Perfect Sunday B'fast
Option 1
Chai
Fruit
Fresh cucumber-tomato-paneer s/w
Nirula's mustard and Heinz ketchup
More chai
HT Sunday brunch
Option 2
Chai
Stuffed paronthi with homemade white butter
More chai
The Sunday Times
Option 3
Coffee
Brown bread toast
Scrambed/fried (sunny side up) egg
Salt and pepper
More coffee
A book I have to finish this weekend
Option 4
Poori-aloo
Halwa(!!!)
Chai
Sleep
Option 5
Spiced cold cuts - salami/parma ham
Crusty bread
Coffee
Waffles with caramelized banana and maple syrup
Great company
Have tons of work to get done today - this post was an indulgent postponing mechanism...why do some things never change!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
I'm back!
Yes I am...to Delhi, @ home and with direct relevance to this 'food'(!!!) blog - to so much variety for the foodies. While I was doing the rounds on AB Road, Indore, Bhopal and (much loved) Hyderabad - I lost track of the high speed and hardcore vengeance with which the food scene is growing in Delhi.
It's great. There's tons of variety in cuisine, pricing, locations, ambience, themes etc - was reading this morning about 'top picks' for weekend options - and there were at least 3 neat jazz gigs that one could choose from, on 1 Saturday. I don't remember NCR being so rocking when I left 2 years ago.
The good thing is that every time I get chatting with someone on the Delhi food scene (and luckily seem to know enough and more people who'll happily talk about this long enough to satiate my curiousity and excitement), I hear of at least 2-3 new places that are highly recommended. 'New' being places I haven't been to, yet.
The better and more comforting thing of course is that my pick of old favorites seem to have held their fort, all in the face of more demanding guests, imaginative competition and little or no media spend. That's the fantastic thing about a great product - you needn't spend on reminding people all the time (Disclaimer - FMCG does not work like this, I know). So the places that have stayed put have actually expanded to a larger number of locations or just simply increased cover area in existing premises - and they still host jampacked evenings, weekend or not.
For sheer personal indulgence - here's my pick of ol' favorites.
Chinese
Chopstix, at Sirifort Complex ; I see express counters at some food courts too - and the quality is right up there
Fujia, at Malcha Marg ; no branches, irritatingly small and packed, great portions and flavor - yet to try their famous authentic Japanese fare
Berco's at CP Inner Circle, Kamla Nagar, Gurgaon etc ; again a sure bet for good Indian Chinese but you must know what to order - they can go wrong with some vague dishes
Italian
Flavours, under Def Col flyover; no branches, loads of memories - great atmosphere, friendly service that doesn't disappoint at rush hour - heard recently that their Sunday brunch is not-to-be-missed
Big Chill at Kailash Col Mkt, Khan Mkt; so this would have been the first listing because food here now functions as 'comfort food' for a lot of us - but I wasn't sure I want to categorize it as any 1 cuisine - it's the place and the expeorience and the memories really that does it for me ; service can be very very bad, but I still root!
Little Italy, M-Block GK-II market ; much loved from B'lore and Hyd days - hear it's in the neighborhood market now. Yay!
Indian
Chor Bizarre, at Broadway Hotel (Darya Ganj) with branches at 1-too-many malls in Noida and Gurgaon ; love the decor concept, Kashmiri food is really well done
Al-Kauzer, Outer Ring Road @ Vasant Vihar; galouti to die for :)
Holiday Club, Panchsheel Park; comfort food-like nan and makhni dal; pathetic pathetic pathetic service and ambience but can be worth the while
Moti Mahal, at Darya Ganj/GK1 etc ; for sheer legend I guess
L'azeez-affaire, at Malcha Marg and now in GKIIM as well ; had a memorable meal years ago - very refreshing from the usual Delhi style mughlai madness
Pandara Road, this includes Gulati's, HaveMore, Pindi etc - consistently good Punjabu stuff; Gulati's goes quite OTT with the whole Navratri bit but it looks like that keeps their patrons coming back
Ice Cream
Nirula's, Def Col, Chanakyapuri etc - great great great memories, all the fat is thanks to them and the awesome amount of pizza, HCF, waffle cones and other such indulgences there ; willing victim of Nirula's child obesity plan!
Kulfi Faluda at Pandara Rd, just outside Gulati's
Baskin Robbins
I hear Giani's is the (not so) new big one - it's here near Savitri now - may go tonight :)
Chaat
Sindhi (near Karol Bagh/Ajmal Khan Rd?) - sinful thick curd and yum chutneys in some 5 types of chaat
Haldiram's - everywhere- three cheers to Indian halwais going the standard-product-everywhere way
Bengali Sweets at South Ex - suji golguppas, perfect paani! Yumness.
BTW , Pitampura etc - for grand sized tikki chaat with a ton of topping
Ramlila grounds on Dussehra day - congregration of Chandni Chowk's chaatwallas - for the uninitiated - that's like the best footballers from across clubs offering to play each other 1 night, all night - for free. Over 200 items I'm sure.
I'm sure I'll have tons to add to this list - but these are pretty much the places one frquented (shall add on Sagar and Govardhan another time) till college time - and these are places that've held their own, well mostly.
Post on the new/not-so-old picks - coming soon. Haven't been cooking at all since I moved back. Need to change that...
Yes I am...to Delhi, @ home and with direct relevance to this 'food'(!!!) blog - to so much variety for the foodies. While I was doing the rounds on AB Road, Indore, Bhopal and (much loved) Hyderabad - I lost track of the high speed and hardcore vengeance with which the food scene is growing in Delhi.
It's great. There's tons of variety in cuisine, pricing, locations, ambience, themes etc - was reading this morning about 'top picks' for weekend options - and there were at least 3 neat jazz gigs that one could choose from, on 1 Saturday. I don't remember NCR being so rocking when I left 2 years ago.
The good thing is that every time I get chatting with someone on the Delhi food scene (and luckily seem to know enough and more people who'll happily talk about this long enough to satiate my curiousity and excitement), I hear of at least 2-3 new places that are highly recommended. 'New' being places I haven't been to, yet.
The better and more comforting thing of course is that my pick of old favorites seem to have held their fort, all in the face of more demanding guests, imaginative competition and little or no media spend. That's the fantastic thing about a great product - you needn't spend on reminding people all the time (Disclaimer - FMCG does not work like this, I know). So the places that have stayed put have actually expanded to a larger number of locations or just simply increased cover area in existing premises - and they still host jampacked evenings, weekend or not.
For sheer personal indulgence - here's my pick of ol' favorites.
Chinese
Chopstix, at Sirifort Complex ; I see express counters at some food courts too - and the quality is right up there
Fujia, at Malcha Marg ; no branches, irritatingly small and packed, great portions and flavor - yet to try their famous authentic Japanese fare
Berco's at CP Inner Circle, Kamla Nagar, Gurgaon etc ; again a sure bet for good Indian Chinese but you must know what to order - they can go wrong with some vague dishes
Italian
Flavours, under Def Col flyover; no branches, loads of memories - great atmosphere, friendly service that doesn't disappoint at rush hour - heard recently that their Sunday brunch is not-to-be-missed
Big Chill at Kailash Col Mkt, Khan Mkt; so this would have been the first listing because food here now functions as 'comfort food' for a lot of us - but I wasn't sure I want to categorize it as any 1 cuisine - it's the place and the expeorience and the memories really that does it for me ; service can be very very bad, but I still root!
Little Italy, M-Block GK-II market ; much loved from B'lore and Hyd days - hear it's in the neighborhood market now. Yay!
Indian
Chor Bizarre, at Broadway Hotel (Darya Ganj) with branches at 1-too-many malls in Noida and Gurgaon ; love the decor concept, Kashmiri food is really well done
Al-Kauzer, Outer Ring Road @ Vasant Vihar; galouti to die for :)
Holiday Club, Panchsheel Park; comfort food-like nan and makhni dal; pathetic pathetic pathetic service and ambience but can be worth the while
Moti Mahal, at Darya Ganj/GK1 etc ; for sheer legend I guess
L'azeez-affaire, at Malcha Marg and now in GKIIM as well ; had a memorable meal years ago - very refreshing from the usual Delhi style mughlai madness
Pandara Road, this includes Gulati's, HaveMore, Pindi etc - consistently good Punjabu stuff; Gulati's goes quite OTT with the whole Navratri bit but it looks like that keeps their patrons coming back
Ice Cream
Nirula's, Def Col, Chanakyapuri etc - great great great memories, all the fat is thanks to them and the awesome amount of pizza, HCF, waffle cones and other such indulgences there ; willing victim of Nirula's child obesity plan!
Kulfi Faluda at Pandara Rd, just outside Gulati's
Baskin Robbins
I hear Giani's is the (not so) new big one - it's here near Savitri now - may go tonight :)
Chaat
Sindhi (near Karol Bagh/Ajmal Khan Rd?) - sinful thick curd and yum chutneys in some 5 types of chaat
Haldiram's - everywhere- three cheers to Indian halwais going the standard-product-everywhere way
Bengali Sweets at South Ex - suji golguppas, perfect paani! Yumness.
BTW , Pitampura etc - for grand sized tikki chaat with a ton of topping
Ramlila grounds on Dussehra day - congregration of Chandni Chowk's chaatwallas - for the uninitiated - that's like the best footballers from across clubs offering to play each other 1 night, all night - for free. Over 200 items I'm sure.
I'm sure I'll have tons to add to this list - but these are pretty much the places one frquented (shall add on Sagar and Govardhan another time) till college time - and these are places that've held their own, well mostly.
Post on the new/not-so-old picks - coming soon. Haven't been cooking at all since I moved back. Need to change that...
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
OF WATER SPORTS AND BEACH PARTIES…
Hyderabad is where the Nizam built a charming little (not any more) regal city centuries ago, archived by the now-famous sound and light show at Golcunda Fort. But that’s of an era that is now far bygone. Hyderabd today is bustling and bursting with people, vehicles and activity. Contrary to the Nizam being spoilt for choice for weekend entertainment, options today are limited. Until you are the Subodh-type who wants to book movie tickets a week in advance, you have a fat chance of making it to any half-decent show. The malls complete a cute number of two, a far cry from the needs of seeming (and seething by Sunday evening) millions who wish to throng them.
So what do four young people with three hours of weekly work between them do on a weekend? Well…two people decide to make a weekend trip to Pondicherry and latch on to the demanding task of convincing the other two to join the party. The first two shall be referred to VK and yours truly, while the latter are SV and NK.
What we all know about Pondicherry is that it was the capital of the French empire in India. It’s famous for the notion of a ‘quaint little French town’. My top-of-the-mind recall included the fact that the Hidesign factory is located here. There is Auroville…the Aurobindo ashram’s global settlement experiment. Booze is cheaper than our cities. Enough reason for four work-less bored people to hike right down to Chennai and then further on. Except that sometimes some work-less people derive great pleasure from being difficult. So it was only after much factual marketing, imaginative marketing, pleading and coercing that SV and NK finally obliged to accompany.
Travel to Pondicherry is great from Chennai (165 km by the East Coast Road, a beautiful drive, I am told) but not so convenient from Hyderabad if you are stretching the weekend. Because you want to make a budget trip (public apology VK) and because some people are tall, bus travel can escalate into near civil-war type of situations. Was it the impact of proximity to Telangana or was it SV being himself that he famously came up with, “If I am not comfortable, you will not be comfortable”…???
So we entered Pondicherry just after noon on Saturday. Tropical sun on the skin and the unmistakable sea stench didn’t do much to shake off the bus fatigue. Not to mention the burly driver who spoke (correction: barked) only when asked to at least twice. Hotel check-in was not too hard, though the sea facing properties were surprisingly unavailable or sadly pricey. There are several accommodation options, starting with Hidesign’s two boutique hotels at the top, to mid-priced functional properties on the sea front and the city, to the ashram properties that lie right at the bottom of the price pyramid but stack up well for amenities and location, albeit with an 11 p.m. deadline.
The binge began with Saturday lunch…decent portions and taste at Le Café. How I love seaside restaurants. The sea was really a peek away. The food was standard, if not delicious, but the location and fellow patrons made up. You know how we dismiss the brown man’s complex? How we insist that we Indians don’t need the videsis? The logic turns on it’s head when you see the real action. Perfectly well educated and non-deprived friends will turn into professional oglers at the sight of white. Our choice of cuisine, restaurant, table and even seating on the table would be a function of the ‘whites’. That apart, food was fresh and equal portions of fries and salads kept the guilt-o-meter in check. Le Café was rivaled in ambience and location only by the roof top restaurant at The Promenade (situated on a street by the same name). The reason…roof top on the seaside makes for great times, given that the hotel caters to the richest visiting Pondicherry. We obliged with dinner visits on Saturday and Sunday night. The chef takes pride in the variety of fusion cuisine, a lot of which didn’t do enough for us and was polished off with sufficient help from tabasco. The tabasco bottle was polished off too J. The liquor is cheap by any standards. Large JD @ Rs. 75? Even I know that’s a good deal. The wine collection is surprisingly limited for a place that caters to French travelers. Service is excellent. On the whole, prices are reasonable here, unlike Le Café, which seems to be milking an extra twenty percent on location. The caveat with food in this coastal town is that you are either at the top end or the bottom. And the low cost options are usually typical idli-sambhar fare, something that office lunch keeps us from missing. The food expense will inflate your budget a wee bit. My favorite food though was the delicious fresh pineapple, served peeled and chopped with a yum hot masala. Five rupees for a small pack. Five rupees for the juice of pineapple tickling your tongue on a hot coastal afternoon? Any day. SR…you know you were missed.
To people visiting Pondicherry for the beaches…please don’t burden it with comparisons to Goa. This place is small. Beaches are few but almost spotlessly clean. Much to our disappointment, the water sports scene is not up for now. At best one can manage a shared boat ride to another beach through backwater-like waters. Sun-kissed beaches are perfect for a sunbath…one can spend hours away from intrusive crowds, just with a book and sea sounds for company. Or if you are determined to pack your trip with action, you can rent a ball for some beach volley or water polo. The sea is fairly rough even during the day, intensified by the quickness of the sand. The main street of the city is Le Promenade (French for a walk or a street), also host to a large Gandhi statue. This seaside street is the most popular hangout for locals and tourists. The family atmosphere is complete with street food (sadly, nothing impressive), kids playing ball and blowing soap bubbles. Cute, but avoidable on a Sunday evening.
The famous Auroville is situated eight kilometers from the city. The idea of this global city being a self-sufficient ecosystem viz. economic, cultural and administrative needs is unique. The place is on most must-see lists. But if you don’t get to spend a few hours seeing the whole settlement, there isn’t much to miss.
Shopping! Authentic Pondicherry products are either leather based or related to aromas. The agarbatti collection at Auroville is very popular, and rightly so. Yes, Hidesign does sell at a factory outlet but variety is very limited. We were lucky to spot some decent pieces, including a men’s leather jacket @ Rs. 900, which became unexpectedly useful at the over-chilled Chennai airport. The boys picked up a fair bit, after many consultations and verifications with sisters and better halves. Sweet.
In general, people are great. Both locals and the now-local foreigners. They will go much out of their way to lead you to your destination. The party scene is not hot, unless you know people who are part of the Auroville party scene, including Saturday nights ones that go on till the wee hours. Language is a surmountable issue.
So here’s the verdict…it’s not the place for water sports or beach parties...but it's a perfect weekend destination if you are in this part of the country and want to see a real beach, not Marina! Go prepared with sunscreen and swimsuits, Ray Ban’s and your driving license. Rent a bike or a car and enjoy the warmth of this laidback beach town. And yeah, Jaya Amma aint French but her larger-than-life cutouts keep you from forgetting that you are in TN. Make your peace.
Hyderabad is where the Nizam built a charming little (not any more) regal city centuries ago, archived by the now-famous sound and light show at Golcunda Fort. But that’s of an era that is now far bygone. Hyderabd today is bustling and bursting with people, vehicles and activity. Contrary to the Nizam being spoilt for choice for weekend entertainment, options today are limited. Until you are the Subodh-type who wants to book movie tickets a week in advance, you have a fat chance of making it to any half-decent show. The malls complete a cute number of two, a far cry from the needs of seeming (and seething by Sunday evening) millions who wish to throng them.
So what do four young people with three hours of weekly work between them do on a weekend? Well…two people decide to make a weekend trip to Pondicherry and latch on to the demanding task of convincing the other two to join the party. The first two shall be referred to VK and yours truly, while the latter are SV and NK.
What we all know about Pondicherry is that it was the capital of the French empire in India. It’s famous for the notion of a ‘quaint little French town’. My top-of-the-mind recall included the fact that the Hidesign factory is located here. There is Auroville…the Aurobindo ashram’s global settlement experiment. Booze is cheaper than our cities. Enough reason for four work-less bored people to hike right down to Chennai and then further on. Except that sometimes some work-less people derive great pleasure from being difficult. So it was only after much factual marketing, imaginative marketing, pleading and coercing that SV and NK finally obliged to accompany.
Travel to Pondicherry is great from Chennai (165 km by the East Coast Road, a beautiful drive, I am told) but not so convenient from Hyderabad if you are stretching the weekend. Because you want to make a budget trip (public apology VK) and because some people are tall, bus travel can escalate into near civil-war type of situations. Was it the impact of proximity to Telangana or was it SV being himself that he famously came up with, “If I am not comfortable, you will not be comfortable”…???
So we entered Pondicherry just after noon on Saturday. Tropical sun on the skin and the unmistakable sea stench didn’t do much to shake off the bus fatigue. Not to mention the burly driver who spoke (correction: barked) only when asked to at least twice. Hotel check-in was not too hard, though the sea facing properties were surprisingly unavailable or sadly pricey. There are several accommodation options, starting with Hidesign’s two boutique hotels at the top, to mid-priced functional properties on the sea front and the city, to the ashram properties that lie right at the bottom of the price pyramid but stack up well for amenities and location, albeit with an 11 p.m. deadline.
The binge began with Saturday lunch…decent portions and taste at Le Café. How I love seaside restaurants. The sea was really a peek away. The food was standard, if not delicious, but the location and fellow patrons made up. You know how we dismiss the brown man’s complex? How we insist that we Indians don’t need the videsis? The logic turns on it’s head when you see the real action. Perfectly well educated and non-deprived friends will turn into professional oglers at the sight of white. Our choice of cuisine, restaurant, table and even seating on the table would be a function of the ‘whites’. That apart, food was fresh and equal portions of fries and salads kept the guilt-o-meter in check. Le Café was rivaled in ambience and location only by the roof top restaurant at The Promenade (situated on a street by the same name). The reason…roof top on the seaside makes for great times, given that the hotel caters to the richest visiting Pondicherry. We obliged with dinner visits on Saturday and Sunday night. The chef takes pride in the variety of fusion cuisine, a lot of which didn’t do enough for us and was polished off with sufficient help from tabasco. The tabasco bottle was polished off too J. The liquor is cheap by any standards. Large JD @ Rs. 75? Even I know that’s a good deal. The wine collection is surprisingly limited for a place that caters to French travelers. Service is excellent. On the whole, prices are reasonable here, unlike Le Café, which seems to be milking an extra twenty percent on location. The caveat with food in this coastal town is that you are either at the top end or the bottom. And the low cost options are usually typical idli-sambhar fare, something that office lunch keeps us from missing. The food expense will inflate your budget a wee bit. My favorite food though was the delicious fresh pineapple, served peeled and chopped with a yum hot masala. Five rupees for a small pack. Five rupees for the juice of pineapple tickling your tongue on a hot coastal afternoon? Any day. SR…you know you were missed.
To people visiting Pondicherry for the beaches…please don’t burden it with comparisons to Goa. This place is small. Beaches are few but almost spotlessly clean. Much to our disappointment, the water sports scene is not up for now. At best one can manage a shared boat ride to another beach through backwater-like waters. Sun-kissed beaches are perfect for a sunbath…one can spend hours away from intrusive crowds, just with a book and sea sounds for company. Or if you are determined to pack your trip with action, you can rent a ball for some beach volley or water polo. The sea is fairly rough even during the day, intensified by the quickness of the sand. The main street of the city is Le Promenade (French for a walk or a street), also host to a large Gandhi statue. This seaside street is the most popular hangout for locals and tourists. The family atmosphere is complete with street food (sadly, nothing impressive), kids playing ball and blowing soap bubbles. Cute, but avoidable on a Sunday evening.
The famous Auroville is situated eight kilometers from the city. The idea of this global city being a self-sufficient ecosystem viz. economic, cultural and administrative needs is unique. The place is on most must-see lists. But if you don’t get to spend a few hours seeing the whole settlement, there isn’t much to miss.
Shopping! Authentic Pondicherry products are either leather based or related to aromas. The agarbatti collection at Auroville is very popular, and rightly so. Yes, Hidesign does sell at a factory outlet but variety is very limited. We were lucky to spot some decent pieces, including a men’s leather jacket @ Rs. 900, which became unexpectedly useful at the over-chilled Chennai airport. The boys picked up a fair bit, after many consultations and verifications with sisters and better halves. Sweet.
In general, people are great. Both locals and the now-local foreigners. They will go much out of their way to lead you to your destination. The party scene is not hot, unless you know people who are part of the Auroville party scene, including Saturday nights ones that go on till the wee hours. Language is a surmountable issue.
So here’s the verdict…it’s not the place for water sports or beach parties...but it's a perfect weekend destination if you are in this part of the country and want to see a real beach, not Marina! Go prepared with sunscreen and swimsuits, Ray Ban’s and your driving license. Rent a bike or a car and enjoy the warmth of this laidback beach town. And yeah, Jaya Amma aint French but her larger-than-life cutouts keep you from forgetting that you are in TN. Make your peace.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Getting Started
Technology is not my best friend. It's a bit of a love-hate relationship. When I work hard at it, it cooperates. Why do we need so many options on Blogspot? Not that I should be complaining and putting myself up as an ungracious new guest to the blogger's existence.
Hi everyone...dated to whenver you find out about this new venture and make time to waft through the tempting and choppy waters of the World Wide Web to come and read what I have to report. About food, of course. Since that's the one thing I have steadfastly maintained as an interesting constant.
So what are we starting out with today? Thai Curry people. I love the simple genius of the dish (all right, not so simple if you do the paste yourself).
The funny part is, it was Thai soup (Tom Kai Kha) that had me hooked to the curry from the same origin. The deal with Thai, or any other coastal cuisine, is that it typically (a) is spicy, (b) has a coconut tinge and (c) has the innate ability to fire up your taste buds and soothe them down in a matter of a second.
One of my most fun meals was a cookout I had with the college gang at home in '05 (cook-in, then?). It was the cooking talented man's B'day and we wanted a more fun, cheaper and comparably delicious option to the usual suspects of South Delhi joints. So we looked homewards. Had a whale of a time cooking together.
GPG made the meanest Tom Kai Kha, and I learnt as the 'good' student. I must have made a nice sous chef, since all the garlic peeling, chopping and other such 'pre-prep' was done by me. I think SR did her signature dry pasta, and Dhan did something too. We bought wine from the 'Wine and Beer Shop' and sort of feasted in our own glory. Early Oct in Delhi. The house to ourselves. Good food and Great company.
Here's to many more cookout's or cook-in's. With good friends and other people who can maka a chai session feel like a party.
RK's Tip of the Day: For those of you who care about the kill factor in your Thai soups/curries, do not underestimate the power of Lemon Grass. Chop and suspend in soup water while it boils. Use generous bits in the paste. If cooking for guests who can't handle the chewy bits, do the khada masala trick. Chop into 1 inch pieces and pack together in a piece of muslin cloth; suspend in the gravy. Take it out just before serving and Voila! You have the perfect throaty tangy flavor without the cumbersome fibre sticks. Enjoy.
Technology is not my best friend. It's a bit of a love-hate relationship. When I work hard at it, it cooperates. Why do we need so many options on Blogspot? Not that I should be complaining and putting myself up as an ungracious new guest to the blogger's existence.
Hi everyone...dated to whenver you find out about this new venture and make time to waft through the tempting and choppy waters of the World Wide Web to come and read what I have to report. About food, of course. Since that's the one thing I have steadfastly maintained as an interesting constant.
So what are we starting out with today? Thai Curry people. I love the simple genius of the dish (all right, not so simple if you do the paste yourself).
The funny part is, it was Thai soup (Tom Kai Kha) that had me hooked to the curry from the same origin. The deal with Thai, or any other coastal cuisine, is that it typically (a) is spicy, (b) has a coconut tinge and (c) has the innate ability to fire up your taste buds and soothe them down in a matter of a second.
One of my most fun meals was a cookout I had with the college gang at home in '05 (cook-in, then?). It was the cooking talented man's B'day and we wanted a more fun, cheaper and comparably delicious option to the usual suspects of South Delhi joints. So we looked homewards. Had a whale of a time cooking together.
GPG made the meanest Tom Kai Kha, and I learnt as the 'good' student. I must have made a nice sous chef, since all the garlic peeling, chopping and other such 'pre-prep' was done by me. I think SR did her signature dry pasta, and Dhan did something too. We bought wine from the 'Wine and Beer Shop' and sort of feasted in our own glory. Early Oct in Delhi. The house to ourselves. Good food and Great company.
Here's to many more cookout's or cook-in's. With good friends and other people who can maka a chai session feel like a party.
RK's Tip of the Day: For those of you who care about the kill factor in your Thai soups/curries, do not underestimate the power of Lemon Grass. Chop and suspend in soup water while it boils. Use generous bits in the paste. If cooking for guests who can't handle the chewy bits, do the khada masala trick. Chop into 1 inch pieces and pack together in a piece of muslin cloth; suspend in the gravy. Take it out just before serving and Voila! You have the perfect throaty tangy flavor without the cumbersome fibre sticks. Enjoy.
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