As you get down from Moolchand metro station, two shops greet with almost equal fervour- Moolchand ke paranthe and Sanjay Chur chur naan. And because you have a better idea about what a paratha is, you prefer the paratha. And it is not just you, the crowd swarms over the parantha shop.
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Thursday, 9 June 2016
Tuesday, 28 July 2015
Restaurant Review: Wendy's, Sector 29, Gurgaon
Restaurant- Wendy's
Cuisine- Fast food/ American
Contact-
Shop- 19, Leisure Valley road, Sector 29
8800492515
With hoardings all over Gurgaon, it was difficult to not visit Wendy's at least once. Sector 29 market is a nice locality with loads of options for all kinds of foodies. The market lights up in the evenings and parking is almost full always. It is a good option to park your vehicle in the facility outside the market, near the park. The walk from there to the restaurant might even help with the appetite.
I had heard enough about Wendy's through popular media and American shows and had always wondered what was so special about it. One evening, I decided to give it a try and the following is an account of my experience-
As you enter the restaurant, you are directed toward the counter with a giant menu. It is a good arrangement as it streamlines the whole experience. You enter, you order, pick a token, pick a table and then you are served. The staff is friendly and unobtrusive.
The decor would get a complete 10/10 from my side. The pickle jars are arranged tastefully to give very friendly picture. The lighting is also dim and suits the dinner mood. Cleanliness is top notch and the service system is efficient.
Coming to the food, there are equal options for non vegetarians and vegetarians; and Baconator is seemingly their trademark burger- the double bacon, cheeseburger.
I decided to order a Jr Chicken burger meal.
The burger came with yellow buns and a large amount of fries. The cola drink was also served in a pretty tall glass. The main dish- the burger was nice and juicy. The pickles inside created an interesting mix of flavours and texture. The patty was thick enough and the bun was soft and crumbled easily. The fries were more than sufficient, thick and took the spotlight away from the burger. It was difficult to finish the cola drink as it was too much and I felt like I was snacking unhealthy. I would rate the food experience 8/10.
Would recommend.
Thursday, 16 July 2015
An emotional post about Samosa
As a kid, I was introduced to samosas by my Grandpa. Samosas were the companions to the squiggly jalebis and were eaten on Sunday mornings for breakfast. Samosa slowly became my wake up call for Sunday mornings as in- "Wake up! Samosas are here!"
Now what did I love so much about this triangular Indian snack? (I will slap anyone who says samosas are not Indian but an import. We have internalized samosas like no other country). In my early days, my tongue was not ready for the chilly that the potatoes inside the samosa hid between their crevices. Those round potato bits not mashed perfectly just to give you a wholesome feel. Those chunks would roll off along with the peas as you would break open the crispy corner of a piping hot samosa- they did have a story to tell. It was the story of how food makes us adventurous.
No one in their right mind would binge-eat samosas. They are dangerous, they go into your stomach and heat it up like a furnace. It is like shoving chilies down your throat, only more exciting and tastier.
A samosa can be eaten in multiple ways. The way you treat a samosa shows a lot about your character. If you are an aggressive, passionate person, you would just dunk the samosa in chutney and shove it down your mouth. Someone who is more discreet would just peel off the cover and eat it while leaving the inner masala. Personally, I think it is safe but also horrible. No samosa deserves to be stripped naked and abandoned. Not even the South Indian Samosa which cheats with its Dosa infested flavour.
Some people savour the crispy exterior and offer the masala to their companions. I think it is the most humane way you can reject a samosa and I really appreciate the gesture- nevermind the mouth ulcers that you give the other person in the process.
Some people break off a chunk of the samosa and eat it tastefully- showing how it is done. The crumbs falling on the plate can be picked up by the masala that your chunk holds- not wasting any bit. This is the classiest way to eat a samosa. Well, one of the classiest ways actually. Samosa being the fire-in-the-mouth that it is, needs a companion and although the green and red chutneys do a handsome job, nothing accompanies a hot samosa better than some ice-cold curd. The curd somehow mixes with the spicy masala and creates a whole new sweet-tangy flavour. It is an assault on the the taste buds which brings nothing but delight.
Samosa is not just about the chilly or the potatoes though. It also has a hint of sour coming from aamchur powder which most people neglect. That sourness is actually the mysterious factor that makes the whole thing so addictive. The lack of ability to bring out the sourness is the reason why chefs and halwais in some parts of India just cannot whip up a good samosa. The South Indian samosa for example is an abomination. It is filled with masala from masala dosa and isn't event that crispy. The samosas sold at Cafe Coffee Day restaurants also fails to grasp the philosophy behind this delectable dish. You cannot just fill it with chunks of potato and let the microwave oven cook it for you. You have to deep fry it and make it like an arsonist makes fire. The cover of the samosa is not just to wrap it or pack it. It is the first act. It sets the stage. The CCD samosas have a thick, chewy cover. You cannot make it chewy. It has to be the right thickness and consistency.
If a person bites into a samosa and the deepest he can dig brings him no potatoes, it is no samosa, sir. A real samosa doesn't feel likes pizza. The only way you know you are eating a samosa is when you know that you will wake up with pimples the next morning. The Rajasthani counterpart comes quite close to it. It has the potatoes, it is larger than usual and its cover is crispy too. The only problem is, it just isn't sour enough. It is a close cousin to the tastiest samosa but, not quite there.
Some halwais do the mistake of adding too many raisins and dry fruits in there. It is like adding balloons and confetti in your bomb. But yes, a raisin or two inside it surely are needed. They work as good exclamation points.
In cases of samosa, you actually don't want to go too big. Mathura and the region around it has a good hold over the proper samosa size. They are not too large to kill your appetite and neither too small to just serve as disappointments. They serve it with an aloo sabzi (gravy) though and it sort of takes away the focus from the samosa. Also the locus of the sourness is situated out of the samosa which is cool with me but, I'd rather have my favourite samosa with no side dishes.
The mark of a good samosa is that it tastes good even when eaten cold. Sometimes a cold samosa out of the fridge with some curd is pure bliss.
On a side note, I would like to mention that the Southern part of India has been murdering one more dish which is the golgappas. They put hot peas and chholas inside the puris! One- that makes no sense, two- stop doing that!
Until next time!
Now what did I love so much about this triangular Indian snack? (I will slap anyone who says samosas are not Indian but an import. We have internalized samosas like no other country). In my early days, my tongue was not ready for the chilly that the potatoes inside the samosa hid between their crevices. Those round potato bits not mashed perfectly just to give you a wholesome feel. Those chunks would roll off along with the peas as you would break open the crispy corner of a piping hot samosa- they did have a story to tell. It was the story of how food makes us adventurous.
No one in their right mind would binge-eat samosas. They are dangerous, they go into your stomach and heat it up like a furnace. It is like shoving chilies down your throat, only more exciting and tastier.
A samosa can be eaten in multiple ways. The way you treat a samosa shows a lot about your character. If you are an aggressive, passionate person, you would just dunk the samosa in chutney and shove it down your mouth. Someone who is more discreet would just peel off the cover and eat it while leaving the inner masala. Personally, I think it is safe but also horrible. No samosa deserves to be stripped naked and abandoned. Not even the South Indian Samosa which cheats with its Dosa infested flavour.
Some people savour the crispy exterior and offer the masala to their companions. I think it is the most humane way you can reject a samosa and I really appreciate the gesture- nevermind the mouth ulcers that you give the other person in the process.
Some people break off a chunk of the samosa and eat it tastefully- showing how it is done. The crumbs falling on the plate can be picked up by the masala that your chunk holds- not wasting any bit. This is the classiest way to eat a samosa. Well, one of the classiest ways actually. Samosa being the fire-in-the-mouth that it is, needs a companion and although the green and red chutneys do a handsome job, nothing accompanies a hot samosa better than some ice-cold curd. The curd somehow mixes with the spicy masala and creates a whole new sweet-tangy flavour. It is an assault on the the taste buds which brings nothing but delight.
Samosa is not just about the chilly or the potatoes though. It also has a hint of sour coming from aamchur powder which most people neglect. That sourness is actually the mysterious factor that makes the whole thing so addictive. The lack of ability to bring out the sourness is the reason why chefs and halwais in some parts of India just cannot whip up a good samosa. The South Indian samosa for example is an abomination. It is filled with masala from masala dosa and isn't event that crispy. The samosas sold at Cafe Coffee Day restaurants also fails to grasp the philosophy behind this delectable dish. You cannot just fill it with chunks of potato and let the microwave oven cook it for you. You have to deep fry it and make it like an arsonist makes fire. The cover of the samosa is not just to wrap it or pack it. It is the first act. It sets the stage. The CCD samosas have a thick, chewy cover. You cannot make it chewy. It has to be the right thickness and consistency.
If a person bites into a samosa and the deepest he can dig brings him no potatoes, it is no samosa, sir. A real samosa doesn't feel likes pizza. The only way you know you are eating a samosa is when you know that you will wake up with pimples the next morning. The Rajasthani counterpart comes quite close to it. It has the potatoes, it is larger than usual and its cover is crispy too. The only problem is, it just isn't sour enough. It is a close cousin to the tastiest samosa but, not quite there.
Some halwais do the mistake of adding too many raisins and dry fruits in there. It is like adding balloons and confetti in your bomb. But yes, a raisin or two inside it surely are needed. They work as good exclamation points.
In cases of samosa, you actually don't want to go too big. Mathura and the region around it has a good hold over the proper samosa size. They are not too large to kill your appetite and neither too small to just serve as disappointments. They serve it with an aloo sabzi (gravy) though and it sort of takes away the focus from the samosa. Also the locus of the sourness is situated out of the samosa which is cool with me but, I'd rather have my favourite samosa with no side dishes.
The mark of a good samosa is that it tastes good even when eaten cold. Sometimes a cold samosa out of the fridge with some curd is pure bliss.
On a side note, I would like to mention that the Southern part of India has been murdering one more dish which is the golgappas. They put hot peas and chholas inside the puris! One- that makes no sense, two- stop doing that!
Until next time!
Tuesday, 2 June 2015
Thursday, 27 November 2014
#BlogToFeedAChild Post
- I am going to #BlogToFeedAChild with Akshaya Patra and BlogAdda.
Mid-day meal schemes go a long way in solving this problem because they have universal coverage and target the right age group, the one in dire need of good nutrition. NGOs, SHGs can all come together and join hands toward funding and executing these schemes. There can be targeted funding for such schemes just like Akshaya Patra (see link above). Fund generation is a major yet only a part of the whole scheme of things. Execution and marketing of these schemes also constitute a major part of these.
Food in itself is incentive enough for any below poverty line citizen but the awareness and importance of schooling needs to be brought before the people's eyes for its full impact. Holding camps, talks, street-plays can be one way to attract attention. Making it (sending children to school) a compulsory activity for jobs under government projects can be another way.
CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) can play a major role here too. It can majorly help with the funding and food grain procurement. Restaurants that have no channels to dispose excess cooked food can tie up with an NGO and the food can be distributed to the needy. Innovative ideas bringing efficiency in the system can help eradicate this menace which, truth be told, should not exist.
If we are able to achieve this goal and in the next decade, we are hunger free as a nation, imagine the kind of efficiency our workforce is going to have. Anyway, we are going to be one of the youngest nations (working age-group-wise) in the World and we need to come out with all our guns blazing to make good use of this youth.
Hunger will breed criminals. Absence of the same can open the options wide.
Thursday, 26 June 2014
Book Review- The Slim Punjabi- Harmeet Kaur
Title- The Slim Punjabi
Author- Harmeet Kaur
ISBN- 978-93-81506-21-1
Genre- Food and culture
Publisher- Amaryllis
Price- Rs 350
Pages- 283
This review is a part of the book review program by The Readers' Cosmos
If Madhya Pradesh is Hindustan ka dil (heart), Punjab is its dhadkan (heartbeat). The land of the five rivers finds mention in almost all of the films, documentaries, books made on India. It is stereotyped, celebrated, discussed but never neglected and there's a reason for that. Not every Indian understands what Punjab really stands for and this book in my hand, is an honest attempt toward that.
About the cover
The front cover is brightly coloured and no words in English language can describe the mood or vivaciousness of the cover art; mostly because it is purely Indian, purely Punjabi. Painting of a bride with elaborate floral artwork around it on a pink background announce the essentially Punjabi flamboyance. Back cover again displays the 'truck' art with large Horn Please signs in bright yellow background. The introduction quickly establishes the importance of food in the Punjabi way of life. Kudos to Seema Sethi for the beautiful work with the cover.
About the author
Harmeet Kaur is a marketing professional based out of Bangalore. Born and brought up in Delhi, she is a DU product and has done graduation with honours in Physics and then MBA. Her interests include arts, culture, painting, cooking, music, reading and of course, writing. Her picture on the backside of the front cover tells us that she is extremely pretty too. Punjab is beautiful, case closed!
About the book
The book is an honest attempt towards introducing Punjab to the curious mind. Amaryllis has done a great job with the design. The pages are crisp and the colour scheme reminds me of my NCERT textbooks, ah! nostalgia galore! The book is strewn with Punjabi cuisine, folklore, poetry and philosophy and the artwork before every chapter sets the mood with its Rangoli-esque styling.
The book begins with Bulle Shah's poetry and the stage is set for all the spices, colors, music to come together and dance as this Patiala-peg sized celebration of a book begins. The introduction begins with a personal-journal like monologue by the author taking us through the DU campus and I think DU student or not, your mouth is bound to start watering and the heart to start aching as you turn these pages drenched with dollops of desi ghee. The Slim Punjabi piece draws attention to a few true and not so true Punjabi stereotypes. They're all funny nonetheless.
The book is divided in five parts- Jhelum, Chenab, Beas, Sutlej and Ravi. What follows next is a treat. The author has touched briskly on topics like folk music and dance, love stories, festivals, fashion and dressing and Sikh traditions. And of course recipes of everything from Rajma Chawal to Butter Chicken to Kadhi are given. The personal touch to the recipes make them what they're always intended to be- More than food. They're a way of life. How can you think of Gajar Halwa without going back to your childhood? How can you think of Pakore without thinking of monsoon and the festivities it brings? How can you think of Sarson da saag te Makki di roti and not find yourself lying on a charpoy near a tubewell in a village in Punjab? So, yes, go ahead, pick this deliciously Punjabi book and indulge yourself.
My favourite part in the book (Chenab) is the love stories and the author has even shared with us the myths around the stories and their popular versions. It gives us an insight and also warms our heart looking at those souls who became immortal and guiding lights for all those in love.
So, by all means, pick it up if you're a proud Indian and take pride in this cultural joyride. Also, do not forget to try all those recipes! For the love of food!
My rating- ****1/2 (Four and half stars out of five)
Author- Harmeet Kaur
ISBN- 978-93-81506-21-1
Genre- Food and culture
Publisher- Amaryllis
Price- Rs 350
Pages- 283
This review is a part of the book review program by The Readers' Cosmos
If Madhya Pradesh is Hindustan ka dil (heart), Punjab is its dhadkan (heartbeat). The land of the five rivers finds mention in almost all of the films, documentaries, books made on India. It is stereotyped, celebrated, discussed but never neglected and there's a reason for that. Not every Indian understands what Punjab really stands for and this book in my hand, is an honest attempt toward that.
About the cover
The front cover is brightly coloured and no words in English language can describe the mood or vivaciousness of the cover art; mostly because it is purely Indian, purely Punjabi. Painting of a bride with elaborate floral artwork around it on a pink background announce the essentially Punjabi flamboyance. Back cover again displays the 'truck' art with large Horn Please signs in bright yellow background. The introduction quickly establishes the importance of food in the Punjabi way of life. Kudos to Seema Sethi for the beautiful work with the cover.
About the author
Harmeet Kaur is a marketing professional based out of Bangalore. Born and brought up in Delhi, she is a DU product and has done graduation with honours in Physics and then MBA. Her interests include arts, culture, painting, cooking, music, reading and of course, writing. Her picture on the backside of the front cover tells us that she is extremely pretty too. Punjab is beautiful, case closed!
About the book
The book is an honest attempt towards introducing Punjab to the curious mind. Amaryllis has done a great job with the design. The pages are crisp and the colour scheme reminds me of my NCERT textbooks, ah! nostalgia galore! The book is strewn with Punjabi cuisine, folklore, poetry and philosophy and the artwork before every chapter sets the mood with its Rangoli-esque styling.
The book begins with Bulle Shah's poetry and the stage is set for all the spices, colors, music to come together and dance as this Patiala-peg sized celebration of a book begins. The introduction begins with a personal-journal like monologue by the author taking us through the DU campus and I think DU student or not, your mouth is bound to start watering and the heart to start aching as you turn these pages drenched with dollops of desi ghee. The Slim Punjabi piece draws attention to a few true and not so true Punjabi stereotypes. They're all funny nonetheless.
The book is divided in five parts- Jhelum, Chenab, Beas, Sutlej and Ravi. What follows next is a treat. The author has touched briskly on topics like folk music and dance, love stories, festivals, fashion and dressing and Sikh traditions. And of course recipes of everything from Rajma Chawal to Butter Chicken to Kadhi are given. The personal touch to the recipes make them what they're always intended to be- More than food. They're a way of life. How can you think of Gajar Halwa without going back to your childhood? How can you think of Pakore without thinking of monsoon and the festivities it brings? How can you think of Sarson da saag te Makki di roti and not find yourself lying on a charpoy near a tubewell in a village in Punjab? So, yes, go ahead, pick this deliciously Punjabi book and indulge yourself.
My favourite part in the book (Chenab) is the love stories and the author has even shared with us the myths around the stories and their popular versions. It gives us an insight and also warms our heart looking at those souls who became immortal and guiding lights for all those in love.
So, by all means, pick it up if you're a proud Indian and take pride in this cultural joyride. Also, do not forget to try all those recipes! For the love of food!
My rating- ****1/2 (Four and half stars out of five)
Wednesday, 23 October 2013
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