Florentine

On one of those evenings when in the mood for a fancy dinner, we can turn to the fine dining options we have in the city, one of the newest restaurants being Florentine. It is located in Hotel Gateway Grandeur at Christian Basti. Florentine has got exquisite interiors with wood finish and the ambience is enticing.

I dined with the Executive Chef of the hotel, Mr. Mauktik Chakraborty, who whipped up a few delicacies especially for me. I tried to pick up a tip or two about good cooking as well! He prepared cheesy herb chicken which comprised of grilled chicken leg coated with mozzarella cheese sauce and gratinated, served with dry red chilli pilaf. The thick creamy texture, infused with herbs made it absolutely sumptuous. The Indian dishes came next, with the Afghani Tangri Kabab. It comprised of chicken leg stuffed with minced chicken and special spices cooked in a clay oven. It was excellent, so tender that it melts in the mouth and the distinct smoked flavour invigorates the senses. Another dish I had was Mutton Amritsari accompanied with freshly baked naan. Boneless mutton pieces were served with two masala gravies; one was onion based brown gravy and on the periphery of the platter was yellow gravy. The chef revealed the secret of the delicious yellow gravy, it was made with turmeric and magaj, and that is all I can unearth lest I give away too much of his secret.

This multi-cuisine restaurant offers Indian, Oriental and Continental delicacies, Florentine dishes being the specialty. Their menu even has Florentine recipes on the last page for cooking enthusiasts. Some of the continental fish dishes on offer are Beer Battered Fish with Saffron Garlic, Sautéed Prawns with Mushroom and Spinach and Chowder Sauce. Poultry on offer includes Chicken Chasseur, Chicken Florentine, Mustard Roasted Chicken, Chicken with Spaghetti and Pesto. In lamb they have Roasted Leg of Lamb with Rosemary Garlic and Cajun Lamb served with spicy black beans. Vegetarian dishes include Cottage Cheese Brochettes with Tomato Provencal sauce, Cheese and Basil Ball Mornay, American Corn and Spinach Parcels.

They have a range of Indian dishes starting with kababs like Seena Malai, Baghdadi and Shikhanpuri to main course delectables like Prawn Turushi, Fish Malabari, Murg Zafrani, Chettinad, Mutton Rogan Josh and Mutton Dhansak which is cooked in Daal and spices. Accompaniments include Nawabi Biryani and Yakhni Biryani along with an assortment of Naans and Rotis including Keema Naan. The Oriental exotic menu offers Teriyaki Chicken, Thai Green and Red Curries as well as Indonesian Lamb curry, Peking Lamb, Prawn Sui Mui, Lat Mai Kai and Kung Bah Paneer to name a few. A good meal for two may be approximately Rs 800 plus taxes. Florentine is surely worth a visit for its multi-cuisine extravaganza, plush decor, a snazzy mezzanine floor, courteous staff and culinary delights conjured by the chef. Truly, a fine place to dine.

(published in The Eclectic, July 2010)

Go gaga in Naga kitchen!

Being and avid eater of all things porcine, in whatever form it is served, it would be hardly illogical for me to love Naga food. One must acknowledge the people of Nagaland for conjuring such simple but fabulous dishes of pork and a variety of meats ranging from Dogs, spiders, beef, crabs, cats, chicken and even elephants. Not exactly a vegetarian’s haven in Nagaland.

What makes their food unique is the stark simplicity in cooking, less use of oil and use of really hot chilies and the employment of a variety of cooking methods like fermenting, drying and smoking. Bamboo shoot is used extensively, dried, fermented or fresh.

My quest for an authentic Naga experience in the city finds adequate satisfaction in Naga Kitchen, in the tiny lane right opposite A.I.D.C. I remember my earliest associations with the restaurant back in my school days, when it was hardly a restaurant. It was just a tiny room in the building with two tables, a sofa and a coffee table run by the owner, pretty much a one man army. From those humble beginnings, it is now a nicely done up eating joint. The restaurant is of a cozy size, with a homely feel partly because of its non commercial looking settings at the ground floor of a house. The interiors are quite unique with hand crafted bamboo work which is really hard not to notice and appreciate. Everything is hand crafted with bamboo or wood starting with the menu card to the lamp shades and curtains. The plates and serving dishes used to be of wood.  They have recently expanded the space in the restaurant with a neo-ethnic style of interiors.

Now comes the best part, not surprisingly, the food. Traditional cuisines of the North East need some acquiring of taste especially with certain recipes and ingredients. As the case with Naga food, one must be able to eat chilli and the more daring can deal with the pungent taste of certain ingredients like akhuni (fermented beans). The proprietor of the restaurant tells me that they import traditional ingredients from Nagaland.

The Naga curry, consisting of crushed potatoes and tomatoes , which comes with either smoked or fresh pork shall be usually found on any table I am eating. So will be the Smoked Pork with Dry Bamboo Shoot, my personal favourite. It comes with shredded dry bamboo shoot which is usually not available elsewhere. One can also go for the non dried bamboo shoot.  Another dish worth trying for the adventurous is the smoked /fresh pork in Akhuni or fermented beans. It is quite pungent but I loved the flavour. There is pork in Anishi which is cooked in fermented yam leaves and has a smokey taste. Other pork dishes like with yam, Lai saag leaves or pumpkin is also available.  Servings of rice are slightly small.

For non-pork eaters, chicken and fish dishes are also available. Chicken comes in the same bamboo shoot variations as pork. I tried fish in bamboo shoot and vegetables which was very hot. A thali is also available that comes at a great value of Rs 75/-. The fried pork, usually had as snacks is also popular.

All in all, if you crave for Naga cuisine but don’t have the time or the resources to travel all the way to Nagaland just for a bite, try Naga Kitchen. You’ll be happy you did!

(published in The Eclectic, August 2010)

Harvey’s Bakes and Steaks

On a lazy Sunday afternoon in summer, when one feels lethargic to even think of stepping into the kitchen and the soaring mercury does not allow an appetite for a heavy, spicy lunch, what options do we have in the city? Continental delights may be a good idea, wholesome food but yet does not sit heavily on the stomach. Hence, I paid a visit to Harvey’s Bakes and Steaks, one of the latest additions to the city’s culinary scene. Sitting pretty at Dona Planet on G.S. Road, it does not get easier to find.

Chef Saurav and his friendly service staff guided me through the menu which offers a host of continental favourites. The restaurant also has a sandwich and coffee menu that whips up various iced teas, sundaes, smoothies, shakes and frappes. A drink called Cookie Crunch and Dark Fudge caught my eye. For starters they serve items like fish and chicken fingers. Chicken fingers consist of juliennes of chicken marinated with thyme and have a crunchy exterior but are soft and succulent on the inside.

For those conscious of an expanding waistline, there are salads on offer like the Prawn Cocktail, Caesar salad, Mexican Chilli and Baby Corn and Garden Union. I tasted the Mexican Baby Corn which is more of a fried preparation made with chillies and bell peppers. The soups available are Cream of Tomato and Cream Soup which can be opted for in chicken, mushroom, asparagus or vegetables.

The main course dishes are mostly cooked in three types of sauces- white sauce, brown sauce or tomato concasse. The chicken steak which comes as a sizzler is cooked in brown pepper sauce. The brown sauce is made with demi-glace, pepper, mushrooms, wine and seasoning. Chicken Tropicana is chicken breast stuffed with mushrooms or prawns and comes in a tomato based sauce. The only dish where lamb is available in is Spaghetti a la Bologne that comes with lamb ragu sauce, cooked in brandy. The Chicken Tetrazzini is quite filling. It is spaghetti baked in cheese sauce, mushrooms and herbs. There are other chicken dishes like Imperial Chicken and Chicken a la Kiev.

Fish is available, and some dishes are Fish Steak, Grilled Fish, Fish Meuniere and Fish Florentine. The Florentine is cooked in cheese sauce and a bed of spinach. Prawns are available crumb fried, seared or grilled or as Prawn Newberg. Jumbo Prawns, cooked in thermidor style, are baked in the shell with white sauce.

For vegetarians there are preparations like Vegetable Paprika which is cooked in tangy brown sauce, Florentine, Tetrazzini and the like. One can round off the meal with the desserts offered, caramel custard, choco latte, truffle and brownies. An average meal for two will be about Rs 400 plus taxes. They have also started economy meal combos for individual portions. The interiors are peppy and colourful and one can relax on the sofas while dining on the upper floor. Content with lunch, it is time for my Sunday siesta.

Mughlai Food at Turkman Gate in Delhi

On days when mess food in our college hostel back in St. Stephen’s is particularly ‘delicious’ and there is a mass exodus to Kamla for the Chinese food (as they would like to believe) that tastes the same in every joint, one might want to invoke the explorer in them. On a day such as this, Dr. David Baker, an ardent foodie and my partner in culinary crimes, myself and a friend decide to go hunting for Mughlai food in the Turkman Gate area.

Being a pseudo historian, I cannot resist providing readers some information on the location. All the cerebral exertion may help work up our appetite. The southern part of the area comprises of some pre-Shahjahanabad sites that originated with the burial site of Shah Turkman or Biyaban, a sufi saint, who probably came to India during Illtutmish’s reign. His followers include Begum Raziya Sultan, the only female sultan of Delhi and Illtutmish’s daughter, who is also buried here. Shah Turkman died in 1240.

On how to get there, I would like to give fairly detailed directions to prevent confusion, as getting lost there could be quite a pain. One can take the metro to the New Delhi railway station and take a rickshaw or even walk, although if unfamiliar with the area, it is advisable to take a rickshaw for ten to fifteen Rupees. We took a long winding route only to realize there were easier ways of reaching the food joints. It is located right behind the Ramlila grounds, opposite Zakir Hussain College. The best landmark is the Haj Manzil building, the food lane is located very close to it. There are many small hovels, most selling beef and some selling mutton. The one we chose had a great variety of dishes- Bheja (brain) Curry, Stew, Korma, Palak Gosht, Aloo Keema and Daal Gosht, all simmering in round metal pots. For vegetarians, there was Daal without any meat in it. And we tried all the dishes except the daal. Servings per plate are small, meant for one person, so one can choose to have multiple dishes. And it is extremely inexpensive, a relief from the usual Kamla bills, and is appropriate for light wallets. We paid a total of about Rupees hundred and eight for a full meal enough for three, and that included a twenty two rupee bottle of mineral water. The stew and the bheja curry were my favourites, especially with the particularly soft and thinner tandoori rotis. The food was comparatively less oily than some other places in Old Delhi and a difference in the taste is noticeable.

Content with the meat intake, we moved on to other things, namely, dessert. There are sweet shops along the lane. We tried out Firni and Shahi Tukda at the stall right at the beginning of the lane. It was even better than the ones I have near the Jama Masjid. In fact, for sweet-tooths, there is an entire sweetmeats market opposite the Haj Manzil Building, although our amply full bellies did not let us sample the inviting lure of the sweets on display.

This is an area hardly explored by many. It is not of huge commercial appeal as Chandni Chowk but can give it a run for its money any day. It is not so difficult to find and is worth a try by hungry explorers and potential foodies.

Published in SOUL, issue 20, March 10th, 2010