Daawat - a Quaint little Restaurant...

 Last time i was in Chennai, Malar took me to this little restaurant near Odyssey.. we were really tired after multiple shopping at Odyssey, Naiha and near by shops and Malar was in real mood to tuck into some Chicken... Dawaat is relatively new to me, as it was not there a couple of years back.. then there was a Mr.G restaurant serving Pastas and Breads...it was a welcome sight to see a  Kebab Shop on its place.. 

First time i ordered Cheese Naan and Butter Chicken Masala...  BCM is a standard dish i order when i vist any new restaurant... if one restro can give me authentic BCM then i am convinced enuf to experiment anything on the menu... The owner somehow sensed that i was new to their place and recommended their "excellent" Tandoori Chicken... on his insistence we just ordered it as a starter... true to his word Tandoori was excellent and juicy... at the same time it didnt crowd on my stomach much... next the Naan and BCM arrived... Man, was i floored... the BCM was oozing with butter and the gravy had that tangy spicy taste unique to BCM... Cheese Naan was cheese, cheese and cheese.. :-) nothing more to be said.... i had decided then and there i will be visiting it again and again...

One thing that i really liked was the attitude of owner and server boys... as we were tucking into Tandoori Chicken at our own pace, the Naan was getting cold... without any prompting, the boy serving us  took inside the platter to get another plate of hot Cheese Naans.... :-)

Last Sunday, i dragged Malar again to Dawaat... this time i ordered a plate of
 Chicken Biriyani and Kebab Roll. yumm... i had almost forgot that they serve you Biriyani with an embedded boiled egg here...Mughal Biriyani's i imbibed at an alarming rate in Indore never had those... :-P the Biriyani was just right with exact flavor, spices and condiments... slurp slurp... and they even served it with Baigan Bartha, the exact way i loved... he he he.. needless to say, i polished of the plate in no time... i felt i wont to justify the Roll, so asked them to serve it in two halves.. one for me, one for Malar...

ugh..i shud say , i did a mistake there... it was so yummy....my mouth is watering right now, just thinking about it... :-P

Leave the food, there are only 1 tables with 4 chairs each but the place is so clean and fresh.. and being in the basement there are no windows or ventilation but these wisely managed by proper air conditionting. the lighting is subtle,not to loud  and makes you concentrate on the food in front of you...

 This little haunt is moderate in it's pricing... just Rs.300 for two, its very mild on the pocket... the kebabs and curries are priced anywhere between rs.75 - rs. 100...

If u are a declared meat eater, this is the right place for you....

My rating : 4.5 /5... (- 0.5 'coz of lack of dessert)

Evening snacks...

was really out of mood to cook anything day before yday.. all i cud find was some fresh peas,carrots and dosa batter.. and whatever i tried, the dosa won't stick to the tava ultimately resulting in a rather frustrated Rat... found a loaf of bread... whoa...

Ingredients:
Shelled peas - Handful
Half Carrot - Diced into squares
Oil - to fry the veggies
Salt , Coriander powder, Chilly powder - to taste
Water - 600 ml

Procedure :
1. Fry the carrots and peas in oil... add salt, coriander powder, chilly powder and water and let it  boil till the peas are cooked...

 2. Saute the cooked veggies slightly in simmer.... Tada its ready

3. Enjoy with Bread or better some rotis or Dosas

Veg Pulav...

Boil the rice along with peas.. /*well i did this to save time,vessel,gas and effort..*/

Dice the carrots to horizontal pcs.. /*well Potatoes mutinied and wudnt cut into horizontal pcs*/

 

Fry the vegetables in enuf oil... /* well only these 2 as other vegs went absconding mysteriously overnite*/.. add a teaspoon of Turmeric powder, Coriander Powder, Chilly powder and salt to taste...

 Add boiled rice/peas and stir fry well... this is d end product...

a definite misfortune...

My foodie days are stalled.. some may know abt the Operation i had to undergo... my diet is so strenuous that don't even ask!!! anyways hope this long break doesn't go unnoticed....

my obsession with Maggi continues...

How ever i like Maggi, i can't eat the whole pack at one go.. so imagine my delight wen i found Chotu Maggi, day before yday as i went grocery shopping....  boy oh boy.... was i happy...

so i set about making Dry maggi yday evening... the recipe is simple...

Boil water.. add the noodles to it and let it soak.. cut onions into dice and saute them in light oil... add the masala... add boiled peas and fry them till they shrivel up... add the now tender noodles and toss them with the masala.... u get stumptous evening meal.. YUMM...

When at leisure....

After the terror filled nite on 26th, i woke very late on 27th morning... ok ok it was well into afternoon when i woke up finally... actually i woke up thinking Nisha struck at Indore too as the rumbling noises equaled Thunderstorms... Well it was my poor poor stomach... he he he..

i planned on something simple, as i was in no mood to eat out ( actually was still filled with Pain and terror of previous nite)... zeroed on Onion Rava Dosa and Egg Thokku... Boiled the eggs and went off to bath...

Ingredients:

• Oil - to saute the vegs
• Tomato - 1
• Onion - 1
• Egg - 1
• Salt to taste
• Coriander Powder - 1 Tea spoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1 Tea spoon
• Home Made Masala (secret) - 1 Table Spoon

Now over to the Shutter Rat...

1. Dice the onions...

 

2. Dice the Tomato into squares...

 3. Saute the Onions in oil and add Tomatoes to it...

 

4. Mash up both that they resemble tomato puree...

 

5. Add Coriander powder, Turmeric Powder and Home -made masala (secret) and Salt to taste..

 

 6. wonder wr the boiled eggs have disappeared and find the two legged Cat, L has gobbled them down...

7. Simmer the Egg less- Egg Thokku and serve it out...

 

8. Enjoy the Thokku with awesome Onion Rava Dosai...

 

Adios Amigos....

well.. a good substitute i believe...

but can't beat the original, Maggi, by any means.....  I am talking about the Reliance Select Instant Noodles...

Masala(meal maker) added...

 

Serving it out..

Ready to be gobbled down... .

i loved it without the ketchup...

Munching on...

OK i accept that Vegetable Manchurian balls are sort of my fav...  but this is just too much...

when ever me and P hit CP, we order VM invariable of our mood... so it was VM on both Monday and Tuesday along with Brownies, Fries, Sandwiches and other stuff... on Wednesday VM was d only edible appetizer @ ARti di shaadi.. the other Hors De Vours being Chilly Paneer, Kadai Paneer and Hara Bara Kebab.. the kebab fall flat with green color potato posing as kebabs, blech.. i hate paneer so lets not even go there... thursday back with P, and the dahling wanted to try out manchurian rolls... grande... Friday @ R bhaiyya's party VM again... Belch.......

Please no no no... no more veg manchurian.. enuf is enuf.. i am going on a -VM diet...

a new eat out....

The Paneer Delight...

 Mushroom Delight...

Tortilla..

Y was raving about this pizza shop for quite some time.. so me, P and Y decided to check it out... the name is Pizza World and is quite a quaint little shop... four tables and four chairs to go with it... may be the pics look very similar.. but i shud say the pizzas were awesome (mouthsome??) Tortilla was my personal fav with potatoes and onions...  and shud say the Garlic bread with cheese was a heaven on earth.....

AT,KT and me...

AT, a dear colleague had the guts to have me over for Dinner on Saturday..Really u had to give it to this guy for taking such a giant leap...

KT served u Macaroni fry and Fruit juice to start with and while we wr half way thru, gleefully announced that she was in no mood to cook and had made nothing,all this said with a naughty smile.. AT let out a huge sigh and we started voting for the Restro to be attacked...

So, Shri Maya it was... the review...

Lemon Coriander Soup : Rite on the cue... dunno why love this soup esp. @ SM.. yet lots of cabbage marred the lemon twist...

Butter Naan : not so good.. fell flat actually...

Tawa Paneer: Tender juicy and spicy... mmmmmm

Vegetable Florentino: Was yummy.. the cheese was crunchy on the outer and mushy on the inside.. peas and veges had acquired the right taste... but i dont know why i gagged on spinach.... Ouch...

Egg Curry : My fav.. no other dish ever to beat this one.. Spicy and i love it...

That was all.. i just cudnt impose my gluttony on poor T's and bade a good bye too soon... :-P will gorge on Tiramisu puddings some other day...

K & L's Complaint...

Remember?? i had invited Vikky, Rusty and Zuhhu over lunch on 30th August... When L & K came back from TN they got the whiff thru my official gossip monger, my dearest Maid.... K was like so so so irritated that i never prepare lunch for her...  i had to whip up something to assuage her... so the menu...

Vegetable Fried Rice
Carrot Rice
Potato Podimass (Mashed)
Shredded Soya Curry
                                                                                          

The Vegetables and Soya before going into their respective dishes...

Vegetable Rice: 

Same as here... the only difference is that it looked like this time...

 

and yeah... i topped it with my favourite crunchy fried onions this time around....

Carrot Rice:

Loved Making this one....

Saute Garlic-ginger paste in little oil... add shredded carrots to this and cook till the awesome sweet aroma arises...  add salt, biriyani masala, little haldi (to cut off the green smell of carrot) and stir well... now add boiled rice to this and mix well.... This tasted and looked awesome...

Mashed Boiled Potatoes:

Boil 4 potatoes till tender.... let them cool aside... peel off the skin and mash them with bare hands.. eat dallops of them when done.. wonder if this is enuf for making the dish... stop stop stop.... (note to self # dont mention wat u really do in blog)
Warm oil in low flame... add the potatoes... stir and let it stand for 5 min.. add salt, Haldi, Chilly powder, Coriander Powder and a dash of Channa masala.... mix well... motuh watering Potato ready...

 

Of them all, Veg  rice got 5/5..

Pull a quick one...

when you dont have anything else than onion in the kitchen... when your dear roomie has made a sweet dish and u are desperate for a spicy dish to make it up... wen u are in no mood to order manchurian balls from the Fast food centre at your street end.....    

All you can do is dice the onions, saute them in oil with salt and Channa masala, mix it up with rice and get Kudos and three cheers for the instant "Onion Rice"

 Ta DA....

Weekend Masti...

The Guinea Pigs # Vikky, Rusty and Zuhhu
Occasion: Weekend… he he he
Venue: My Place
Menu: Vegetable rice, Egg Curry, Potato- Cauliflower curry, Fruit Salad, Cucumber- Carrot Raitha…


Vegetable Rice:
Ingredients:
Boiled Rice
Shredded Carrot
Diced French Beans
Cauliflower Florets
Salt
Ginger-Garlic Paste
Shahi Biriyani Masala
Oil

Method:
Boil water and dunk the cauliflower into it for obvious reasons... Saute ginger garlic paste in deep frying pan.. pour oil... fry beans in this.. add the carrots after 2 mins and follow it with cauliflower florets... cook till tender... add salt, Biriyani masala and mix well....
Let it cook for 2 mins... Now add d rice in smaller quantities and keep on mixing... It will resemble something like this...

Egg Curry:
Ingredients:
Boiled Eggs cut into half
Diced Onions
Diced Tomatoes
Salt
Ginger Garlic Paste
Turmeric Powder
Red Chilli Powder
Coriander Powder
Oil
 
Method:
Saute Ginger Garlic Paste in oil and add the onions... saute till tender... let it stand for 2 mins annd add the tomatoes it... cook till u get a mashed pulp... add salt, Turmeric Powder,Red Chilli Powder and Coriander Powder to it.... Mix well till u get the aroma.. by now the green smell of tomatoes must have gone... add the eggs.. mix well without separating the yolk from albumen.. mix till the masala mixes well with the eggs... This will resemble something like this...
 

Potato - Cauliflower Curry:

Ingredients:

Boiled Potatoes- Cut into long pieces

Cauliflower florets

Salt

Channa Masala

Oil

Method:
Heat Oil... add the potatoes and fry till they turn golden brown... Add the cleaned florets... cook till tender... add salt and channa masala and mix well... cook tilll the vegetables and masala blend well.. let it shimmer for three minutes.... It should look better but this is wat i got... anyways it tasted better than it looks...

Fruit Salad:

Ingredients:

Diced Apple

Lemon

Method:

Nothing Much... Squeeze the lemon over the diced apple and sprinkle some vanilla essence over it... this is the result...

Cucumber - Carrot Raitha:

Ingredients:

Shredded Cucumber

Shredded Carrots

Diced Onions

Diced Tomatoes

Curd

Salt

Method:

Just dunk all the vegetables into the curd and add salt to taste... U will get this awesome cooler...

Had a great Lunch.....

2 minutes.. never... 5 mins??? erm may be....

K's Method :
Boil water.. Dunk the slabs into water for a couple of minutes... drain water , keep aside..
Dice the onions... Fry them over low flame in as much little oil as possible.. Add the masala accompanying the slabs... dunk the hydrated slabs... saute them till when u feel like turning your attention from L to the stove...

Enjoy the result with copious amount of Tomato Ketchup to hide the burnt taste...

L's Method :
Boil water... Dunk the slabs into water still on stuff.. forget them till D Rat runs over to turn off the stove.. Leave the slabs in water, till realising the act...
Dice the onions... Fry them over high flame with as much oil as possible... Add the masala accompanying the slabs... dunk the hydrated slabs... saute them, all the while trying to make up with K, and muttering under breath i am cooking for you only SH

Enjoy the.. erm,  slosh if u got guts....

Dear Mamma's Method :
Boil water... Add diced carrot, radish, beans, beet root, cabbage, or in that case any vegetable available in the house hold... add d masala and d slabs and saute them till it looks edible, all d while assuring this way it gets healthy as well enjoyable...

Enjoy as a evening snack.

Darling Dad's Method :
Boil water... add ALL the edible vegetables available in kitchen(near d stove) ofcourse well diced... dunk d slab, masala and in case semolina if available... Saute till it smells ho.. cough cough... hot and awesome....

Enjoy along with a tall glass of (Lord save) Bitter gourd juice or mixed veg juice..


Yeah yeah... u guessed rite all.. these are the time tested methods for preparing 2 minutes noodle, MAGGI... only snag being, in 2 min it still is uncooked.... I have been subjected to all this torture over a long period.... first my dear darling parents, now K and her B.f. L, who behave very much like my parents (only difference being this pair tries to make out in front of you at the drop of hat, or read when u turn around to get that book)


Neways... d ubiquitous Rat's Method of preparing Maggi :

Boil water.. dunk d masala and d noodles into the water... saute till it looks cooked... Enjoy along with a pack of Frito-lays potato chip.....

Ah heaven... In btw... curry and tomato flavor of Maggi sucks.. dont even try them...

4 mistakes of my life...

Checked out the New Udipi Hotel at Saket Square yday nite....just for the sake checked out the basics...  Made 4 terrible mistakes of my life...

Mistake 1 # Ordering Idly.. Almost fluid like, in Hottest Sambar... Stone Cold chutney... Top of it, there was nothing more than Ajwain and Mustard seeds in both Sambar and chutney..
Mistake 2 # Ordering Fried idly... More ajwain... now also in idly apart from sambar and chutney...
Mistake 3 # Ordering Sambar Rice... more n more Ajwain....

and d major mistake no 4 # ENTERING that stupid stupid place...

man i am suffering from Food poisoning now.... Thank goodness i escaped inspite the waiter assuring their Dosa was d best... i just expected more ajwain... Me thinks they got ajwain at some cheap rate and just add it to all dishes... me also thinks they prepare Sambar as a stock solution and use it invariable for everything...

Bad bad bad desicion... Rating - 0.5 / 5

just 5 mins...

yup yup yup.. made something in 5 mins yday... no no.. not maggi noodles....
Potato fry.... u gotta believe it babby....

Had planned to go out with colleagues yday evening.. we were to meet up at 7 30 @ Mangal City Mall... so i thought i had enuf time to make some aloo tikki's... but voila D called up and said she is one the way and will pick me up in 10 mins... 10 mins, like Hell...

Set my watch and diced potatoes.... sauted them in oil, added masala, salt and it was made in record time... 5 mins.... Kewl....

Only miss was i cudnt sit back and eat it with bread.. D was at d door by then... grabbed a chips packet and ran off, texting Dear Roomie K to enjoy the Fry...

The Dandi Yatra....

Take three Slices of Bread and cut them into identical squares.. do d same torture to a carrot but maintain the shape as rectangles... Pour 3 Tablespoons of oil and fry the carrot till tender... add the bread and repeat the process till d bread turns crisp and slightly brownish... Add Channa Masala to taste...


Sit Down to eat with your roomate... Exclaim "Something's Wrong"... Hit the Forehead and shout " Oh shucks.. forgot to add salt"....


Enjoy the saltless Bread Fry...

Express Breakfast...

For Filling

• Boil Potatoes till tender


• Cut carrots into long slender pieces


• Peel and mash the boiled potatoes


• Fry d mashed potatoes and carrots in little oil in a kadai


• Sprinkle Channa Masala and add salt to taste


• Garnish with Rashly chopped Coriander and mint leaves

Now...

• Take Bread slices dipped in little water


• put in some of the above prepared filling


• Make the whole stuff into a ball


• Bring the Oil to boil in a bigger Kadai


• Put in the balls

Wat u ll get is a ugly blob instead of Ball shaped Bread Rolls....  Call K to d rescue...



K Continue's

• Dip d already prepared Balls into readymade dosa mix flour...


• Deep fry them in oil...

Hot & Awesome Bread Rolls ready to eat.. top with some mint chutney and Sauce...





Ratzzz.. that was my try to make some new breakfast dish yday morning...

Square, Rectangle, Circle and shapes Unknown...

I was on a call with SA when SB called up with d Party invitation.. Hotel Sayaji @ 7 30 pm...

Crap.. i already had a tea party to attend at 7.. no ways that it will end before 8 pm.... But we know, that punctuality : Indians : : Peace : OBL... So d Rat guessed, even by 8 the host will be "just on his way to the venue"...

well it turned out the same... I landed up with a huge Red Gerbra Bouquet to find ppl waiting for the Ghost Host..

The venue was "Square "... we were 15 in all and had a reservation before hand...

d artwork with stones, pipes and metal fillings...

Now to the Real Thing:

Menu:

the buffet had both Veggie and Non-Veggie option... Me who eats everything that walks, flies and swims excluding Homo Sapiens, Air Planes and Ships opted for the latter obviously...


Chicken Manchow Soup - Not too hot not too cold.. Rite Temperature so that i cud enjoy the tanginess and Mushrooms... now wait a second there was supposed to be chicken in there rite??? It went for a swim i think..

Cheese Pasta - The Cheese Shreds blended well with the Mayannoise and rightly cooked Bucatini and Fettuccine...

Salad - The salad Bar had Chicken Salad, Scrambled Egg Salad, Russian Salad, Citrus Salad, Potato Peanut Salad and the Normal Veg Salad... They also had Papaya Salad, for god knows why..

Onion Pulao - Rite choice for neone who want to skip d regular plain rice... The onions were sweet and just as i like (neither crispy nor soiled)...

Mutton Biriyani - He He He... now i am not being partial but just that i looooooveee Hyderabadi Biriyani so so so much...

Murgh Makan Palak - Seriously this is a must try... chicken very cut into not so big pieces and easily manaegable for the fork and knife types... the taste lingered in my memoies long after thae party...

Grilled Fish in Olive Sauce - I gave a 9 on 10 for this dish... i never knew fish could taste this good... my only fav in fish being Crisp fries...



And now to the much awaited and hyped Dessert section of Sayaji....

all pastries were eggless which is a big hit with d neurotic clan visiting Sayaji pretending to eat...



Eggless Chocolate Triangular - Chocolate Tiramisu with Lavish Chocolate Sauce on type and milk choco chips....

Guava Cheese Cake - I hated myself for taking this... there was not even a streak of guava.. not even a essence or fragrance... i wasted the whole serving... :-(

Zebra Gateaux - Alternate vanilla and chocolate pasteries with thick dark chocolate decorations... i ate the solid decorations more than d pastry...

Mango Caramel Custard - It was a pleasant surprise not to find the conventional vanilla caramel custard... and even more pleasant when this variation struck d rite cord...

ZupZup - Jelly Bean sans d hard candy shell... a sugary layer replaced that.... nice variation

Hilton Baked Cheese Cake - There was a chocolate fountain and vanilla cakes to be dipped in it, but i liked my cheese cakes dipped in chocolate better...

Chococup with Blue Berry Mousse - My 10 on 10 dessert... Solid Choco cup filled with Blueberry whipped cream... this was d highlight of d eveniing...



Ambience :

In house Muscian rendering english and bollywood hits in his offbeat voice really a pain if your concentration strays off your plate or d neighbouring table's gorgeous gu.. erm cough cough... they had beautifully themed the walls with geomatric patterns using stone, pipings, gravel, metal fitting etc... even d glass paintings had geometry linking to the restaurant name - "Square" ... The buffet placement itself makes u drool (or was it dat hunk in place of d main course server.. erm cough again)... the lighting was easy on the eyes and d high ceiling made a place seem airy and spacious inspite of lack of space....

but if u want a laid back dinner with ur family, better give it a skip and opt for the adjoining "Kebabsville" .. Too much crowd and too much sound...

Art Above the Buffet Arrangement...

Effect on Pocket: It is Rs 350/- per head + 20% Taxes, which i find worth given excellent food and variety provided... On comparision it is far better than its counterparts in Indore vis-a-vis Shri Maya, Crown Palace etc..

i cud visit again just for the Chococup with Blue Berry Mousse, Grilled Fish in Olive Sauce and Onion Pulao ... Top 3 on my list...



:-)

Top Chef

He He He..... neither i have won the Top chef award nor i have been chosen to host the show instead of Padmalakshmi..... this is a different story....

Thanks the continuous Food poisoning cause of my Canteen-wala's horrible menu, i decided to carry both breakfast and lunch to office..... as we get no special time to Break fast i pack a couple of sandwiches daily for morning... Ya, i play with the fillings but i stop there...

But the real thing - the Lunch... with the shortest possible time i have to dish up something that is edible, tasty, smells good, and is different, not repetitive and above all easy to dish out.... You ask why??? leave others me,myself wont touch it if any of the above is missing....

Gawd.... the most difficult part is to think of something to satisfy my pabulum... So far so good....
the reviews are great.... and my sandwiches are a hit... he he he..


ME - Top Chef....