B(r)eef Encounter

Many of us know that in India, Beef as a meat is not a popular choice and it is restricted to a particular section of the society. Kolkata has never been a snooty city when it comes to the availablity of different meat, be it red or white. The quality of beef that you get here is superior and most of the five star hotels source the beef locally. Being a part of history, the city is often visited by tourists from the foreign land and some of them are associated with NGO's and spend three to four months in the city. Therefore, there is definitely scope for restaurants to offer exquisite beef dishes as there is a ready market for them.

This time around I thought of visiting few restaurants and taste the beef preparations on offer. It was difficult to decide on the four places I should go and the reasons for it. My first option was Swissotel for one reason that being an international chain of star hotels it would be getting sizeable number of foreign tourist as well as a lot of business travellers as its located in the corporate hub. My point of contact at the hotel was my friend Supreeta, who is now the marcomm manager. She took me to Cafe Swiss, one of the F&B outlet of the hotel. After covering a distance of close to 15kms approx which is a lot by Kolkata standards, the ambience had a very soothing effect on me. I met the chef and asked couple of quick questions about the dish and there it was, the Blasmic Glazed Beef Steak served with confit vegetables and a savoury. The best part about this dish was its appearance. It was colourful and good-to-see-you kind of appeal to it. The taste of course was as per my expectation but the only problem was that I ordered it well-done whereas steak gives out the juicy flavours when cooked medium or medium to well-done.

Next on my list was Floatel. The only hotel in the country which is on a river. Here I got a chance to learn something about a new cuisine referred as Colonial cuisine. As the name suggests, its the culinanary legacy followed by the yesteryear army men in British India. Some of the wierd names on the  menu was Baked Fish Patricia Memsaab and Mr. Brown's Ball Curry. Here I got to try Steak Major Cunningham which was a medium done steak served with braised vegetables and bread rolls. It was just up to the mark and certainly    a must try for everyone who would like to try beef.

My culinary journey to try the Beef dishes was still looking out for that gratifying experience that a food lover experiences after a perfect meal. I headed to Mocambo- yes 'the' Mocambo. For those who do not know yet, it is amog those restaurants in Kolkata where you have to wait for your table even on a monday night. They had recently introduced Irish Chateaubriand Beef Steak, made in garlic butter. This time around, I felt crest fallen with the taste and presentation of the dish, it was just average and there was nothing phaata-phaati (amazing in bengali) about it. The worst part is since its a popular retaurant, the staffs are extremy snobbish and lack warmth that a hospitality professional should posses.

Moving on further, one of my friend advised me to go to The Bridge at The Park and try out what they had to offer in beef. After the Mocambo-( this time Mocambo khush nahi hua) I went for a quick lunch and tried the Beef Roulade. Tender, luscious, balanced and beautiful looking dish, this dish came for the rescue after my immediate past experience. It was a beef rolled in with spinach and chicken sausage served with braised vegetables and mushroom sauce.

Many a people avoid eating beef thinking that it's not suitable in Indian weather conditions but it's NOT true. Just avoid excessive beef intake and you are sorted. Hope next time you are in Kolkata you now know where to head for some good beef. And if you are person with good appetite, please go to Mocambo, you will get free attitude with the food and you will be convinced to believe that you have been lucky to taste their salt. Signing off :)

EN-CAGE-MENT PARTY ;)

Finally the day has come for which, I believe, I started writing blogs, or to exaggerate a bit, I shall say I was born to write this blogpost. It was my friend's engagement. If you have been reading my posts in the past, I did mention about this BWOY who has a say in everything and a comment for everyone. FINALLY the side changed, HEEE HAAAAA HAAAA HAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

This friend of mine is a cool guy and a very very very close buddy. A week before his engagements he called me to SURPRISE me with the good news. I was happy for him, really happy. I also know for the fact that he is a bit modest when it cames to the grandeur of his lifestyle and party. Somewhere I knew ' ki bhai uska engaegement aur CHHOTI party'  hard to digest. As usual I entered the party late but and was please to see my guesswork was right. It was a very good party, full of smart and sophisticated people, well-dressed, clean shaven, spik & span. The Marwari image ( with all due respect, Marwari community was more into traditional attires and always has the desi flavour intact) in my mind started to deform. I was standing at an angle and looking at my friend, getting philosophical about how time changes and blah blah blahh!!!!

Then I finally went upto him and congratulated the young lucky couple. My friend was very very nervous, especially with me entering into his territory. He had no escape this time but I somewhere took a 2 hour oath that I would not be the leg puller. I met his famly members and then it was time to dig in. But then I thought lets take a walk and see if I can get some stuff to share for my blog ;)

While I was walking a young girl, of my age, bumped into me by mistake and then politely said a sorry. Her politness ridiculed me to the point that I wanted to tell her sorry that she had to say sorry to me...The hostesses added to the beauty of the party. They were as glamorous as any pretty model. And then the DEFORMATION OF THE IMAGE SCREETHED TO A HALT. I noticed an old uncle in dhoti kurta staring at me and for once I thought I would say 'MY NAME IS IQBAL AND I AM NOT A TERRORIST'. But then I noticed that he was waiting for his food which was being served to him by one of the beautiful hostesses.

Enough of observing and it was time to EAT. But aadat se majboor I was a bit attentive. Soft achari & malai paneer tikka bar-b-qued live in winter time was the best starter to begin with. The panner cubes were well-grilled and served with chaat masala and mint chutney. I proceeded to the oriental salad counter and in transition I overheard a gentleman discussing the share market and hence the desi flavour which I thought was missing was very much intact within the tailor-made suits.

It was now time for some pasta followed by Gehu ka khichda, Bikaneri Pulao, Papad & paneer ki sabzi. While taking food from the buffet counter, when the waiter was serving to pretty lady in her late 40's, the aunty said' bas kijiye bhaiyya, dubaara aakar lenge'.The sweet ending included a chhena wrapped with orange fillings (which was one of its kind and one of the amzaing fusion sweets I have eaten in recent times), hot chocolate brownie with ice- cream and strawberry gateaux.

But the wonderfully amazing item was a very very unsual sweet starter which was basically froth of milk shake garnished with pistachios and nuts. Something out of the world, incredibly yummy and light as anything.

It was time to say good bye and head home. My friend was as nervous as he was when I entered the party. I remember asking him who chose his Sherwani and he answered me the price of it. However am extremely happy for the man :) as he heads to the road more travelled.

31st nite dine out!

Far from the madenning crowd (not very far though) , thought of spending my 31st with a perfect dinner. Wanted to go to restaurant which I did not try tilll date and again used our good 'ol Google to help me out of this fix. After navigating, I zeroed down to a new Indian restaurant in south Kolkata. There was many pointers before I could have dedided where to head, most important of which was 'NO WAITING'. It is often experienced that restaurant where one has towait in long ques, ends up in a not so good dining experience,especially  in terms of taste of food.

Being a very finacky customer, I want 1000% customer satisfaction, especially when it comes to dining out,as its all about a good experience & not only good food. We entered this restaurant, which looked good and suttle, around 70 seater I presume. We entered and we see this middle-aged man heading towards us and greeting with a smile. Sophistication was the last word you can use for the gentlemen, he was too direct, funny, intially dumb but not so dumb and interesting character. We started placing our order with 1 full chicken tandoori, proceeding to 1 full chicken bharta and 5 tandoori rotis. I was unsure if this would suffice and ask my friend & wife if they would like some paneer, and then started the fun journey of this man-His first move - while we were thinking whether to order matar paneer or not, this guy takes the menu card from my hand saying 'chhoriye paneer kya khaiyega'. I was little confused with this gesture but laughed it off.

Second Move- The table beside us ordered something similar to us and he replied ' ek hi plate tha, unhone le liya'. As if he was talking about some goods and saying - last piece tha maadam, khatam ho gaya. From here started the journey where a ate and laughed more.

The funny thing about this man was that WHOEVER  calls him to order food, without even listening to what they want, he only suggests ' Chicken Biryani and Chicken Kassa Khaiye', which i found wiered but after sometime when young guys entered for a late dinner and got the same suggestion which they denied, they were told that this is the only dish left. After 'forced' food order these guys proceeded to washroom, which went unnoticed by the other staffs and security. After few minutes, thy guy carrying their food saw an empty table and trust me guys, I have NEVER seen a waiter so tensed & shocked EVER in my life. He started searching for them and asked the security guy 'Kaha gaye yelog'. For a moment I though he was given some task in a reality show which will determine his fate in the show. He was so frantic that he did not even noticed the guests' helmet on the chair, which finally gave him assurance that  his task will not go in vain.

It was time to leave and go for the dessert to some good coffee shop after, ofcourse, a drive to Park Street. The gentlemen came and asked our opinion about the food and then he said ' Kal din mein kya kar rahe hain aaplog, come for lunch and you get 1 biryani free on ordering 1'. Now i understood that all his over-friendly gesture and interaction was to build guest relation and somewhere I was impressed with his attitude and the way he interacted with others.

Jo bhi hai, sorry to wish so late but wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year.

Meat ke Gole, Dil bole, Ole Ole!!!

If you are a hardcore carnivorous  human ( that's how I would like to refer the bhai bhandu  who is into meat eating, with all due respect, of course) , you would certainly get a fair idea of what am gonna talk about today.

The minced meat, grinded and given a ball shape then fried & presented with a gravy base, the good 'ol Kofta  has been one of my favourite non-veg delicacies. There are different versions to it and it is cooked in different styles. In middle-eastern countries (where is is popularly known as Kefta Kebab) its skewered in seekh  and then roasted on tandoor. Trust me, when you see it being cooked that way, I can vouch that har mard ko dard hota hoga ;)

In our country, its simply fried before being placed in a gravy or just allowed to cook along with the gravy. The taste of course varies. One of my favourite kind is nargisi kofta, which I first had when I was 9 years of age and was in Lucknow for my brother's marriage.  As you dig into it, you find that the kofta has been stuffed with boiled eggs- minus the yolk. Its heavenly delicious when eaten with butter laden nan/tandoori roti. Oh what a lovely time it was, chill winter hot food and the feel of being in place from where we have got some of the best food (including biryani).

Today evening, rather 15 minutes back, I got a hunger call and was desperately scanning the refrigerator for something to gorge on. Then I noticed the two beautiful pieces of meat pearl kept in a side. This was sent by a friend on the eve of Xmas. She's a Christian by faith and was sweet enough to get some yumm fruit cake and box of kofta made by her father.

Just finished having it and realized that till date no matter how many times I have eaten Kofta, it always differ from one household to another. Some times, the gravy differs, at times the texture and most of the times the shape and size.

But winter time you just cannot say no to Kofta. Till date I have never eaten something like 'Moti Biryani' which one can find on the menu of Amber, Near Paradise Cinema. For sure it is among the top restaurant in Kolkata serving Indian food. The place has very much retained its old world charm.  'Moti Biryani'  is nothing but birayni dish without the aloo ,and instead of a chunk of meat, you find no. of small pieces of Kofta.

Coming back to my kofta snack break, it is certainly one of the popular non-veg dishes one can try . To sum it up. i would say, Meat ke Gole, Dil bole, Ole Ole!!!

                                                    

At ease with Lebanese

My first tryst with Shawarma was way back in 2006. It was my birthday and my friends and I had gone to burrp at The Forum mall for our evening of nashta paani! There I saw a gigantic chunk of chicken vertically skewered on a grill staring at me. I had been open to trying new dishes and this one was a must. I went ahead and and asked about the dish, the word lebanese was so mouth watering when jointly said with the word 'food' that I could not say no.

Few minutes later, there it was, grilled chicken wrapped in pita bread and stuffed with garlic sauce and pickles. From that day, Shawarma for me was a compulsory food to eat whenever I visited the mall.

FAST FORWARD>>> 2011, its Bangkok Time. Yes, I was elated and excited for my very fist phoren trip. Google was my best friend those days advising me on what to do and also what to do that one should not do :D ;) ....

Once in Thailand, I was excited to see the roads, bikes, buildings. I was truly in the metropolis of Thailand. From TV shows and Google, I knew that street food culture was an important part of the thai gastronomy and I was all ready to dig into the new food experiences.

My major concerns was that I did wanted to eat where pork was being served, precisely for three reasons:

1- Pork is haram in Islam
2- The thai people  were not very good  at understanding English (Not generalising, simply based on personal experience) and there was a fair chance for them to make mistake. (An incident happened with my friend where an international burger chain served him beef when he asked for chicken, so there was no reason for me to take chance)
3- They would use the same grill/oil/utensils to prepare chicken and pork which was a strict no no for me.

So my only way out from this difficult situation was Arab Street. What energy that place had. People form different countries, mostly middle east, running superb food joints. I headed straight to a shop and there i see the Shawarma, this there was a beef option.

It was 4 PM and I was hungry. I wasted no time after shawarma was served and the taste was so different, so good, so delicious. I noticed that before serving shawarma, the cook use to press the shawarma in a sandwich toaster which gave a crispy crust to the roll and the filling this time included pickle, jalapenos , garlic sauce and lettuce. all this for 60 Baht. I tried to eat at different shop everytime I went for my meals. Once to an Egyptian, then to a Syrian, then to someone from some other middle eastern country.

For rest of my 5 days in Bangkok, I lived on shawarma, eating two at a time and thrice a day.

Surely, I was at ease with Lebanese!

Dahi Chicken- Forgotten Spice, taste with no compromise

Winter makes you lazy ,winter makes you fat...In the past 6 months I have gained a whopping 10kgs. Whoever meets me these days, quotes with all excitement ' you have gained, a sign of prosperity it seems,' and I looking at them with fake-pale smile reply ' I think its a sign of laziness'. With the onset of winter am lil scared, cannot afford to gain more weight and cannot wait to try the winter victuals.

'aaj mere yaar ki shaadi hai'  was my song for the day. A dear friend got married to his college sweetheart. What a glorious Marwari wedding it was. Long rituals, traditional dresses and men dressed in formals and pagdis. For once I thought I was on the set of a Sooraj Barjatya film. Giving me company was Raghu Rai (aka Raghav - he got the former name as he has an advice for everyone). 

Ek taraf Dost ki Varmala, dusre taraf the bride side was getting in emtional mode, we were confused which way to go...then Aamir style yaad aya...bola yaar chocolate shake pe concentrate karo...then came the sweet corn soup with mini buns, followed by fresh cream with grapes, paneer shashlik, crispy babycorns, pineapple pastry, dal makhani, shahi matar, aur yaad nahi yaaarrrrrr!!!

Now it was time to wish my friend good luck and head straight to home...Few hours after I reached home....I started feeling hungry again as I am not an early eater and since all the food splurging happened between 6-9 pm, I was hungry again. It was 2:15, and I was HUNGRY. Opened my refrigerator and I found a bowl of Dahi Chicken which I fondly call Chicken Dilfarezi.

Few years back, my elder sis in law was making dinner for us. She's a champ when it comes to cooking good Indian/Mughlai food. But that very day, before the dinner hours she was silent and tensed. I did not even realized that she was nervous till the time we all sat for dinner. I, in all excitement uncovered the lid of the dish and was delighted to see the orange spice laden chicken ogling at me. I started searching for my favourite piece and there it was, a soft juicy tender breast piece hidden under few legs and wings pieces.

I started digging in and it was NOT the usual Dahi Chicken...it was wieredly different and incredibly tasty...I looked at my sis in law and saw the same expression on her face. She finally admitted that while cooking the dahi chicken she forgot to put one of the most important ingredients of the dish. I was like...........

From that very day, the forgotten spice version of Dahi chicken was renamed as the Chicken Dilfarezi as it touched my heart....Its a dish with forgotten spice but tasted without any compromise!!!!

BTW, if you can guess the spice which was not used and is one of the most important ingredients, you will be set for a treat of Chick Dil ;)