The hot chick at the Mango Kitchen and Bar .

For the past few weeks on Facebook , I had been reading some good reviews with beautiful and colourful food photos of Mango Kitchen and Bar.  The name "Mango" attracted me alot as I love both ripened and raw mango. Mango chunks mixed with pomegranate seeds is my favourite summer mid night snack. Anyway finally last thursday I planned to have lunch at the Mango. Keeping in mind that the restaurant will have mango based dishes and drinks as well.
As you enter the restaurant , you will find bright yellow sofas with few blue ones in contrast and to enhance the beauty of the ambiance. The place has minimalistic decor and a positive vibe.  My friend Rohan Monga was supposed to join me and he was little late , so I tried to check the menu to select mango based dishes . I realised there were hardly any mango based drinks and dishes and I really dnt know why I was going crazy for having mangoes . So I found one mango based cocktail and asked the bartender to make it for me . It was a gin based drink but I was expecting fresh mango pulp or chunks on it . It was good in taste though. Chef Himanshu suggested me to  have a light salad with the drink. It was Acovado Caprese with bocconcini, tomato, pesto and fresh avocado. I loved it . So in the meantime Rohan and Chef Pawan Bisht , the corporate chef of the unit joined me and I was super excited to have mango based main course and left it all to the Chef to select dishes for us .

Chef is well aware of my food choice so he served me Pork Chops and Spicy Sriracha Chicken Tacos as starters . There was a light green salsa as a condiment with tacos, which was looking like green mango salsa with my dreamy eyes  . It was actually a nice refreshing fresh avocado salsa which was  pairing perfect with the Tacos.   Pork chops were beautifully presented with beetroot relish, mashed potatoes and pan tossed veggies .   Meanwhile waiting for the main course chef served us Mango sorbet and I was happy like a kid that finally I am having fresh mango chunks with mango sorbet sitting at Mango.  So finally the server served us Katsu Chicken Bowl which was like a meal in a bowl. It had stir-fried vegetables with crumb fried chicken cutlet and soft boiled eggs with fried rice. Again a soul-satisfying bowl but without any trace of Mango .

I was done with my maincourse and by this time  my friend Sushmita Subba came to say hi to me . I thought we three can share a dessert as i have a big sweet tooth . Since I love cheese cake , we all agreed for cheese cake with rose icecream . But why not mango icecream in a restaurant named " Mango" ? Chef Pawan insisted us to try the JD Chocolate Mousse from his side , and he was right . The JD Mousse was the rockstar of the day. Each dish was delectable and gave me immense happiness with tummy ful satisfaction.

But somewhere in my mind " Mango " was still itching . Why the name mango when there is hardly any mango based dish. So after the meal, Chef Pawan took me around to check the entire property. I saw a beautiful metallic tree at their terrace . Winters or evenings in summers will be perfect to sit at their terrace . Looking at the tree, I couldnt stop myself and asked Chef Pawan : Why Mango as name of the restaurant ? Why not any other name of the fruit ? I know I was sounding stupid with my questions but I took the liberty of being his good friend . So Pawan's reply was : Maam! the name has nothing to do with the fruit . Actually Mango in cuban slang language is " THE HOT CHICK GIRL "  and we  want this place as hot as a MANGO, the Hot Girl .    I laughed aloud and promised him to visit him again soon for trying other super delicious dishes . Chef and his entire team has really worked hard to curate the menu of " MANGO" . Do try and thank me to have a scrumptous meal in this restaurant . Till then ....

Chavi Rajawat - a woman of substance ...

                                           

Two months back I was in Jaipur for a conference with my fellow    speaker RJ Divya of Radio city ,  radio channel.  Divya wanted to interview a lady sarpanch and keep mentioning about her work and dedication that I was intrigued with her narration and stories .  She insisted me to meet her and I was like Neki aur pooch pooch. 

 Before meeting her Divya was trying hard to fix an appointment and always murmur " she is in her village soda and very busy" . " Her phone is not connecting as she is in interior of the village"
With her murmuring I was imagining a lady with traditional rajasthani costume with husky voice . I really dnt know what made me even imagine the voice too. Anyway finally she managed to fix an appointment with Chavi Ranawat who is known as the youngest sarpanch in India .   We went to hotel  "Kailruggi" to meet her . In the heart of the noisy city I found a peculiar calmness as soon we stepped into the hotel. I was informed that all the cooks working in the hotel kitchen are women from Soda village and most of the ingredients used are also from her village . When we reached I saw a beautiful young girl in her mid 30s wearing blue denims and light blue kurta with a dupatta around her neck.  She was Chavi Ranawat who welcomed us and made us comfortable . I was speechless for few seconds . I found her very  humble and warm . Graduated from Lady Shriram college in Delhi and topped her MBA in Indian Institute of Modern Management , Pune and later at London school of economics , she gave up her plum job abroad and decided to serve the underprivileged of her ancestral village "Soda" , Rajasthan. 

I found her a true example of beauty with brain. Soda is 60 km away from Jaipur with a population of 7000 , had been officially declared as most backward area by the govt . As soon as she got elected as sarpanch she has laid down her priorities to sanitation, forestation, self employment for women , adult education and vocational training. Being a foodie I was also keen to know about her hotel Kailruggi . She told me because of lack of sufficient funds , she devotes some of her time in her family run hotel to support her projects . Named with her parent"s names Kailruggi is a beautiful hotel with 24 rooms and a cafe with Indian and International cuisines .  Most of the ingredients are local and grown in the fields of her village Soda . She has engaged her village women in her kitchen giving them employment . It is a vegetarian cafe where you will not miss nonveg atall.

Life of this sarpanch is not easy as she had been attacked physically in the past . But her dedication to serve her people hasn't moved her away. After a certain period we all look for a break and holiday to travel around , but this beautiful young sarpanch never travels for her holiday . Or you can say there is no holiday for her . She is a dynamic and determined personality who is not attracted to any plush holidays or entertainment . She has recently adopted a girl's school in her village which is in bad shape with lack of funds. I am so fortunate that she could spare some time for us . We exchanged our cuisines, food thoughts and discussed alot about food of our regions and convinced her to visit Northeast with me .

I am dedicating this year's women's day to Sarpanch Chavi Ranawat , the youngest sarpanch in India as the world knows her like that .
I also want to thank RJ Divya Vasudeva  for introducing  me to Chavi .