an A La carte menu for both lunch & dinner.

For Reservations: 0124 2451234

Restaurant of Joy festival is on from the 5th to 21st September 2014.

BLEND A CONFIT...PADDLE A CAKE MIX

ORANGE ALMOND CAKE

Recipe by Chef Lokesh Swami, Pastry Chef Double Tree By Hilton, Gurgaon

INGREDIENTS

Fresh orange: 800gms; Butter: 400gms; Flour: 300gms; Almond powder: 200gms; Corn flour: 80gms; Heavy cream: 150ml; Baking powder: 10gms; Baking soda: 5gm; Eggs: 5nos; Grain sugar: 500gms; Castor sugar: 200gms; Brown sugar: 100 gms; Honey: 80ml; Whole almonds for garnish on top

METHOD

Boil English oranges with skin in 1 liter of water for 10min. Drain the oranges and again boil them for 30min on slow flame with 500gms grain sugar and 1 liter of water. Drain out the water and roughly chop oranges with skin and remove all the seeds.

Using the KitchenAid cordless hand blender make a smooth paste of the cooked orange confit.

In the KitchenAid stand mixer cream butter and castor sugar using the paddle attachment till it’s light and fluffy. Add the above orange confit and cream again.

Whip eggs with brown sugar and add to the above mixture followed by warm honey and heavy cream. Fold in all the remaining dry ingredients and pour the mix in a cake mould.

Garnish it with chop or sliced almonds and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180® for 45 – 60 min. Poke the cake from center with a knife and if it comes out clean means the cake is done. Demould and let it cool for an hour then glaze it with little warm honey.