Best Shawarmasin Delhi

In My earlier Blog Posted  http://gourmetaffairs.blogspot.com/2011/07/foodie-delights-shawarmas-albake.html  , Talks about the Aazing Shawarmas & Delectable Non vegetarian Food available at Al Bake, New Friends Colony... One of the Biggest & most Popular Dishes at Al Bake is the Shawarma & as explaiend in my Blog Post, that Al Bake can be credited for Introducing Delhi to a Taste of Lebanese Food, although Indianised to a Great Extent & popularising Delhis Love affair with the Shawarmas

There are some Other Patrons of this Shawarmas in Delhi, which have been around for quite some time & doing pretty well .. Arabian Nites, is another such Popular Lebanese food joint, which has been serving Grilled Chicken, Shawarmas for a Long Long Time ..... One of the First Outlets, was is in Defence Colony... The Roasted Chicken is something to die for  is quite different for the Delhites palette .... The Chicken, which is very mildly spiced & marinated , is hung up on the roaster grill which rotates at a very slow speed... One can see the Juices oozing out & dropping on the Roaster furnace.... This juice gets evaporated due to the furnace heat & somehow mixes & leaves a fantastic aroma on the Chicken.. The Chicken Shawarma at AlBake is quite ok, but steeply priced though.. The Hummus & Falafel, are also good ......

Menu for Arabian Nites

Another Up & Coming Joint that promotes the Lebanese & Arab Cusine is Zaitoon.... One of the Outlets , I happened to Visit, is in Select CityWalk Mall, Saket, South Delhi... This Place is popularising the Arab Cusines & Shawarma ... It has also attempted to make the Shawarma more accessible & economical, so that a wider audience of people can try it as a light snack, by launching the Pocket Shawarma

Zaitoon @ Select City Walk

This is how the Pocket Shawarma Looks....

While a Lot of Local Indigenous players, may also render their version of the Shawarma, but ist always best to try the authentic & the Specialists

Kashmiri Keema - A Labour of Love

While the Kashiri Wazwan is hugely Populr among Food Lovers, especially for its exquisite preparation of the Non Vegetarian Mutton Dishes... The world is crazy over the Kashmiri Rogan Josh, Yakhni, Kabargah, Mutton Kali, which are all the Main Coursei Mutton Dishes..There is another range of Delicacies which make use of the Mince meat, namely the World Famous Goshtaba, Rista & Keema or Mach, as we fondly call it in Kashmiri Cusines

While Goshtaba & Ristaa, are round in shape & use different spices & herbs, Mach is the more commonly made Mince meat dish in Kashmiri families.... All 3are infact a Huge labour of love ... The best way to make the keema is to buy the best meat mince for the dish. The mutton for the Mince, shoudl ideally be from the Lamb Thighs (Raan) or shoulders... The trick is to get the meat from a freshly slaughtered goat....Typically the Head male or patriarch would visit the butchere & pick the goat, this is especially useful when buying large quantities for family functions or festivals..... Then he would ensure the meat is minced in his presence nicely to get the right texture, & quality ...Lot of Butcher Shops still do the mincing in front of the customers

Meat being minced.....Labour of Love

This fine mince is then mixed with Oil, salt, Turmeric, Fennel or Shonth, Sauff powder, Red Chillis, Garam Masala, Eggs for Binding.... Kashmiri Cooking doesnt use any Tomato, Onions,Garlic ..Its just the use of amazing Herbs & Spices

The Mixing of Spices....

Keema ...Koftas

After thorough mixing & skillful binding of the mutton balls, into these beautiful, slightly reddish, slightly pinkish Mutton Keema Koftas..... This beauty is now ready to go into hot, Boiling, spicy curry base which is ready..these are dipped into the Boiling Curry to give it the Final Shape

These are best had with Hot & Steaming Rice... Trust me, this taste is one, yo have to eat it to believe it .. There is extensive use of just simple spices like Garam Masala, Heeng, Cloves, Fennel, Saunf Powder, Small & Big Cardamoms, can produce one of the world class Recipes of a Truly world Class Cusine...No Fancy Spices or herbs, No exquisite processes, Just great labour of love.... One can also have this with Chapatis or Parathas, But it is highly recommende to have it with a Plate of Hot steamed rice

Do Try at Home whenever you have time..... A Truly awesome Culinary Delight

Ande paranthe & other eats@ Moolchand

My Earlier Blog Posted  http://gourmetaffairs.blogspot.com/2011/07/vikram-parantha-wala.html, Talked about the Very Famous, Andaa Paratha Wala, at Andrews Ganj Flyover, located just opposite the Vikram Hotel, & now at the MoolChand Metro Station.. This Place has now become a Little Food lane or Khaau Galli, as they call in Mumbai..... Khau Galli, is a Concept, widely Popular in Mumbai & Parts of Maharashtra, wherein Lots of street food is avaialble, Fresh, Hot, spicy, tangy & reasonably priced, all in a single lane...Thats what this area around the MoolChand Metro Station Promises to become ..

One you have the Hugely Popular, Vikram Andaa Paratha wala, which has been discussed in detail in my earlier blog..... Then there is Relish Fast Food Van, which serves nice quick fix Indianised Chinese Food... The Food may not be absoultely Great Shakes in theTaste, But its , the rightly spiced, & rightly oiled, Indianised Chinese .... This place is fully packed with Customers, wanting to have a quick bite of the Chines Food .... Some Pics attached

The Fried rice, Noodles, & Chicken Manchurian are ok & passable.. The Portions are quite good , reasonably priced & quite a decent fill...

Chicken Fried Rice -- This is Half a Plate...size matters

Then there is the Famous Sanjay Chur Chur Naan....This Small eatery serves, The stuffed Tandoori Nan, stuffed with Aloo, Paneer & Richly loaded & dipped with Ghee.One Thali of Choor Choor Nan, is served with 2 Heavy Stuffed Nanas 1 Dal, 1 Channa or Cholle, along with Onions dipped in Mint Chutney......Priced at Rs 100, This place attracts quite a lot of Lunch Time Visitors ....

There is one more Place which serves, Delhis Favorite Breakfast Channa Bhaturaa... I happend to try the Channa Bhatura this Morning & was pleasently surprised  to see the huge gathering of people waiting to grab a quick bite of this Popular Breakfast....

Look at the Breakfast Rush at 10.00 am

The Bhaturas, were quite nice & did not have any strong oil odor, which one normally finds... The Cholles were also pretty nice, seemd to have a different color, pretty red thoough, but not at all spicy ... If you are the one who deosnt like too eat too spicy stuff in the morning, Then this is a good breakfast treat for your palette



Nice Bhaturas, Cholle are just perferct...not too spicy

Do Visit this Area around the Vikram Hotel, You will get everything from Variety of Parathas, Indianised Chinese Food at Relish Foods, Chur Chur Naan & Spicy Subzee for Lunch, Fresh, Hot & Crisp Cholel Bhaturas

The Water Snacks

Suprising Title for the Blog...But theres a whole variety of Snacks which combine spiced water & a fried round & small pastry usually filled with a stuffing. This Snack is almost a legendary street food in most parts  it of India..If you have been a Delhite Like me, You would refer it to as a Gol Gappa....One of the Most Iconic street foods of Delhi....Infact Delhi street food snacks are Incomplete without mentioning a few snacks, and Gol Gappa is absolutely one of them....Chaat Papdi, Aloo Tikki, Dahi Balle & Gol Gappa, are the typical snacks without which the Earlier Delhi Aunty or Bhabhiji or Ms Chadhas , Ms Aggarwals, Ms Malhotras of the world, could not even imagine their Evening Out

Delhi, being quite strongly Influenced by the Punjabi & Baniya Culture, and almost being a Pot Pourri of sorts, a meling pot for various cultural Influences, understandings, with these 2 being pretty dominated, and being quite a Patriarch Society, wherein the Males of the Family, play a pivotal role in all the Decision Making & even sensitive matters, apart from the Being the Bread Winners....So for quite a Few Delhi women, esp. during the late 80s & Early 90s, these snacks were almost a symbol of their little liberation & freedom....The Gol Gappa, has been a word used to lovingly or mockingly, describe a round rotund, & healthy person, especially for the Kids

Gol Gappas are stuffed with a Boiled potato, mashed with diff spices & herbs, stuffed inside a deep fried, very crsip, puri, & dipped in spiced water..The Puris are made up from Atta or Sujee.This water is mainly, Tamarind Base, or Mint Based & is generally served Cold..The water is so tasty, that its almost a tradition for people to ask for 2-3 helpings of the spiced water, after finishing their quota of Gol Gappas

Gol Gappas

In Mumbai, the Gol Gappas, are also known as Pani Puri...and the stuffing is usually made of Channa, Chickpeas, Mutter..and is served Lukewarm & not as Ice Cold as is loved in Delhi..

PaniPuri

The Origin of these Snacks seems to be from Uttar Pradesh, where they are also known as "Paani ke Bataashe"..Bataashe means, something that can easily crack on applying a little pressure....In Lucknow & Parts of U.P Pani is prepared using mint, tamarind, asafoetida (hing), black pepper, red chili powder and salt. At Hazaratganj in Lucknow you can savour Paanch Swaad Ke Pataashe which means the Pataashe are served with five differently tasting Pani....

In West Bengal, Kolkatta, this dish is known as the Puchka...which is the King of Street Food in Kolkatta...The filling is made by lightly mashing boiled potatoes with black salt, salt, some spices, a generous portion of tamarind pulp (made by mashing ripe tamarind in tamarind water), chilli (powder/chopped/boiled & pasted). The tamarind water Tetul Jol is made by mixing tamarind and spices/ salt and making a light and tart liquid with water

Some examples are imli ka pani (tamarind in water), nimbu ka pani (lemon juice in water), pudine ka pani (mint in water) and khajur ka pani (dates mixed in water). In West Bengal, Orissa, Mithilanchal part of Bihar and the southern part of Jharkhand, many people enjoy panipuris containing no sweet but with tamarind juice and spicy mashed

Do try whenever you have time in Evenings...South Extension in Delhi, Khau Gali,Juhu in Mumbai, are where you can devour the best of these amazing snacks

Reference : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panipuri

Samosa - The Humble Snack

 Have you ever given some thought to the most humble food that has been present for such a long time that you have taken its presence for granted...This was the food Item without which your birthday parties would never have been possible..Its one of those food items, without which the monsoons & that splashing rain would not have looked & felt the same.... Many a times, when your early winter morning slumber is disturbed for whatever god forbidden reason this food along with hot & steamy cup of tea would be the savior....Many office meetings & evening snacks  would be incomplete without this snack ......All Offices, Corporates, Govt, PSUs, consider this as a savior snack...It looks so humble & simple, so basic yet so effective ...It can be somebodys favorite guilt food....Long before, Burgers , Pizzas & Many of the Foreign food chains Invaded India, This has been & continues to be Indias best homegrown & home made snack......Even Today Kids find it as enduring as a MacDonalds, or Pizza Hut, & still as appealing....and thanks to the Enterprising & Evergrowing Indian Diaspora, This food is as widely available as the Chicken Tikka, if not as Popular....All Communities Love it & all have their different flavors & versions to it...The Greatness of this Snack is that It lends itself to a lot of Experimentation & varieties albeit with encouraging  Results..You can stuff this with meat, Chicken, Onions, Peas, Chickpea, Mushrooms,Potatoes, Condensed Milk.......

It doesnt limit itself to just a limited offerings & condinments....Stuff it in Bread Slice and you get a Samosa Sandwich, a Pouplar Campus snack in Mumbai.......Pav Samosa, YOu can have it wityh Ketchup, Tamarind Chutney, Green Mint & Chilly Chutney, Coriander Chutney....Have it with a plate of Aloo subzee, or Choley...It taste just as great.....In the Bylanes, Gullies, Main roads, Highways, Dhabas, its still as Popular as ever..Lot of Hotels also have the Samosa as part of their Menu...

The Samosa too Like all of us has a Story & a HIstory.....Having its origins somewhere in Central Asia, Its also known as Sanbusak or Samsa in parts of Central Asia, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Uzbekistan. According to the “The Oxford Companion to Food” the Indian samosa is merely the best known of an entire family of stuffed pastries or dumplings popular from Egypt and Zanzibar to Central Asia and West China

Diff Avatars of the Samosa in Asia,

In the Turkish-speaking nations where it is called samsa (& variants) it is made both in half-moon shapes and triangles. Sedentary Turkish people such as the Uzbeks and in Turkey itself, people usually bake their samsas, but nomads such as the Kazakhs fry them. Occasionally, samsas will be steamed, particularly in Turkmenistan. In Central Asia the versions made with rough puff pastry (waraqi samsa, sambusai varaqi) are filled with meat. Those made with plain dough (leavened or unleavened) maybe filled either with meat or fillings such as diced pumpkin, chickpeas, herbs, wild greens, fried onions, mushrooms or dried tomatoes.

Sanbusak / Sambusa

Extolled in poems recited in the courts of Abassid Caliphs in 16th century Baghdad, these savoury pastries are particularly popular in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan & Syria. Traditional sanbusak are shaped like half moons and sprinkled with sesame seeds, usually with edges crimped or marked with fingernails. The usual Arab sanbusak is filled with meat, onions, & perhaps nuts or raisins, but Sanbusak bil Loz is tuffed with a mixture of ground almonds, sugar and rose or orange blossom water. In Iraq and Arabia dates are also a common filling. These pastries were still made in Iran as late as the 16th Century, but they have disappeared from most of the country today, surviving only in certain provinces: e.g. the triangular walnut-filled sambusas made in Larestan. However the Iranians of Central Asia, the Tajiks, still make a wide-variety of sambusas including round, rectangular and small almond shaped ones. In Afghanistan, where the name is sambosa, it is made both in half-moon shapes and triangles. The filling is traditionally ground meat with herbs and spices although halva and rasins are often used as well.

 Some People cook it in Oil - Mustard, Refined, Ground Nut, One restaurant also fries the Samosa in Ghee.....


Reference - http://www.samosa-connection.com/origin.htm

Dominoes Pizza

Even Though Dominoes prides itself of its extremely unique positioning plank of extra ordinary service & Logistics management, by building an entire organization on the Positioning of excellence in Customer Service (30 mts delivery, In a County Like India, where neither the traffic nor the Roads can be relied upon, is a great lesson)

But last week, I was pleasantly surprised with the brilliant ambience & décor that was built up in the Restaurant considering that Its supposed to be a Home Delivery Pizza Chain….. Just have a look at some of the pics showing the ambience of the Restaurant

Excellent ambience in Dominoes

We order the Paneer Pizza on a Thin wheat Crust & Garlic Bread ..

Colorful Pizza, rainbow on my plate

Garlic Breads...all time hit......hmmmm

I read one interesting Catchline on  a Poster in the Outlet, which suggests that Pizzas are best had with Hands…This is very unlike the Fine dining tags which seem to be attached with a Pizza… Almost all decent restaurants are promoting the Pizza as the symbol of  Fine dining experience….good to see Pizzas being promoted in this manner by Dominoes…….

Dominoes also seem never running out of excellent & innovative ideas to promote & take pizzas from the level of Fast food & junk food category, and now almost as an alternate cusine…”The Khushiyon ki Home Delivery”, is a fantastic campaign & we see the Pizza as now an almost accepted form of food, especially for small celebrations .. Pizza has now almost become a Happiness food…. Especially the home delivery food….

Afghani Food in Delhi

If you have been thinking that Afghani Chicken & Afghani Chicken Tikkas, are just another flavor of Mughlai food, or at best, these are probably the best edible things that Afghani Cusine can Offer, then you also are highly mistaken like my me…Last weekend, I had an Opportunity to explore Afghani Food..Actually the planning was on for a long time, but our hectic & uncreative work leaves us with little, time, zest & enthusiasm for doing much things..However, I managed to keep my word with younger bro & his friend, both of whom happen to be foodies, of a different kind though…..

We reached the Afghan Darbar Restaurant, in the bylanes of Lajpat Nagar 4, very close to the Hot, Defence Colony Market… There is quite a Dense Population of Afghan Nationals in this part of Delhi City… From What I could gather these People, come here as Medical Tourists, in search & long drawn medical treatments, may force them to take places on rent & do odd jobs to sustain the sometime longer than expected stay, and also the charms of a Free Democratic country, are not something that can be missed

The Restaurant has a Nice, family restaurant kind of a feel & ambience..Its quite brightly lit & the walls have been done with a sober brick kind of color, and quite a homely feel, I have to admit

We start with the Highly recommended Afghani Momos or Mantus…Now these Momos, I can bet are the most wholesome Momos & are almost meal like in terms of their presentation … The Momos are topped with a well made Channa Dal, Lots of Curd, Capsicum, Tomatoes & Mustard Oil thrown generously… The Momos are stuffed with Mutton, which is not too spicy, but the Curd & Dal, make it an amazing snack…The Plate Looks quite Colorful

Colorful Plate of Mantu.....quite a rainbow on my plate

Then Next on the Menu is the Mutton Chopan --- From what I could Gather, In Afghani Menu, there is very limited variety of what we call as Seekh Kabab in the Mughlai Menu…The kababs in Afghani Menu are basically, the burras, The Tikkas….. The Mutton Chopan, was something like what a Mutton Burra, but a big disappointment…the mutton was pretty hard & chewy….not quite the one for my liking…..The skewers were pretty gigantic & looked like a warring nations tribute to food lovers

Mutton Chopan..almost Burra Like with Huge skewers

Kabuli Pulao & Kabuli Uzbekki – Well these two varieties of Pulao can blow your mind away for sure, but you need to be ready to handle the huge dose of raisins…Like Kashmiri Cusine, There is no concept of bIryani in the Afghani Cusine….The Mutton, is as good as any other which one can have…absolutely succulent, soaked with all the rich flavors of ghee, raisin, saffron, just melts in your mouth…. I couldn’t gather much of a difference between the Kabuli Pulao & Kabuli Uzbeki…The rIce grains were long & distinct…The Pulao had an amazingly rich flavor of raisins, nuts ,ghee..absolutely a treat...The  side accompainiment of Brinjal Dish was quite tangy & spicy....loaded with mustard oil & ghee

Side Dish of a Tangy Tomato Brinjal Gravy with cream

The breads were nothing to write home about, except the Bolnani, the leeth Bolani as they call it..The stuffing is made from mashing the Spring Onions . The bread is deep fried and almost a bhatura like

Chicken Qurma & Kabuli Uzbekki

The meal is polished off with a hot cup of Kehwa tea…Its very similar to the Kehwa in Kashmir, except the dryfruits

Bolani - Deep Fried Bread with Spring Onion Mash

A Good meal, and the best part, that it was quite light on the tummy. Do visit when in Lajpat Nagar