A Prelude to Restaurant Reviews

Picking a leaf out of my fellow blogger's book (http://eateratti.blogspot.com/) I am starting a short series of posts wherein I shall include reviews of a few restaurants in Mumbai and Pune. At this point, I am not really sure of what my post will tell you; will it talk about the ambience, menu, affordability, service? Can't say.. it will definitely not be a like-to-like comparison. Let's just say it would give you a taste of my experience there. Having said this, I am open to your suggestions. Tell me what you'd like to read (esp. what you would not find on typical sites like zomato and burpp).

I don't quite like to leave this post here.. so here's a plan!
I shall try to acquaint you with eateries at Mahabalipuram - for a tourist, it's an idyllic town between Chennai and Pondi on the ECR. For me and all Great Lakers (from Great Lakes, my B-school).. it's Mahabs! - the place that rocks :)

I hope that where my memory fails me, my fellow Patriots, Gladiators, Spartans (oh yeah, our batches had names and not just Class of 20xx)... will help fill in the gaps.

GRT Temple Bay
Bang at the entrance of Mahabs to your left, this place boasts of a sprawling swimming pool that runs along the length of the premises towards the oblivion of the sea. On weekends they have live music that goes down well with delicious food. Of course, it is heavy on the pocket! But try their breakfast buffet... it is well worth your money. Be sure to arrive early or you'll have to wait endlessly, only to find empty food counters. They did not mind us arriving at their doorstep in an open goods carrier (such is student life.. ) !!!

Guru’s
Chicken and parotha, biryani ocassionally. When money runs low, mess food seems repulsive and your stomach is grumbling for wholesome food, head for this place. Value for money…no doubt about that. But if you are the kind whose could lose appetite because of the ambience ("ambience" is an overstatement!), serious advice, don't visit it. Ask a dear friend to carry a take-away parcel for you.

Nautilus
The owner is Jack, friendly French fellow who prefers to make drinks for his customers himself! Not an elaborate place, it's almost a roadside cafe because that's where tables are set in the evenings when the crowds don’t fit. What we enjoyed most here - delicious, generous mushroom cheese omelet (I vaguely recollect having a baked one?!?), masala chai, gallons of beer (of course!), a concoction of rum and coke (a favorite with quite a few). For me the food almost always felt freshly cooked and scrumptious. Amongst the other regular orders, we had peanut masala, chicken chilli, masala cheese omelet (the omelets were to die for!), french fries. I could visit this place for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Akshaya
The only USP of this place was the proximity to our college. We walk out of our gates and into the gates of Akshaya. Nothing really strikes me about this place, except that they always had beer in stock when the other places ran dry. And probably peanut masala.. guess no one in Mahabs can go wrong with that.
 
Le Yogi
This was probably the first place I visited in Mahabs. Roof top, few low lying tables… a lazy place; but bustling with people almost every evening. Peanut masala (a common dish in Mahabs) was quite good here. Can’t recollect the specialty here, but I do know we visited this place frequently, in large numbers, sat for long hours stretching into the night and ordered food in hoards! 

Sea Breeze
Mixed feelings about this place. We visited this place quite often; some experiences I could describe as pleasant and almost equal number of others as hostile! Lizards were a menace! You’d never know when one would drop from the roof! I guess we were also denied entry once!! I think paneer chilly was a regular...

A2B Sarvana Bhavan
Haven for the veggies! Only place they could call “pure veg”. When the carnivore in me went into hibernation, I would gorge on masala dosa, chaat, samosa chaat, watermelon juice et al. And the only place I guess where you could get juices and shakes.

Moonraker's
Heard a lot about this place but never been there; so I am going to give it a skip. Fellas, feel free to comment about this one.

I could do another post on the same lines for Pondi as well. But that’s for later.

Meanwhile,
@Mumbaikars and Puneris suggest what you’d like to read
@Great Lakers – please enrich the content :P
@Adi – As promised, special mention for you. Thanks for your inputs J

Keep visiting the blog for more on "moreish food"...

Cucumber Pasta Salad

Please make way for the simple, humble and delicious pasta!! This time with crunchy, cold cucumber.. Let me confess, I am not a big fan of cucumber in my salads. Given a choice I would conveniently give it a skip. But pair it with pasta and it's a killer combination!

All you need are cucumbers (julienned), penne or fusili pasta (longer variety goes well with the julienne cut), shredded cheese and some seasoning. Don't ask me about measures and quantities; what you like goes in most! Cook your pasta to your liking - al dente (slightly chewy) or soft. Cool off and place in a salad bowl. Add the julienned cucumber to the bowl. Add shredded cheese (if you are using conventional Indian cheese) or crumbled cheese (if you fancy feta and the likes). For sesoning take your pick from 1) olive oil, oregano and salt or 2) a squeeze of lemon, salt and herbs. Finally, a generous toss is all it needs.

This sounds perfect for a summer setting. However, that wouldn't stop me from trying a slightly spicy variation this winter..add red chilli flakes to the seasoning :P
I bet the laziest person could whip this up in a jiffy.. let that not be your excuse :)

Keep munching foodies, until the next one...

For the love of garlic bread !!

If you are indeed tired of having the cold and almost hard garlic bread served by your local pizza delivery guy.. And you are my kind who craves for it every now and then, this post is JUST FOR YOU.

All you would need is a loaf of regular/wheat bread or slices of bread if you can't find a loaf, some butter, few cloves of garlic, oregano (that's optional) and salt. Peel and crush the garlic cloves and fuse them with butter. Add salt and oregano flakes. Slice the bread loaf into fancy diagonal slices, apply the butter mix on both sides and toast the bread slice. You could very well use your micro or simply toast it on your conventional tawa.

My folks were not particularly disappointed with it ;). It would work just fine if you are tired of having just regular toast for breakfast. And hey! It goes perfectly well with home cooked pasta ... Bon appetite!

Jacket Potatoes

Jacket potatoes are potatoes baked with their skin on. When we say baked, essentially the skin turns crispy retaining the fluffiness on the inside. At places like Ashford they are commonly available as street food, and that's where I had the original version. They use huge, firm potatoes; scrub them clean, bake them in the oven till crisp on the outside, slit them vertically into two halves, scrape the inside slightly and give you a choice of filling - baked beans, corn and cheese, bacon et al.. garnished with salt and pepper.

Even the version that mom made at home was equally delicious and absolutely simple to make.

For this, use evenly shaped potatoes, boil them if you don't have an oven/microwave to bake them. Just ensure that you do not overboil them for then they would crumbe when you try to slit. Alternatively, slit them first and then boil them. That way they would cook quicker and you wouldn't end up overcooking them.

Once you get your baked/boiled potato halves, scrape the inner center with a fork or spoon and create a shallow bed to place your filling. For the filling you can use baked beans (available in a can. You may add sauteed onions to the beans) and garnish with shredded cheese, or use shredded cheese, boiled corn and green chillies mixture.

If you have managed to get a nice and crisp "jacket" of potato skin, you can scrape off more of the inside and mix that as well into your filling.

Use your imagination and create your own filling each time.. break the monotony!

Finally garnish with salt and pepper.

Dee.. as promised this one's especially for you. :)

Haven't made it recently, so sorry no pictures. But google it and you are sure to find some which will make your mouth water.. slurrrrpp!!!

Roasted Corn and Tomato Salad

A very quick, no-nonsense salad... inspired by my visit at the 1000 Oaks in Pune. Special thanks to Rohan for recommending the place umpteen times. And more thanks to Priya for recommending the salad.

“Inspired”, I say because I’m not sure of their recipe. Had been with a few friends, we loved the salad so we ended up discussing what went into its preparation. From the combined knowledge of our taste buds, here’s our best guess…

Ingredients - Roasted corn, diced onions, diced tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes), black/green olives, bread crumbs, basil and olive oil

Place the diced onions, tomatoes and olives in a bowl and allow them to cool in the refrigerator. i.e. if you prefer a slightly cold salad.

Roast the corn in a flat pan. You will notice black spots on either side once it is done. Cut up two bread slices into small squares and fry them. If you are health conscious, just toast them with very minimal butter and get them to be firm and crisp. Ready the corn and bread towards the end, they just look better when served right out of the pan!

You can use mint or coriander instead of basil. That should be good too. Chop it finely and mix with a little bit of olive oil.

To the cold onions, tomatoes and olives, add the corn and bread. Drizzle lightly with the olive oil and basil mix. Add salt and pepper only if and as much as you please and give it a generous toss…

It makes for an excellent light dinner if you are by yourself and a great accompaniment with a sumptuous meal!

Quick Marmalade !!

Well, this is not exactly marmalade, but imagine it to be a thick fruit sauce which can be used to flavor ice creams or used over freshly baked cakes instead of the icing or with cut fruits (fruit salad).

I used black grapes; you could also use orange or sweet lime.. or even experiment with a combination of orange and sweet lime. Put the grapes in a juicer and strain to remove the peel residue. Pour the juice into a pan and bring it to simmer. Add equal quantity of sugar and stir it in. You could use lesser sugar if you like your marmalade to be a bit tangy. The juice will start boiling and get thicker, stir it continuously to avoid charring at the bottom and at the sides of the pan. Wait to turn off the burner until the consistency is thick enough for your liking (I wanted to use it with vanilla ice cream so I kept it to a thick tomato-sauce-like consistency ). You can either use it hot (with ice cream) or cold (with hot cakes and fruits).

If you are using oranges, you could add grated orange peel... but not much as it tends to add a slightly bitter taste.

Would recommend you start with lesser quantity until you are comfortable with the recipe. Also, do not try to preserve, because it's not built into the preparation method.

Corn Pita Pockets

Finally, I decided to share my passion for food with a larger community. This blog is dedicated to everything and anything that relates to food! - be it a failed kitchen experiment to a perfected original recipe to trivia that I may pick along...

So here, to begin with, is my rendition of what I recollect my Mom used to make sometimes - Pita Pockets
And they made a delicious dinner tonight... !

INGREDIENTS

For the bread: Corn flour, wheat flour, ghee (or shortening)
For the filling: Potatoes, onions, green / red / yellow bell peppers. Green chilies, salt, lime juice per taste
For the sauce: Hot red chili sauce,  herb (basil, mint, coriander leaves), cheese (or cornflower to thicken the sauce)
For the garnish: Grated cheese, shredded cabbage (optional)

Alternatives: You can experiment with various fillings - Boiled corn, mushrooms, baked beans, shredded paneer and noodles!

Preparing the bread:

1.       Knead the corn flour, wheat flour (equal quantities), ghee for shortening (can also use milk or butter for fluffiness) with water. Knead until the flour is binding, soft and pliable.

2.       Keep aside for 10-30 minutes.

3.       Divide into baby-potato-sized portions and roll into flat circles about 5-6 inches in diameter. Keep them slightly thick, about 3-5 mm.

4.       Place them onto a flat pan. Use of oil is not required.

5.       Let the flat bread cook on one side and then turn over. Ensure that it swells and forms a cavity within like a phulka.

6.       Cut the pita into half so that you have two semicircular pockets.

Your pita bread is ready!

Preparing the filling:

1.       Boil potatoes and mash them. Add finely chopped onions and green chilies. You can also use red chili powder instead. Add salt and seasoning per your liking and mix well.

2.       For alternate fillings, ensure that your filling is not extremely juicy as it will soak the pita bread and shall not hold the filling.

Preparing the sauce:

1.       Heat a stir fry pan and pour 2 tablespoons of red chili sauce with 4 tablespoons of water. Finely chop the herb leaves. And add them to the mixture in the pan.

2.       Let the sauce reduce and thicken.

3.       At this point, add cheese chunks or cream for thickening. It gives a smooth, creamy texture to the sauce.

4.       Let it cool to room temperature before using.

Filling the pita pockets:

1.       Hold the pita pockets in your palm with their opening facing sideways. Brush the sauce onto its insides. Be generous if your sauce is not too spicy as it adds juiciness to the pita pocket.

2.       Place a mound of your filling into the pocket and garnish with grated cheese or shredded cabbage. Add a sliver of the sauce over the garnish and serve.

Bon appetite !! :)