Awadhi Food Festival, Swissotel, Kolkata

 The Awadhi Food Festival at Durbari, Swissotel Kolkata was very special for me in many ways. It was more than food blogging, more than being a food enthusiast or an opportunity as a Kolkata Food Bloggers to cover the event. It was literally a call to bring back memories of my childhood spent in Lucknow. It was nostalgic. 

Although I had spent relatively a very short part of my formative years in Lucknow between grade 3 and 5, they were however very impacting. It was there that I first fell in love; fell in love with Kebabs. Little I knew that this influence would shape a lot of what I am right now. Much of my current food related learning are still based in around the world of kebab and the Awadhi Food Festival made me fall in love with it all over again.

Ofcourse Awadhi Food is not just about kebabs and that was represented so well at Durbari where the menu covered a lot of other aspects of the cuisine from soups to starters, main course and dessert.   

   

The galavat kebab is one of the signature dishes of Awadhi cuisine. Its a minced lamb kebab with flavourful spices. It has for generations been a favourite dish of a lot of people and have attracted people from far and wide to relish it. The galavat kebab served at the Durbari was not only as soft, flavourful and consistent as they looked but there was a vegetarian version of it which, if I was not told, I would have definitely mistaken it for a lamb one (which was served later). 

Paneer Mumtaz was a cottage cheese in mildly spiced tomato gravy. Very beautifully presented and having a beautiful gravy consistency. 

The Aloo Karare (Or Crispy Potato) had a very interesting crackle with coriander seeds along with other spices. Definitely a new potato dish I had tried.  

The bread segments had Keema naan, warqi paratha, rumali roti, tandoori roti etc to go along with the main course dishes. The biryanis and other rice options are also there for the taking. 

The nawabi gosht korma or spring lamb cooked in homemade spices was surely one of my pick for the evening. A very tender lamb with an amazing gravy. 

The dessert section had the Kesarya Nawabi Phirni (saffron flavoured sweetened milk and rice) and Sahi Tukda (awadhi dessert with bread and sweetened reduced milk, dry fruits and milk.)

Current GM Marco Saxer in a jovial mood, as always)

As dubbed by the current GM Marco Saxer,"The correct way to handover to the new incoming GM Subhrajit Bardhan"

Having a great time talking to the amazing chefs behind the Awadhi Food Festival

The Awadhi Food Festival will be held only at at Durbari, Swissotel Kolkata Neotia Vista from 17th to 27th March 2016. The timings are Monday to Sunday from 1900 Hrs to 2300 Hrs for Dinner and lunch exclusively form Friday to Sunday at 1230 Hrs to 1500 Hrs.  

Happy Nawab-ing

Vishal Tupper

Chocolate glazed Doughnuts

It is amazing how we can push our abilities in times of need. Recently I had the opportunity to participate in a bake sale and managed to churn out quite some goodies in no time. I was amazed at my speed and realized that lack of time is always just an excuse we give ourselves.  

Amongst all the ideas that were floating in my head, I had almost ditched the thought of baking doughnuts because I was really not sure of its sale. But then there was this rising impulse inside me that made me jump up and make the dough and allow it to rest. The fluffy dough was then cut in the shape of a doughnut and fried to a beautiful golden colour. The doughnuts tasted light and fluffy and along with the chocolate glaze turned out to be an absolute treat. 

The icing on my baked goodies is always the family approval esp my daughter's. She was dying to put her hands on the chocolate slathered and sprinklers loaded doughnuts. I waited with a bated breath and saw her reaction as she picked one doughnut. Her head swung in an 'Ummmm' and I instantly knew I had baked goodness. 

The sale did not go too well and I ended up bringing most of the goodies at home. No one regretted as it meant a week long sweet feast at home. :)

Recipe source : Adapted from here

Ingredients : I have reduced the recipe to half and achieved about 14 medium sized doughnuts

• 1/2 tbsp instant yeast
• 1/2 cup or more warm milk
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp butter, softened
• refined oil for frying
• dark chocolate, melted
• Sprinklers

Procedure : 

Take flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a bowl. Stir.

Add egg. Stir.

Add warm milk a little at a time and knead to a smooth dough. You may require more than 1/2 cup of milk. 

Add butter and knead. 

Take another bowl and grease it. Put the dough in it and cover with a damp muslin cloth. Leave it for an hour or more to double in size. 

You can also refrigerate the dough after the rise in case you want to use next day. Just let it come to room temperature before you roll, cut and fry.

Roll your dough and cut in doughnut shape using round cookie cutters of different size. Let it sit for 1/2 - 1 hour.  

I usually knead the hole back in the dough. You may like to fry them separately too. 

Put oil to fry the doughnuts in a deep pan.

Fry the doughnuts in medium heat till they are golden brown.

Drain on a kitchen towel or a tissue napkin.

Keep melted chocolate in a wide bowl. Dip the doughnuts in it halfway and sprinkle with colourful sprinklers. 

Doughnuts are best eaten the same day, almost soon after frying. You can also refrigerate excess dough and fry fresh as and when needed

Kolkata Food Bloggers are organizing a one of its kind Bake'rs Showcase featuring the best talent in Homebaker's. Folks in Kokata, please book your date and join us in this endeavor where you are guaranteed to find some amazing and creative bakes. Find more details here .

Happy Doughnut eating

Amrita

Paneer Florentine

I have been struggling to push myself and blog more on the regular savoury food that we have at home. But often, since I like to prepare food fresh and on time, I seldom get to click pictures and thus post on it. A stronger push was thus necessary to let readers know that I do eat things beyond all the cakes and cookies I keep posting. 

Frankly speaking I rarely eat my own sweet bakes and I bake in small quantities sufficient for my daughter and husband. So the regular everyday meal is just like in any other home though I must confess that I am a little lazy in savoury experiments.

Paneer florentine was born out of circumstances of unavailability. Many years ago, myself and Vishal had a dish called Fish Florentine in a restaurant called One step up on Park street. Vishal being the savoury experimenter at our home, decided to give it a try and it came out quite wonderful.

While trying out the same dish in Allahabad, we were stuck at an odd hour where we could not find fish so we thought of trying the same with Paneer. The dish came out wonderful and we were surprised how the humble paneer fitted perfectly in this French dish. 

The word Florentine (pronounced Flor-en-teen), in culinary world, refers to a recipe that is prepared in the style of the Italian region of France. Florentine recipes typically feature a bed of Spinach on which a main ingredient such as meat, poultry or fish is laid and then topped with a Mornay sauce which is a béchamel sauce with shredded or grated Gruyère cheese and an egg yolk. A florentine recipe may also be topped with cheese which is browned as in au gratin.

Ingredients : For 2-3 servings

• half a bunch of spinach leaves
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 150 gms Paneer, cut in cubes
• 1/2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 tbsp refined oil
• 1/2 tbsp all purpose flour (maida)
• 1/2 tbsp whole wheat flour (atta)
• 1 1/2 cups milk, warm
• 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

Procedure : 

Wash spinach leaves very well.

Boil water in a pan and add the spinach leaves. Turn off the heat and immediately drain the spinach leaves and put in cold water. Drain and roughly chop.

Take oil in a pan and saute half of the chopped garlic. 

Add the spinach and saute for a while. Season with salt.

Lay the spinach in a baking tray of your choice.

Place the paneer cubes randomly on it.

Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius.

Now, make the béchamel sauce (basic white sauce) by taking butter and oil in a pan. As soon as the butter melts, add the all purpose flour and whole wheat flour. Turn the heat to medium and keep stirring till the flour turns a little brown.

Meanwhile keep milk a little warmed up. Pour this warm milk to the pan and stir continuously till the sauce thickens to the required consistency. Warm milk is poured to avoid the formation of lumps in the sauce.

Season with salt and black pepper.

Pour white sauce on the paneer cubes in the baking pan. 

Sprinkle the grated mozzarella cheese on top and some dried parsley. 

Bake for 15 minutes or till the cheese melts and gets a beautiful brown colour. 

Serve with Garlic toasts or plain buttered toasts.  

Happy Florentine-ing

Amrita

The Flavours of Telangana..!

Kolkata Food Bloggers with Master Chef Sakala Sankara of the ITC Hotel

"Food, in the end, in our own tradition, is something holy. It's not about nutrients and calories. Its about sharing. Its about honesty. It's about identity".-Louise Fresco.

The quote above, in my opinion, couldn't be more truer than in connection to my experience with the 'Flavours of Telangana'; an exquisite cuisine from the state of Telangana in south India, presented by The ITC Sonar, Kolkata, at their Eden Pavilion, from 12th February to 21st February, 2016.

With Kolkata Food Bloggers it was indeed a pleasure to get the glimpse of the same.

The range of daily changing menu was intricately crafted by Master Chef Sakala Sankara himself who hails from the, now rechristened state of Telangana, and has developed mastery over the regional cuisine. 

Master Chef Sakala Sankara

I was surprised to see the variations in flavours and preparation of  so many dishes that was far beyond the conception of usual South India cuisine that we normally encounter in north Indian restaurants and sidewalks. Indeed I was blown over.

In the starters we were treated with 'Karjam Vepudu' or lamb liver spiced with onion and chilies. The touch of the curry leaves in it along with other spices was spectacular. It was devoured in no time and reordered again. 

Karjam Vedupu - Lamb Liver spiced with onion and chilies

In the main course the tangy spiced fish pulao or the 'Chapa Pulusu Pulao' was the first type of fish pulao I had had. Very beautiful balance of flavours. At first look it almost looked like a biryani. 

Chapa Pulusu Pulao

'Gongoora Mamsam' or Mutton cooked with Rossel Leaves was very soft, succulent and juicy with beautiful flavour of the rossel leaves. The mutton was slow cooked to perfection.

Gongoora Mamsam- mutton cooked with rossel leaves. 

The 'Royyala Vepudu' or Prawn tossed in thick Onion and tomato gravy was a treat to devour. It was not as spiced as it looked. 

Royyala Vepudu - Prawns tossed in thick onion and tomato gravy. 

'Vellulli Kodi' or Garlic flavoured Chicken was as distinct as the other two of its compatriots. Very beautifully balanced flavours and perfectly spiced. 

Vellulli Kodi - Garlic Flavoured Chicken

Ragi Sangati, ragi flour cooked with rice and napped with fresh ghee was an entirely new dish I had tried. Very soft and flavourful. 

Ragi Sangati - Ragi flour cooked with rice in ghee

Coupled with the blend of raitas like mix fruit raita, mint raita and vegetable raita, the Flavours of Telagana was indeed a very special treat to have been invited to by the ITC Sonar and we from the Kolkata Food Bloggers have absolutely enjoyed it to the hilt.

The Flavours of Telangana would be on till the 21st of February 2016 at the Eden Pavilion of ITC Sonar, Kolkata. 

Happy Telangana

Vishal Tupper             

An Afternoon of 'no worries' @ Hakuna Matata

Interiors 

If you are someone who has grown up through the early 90's, the words Hakuna Matata (A Swahili phrase which roughly translates to 'No Worries') will instantly transport you to the memories of the movie 'The Lion King' and chances are that you will be humming the song to yourself 

'Hakuna Matata, what a wonderful phrase

Hakuna Matata, ain't no passing craze....'

With many restaurants cropping up in each corner of the city, Hakuna Matata grabs your attention with its catchy name and location which is bang opposite Kwality on Park street. Park street is known for its old world charm and has patrons who swear by the food from eateries that have been there since a long long time.
An invite to HM was long due and so finally me and Sayantani decided to cover it up and landed there on a sunny Wednesday afternoon. We met with the cordial owners Pallavi and Prabhas who took us through the journey of setting up Hakuna Matata. A husband wife duo, both are passionate travellers and foodies and have been so far successful in running a complete vegetarian casual dining place in the heart of Park street which serves global fusion food. 
Pallavi tells us that they like to constantly engage their customers in contests and activities online and offline. Their mascot 'Koko' was also named through a contest. From having customers blow a shankh(conch) during Puja's to having a dance group perform and entertain customers, Hakuna Matata believes in engaging people interest with activities. 
Prabhas enlightens us with the decor which is a mix of modern and old. The hanging installation of rock climbers to the wooden borders with threads that we see on olden day sofas are all done by engaging local craftsmen. A quirky hanging light installation is done by using Graters. There is an interesting wish tree on ground floor which as Pallavi tells us has become synonymous to Hakuna Matata as people stick their wishes believing them to come true. They have even had customers whose wishes came true and so the wish tree is a popular corner in their restaurant. 
Hakuna Matata will soon be starting their cocktails section and so a bar with stools is all ready for the launch. They have also started their Sunday breakfast menu which consists of juices, hot beverages, sandwiches etc and an innovative desi and videsi tiffin where combo meals are served in old time tiffin carriers (dabba's). 
Hakuna Matata also has a special Jain menu with special dishes with no onion or garlic. 
They have a 'make your own Pizza' menu where diners can choose from the options of base, sauces and toppings. 
Each dish has a calorie count which give diners options to indulge according to their liking. Also there are chef favourites, healthy and vegan options in the menu. 
They also have special menu's on each occasion. So there was a Puja's special menu where they had bengali dishes and for Valentine's their menu had love themed dishes.
After an hour long chit chat we met Chef Chanchal who had planned a set of four dishes for us and in the lovely company of both Prabhas and Pallavi we indulged in a gastronomic journey to be remembered for a long time.

The first dish to arrive on our table looked no less than a piece of art. Chef Chanchal introduced us to it as Warm Chinese Casserole salad with szechuan and soya sauce. We learnt that this recipe is Pallavi's and we truly feasted on the visually appealing dish of cascading fried noodles standing on a bed of vegetables. The sauce added to the simple flavours of the dish. 

Next to arrive was a rather deceiving dish called Chocolate infused Falafel. Frankly speaking I thought weird about the dish and wondered if it was a forceful fusion. This dish was a special on their Valentine's menu and Chef Chanchal informs us that he incorporated chocolate in the falafel mixture along with the middle eastern spices and stuffed each Falafel ball with chocolate. It came with a dollop of Beetroot hummus and on  a bed of couscous salad. Personally for me that was the dish of the day. The beautiful coalition of the savoury falafel with chocolate was too beautiful for words. I really hope this dish finds a place in their regular menu very soon. 

On our tables, soon arrived another beautiful presented dish called Polenta stuffed baked mushroom which was also Pallavi's favourite dish on the menu. The dish was served Caprese style with the baked mushroom placed on a slice of Tomato and with a drizzle of the herbed cheese dip. The wooden platter had a dusting of the green-ed breadcrumbs which chef Chanchal tells us is made with a variety of herbs treated with breadcrumbs.

The last dish was the very interesting concept called Indian inspired mezze platter which had portions of Baingan Bharta inspired from Baba Ganoush, Chana masala flavoured hummus, Dal pakoda, mixed vegetable raita with kachumbar salad and laccha parantha strips inspired from Pita bread. Each element of the dish was flavoursome and wonderful. 

Pallavi ordered a Matata cooler and a Mojito for us and I truly thank her for introducing esp the Matata cooler to us. Adorned with a heart shaped watermelon chunk and a sprig of mint leaf and  served in a chemistry lab like round bottomed flask, it was like a breath of fresh air with a concoction of watermelon juice and coconut water. This is definitely a must if you are visiting HM.

The portions served in each dish were pretty good and the quality of food and presentation of each dish was impeccable. 
I would like to thank team Hakuna Matata for giving us an afternoon of lovely food and wonderful company.

Address : 12D, Park Street, Park Street Area, Kolkata

Call for reservations : 033 30990403

Timings : Mon- Sat -12 noon to 11 pm 

              Sun - 7 am to 11 pm

Cost : Rs 800 for two (approx)