Cafe Lota , National Crafts Museum.

Cafe Lota is housed within the National Crafts Museum , which is next to Pragati Maidan and Old Fort. I dnt  think if there is any other good place to eat around this area.

I had been to this place in winters as it is an open sitting Cafe, and  I was little skeptical to go at this weather . When me along with my four friends reached at this place, we found the entire cafe into a nicely covered cabin with wire mesh and two huge water coolers at  two corners , which was giving a very cool and comfortable ambiance. Talking about Ambiance, it has simple benches and chairs to sit , with few terracotta statues and glass work on walls. Staff is well trained and aware of what they serve. One thing really make me happy about this place , that, they do not serve fancy dishes like Pastas and Noodles. All the dishes they serve is with excellent presentation and shows the perfect training.

So after perusing the menu which is on simple hand made paper clipped on a board , We started our meal with a glass of Bel sharbat and Chicken 65 as starter. On a larger meal ( main course) we ordered Dak Bangalow Mutton Curry with Paronthee, Fish and Chips , Sindhi kadhi with rice and Aloo ki sabzi .

Bel Sharbet 

Chicken 65

Fish and Chips 

Dak Bangalow Mutton Curry with Paronthee

Sindhi Kadhi with Aloo sabzi served with rice 

Mutton curry was mild in taste and very well blended with the paronthee . Curry was typical bong curry with fried aloo and eggs. Fish was chips was a very innovative with Amritsari fried fish with a sprinkle of popped up Amaranth seeds and nicely rolled and fried Sweet Potato as chips. Sindhi Kadhi was not so impressive but Aloo ki sabzi was giving a beautiful aroma of kasuri methi .



They have very limited but very interesting options in Dessert section. As we were full , we just ordered two dishes - Khajoor ke Samose and Bhappa doi cheese cake. Khajoor ke Samose was very interesting dish with Pastry sheets wrapped like samosa and filled with dates and rose petals( gulukand) , baked and served with wipped cream. Cheese Cake was made with Bengali Mishti doi . I liked the Samose but my friends found the cheese cake better. After taking an hour round of the museum , we went again to the cafe to polish our meal with amazing  glass of Adrak ki Chai.

Bhappa Cheese Cake

Khajoor Ke Samose 

Adrak ki Chai 

Terracotta Lota used for bills

Our over all experience in Cafe Lota was fantastic . If there is wait involve , you can always take a round of the museum , where artisans conduct live demonstration . The place has a plithora of options for Vegetarians .
Parking is an issue but there is a valet parking service in the offing ( till 5pm).



MEAL for two - 1500/-
Address- National Crafts Museum
Bhairon Marg , Pragati Maidan
+91 7838960787

* The Kitchen Espion pays their own bill.

Anguli Pitha - Assamese cuisine ..

Aita ( Granny) and Jethais ( Aunts) used to cook many dishes and sweets which I hardly see in modern kitchen of Assam. I am trying to collect all those forgotten recipes and keeping them safe in my blog. Here is  my first post on  forgotten recipe of Assam.
Anguli Pitha. 
Anguli in Assamese means finger, and these pithas are shaped as fingers , hence the name "Anguli Pitha". This is a savory  pitha but you can cook in variation and serve it as accompaniment .

Recipe
Ingredients|
Rice flour - 2 cups
Refined oil to knead the dough and shallow fry the pithas
Salt - as per your taste
Nigella seeds or Kaljeera- a pinch
Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
Whole Red chilli - 2-3

Method

Mix nigella seeds, salt and little bit of oil to the rice flour and knead it into a dough. Boil water in a deep pan . Take little dough and roll them into your palm as finger shape. (Anguli in assamse means finger, hence little finger shape). Drop rolled finger shaped rice dough into the boiling water and boil them for few minutes. Take the pithas out and let them cool down. Now heat little bit of oil in a pan and add whole red chillies and cumin seeds , Saute the pithas till its slightly crisp from outside. Serve them with Lal Saah . ( Laal Saah is tea without milk and people in Assam prefer their tea without milk ) .

*For the variation, you can fry them along with sliced onions and veggies like bell peppers and brocolli.