Annual Roundup of Eating Out

I just cannot stop myself from humming the classic Sinatra song, "It was a very good year". As 2009 comes to a close, I look back at all the eating out during the year and pass my verdict. I wish I could have devoted a full post review to all these restaurants, but alas! the time did not permit (or they just weren't in some cases worthy of a full post).

I have deliberately left out the ones I visited in Paris. They are worthy of a full post review and will follow soon.

1. Five Guys, Wilmington - Great place for Burgers, fries and munching on some peanuts. Never knew a place flipping burgers could get me so crazy.

2. Ranta, Espoo (Finland) - Leave the Italian fare that dominates the menu. Go for the set menu including the Salmon soup and the reindeer steak.

3. 360 Degrees, Oberois, New Delhi - My favorite haunt in Delhi. Great Sushi's and worth sampling Risottos. Indian food is passable.

4. Chor Bizarre, New Delhi -The place to go to for Kashmiri food (I do not know any other in the Capital). The Tarami is a great way to sample. The Gushtaba is a must try.

5. Cafe Lurcat, Minneapolis - Minneapolis offers some fantastic dining. This one remains my favorite. You can read my review.

6. Las Iguanas, London - Craving for some good latin food. Hop into Las Iguanas and get transported to a whole new world. Apart from good food and a buzzing atmosphere, the palce also has a great view of the sites nearby, like the London Eye.

7. Desi Vibes, Noida(India) - Very touristy in its decor. Everything else dissapoints you. Stay away.

8. Zelo's, Minneapolis - Unpredictable ...both in food and service. I know the menu by the back of my hand, having eaten there atleast half a dozen times. Try the Ahi Tuna ..it's really good.

9. Casa Sarita, Park Hyatt, Goa - Goan food never tasted so good. I have been a convert since eating there 10 months back. A must visit for all going to Goa.

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Restaurant Zetor - A Review

OVERALL RATING -
Earlier in December, I found myself spending 2 days in Helsinki. It had just started to snow outside and after spending hours in meetings, we decided to go out for dinner. The restaurant we chose to visit was Zetor. One of my colleagues had been there earlier and we decided to sample it for ourselves.
The setting of the restaurant is very rustic and country style. You can find tractors in it and a hen coop in the middle of the restaurant also. Now finding a tractor is not surprising since Zetor is the name of a famous Czech tractor brand ( It is also known as the Tractor restaurant in Helsinki). What is suprising is that it does not come across as trendy rural setting, but something done up in a hurry. Now what can one expect when a restaurant claims to be designed by the Leningrad cowboys.
For beginners, if you are going in the winters and need to store your coats at the reception, it will be Euro 2.50 per piece (Steep!). It is a good warmup for the steep menu prices to follow later.
The dishes on the menu make for some interesting reading, but be sure to ask the dish before you order it based on the name. We almost ordered the dessert because it was named Priest's Wife Bedside Table (and the description read like, "We Don't even dare to describe it here. Be Brave and ask us about it!). We asked and regretted doing it. The rest of the menu also has quite a few good ones, including a Tiger Woods joke.

The fried herrings for starters were good and so was the roast reindeer for main course. The reindeer was accompanied with a lingonberry glaze, which nearly spoiled the taste for me. Finnish beer was a good revelation.

Service was a mixed bag again. Our initial stewardess really gave us an impression we were not welcome and we nearly had to go hunting for our to take our order, but voila! there was a change right after the starters and the new person waiting our table, really changed the mood. We might just credit the extra round of beers to her cheerful nature and good service.

Overall, the place is a little hyped and made so for the toursity traveller, but it is the only place that I know of serving traditional Finnish food. Go there for the Finnish beer and the roast reindeer, but dont stay too long!

FOOD -
SERVICE -
AMBIENCE -

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Sarsonwaali Grilled Broccoli ( Mustard flavored grilled Broccoli)

Travelling across the globe for work has never made me miss home so much as it did this time. The reason was simple. December is the time to be in Delhi. The weather is perfect to grill out and spend time with close friends. Nothing can beat some nice cold weather and a group of friends huddled around the grill, cooking and talking. Moreover, the atmosphere is so festive that staying away can seem like a punishment.

When it comes to grilling, vegetarians typically tend to get a little ignored. While you take pains to make something new with the meat and chicken products, vegetarians are given the same tandoori paneer, gobhi and stuffed aloo dish everytime. It is a little different for me though. Having a better half who is vegetarian makes me ensure I have a menu planned out for her in detail. While sampling some vegetarian items for the upcoming new year'e eve, I tried out a little brocolli. Must say, it was a refreshing change from the usual fare of tandoori bharwan aloos and paneer tikka's.

Sarsonwaali Grilled Broccoli

Ingredients:
Broccoli, washed & cut into thick florets - 200 Gm
Mustard Paste - 5 Tsp
Hung Curd - 1 Cup
Yellow Chili Powder - 1 Tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1/2 Tsp
Cream - 2 Tblsp
Cumin Powder - 1 Tsp
Mustard Oil - 25 Ml.
Salt - To Taste

For Garnish:
Chaat Masala - 1/2 Tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 Tsp

Method:
1. Blanch the broccoli in boiling water. Refresh.
2. Prepare a marinade out of hung curd, mustard paste, yellow chili powder, red chili powder, cream, cumin powder, mustard oil and salt.
3. Rub the marinade into the broccoli covering all florets. Keep aside for 45 minutes.
4. Heat the grill and place the broccoli florets when it is hot. Cook till it is cooked and crisp.
5. Serve hot, garnished with chaat masala and garam masala sprinkled on top.

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Mocha Muffins

I have been travelling for the last 7 days (which explains this silence) and I miss the cooking part when I'm on the road. However, the last thing I baked before I left were some good old Mocha Muffins. The whole idea with me baking muffins centres around my kids loving them and me aiming to put atleast a dozen different muffin recipes on this blog. They are easy to bake if you follow simple instructions. Personally, they are also a good 'pick up and eat on way to office' stuff.

Mocha Muffins

Ingredients:
Refined flour - 1 3/4 Cup
Granulated sugar - 3/4 Cup
Cocoa - 2 Tblsp
Instant coffee powder - 2 Tsp
Baking powder - 2 1/2 Tsp
Salt - 1/2 Tsp
Milk - 1 Cup
Unslated butter, melted - 1/2 Cup
Egg, beaten - 1 No.
Vanilla essence - 1 Tsp
For topping -
1 tblsp powdered sugar mixed with 1/2 tsp cocoa

Method:
1. Heat oven to 375*F (190*C). Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, coffee, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Mix well and set aside.
2. In another bowl, combine milk, butter, egg, and vanilla essence. Whisk until well blended.
3. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir until moistened.
4. Fill into greased and floured muffin tins (only three-fourths full). NOTE - Makes a dozen muffins.
5. Sprinkle the topping mixture of sugar & cocoa over top.
6. Bake for 15-18 minutes at 375 deg F (190 deg Celsius).

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Kasturi Kabab (Dried Fenugreek flavored Chicken Kababs)

I start this post by wishing my elder son a Very Happy Birthday. Garv turns 5 today. Life has been so much more fuller having him around.
A few weeks back I cooked up some Burra Kabab quoting my visits to Bukhara at the Maurya Sheraton and my love for that Kabab. This weekend I cooked up another of my favorite from Bukhara - Kasturi Kabab. I planned to cook this Kabab many times, but always thought it was a tad bit tedious for a weekend cooking and kept postponing its arrival at our dining table.

A nice foggy morning with not a worry in a world and every bit of my body wanting to cook the whole day, I finally cooked up the famed kasturi kabab.
Other kababs that have found their way into our hearts, our dining table and this blog are:

Lamb / Mutton
Burra Kabab (Mutton/Lamb)

Vegetarian
Nadur Seekh
Achari Paneer Tikka
Tandoori Gobhi
Lachhedar Aloo

Chicken
Tangdi Kabab
Achari Chicken Tikka
Murg Malai Tikka

Seafood
Jhinga Samarkand

Kasturi Kabab

Ingredients:

Chicken, boneless, cut into 2 inch pieces - 600 gm

First Marinade -
Ginger-garlic paste - 3 Tsp
Vinegar - 1 Tblsp
Salt - 1/2 Tsp

Second Marinade -
Refined Oil - 2 Tblsp
Gram flour (Besan) - 2.5 Tblsp
Garlic, finely chopped - 1 Tsp
Egg -1
Cardamom Powder (Elaichi) - 2 Tsp
White Pepper Powder - 2 Tsp
Salt - 1/2 Tsp

Final Coat -
Breadcrumbs - 1 Tblsp
Egg - 1
Dried Fenugreek Leaves (Kasuri Methi) - 1 Tblsp

Method:
1. Rub the chicken pieces with ginger-garlic paste, salt & vinegar. Keep in the refrigerator for an hour.
2. Heat oil in a wok. Add in the chopped garlic and fry till starts to brown.
3. Add in the gram flour and fry. Keep stirring continuously for about 10 minutes or till the oil separates. Remove from flame and allow to cool.
4. Mix together the gram flour mixture with 1 egg, cardamom powder, salt and white pepper powder in a big bowl.
5. Remove the chicken pieces from the refrigerator and add to this mixture.
6. Keep aside for 30 minutes.
7. Skewer the chicken pieces and grill on a tandoor or oven for 8-10 minutes. Turn after 5 minutes and baste the kababs with oil.
8. Once it is nearly cooked, remove the kababs from the tandoor/oven/grill and coat with a mixture of breadcrumbs, 1 egg and dry fenugreek leaves.
9. Cook again for 5 minutes.
10. Serve hot with mint chutney and onion rings on the side.

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Apple Muffins

Baking muffins every alternate weekend is something of a ritual at our household now. So much that my younger one who turns two next month calls all cakes as muffins ( or maapin in his lingo).
I tried baking apple muffins a long time back this year and met with disastrous results. The fault was entirely mine. I had gone against the one rule I follow in the kitchen- When cooking follow instinct, when baking follow instructions. I let my instinct take over and was left with something that resembled a crumble than a muffin. That explained my jitters when I set about baking apple muffins this time. This easy to follow recipe ensured success and the aroma of the freshly baked muffins made it into a hit. The first lot of 12 are over and I'm about to make another fresh batch for my muffin crazed sons.

Apple Muffins

Ingredients:

Flour - 2 Cups
Baking powder - 2 Tsp
Sugar - 1/2 Cup
Nutmeg, freshly ground - 1/4 Tsp
Cinnamon powder - 1/2 Tsp
Salt - 1/2 Tsp
Milk - 1 Cup
Egg - 1
Butter, melted - 1/4 Cup
Apple, cored, peeled and coarsely chopped - 1 Cup

Method:
1. Mix all the dry ingredients (Flour, sugar, spices, baking powder,salt) in a big bowl and whisk.
2. Mix all the wet ingredients (egg, Milk, butter) in a separate bowl. Whisk well.
3. Add the chopped apple and wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
4. Stir to combine. Spoon into muffin molds.
5. Bake at 220 deg. Celsius for 20-25 minutes.

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Chemmeen Mapas (Kerala Prawn Curry with coconut milk)

The wedding season is here and all the partying and staying out late in the cold winter evenings does call for a sleepy and lazy Saturday/Sunday. The last thing you want to do that day is get up early and cook up a huge elaborate fare. Last Saturday was a similar one. We had just got over a very busy week involving loads of work at the office and hectic wedding celebrations in the evenings.
I decided to cook some prawn curry native to the christian community of Kerala. Since I have never tasted it in the past and was making do with an old newspaper cutting that had the instructions, I do not know whether I ended up making it as it should be, but it surely tasted heavenly with steamed rice on the side.

Chemmeen Mapas

Ingredients:
Prawns, washed, shelled & deveined - 250 gm
Oil - 2 Tblsp
Mustard seeds (Rai) - 2 Tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 Tsp
Onion, sliced - 1
Green Chillies, slit - 2
Ginger, chopped - 2 Tsp
Garlic cloves finely chopped - 12
Coriander Powder - 2 Tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1/2 Tsp
Tamarind, soaked in 2/3 up of water - 1 Lemon sized ball
Coconut milk - 2/3 Cup
Salt - To Taste

Method:
1. Heat oil in a pan. Add in the mustard seeds. When they start to crackle, add in the fenugreek seeds, Sliced onion, green chillies, ginger and garlic.
2. Fry till onion turns translucent.
3. Mix together the coriander powder and red chili powder with a tblsp of water to form a paste. Add the spice paste in and fry again for 2 minutes.
4. Extract the tamarind pulp and add that to the pan. Add in the salt and cook.
5. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add prawns and cook till prawns are half done.

6. Pour in the coconut milk and mix well. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.
7. Serve hot with steamed rice or appams.

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Oat Bran Squares & Cookies

Known by different names worldwide, cookies are a favorite with all ages, especially kids. Most English speaking countries except North America knows them as biscuits. In Spain they are known as galletas, and Kels in Germany. They stay well and a great snack on the move or over tea.

Finding myself home alone one day and in the mood to bake something I glanced upon some of my old recipe books that I have collected and saved up since my college days. Coincidentally, I opened up one of the handouts which my baking instructors had given about cookies. Armed with a few recipes and the motivation to bake some healthy cookies that I could use as an alternative to my late night junk food munching, I set about baking some oat bran cookies. My first lot was a traditional cookie. For the second lot, I poured the dough into a well greased mold cut it into squares and put it in the oven.

In my previous posts, I have already written about the health benefits of oat bran. These cookies have also resulted in me getting off the habit of munching junk food while watching late night TV and reaching for a healthy alternative. I think granola bars are up on my must try list now.

Oat Bran Cookies (or Squares)

Ingredients:

Refined flour - 2 Cups
Oat bran - 1/2 Cup
Baking Soda - 1 Tsp
Salt - 1/2 Tsp

Brown sugar - 3/4 Cup

Granulated sugar - 3/4 Cup

Butter, softened at room temperature - 1/2 Cup

Eggs - 2
Vanilla Essence - 1 Tsp

Chopped walnuts - 1/4 Cup

Raisins - 1/4 Cup

Method:

Note: To make squares, drop the dough in a rectangular or square baking dish and cut into squares with a bread knife. bake as usual.

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