Heritage kitchen

It was mom n dad's anniversary and as usual we kept our minds gruelling about where to go for lunch.All of a sudden i realised that theres a new restaurant open on borivali link road called The Heritage Kitchen.We all went there on a weekday afternoon.Needless to say,since it was weekday,the restaurant was less crowded and we received very good attention n service from all the staff.The restaurant is built with keeping in mind its name "heritage" and has been architectured alike.

We started with the straters first...i.e.dry manchurian.It was our first experience with the outlet n its food.so I was abit more conscious about the palate.The starter cames with a bit more saltiness in it.When we realised we complained it to the staff and staff too showed immediate courtsey to replace the dish but we denied as we had already cleaned it up.Then came main course full of veggies,parathas,rotis,boondi raita nad cherry on the top-kashmiri pulav.Pulav was a hit bacause of its beautiful aroma of desi ghee which reached our nose 3 seconds before the pulav..!it was full of dry fuirts,nuts,veggies..and the main thing was the grain was completely cooked and soft..which was exactly perfect for my parents n children.we relished on it.

Gulkand ice cream

The manager named Allwyn personally came to us to greet and ask about the starter which we complained of.When we got to know that it is my parents' anniversary,he ordered complimentary gulkand flavoured ice cream scoops on which my kids had their hands on..!later,after some time one more plate of ice cream scoops was ordered forcibly by Mr.Allwyn.

Mr.Allwyn In light grey shirt n his prompt staff

we enjoying @ Heritage kitchen

.They also have candle-lit dinners on one day of a week.Next time,I visit there,I am going to taste some Italian dishes there.In all the restau is a good place to visit,dine and relax..

My own version of Maharashtrian chicken rassa

It is true that many years down the lane,maharashtrian food has remained undiscovered n received less publicity compared to the food of other communities.I really don't find out any valid or obnoxious reason for it though at the same time i have not succeeded in getting the real answer behind this mystery.Maharashtrian food is very diversified n complex due to its various regions geographically.But its unique strength is that this food is best mixed with any other food in the world.You can create your own version of fusion food with the use of maharashtrian dishes.

I have tried the same keeping the traditional menu and its condiments in mind.I have changed chicken rassa recipe (kolhapur style) a bit according to my own palate and you wont believe it turned out to be a big hit!so,below is the kolhapur style chicken rassa.Kolahapur is very famous for its two types of chicken rassa(chicken gravy)i.e. tambada rassa(red gravy) and pandhara rassa(white gravy).Also,kolhapuri masala is one of the most important ingredient in thses recipes.Chicken all over maharashtra is prepared in different styles,using different ingredients depending upon that region's production of crops.e.g konkan region has their own way of making chicken or mutton having fresh coconut a main ingredient,kolhapur or vidarbha or khandesh have their own staple using khus-khus or dry coconut or cahsew paste comparatively.I made chicken rassa using regular ingredients that are easily available in any woman's kitchen.

recipe name"Maharashtrian style chicken rassa...

ingredients:chicken half kg
ginger -garlic paste 02 tea spoons
onions (chopped n sliced) 04/05
tomatoes 02 (finely chopped)
khopra (dry coconut) 01 cup
turmeric
lal mirch powder
salt to taste
dhania-jeera powder 02 tea spoons
garam masala powder 01 tea spoon
oil
lime juice
coriander

method:marinate the chicken with turmeric,lal mirch powder n ginger-garlic paste and keep it aside for a couple of hrs.Then,slice 02 onions and chop 02 of them finely.heat oil in a pan.put sliced onions and fry.then add khpra or dry grated coconut and saute for few minutes.turn off the gas once the coconut and onions change their colour to golden.after the mixture cools down,grind it in fine paste in mixer.then take an another kadai,put oil in it.Add  chopped onions and fry till onions turn translucent.then add ginger garlic paste,chopped tomatoes and finally the paste.one the gravy starts leaving oil,you can add dhania-jeera powder,garam masala or kolhapuri masala and saute for sometime .Then add chicken and water and put the lid.Once the chicked is completely cooked,squeeze lime juice on it and sprinkle coriander to garnish.turn off the gas and server.This chicken goes best with chapati or bhakri(Indian flat breads made with wheat flour of jowar /bajra /nachni flour respectively)

My Nagpur trip...long food trail

It is not unusual for an airline staff n its family to go hanky-panky on their anytrip as their every journey by flight is immensely unpredictable.Staff tickets are subject to load which makes sense in the words that if flight has seats to occupy you guys then you can dream of your destination only once you are aboard!! something like this happened when we all planned our Nagpur trip.i and vivek are habitual to the unpredicatbility of our each journey by plane but this time my mom-in law n kids were also accompanying us.but Gods Grace airline had enough seats to occupy its staff n his family members.andso started our nagpur journey.

For the first time I was going to nagpur.it was a distant relative's wedding.These days i travel anywhere mainly for food,to taste their local delicacies,city's signature dish,city's restaurants etc.Ours was a short trip of two days.We didnt take any food in flight as it was to be bought n paid and as we all know it was not of good quality.i mean who will pay 200/300/- bucks for a single sandwich which cant even fill your stoamch half.!!

Nagpur has wide roads,dry climate,not-so-tall buildings n pretty high traffic n pollution.you can almost feel this city's development right from birth to its adolscence while walking on the roads.Wedding reception on saturday evening in rani kothi...one of the most famous ,upscale ,oppulent hall in nagpur.There were few stalls of chaat,barbeque,pizza n dinner.in all of them,i liked pizza n felt it a bit edible.it was thin crust n a person was serving hot directly from oven to plates...(which was also taking time).i tasted chaat.they had pani puri,dahi vada,kachori chaat.all the chaat items were mediocre.I decided to skip my main course n feed myself only with starters n deserts.(which proved to be a wise decision later !)i tasted starters like spring roll n paneer tikka.spring rolls were very oily but less spicy n had perfectly chinese flavour.Paneer tikkas were good  and had perefctly smoky flavour of barbeque.the dinner had paneer ,mixed vegetable,paratha n dal-rice.The deserts were  chumchum and rasmalai.All two deserts were extremely yummy.

then came the next day's meeting.i went there with somehow lost heart !!as i was already disappointed with previous day's menu.but to my surprise,sunday moring menu was good enough.there were no starters.but the luch was served on time and the selection of menus was highly commendable.they had phulka(flat wheat bread) which they were making partly on tava n then once phulka is half roasted,it used to go on flames which was installed beside tava.and this way everybody was being served with hot n soft phulkas.

hot phulkas...reday to serve!

Thereafter they had sambharwadi.it is a fritter made with all types of flours stuffed with dry masalas.There was also masala vaangi(spicy brinjal vegitable made in vidarbha style) with lots of oil n masala.brinjals were almost floating in oil n thick gravy.it was worth tasting.then there was delicious,ghee laden puran poli(sweet bread made with jaggery,bengal gram n wheat flour).

masala vaangi(spicy brinjals)...vidarbha style

delicious mouth watering puran poli

To soothe yourself from this hot n spicy menu,there was chaas or taak or butter milk.I couldnt taste two famous signature dishes of nagpur.i.e. savaji chicken and vada bhaat.first dish was deliberately avoided by me as i wont be able to digest such gastronomically spicy dish n second dish has been kept reserved for my next trip to nagpur..!

All about "Malavani Jatra" (Malavani Food festival)

The essence of maharashtrian culture greatly goes with the essence of malavani culture.rather at some point of time people outside maharashtra widely get confused between Malavani n Maharashtrian culture n food.Though,Malavan is a predominant geographical part of Maharashtra ,its food also has great signifiance all over the places.This Malavani jatra is cast by authentic Malavani mahila Bachat Gat,Vikas gat etc.This fair is generally 10-11 days and keeps rotating its places.

I happened to attend this today at Mahavir Nagar,kandivali west ...in one of the suburbs of mumbai.there were many spectacular ,notable things about this fair.First is the grand historical entrance.the entrance had been built in the form of fort n later welcomed by a statue of shivaji maharaj riding his horse.

then ,there were many enumerable food stalls from street food to authentic Konkani food.Since i was travelling with my kids,I first preferred to taste Ice Ball (Barfacha gola) in kala Khatta flavour.

It was something i was long waiting for.Then I moved on. We took some Manchurian with schezwan sauce on it.Obviously,my little boys aould not have it as sause was too spicy for them.I tasted it.and could rate preety nice by roadside food ratings and mediocre by authentic Chinese food ratings.I moved a stall further and quite surprised to see Ukadiche modak.(Now its really hard to demystify this konkani sweet dish into hardcore English dish).but it was awesome...perfectly cooked,perfectly sweet.each modak was costing 15/-..but i should say it is worth it.

To-die-for desert "ukadiche modak"

various food stalls @jatra

Then the most famout n to-die-for stall was waiting for us.Suka mutton(dry mutton),Mutton rassa(gravy mutton),chicken rassa(gravy chicken) and bhakri(jowar flour bread)was laid on the table.All the dishes were temting n delicious and ofcourse spicy for a Brahmin girl like me...who is not used to so much of hot and spicy food in general.The flavours in all the above dishes have dominant flavours of dry coconut (suka khobra),onion and secret ingredient malavani masala!!...Some stalls had laid tables n chairs for their people who want to relax and enjoy their every bite of food.i liked this concept because then people can sit,chat n have thier at food at peace.Next ,the stalls were for sea food lovers..(not sooo much for me ).even though,i tasted surmai fry,bangda n pomfret fry.Needless to say,all the fishes were evenly fried ,their masala  also had soaked into the fish ..the fish were fresh n juicy n every bite was giving justice to our pocket for what we spent for...!Since it was Sunday and the second last day of Fair,people were rushing in groups to eat,play,stroll n enjoy.they also had kept wood toys made in sawantwadi,then malavani masalas,kuleeth peeth,thalipith bhajni,amboli peeth,chicken dry masala powder,mutton dry masala powder n god only knows how many.

All I should say is one should attend this fair atleast once in his life for food entirely.

Treat for tea lovers @borivali west ...............by Kirti Pataskar

If you are a hardcore tea addict and furious over the new coffee shops springing around your suburbs,you need not regret any longer about the same.as there is a new outlet opened by two young Turks who oath to serve you only Indian Chai menus.The restaurant is TEA PI.(it means drink tea).The name also is given with half hindi n half english linguistic type relating to Indian tea lovers in town.the restaurant is in borivali west on link road which is a very cool n hype area especially for youngsters.

The ambiance,menu n chai are very desi type n will definitely make you comfortable as you enter.The atmosphere is pleasant and the interior is done up in vibrant colours with different types of kettles hanging around on the ceilings.The two young gujrati turks named ankit n parth are from different careers altogether.ankit is asoftware engineer by qualification and Parth is MBA.Its amazing to see them leaving such a money-generating occupations and getting into the new venture altogether.When asked about the profit part,Parth said that the restaurant is just few months old and it is giving us profit thrice more than expected!!whoop..isnt that great?!he further said,log toh yahan raat ko 12 baje bhi chai pine aate hai.(people come here to have tea even at 12 am night)so the timings of tea shop  are from 1.00pm to 12 am..

various sumptuous snacks @tea pi

TEA PI has wide variety in Chai n snacks.Some of the most commendable ones are herbal infusion which is a herbal tea,tea mocktails and oolong tea which is a medicinal tea...includes anti-oxidants.But the best selling chai is "maa ki haath ki chai".Its a fine blend of cardamom,pudina,ginger and chai ka masala.They also have  combos of tea n snacks.e.g. chai With khari or some kind of chai with khakra..of course they know the best of which chai goes best with which snacks.They also have kept a sumptuous snacks like thepla rols and sandwiches.Parth and Ankit themselves have chalked out the menu.Seeming the man power a huge problem in india,parth told us that he n Ankit used to make the chai n do all chores when the outlet was newly opened.now even if any person from the kitchen goes away,the restaurant doesn't stop.

one of the owners of TEA PI Mr.Parth Patel

Coming to the most delicate secretive topic of business development,parth was very comfortable on that part too.he said they are open with all kinds of advertising and marketing ventures provided it suits their needs and structure.So may you be a businessman or a foodie or a sheer tea lover,there is something for you in the box.!!1 go n check out yourself!

झटपट पराठे .......by kirti pataskar

आपल्या सगळ्यांनाच रोजच्या जेवणातला तोच-तोच पणाचा कंटाळा येतो . आणि त्यात घरात जर लहान मुले असतील तर विचारायलाच नको. अशाच कंटाल्यातून काल मी एक recipe invent केली .ती तुमच्याशी share करतेय . हा आहे "गाजर मेथी चे पराठे "

सामग्री :
१) गाजर :०१ मोठे
२)मेथी :साधारण ०१ वाटी
३)कुठलीही उरलेली कच्ची भाजी :कोबी वगैरे
३)आले-लसूण मिरची paste (optional )
४)धणे जिरे powder
५)दही :०१ चमचा
६)हळद :०१ चमचा
७)तेल: आवश्यकतेनुसार
८)मीठ


कृती:
कणिक मळताना त्यात थोडेसे डाळीचे पीठ मिसळावे व वरील सर्व जिन्नस घालून तेल घालून कणिक चांगली मळावी . थोड्या वेळाने त्याचे गरम गरम पराठे करवेत. हे पराठे लोणी, tomato  ketchup  अथवा भाजी बरोबरही छान लागतात .

पराठे ,गोडा मसाल्याची फरसबी-बटाटा भाजी ,फोडणीचे वरण,दही बुंदी आणि कांद्याची पात … mix blend of north indian and deshasthi brahman cuisine 

Chill Grill...... by Chandan Tahasildar

When the lift door opens on the 8th floor of chroma building at Malad West you are not sure of what exactly you would be served in hour n so..

but when a pleasing smile and pleasant music welcomes you, you start getting wibes of good service.
The seating arrangement is nice and the chairs are comfortable. The ambience is quite good and the lights are good enough if you love to be clicked.
However that is absolutely not the reason you are here. If you are a foodie you would be eagerly waiting for the welcome drinks and starters..
And there he comes.. Bijoy, the one who was looking after our table came with his Bengali accent. Personally I liked it because  Bengalis too are sea-food lovers like me.
There was a small round shaped thing with one half coloured Red and the other in Green which I was wondering what it could be. One of my friend who was a regular visitor of the place told me that if you keep the green part visible its an indication that we are ready for the food and unless we turn it upside down, the food will be served. That's what we did and the food started coming to our table. It started with a orange welcome drink. It had sweet and sour kind of taste. and then started the continuous flow of starters.
I must say that the starters were amazing. The first one which I ate was a green salad. it had cabbage and mayonnaise. Then there was veg cutlet which was good too. but we are the fans of fishes and were eagerly waiting for it. There it is.. the fish kabaab.. mutton kabaab and chicken Kebab.. It was delicious.. Specially the mutton kebab.. There was a chicken momo which was made up of rice wheat I suppose and inside it there was chicken filling. It was looking like Modak. Barring that one dish all we ate was superb. The seekh kebabs were really awesome.. They had unique type of tables. The tables were having rectangular box in middle which was meant for hot coal oven. So all the Kebabs we were having were red hot adding to the taste of it. 

we also ordered  a pineapple drink. It looked tempting and didn't disappoint me. We ate so much of the starters that there was no place for main course. These was pulav, Biryani, Mutton Jafferabadi and chicken curry tandoor roti Kulcha and Plain rice and dal.. Ohh. such a long list. The food was tasty.. 

Now we were too full. but how can you leave desserts at such a venue. And let me tell you, it was fantastic. The ice cream the pastries Gulab jamun, Gajar ka halawa.. all were yummy. we had 3 rounds of each.

Then finally when we were tired of eating, we turned that token to red. The last thing to come on table was bill. It came around 870 per person. The total experience was worth of that money..
I am hoping to have one more party there.. If you are going after reading my blog.. dont forget to invite me too..