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

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...

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...



:-)